Ikariam Review - Page 4

UnDeaD · 03-17-2008, 06:37 AM

Posted by SiS on Ikariam.com

Quote:

Hi ^^

As many of you were awaiting, it's time to integrate some premium features into Ikariam.

You can order these features via our inter-currency "Ambrosia" (like dark matter, rubies etc.). By buying Ambrosia you may order the premium features that will show up as 4 different "Advisors".

Quick and easy list of Advisors:

1. 20% more Advisor for each Luxury Good :
there is one premium feature for 20% more marble, one for 20% more crystal glass, one for 20% more wine and one for 20% more sulphur, and you can choose between them... so you have to buy all to receive 20% more of all

2. 5% more Building Materials Advisor :
if you buy all Advisor´s you receive 20% more building material

3. Empire View :
list how many troops / which building levels etc. in every city/town

4. Merchant :
what is it and how to use it? You call e.g. a merchant who buy´s crystal glass (with x Ambrosia) and trade it into something else. So e.g. 1k crystal glass into 2k building material or 1k crystal glass into 1k marble. After the successful trade the merchant disappears and you have to order a new one for your next trading.

Details for the merchant trade ratios:
* luxury goods (crystal glass, marble, sulphur, wine) : luxury goods = 1:1
* luxury goods : building material = 1:2

We'll let you know when Premium Mode is available.

Ikariam.com Team

**Arf** · 03-21-2008, 02:29 AM

So... Still playing Ikariam.

I'm getting to the point where I can start building colonies and I'm planning to put multiple colonies on the same island rather then secure one of every resource. I figure I'll sacrifice having all the resources for a stronger military base. Right now I'm thinking of moving out to the unpopulated islands where Sulfur and Wine are next to each other (see where I'm going with this). So if you guys still play and feel like joining me the more the merrier. Either way once I get my power base established I think it might be fun to do some friendly raiding of *cough* people we collectively know that are also playing *cough*.

Lucky Shot · 03-21-2008, 02:43 AM

I do still play it. I have a second colony up and working on a 3rd. I plan on colonizing the islands immediately next to mine. I started as Sulpher, then Wine. My next one will be Marble for certain. After that, it will likely be Marble or Wine again. Crystals seem to be infrequent purchases although I understand you can use it for direct research later in the game.

Lucky Shot

UnDeaD · 03-21-2008, 03:46 AM

I'm too addicted to quit playing right now. I finally started my second colony yesterday.

UnDeaD · 03-21-2008, 03:48 AM

Planned features.

Quote:

Dear Community,

today you get some news how Ikariam will develop in the next time
best regards
Lissala

Planned Features:

- Action Points

Limited numbers of actions (Fleets, Military) at the same time in a town, depending on the Town Hall´s Level. Systems with their own limits (espionage) are not included.

- Corruption

The bigger the empire becomes, the more ressources you must spend to upgrade your administration or to remove the corruption. This happens by upgrading the governor's seat - the colonial variant of the palace.

With that, we want to reach:
New colonies are not productive 100% immediately - the extreme power and production increase by an additional colony is reached slowly. Colonies get more expensive until they are really useful, but without elevating the palace´s costs too much and don‘t making the steps unreachable for Casual Players.

- Piracy

You will be able to send buccaneer fleets, to attack other player`s transport fleets on their way, and protect trade routes with your warships.
For this fight we will implement new looting rules, which will be transfered (later) to the ground troops too.
Trade Fleeds that ship into blockades get in a battle and are able to loose charge. In Sea battles, ressources can end up in the sea, get lost or be taken to a nearby coast.

With that, we want to reach:
-Getting started easier in the “economic war“ for newbies, without complicate blockade- / military manoeuvers.
- Transports without escorts are dangerous. Self-sufficiency also needs expenditures – eventually more than local purchase, in which the traders have to take care about the goods arrival themselves. Traders have to arrange security or get help from fighters. Trades and Transports are to safe at the moment.
- More Sea Battles -> because of the high upkeep for both sides less Gold in the world -> because of the sulphur costs of the ships more sulphur is used ->
-> thereby we expect some deflation and sinking market prices, while the value of sulphur should increase a bit in comparison to the rest.
(Probably not yert on the same Level, but a first step to reach it).
- As a result that ressources can be lost, more materials get out of the game.

