Erf-Like Games

[Shovah]

Not sure if this should be here or in the Gaming (Other) section, but I'll put it here for now.
I'm curious;
What Erf-like games do you all know of?

Mechanics-wise, of course, not the pop-culture references.

Particularly, I'm looking for something turn-based, with useful hero (and preferably also mage) units who are powerful, while definitely not rendering regular units obsolete. (The ability to base your tactics around them, like Transylvito and their Warlords+Bats although not neccesarily that tactic, would also be a bonus).


Thanks in advance for any help;
Shovah.

[Robak]

The closest I know (havent played so many) would be Warlords3 Dark Lord Rising. You have Heros (Can be caster or leader), stack bonusses (maximum 8 units), magic items/artifacts... No hexes but square grid though.

[rayne_dragon]

It reminds me a bit of Age of Wonders. The heroes can be quite useful, but rarely do they get powerful enough to win battles by themselves. The heroes can also all learn to cast magic, which is also helpful but again not to the point where you can do without regular troops. It`s also turn-based (I recommend playing with classic turns) and has magic items that heroes can equip.

[donkyhotay]

Battle for Wesnoth

[Shovah]

Wesnoth was the first thing that came to mind, actually.
I've never actually played it, but heard some good things about it.

I'll give it a go, and hopefully check out some other suggestions too.

Can anyone else say anything about The Battle For Wesnoth?

[Justyn]

Wesnoth was the first thing that came to mind, actually.
I've never actually played it, but heard some good things about it.

I'll give it a go, and hopefully check out some other suggestions too.

Can anyone else say anything about The Battle For Wesnoth?

Yes, I can see some similarities (persisting units, just about all units can level, hex grid).

[Shovah]

I've given Wesnoth a try, and - while it is certainly a good, fun game - it isn't quite what I'm looking for.

First, the scale is off - big, chunky hex-grid with one guy per hex, and having any particularly large number of units makes moving them very difficult.

Secondly, while I didn't want over-powered leader units, they feel almost too weak. Very slightly upgraded infantry really.

[Welf]

I see some similarities with Civilisation IV. But that's maybe because it's the only game of the recent years I know.

[WoodStock_PV]

Age of Wonders 1. Is the closest I could think of, and it's one of the best games I've ever played. The heroes can get quite powerful and, unlike someone said, can win entire battles on their own. The magic system is great too.. too bad the game is to short, and doesn't have a good sequel.

There's heroes of might and magic too.. but the last time I played it was on the DOS. Old game.

[topagae]

Any tactical turn based RPG really.

Final Fantasy Tactics, Ogre Battle, Disgaea, etc. Of course these lack the unit building type thing, and more just combat.

More similarly would be Heroes of Might and Magic, Civilization, all have unit managing, unit building systems where you conquer other civilizations instead of squad based tactics.

Of course there's always the Erfworld game we're making =P

[kynalvarus]

Heroes of Might and Magic is probably the most similar, and Warlords III was also similar.

I've played Wesnoth a few times, but it's really a squad-level simulation. It would be incredibly tedious to model a battle of hundreds of units on each side in Wesnoth.

[Dragonath]

Age of Wonders... Deffo...

[Robak]

Oh yes, looking at the first page again: You could find gems in Warlords(3), too. They would boost up the mana you got each turn, so it was pretty neat. Good to know where they actually came from
Wesnoth didn't cut it for me. Tried it, but it's way too tactical for me. Turns are much longer in Erf.

[Tingel]

Brigandine for the first PlayStation is quite similar, and the same applies to the even better Brigandine Grand Edition which only came out in Japan.

It is a game about fantasy warfare between several different factions. It has warlords leading monsters into battle, summoning ("popping") those units (like centaurs, dragons, golems, undead etc.) in city regions, battle maps based on hexagonal grids, gameplay organized around preparation and attack phases etc.

The warlords/casters all have a lot of personality, and the good/evil alignment of the factions/countries is ambivalent to a degree similar to Erfworld.

[donkyhotay]

Battle for Wesonth is one of my favorite games. A really nice thing about it is the fact it's open source which means even though there are alot of differences it could (theoretically) be modified to 'play' erfworld. I don't *think* it would be too difficult. New units/spells and stuff would work as just another mod. The actual source code would need to be changed to allow units to stack, collect/use items & artifacts, and have siege. Course not only would anyone attempting this need the authors permission it would require ALOT more information on the 'rules' of erfworld.

[Mando Knight]

Tried it, but it's way too tactical for me.

It's way too random for most people... I don't like Risk much either, for the fact that the tide of the battle can be messed up with just a few rolls of the dice rather than tactical superiority.

[Astrella]

I'd say Age of Wonders II. You have the wizards who are like overlords, various global spells (like the link-up of GK) and plainly it's just a good game!

[SinsI]

Game mechanic in Erfworld is practically a direct copy of the one "Warlords" series use.

[dmorenus]

A rather off-beat example would be Titan, a turn-based strategy game formerly published by Avalon Hill. It's a board game, though there is an open-source adaptation at http://colossus.sourceforge.net/.
Titan has a strategic board composed of hexes of various terrain types, where legions of creatures are maneuvered and new creatures are mustered into the legions. When two opposing legions enter the same hex, combat ensues between them on a separate tactical board that is different for each terrain type.
The computer adaptation has a number of variants, including one called "Unified" that adds a bunch of dragon types as well as other creatures. On occasion I've found myself with my Titan legion (the legion containing my Titan, or overlord) composed of nothing but the Titan and a bunch of dragons, and I've felt quite Stanley-esque.

