Info about Disciples II: Rise of the Elves :

Official game description:
The award-winning series Disciples introduced a milestone in the game's very successful history; the introduction of a new race: The Elves. The Elven Race added a new dimension to the game and added countless hours of gameplay.
Now that series has expanded further with Disciples II: Rise Of The Elves. This version features all of the campaigns found in the original and a brand new campaign that continues the storyline of the Elven Race. It also includes 14 new skirmish maps to test hone your skills.
**Key features**
----------------
*   New campaign that continues the Elven Storyline
*   14 new skirmish maps to test gamer's skills
*   5 playable races to choose from; the Empire; the Undead Hordes, the Mountain Clans, the Legions of the Damned, and the Elven Alliance
*   The Elven tech tree allows players to choose between Noble or Wild Elves increasing replayability
*   Over 200 individually animated unit types and over 100 different spells
*   Scenario editor to create your own adventures
*   Battle friends and enemies in multiplayer over LAN, Internet or Hot-Seat play

Release date: Jul 6, 2006

Categories: Turn-based Strategy, Dark Fantasy, Hero Management, Magic System, Faction Diversity, Resource Management, Singleplayer Campaigns, Multiplayer


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Elven faction adds depth (weight 0.96): The addition of the Elven faction introduces new gameplay mechanics, unique units, and a compelling campaign. This expansion enriches the overall gaming experience.
- Strategic and engaging gameplay (weight 0.95): The turn-based strategy gameplay is challenging and requires careful planning and management. The game's strategic depth and engaging mechanics keep players invested.
- Atmospheric and immersive (weight 0.93): The game's dark, gothic atmosphere is enhanced by its music, art style, and world design. Players find the setting deeply immersive and atmospheric.
- Classic dark fantasy game (weight 0.92): The game is celebrated for its dark fantasy atmosphere, engaging gameplay, and rich lore. Players appreciate its classic status and the nostalgic value it holds.
- Diverse factions and units (weight 0.9): The game offers a variety of unique factions and units, each with distinct characteristics and progression paths. This diversity adds replayability and strategic depth.
- Rich lore and storytelling (weight 0.89): The game features a well-developed dark fantasy story with intricate lore and mythic gravitas. The narrative is compelling and adds depth to the gameplay experience.
- Hero development and management (weight 0.84): Hero development is a key aspect of the game, with various hero types and progression paths. Skillful management of heroes and armies is crucial for success.
- Well-implemented magic system (weight 0.83): The magic system is essential and well-implemented, with a variety of spells that can decide the outcome of battles. The Elven faction introduces new magical resources.
- Balanced and improved gameplay (weight 0.81): The game features well-balanced races and factions, with improvements and balancing fixes introduced in expansions like Rise of the Elves.
- Nostalgic and memorable (weight 0.79): The game holds a special place in the hearts of many players, evoking strong memories and nostalgia. Its classic status and enduring appeal contribute to its memorability.

Common complaints:
- Lack of Russian localization (weight 0.42): The Steam version of the game lacks Russian localization, which is a significant issue for Russian-speaking players. They often need to find and download external translators to play the game in their native language.
- Balance issues among factions (weight 0.14): There are notable balance issues among the factions, with some units and races being overpowered or underdeveloped. For example, the Elf race is considered weaker with a poorly developed set of spells.
- Slow and tedious gameplay (weight 0.13): The game is often described as slow and tedious, with a slow pace and methodical gameplay that can become repetitive. The slow leveling up and the time it takes to clear the map contribute to this issue.
- Poor optimization and performance (weight 0.13): The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to laggy cursor movements, severe lag issues, and slow performance. Higher resolutions exacerbate these problems, making the game difficult to play smoothly.
- Limited combat and gameplay variability (weight 0.09): Combat in the game is relatively constrained and lacks variability. Battles often rely too much on chance, and the economic diversity is limited, making the gameplay repetitive and sometimes frustrating.
- Missing content and campaigns (weight 0.08): The game is criticized for missing key campaigns such as Servants of the Dark and Guardians of the Light. This absence detracts from the overall experience and storyline.
- AI and gameplay mechanics (weight 0.05): The artificial intelligence in the game is sometimes predictable and considered stupid by players. Additionally, the gameplay mechanics can be frustrating, with issues such as endless enemy respawns and tedious quests.
- Interface and user experience (weight 0.03): The game's interface is criticized for being cluttered with excessive small details, making it less user-friendly. The lack of interactive structures on the map and the need for external mods to improve the game further highlight these issues.

Gameplay feedback:
- Turn-based strategy with RPG elements (weight 0.29): The game combines turn-based strategy with RPG elements, featuring hero building, unit leveling, and a dark fantasy setting. It includes mechanics similar to Heroes of Might and Magic and Age of Wonders.
- Unique combat system (weight 0.28): The game features a unique combat system that is tactical and demanding. Players need to plan several moves ahead to succeed, and the battles are influenced by a variety of spells and unit abilities.
- Magic and unit progression (weight 0.09): The game includes a detailed magic system with various spells and a unit progression system that allows for the development of both heroes and their squads. This adds depth to the gameplay and strategic planning.
- Singleplayer campaigns (weight 0.06): The game offers singleplayer campaigns with narrative weight and new storylines. Each faction has its own global campaign, adding variety and depth to the gameplay.
- Resource and territory control (weight 0.06): Players manage resources to acquire spells, build structures, and recruit fighters. Territory control is strategic and adds another layer to the gameplay.
- Itemization and city development (weight 0.04): The game features itemization, economic management, and city development, allowing players to customize their cities and units for strategic advantages.
- Multiplayer limitations (weight 0.03): Multiplayer functionality is limited to local networks and is broken in the Steam version. However, new maps have been added for multiplayer mode.
- Summoning and spellcasting (weight 0.02): Players can summon creatures and cast spells on the global map for buffs or damage. This adds a layer of strategic depth to the gameplay.
- Use of potions and artifacts (weight 0.02): The game includes the use of potions, spells, and artifacts, which can be strategically used to gain advantages in battles and quests.

