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I came across this game in Steam that I never heard about before. Its a 4x game and I bought it immidiately after seeing the screenshots. I played the Alpha version a bit and it looks and feels already very polished. It is supposed to come out this Summer.
You are perfectly right Martok. It does not say much.
It was the worst release of a good franchise I can remember. I am still griefing over SoTS2. Although SoTS2 is regularly updated I still can't get in to the game (hopefully that will change in the near future).
I had time to play a couple of turns and look at the tutorial screens - but based on that very brief time, I'm liking what I see. I guess you can only play as human, and can't select random races to play against, but I chalk that up to it being an alpha.
Can someone who has it explain the combat to me. It sounds like you don't control it like an RTS game but give overall orders then watch it play out, sort of like GSB. Is this the case?
Combat is played in 4 phases and is not quite hands off - approach, long-range (beam weapons), mid range(missiles), and short range(kinetic weapons). Each phase both players play a combat card, which will affect what happens in the phase. Most cards are free to play, although the more powerful one cost dust (currency). There's also a rock-paper-scissors aspect where some cards nullify others.
You start the game with 3 (not sure if they are randomized) and unlock more through research. I haven't actually engaged in combat yet, so I'm not sure how this system turns out in practice.
Can someone who has it explain the combat to me. It sounds like you don't control it like an RTS game but give overall orders then watch it play out, sort of like GSB. Is this the case?
If so I'm interested.
from a steam preview:-
Combat is interesting. It is certainly not what I’ve grown accustomed to, but that’s not to say it was bad - quite the contrary, I enjoyed it even if I wish more cinematic angles will be included in the final version.
Combat is resolved in four stages: Prologue, Long Range, Medium Range and Melee. All you can do in combat is decide which action you want your whole fleet to take on each of the three last phases. You can either fire kinetic barrages in all stages, or you can focus on ship repair so your ships will last until Melee, or you may try to disable enemy ship sensors, making them misfire. The idea is to decide your actions based on the composition of your fleet. Are your ships better equipped for long range combat than short range? Then you can select an attack action for the Long Range phase, and ship repair in the latter phases. As mentioned, the presence of Heroes may provide more actions, and some of them may have a Dust cost.
You have brief moments to decide your Long Range phase action before the Prologue phase ends (no pause), you can change actions right up to the point when the phase starts.
While you make your decisions, the battle unfolds cinematically, your ships firing or evading, the enemy cannons failing because of your sabotage actions, shields flashing when hit, it’s very entertaining to watch! But I do hope for more camera angles and ship movements in the final version. This is where graphics really shine, and Endless Space has some pretty ship models and animations, but surely there will be more to talk about in the final version.
I had an opportunity to get in a bit of time with the combat system this morning, as the Carvers kept trying to take the choke point I held between us. I like it. I didn't have a problem selecting combat cards at normal speed because once I survived one turn of combat and had a pretty good idea what cards the A.I. would be playing next turn, I could examine my deck and know ahead of time what I wanted to play in each phase. Of course, I only have 6 cards to work with, so that might become more complicated as time goes on.
One change I would make is to only allow a card to be played once per turn. It would make combat a lot more challenging and interesting.
I played the beta a bit and my impression is the game is style over substance.It has a nice visual style and some developed backstory which I like.The gameplay is steamlined.It has simple mechanics all round.No real ground combat system apart from an abstract system involving fleets and planet size.Diplomacy very basic.No espionage system,stealth or scanning systems apart from basic sight range.The combat system is rock,paper with little influence.Planets do not have racial types but generic population numbers.
I think the game will offer some fun when complete but needs expansions to mature to the level of 4X games I already play.
Having put in a lot of hours over the last two days, there are two areas that still need a lot of work
Diplomacy doesn't appear to work at all. Right now I can't get any of the A.I. races to accept a cease fire, and dropping all kinds of free tech on them has no affect on their opinion of me. Plus, after attacking three of my outposts, I got a message that the Carvers don't trust me. WTF? Who attacked who here?
I'm still seeing ships attack and take damage at long and middle range even though they aren't equipped with beam or missile weapons. That has to be a bug.
I'm not pissed, since I realize the state of the game, but I am a bit disappointed that I've seen no response from the developers to any of the issues or questions being raised in the forums. Isn't that the point of letting an Alpha build out of it's cage early?
Sometimes I think releasing Alpha builds is a big mistake.
I am curious as to why. Personally, I love the concept since it gives me the opportunity to decide if I am willing to risk buying it and playing it early in the hope the game turns out well. Others who prefer not to join up can wait for the final release. Seems like a win/win to me and a personal choice. Only potential downside is if the game is so bad that everyone bashes it publically, harming the future sales of the game.
Posts : 8733 Joined: 24 MAY 2006 Location: 0, Texas
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Originally Posted By Martok (4 MAY 2012 5:03am)
Then you never played -- [shudder] -- Master of Orion 3...
Properly modded, I personally believe MOO3 is the best, most fully featured 4x space strategy game ever made. For me, it scratches all the right itches. I've posted at length about my experiences with the modded version of the game. Check those threads out if you can find them!
"And They shall know no fear, for they are fear incarnate"
Originally Posted By Grim.Reaper (6 MAY 2012 12:16pm)
Originally Posted By DCosta (6 MAY 2012 12:09pm)
Sometimes I think releasing Alpha builds is a big mistake.
I am curious as to why. Personally, I love the concept since it gives me the opportunity to decide if I am willing to risk buying it and playing it early in the hope the game turns out well. Others who prefer not to join up can wait for the final release. Seems like a win/win to me and a personal choice. Only potential downside is if the game is so bad that everyone bashes it publically, harming the future sales of the game.
Because I always see people complaining about them as if they where already a fully featured release.
Originally Posted By Grim.Reaper (6 MAY 2012 12:16pm)
Originally Posted By DCosta (6 MAY 2012 12:09pm)
Sometimes I think releasing Alpha builds is a big mistake.
I am curious as to why. Personally, I love the concept since it gives me the opportunity to decide if I am willing to risk buying it and playing it early in the hope the game turns out well. Others who prefer not to join up can wait for the final release. Seems like a win/win to me and a personal choice. Only potential downside is if the game is so bad that everyone bashes it publically, harming the future sales of the game.
Because I always see people complaining about them as if they where already a fully featured release.
Not sure I would classify that as a mistake for having alpha builds since the people complaining had a choice as to whether to join the alpha or wait until full release. But I do understand they are not for eveyone, however, that is why I like them since I get to make that choice. If I am not participating in the alpha and want to not hear all the comments, I just stay clear of those game forums and when I do hear something negative, I just take with a grain of salt knowing it is not a final product.
Posts : 4019 Joined: 4 JUN 2005 Location: US, Minnesota
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Originally Posted By Jarhead0331 (13 MAY 2012 9:41am)
Originally Posted By Martok (4 MAY 2012 5:03am)
Then you never played -- [shudder] -- Master of Orion 3...
Properly modded, I personally believe MOO3 is the best, most fully featured 4x space strategy game ever made. For me, it scratches all the right itches. I've posted at length about my experiences with the modded version of the game. Check those threads out if you can find them!
I've not forgotten that, actually. Both you and Anguille have extolled the virtues of a modded MOO3 at enough length that it's still on my "to-do" list to try it out. (My problem is that list is already quite long, and keeps getting longer...) So much gaming, so little time!
Still, I was referring to the vanilla version of the game only. I suspect even you will agree the original MOO3 (sans mods) was a massive disappointment, especially when compared to the fans' generally high expectations for it.
"I happen to believe that both parties deserve a good scouring with a metal brush and sent to their room without reelection" - Steelgrave
