Anyone play Eador: Genesis?

[Mondkalb]

I only recently discovered this little gem when it was on gog.com discount (it's cheap anyway, normal price $5.99).
From the looks it doesn't seem to be very special, but there is a plethora of things going on beneath the simple (but charming) old fashioned graphics.
The game was first released in Russia a couple of years ago and was released in English in 2012 I think.

"Eador: Genesis" merges elements from a lot of classical turn-based fantasy strategy games like "Master of Magic", "Heroes of Might and Magic", "Fantasy General", and others as well.
The gameplay is strangely addictive and though I am playing for several weeks now, there are still things to discover. There is an insanely complex building tree for your stronghold, a bulk of items and artifacts to support your heroes and armies, dozens of spells, lots of units, and plenty of skills to distribute to your heroes (and units) on level-up.

The Game comes with a tutorial which explains the basics, but you are on your own soon enough.
Most of the units, buildings, items, spells, resources and so on are clickable to open a little help window or show a mouse-over help window. Unfortunately, there is no manual and the home page of the game is in Russian only (google translate can help you out there).

I found a lenghty in-depth review which also sheds light on some of the game mechanics, for instance the use of stamina for heroes and units alike in battle (very similar to "Fantasy General") or the importance of moral alignments (your decisions with random events may have an influence on the mood in your provinces).
http://www.gamespot.com/eador-genesi...2200-12583651/

All in all this is a wonderful game and I enjoy playing it very much.

[krazyhades]

I've played some. It's nice! Definitely Master of Magic inspired, which is a good thing, as that's a game I actually still play here and there.

[Mondkalb]

I also play MoM every now and then.

It has the same "one more turn" addictiveness.

[Mondkalb]

Well, that's not a lot of players ... ^^

Additional information: The game should run fine under Linux with Wine.

What might appeal to *banders, there is no real save option, it's basically ironman. If you loose, you loose. (There is an option to go back one turn, for a price. Also, you can have multiple player profiles.)

I've gathered some more reviews:
http://www.cpugamer.com/reviews/eador-genesis-review
http://dragonchasers.com/2012/12/15/...eador-genesis/
http://www.tacticularcancer.com/content.php?id=3904
http://www.grogheads.com/rev-eador.html

[krazyhades]

Do you play any Dominions III?

[Mondkalb]

Originally Posted by krazyhades

Do you play any Dominions III?

No, never played any Dominion game. Probably never appealed to me because it looks like depending on large battles.
I might have a look at it sometime.

[krazyhades]

There's no battle micro, as you have to set up commands for your units beforehand.

The main reason I like it is the insane number of spells.

[Magnate]

Originally Posted by krazyhades

There's no battle micro, as you have to set up commands for your units beforehand.

The main reason I like it is the insane number of spells.

I liked the Dominions games but aren't they multiplayer-only? I don't think they had any AI to speak of.

[Nivim]

Originally Posted by Mondkalb

I also play MoM every now and then.

Do you have the fan-made patches or balance tweaks for it? It's been awhile, (and I remember it with this painful feeling like I forgot something I cared about,) but people on the Realms Beyond forums have been working away on various MoM projects, and all of them are available to use.

It has the same "one more turn" addictiveness.

I hear this a lot, and each time it seems uncomfortable to me. Shouldn't it trigger some kind of emergency stop once you realize you had decided to do n turn(s) but did >n turns instead? Or really, just an emergency stop for any situation in which you unthinkingly did something the previous you decided not to do. Even if it really is a good idea, you're better off making sure.

[Mondkalb]

Originally Posted by Nivim

Do you have the fan-made patches or balance tweaks for it?

I still have to try those out. I only recently joined gog.com where I read about the insecticide path which sounds good.

As for the "one more turn" behaviour - that occurs in many games where you might get the next upgrade or a wonderful artifact or whatever pleasant surprise in the next turn ... (Notably in games with fog of war on the map when you get a glimpse of something promising just on the edge.)