OK, I've formed a tribe. I've completed all of the heroquests,
some of them multiple times. The following are the major
frustrations I've encountered:
- - The "Not Enough Worshippers" syndrome. For ages, I was unable
to build even a shrine to Ernalda, despite having 6 "heroes"
available that worshipped her, and one on the ring. Then,
suddenly, I was able to build a full temple (though I STILL
can't make it a great temple). As near as I can tell, it doesn't
seem to matter how many people I have, or even whether I scrap
a few other shrines first.
- - The "No Cancel" syndrome. On MULTIPLE occasions in the "random
events", including my meeting with some Horse Spawn who talked
about the Feathered Horse Queen (which sounds like a pretty
important event!), I've accidentally hit the button on the wrong
option and then, because of no cancel, I've been unable to go
back.
- - The "Split the Tribe" syndrome. This one is especially annoying.
Every so often, the clan gets together to complain that their
isn't enough food for everyone, and they need to split off for
a new tribe. Frankly, this is ridiculous. The most recent occasion
happened at a time when I had something like 2000 EXTRA food
stockpiled, and the harvest was regularly bringing in a surplus
even when the harvest wasn't particularly good. (How? I've been
burned a lot with starvation; this time, I've performed Ernalda
Feeds the Tribe 3 times, each time for increased crop yield. Seems
to have worked). Doesn't seem to have a solution; you can put them
off, and put them off, but all that happens is that the morale of
the clan goes down and they keep coming back regardless. I find
it especially ironic that one of the ways you can hold them off
is by promising to trade for more food - since food is usually
what _I_ have in sufficient surplus to trade.
- - The "Useless Trading" syndrome. At the start of the game,
trading works fine, but by now (roughly 1341, I think) it's
close to useless. Virtually nobody wants to trade cattle or
food - which are the two most common things I need (food before
I decided on a "HeroQuest Out Of Trouble" path, and cattle
because I keep having to split my clan). The only use for trading
seems to be establishing trade routes, but the amount you get
for these is paltry compared to what your craftsman bring in.
- - The "Can't Trade For Sheep or Pigs" syndrome. This has been
brought up before, but it's worth repeating. If you're going
to make a resource necessary, then it's only fair to make it
possible to stockpile that resource. I've never played a game
yet where I was actually GAINING sheep. The traders do their
best, but you end up paying through the nose. Realistically,
if it's possible to trade for sheep under harsh conditions, then
it should be possible to do it earlier to AVOID those conditions.
- - The "What's Next?" syndrome. As I said, I've done all the
preparatory work (all the heroquests, formed a tribe, and I
had the king for 38 years...) but I can't see what's needed
to WIN the game. (Presumably the Feathered Horse Queen event
was important, but surely it gets repeated EVENTUALLY?) It's
gotten to the stage where I think I've seen the vast majority
of the random events, and I'm just endlessly cycling through
pretty much the same things.
All of these complaints might sound as if I don't like the
game; far from it - I wouldn't bother to complain if that
were the case (I just wouldn't play it). Many of these might
just be typical newbie ignorance, but I can't seem to find
the answers to my problems in the manual.
On a related note - Happy New Year, and does anyone know when/if
HeroWars is coming out?
- --
GAZZA
"To know others is wisdom.
To know one's self is enlightenment."
End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #263