The long-running "Dominions" strategy series is getting a new entry this week. Dominions 6: The Rise of Pantocrator will be released on January 17, 2024. In the "Dominions" series, players become powerful demigod creatures on their quest to become the next god of gods, Pantocrator. This deep and complex strategy game is known for its wide variety of pretenders, including gods, units, factions, and magical spells.

Dominions is a core series for those who like niche, complex strategy games with a focus on tremendous flexibility. The core gameplay, much of the community's focus on multiplayer, is assembling a magical economy to support a carefully constructed army of mediocre and mythic troops. In other words, in the simplest example, an army of frost giants can be raised to summon a blizzard that engulfs the battlefield without being attacked by allies.

Dominions 6 has several important changes, the most notable of which is the almost doubling of the battlefield size and the number of units there. There will also be a new underground map layer and an astral world map layer. There will also be approximately 1,000 new units, 100 new items, and a new school of glamour magic dedicated to dreams and illusions. For the first time in "Dominions" history, mounts and riders are now separate entities; the UI has also been significantly upgraded; and the new "Dominions" map layer will be available for the first time ever in "Dominions. (Of course, it wouldn't be a Dominions expansion without new factions, and this release adds seven new factions for a total of 101 nations. The newest include the fire giants of Muspelheim, the dog people of Andromania, and the island that rides a little bird that worships the philosopher-king.

Perhaps most exciting for some players of Dominions, a new system of AI behavior templating will allow the community to modify the choices and strategies of bot players. This should be a great boon for those who want to practice their skills or play alone; the AI will be able to understand even rudimentary diplomacy and pause attempts at total warfare.

Around the time Dominions 4 came out, PC Gamer published a series of diaries about Dominions, detailing the journey of one obelisk and its army of apes to rule the world and become the god of gods. The gameplay has evolved considerably since then, but the core goals and pure comedy remain the same.

Dominions 6: Rise of the Pantokrator can be found on Steam and will be released on January 17, 2024. if you want to see an indie company's website from the 90s, check out the Illwinter Game Design website Illwinter Game Design's website.