Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

My bad, I wasn't refering to any comments. I was just making a facious joke. I haven't been following the posts so I didn't read yours. I was just making a generalized comment in an attempt at facious ironic humor. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

You know we really need to point out that most of what we do now is tracked in one form or another from cell phone carriers to the GPS system in your car. That data is tracked, monitored, and sold. The cell phone industry tracks your colling paterns, cell sites signals to track your movements, and times of day or night that your phone is on and used. They then sell this info to ad companies who then stratigicially place bill boards in those high traffic routes and know when to call you on your phone for sales oppurtunities.

The GPS in your car is also used for the same thing. On Star was recently critizied for this. Cannot find the article or web site but I do recall hearing about it on the news a few months back.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Correct AT. I recall discussing this in an electronic navigation class in undergrad. If I find that stuff I'll post a link ...

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

On the 2142 note how can it make relevant in-game ads without tracking what you are doing on the internet. If it doesn't do that then it must just generate generic ads for everyone, if so then why does it need to do anything outside of run the game?

Exactly it does moniter what you are doing.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Can you imagine a time when your playing a game and up pops an ad for the porn site you just accidently visited? ROTFLMAO... Or worse, your kid is playing Barnies Great Gay Cookie Monster Adventure with Big Bird and Erne and up pops an add for a porn site for which you are a paying member of. Can any one say "Moooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeee eeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Jeku said:
Like I said, I work at EA so I did my own little investigation when the game was released.

While I don't doubt that you did your investigation, that's not a verifiable source that all can refer to and, well, verify.

EA has to pay to keep their servers on, and given there is almost 100,000 players logging on every DAY, you can imagine that this gets expensive.

I can also imagine huge sums of money coming from all of those sales...

If they can not afford to run the servers (which I doubt), then they should charge to access the servers (or maybe charge to access "premium" servers and have free, but lower bandwidth/performance servers). Adware in a paid-for product is not acceptable.

In-game advertising is despicable in all forms. We are already overly saturated with a bombardment of advertisements everywhere else; we do not need games to fall prey to ad-whoring as well.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Are there still ads on non-ranked servers in which EA is not spending any money doing stat tracking? yes

Also its a bad trend what is happening in battlefield games where you have to play 100s if not 1000s of hours to unlock weapons and features that should have been available to you from the start. These features can only be obtained playing on ranked servers. But who cares more money for EA when you play their ad filled game...

Then the expansion packs, they make them even if theres still massive glaring issues in the orignal game that should never have been there to begin with. At least with MMO games you get the expansions for free almost all the time or you eventully get them for free if you wait long enough.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

You guys are hilarious. Ads have been showing up in games for *years*. Remember Space Quest V's Sprint logo? This isn't new. What's new is the ads update, so you don't get an ad for a car that's 5 years old.

Do you get upset when you see a coke can in a movie?

EDIT:

It's not like you have to sit through a commercial-- it's non-obtrusive. You pay for your cable TV every month but you still have commercials--- what do you do about that?

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

I don't pay for cable TV, that's what. And commericals are *exactly* why.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

I know that ads have been appearing in games for a long while. AT&T and AOL have it down to a science. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif I want subscription satellite TV that has all the shows I want to watch BUT NO GD COMMERICIALS. I would pay for that. Turn it on any time to watch whatever show I want with no worries about having to sit through 40 minutes of commericals just to watch a 20 minute show.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

1. The hostility to those of us who are not thrilled with Se5 is real. I have almost stopped posting here because of it.

2. Adware, spyware, pr0nware, whatever. Why argue over definitions when the boundaries have been blurring for years. It's all "malware", why not just leave it at that? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Possum your opinion and thoughts are always valued. Not being thrilled with the game is a perfectly valid POV and NO ONE has the right to down play your comments or belittle you or any one else for that matter, in any way because of it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Now I must go beat my head against my desk and try and figure out why I cannot get SE V to run.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

To be honest, I'm not thrilled either. But I'm actually working on making it better instead of just complaining.

