preview

[m0lok0plus]

there's a new preview of conquests on http://www.videogames.com (gamespot)

[Theseus]

WOW!!!

Holy...

Sounds great.

[History Guy]

Woah! Best yet!

Good screens, very good screens. Lots of info. This actually does look impressive.

[Rhothaerill]

Cool! Thanks for the info m0lok0plus.

It looks like they have taken to heart a lot of the things that have been discussed in the forums here. Two new civ traits, scientific GL's for the builder strategy, two 'old' governments, etc.

The only thing I'm wondering about is the comment about keeping multiplayer separate. Does this include PBEM games as well?

[Theseus]

And irrigating mountains, and lots of other stuff.

Crap city placement though.

[History Guy]

THE RUN DOWN

- New leaderheads include what appears to be either the Incan or the Mayan leader, but more likely the former. Another leaderhead looks quite Polynesian.

- As shown earlier, the Incan special unit is the Chasqui Scout, but now it's 2/1/1!

- We've got a Sumerian screen showing Enkidus in action. They are actually spearman with 2/2/1!

- The Hittite Three-Man Chariot is shown in a screen, along with three other units. Two appear to be from scenarios, but I'm not sure about the last. It shows a distinctly Iberian-looking pikeman. If the Portuguese are a civ, they seem to be the UU.

- The Swamp terrain is shown very clearly.

- The Chinese appear to have more cities.

- Troublingly, however, the Sumerians appear to be Expansionistic. In the scenario in which they appear (apart from the game, for they are also a civ), they build a Burial Mound. The Mesopotamia Scenario includes as civs the Phoenicians. They are commercial and expansionists, ruled by Hiram, but are not regular civs. They begin with Pottery, Wood Working, and Shipbuilding. They build as UUs the Curraghs, small ships. Also included as civs are: Sumeria, Egypt, Mycenae, Babylon, Phoenicia, Hatti and Medea... No ISRAEL??! Wonder victories are allowed. The Phoenicians have a monopoly in... The Cedars of Lebanon!!! Wonders include the Temple of Artemis. Other technologies include Animal Domestication, Chariotry, Sailing, Cuneiform, Mining, Diplomacy, Oligarchy, Stone Working, Irrigation, Epic Work Projects... Ages include the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

- In the Mesoamerican scenario, we have exotic birds, alpacas, and jade shown. Also, ritual sacrifice improves cultural ratings, and Codex, Stela, and Ball Court are improvements. Civs include the Mochi. New techs include Terrace Farming (allowing irrigation on hills or mountains), Celestial Knowledge, Pack Animal, Military Tactics, Mummification, Body Ornamentation, Blood Cult...

- The Sengoku Campaign is very impressive looking. Ninjas, techs, the whole deal. You can trade with Portugal to get gunpowder and arquebusiers. Bushido is a tech. The Oda, Imagawa, Takeda, Uesgui, Hojo, Urakami, Mogami, Date, and Saito, like the Mori, are civs for this scenario. Improvements include treasuries, Non-Kyogen Theaters, Fief Establishments and archives. Units include Magistrates, Samurai Spearmen, Samurai Archers, and Siege Crossbows!

- The WWII scenario, thank heavens, includes the Japanese. The Japanese, ruled by Hirohito, have the Hiryu, a very large aircraft carrier. The Chinese, controlled by Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek, can build MG Battalion. It looks as though Divine Wind is a tech for the Japanese, so I'm guessing that means Kamikaze modes for air units.

- Fixed Diplomacy is in!

[CerberusIV]

Did anyone else notice the reference to a "silent hunter" in the mesoamerican scenario and the hint at some sort of stealth ability for land units (also the ninjas in the Sengoku scenario).

I wonder just how that is going to work. The lack of special forces units/abilities has been a disappointment until now IMHO. I hope it is more than just the existing hidden nationality and invisible abilities.

[asleepathewheel]

Wow, this expansion looks very impressive. Can't wait. love the new traits and the sacrificing in the maya scenario. hehe

[History Guy]

Cerberus,

I think this means that this unit can become invisible (only visible to the Sokei Warrior Monk, in fact), and that the Ninja can then prey on the enemy without being seen. Also, they can attack stacks and aim for a specific unit in that stack without being engaged by the others.

[TheArsenal]

Unfortunately, I will have to wait until I get home to read this (although I saw the screen shots, very, cool, very promising). My work computer blocks Gamespot (but oddly, only certain parts of Apolyton) as falling in the dreaded forbidden "Games" category.

[Danarchy]

Originally posted by History Guy - We've got a Sumerian screen showing Enkidus in action. They are actually spearman with 2/2/1!

I hope there is something that differentiates them from Numidian Mercenaries. It would be kind of lame for two Civs to have virtualy the same UU.

Improvements include treasuries, Non-Kyogen Theaters, Fief Establishments and archives.

I think that's Noh-Kyogen, but I could be wrong.

The game looks rockin'. I'm definately going to buy this when it arrives.

[The_Aussie_Lurker]

Take heart, Danarchy, 'cause the preview also mentions that ALL the unique units are being 're-jigged' (my words, not theirs ) to make them far more useful. This will, I feel, make the chance of two UU's being the same almost impossible!! Also, for everyone else, Trip has hinted in another thread that ALL features available in Scenarios (like Slaves, Sacrifice, Natural Disasters etc) are available in the Editor!!! You sly old dog, Trip . It all sounds GREAT to me !!!!

Yours,
The_Aussie_Lurker

[History Guy]

Hopefully this means that they change Bowman around, otherwise the Enkidu Warrior will match perfectly...

[Dr. A. Cula]

Is it me or does one of those screenshots show a volcano in action? From that picture I also understand that volcanoes will be responsible for some polution. That will make the game interesting.

I hope this means they have some sort of events mechanism implemented. I'd hate having to spend 6000 years cleaning up after the same active volcano.

[Slax]

The Central America scenario shows a city founded on a mountain.