First reviews

Mabster · 05-08-2012, 04:03 AM

IncGamers published their review of Warlock yesterday. They praise the combat mechanics, but criticize the game for poor AI and interface design. They grade the game 7/10 (good).

"Warlock is a streamlined strategy game, at a cut price, and that is absolutely no bad thing. It has a few unfortunate quirks, but if you fancy something a bit lighter and a bit more combat-focused than the usual fare, then you'll get at least a few dozen hours of entertainment from this rather enjoyable title."
http://www.incgamers.com/Reviews/134...-wizard-wheeze

amirfoox · 05-08-2012, 04:37 AM

Good insight.

OK, you can't lay low and form alliances. Fine by me. That's why it was so fun, there was always stuff to do, never a dull moment.

I have no idea why the reviewer gave it a 7, because it read like a 9. The issues he reported aren't that bad at all. Besides, as a former reviewer, myself, I know that you can't judge a game by what it ISN'T. You can't detract points just because it plays like a wargame rather than a diplomatic game. Oh well, was a good read, either way.

Orosian · 05-08-2012, 04:55 AM

Personally, I tend to trust the RPS reviews at the moment. Another five hours and I'll get a hands-on review... the best kind!

brainlego · 05-08-2012, 04:56 AM

Kinda goes against what Tom Chick thinks:

Quote:

If there’s one thing more lovely than watching an AI mount a competent defense, it’s watching the AI treat another AI player the same way it treats you. As to whether Warlock can mount a competent offense, that remains to be seen. But so far, this is exactly what an AI needs to do in a strategy game: understand the game’s design, and play accordingly.

Quoted from here.

Orosian · 05-08-2012, 05:02 AM

I do agree with the point he raises in the review about the AI though - when it badgers for alliance every turn with the same offer - that is annoying. Hopefully that's been seen to.

amirfoox · 05-09-2012, 02:12 AM

OK, here's what the reviewer says, and I quote: "(The AI) hurts itself by hurling mass-produced units at a wall at exactly the wrong time. Not exactly ideal for a game which only has single-player".

So I thought to myself when I started playing - huh, he's right. The AI does hurl useless units against my obviously superior forces which also regenerate. OK, since it's such a headache to bring units against this AI because of all the impassable terrain, I'll just ignore this eastern border and go hunt other AI's while this idiot keeps on crashing on my wall of units.

OK, 100 turns passed, I'm ignoring my eastern border which constantly hurls cheap, useless units at me, and in the meantime I'm killing stuff on my western front, viciously expanding my empire. All of a sudden a frickin' DRAGON appears from that same eastern empire I so much ignored. I immediately freeze it and pound at it. I keep handling my western expanses, when ANOTHER dragon appears, from the exact same empire. And then another. And another. And this AI's so-called cheap units? They're flanking my tough units, attacking my defenseless rear guard towers, the same ones that have to deal with all this dragon army this empire keeps throwing at me, causing me to waste mana, units, energy and time, while the western empires, the ones I just slaughtered up 'till now, regroup, and rush my western front, all while the roaming monsters get more vicious with each passing turn.

When yet ANOTHER AI empire appeared on my southern border, I realized I made a fatal mistake, which I doubt I can fix now.

So, after playing for several hours non-stop, I can honestly say that this reviewer either has no idea what he's talking about, or (most likely) he just played a few turns, saw he has a deadline, then rushed to write down his review without fully checking his facts. This game has one of the most superior battle AI's I've ever seen.

The only thing he was completely right about was the diplomacy - it's just not there at all. This is a wargame, through and through. I was foolishly thinking that the empires you create when you generate the map are there for trading and conquering, but it seems that the more empires you create simply means more adversaries you add against you, which can be problematic when you're being swarmed from nearly every direction, your resources grow dangerously thin, and prized cities you just conquered are being contested and fought over by other emerging empires.

I genuinely fear the fog of war in this game. I really am. Death keeps pouring out of it. What a rush.

overread · 05-09-2012, 03:12 AM

Actually I think the AI throwing dragons at you is still running on the same attack pattern that its lower tier units are. It's just that the top tier units in the game are expensive, but also very powerful. When mated to an AI with almost 0 unit cost and upkeep it means they can put out a lot more of them than the player can.

I think the base problem is the AI itself and refining the AI further to allow it to mount a more competent attack whilst also keeping in mind its inability to preserve units as well as a human. Maybe AI units should get double EXP so they stack up in levels faster (all units get EXP per turn even if they don't do anything - so that value doubled for the AI would make a difference to its fighting force).

