Below is the video from our dev chat today. GMs Stormcrow, Thundercat and I took some time to talk about the Harvesting, Crafting and Advanced Trade systems that are coming to the game as well as answer some questions from the community.
Author: Luna
Preview: Commander Screen Re-design
With the introduction of gathering and crafting for troop equipment, armies in Illyriad are going to become much more customizable and can be tailored to suit specific combat situations. You can specialize for terrain, biomes, tactical roles or even day/night combat.
But who says the armies are the only ones who get to have all the fun? Your commanders will be able to use equipment items too.
Just like their armies, commanders will get to choose a piece of armor, a weapon and a mount on which to ride. 
So, for example, if you had equipped your army division with this specialized horse that gives a bonus to movement speed, you would want to make sure to give one to your commander also, so that he will benefit from the bonus as well. Or you may choose to give your commander the best equipment available, while finding more cost effective versions for the rest of the army.
The second part of the addition of equipment for commanders is the re-design of the commander screen.
Now, rather than being only a text-based screen, you can see all of the icons for commander abilities that you have researched.
Items in color are those you have researched, with the others in black/white.
The commander is shown as a silhouette with three slots available to add the equipment items.
Health and experience are shown in bars, so you can see how close you are to the next level or how much health your commander has left.
If you have the required experience you can click the button next to each ability to level it up.
The re-design of the commander screen, as well as the ability to equip your commander will be coming with the harvesting and crafting update.
Player Spotlight: Shadow
This month’s Player Spotlight focuses on Shadow, a long time Illy player, active community member and shining example of good sportsmanship in the field of competitive tournaments. Shadow’s good-natured spirit of competition are what drew his peers to nominate him for this spotlight, and we couldn’t agree more. Learn more about the Player Spotlight program at our website and nominate players by sending an email to community@illyriad.co.uk. Now on with the interview!
GM Luna
What brought you to Illyriad and how long have you been playing?
I have always enjoyed “build and conquer” type games, so when I stumbled on Illy in January of 2011, I knew I found a game that could hold my interest.
Have you played many other online games or been active in other online communities?
Never anything with an online community. This was a totally new experience for me.
Any hidden talents or interesting hobbies outside of gaming?
Hidden talents….hmmm, I’m still looking for those! I don’t know how interesting racing is to the rest of you, but it’s always been a big part of my life. I grew up racing go carts, and have been hooked ever since.
What keeps you playing Illyriad?
My friends on here, are the biggest reason. Just pure curiosity is the other. We just never know what kind of mischief those crazy geomancers from the Circle of Five are going to create!
What’s your favorite aspect of the game?
Tournaments are something I take personal interest in. My alliance was created to focus on these, as well as the mysteries that are still out there.
What’s your proudest achievement in game so far?
The alliance I have formed, of course! I couldn’t ask for a better group of players to support it. Not only are they my allies, but also people I call friends. I am also proud of what I “almost” achieved in the Undead tournament….lol. I held the lead nearly the entire tournament, and had a great time while doing it. It didn’t matter that I was taken out and lost the lead (I think I finished out of the top 20…lol). I just loved the special attention I was given by other alliances. They made it fun!
What are you most looking forward to for the future of Illyriad?
I look forward to all the new features and updates to the game. It’s why I play. The game is constantly evolving, causing the players to evolve and change their strategies. It really keeps players involved in Illy.
What area of the game do you think needs the most improvement?
Defense. Mainly encampment defense. Armies should have the ability to “dig in” and defend themselves better. At present, there’s not much you can do about a large advance cav army coming at your occupying force.
What advice would you give a new player in Illyriad?
Hang in there! Illyriad can be a bit overwhelming at first, with all the research and buildings. Take your time and don’t get discouraged. The community is very helpful, and allows new players the chance to grow, unlike some games out there. Finding a good alliance that can support new members is very helpful early on. Just be sure the alliance suits your play style. Don’t just jump into the first one that invites you. Take the time to get to know players. Other than that, have fun, and welcome to Illy!
Illyriad Dev Chat – UIv3 and Alliance Medals Walkthrough
GMs Luna and Cerberus take some time to show off the new UIv3, walkthrough the Alliance Medal design system and take questions from the community in our latest dev chat video.
Preview: Alliance Prestige Pool
For quite some time, Illyriad players have asked us for a way to share prestige with their friends. The dev team has had some reservations as to how we could go about providing this option in a way that works best for both the game and our players. The solution that we’ve developed is the introduction of the Alliance Prestige Pool.
The Alliance Prestige Pool will function as a communal bank to which all alliance members can donate and, depending on permissions, spend in game. Alliances will set permissions based on alliance role that define who has access to spend the prestige and at what amount their daily spending limit is set. Individual players within the alliance with appropriate access can then choose to spend their own prestige on items for their account such as instant builds, production bonuses and other prestige items, or they can spend from the alliance pool.
Another function for the Alliance Prestige Pool is as a way for players to bind together to purchase Alliance Medals for fellow players. The associated prestige cost for these designs will be deducted from the alliance pool, so that players can purchase the awards at a shared cost. As these awards are meant to represent recognition from an entire alliance to an outstanding player, we believe this is the best way to approach the system.
More information will become available with the release of the Alliance Medals and Alliance Prestige Pool in an upcoming game update. Until that time, below you will find common questions and answers about the system.
Alliance Prestige FAQ:
What is Alliance Prestige?
Alliance Prestige is a shared amount of prestige that has been donated by players into their Alliance Prestige Pool.
