#illwinter game design

[linuxgamenews]

A Journey Into Dominions 6: Unleash Your Creativity and Skill

Dominions 6 turn based 4x strategy game launches on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. All of this is possible due to the incredible creativity and skill of the team at Illwinter Game Design. Available now on Steam with 91% Very Positive reviews. Let's dive into the epic world of Dominions 6, a turn based 4x strategy title that's all about ruling your own nation and battling it out to become the ultimate god. This title isn't your usual fantasy fare on Linux; it's a blend of history, culture, and myth, making it a unique experience. As, a Pretender God, with a nation at your command. You could be anything from a mighty wizard to a colossal titan, or even a significant monument. The thing is, your choice of god and nation shapes your strengths and strategies. Your god-like abilities and the devotion of your people are key. If your followers lose faith, it's game over for you. But keep their spirits high, and your sacred warriors become even mightier. Winning in Dominions 6 is also a challenge. You've have three ways to clinch victory: take over enemy territories, wipe out their belief systems, or claim the Thrones of Ascension. These paths to victory keep every play through exciting and more riveting. Now, let's talk about the setting. Forget the usual elves and orcs; Dominions 6 takes you through a mash-up of real-world cultures and mythical lore. You could lead a group inspired by the Norse vanir, the Aztecs, or ancient Romans, or even step into the shoes of Lovecraftian entities. This title has been evolving since its first release in 2002, and it's still going strong, making it one of the longest lasting strategy series out there.

Dominions 6 - Official Trailer

This new edition ups the ante from its predecessor, Dominions 5. In Dominions 6, expect bigger battles and armies. The designers tweaked the balance between brute force and magic. You'll find that resources and incomes are up, but magic users cost more. Big, game changing spells are harder to cast, but there's a wider selection of intermediate spells to play with. One of the unique new features is the addition of the Glamour magic path. This isn't just about pulling rabbits out of hats; we're talking illusions, illusions, and the stuff of legends. This new magic path brings fresh spells, items, and locales to explore. Another big change is how cavalry units work. Now, riders and mounts are separate entities with their own stats. This might seem like a small tweak, but it really changes how you use mounted units in battle. Linux players can also play Dominions 6 in solo play, battle against others online or over LAN, team up in co-op modes both online and locally, and even play on split-screen. Plus, it offers cross-platform multiplayer, Steam Workshop support, and the ability to use Steam Play Together! Lastly, this launch also brings new nations and updates to existing ones, thanks to the new Glamour path. There are also several tweaks to make your gaming experience smoother and more fun. See the documentation page for the manuals as well as videos for beginners.

What Players are saying:

Players rave about the unique Dominions 6 scenarios, like raising undead armies or shaping dream demons, that make each game a distinct storytelling adventure. The appeal lies in its blend of simplicity in learning and depth in strategy, particularly highlighted in its multiplayer mode. While the AI may not always match human cunning, the title's community and the potential for modding promise ongoing enhancements. Veterans of the series note big upgrades in Dominions 6 over its predecessor, such as bigger battlefields, more nuanced magic systems, and intriguing new realms to explore. Despite some criticism over the price and the similarity to Dominions 5, the release is celebrated for its intricate mechanics and rich, myth inspired lore, making it a standout choice for strategy fans. So, get ready to claim your godhood in Dominions 6. It's a turn based 4x strategy adventure where history, myth, and your decisions shape the world. Available on Steam priced at $38.24 USD / £32.29 / 37,39€ with the 15% launch discount. Along with support for Linux, Mac, and Windows PC.

#dominions 6 #turn based #4x strategy #linux #gaming news #illwinter game design #ubuntu #mac #windows #pc #Youtube

[dkplayer]

Dominions 6

Пошаговая 4x-стратегия Dominions 6 от команды разработчиков Illwinter Game Design выходит на Linux, Mac и Windows PC. Игра уже доступна на Steam с 91% положительных отзывов.

https://www.gamebuntu.ru/review/dominions-6/

#steam #пошаговая #стратегия #Обзоры

[scaplays]

Dominions 5: MA Jotunheim (turn 40-43) Do The Logistical Shuffle

Games often eventually descend into these tarpits of backing-and-forthing, but you can still make progress! Also, oof, my busted wrist is still making it really hard to edit and produce these videos = _ =

Dominions 5: Warriors of the Faith is one of the most deep and complex  multiplayer games around. Follow along as I take part in a twelve-person  match, playing out over months, with all the wizard nonsense,   diplomatic backstabbery, and colossal mistakes that entails.  