Dyers Eve · 05-09-2012, 04:31 AM

Sounds about right to me. I haven't finished my first full game yet so cannot comment on the AI but they are right when they say it is a fun little TBS game. You could look at it as a simple game or as a game that gets rid of micromanaging cities just to be able to build or research.

If you like the combat system in Civ V and would like to actually use it in a fun way then Warlock is awesome. With some small AI and UI tweaks and maybe some scenarios and another race added, this game is easily an 8 or 9 out of 10.

amirfoox · 05-09-2012, 04:33 AM

Now that you've mentioned it, the AI DOES seem to have no regard to unit costs, it spawns and spawns and spawns all over the place.

That hardly seems fair, if you ask me.

ezryder914 · 05-09-2012, 05:02 AM

Has anyone else seen units materialize out of thin air? When fighting monster AI cities I would get hordes of goblins appearing around my troops. They would attack, get killed or nearly killed, and next turn retreat. Only to be replaced by a new stack of the same goblins.

Do monster cities/leaders get a spell to conjure goblin archers/spearmen? I checked the AI's perks and he only had farming and mercantile (or maybe trader, it was a money thing).

amirfoox · 05-09-2012, 05:07 AM

Yeah, the AI appears to spawn units like crazy out of thin air. Bats, rats, hordes of them.

Luckily, the AI doesn't exactly know how to keep them alive too much, or doesn't use them right. In my current game, the AI spawned about 5 groups of bats, but all they did was stay there for turn after turn, feeding my skeleton archers. Which is, perhaps, why the AI was given this cheat. It detracts from my enjoyment immensely

It does seem like maybe that reviewer did know what he was talking about, but he pinpointed the wrong issue, here.

overread · 05-10-2012, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezryder914

Has anyone else seen units materialize out of thin air? When fighting monster AI cities I would get hordes of goblins appearing around my troops. They would attack, get killed or nearly killed, and next turn retreat. Only to be replaced by a new stack of the same goblins.

Do monster cities/leaders get a spell to conjure goblin archers/spearmen? I checked the AI's perks and he only had farming and mercantile (or maybe trader, it was a money thing).

As far as I can work out the monster AI (that is the random beasts that inhabit the world) does get to random spawn monsters in the environment. This spawning increases as the game progresses (I think its tied to the turn count, but I'm not sure). Suffice to say later in the game they will spawn more wild animals to put you on your guard (this gets nasty when its the other worlds spawning dragons and throwing them at you - incinerate is a very helpful spell!)

They do spawn from the spawn points - bear caves, spider lairs - however it also appears that they can also spawn in open ground. A good thing in my book as it means that the wilds remain challenging or at least risky - as opposed to many other games where - in the late stages - the wilds are pretty much tamed.

05-08-2012, 04:03 AM	#1
Mabster Join Date: Jul 2011 Reputation: 3 Posts: 13	First reviews IncGamers published their review of Warlock yesterday. They praise the combat mechanics, but criticize the game for poor AI and interface design. They grade the game 7/10 (good). "Warlock is a streamlined strategy game, at a cut price, and that is absolutely no bad thing. It has a few unfortunate quirks, but if you fancy something a bit lighter and a bit more combat-focused than the usual fare, then you'll get at least a few dozen hours of entertainment from this rather enjoyable title." http://www.incgamers.com/Reviews/134...-wizard-wheeze

05-08-2012, 04:37 AM	#2
amirfoox Join Date: Aug 2010 Reputation: 46 Posts: 431	Good insight. OK, you can't lay low and form alliances. Fine by me. That's why it was so fun, there was always stuff to do, never a dull moment. I have no idea why the reviewer gave it a 7, because it read like a 9. The issues he reported aren't that bad at all. Besides, as a former reviewer, myself, I know that you can't judge a game by what it ISN'T. You can't detract points just because it plays like a wargame rather than a diplomatic game. Oh well, was a good read, either way. Last edited by amirfoox: 05-08-2012 at 05:04 AM.

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05-08-2012, 04:55 AM	#3
Orosian Join Date: Mar 2010 Reputation: 7 Posts: 74	Personally, I tend to trust the RPS reviews at the moment. Another five hours and I'll get a hands-on review... the best kind!

05-08-2012, 05:02 AM	#5
Orosian Join Date: Mar 2010 Reputation: 7 Posts: 74	I do agree with the point he raises in the review about the AI though - when it badgers for alliance every turn with the same offer - that is annoying. Hopefully that's been seen to.

