Balance when you don't start with max power hero on all planets except first one.
Oh, I thought you meant REAL balance. Not the complete blowout, but 'thank god the heroes don't start modded on turn 1' imbalance that we currently have.
Or the tech imbalance. Like basically starting with T4 units. Oh wait:
And certainly not like when I completely smoked my first opponent on turn 14 or some such with fully modded beast-mode units:
Yeah, I didn't think you wanted to count that, because it was how the game currently is, and what I was suggesting must obviously be worse.
Or, when I just absolutely steamrolled the last opponent, getting to them about as fast as I could run:
With armies that were so grossly overpowered, in most fights I didn't even lose a hit point.
Or when I just completely blasted through with the Kir'Ko, starting with jacked scouts that would erase complete screens of dudes:
With Ascended Teachers and Heralds of Oblivion. Yeah, let's not talk about that balance, because that isn't convenient.
Or that I give a bunch of ways in which you could mitigate the impact of the first hero:
Yeah, right? I am thinking that you can only get X levels total per map makes the most sense, kind-of like in Campaigns. Maybe allow 7 additional levels per map 1-8 8-15 15-22 22-25. Lords carry over everything. I do think though that they should go to 25. Just allow your heroes to get all of the skills in the tree. That would allow you to change their build-out if it doesn't make sense, or you find that one item you have been looking for, without starting all the way over.
Or that I give a bunch of other ways, such as 1-empire hero / map or some such, to mitigate this. But whatever you do, DONT LET THAT HERO PORT OVER. I mean, that could really mess things up.
And heaven forbid that you could go into fights with major landmarks that were meant for mid- or late-game. Oh wait:
Yeah, I already do that pretty much as fast as I can get to them. That was turn like... 9? I don't know, it hardly matters. Typically, they are no challenge at any time in the game, so I don't really notice.
But yeah, that hero, could you IMAGINE if it had started modded? I mean, I got modded crazy on turn maybe 5, but those 4 turns would have TOTALLY screwed things up, am I right?
Empire means you try to build an empire by capturing more territory, it does not mean you become overpowered or even stronger. Alexander the Great hasn't created a-bomb or laser weapons fired from space no matter how much territory he captured, he just had more troops and probably slightly improved his tactics based on experience from previous battles.
My brother, I am really struggling to figure out where you are going on this one. I mean, the way Alexander evolved his strategies and forces was the thing of legend, LITERALLY. His cavalry and implementation were crazy. And his empire ended a huge stretch from where it began:
Credit Wikipedia;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great#/media/File:MacedonEmpire.jpg
And the resources he had, particularly after conquering Mesopotamia and Egypt, were... stunning. Nobody in the world could have stopped him, except the assassins who poisoned him, of course.
But let me just say, he didn't start over at level 2, with no mods, when he went into his second battle. So... did you mean to use this as an example
against my argument?
I am not sure about you but I find it boring to use the same tactics/mods/units in every game. You make 90% of content irrelevant/obsolete. It's like starting Civ game with a-bombs, no research is left, most units are useless, unit building is pointless.
I am playing the game they gave me. And I don't use the same thing every time. Look above again, just in case. I do tend to enjoy the Psifish, because they are amazing for this type of playstyle, but I have a LOT of racial heroes maxed, if you would care to look.
But boil this all down, and you seem to be going in a horrific direction with this argument. The POINT of empire mode is to start upgraded. Alexander relied MORE on his cavalry as time went on. And it allowed him to fight vastly superior armies numerically, but still be victorious. And that sort of specialization helps define an empire. That MUST be the reason why they did what they did already.
But you are fighting for what? To allow turn-1 balance to exist where it definitely doesn't? To fight for that tiny stretch of games where your hero isn't game-breaking? And then ON TOP OF THAT, say that my ideas to change it up are MORE BORING than what you see above? Are you insane?
Here is exactly what I am saying: the current balance is weak. I have no trouble creating absolute blowouts, but with a handful of MODEST changes, this can be reversed, and the challenge maximized. I would very much like for them to integrate some or all of these thoughtfully. Barring that, maybe there are ways to mod the game, where we can play it in a more ideal form. I am less eager to do that, because I have enough work already, but it may be an option.
And yeah, maybe I harsh on them a bit more than I should, but it feels like they just didn't finish. Maybe that isn't fair, and maybe it is. So my bad if that comes through too strong.