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Youtube  -  In-depth let’s play episodes published Mon/Wed/Fri Twitch     -  Regular streams Mon/Wed/Fri at 7:00 PM UK time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - https://twitter.com/SelfCritAuto https://www.patreon.com/SelfCriticalAutomaton https://ko-fi.com/selfcriticalautomaton   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   Also, I started a discord server for announcements about when I’m streaming! https://discord.gg/KWHYDCmR - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    

#dominions #dominions 5 #illwinter #Illwinter Game Design #strategy #turn based #multiplayer #lets play #youtube #video

[hardcore-gaming-101]

Top 47K - Conquest of Elysium 4

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the Nethack of Fantasy 4X games and cower in fear of giant stone age elk.

#Hardcore Gaming 101 #podcast #top 47858 games of all time #conquest of elysium 4 #illwinter design group #video games #audio

[sporadicstudentexpert]

Dominions 4: Thrones Of Ascension Download Free

Free Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension steam key. Free Steam KEYS! Free Steam Games. Steam Giveaways. Free games to download. You are master and ruler of a loyal nation. You have unimaginable powers at your disposal. You have claimed this world as yours. But there are others who stand in your way. You must defeat and destroy these pretenders. Free Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension steam key. Free Steam KEYS! Free Steam Games. Steam Giveaways. Free games to download. You are master and ruler of a loyal nation. You have unimaginable powers at your disposal. You have claimed this world as yours. But there are others who stand in your way.

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Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension Free Download PC Game Cracked in Direct Link and Torrent. Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension – You are a God! You are master and ruler of a loyal nation. You have unimaginable powers at your disposal. You have claimed this world as yours…..

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Game Overview

Illwinter Game Design

Illwinter Game Design

5 Dec, 2013

Strategy, Turn-Based, RPG

You are a God! You are master and ruler of a loyal nation. You have unimaginable powers at your disposal. You have claimed this world as yours. But there are others who stand in your way. You must defeat and destroy these pretenders. Only then can you ascend to godhood and become the new Pantokrator.

In Dominions you take control of a powerful being that rules a nation and aspires to godhood. The type of Pretender Gods can vary from magically powerful arch mages to huge titans or large monuments. The pretender gods have different strengths dependent on what kind of god you choose and what nation you play.

When you start the game you decide what kind of god you are and how your Dominion affects your lands and followers. It is an expression of your divine might and the faith of your followers. If your dominion dies, so do you. Your dominion also inspires your sacred warriors and gives them powers derived from your dominion.

In order to win and become the one true god you have to defeat your enemies one of three different ways: conquer their lands, extinguish their dominion or claim the Thrones of Ascension.

In Dominions 4 you can also play team games where one of the players take the role of supreme god, and the other members of the team are his servants and loyal subjects. The lesser gods rule their nations, but you all share the dominion of the supreme god.

Dominions is set in a fantasy world that draws inspiration from historical nations, cultures and myths. You will not encounter the elves of conventional fantasy in this game. Instead you might lead a nation of vanir from old norse myth. Aztecs, romans, israelites, greeks, shona and kievian rus are just a few of the inspirational sources of the game.

The first Dominions game was released in 2002 and was well received by strategy gamers. Since then Dominions has been much refined and Dominions series is still actively played making it one of the longest running 4x turn based strategy games.

System Requirement

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7

Processor: 1 GHz

Memory: 1024 MB RAM

Storage: 500 MB available space

Download HERE

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PRICE

$34.99100% OFF

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Additional information

Dec 5, 2013

All games, Best sellers, Indie, Most wanted, New games, Newest, Popular, Recently Sold, Strategy

German, Spanish, French, English, Italian

Instructions to activate Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension cd key free

(1) Launch Steam and log into your Steam account. (2) Click the Games Menu. (3) Choose Activate a Product on Steam. (4) Follow the onscreen instructions to activate Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension key. After successful code verification go to the 'MY GAMES' tab and start downloading.

