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This game has the makings of a strategy title with a blend of resource
management, battles, and social interaction. On the other hand, it has a mixture of
quests, tribe creation and magic that give it a sort of RPG feel. The outcome is a
unique gaming experience that, despite it's shortcomings, is sure to capture the
attention of serious strategy gamers. It uses the background of Glorantha, the
setting from the RPG game Rune Quest. The object of the game is to become King of
Dragon Pass, uniting all the various tribes through diplomacy, magic and battle.
You begin the game by creating and defining your tribe or clan. Gameplay in KoDP
revolves around managing your tribe through seasonal turns, over a period of
several years. A single year cycle consists of seasons of Sea, Fire, Earth, Storm,
and Sacred. In each season, with the exception of Sacred, your tribe is allowed to
perform two separate actions. Some examples of these actions include performing a
quest, attacking another tula (land), sending out an emissary for trade / politics,
building fortifications, exploring the map, building shrines and temples to your
gods, and much more. The seasons play a big role in the actions you take, for if
you decide to attack another clan during harvesting seasons, your food supply will
decrease. On top of the normal seasonal actions available, random events also occur,
each requiring a decision on the gamers' part. Events can range from personal
disputes with neighbouring clans, to more global problems. Managing relationships
with your neighbouring clans is key to succeeding in KoDP. Whether you show
generosity, mercy, or loyalty to other tribes is important in creating trust in order
to trade goods with them, another important factor in KoDP. It's almost impossible to
survive without trade. You can loose livestock or fall short on harvest, but
developing trade routes can help you survive these hardships. Normal management areas
include farming, relations, war, clan, magic and exploration. KoDP contains no animation whatsoever, and for much of the time doesn't have graphics as much as illustrations or
artwork. In July/2015, a port of the revamped mobile version which includes extra content was released on PC. This updated version comes with 48 new scenes, 4 new illustrations, new advisors, bug fixes, and a mildly less punishing economy. |