In a month or two of patches, GGmod will probably be getting close to thrilling. If I can find someone to make an AI for it, it will definitely hit thrilling http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Not thrilled either; however, my mod is moving smoothly and strong. I have already started testing using the kids as AI (ha-ha-ha). I wish someone could do the AI for me also, alas I don’t see that kind of support on the horizon and will wind up having to learn how to. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

It take a look at those files PES and my eyes glaze over and I start to pass out. Man there is so much you can do that to even try to sort it all out takes a special kind of dedication that I just simply don't have. Hats off to anyone who makes a good mod for SE V.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Someone else was fooling with the files. I want to say it was Kwok but I’m not sure how far he’s been for the KwokMod. I will get around to doing it; there is no doubt about that. I just taught myself how to do the component, vehicle, damage, and facility formulas so I know I can do the AI also.

Changing subject your one of the Beta testers’ right? Do me a favor and ask Aaron if he ever got an email from me, well my real name, about an error tracker other than the one that appears on start up. I asked him about something like that over a week ago and haven’t heard back.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

1. The hostility to those of us who are not thrilled with Se5 is real. I have almost stopped posting here because of it.

Again, I don't really see it... Who is being hostile? Where?

Jeku said:
Ads have been showing up in games for *years*.

So? It was despicable then, it is despicable now. Luckily, I have never had the misfortune of buying a game with ads in it... Don't even want to think about how hard it would be to return such tripe. :-\

It's not like you have to sit through a commercial-- it's non-obtrusive. You pay for your cable TV every month but you still have commercials--- what do you do about that?

I don't watch TV. If I did, I would set up a DVR that let me skip ads (probably have to be a HTPC). But that's not the same thing anyways; you don't pay for each show, just a general connection service. Channels that you actually pay for have no ads (eg: HBO, Cinemax), other than the short spot between shows/movies telling you what else is on the channel. Paid download for episodes of shows don't include ads either (at least, the ones I've read about).

Broadcast TV is free, so being ad-supported is one thing. But a video game is most certainly not free... Even the ability to connect to multi-player servers is not free, because you have to buy the game (and expansions in some cases) to be able to do so. If they want to provide the _entire_ thing for free (like broadcast TV), then maybe, just maybe, they can make it ad-supported. Charge for the service, AND put in ads? Despicable. It's reminiscent of AOHell...

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

On another gaming forum I frequent, they have a saying: "Screenshots or it didn't happen."
I'm tempted to say something similar here: "Quotes or it didn't happen."
I've seen plenty of accusations of hostilty, yet not a single link or quote to back it up. I could come up with plenty of links and quotes of people being friendly and helpful, so if there's all this hostility out there, why can't anyone provide some hard evidence.

I'm aware that someone will probably claim this post is being hostile and that's not what I'm going for. I'm just frustrated that so many people are talking about something that I just don't see.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Please read back, Sir. I appreciate the need for evidence, but lack of evidence does not mean there's no issue. I anticipated this issue a couple pages back.

Elsemeravin countered with the argument below.

Not being a huge forum-goer, I'm kinda naive as to the "typical" climate. I now can't decide one way or the other as to the climate of this forum because I have nothing to compare it to =/

Jury's still out for me =D

In the meantime I'll keep my chin up

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Yimboli, let me explain.

I've been posting here, off and on, since October of 2000, I know how the mindset works, and I've known some of these guys, on a forum level, for years.

The folks here are good people, one and all. But there is a dedication to the game that borders on fanaticism. And a level of support for Aaron that is truly impressive. These people really believe in Aaron like a holy roller believes in Jesus.

This makes them somewhat ambivalent about criticism. There is a natural tendency to leap to the defense of the game. And because I was an SE4 grognard, there is perhaps a tendency to see it as a betrayal when I criticise the game.

So that's what's up with the alleged hostility. It's not really hostility, it just seems that way. Don't let it bother you.

I commented that the interface sucked so badly, and was so click-intensive, that I'd had to break off doing the turorial because my right wrist started hurting. And you know what? I haven't played the damn thing since.

And really all I've said since then was the same thing.

It may be a great game. I'm not going to find out as long as the interface sucks as badly as it does. I can't be bothered.

capnq and I have gotten a great game of SE4 going at PBW, (which you apparently can't do with SE5).