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Dominions 4 Thrones Of Ascension

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You are a God! You are master and ruler of a loyal nation. You have unimaginable powers at your disposal. You have claimed this world as yours. But there are others who stand in your way. You must defeat and destroy these pretenders. Only then can you ascend to godhood and become the new Pantokrator.In Dominions you take control of a powerful being that rules a nation and aspires to godhood. The type of Pretender Gods can vary from magically powerful arch mages to huge titans or large monuments. The pretender gods have different strengths dependent on what kind of god you choose and what nation you play.When you start the game you decide what kind of god you are and how your Dominion affects your lands and followers. It is an expression of your divine might and the faith of your followers. If your dominion dies, so do you. Your dominion also inspires your sacred warriors and gives them powers derived from your dominion.In order to win and become the one true god you have to defeat your enemies one of three different ways: conquer their lands, extinguish their dominion or claim the Thrones of Ascension.In Dominions 4 you can also play team games where one of the players take the role of supreme god, and the other members of the team are his servants and loyal subjects. The lesser gods rule their nations, but you all share the dominion of the supreme god.Dominions is set in a fantasy world that draws inspiration from historical nations, cultures and myths. You will not encounter the elves of conventional fantasy in this game. Instead you might lead a nation of vanir from old norse myth. Aztecs, romans, israelites, greeks, shona and kievian rus are just a few of the inspirational sources of the game.The first Dominions game was released in 2002 and was well received by strategy gamers. Since then Dominions has been much refined and Dominions series is still actively played making it one of the longest running 4x turn based strategy games.Dominions 4 is also a highly moddable game. You can create your own monsters, spells and entire nations. Since Dominions 3 there has been a vivid modding community and Dominions 4 will enhance this capability even further.

Dominions 4: Thrones Of Ascension Download Free Version

Dominions 4: Thrones Of Ascension Download Free Download

Source: steampowered.com

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7

Processor: 1 GHz

Memory: 1024 MB RAM

Storage: 500 MB available space

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[pymouscom]

Some fully painted maps (Peliwyr, Snerdryn, Biddyn) I designed for Illwinter Dominions 5 PC game. Made also the winter version of each map (each province display ingame either the summer or winter version as function of provinces temperature each turn) . All the maps wraparound horizontally and vertically (for gameplay reasons). #rpgmap #boardgame #cartographyart #mapdrawing #mappainting #digitalpainting #fantasypainting #fantasymap #dominions #gamemap #mapmaking #worldbuilding https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt3yo_THxCT/?igshid=fwnw548bl5bb

#rpgmap #boardgame #mapdrawing #mappainting #digitalpainting #dominions #gamemap #mapmaking #worldbuilding #fantasypainting #fantasymap #fantasyworld #cartographyart #cartography #map #fantasy

[gamesdownload-blog]

Dominions 5 Warriors of the Faith Free Download

Dominions 5 Warriors of the Faith Free Download

Dominions 5 Warriors of the Faith Free Download

Dominions 5 – Warriors of the Faith Free Download PC Game Cracked in Direct Link and Torrent. Dominions 5 – Warriors of the Faith is a deep 4x turn based strategy game.

Dominions 5 – Warriors of the Faith PC Game Overview:

Dominions 5 – Warriors of the Faith is developed and published by Illwinter Game Design. It was released in 27 Nov, 2017.

You are a God! You are master and ruler of a loyal nation. You have unimaginable powers at your disposal. You have claimed this world as yours. But there are others who stand in your way. You must defeat and destroy these pretenders. Only then can you ascend to godhood and become the new Pantokrator.

In Dominions you take control of a powerful being that rules a nation and aspires to godhood. The type of Pretender Gods can vary from magically powerful arch mages to huge titans or large monuments. The pretender gods have different strengths dependent on what kind of god you choose and what nation you play.

