Disciples II The Rise of the Elves

Disciples II The Rise of the Elves is the second expansion for Strategy First's turn-based strategy game Disciples II. The expansion is in development at Poland-based Nevrax, and it is scheduled for release on February 14.

Disciples II: The Rise of the Elves introduces a new faction, the Dreadnought. The Dreadnought is a new landmass that is inhabited by an occult sect of evil magic who have corrupted humans. This sect, known as the Dreadnought, has provided the humans with enough power to wipe out all life in the world, and it does so by assimilating other races.

In the expansion, the Dreadnought is primarily concerned with the recent arrival of the Empire, who have appeared in another conflict. Players will control a new faction of elves, one of which is the Dreadnought. This new race has a town center that features a basic town center, a secret generator, and a town hall with some of its most valuable supplies. The Dreadnought also has a handful of unique units, including a cat-like flying saucer unit, a giant spider, and a hybrid Dreadnought hovercar.

The new game's creatures are also a part of the greater focus of Rise of Nations. The idea behind the game is to build a network of about five new "druid races" that can have different units or special abilities. The gameplay feature works in a similar way to Warcraft III, as players can build a megapunk unit from a base that can move forward, but instead of moving forward, it will move forward and attack the enemy. The research trees are separate from what is in the traditional RTS and aren't shared between all the factions.

While these resources and technologies are there to build a giant gondola that drops out of orbit around the planet, it's not a very viable way of building another megapunk. There's only one resource per resource, and it isn't a very interesting resource, so players will be trying to focus on building more than one. That's something the designers wanted to do, but the fact that the game includes a whole new set of technologies and design concepts to better integrate them into the single-player campaign is certainly a plus for a real-time strategy game.

Units will have special abilities and formations that allow players to build more specialized units.

We really wanted to deliver unique technologies and formations to stand out, and we did a lot of research to really create the best units and AI that we could. Every single unit, robot, scout, unit, or monster type can be captured. Each unit has specific features and special abilities that can be earned by defeating certain opponents. For instance, scouts can excavate new parts of a monster's base that has been dug up, which increases their damage output. However, scouts can dig minerals from the monster and discover parts of a creature's base, which is why they don't always get the full benefit. It's a lot easier for the monsters to create highly specialized units because they need to work together to make the best units and upgrades.

Units can also be shared with other factions through local multiplayer. Players can connect to other games, in any mode, and play together cooperatively.

GS: We understand that the single-player campaign will support up to 16 players. Tell us about the different abilities that players can bring into battle. What sort of units do they bring into battle? Will their strengths and weaknesses be dependent on their personality or characteristics? Will they be primarily the same as the units in the multiplayer campaign?

AHEJA: Fighters can attack using ranged weapons or by building cannons. Aircraft are unique for each faction so they can be used more strategically and more efficiently. The damage heroes take is dependent on their personality and physical strength, but the level of combat potency depends on the size and firepower of the party.

Also, remember that they have to move and attack at the same time, so each character's strength comes up with different strategies.

GS: We understand that the single-player campaign will contain several missions, some of which are optional. Tell us about these missions. What kind of challenges and rewards will be found in them? What kinds of things will the heroes encounter, and how do they take advantage of their abilities?

AHEJA: Campaigns have several varieties, including neutral, rescue, assassination, and last but not least, eternal warfare, which uses all the resources in the game, and never is the same as "lost." There are also subtypes like conquest, which causes all the players to become undead and battle in the game's beautiful, horror-infested landscape.

Next: More battle-related missions

GS: Why go into a historical setting with "mythology" instead of a fantasy one? Or is the story not a direct historical event?