Majesty 2 Developer Diary

IGN has published the first in a series of Majesty 2 developer diaries, with the initial entry examining the game's motivation system.
In Majesty, heroes started to run when they didn't have enough health. Now, in Majesty 2, a hero constantly estimates danger around him or her, compares it to his or her characteristics, health and courage, and then decides whether or not it is necessary to run away. This is especially pronounced during a battle. Let's say a few heroes and monsters are fighting in a battle. The heroes see allies around them and this gives them confidence; they feel good and are eager to fight. But then monsters get reinforcements (for example, a huge terrible giant), causing a shift in the superiority of forces. For a short period of time, the heroes continue to fight, hoping the situation will change. But, when a couple of friendly heroes turn into neat graves and the cowardly Thieves leave the battle, the rest of the heroes would reevaluate the situation and run for their lives to a city under the protection of the guilds' towers and walls. The monsters would chase them, and a player would have to hold the city in a storm organized by his or her own heroes.