When you start the game you decide what kind of god you are and how your Dominion affects your lands, followers and sacred soldiers. It is an expression of your divine might and the faith of your followers. If your dominion dies, so do you. Your dominion also inspires your sacred warriors and gives them powers derived from your dominion.

In order to win and become the one true god you have to defeat your enemies one of three different ways: conquer their lands, extinguish their dominion or claim the Thrones of Ascension.

  System Requirement for Dominions 5 – Warriors of the Faith Free Download:

Minimum:

OS: Windows XP or later

Processor: 1 GHz

Memory: 2 GB RAM

Storage: 560 MB available space

[pcgamesnew]

Dominions 5 Warriors of the Faith Free Download

Dominions 5 – Warriors of the Faith Free Download PC Game Cracked in Direct Link and Torrent. Dominions 5 – Warriors of the Faith is a deep 4x turn based strategy game.

Dominions 5 – Warriors of the Faith PC Game Overview:

Dominions 5 – Warriors of the Faith is developed and published by Illwinter Game Design. It was released in 27 Nov, 2017.

You are a God! You are master and ruler of a loyal…

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[teknoloskop]

Dominions 5 İnceleme ve Sistem Gereksinimleri

Dominions 5, Illwinter Game Design tarafından geliştirilip yayınlanan bağımsız bir yapım. Türkiye’de pek bilinmeyen Strateji türündeki bu serinin yeni oyunu henüz piyasaya çıktı. Dominions 5 inceleme ve nasıl bir oyun olduğunu anlatan bir yazı olacak. Eğer strateji türünü seviyorsanız bu oyun kesinlikle ilginizi çekecektir.

Dominions serisi oldukça eski bir seri. Serinin bir önceki oyunu Dominion…

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[pcinvasion-blog]

New Post has been published on PC Invasion

New Post has been published on http://www.pcinvasion.com/illwinter-game-design-on-conquest-of-elysium-4-dominions-4

Interviewing Illwinter: The Creators of Dominions and Conquest of Elysium

Somewhere deep in the dusty snow-topped mountains of Scandinavia, two men have sat in a dark cave programming videogames together for over two decades. At least, I imagine it’s something like that. Illwinter Game Design is the tiny little Swedish game studio who’ve made arguably one of the most complex fantasy grand strategy games in existence – Dominions 4.

Since they’ve just released the fourth installment of their other more casual, pick-up-and-play roguelike series – Conquest of Elysium – we thought it might be a decent time to have a chat with them. So I grew a beard, typed up some questions, and sent a variety of messages into the night to see if Illwinter’s Johan Karlsson and Kristoffer Osterman could be reached. I’m not sure if it was the carrier pigeon or the email which they paid attention to, but somehow we got hold of them for a chat.

Full audio recording is here for those who want it. Otherwise, the juicy bits are summarised in text form below.

PC Invasion: You tend to make extremely complex games, how do you go about making games like that?

Kristoffer Osterman: We start with an idea that sounds fun and interesting. Then we start to try and make it working; something that’s possible. Once you have a basic game you and add stuff, add more stuff and test it. The games tend to grow organically with time. We rarely have a plan on how we want the game to evolve; it’s what feels fun at the moment.

PCI: When I spoke to Toady of Dwarf Fortress fame he mentioned that he developed in that kind of way; having ideas he thought were fun and interesting, implementing them and going from there. It sounds like you do something similar.

KO: Yeah, that’s right. We both like Dwarf Fortress and play it quite a bit; it’s a great game.

Conquest of Elysium 4, the latest in the series.

PCI: How would you describe Conquest of Elysium compared to Dominions?

KO: It’s a simpler game; more casual; a little bit quicker. Dominions has a lot of possibilities which was made to be played over email originally, but COE is made for hot seat games or quick paced games. We never intended COE to be as… serious as Dominions. COE is a lot simpler and easier to understand. The gameplay is quite different.

COE is more of an exploration game.

Johan Karlsson: I agree at that COE is easier to master. We don’t stand much chance in competitive Dominions games, but I think we have a good chance in COE.

PCI: I have to admit that when I first came across your games I was almost put off by the graphical style. But after playing for a while I began to find it charming. Is that something you find a lot in your fan base?

