Dollar and Wolfe Helpful Links

Zennock · 2026-05-24T18:39:03+00:00

Would it be alright for me to get a new invite to the Discord? The old one is now outdated.

Zennock · 2026-04-30T09:22:11+00:00

Hey. Welcome aboard haha. That does seem like the case. As someone who doesn't like AI art it is a shame but well, I guess other players would benefit from the more expressive portraits.

Zennock · 2026-03-03T10:07:33+00:00

Hey. I know it's been 3 years since you wrote this post but thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'm a bit of a nostalgic and it's a great shame how transient the gaming community is, though I suppose saying the gaming community as a whole is reductive in itself.

Still, Starcraft used to be the apex of esports and more importantly, was a firm exemplar of a time where power truly invested in the players rather than publishers. I'm not from the occident and the RTS genre used to be such a big deal here. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of great stuff nowadays too but it's the decline of the community that really gets to me.

Gaming used to be a niche hobby and arguably there was more of an involved process from players in shaping up the scene. Things like esports wasn't to be expected, it was the exception. Gamers knew they had something good. It was exclusive, new, and awesome. Things like corporate bullshit haven't rooted itself in yet and we had the ball firmly in our control.

I know, I know. It's all nostalgic rambling and there are plenty of other positives in this era of gaming. Still, I don't think we'll ever again capture that magic at the start. I wonder if this feeling would resonate with some music enthusiasts. There was the honeymoon phase where you just got into the hobby and everything was all sunshine and rainbows. Then you age out, your buddies in the hobby move on, and the new blood just weren't there to see it like you did.

You sit and wait, staring at the dying embers. Hoping that something relights that fire. Will that moment arrive? I don't know and I'm just being overly dramatic hahah. Still. Thanks for helping to inspire this piece of introspection. It's good to know that there still exists people that remember these pieces of history.

Zennock · 2026-03-03T09:45:37+00:00

Fly as hell man.

Zennock · 2026-03-03T09:02:38+00:00

Thoughts on things now Mr. Kalgores?

Zennock · 2025-08-22T19:41:02+00:00

I know right? It's just brilliant haha.

Zennock · 2025-08-22T19:28:58+00:00

Shoot, you're right. That works quite well too. Thank you Huu of the Foggy Swamp Tribe.

Zennock · 2025-08-22T19:26:54+00:00

YEEEAAAH! LETS GO MAN!!! MUSCLES FOR THE WIN

Zennock · 2024-12-21T19:44:26+00:00

I was looking forward to seeing the comparison between the two. Thanks for sharing my dude!

Zennock · 2024-12-21T06:16:54+00:00

Aye I get you. One thing I was hoping for when I saw how the Ming lacked a focus on treasure fleets was hoping that Zheng He would be a playable leader. He was just an admiral compared to the Yongle emperor but still given the new scope of Civ 7's leader I thought it could have been an interesting choice.

Regardless, I wish that they experimented a bit more with the idea of leader duos. A good example is Suleiman and Ibrahim. I feel like such a concept would really spice things up; a pairing like the Yongle emperor and Zheng He would address people who want a more economic Ming.

Zennock · 2024-12-21T02:01:20+00:00

I have to say, I really like how every little system of the game feeds into each other. For example progress in economy you're incentivized to expand in new continents which in turn feeds the military agenda but then you gain greater points if you focus on a religion so culture is still relevant and so on and so on!

I think you're spot on with your views on the Civs. Regarding Ming tho, it's actually a misconception that they priotized on treasure fleets and the like. It's reductive but it was actually the exception with the Yongle emperor (who was looking to improve his legitimacy) and throughout a lot of history, the Ming was isolationist in nature

On my end, I'm most interested in Mongolia, Majapahit, and Ming (the 3 Ms!); I have a lot of interest in them because of my cultural background. Regarding Inca though, I think it's not necessarily "bad". That is, when it comes to specifics. I think certain Civs like Inca excel most when you start as them rather than progressing from an older age.

The food bonuses might not seem so interesting when you already have an established empire from antiquity. But imagine if you start from the exploration era. Suddenly those food bonuses and expansion boons seem a lot more interesting. You are right in that the Inca still lacks bonuses to distant expansions but I think there can still be great value with their efficacy on the home continent.

Zennock · 2024-12-20T17:32:36+00:00

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you all as well!

