Actually, I thought about a little expansion to 12): after scouting, outliners would not be shown as well. However, on a strategic map, you'd get an "Unidentified monster spotted". Then, you could explore the region (since only Secret Garden monsters would initially be in encyclopedia, Lilith does not know which part of the region a monster inhabits), thus no outliners - or perhaps just outliners without any information. Once Lilith found a skin an outliner would show up with text "Unidentified Tentacle Monster confirmed in this area". If she experienced an encounter first, the image and name would immediately appear.
About 10): yes, it is feasible. However, for a monster that does show up late and has a tendency to match other monsters in squad (at least in my playthroughs), which prolongs its appearance even more, and the cost of 6 hearts... its special power is far too weak. Especially considering its basic combat value which is at comparable level with enemy tier 1 monsters - as far as I remember, an arthropod locust-looking monster, which is T1, still beats Cirrus, which is not only T4, but also of the same class. I don't play dota... though I play a lot of LoL and I agree that low-risk high-power characters area menace, still if they are high-risk low-power, nobody uses them. I once or twice managed to feed that Cirrus all 6 hearts, but they turned up to be a waste of resource, since well - the bonus is not only costly, but (like I wrote before) also short-handed. I think there are stronger rewards that cost less, like atk speed debuff on Scrapper that costs mere 2 hearts. Does almost the same, but doesn't need your monster to be low on health. Actually, there is a champion in LoL, Olaf, that has a passive very similar to Cirrus (atk speed based on missing health) - trust me, if they added a highly risky timed quest to activate it, he'd be completely unplayable. In my opinion, an ability like this is worth 4 hearts tops. Bottom line, this monster is highly risky with a far too weak reward to back up the risk. I would understand such risk on a nuker (that tier 4 unit of silvans - costs 4 hearts (+50% movement speed and 3x damage on hit [60, which can almost instantly kill some monsters])), but not really on a berserker - a single ranged unit on the backline is enough to put a stop to it quickly. If it also decreased damage received based on missing health, now that would be worth... 5 hearts. Still not 6. Remember that software already has an advantage over player in terms of reacting to the fact that it already has an another heart to feed the army. Tell you what. Try to add a unit with the same characteristics and power (and cost) in an enemy army. And let's see if the computer actually uses it (and, as it would be forced to play at least some of these units, if it can win). Because in terms of economy and stats comparison, the machine will always be better - we can only estimate, they work on exact values (Ok, if I sit down, and write the stats down before I hit "Battle", I can probably do the same, but that would take another 30-60 minutes to calculate, which I'd much rather spend watching some tentacle making love to Lilith :D ). Bottom line, the machine will always take the most efficient way to use its units. In other way, it will have already tested all possible combinations and chosen the one that takes it closest to victory. Since, if it does not arm a Cirrus-like unit with heart upgrade, it means it's not worth the resource.
- 15) Give some early ranged unit to Silvans. My 8-strong army is destroying their 10-strong armies at first attempt XD
BTW: What does actually Agility stand for? Because in current release, though attack and HP are self explanatory, agility is not explained. Atk speed? Chance to dodge an attack?
EDIT:
- 16) Garrisons: Since every time I use "Rest" feature, I get message saying that enemies might make their move, I conclude that in future versions enemies will be able to reconquer territories, right? If so, then I suggest allowing player to garrison regions with monsters from the pool, with max capacity equal to max capacity of Royal Army (or perhaps a different cap based on nest upgrades?). Garrisons would fend for themselves (eg, would not constitute a drain upon player's food supply) and if territory is invaded, a battle between AIs would occur in the background (player will only get notified of result). If there is no garrison, enemy attack would automatically trigger a manual battle between invaders and Royal Army (monsters in Royal Army would not lose stamina during defense).
- 17) Battle experience: In addition to relationship level, I suggest putting up a battle level. Every battle would give a monster a certain amount of XP, with levels from 0 to 3 (like in C&C Generals - Veteran, Elite, Heroic). Every level would result in 10% increase of base battle stats. Tentacles would gain 1.5x XP if they win against enemy with one more unit and 2x if 2+ more units.
- 18) Monster suggestion:
Name: Membra
Tier 4
In terms of traits, a slightly upgraded Dubois, but with ability to forage for 6-8 food instead of 3-5.
Class: Speed
Habitat: Mountains (also considering something new: Adaptive-Migrational)
Appearance: Slightly resembles a lizard-cat hybrid, silvery or dark-gray hue and emerald-green eyes. Membranous tail and lots of small tentacles and one big on its back. (can draw if you approve actually did draw it [don't mind lack of light-shade, it's still wip]: http://tinypic.com/r/23lld93/9)
HP: 90
ATK: 15
AGI: 105 (until I know just how and what Agility affects, hard to extrapolate an accurate value)
Special: On attack, causes enemy to bleed for 5 HP/sec over 10 seconds (renewable but not stackable). Cost: 3 hearts.
Spawn time: 9 sec
Mating behavior: Vaginal. Methodical, distrustful attitude (changes along the course of bonding). Ties Lilith back-to-back with small tentacles across belly and neck, then mates her with the big one. Its mating tendril secretes endodermal absorbing euphoric, granting females an intense sensual experience.