KO: It seems quite common that people are put off at first, but over time the images start to grow on them and they like it more. I think they are representative enough that you can know that this is this kind of troop and this one is another kind of troop and you start to know what is what. They represent something and you start to understand what they represent.

Most of the gamers who play Dominions are probably people who’ve liked strategy games and people who aren’t too discouraged by playing Dwarf Fortress or roguelikes or other games without advanced graphics. I think most of the ones who play COE and Dominions are not that into graphics; or they may thing they are… but we tend to focus on gameplay and I think that’s where we shine.

It might not look like much to you, but this could be an historic Dominions 4 battle for the player.

PCI: It must be difficult to balance such complex games like this, how do you go about that?

JK: Dominions is very multiplayer orientated, so we had to try to balance it somewhat at least because we wanted to play it ourselves and it can’t be too unbalanced. COE on the other hand is mostly a single player game, so we’ve put less effort into balancing there.

KO: And since the game can be really random, quite unfair at times – one game you lose in 10 turns, another game you conquer the whole world, another game you come halfway across the world and then get slaughtered – so it’s a bit roguelike. You start a game and you see how it develops. It’s more casual. You don’t invest as much time and it’s fun while it lasts.

In Dominions you might invest hundreds of hours in a game that lasts half a way and if that’s unbalanced you might feel dissatisfied but in COE it doesn’t really matter, you just start a new game.

PCI: How do you find working in such a small team?

JK: I like being a small team; I wouldn’t want a much larger team. It wouldn’t be fun to be a product manage or anything. Maybe we could have a guy doing the sound effects because no-one enjoys that.

KO: Basically we know each other and what we are good at, and what we like. If we included 40 new people, it sounds almost scary.

The more casual of the two it may be, but COE4 is no slouch in the stats department.

PCI: You have a reputation for releasing a lot of updates post-release. What can you say about that?

JK: There are often a few features that aren’t quite ready when we release it, but we’re almost constantly developing things and coming up with new ideas.

KO: Since we play the game and find new things we’d like to add then we add them. If we’ve added them in our version it seems unfair that other people can’t play the new stuff that we added.

PCI: It seems like Desura, the digital distribution platform you originally used before Steam, have been having some problems recently. You’ve put the price of Dominions 4 on there up to a point that no-one will buy it [$134.99]. Can you talk a bit about that?

JK: They really haven’t told us anything, but I know they’re going bankrupt. They don’t seem active any longer and they don’t respond to anything.

We can’t really remove the game from the server without preventing those who’ve bought it from re-downloading it if they want, so we put the price up instead.

But I suspect that Desura will be gone soon anyway. Anyone who’s bought our games there might want to consider getting it on Steam. It’s a shame because we really like the Desura forums.

Conquest of Elysium 4 and Dominions 4 are currently available for download on Steam.

#Conquest of Elysium 4 #Dominions 4 #Illwinter Game Design

[linuxgamenews]

Dominions 5 - Warriors of the Faith coming soon

Dominions 5 - Warriors of the Faith development has been going on for quite a while now. So the game is getting close to finished for Linux, Mac and Windows. Therefore, if everything goes according to plan. The fantasy turn-based strategy will release on Steam, coming November 27, 2017. Below is a list of some major things that are different in the new Dominions 5. Which is going to be available for every multiplayer option. So local split screen to online cross-platform multiplayer coming with the 2017 release. Combat in Dominions 5 differs quite a bit from how it was in the previous Dominions games. So now all units do their actions simultaneously. Therefore units will move at the same time as enemy arrows and spells go flying. With the simultaneous move it is no longer important who reaches whom first. The units reach each other simultaneously and it is random which one gets to strike first. Large battles are now much quicker to watch as they do not take much longer to watch than the smaller ones, but the slow motion replay speed can be useful to take in all that is happening. For those that want all the details there are also detailed battle logs. Since these are available for each unit. So you can see where all the damage came from. New for Dominions 5 is that a God's bless effects sees customization, in detail. So this gives a new set of choices for the aspiring Gods. Battles have also receive a major change. And now feature simultaneous movement for all of the games participating units. Fireballs and arrows will now fly at the same time as everyone is moving. Or watching large battles will be quicker than before.