And so my present attitude toward SE5 is summed up by Rhett's classic line to Scarlett, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

(edit)

Oh yeah, and I still think Aaron really stepped on his **** by going with SF. I cannot escape the nagging suspicion that SE5 would be a better game, and a better successor to SE4, had it come to fruition under the auspices of Shrapnel.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

I think Yimboli has a point. There has been a bit of an undercurrent of hostility towards those critical of the game. Nothing blatant or obvious, and quite frankly, I doubt if any of it is intentional. What I'd like to point out, though, is that it has gone both ways, those who have been critical of the game have treated those who aren't as if we're just a bunch of fanboys blindly supporting the game just because it is Space Empires.

Without getting into the argument of whether or not the game was released too soon, I think that we all can agree that the game could be better and that with the upcoming patches, soon will be.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Back on topic - Review from Gamespot
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/...%20empires%20V

Gave it 6.6/10

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

"Look at all the *junk food*."
- Bill Murray
"Ghostbusters"

Coke wasn't exactly thrilled with their paid spot.

EDIT - poor spelling

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

And because I was an SE4 grognard, there is perhaps a tendency to see it as a betrayal when I criticise the game.

And what about all the criticisms coming from other oldbie SE4 grognards (including beta testers)? Though, admittedly, there probably aren't as many posted on these forums coming from the beta testers, since they've already had their say in the beta (and IRC). But I do see posts from some of them chiming in to agree with others, or add additional complaints, here and there... Why do you think the Balance Mod exists, if people are so deadened to criticism?

I commented that the interface sucked so badly, and was so click-intensive, that I'd had to break off doing the turorial because my right wrist started hurting. And you know what? I haven't played the damn thing since.

I don't play it much either, due to the playability issues (interface is just one of them). It's come a long way in the last few months, but there is still more to do. :-\

Possum said:
I cannot escape the nagging suspicion that SE5 would be a better game, and a better successor to SE4, had it come to fruition under the auspices of Shrapnel.

Neither Shrapnel nor Strategy First had anything to do with the development of SE4 or SE5 (other than hosting beta forums). Both are just publishers, not developers of the games.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

/me laughs, shakes head, and goes to DL next turn from PBW

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

That's a good point. I wouldn't characterize any frequenters of the forum as malicious. In hindsight maybe I was just being hypersensitive. Case closed to me.

*gets over it*

Yeah how bout that 6.6? Isn't there another thread for that?

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

There is a gamespot review thread, yes.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Never mind.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Just a quick example:

posted by RonGianti (in the amazon reciew thread):

Frightlever - You are acting like a real piece of trash. What is up with you people? A game with a couple bugs. you and your cronies come and complain. Fine, point taken. Bugs acknowleged. Patches on the way. Heres a list of work arounds.

But wait! We didn't sympathize enough! Unless people jump on your "lets burn this place down!" band wagon, then people are being "complete dicks"? How the Hell much hand holding do you and your cronies need?

You guys aren't going to be happy until there is a petition against SE5 and the boards close, and all the games are reacalled and Malfador and the developers are out of business because your game crashes and some features aren't available yet. And then, just as AT said, you'll move on and harass someone elses game.


Hostile enough? This post is about the third or so of Ron's that is openly hostile, that I've read since SE5 came out. I've also read posts by others that were either openly hostile, dismissive, or in the vein of 'I'm tired of complaints'. It's a shame too, before SE5 this was such a welcoming community, unfortunately, it doesn't feel that way anymore.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

I don't recall that thread; can you link to it? Ok, so one or two newbies aren't acting like the rest of us... they will smooth over in time, I think.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Be careful to avoid doing the equivalent of say, calling Canadians rude because you met a drunk Elbonian tourist while visiting Alberta.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

what are you trying to say????

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Ah, that thread. Look at frightlever's post; he was, in fact, acting rather poorly. Ron's reply was a bit more heated than necessary, sure, but it was hostility towards a flaming post... It was not in response to a mature, civil complaint, but to hostile flaming. His view point certainly doesn't represent any sort of majority, though.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Ok, then blatantly.

