Warlords II

Warlords II

Warlords II is a turn-based strategy game that takes place in a high-fantasy setting. It is the sequel to the 1989 game Warlords. Warlords II "Classic" was released in 1993-1994 on floppy disks. An updated version called Warlords II Deluxe was released in 1995-1996 on CD-ROM. The core gameplay and mechanics of Warlords II is nearly identical to Warlords, but Warlords II featured the following additions and improvements:

• More maps. Every game of original Warlords took place on a single map. Warlords II came with six pre-made maps and a random map generator.
• Fog of war. The map can optionally be concealed by a black fog that is gradually revealed . The fog does not return to a tile once it has been revealed.
• More units. Number of different units increased from 14 in Warlords (not including navies and heroes) to 27 in Warlords II. Units provide a wider variety of strength bonuses and units with hill/forest movement bonuses confer that bonus to the entire stack.
• Any city can be upgraded to produce any (non-special) unit. For varying amounts of gold, the types of units a city is capable of producing can be changed.
• Units trained at one city can be automatically sent to a different city. They arrive after two turns regardless of the distance.
• Automatic navies. In Warlords, a naval unit had to be trained in order to transport land units over water. In Warlords II, land units automatically become naval units when they enter a water tile at a coastal city or designated port.
• Improved graphics/colors, including the updated city images from the 1991 Mac release of Warlords.
• Improved diplomacy. Factions may now be at peace, neutral, or at war with each other.
• Statistics screens showing bar or line graphs of various game metrics such as number of cities, gold, or units.
• Heroes can receive quests at temples which provide substantial rewards when completed.
• Modding is relatively straightforward. Users are able to edit maps, unit attributes, and game sprites.

Warlords II Deluxe

The Deluxe version included more scenarios and (for the PC version only) a scenario builder. It also featured additional terrain tilesets, updated graphics/UI, and more robust AI opponents.