Dominions 5 New Features:

Real time combat

Per unit combat logs

Design your pretender's bless effect

Priest's banishment and smite spells will depend on what type of god he follows

History playback when game is over, see how dominion spread and provinces changed owners

New random maps with bridges and better looking terrains

New resource system with recruitment points that encourages recruiting in highly populated areas

Fortifications built by starting at the basic type, then upgrading it later

New research queue, researching is now one school at a time

New movement system

Winter shown on map and affects movement

Dominion overlay on map to clearly show its boundaries

New retreat system, good leaders can prevent units from dispersing in all directions

Updated user interface with information more clearly presented than before

New 3d-engine with better looking terrain, huge performance increase for good graphics cards

More reliable network, now works on less than perfect connections too

New nations

Some old nations have been reworked and updated

Linux, Mac and Windows support

More spells, magic items, special abilities, events, monsters, titles, thrones, ....

Since I cannot cover every detail for Dominions 5. The games coming to Steam on November 27, 2017. So do note, this "will be released simultaneously on Linux, Windows and Mac OS X as usual."

#dominions 5 #turn based #strategy #linux #gaming news #illwinter game design #mac #windows #pc #steam

[mancavedaily]

Take Your Turn at 'Conquest of Elysium 3'

Take Your Turn At Conquest of Elysium 3

Conquest of Elysium 3has a simple mission statement: conquer the world! Take control of a warlord (selecting from many different classes) and defeat all the others. That sounds simple, except achieving this differs depending on who you “are” — e.g., the Necromancer would be interested in finding graveyards and old battlefields on his way to get a huge army, while the Troll King would yawn at such…

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#Conquest of Elysium 3 #H.P. Lovecraft #Illwinter Game Design #Johan Karlsson #Rome

[gizorama]

%title%

http://www.gizorama.com/computer/pc/dominions-4-thrones-of-ascension-review/

Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension Review

Game Info

Developer: Illwinter Game Design Review Platform: PC (Desura) Review Copy Provided By: Illwinter Game Design Release Date: October 10, 2013

Review

This review has been late in coming. Somehow, every time I sit down to write it, I found myself opening Dominions 4 and wanting to make “just one more move.” Then a portal through time would somehow open up and I would come out of a trance at 3 A.M. with another empire destroyed, but nothing actually written. Luckily, I’ve managed to take screenshots during these gaming sessions, otherwise the only record I would have of that time is the stories of empires that have been subdued in my head.

Dominions 4 is the latest installment in the Dominions game series, a series which has a cult-like following of people who relish the meta game of strategy games. In Dominions, you can win a battle through sheer numbers, by blessing a small group of elite soldiers that can fly behind enemy lines, by cursing enemy leaders so that they are marked for death by Horrors from the netherworld, or any number of other methods. The sheer volume of spell effects means that there is a counter to any tactic, as well as a counter-counter, and a counter-counter-counter… you get the idea. There are global enchantments that can cover the world in darkness, which you might want to try if most of your units can see in the dark. There are flying chimeras that breathe poison gas. There are blood slaves that you can round up and sacrifice for powerful magic effects. I’ve only come to really use about half of the possible magic research tree in the month I’ve been playing this. There’s still so many spells to mix and match, to see which combination can provide unparalleled success. So far, I have yet to find one strategy that is “overpowered”. It’s because where other games have rock-paper-scissors strategy, Dominions has entire ecosystems of counter-strategies.

Here I am getting my ass handed to me on “Difficult.”

Starting a game in Dominions 4 can be more intimidating than actually playing it. First, you choose the age that you play in, which affects available nations to play. Think of it as cross-section of Dominions history – before, during, or after certain nations have risen or fallen. Do you want to be an ancient kingdom of lizardmen who turn conquered territory into rotting marshlands where only they can survive? How about a race of cave-dwelling humans who ride cave drakes into battle? There are about 75 nations to choose from, and they each have their own strengths and weaknesses, but nothing so absolute that you are at immediate disadvantages based on race alone.

