Spoils of War Alpha is here!

The terror option is one I need to test myself. It works this way-- you can achieve a zealotry of 35% (by purchasing classroom and interrogation facilities) I think (maybe that's not high enough). That's your chance of success w/a terror raid. Depending on the target (eg hospitals, schools, all cause more terror), you lower dominion morale. Dominion combat effectiveness is reduced by morale (say terror raids knock down morale by 25%-- the formula is 100% strength X .75% morale so reduces combat effectiveness by 25%). It is just another way of winning and offers the player the opportunity to be evil. In my head, I have superbly armed and trained troops that gradually melt because they are worried about their families' safety. The looting option provides more immediate rewards but the terror approach could be more valuable as an alternate strategy.

SelectaCorp www.selectacorp.com

Good point-- when capital falls, I'll add a 'win' signal of some sort-- you can still play around if you have time but you can also finish up.

SelectaCorp www.selectacorp.com

Good point-- when capital falls, I'll add a 'win' signal of some sort-- you can still play around if you have time but you can also finish up.

SelectaCorp www.selectacorp.com

Since my last post, I've continued testing for a bit, and now have figured out a strategy that let's me end up the game pretty reliably with a fully conquered map and the rank of major or above. My best result so far was Major General with a morale of 123, 13.000§ and -1 week. So indeed, the game is beatable, and the replays still felt interesting. Getting to "know" all the girls is also an incentive ;-) But, sorry, I've got to raise this issue again, no offense: Although I understand the theoretical value, I could not see the practical advantage of the "terror" option over the "looting" option realised in gameplay. I didn't use the option at all. Thanks again for your efforts!

I would be fine with an "open end" if I noticed that it was an end at all :-) May I suggest at least a change in the screen that you get when you occuppy the capital, something that goes like "You've finished your quest! You're done!" - so that the players know: "Aha! It's not a bug, it's a feature! Let's make sure I've marked all my slaves before getting my final report" :-)

On 'winning'-- I thought about this and figured it might be better to let that be an open ended thing. That's why I added rank and achievements. It is sort of a relative thing and dependent on strategy and luck. What would help is if you could share what your final situation report says -- testers did this for CR3 and it really helped establish a baseline for player experience (if there's a spread, that's ok, but if everyone is ending up a corporal, there's a gameplay balance issue).

SelectaCorp www.selectacorp.com

Great feedback! I'll fix the capital icon. The idea around raids/battles is 'fog of war'-- the chance of encountering an enemy force intercepting you is based on that unit's efficiency (militia being least effective). If you're intercepted, you naturally lose the initiative (and your time). If you win, there's a small addition to your leadership, which helps with rank (since you've been proven in combat). The 'time chew' is intentional. On looting, each target can produce a random range of $ (the larger, the more $). If you only find $143 dollars, it is because the farmer has buried his family silverware! But more often, you'll hit a reasonable amount. One way to gauge the increasing effectiveness of your band is to check the stats in the camp. The higher, the better your chances (you'll rarely if ever defeat an army unit at the start).

SelectaCorp www.selectacorp.com

This game has a high replay value, and I very much liked all the little details! Nice sound effects with the whip! I played the game for about 20 rounds right now, but was never able to finish in time. And as the doctor said: Sometimes, I attacked a farm 5-6 times, won the battle everytime, was then allowed to do the raid... and the raid failed! Not logical to me, and quite frustrating as this cheews away your weeks like nothing. In one playthrough, I had 20 weeks left, I did capture all stations besides the capital, attacked the capital, won... and then it was over? It said I did occupy the capital, but the capital remained black, not red. I could do nothing more on the map. Don't know what happened. Also, due to lack of funds, I found myself choosing the "looting"-option all the time, I just could not afford "terror"-option. And when I looted a farm successfully, it would sometime give me a ridicously low amout of money (e.g.143 dollars!).

I agreed with the good doctor!

Good game mechanics. Could use some more transparency in what the stats actually means for chances of success at various missions. I never really felt I was in a good position to estimate the odds of various missions or the chances of a battle. If you win a battle shouldn’t the raid be allowed to proceed afterwards? Even with all improvements, the best weapons and plenty of girls in the brothel I seem to have to fight a battle more often than not. I won but it still stopped the operation. I played it 4 times and never came anywhere close to winning. Ran out of time but perhaps I’m just no good at strategy? Otherwise I’d advice making it easier by giving the player some more time.

Doctor of Feminology