Score graphs give some information, but they can also be misleading. Army size does not necessarily mean quality, and different types of troops can be better or worse depending on the situation. Some strategies rely on a few elite troops, other strategies will make use of hordes of cheaper troops. Of course, a particular nation's strategy will also depend on whether you are early-, mid-, or late game.

Also, good diplomacy can help keep you alive if you nation is otherwise weak, and being the biggest power in the game could bring on a dogpile of other threatened nations.

A quick question on llamaserver, since this is my first time using it:

Am I correct in assuming that autohost causes a new turn to be generated when all turns are submitted even if the 24h mark hasn't been reached? Or does it just save the host from having to manually generate the turn?

I think llama auto generates the next turn when all the previous turns are in. But not sure...

Lord Xia, master of all things eastern...   Sharp pointy sticks need something physical to stick into.  My troops will take your sharp pointy sticks and use then to barbecue your troops... .. hey, little green demon, pass the hellishly hot barbecue sauce, like now.  I'm expecting company.

Hight Priest walks in.  "You are not the company I was expecting..."  Priest begins whispering in Lilith's ear.  

"I'm a lawful evil mistress of the Dark, of course i honor my agreements."  (whispering again)

"OK, so maybe it won't be Xia in the barbecue... depends on how well our respective minions get along.  Bring in some of those fresh indys and put them on the barb.  Yes, you can have some, too."

This tactics, of course, has a downside - population loss. Each point of unrest destroyed by the patrollers kills off a portion of the province population. So short-term, yes, you gain a quick buck, but long-term, you are killing off your tax base. Plus you should be more considerate towards the other players - your provinces may be someone else's provinces one day, and Hinnom elders frown upon those who stress their subjects unnecessarily, because stressed people leave a disturbing after-taste in the mouth.

Ah, I get it, by using inferior actresses as shock troops, you are hoping for the effect of cultural shock when the armies clash. However, it takes more than a stiff facial expressions and wooden pantomime to withstand the attack of fierce avvite chariots. Plus, your ladies will soon find that the enormous clouds of dust that sometimes obscure even the sun can seriously wreck their expensive make-up. I sincerely hope Jeniffer has not become too sinewy from all those aerobic sessions.

Waiting for Agartha...

This thread is convincing me to buy & try Dominions 3.

Yeah, as LightofAbraxas says, play the demo.  The game has horrid graphics and suffers in single player both for lack of actual tactical battles, for its brutal learning curve, and for its miserable AI.  But, really, it's so amazingly deep, and there's no better imagination juice out there.

Also, I'm a person who plays basically no multiplayer games of any kind, but this is my second Dominions MP game and I absolutely love it.  Maybe it's just the kind of people that play Dominions, or its that Dominions is designed extremely well for multiplayer, or both, but it's really what MP gaming is meant to be.  Single player is fun to fiddle around with, but the game really shines when you play it with other people.

The High Council of Esteemed Kohens hereby officially expresses concern about the sums of gold the kingdom of Arcoscephale uses to overpay mercenaries. While the desire of rapid expansion to secure more land, greater income and perhaps advantage over some of Arcoscephale's unfortunate neighbors is completely understandable, the venerable Council wants to point out that overpaying mercenaries causes long-term raise of price of other hired professions like craftsmen, troubadours, dancers and augurs, and is also a source of moral corruption and decay.

Considering people live in different time zones, have different work schedules, and different family commitments, I see no reason to punish anyone for being the last to get their turn in. It might be easy for someone to do their turn at 10 in the morning, someone else might not be able to do their turn until 11 PM. 

On the other hand, if someone stales (does not submit a turn) repeatedly, that affects the game. In such a situation, I would look for a sub, and failing that, I would put the nation under AI control.

Mercenaries!  I knew I was forgetting something.  I should've been bidding on mercenaries.

Also, I have found black candles to my North.  To the unknown pretender god living on the Eastern edge of the world, in the middle area, I salute you, and bring the tidings of the Agarthan (apparently slow ) people!

Always a tradeoff, current results vs. long term results.

Then again, I think EA Arco is a nation that does pretty well with earning gold. Only time will tell if his strategy works.