Look, you can be a dragon! Or a rock…?

Next comes possibly the most crucial part of the pre-game setup – choosing a Pretender. The objective in Dominions 4 is to dominate all other nations so that your “Pretender” may lay claim to true godhood. Your available Pretenders greatly vary based on the background and history of your nation. That kingdom of lizardmen? Their pretender might be a Great Sauromancer with powerful magic, or a Devourer of Souls, who devours the souls of anything it can get its jaws on. A nation of Asyrians might have a god who is constantly wreathed in flames, and set troops who approach him on fire. There are also immobile gods – statues who grant research or magic bonuses to nations.

Like a mermaid, but spawns monsters and kills everything around her with a poison cloud.

Actually playing Dominions 4 is relatively straightforward. You have two basic unit types: commanders and regular units. Commanders can each lead a certain amount of troops, and are usually either magic-users, priests, or fighters with great martial prowess. Commanders allow you to set up the formations and battle commands of your squads, while also providing morale bonuses, blessings, magic boosts, or other assistance. They are crucial for gameplay, as if you have no commanders, you have no way to manage your troops, or even move them from province to province.

Where Dominions 4 shines is its battle system. Battles are automatic, with numerous factors that tie in to how a battle goes. Troops can get diseased, permanently wounded, and even scared off the battlefield. For example, if your enemy is fielding a terrifying monster and your commander can’t inspire your troops well enough, the enemy might drive your troops back further into your territory without ever firing a shot. Or your Pretender might get wounded and walk with a limp for the rest of its days, slowing its movement. So, when you’re arranging your army’s formations, you have to consider more than just troop power; almost every battle will require some tweaking. When fighting undead troops, it’d be wiser to have a commander attempt to banish masses of them, rather than trying to smite them one at a time. But that same spell that is so effective against the undead will have no effect on living enemies, so having them use the same spells would just be a waste of turns. Combat is turn-based, so there is a certain amount of predicting what your opponent’s armies are going to do. It’s like a massive game of chess, except that you can get an upper hand by having more information about the capabilities your opponent’s army has.

Winter is Coming.

You can also turn the game in your favor outside of the battlefield. I personally prefer to stealthily assassinate enemy commanders before moving in my main forces. If units don’t have a commander on the field, they blob up into a big group, and are much easier to route. That’s just one of many ways that you can win, however. There are horror marks, which make the receiver of the mark subject to regular attacks from demons. There are also global enchantments, which require a huge amount of research and materials, but also semi-permanent, epic results that last until the caster is killed, or the enchantment is dispelled by an enemy (usually at huge prices). The enchantment Utterdark throws the world into darkness, reducing almost all productivity, and causing shadows to attack enemy territories. Celestial Rainbow is a global enchantment that creates large amounts of gold in the two provinces that it targets, and can also make enemy spells fail. Blood Vortex creates a huge pool of blood that lures civilians all around the world into it, increasing access to blood slaves (for those who practice foul blood magic). There’s many global enchantments to upset that game in your favor, but they take a lot of research, which can only be done through mages.

For the most part, Dominions 4 is very similar in gameplay to Dominions 3. However, in Dominions 3, all provinces had to be conquered to declare yourself a true god. Here, Dominions 4 thankfully makes a departure. Thrones of Power are randomly scattered around the map, and if you can take all of these, you can win the game. There are even victory options for holding a certain percentage of thrones for maps with more players, or just so you don’t have to take that pesky underwater throne.  As Dominions can be a game that becomes monotonous towards the end game, this helps with that a lot. It also adds a bit more overall strategy regarding which provinces to conquer. Aside from production, gold, magic, luck, and other terrain features, players are all going to have to make their way towards the thrones of power.

Score: 4/5

Overall, Dominions 4 is definitely worth the $35 price tag. Research has been done into the myth and legend of real civilizations, and a lot of Dominions lore is based on fables from ancient Earth history. You might even learn something while you play! It’s entertaining enough to wreak havoc on the computer, but if you can get a friend to learn the game, or play with other people on the Dominions 4 forums, you’ll have a really fun time.

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