God Wars X-Pansion
Jan 1, 2015 19:42:30 GMT -5
Post by Architect on Jan 1, 2015 19:42:30 GMT -5
"It was an exciting time.
The world was moving forward; the balance of power was shifting in unpredictable directions, and those who possessed strength began to make themselves known. Naval combat was refined and improved, as was the pace of the battles fought all over Gielinor.
Then, there were the sieges. Long, brutal affairs they were, with the resolve of both the attacker and the defender being tested in the crucible of combat. Some armies won with bravery and strength, while others prevailed through trickery and deceit. No matter the city or the belligerents, each siege was glorious and remembered for all time.
I remember when the Wanderers emerged. A plethora of races, skills, and personalities, they traveled to the cities of the God Factions, offering their services for an appropriate price. Always eager to secure an advantage, the God Factions employed them, and their unique abilities and talents helped to redefine the order of the Age.
It was an exciting time."
The world was moving forward; the balance of power was shifting in unpredictable directions, and those who possessed strength began to make themselves known. Naval combat was refined and improved, as was the pace of the battles fought all over Gielinor.
Then, there were the sieges. Long, brutal affairs they were, with the resolve of both the attacker and the defender being tested in the crucible of combat. Some armies won with bravery and strength, while others prevailed through trickery and deceit. No matter the city or the belligerents, each siege was glorious and remembered for all time.
I remember when the Wanderers emerged. A plethora of races, skills, and personalities, they traveled to the cities of the God Factions, offering their services for an appropriate price. Always eager to secure an advantage, the God Factions employed them, and their unique abilities and talents helped to redefine the order of the Age.
It was an exciting time."
Welcome!
Though GWX has been progressing well so far, there are some things that definitely need to be tweaked. However, the focus of this expansion is to add Wandering Paragons, a group of new Paragons with Specialties that set them apart from their normal counterparts. But before we get to that, let's cover some crucial changes coming to battles, both on land and at sea.
Since we haven't had any sieges yet, this isn't as much a change as a, "Hey, here's what's coming!" type of deal. Regardless, sieges - battles which are fought in Urban regions - are going to be large, unique, and difficult. Rest assured that you'd better bring your biggest and best forces to these battles, or you'll leave in embarrassment and defeat! Soon, Siroki will contact each of you regarding your Capital, most likely asking you to describe it and how it's laid out. This information will be used in your Capital's battlemap, so don't skimp on the details! A special thanks to Ballor, who's studied Classical and Medieval history and has imparted his knowledge upon Siroki to help him design the battlemaps.
At sea, we've realized naval battles are both too slow and too simple. Therefore, the following will be tweaked:
- Dreadnauts gain +1 Movement, Galleons and Transports gain +2 Movement, and Frigates and Scoutships gain +3 Movement.
- Cannon numbers have been tweaked: Frigates carry 10, Galleons have 15, and Dreadnaughts can hold 20.
- HP values for ship components has been balanced. See the updated Unit Tables for all the details.
Crews have also been added. A Crew is present on every fighting ship, and their sole purpose is to repair a selected component up to 75% of its maximum HP. Some things to note:
- Each ship has 75 Crewmen at the beginning of a battle. As the ship takes damage, to any Component, Crewmen will be lost.
- Each Crewman can repair 1% of a component's maximum HP.
- Crew can only be used once a battle, and the ship cannot be moving or engaged in combat while the repairs are being made. This means the ship won't be able to do anything for 1 Battle Round, so keep that in mind. If you move your ship and attempt to begin repairs, but are interrupted by an enemy ship moving into range and attacking, the repairs will not be completed.
After a battle is completed, your ships will retain all damage they took. In the bookkeeping, simply notate it as a %/%/% (Hull/Sails/Guns) value. In order to make full repairs, you'll have to dock at a friendly Port. All repairs take 1
and will cost a variable amount of 
, 
, or 
.
Though we don't want to inconvenience anyone, we must improve the pace of the game and remember its main purpose: To keep everyone interested and active. Nothing kills the excitement like a drawn-out turn, for any reason, which is why we're recommiting to a 72-hour turn timeframe and also why the way battles are conducted needs to be re-examined.
