Dominions II: The Ascension Wars

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Dominions II: The Ascension Wars
Studio Illwinter Game Design
Publisher Shrapnel Games
platform PC ( Linux , macOS , Solaris , Windows )
genre Turn-based strategy game
Subject Fantasy , round tactics
Game mode Single player , multiplayer (Internet, LAN , PbeM )
control Keyboard , mouse
system advantages
preconditions		 300 MHz CPU , 64 MB RAM , 250 MB HDD , GPU with OpenGL support
medium 1 CD
language English

Dominions II: The Ascension Wars is a computer game by Illwinter Game Design (Johan Karlsson and Kristoffer Osterman) from 2003. It is a turn-based strategy game and the successor to Dominions: Priests, Prophets and Pretenders from 2002.

action

The player takes on the role of a god from one of 17 different nations and fights for rule in a fantasy world. By using armies of people, monsters and magicians , individual provinces are fought. If two armies meet in a province, a tactical battle ensues.

Game flow

Each game round is divided into two phases:

The planning phase

  • The player can give his armies and heroes marching orders. Sending and reading diplomatic messages (texts or gifts), reading reports on random events , bidding for mercenaries , recruiting army units, forging magical objects, managing the provinces, placing building orders and conducting arcane research are all found in this planning phase instead of. Heroes and army units can be given up to five tactical orders (or spells ), and their position on the battlefield can be determined.

As soon as all commands have been given, the player sends his play file to the server via email or directly via internet protocol .

The execution phase

As soon as all players have submitted their move or a possibly selected time limit has been exceeded, the execution phase begins. The server then executes all troop commands simultaneously, calculates the results of all battles and random events that occur and sends the play file back to the players. Players can watch a replay of each tactical battle or just watch a summary of the casualties.

Then the planning phase of the next turn begins again. The number of total moves in a game depends on the number of players (1–17) and the size of the card . An average eight-player game lasts approximately 50-90 rounds. A single play can take anywhere from five minutes to five hours , depending on the player's micromanagement , but one hour is a good guideline.

particularities

Dominions II is the most fun against human opponents, but also offers acceptable computer opponent AI for single players . The graphic representation of each unit (monster, warrior, ...) in tactical battles consists of just two different, very simple raster graphics . There is background music that can be switched off and rather sparse sound effects. An essential element of the game, however, are the extensive descriptions of the characters and spells, which are based on real mythologies .

Over 1000 different units with different properties (strength, resistances, weapons, ...) are available to the player. Together with over 500 different spells and more than 300 magical items, the game allows a large number of possible combinations for army combinations and tactics.

Resupply , morale and military intelligence play an important role. Dominion (a value of how much the population of a province believes in their own god / in an enemy god) not only directly influences morale , but also the environmental conditions of a province, such as temperature, random events or available supplies. Strategic prayer (preferably by priests hidden in the enemy hinterland ) can not only influence the outcome of a single battle, but also lead to a bloodless "theological" victory: If a player loses Dominion in all of his provinces (if nobody believes in him anymore) then he is eliminated from the game, no matter how powerful his armies are.

The 17 playable nations differ in the different characteristics of their recruited troops; Different tactics like guerrilla warfare , magical superiority, amphibious / flying / undead armies allow many combinations with the different god forms available. At the beginning of the game, the player can divide 500 design points between different gods, magical abilities of the god, castle types and effects of the Dominion (belief). It is possible to create a highly gifted magical researcher god or a physically powerful battle god. You can just as easily choose a “cheap” god and through faith and castles the setting up of national armies can be made much easier, or you can optimize your god and faith to conjure up undead hordes.

Different maps and mods are available. Almost every aspect of the game can be changed with the help of a text editor or a painting program .

System requirements

  • 64 MB RAM, 250 MB free hard disk space

OpenGL -capable graphics card (GeForce or comparable recommended)

Supported Operating Systems

all versions are on the same CD-ROM

Similar computer games

Predecessor successor

  • "Dominions: Priests, Prophets & Pretenders" is the predecessor of Dominions II
  • "Dominions 3: The Awakening" is the successor to Dominions II and was released at the end of 2006

Web links