That's the main problem with the strategy building aspect of the game: you don't really build buildings, or have any impact on the world. You just put things in the way of this rampaging tyrant as you run for increasing numbers of hills. On paper this is cool, but as a game mechanic where you're building all this stuff in this world, but none of it is permanent... it doesn't work. You don't gain enough. Maybe that's a lack of loot or something, and I assume that's just a by-product of beta and non-implemented content, but if everything you acquire is just a temporary, disposable oil slick to slow the guy down, you start to lose your own sense of pace because nothing you do, or gain, has any sense of value.
That's part of the point though, I think. This guy is supposed to be nearly unstoppable. Hell, this is a guy who can just hand out complete immortality, so long as his big crystal thing remains intact. The resistance against him, it's supposed to be a pretty desperate thing... for me, I think one of the appeals of the strategy mode is because of the fact that it feels like he's ALWAYS right on my heels. In alot of other strategy games, it often doesnt take long before the challenge aspect starts to drop, as your army or whatever gets bigger, and so on and so forth. Which is fine. But I do like the way things work here.... because nothing is quite that simple with this guy, and it really forces you to THINK about decisions, and make the most of your various buildings while you have them.
As it is, I think the buildings have plenty of impact on the world, even if they are rather stompable. Farms in my current game, for instance.... he's definitely on his way to stomp the things, but since I kept distracting him with other buildings like factories or more "major" things like Ivory Towers, I've managed to accumulate a vast amount of food... he can stomp those now if he wants, and it just wont matter. It's a satisfying moment, knowing that my strategy in handling that particular thing to get that particular resource worked. And while he's heading over to stomp them farms, it's a perfect chance for me to rebuild the Amp tower on the other side of the continent, allowing me faster expansion into an area with a ton of apartments and factories. My tactics are accomplishing something, yet the difficulty, and the strength and threat level of the enemy, has not fallen..... yeah, alot more satisfying than some other strategy games.
As for gaining stuff... hmm, I dunno. Seems fine to me. I gain resources, which I need, but I also gain things like perks and levels and entire new spell sets and feats as I go along. Gain more survivors, too, and they gain more skill in different things. I have to wonder if the first game mighta actually gone too far with the "loot" idea.... a bit more like Diablo in that the stuff was EVERYWHERE, and 95% of it was nothing you actually needed. This time.... when you DO gain something.... it's generally helpful. The ONLY exceptions are the equipment, which needs to be reworked, and also the mercenary coins, as the mercenaries themselves seem either useless or incomplete, hard to say.
