…A few quick notes…

The point of DEVELOPER journals and the early Elemental beta is to let people, like ourselves, who are hungry for this type of game to be made the opportunity to participate in the kinds of “design meetings” that are typically closed to the public.

A typical BETA program in the modern sense is more of a late-game marketing exercise designed to help provide good publicity. This is not one of those betas.

When these developer journals are posted, the idea is to solicit feedback, ideas, and concepts from you guys.  But too often, I get the distinct impression that people think that we are TELLING users how things are going to be rather than talking with users.  These journals are not designed to be “previews” (unless they actually say that somewhere).

…So with that in mind…

In this discussion, we got some great ideas.

Here are some general thoughts on that feedback in no particular order:

1. Your sovereign (the channeler) should be customized in ways that are fairly unique.  That is, you pick attributes that are not easily modified in game.
2. The presentation of customization should not be spread-sheet like but rather presented like we’re creating a biography of a person.  After all, the sovereign didn’t just materialize. Let’s create a history for him and that history walks us through what he’s good at. 

A player is trying to give a history to their channeler.

History

• Mason. (provides construction bonus in cities he’s in, gains access to unique tech)
• Warlord. (increases combat effectiveness of army he is with, gets special equipment)
• Merchant. (increases wealth produced in city he is in, gains access to special improvements).
• Bard. (increases moral of any army he is with, heroes easier to recruit)

Talents

• Brilliant. Increases research in any town he is in.
• Diplomatic. Increased diplomatic ability.
• Shrewd. Superior at negotiating deals.
• Lucky. Random events go your way more often.
• Organized. Decreases movement penalty for larger armies.
• Intimidating. Decreases enemy morale in combat.

Weaknesses (give points back to pick more items)

• Stubborn. Is more likely to not escape from a battle that goes badly.
• Unlucky. Random events tend to not go your way.
• Blunt. Increases difficulty in recruiting allies.

These are some examples.