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Community Q&A: Oil Boom and Beyond!

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Greetings, Leaders!

DomiNations' Lead Designer, John Hawkins returns yet again to answer the Community's questions about the latest update, featuring the Oil Boom! Keep reading for more info that includes the Industrial Age, future Nations and more!

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Oil Boom


Q: Will oil be a new resource? if so what will happen if players who are of a lower age who get some oil in a raid? -- Jholar via the Forums
A:
Yes, oil is a new resource. Players will need an oil refinery in order to loot and collect oil.


Q: When will oil come into play.. will we start seeing it in Enlightenment or later? -- Funken_A via the Forums
A:
Oil comes into play in the Enlightenment Age.


Q: With the increasing cost to upgrade units and buildings, how is oil going to factor into the game economy to help reduce further rising costs? -- RisingFS via the Forums
A:
Players will be able to use oil on new troops, Generals (and their upgrades), defenses, and some library technologies. These were previously things that only cost food or gold.



Q: ​With the next update, do you intend to add stuff for all players or only for those who buy a lot of crowns and are in enlightment age? Because I play like everyday since the release and I only spent like 13€ but i'm actually still in Gunpowder age. So if u could put some new contents for the big majority who still are below Gunpowder age, it would be great. -- Proctor via the Forums
A: We like to add in something for everyone with each release if possible. For the Oil Boom release, in addition to the new oil content in Enlightenment Age, we also changed quite a few things for earlier ages. The biggest change is that now troops have better combat logic and will take more efficient routes when moving, focus fire more often on the same wall segment, and ranged infantry will now switch targets when enemy troops come into range. We have also significantly increased the attack and hit points of Generals, as well as buffed the nation powers of France, Germany, and Britain, amongst other changes.

For the Industrial Age release, expect to see a new Medieval Age campaign, a limited time blessing for all who update the first week of release, an increase in medals won or lost in battles, and several interface improvements.



Q: So the next age is the industrial age, but in what time period will this be exactly? Because we also saw tanks and planes and stuff, but shouldn't those be for an age after the industrial age, in which we only have things like revolvers, gatling guns and dynamite? If so, how many more ages are planned for after the industrial age and what are you gonna do after you reach the Space Age, no more game updates? -- Mr. PayDay via the Forums
A: Industrial Age covers the time period around World War I. We decided to include parts of the early Industrial Revolution in the Enlightenment Age, as part of the Oil Boom release. That way players can get their hands on oil, Factories, Gatling Guns, and Guerrillas sooner. It also ended up fitting the game pacing better, instead of introducing those things along with tanks and planes.

As for ages after Industrial Age, we have started working on the next one, and expect to keep making them as long as people are enjoying the game (including the Space Age or beyond).



Q: As for the looks, it seems, Industrial Age have some tidbits of Late XIX Century, so I ask: This age represents only World War I or it starts some decades earlier? If yes, there will be more than one upgrade per unit, right? For example, the evolving from-musket-rifleman from late 19th Century will have another upgrade to early 20th Century rifle infantry? -- David Pasquinel via the Forums
A: The Industrial Age in DomiNations represents World War I. The mid-to-late 19th century is represented in the Enlightenment Age with the Oil Boom release.


Q: Will there be a rebalancing of the economy, buildings get far too expensive for what you are able to earn in later levels. 130-150 resources per hour per farm/caravan upgrade when things cost millions is really bad. This causes raids rewards to be low and half my alliance has quit due to not wanting to spend 3 hours online to grind out a castle. -- Jholar via the Forums
A: We never like it when players quit out of frustration. We recently did two things to try to help with the economy – increased league battle bonus rewards, and increased peace treaty timers awarded from successful attacks. These changes have helped players earn more loot from battle, which should make it easier to afford upgrades. We are always evaluating costs and try to ensure they are achievable for players.



Industrial Age, Future Nations and More


Q: Will the nations shift their military focus when they reach industrial or just keep the equivalence? In Rise of Nations the civs changed from era to era, like the Romans having a killer infantry on ancient times but not being all that phenomenal when reaching the later ages. Will DomiNations follow it's footprints? -- David Pasquinel via the Forums
A: While it worked for Rise of Nations to have nations shift their military focus over time, it’s difficult to make that same adjustment in DomiNations considering all the time, resources, and in some cases money that players put into their troop upgrades. With the current unique unit paradigm we have limited ourselves to using troop types that are available in Iron Age for unique units (when nation selection is first made).

It’s been discussed to add a second unique unit to nations down the road and incorporating troop types that are unlocked later in the game as the new unique units, but there are no firm plans at this point.



Q: What are your plans to making Alliances really a thing to be worth the time, besides the little reinforcement guys? -- David Pasquinel via the Forums
A: The major feature coming for Alliances will be the ability to fight wars against other Alliances. This will happen after we release Industrial Age, but before we release the next new age. Along with this, we will add several other features for Alliances to make the overall alliance experience much smoother.


Q: Do you plan to make the unit and cities looks even more diverse? I mean, japanese horsemen using the same sprite as the chinese ones is a good makeshift solution, but well, we know that the japanese used cavalry that looked more like samurais on horses. Also, do you plan to add just a little guy rolling the ballistas and cannons? It's a bit silly seeing them rolling around like ghost-operated. -- David Pasquinel via the Forums
A: Thanks for the suggestions! We’re excited about the amount of diversity we’ve been able to pack in the game thus far. We’re always looking at ways to improve the player experience and will keep this in mind. While all nations’ units and architecture will continue to evolve as they progress through upcoming ages, we also have another big development in store that we can’t reveal just yet.. Keep an eye out!



Q: Will new nations eventually be added such Americans or Aztecs? And is there any plans to rebalance national powers, Romans are currently dominaing the charts. -- Jholar via the Forums
A: We will be adding one nation sometime soon (but after Industrial Age is released). It’s likely that more will follow, depending on how players respond to new nations being added to the game. As for rebalancing national powers, a few of the nations got a boost with the Oil Boom release, and we will continue to evaluate nation balance and make changes as necessary.


Q: Will there be a new nation like Russia? If so, tell us about it and will you make it free for the first time to swap over to the new nations? -- Napoleon I via the Forums
A: There will be at least one new nation (although more have been discussed). I can’t give many specifics about it right now, although I can say it will be from one of the existing regions in the game (Northern Europe, Mediterranean, or East Asia). I will pass on your suggestion for the cost to switch to a new nation, but I can’t promise anything.


Q: Are there any plans to introduce the opportunity for players to chose a type of government similar to how we chose a nation? -- soLicitous via the Forums
A: We discussed Governments several times over the course of development but never landed on the right implementation. Since DomiNations is a game about human history, incorporating governments is certainly fitting!


Q:
One of the things I really enjoy about this game is how the different combination of wonders and nations add variety to styles of play. Adding the ability to chose a type of government at the start of the gunpowder or enlightenment age would only build upon this variety! -- soLicitous via the Forums
A: I agree that allowing players to choose their government would add variety to the different play styles. We will strongly consider it in the future.


Q: Will there ever be any changes or additions to the resources? I can't imagine being able to hire industrial age mercenaries (or later modern/space age ones) with furs and leather... -- jaguarjones via the Forums
A: There are no new trade goods in the Industrial Age, but adding new ones is on our to do list!
 
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