- Restructuration of ressource system

8 new buildings planned, that will affect the ressource production and the ressources costs on a colony. Because a complet reconditioning of the balancing is needed anyway, both will be done at the same time.
The construction will get more expensive. With this, the rate for building time to costs will be changed – shorter Building time with higher costs. Longer “Saving Phases“ appear during the ressources for the next level have to be protected.
Beside, we correct some estimates that have been done before the balancing release.
(The ressource Level on the players islands on each level was estimated, but affected all cost functions of the game – now we can balance it with real data), which should have relatively strong effects on the price organization.

With that, we want to reach:
- By changing the costs/time relation the game will get more difficult, and looting, piracy and defense becomes more important. This change should increase military expenses and make sulphur a very demanded good.
(Until now this relation was adjusted very good natured, to make the game not to dificult for casual players and newbies – you almost allways have enough ressources for the next building.
Because of that, the need to loot or to trade was minor. At the same time, the need to defend was not very high – because it didn`t interfare.
- Because of the new buildings we can remove the marblecosts in the beginning – the more buildings we implant, later we can get the marble in the game (the total marble use for the building construction stays the same, but it gets distributed on more options). This removes the advantage from marble islands at the beginning.
- The game duration until you reach a complete upgraded empire gets clearly longer.
- The additional construction options should open some exciting strategic upgrading options.

- Tutorial / Barbarians village / Noob Protection

We want to implement a Step-by-Step Tutorial, that will help the new player to get introduced into the game and includes everything from assignment of the workers up to military troop construction.
For all new players (also the ones that skip the tutorial) there will be an babarian village (NPC) on the island to practise attacks and fights to loot some ressources for a faster start, without getting another player annoyed.

This village will not be a shared ressource – each player has his own barbarian village with an adapted difficulty and rewards, but the village will not stay forever.
Within the tutorial the barbarian village will be used to try out attacks and fights.

We also plan to implement a Noob Protection, to guard new players completly, and later on to punish unfair and unjustified attacks (we must punish independent of the points, for example, also not punish threat attacks to upgrade ressource).

With that, we want to reach
- Easier game introduction
- Nice side effect: we could increase the costs for initial buildings due to the barbarian village as a generic resources generator, so that these are not only "peanuts" in the next colony foundation, and some more luxury goods will be provided in addition to the minimal bonus in researches, without filling up the warehouse of the player and so be a target for attacks.

**Arf** · 03-21-2008, 10:10 PM

Well you guys are far better established then I am so it comes down to whether you would opposed to relocating. I haven't chosen where I want to go but when I do move out it will be to one of the unpopulated archipelagos which I plan to use as a base for raiding.

**Ikonic** · 03-22-2008, 12:08 AM

Arf, the only problem with that is that the empty islands mean level 1 sawmills and luxury hubs. You really want to colonize near your capital to supplement each other and hopefully colonize on an island that has a good sawmills and luxury hub level.

Concr3te · 03-22-2008, 09:17 AM

Erm hey again everyone, I got a little problem: I have advanced quite far with building and researching and thought it would be time to start creating a decent army. But to create swordsmen and phalanxes I need sulfur and I have no idea where to find that. I do have alot of marble, so if anyone would like to trade; please call me. My town's coordinates are 38:20.

edit: Would it maybe be a good idea to colonize an island nearby which does have sulfur as resource?

UnDeaD · 03-22-2008, 05:02 PM

Check your trading post (if you have one) and look for Sulfur, maybe someone is selling it cheaply. As for colonizing, I'd do it close to your capital, I would not go no more than 2 hours out.

bobo hugeman · 03-23-2008, 01:46 PM

Just started this 2 weeks ago and am getting hooked. Suprising how large the game is. When I went to Concr3te's coordinates I'm 1/2 a world away at 66:72.