Natural disasters?

[Azerax]

I searched before posting but didn't find anything.  Has there ever been any thought to adding natural disasters to the game?

Some of the greatest events in history have been caused by nature (Xerxes losing over 1 million men due to a storm destroying his ship on the eve of him attacking Greece, Pompeii, earthquakes, etc.)

Even a simple man made disaster (fire http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Rome) can have devastating affect on a city.

While these events should be extremely rare, it would reflect the real world a bit better.

Cheers,
Scott

[Indirik]

The only "natural disaster" we've ever had has been the Dark Tidings, back in December '05. You can find it on the wiki.

[^ban^]

And also the invasions of Beluaterra.

One could argue as to the use of "natural" there, though.

[fodder]

we already have them.. it's called... bugs... and completely undefined prior to it happening

[Zakilevo]

we already have them.. it's called... bugs... and completely undefined prior to it happening

+1

[De-Legro]

Please no. I can just imagine the first time a natural disaster strikes during a war and completely upsets the result. The forums will be full of complaints and accusations against the developers.

[Azerax]

Please no. I can just imagine the first time a natural disaster strikes during a war and completely upsets the result. The forums will be full of complaints and accusations against the developers.

and that's exactly what happened with Xerxes invaded Greece.

[De-Legro]

and that's exactly what happened with Xerxes invaded Greece.

Interesting, I know of storms that damaged the Greek fleets, but I though Xerces had to return to put down a possible rebellion in Babylon and the army he left in Greece was unable to maintain the gains he made. Also the number of men in his army is up for debate. Writers of the time talk about 1 million warriors, while modern estimates range from a mere 60,000 to 500,000. I think the main contention is that given the nature of the Greek City States they would not have been able to hold out in any way against a united army of 1 million solders.

But getting back to things, this is not intended to be a historical simulator. Some people would find fun in this feature, particularly those of us addicted to games like Dwarf Fortess, but by and large I think people on the receiving end would find it decidedly not fun.

[Azerax]

Interesting, I know of storms that damaged the Greek fleets, but I though Xerces had to return to put down a possible rebellion in Babylon and the army he left in Greece was unable to maintain the gains he made. Also the number of men in his army is up for debate. Writers of the time talk about 1 million warriors, while modern estimates range from a mere 60,000 to 500,000. I think the main contention is that given the nature of the Greek City States they would not have been able to hold out in any way against a united army of 1 million solders.

But getting back to things, this is not intended to be a historical simulator. Some people would find fun in this feature, particularly those of us addicted to games like Dwarf Fortess, but by and large I think people on the receiving end would find it decidedly not fun.

I don't think anyone would ever think it's fun, but then again, losing a battle isn't really that fun.  I think the important aspect would be the extreme scarcity of such events (maybe once per year per continent).  There is some events that echo this like droughts which only last for 7 days, I just think that it would enrich the history. (and again, you may be correct that I may not think so if my realm was on the receiving end of the event).

It could also be quite localized, like heavy rains on a battlefield that would render infantry quite impaired since they are stuck in the mud.  Again, being on the receiving end may be infuriating, but it has happened in the past.

Best regards,

[Alpha]

It could also be quite localized, like heavy rains on a battlefield that would render infantry quite impaired since they are stuck in the mud.  Again, being on the receiving end may be infuriating, but it has happened in the past.

Now I don't actually have a problem with this since weather is already implemented per battle, and has an impact on archer performance.

[De-Legro]

Now I don't actually have a problem with this since weather is already implemented per battle, and has an impact on archer performance.

Yes it might be nice if archers weren't the only unit type that suffers from weather.

[egamma]

Yes it might be nice if archers weren't the only unit type that suffers from weather.

"Driving rain cuts archer range in half, and forces cavalry to trot, rather than gallop. No charge bonus for cavalry."

[Velax]

Cavalry have enough issues getting a charge in as it is, sometimes. Let's not make it any more difficult.

[Ehndras]

I second the idea for minor natural disasters and more weather options, as well as very rare but wide-reaching major disasters like earthquakes that cause damage to a dozen or so regions' production, roads, and such, usually along certain admin-determined imaginary fault-lines which just so happen to be high-risk high-conflict areas. ;-) I think this would really make it interesting when mid-war, suddenly  BOOM, big earthquake hits and slows both sides down, causes mayhem, and really changes things up.

Hell, I think 2-3 earthquakes a year in random places would be great for RP reasons as well as adding some fun dynamic to it.

There can also be floods, and all sorts of other fun. Hail storms that cause minor damage, thunder storms that create mud, slowing down road travel and with the very uncommon occurrence of lightning killing some troops or damaging buildings. (two people died at my friend's job this weekend, struck by lightning in the parking lot :-( It happens more often than one would think.)

So on and so forth. I think more random positive and negative occurrences would add a lot more dynamic and rp opportunity to the game.

[Draco Tanos]

If there are more ways to damage roads, I ask for more direct ways to repair them. >.<