05-09-2012, 02:12 AM	#6
amirfoox Join Date: Aug 2010 Reputation: 46 Posts: 431	OK, here's what the reviewer says, and I quote: "(The AI) hurts itself by hurling mass-produced units at a wall at exactly the wrong time. Not exactly ideal for a game which only has single-player". So I thought to myself when I started playing - huh, he's right. The AI does hurl useless units against my obviously superior forces which also regenerate. OK, since it's such a headache to bring units against this AI because of all the impassable terrain, I'll just ignore this eastern border and go hunt other AI's while this idiot keeps on crashing on my wall of units. OK, 100 turns passed, I'm ignoring my eastern border which constantly hurls cheap, useless units at me, and in the meantime I'm killing stuff on my western front, viciously expanding my empire. All of a sudden a frickin' DRAGON appears from that same eastern empire I so much ignored. I immediately freeze it and pound at it. I keep handling my western expanses, when ANOTHER dragon appears, from the exact same empire. And then another. And another. And this AI's so-called cheap units? They're flanking my tough units, attacking my defenseless rear guard towers, the same ones that have to deal with all this dragon army this empire keeps throwing at me, causing me to waste mana, units, energy and time, while the western empires, the ones I just slaughtered up 'till now, regroup, and rush my western front, all while the roaming monsters get more vicious with each passing turn. When yet ANOTHER AI empire appeared on my southern border, I realized I made a fatal mistake, which I doubt I can fix now. So, after playing for several hours non-stop, I can honestly say that this reviewer either has no idea what he's talking about, or (most likely) he just played a few turns, saw he has a deadline, then rushed to write down his review without fully checking his facts. This game has one of the most superior battle AI's I've ever seen. The only thing he was completely right about was the diplomacy - it's just not there at all. This is a wargame, through and through. I was foolishly thinking that the empires you create when you generate the map are there for trading and conquering, but it seems that the more empires you create simply means more adversaries you add against you, which can be problematic when you're being swarmed from nearly every direction, your resources grow dangerously thin, and prized cities you just conquered are being contested and fought over by other emerging empires. I genuinely fear the fog of war in this game. I really am. Death keeps pouring out of it. What a rush.

05-09-2012, 03:12 AM	#7
overread Join Date: Nov 2010 Reputation: 33 Posts: 569	Actually I think the AI throwing dragons at you is still running on the same attack pattern that its lower tier units are. It's just that the top tier units in the game are expensive, but also very powerful. When mated to an AI with almost 0 unit cost and upkeep it means they can put out a lot more of them than the player can. I think the base problem is the AI itself and refining the AI further to allow it to mount a more competent attack whilst also keeping in mind its inability to preserve units as well as a human. Maybe AI units should get double EXP so they stack up in levels faster (all units get EXP per turn even if they don't do anything - so that value doubled for the AI would make a difference to its fighting force).

05-09-2012, 04:31 AM	#8
Dyers Eve Join Date: Nov 2011 Reputation: 36 Posts: 144	Sounds about right to me. I haven't finished my first full game yet so cannot comment on the AI but they are right when they say it is a fun little TBS game. You could look at it as a simple game or as a game that gets rid of micromanaging cities just to be able to build or research. If you like the combat system in Civ V and would like to actually use it in a fun way then Warlock is awesome. With some small AI and UI tweaks and maybe some scenarios and another race added, this game is easily an 8 or 9 out of 10.

05-09-2012, 04:33 AM	#9
amirfoox Join Date: Aug 2010 Reputation: 46 Posts: 431	Now that you've mentioned it, the AI DOES seem to have no regard to unit costs, it spawns and spawns and spawns all over the place. That hardly seems fair, if you ask me.

05-09-2012, 05:02 AM	#10
ezryder914 Join Date: Dec 2009 Reputation: 0 Posts: 15	Has anyone else seen units materialize out of thin air? When fighting monster AI cities I would get hordes of goblins appearing around my troops. They would attack, get killed or nearly killed, and next turn retreat. Only to be replaced by a new stack of the same goblins. Do monster cities/leaders get a spell to conjure goblin archers/spearmen? I checked the AI's perks and he only had farming and mercantile (or maybe trader, it was a money thing).

05-09-2012, 05:07 AM	#11
amirfoox Join Date: Aug 2010 Reputation: 46 Posts: 431	Yeah, the AI appears to spawn units like crazy out of thin air. Bats, rats, hordes of them. Luckily, the AI doesn't exactly know how to keep them alive too much, or doesn't use them right. In my current game, the AI spawned about 5 groups of bats, but all they did was stay there for turn after turn, feeding my skeleton archers. Which is, perhaps, why the AI was given this cheat. It detracts from my enjoyment immensely It does seem like maybe that reviewer did know what he was talking about, but he pinpointed the wrong issue, here.