What can Alliance Prestige be used for?
Alliance Prestige can be spent on individual player bonuses as well as Alliance Medals.
Who can spend Alliance Prestige?
Spending limits and roles associated with permission to spend prestige are set by individual alliances.
How do I donate?
Visit the Alliance Prestige Pool page in game and choose “contribute” to donate from your personal prestige amount into your Alliance Pool.
Can I withdraw prestige from the Alliance Prestige Pool?
No. Players can only donate or spend from the Pool. No one can withdraw prestige into their individual account from the Alliance Pool.
What if I accidentally donated the wrong amount?
Prestige transactions are non-refundable, including donations into the Alliance Prestige Pool. Donation is a one way transaction that cannot be reversed by any means, even by the GMs.
What if I accidentally spent Alliance prestige instead of my own?
The GM staff cannot refund the amount you’ve spent back into the Prestige Pool. The best way to remedy this, if you’ve accidentally spent Alliance prestige, is to donate the amount you spent back into the Pool from your own funds.
What if I leave the Alliance?
Any donations you made cannot be refunded or returned to you. Once Prestige is donated to an Alliance, it is the property of the Alliance and no longer that of an individual player.
If you have any further comments or questions about the system, please feel free to leave them in the comments section on this post or on our forums.
GM Luna
Player Spotlight: ScottFitz
This month our Player Spotlight focuses on Illyriad’s currently #1 top ranked player, ScottFitz. As a long time Illy player, forum participant and helpful global chatter, Scott’s positive impact on the game has been noted by his peers who nominated him for this spotlight. We all wish to congratulate Scott and thank him for his continued contributions to the culture of Illyriad. Learn more about the Player Spotlight program at our website and nominate players by sending an email to community@illyriad.co.uk. Now on with the interview!
GM Luna
What brought you to Illyriad and how long have you been playing?
I literally stumbled upon Illy two years ago in April of 2010. I had been trying out a few other games in Illy’s genre (but not in Illy’s league) and only lasted a few days, at best, with any of those, Then I happened upon Illy and fell in love. That was back before, biomes, geography, water or even NPCs, but it was still far superior to anything I had seen. And it has continued to get better. I am excitedly looking forward to the next two years, and the next two.
Have you played many other online games or been active in other online communities?
Nope. Just dabbled with a few gravely inferior predecessors to Illy, but never enough to get involved in what passes for a community there. Most online games fail to interest me beyond a few hours or days.
Any hidden talents or interesting hobbies outside of gaming?
I have been an actively DMing D&D games for the past 35 years, I am an amateur entomologist with a passion for eusocial aculeate Hymenoptera, and I have a deep interest in pre-classical anatolian and levantine history. My nerd credentials are fairly unassailable. IRL I work as a graphic artist in an ad agency so I am also a Photoshop pro and an expert on email marketing.
What keeps you playing Illyriad?
I love the underlying mechanics of the game, and by that I mean the fact that everything is delicately balanced. More is not necessarily better. Balancing tax rate, food consumption, population, army size, army composition, troop replacement rate and such are not straightforward propositions. I am constantly tweaking and fine tuning my towns and armies. Also, many of the mechanics are unclear. The glorious dearth of documentation on many of the aspects of the game foster guesswork, experimentation, reliance on intuition, and many fruitful discussions and arguments in GC, AC and on the forums.
What’s your favorite aspect of the game?
Well, naturally I love the community. We, the community, elevate an already excellently conceived and executed game into something truly spectacular, I have made real friends here and I deeply care for and respect most of my fellow players. There is a depth of interaction here that is rarely approached online, and sometimes not even out in the real world. I also love the persistent, sandbox concept. There is no endgame, no closure — I hate closure. We are all free to play as we see fit – I despise orthodoxy. I dearly love the graphic look and feel of the game. And, I actually love the pace! Everything requires patience and planning. Strategy and diplomacy win out always. It is possibly to step away for a few days or even weeks and come back to your towns intact, or relatively intact (not that I have ever put that theory to the test of course). Plus as a bonus, the slower pace helps keep trolls away; they get bored after a bit and go off to torment puppies or set things on fire, or whatever trolls do when they are not trying to rile up GC.
What’s your proudest achievement in game so far?
Mostly my interactions with the community. I like to think I have built somewhat of a reputation for credibility and integrity, and I am very proud of the role I have played in helping resolve several significant diplomatic situations. And I am very proud of my part in helping to set the tone within my alliance. It is a very comfortable cohesive place to be. Without any bias whatsoever, I can safely say that mCrow is clearly the best alliance! I also a a bit proud of getting a town back up to legendary size from exodus in just over a week (with plenty of help from my alliance)
What are you most looking forward to for the future of Illyriad?
Re-tooling all of my towns when the next update is released.
What area of the game do you think needs the most improvement?
Communications. Private chat, friend lists, other chat channels, improved alliance forums and a few more email enhancements would add the most. But beyond that, just more of the same, Illy is nearly perfect as is, and is getting more so steadily.
What advice would you give a new player in Illyriad?
Focus on economics before military. Build up a strong town before building an army. Go into global chat and ask questions and get to know people. Visit the forums and the wiki. Read the guides. Do not join an alliance in haste. If you find yourself in conflict with another player, talk first to that player, then if that does not work, talk to that player’s alliance. If there is still a problem, either move, or find an alliance to help you. Mostly have fun and take your time.
Preview: Illyriad UIv3
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