[Badend]

Heroes of Might and Magic III is a great turn based fantasy strategy game. Have heroes leading stacks of units around. Cities where units can be popped each week for gold. Etc.

[imperialus]

I'll toss a plug out for Armageddon Empires.

Lets see.

It's hex based.
Turn Based.
Hero units play a major role. They have "fate" which allows rerolls, and without hero's you can only have 2 units in an army.
Each hero is also an individual, so they let you build your tactics around them. For example Adam Reith is a bounty hunter who gives bonus' for attempting to capture enemy heroes. Team him up with a ranger unit and you've got a damn effective recon army.
It has "casters" in the form of scientists.
It has lots and lots of bonus' and penalties, and other special abilities that can be stacked on units. Every unit in the game (I think) has some sort of special ability to begin with, from "flank attack" that gives them a combat bonus if the enemy's rear rank is empty, to lowering an enemy units attack or defense if they hit. You can also research technology and genetics to give your units a boost, find independent units that can be hugely powerful, and all sorts of stuff.

There's even pop culture references! Adam Reith is an obscure one (Adam Wraith is the main character in Jack Vance's Planet of Adventure) but there is an independent stronghold called Vault 13, a lot of the xenos hero's are named after Elder Gods, the Humans Citykiller nuke is called the Alpha Omega Device and more.

Downside is... It's not fantasy. Still though, the game itself is a lot more 'erfworld' like than anything else I've seen.

[Shovah]

I played through alot of the games mentioned here, atleast to some extent, and 2 main choices stand out;

HoMM3 was great, and I strongly reccomend it. Lots of fun, and some resemblence to Erf-world too.

But my number one choice has to be Age of Wonders II: Shadow Magic (or just AoWII). The game's pure gold, and as close as I can find to getting my 'fix' of Erfworld as possible.
Buckets of fun, and just.. if you want something Erf-like, this is where I think you should turn. Magic system is great fun, and the combat is nice too - even having stacks (or 'parties' of 8 units, one of which could be a warlord ('hero') leading them).

So.. That's my verdict. You want a fix of Erfworld-style gaming? Get yourself a copy of AoWII.


Happy gaming.

[Molant]

It always reminds me of Age of Wonders, more the original, but also a little big of Shadow Magic. AoW2 not so much, even if it is like a beta of SM.

Heroes are HUGE in the original; most stacks aren't even worth using unless lead by a hero, even though heroes don't usually give bonuses. And as the hero levels up (which is rather rapid), chance of them taking damage becomes dismally low and their damage outputs raise considerably. Later on in the games, you can have a single hero take out cities and dozens of high level units and take hardly any damage, even without items or buffs.

In Shadow Magic, heroes are weaker, but spellcasting is much more emphasized. Your heroes can still become extremely powerful (mostly by focusing on their stats and not turning them into casters), but not nearly as powerful as the original; it'd take some serious luck for a SM hero to take on a full high level stack solo and survive. The way magic works in SM seems more like Erfworld, though (eg. bonuses in the tower, domains around heros, certain building/items/spells boost casting, spells are mostly indirect etc).

[Subtext]

The closest I can think of would be the Total War series...especially considering the implementation of generals (warlords) instead of heroes, faction leaders and heirs and traits like command (leadership), authority, loyalty and so on...of course it isn't fantasy, but the mechanics match quite well

[Morak]

There is also Dominions 3: The Awakening
http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Illwint...DOM3_page.html

Stardock has a new game under development called Elemental: War of Magic
http://www.elementalgame.com/

Elemental is supposed to be highly inspired from Master of Magic.

Master of Magic can be downloaded and run on DOSbox. MOM is considered by many to have been one of the best Fantasy Turn Based strategy games. It has inspired many of the others mentioned here.

[Shovah]

Hmm.. Sounds like I'll have to try the original AoW. Sounds quite.. interesting, although the focus shifting from magic to heroes might not be quite what I'm looking for..

Ahh, yes. Dominions. My old love.
An excellent game, which I reccomend everyone here atleast tries, but.. not quite Erf-y in my opinion (but still wonderful in many, many, ways).

[Molant]

The closest I can think of would be the Total War series...especially considering the implementation of generals (warlords) instead of heroes, faction leaders and heirs and traits like command (leadership), authority, loyalty and so on...of course it isn't fantasy, but the mechanics match quite well

That's right! The ambiguous but powerful bonuses from generals is exactly like Erfworld!

[ShinyBrowncoat]

Battle for Wesonth is one of my favorite games. A really nice thing about it is the fact it's open source which means even though there are alot of differences it could (theoretically) be modified to 'play' erfworld. I don't *think* it would be too difficult. New units/spells and stuff would work as just another mod. The actual source code would need to be changed to allow units to stack, collect/use items & artifacts, and have siege.

You would also have to add a tactical combat grid for fighting within a hex (like the Titan board game someone else mentioned) and special zones for city fighting, walls, etc. Then there's the whole issue of morale/duty/loyalty and changing alliances...