Performance notes:
- Performance issues and lag (weight 0.29): Players experience severe performance issues, including FPS drops, laggy cursor movement, and freezing. These problems are exacerbated on larger maps and higher resolutions.
- Troubleshooting and fixes (weight 0.25): Various troubleshooting steps and fixes, such as installing Disciples Wrapper and using Direct3D, are recommended to resolve issues like black screens, initialization problems, and lag.
- Loading and startup issues (weight 0.23): The game often fails to finish loading or start properly, leaving players with a dark screen or an inability to begin their turn. This issue is frequent and affects the overall gameplay experience.
- Steam version problems (weight 0.06): The Steam version of the game is reported to have poor optimization and technical problems, making it almost unplayable for some users. Better compatibility with modern OS and Steam is needed.
- Fullscreen and minimizing issues (weight 0.02): The game does not handle minimizing well and has problems exiting fullscreen mode without issues. This can disrupt the gaming experience and cause inconvenience.
- Sound issues (weight 0.01): Some players have reported experiencing sound issues while playing the game. This can affect the overall immersion and enjoyment of the game.
- Visual discomfort (weight 0.01): The game's graphics, particularly the use of squares, can cause visual discomfort and eye strain for some players.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for turn-based strategy fans (weight 0.21): The game is highly recommended for fans of turn-based strategies. It offers a unique and enjoyable experience for those who appreciate the genre.
- Compatibility and performance issues (weight 0.2): Some players do not recommend the game due to setup and performance issues. However, others suggest using unofficial patches or specific settings to enhance the gaming experience.
- Buy from GOG instead of Steam (weight 0.16): Players advise buying the game on GOG instead of Steam for a better experience. This suggestion is made to avoid potential issues with the Steam version.
- Good for retro-gaming (weight 0.07): Disciples II is considered a good choice for retro-gaming enthusiasts. It offers a classic experience that appeals to fans of older games.
- Explore factions and creature branches (weight 0.03): Players recommend trying each faction and exploring creature branches to fully enjoy the game. This adds depth and variety to the gameplay.
- Use unofficial patches (weight 0.02): Some players recommend downloading unofficial patches to improve the game's performance and fix issues. This can enhance the overall gaming experience.
- Start with a sorceress (weight 0.01): Players suggest starting with a sorceress for easier navigation. This tip is aimed at helping new players get accustomed to the game more quickly.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Nostalgia (weight 0.32): Players express deep nostalgia for this game due to childhood memories and long-term enjoyment. The game's enduring appeal, replayability, and the fond memories associated with playing it over the years contribute to this sentiment.
- Frustration (weight 0.2): Players are frustrated primarily due to technical issues such as performance problems, game crashes, and difficulty in setting up multiplayer. Additional frustrations stem from game balance issues, tedious gameplay elements, and the lack of certain features like Russian localization.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players enjoy the gameplay mechanics, new units, and varied fights. The excellent art design, pleasant music, and engaging lore and story also contribute to their enjoyment.
- Appreciation (weight 0.05): Players appreciate the game's art direction, faction diversity, and mythic storytelling. The atmospheric setting and depth of the game are also highly valued.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.05): Игроки испытывают ностальгию, так как игра была частью их прошлого, и они хотят продолжать играть в нее. Игра вызывает у них те же эмоции, что и много лет назад.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.04): Players are enthusiastic about the game's design, themes, and leveling up units. They also praise the game's mechanics and atmosphere, which contribute to their excitement.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Players admire the game's unique charm, graceful combat style of the Elves, and the distinct factions and atmosphere.
- Disappointment (weight 0.03): Игроки разочарованы техническими проблемами с Steam-версией игры и поведением Эльфийской расы.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Players experience joy from seeing character development and animations in the game. The use of 'Disciples 2 Wrapper' also enhances their enjoyment.
- Interest (weight 0.02): Игроки проявляют интерес к мировоззрению всех рас в игре, особенно к Эльфам.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.02): Игроки удовлетворены возможностью погрузиться в мир фэнтези и исследовать новую расу. Они также ценят атмосферу и качества игры.
- Pleasure (weight 0.02): Игроки получают удовольствие от игры благодаря её атмосфере и художественному оформлению.
- Disappointment (weight 0.02): Players are disappointed due to game performance issues. Additionally, comparisons to poorly made sequels like Disciples 3 contribute to this sentiment.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.02): Players are satisfied with the game running perfectly with specified settings. They express contentment with getting the game to run smoothly.
- Delight (weight 0.02): Игроки в восторге от великолепия игры и её атмосферы. Игра покорила их на долгое время.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Игроки восхищаются игрой, считая её шедевром, заслуживающим места среди лучших игр и стратегий.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Players feel anger due to specific gameplay issues, such as heroes missing all attacks, which significantly impacts their gaming experience.
- Relaxation (weight 0.01): Players find the game great for turning the brain off, providing a relaxing experience.}