Put simply, they need to be faster. The following changes have been made:
- As soon as possible after the MR is posted and the BMs have decided who's handling which battle(s), the BMs will contact the combatant(s) and set up a mutually beneficial timeframe - 3-6 hours - in which to fight. The idea is that battles, when long and drawn-out, lose their excitement and become boring and uninteresting. Note that you don't have to be glued to your computer during the 3-6 hours; it'll take time for the BM to process each Battle Round. However, you do have to be as responsive as possible, so that you can post as quickly as possible.
- If a battler is unable to do his battle before the next turn, then the battle will be pushed to the next month unless it's a critically important fight - such as a PvP battle, or a Capital siege - and is determined to be too crucial to delay. In that case, the turn will be delayed and the combatant(s) will have to fight as soon as possible.
- If a battler is unable to complete 5 Battle Rounds in the appointed timeframe (as defined in #1), he'll have up to 24 hours to finish it. Otherwise, the battle will be auto-resolved. The BM will make this quite clear at the end of the initial timeframe.
Duels aren't being changed so much as they're being more strictly defined and conducted. First, the following points must be stressed:
- Duels can only be fought by Champion Paragons.
- Duel challenges can be issued in the middle of a battle, but they're less likely to be answered compared to a challenge issued before any men are lost. Unless the opponent is especially honorable, don't expect a duel to save you.
Duels will focus on the skill and equipment of each participant. A new metric, Advantage, will give a general idea of who has better skill. It's calculated based on 3 things:
- Experience: +0.2 Advantage for each duel fought.
- Talent: +1 Advantage if the dueling site favors the Paragon, based on their Combat Style and weapon. For instance, a Rider needs a lot of wide, open space to be most effective, whereas a Swordsman would do better in rough terrain. However, a Duelist Champion always has +2 Advantage in Environment, since they're skilled in all types of duels.
- Combat Style: +1 Advantage if the Paragon has Style superiority (like a Spearman would against a Rider).
Once Advantage is calculated, your Paragon's equipment will be factored into the formula to determine the winner. Remember that when you train a Prodigy into a Champion, you'll detail their Primary Combat Style, armor, and weapon. This equipment will be used to determine how well the Champion does in a fight. However, all gear has a base tier of quality that can only be improved with the help of an Outfitter Scholar; see Wandering Paragons below. As you'd expect, the better the tier - up to Tier 5 - the better your chances of winning.
If you ever want to change one of your Champion's weapons or armor, the new weapon/armor will retain the quality of your old one. The only restriction is that it has to be a weapon of the same PCS; no switching from a sword to a bow, for example.
Relations will no longer act as a gatekeeper, barring which Treaties you can propose. Instead, all Treaties can be proposed at any time; Relations affects how likely the NPC is to accept. Don't worry, no Relations values will be reset or anything like that. We'll just move forward using the new system. Also, the actions that give Relations, and their effects, have been standardized. You should start noticing some defined, more consistent trends in Relations gains.
Alright. You've consumed the delicious top bun of the sandwich, and now you're at the meat: Wandering Paragons! More than 50 unique, vagrant Paragons have been added to GWX, and they're all interested in visiting one of your cities. However, you need to give them a reason to stop by, and - more importantly - stay long enough for you to talk to them. Enter: Main Street!
- Main Street: Urban regions only. A massive avenue through the heart of a city, the Main Street is lined with shops, inns, housing, government buildings, and who knows what else! It's certain to draw all sorts of people. Only 1 may be built per empire. Can support 2 Upgrades.
Cost: 4,000
| 4,000 
| 4,000 
| 4,000 
| 4,000 
| 3 
Tourney Grounds (▲1): The perfect place for wayward warriors to flaunt their skill, or just watch other people do so. Attracts Wandering Champions.
Cost: 1Embassies (▲1): Fancy and fully-furnished with all the needs a political agent might have. Attracts Wandering Ambassadors.
