Larian Studios Forums Dragon Commander Dragon Commander - Beta Stabbey's Bugs and General feedback thread.

"Divinity: Dragon Commander Beta - 66 Hours played"

Some vague thoughts after a long hot, tiring day, so keep in mind I'm tired. hot and cranky:

I really hope the next build is more stable. The current build has got high odds of crashing during an RTS match. There's no hope of completing a campaign. I'm sending in the files after every problem, but I think I'm done playing until the next patch


I might have played a bit too much. I think I'm getting a bit sick of playing from the same starting campaign position against the same AI which does the same research on the campaign map (and any research it darn well pleases on the RTS map, patch be damned), and I'm really getting sick of seeing Falcon's Rocks come up in rotation so often.

My apologies to the designer of Falcon's Rocks, but I audibly groan every time I see the map show up. That's not a good sign. But don't worry, put-upon map designer, I will help fix your map!


Falcon's Rocks

I'm sure I've said this before and I'm sure that I'll say it again in the future: this is not a good map.

This map is probably the biggest reason why I hesitate to use my Ironclad/Transport/Juggernaut Mercenary cards, because if I end up using them on this map, I feel like I just completely wasted them.

It plays out the same way: Send troops to the corners, creep up the edges and lay siege to the base. Everyone's troops have to move in straight lines. The large bodies of water make the map static.

Water should make the map more dynamic. It should add something. It should add new possibilities, new approaches. Look at the water on every other map save Emerald Mountain. Water gives you different approaches of attack and/or move units. The water on Falcon's Rocks constricts the map into straight lines. You can leave your base in two directions - to the far corner or the middle. Once in the middle, you can go to the far end, or continue to the near corner. That's it.

There is no reason to try and hold the middle of the map. Even the AI knows not to bother with the middle. No Resource Sites and all the other Construction Sites are at the edges. - all that's in the middle are the pretty useless shipyards. Well... maybe not useless, you can build Aerofactories on them at least. What can you build with a Shipyard?


Transports
Transports can move your troops, with the aid of stealth if needed, remove mines, and kamikaze into enemy ships.

Falcon's Rocks does not let you move your troops in any special way by water. I tried to load some troops from my base onto a Transport. The troops couldn't board, so they followed the cliff down quite a way, basically to the center strip of land. So if I were to use a Transport, I could move my troops in a straight line from the bottom of the strip of land up to the top of it, exactly the same way my troops would move without a Transport. If you control a shipyard, you have no mines or other ships to worry about. If you don't, then what can your transport do? Maybe move some troops past the center to the other side.


Ironclads
Ironclads have two roles: destroying enemy air and enemy naval units. They might provide an okay defense of home against air attack, maybe. But they have no anti-naval role at all because if you control one shipyard, you control both. Can they plant or detect mines? No need, because if you control one shipyard, you control both.


Juggernauts
Juggernauts are water-based siege weapons. What can they reach? Mostly the strip of land in the middle. Can they siege a enemy base? Maybe, I think I spent a few minutes trying and eventually with a bunch of upgrades I was able to hit an enemy Recruitment center, but the cliffs make sieging difficult, and of course, if you have the middle, you don't really need to use it.


Approximately 40% of the map is taken up by these huge lakes that construct the space into straight lines, and you can't really even use the lakes to your advantage!

If you start out with water units (or worse, spent some mercenary cards to get water units), you can't really use them for anything. This map is probably one of the biggest reasons why I am reluctant to play any potentially valuable Naval unit cards in Campaign mode.



How to fix Falcon's Rocks?
I've got a few ideas. Are they good? I don't know.


1) Give each base their own Shipyard site. This will let you move troops around with more flexibility than "go north" or "go east", opening up the map for more dynamic play and flanking possibilities, both offensively and defensively. This will require reworking the terrain so that the cliffs are less huge at the bases, though.

2) Connect the lakes together. Possibly even make them circular. The map opens up even more, and water actually becomes the centerpiece feature of the map, instead of the centerpiece obstacle. There can be dynamic battles between ships. Ironclads will be of use and able to plant mines. Possibly add bridges to maintain the central corridor connection.

3) Make the center worth fighting for. With Shipyards at the bases, Harbours are no longer needed there. Replace them with something irresistible: Resource Construction sites. Put 2 or more of those in the middle and suddenly instead of it being something easily avoided, the middle becomes the focus of the action. Control of the water is no longer irrelevant, but now just as vital as control over the bases in the corners.

Wow, this turned out long. Sorry about that. So uh, please make Falcon's Rocks better so when it comes up in rotation I'll think "Oh, this map is always interesting", instead of "Oh. This map again."

Just a reminder, tired, hot and cranky.