Board Thread:General Mod Discussion/@comment-26094198-20170102150005

I would like to talk about something I call Faction Diversity. What I mean by this is that all the factions feel unique and different then the other factions and are not just a retexture of all the other factions. In other words, create a specific reason to befriend and gain alignment with a faction other than you just like the blocks or the race. This would make the mod "deeper" and not just "wider" as Mevans has talked about before.

What is an example of good faction diversity? One example is the Tauredain, they have villages and soldiers and a chieftain similar to other factions, but their tools and weapons are made differently (obsidian shards), they have blowgunners, and have a shaman which can sell you unique items like jungle remedy. Another example is actually, Rohan, Rohan may not seem that unique or different, except they have stronger horses than any other faction, this specific strength is another great way ar creating a specific reason to befriend a faction, and creating a faction that is slightly different than others.

What is an example of bad faction diversity? Well, let's take a look at Dale. The Dalishmen are a favorite faction of mine, but if they weren't why would I get alignment with them? They have some traders, but they don't sell anything I couldn't get elsewhere (besides Dalish crackers, but let's say that's minuscule enough to ignore for now); they've got warriors that are pretty standard, equipment that's pretty standard, and no unique mechanics or anything. This is a pretty boring or vanilla faction in my opinion which could use something to make it stand out and be different. Quickly, many orc factions also are plagued with similarity and could've been used as an example.

So what's the solution? 1st of all the solution is NOT to remove factions that aren't unique. That wouldn't make sense lore wise in many situations and would also make a lot of people mad. One solution is to simply add something to each faction which seems a little vanilla which gives it some spice, or maybe some sprinkles. Perhaps giving Dale a new type of weapon that does increased damage against dragons (since they fought Smaug, and of course when dragons are released) or something of the same weight.

The reason I saw all this is I believe it would be healthy for the mod, but also because of the Golden Khaganate being released in the next update. Mevans hasn't revealed much, but I hope dearly this new faction isn't just another same ol' faction but with different armor and building blocks. This is a chance to create something unique and expand and deepen the mod, both in lore, gameplay, and everything else.

Thanks for reading the lengthy post and please I welcome all discussion and corrections to my post. Have a nice day! 