Cost: 1Black Market (▲1): The go-to destination for thieves and ambiguously-minded individuals looking to fence loot or look for their next job. Attracts Wandering Spymasters.
Cost: 1Guild Row (▲1): The place for Scholars to find some materials for their next big thing. Attracts Wandering Scholars.
Cost: 1
| 4,000 
| 3 So, who exactly are these Wandering Paragons? Well, they're the same as regular Paragons - they have the same abilities and benefits as their "homegrown", or Prodigy-trained, counterparts. What sets them apart is their Specialties, 3 for each Paragon Type:
CHAMPION:
- Captain: Gives a damage bonus to the Cannons of the ship they're on.
- Sentinel: Can direct a squad of siege engines to increase their Movement and/or Damage (if applicable).
- Duelist: Inherently has +2 Advantage in duels.
- Diplomat: Provides a flat bonus to NPC Acceptance Chance when proposing Treaties (more effective than Relations).
- Merchant: Excels at structuring a more favorable Trade Agreement.
- Warhawk: Devious and silver-tongued, used for manipulating enemy factions into war with each other.
- Shadow: Has improved odds of success in Observation Missions.
- Smuggler: Improved odds in Theft missions; slippery as an eel.
- Spectre: The ultimate saboteur, with improved odds in Destruction Missions.
- Outfitter: Can improve the quality of dueling equipment for Champions. Requires 1 Special Resource per upgrade.
- Artist: Can make Masterpieces to impress NPCs, improving Relations. Requires 1 Special Resource per Masterpiece.
- Mastermind: Can craft Plans to help Spymasters' success chance. Requires 1 Special Resource per Plan.
- By a Spymaster during a Theft Mission.
- Through negotiations with NPC Factions.
- By a Trader, a new type of character that can visit your empire once a Main Street is built. Traders will both buy and sell Special Resources, so if you have excess, they're your best option to get rid of it.
- By colonizing a Frontier Region.
If you want a Wandering Scholar to use his Specialty, and you currently have him assigned to help with a project, he'll stop working on the project until he's done.
Obtaining one of these Wandering Paragons is pretty straightforward. Every turn, there's a chance of one visiting your city once you have a Main Street and at least 1 of the Upgrades. Which Upgrades you build determines which Wandering Paragons will visit; you must build a Tourney Grounds to attract a Wandering Champion, for instance. Next, you'll have a conversation with the Wandering Paragon, learning a bit more about them and what they want. Then, the important part: You can hire them for a set amount of Gold, paid immediately first, then again at the beginning of every year (Rintra). This will keep them in your employment for the full length of that year.
Wandering Paragons might leave the next year for one of two reasons: If you fail to pay them, or if they decide to leave on their own. They'll never break the terms of an active contract, however.
Besides introducing Wandering Paragons, we had to make adjustments to all Paragons:
- As mentioned above, Inventors are now Scholars.
- Spymasters' effectiveness has been increased slightly; when calculating Mission success chance, they represent 1.5 Spy Dens. A Spymaster stationed in an active Spy Den can smuggle up to 1,000 troops, and Spymasters can initiate any type of Mission, regardless of how many Spy Dens are targeting a region.
- Scholars' PCC bonus has been reduced. It's now +10% for 1 Scholar, +7% for 2, and +5% for 3, with no bonus after that.
- Champions have been reworked slightly. They're equivalent to 150 troops in terms of Health and Damage. Also, instead of having a passive Morale boost, they can trigger an active Rally ability, once a battle, to significantly restore their allies' Morale. They still provide the same Damage bonus to a squad of units they attach to.
As you will have most likely noticed by now, the forums have undergone a few changes. The Shoutbox is now hidden in a collapsible element on the left side of the site; just click the "talking box" button to open/close it. The Shortcuts are now at the top of the screen, above the Navigation Tree, and there's a Calculator on the right side. A quick note about the Calculator: You can type numbers and operator symbols in, or you can click each button.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Over the next few days, the first pages of the GWX Thread will be updated to improve quality and accuracy. This process will include adding the X-Pansion information. Please don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have.