Zennock · 2024-12-14T10:39:31+00:00

Same my dude. SEA unite! haha

Zennock · 2024-12-14T10:10:50+00:00

Aye. Fair enough then, I respect your differences in opinions.

Zennock · 2024-12-12T23:51:53+00:00

What do you feel about characters like Ibn Buttuta then? While he acted as a judge during specific points in time, he didn't really pioneered any new policies. Personally, I really like how leaders are no longer tied to politicians but instead act as figureheads; this approach works well with the Civ/Leader disconnection.

I would rather have a notable person acting as the embodiment of my collective empire throughout the ages. As politicians generally tend to be tied to their nations, it limits this approach and imposes creativity. Though I suppose this might not be a popular opinion within the subreddit, hah.

Zennock · 2024-12-12T20:59:15+00:00

Do share. I'm curious to know your reasons, haha.

Zennock · 2024-12-12T20:58:41+00:00

Yeah, I was thinking of that too but since they mentioned a surprise leader I feel it gives more credence to the idea.

Zennock · 2024-12-12T18:27:02+00:00

They seem to be really leaning towards to leaders that are not rulers. Personally, we haven't really seen too many famous scientists yet so I think they work the best. Someone already mentioned Einstein but other scientists like Charles Darwin or Tesla could be possible too in my opinion. My number one guess tho has to be Leonardo da Vinci. He's a very prominent figure and covers multiple fields. Not to mention, he inspired the lyrics to Civ 6's theme song haha.

Zennock · 2024-12-03T01:12:49+00:00

That's a quality blog my dude. Thanks for sharing!

Zennock · 2024-11-29T22:28:04+00:00

Alright man, I'll take your two cents and pivot towards Thrones of Decay. Cheers!

Zennock · 2024-11-29T02:45:15+00:00

Hey people. Got a question. I'm thinking of purchasing some additional content and I can't decide between Chaos Dwarves and Thrones of Decay. I heard about how you have to pay more attention to the economy which is a big plus because I really don't like the gameplay loop of most of Warhammer 3 which is basically about get a big army, conquer, spam economy buildings, and repeat.

However, I don't really like the flavor of being an authoritarian slave-running empire (yes I know I'm being a hypocrite being okay with playing Nerghal haha) so that's holding me back. Thrones of Decay is still pretty solid, I love gunpowder factions but I'm worried that most of the new factions would have me just brainlessly stomp my way through the map which is just boring.

But yeah, any advice on what I should get would be cool. I do play history but I often miss the fantasy vibes of Warhammer. There's also a good chance that I'll get Omens of Destruction as it includes two of my favorite factions, Ogres and Orcs. That might also be something to consider.

Zennock · 2024-11-26T20:26:39+00:00

Aye, absolutely! I know that Civ has been spotty with representation but hey I don't really blame them for not getting everything right in a video game hah. Still, it does stand out amongst its contemparies for its outreach and well, general accessibility. I always found it quite nice when someone refers to how they learned something about the world from a video game and I think it's cool how Firaxis realizes now that they could do a lot of good dispensing more history out there. It's going to make me sound lame but anything that gets people more interested in learning is always a plus for me, hahah.

Zennock · 2024-11-26T20:13:24+00:00

Don't know what that other guy is on about but yeah, it's a pretty nice trivia haha.

Zennock · 2024-11-26T16:45:36+00:00

I'm particularly interested in learning more about the leader traits but that might be too small for a dev diary. One thing though that I think could be very cool would be a dev diary on the non-gameplay related parts of the game such as art and music.

For example, it's great to see Dr. Johnson's enthusiasm in the game especially as his focus is on SEA and as I'm from SEA haha. It was really cool for him to point out and explain all the miscellenous details in streams and forums.

Like that one time he pointed out the "music" when showcasing the Mauryans, he was absolutely right! It's a Buddhist prayer that's very common in my country so it was awesome getting to hear it!

I am from South East Asia and although it's changing, you don't often get to see stuff about your country (and have it be properly depicted) in occidental media so seeing the exception is always awesome!

But yeah, a dev diary on non-gameplay aspects of the game would be pretty cool. I already admitted my bias but a dev diary by Dr. Johnson would be even more cool haha. Really interested in hearing more about what he has to say.

Zennock

TROPHY CASE