Age of Strategy Forums

In AoS, population limits are fine. Everyone has the same options​, so it is merely a balance adjustment to higher priced units. AoF, however, is different. Each race has it's own strategy, and some fare better under global changes than others. Shifting the focus to fewer, stronger units and away from more, weaker units actually changes the balance of the races here. Undead tend towards more, cheaper units, quickly burning their population limit on raise dead. Orcs, on the other hand, have the best elite units, from orc king to ettins to master headhunters, and a population limit actually helps them make use of this. Humans and elves are a more middle​ ground here, with humans faring better with population limits and elves having a tendency to run into them more often.

I've also noticed a bug. Workers can create troops regardless of population limits.

I totally agree with you Sunrise.

I have told Daniel, when implementing pop limit, that units should have been scaled by cost (e.g. a ettin, that costs 8 turns, should count as eight 1 turn units).

Also you shouldn't have turnarounds to have a higher population (e.g. by building ships or catapults).

This isn't the only global rule that can break the game, but it is a big one. And the only one with a decent chance of disabling. All techs and no upgrades also skew racial balance, since some races like humans get more out of all techs than others, like orcs. No upgrades also favors humans, as it leaves them a full mix of troops, including catapults, ornithopters, and imperial shielder, but any other race loses out on many of their best options.

Daniel can you put a no-population-limit option at least in AoF?

sure, please put it to vote how others think it needed.
thanks!

New option 800

Thank you. Undead have been able to reach and even exceed 200 in a 30-40 turn game ever since gravediggers were implemented. Elves hit the limit with plant bridges or wolves if played right, especially on normal/many tcs.

Does plant bridges count among the total? Is it cause they can move and thus are considered units instead of buildings?

Plant bridges and ent trainers both add to population, as do summoned wolves and ents.

But undead's Flesh golems (summoned) don't count for population.

It might be ok for summoned units since there are ways to fight vanishing back buy I think that moving buildings shouldn't affect limit

Alexander82 wrote:It might be ok for summoned units since there are ways to fight vanishing back buy I think that moving buildings shouldn't affect limit

i believe there is a setting in specunitaction to exclude a unit type from pop counting.