Don't take random misbehaving new people to be representative of this forum.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

sorry bad joke, i was trying to be the typical misinterpreting overreactor to a harmless statement =P

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

I disagree. The first sentence of Ron's post calling fright 'trash' was in response to his, in my opinion, over the top/derogatory remark about you and SJ. The rest of his post has to do with complaints by fright (and others, referenced as 'cronies') about SE5. If this kind of overt hostility is going to be written off as being a little too 'heated', or dismissed because it's a newbie being hostile and not someone with a large post count, than I doubt the much more frequent subtle negativity towards the people who aren't impressed by the current state of the game, will ever be acknowledged. In my opinion this is largely due to willful blindness.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

So much imagined drama... Personally, I'd rather go back to discussing the game.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Wow this is starting to get (ahem) stressful. I think this is the point were I would try to crack some pointless joke that has little to do with the topic. However I doubt even my pointless and dry humor would work. How about this? Let’s all take a little of President Roslin’s advice… someone must be the first to let it go. I left this forum once over the hostile attitude of members. Those members are long gone now. The state of the board is very open and peaceful, but in this matter of who is right and is the game broken I see the starts of another cataclysm.

So, can we just let it go and get back on topic?

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Swiss Cheese?

Oh wait different thread...

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

I tried Swiss cheese once, but my fingers got stuck in the holes. Still have nightmares about that one. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

We all need the understand that no matter what we will always have those days where we say things that we normally wouldn't say. A drunk mans comments are a sober mans secrets may be the common belief, but trust me, they seldom are his reality.

Lets stop beating each other up over our varying levels of dissapointment and anger at the current state of SE V. We can all agree, I hope, that as time goes on the game will improve. Lets leave the past in the past and look toward the future. Otherwise, if the flames and rudeness continue, we may start to see thread being locked. That I do hope never occures, but it will if things continue to be aloud to spiral out of control.

Lets keep a focus on the positives shall we? The game is out, the first 4x game in years, and despite buggish set backs that we all know will be worked out, we at least have our game and its no Phantom Menance.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Be glad it was only your fingers!

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

You can't prove that ever happened!!! Did you hear it from that doctor at the ER? He's lying that was just my pinky!

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Starshadow:
That's exactly my point. Stop blaming US for what new people say. Give them a chance to have their rough edges polished off.
If the heat level is decreasing with time, things will probably end up all right.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

OK, so, I spent a lot of time when SE5 first came out being dissappointed with, and griping about, the UI.

I see now that there are a bunch of patches out - and I'm willing to fire up the game again to give it a fair shake.

But before I get up the energy to do that I need to ask: has the UI been improved at all? My primary gripes with it revolved around not being able to see things on the main screen, and the tediousness of the ship design. Have these been addressed at all? I have read through much of the patch history but they're pretty sparse in their descriptions of what the UI changes have been.

Most of the other patch fixes sound great, but there are still some things that I didn't see there - but I am hopeful that MM is fixing them as well...the UI remains my main concern...

Thanks, for any info, in advance.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

Well, the majority of the tediousness of the design is inherent in the slot layout system... mouse movements between every click is a given.
Using the shift key to place/remove multiple items in a row is critical to your sanity on the design screen. It has been an option all along, but you may not have known about it.
GGmod will also help a lot, once it comes out. Knowing that there is some benefit to the work will alleviate some of the drudgery. (GGmod has directional armor, and internal damage isn't instantly fatal so it matters where you put the armor plates and internals)


The main screen... what things in particular?
For the 3D view, I suggest using high rez, to minimize the UI's footprint and get the most screen area for the actual view. Also, using the angled view and tilting it will essentially compress the vertical extent of the map and allow you to make it fill your screen, more or less.
Definitely get one of the flag-shrinking downloads (thanks to TNZ for that one) from this forum.

See: http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...mainscreen.jpg

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

And don't forget that the most flexible UI is your brain!

I was first too quite unhappy with the UI, but the more I play SE V the less problems I have.

As I said already IMO the real limitation is the hardware/computer resources SE V needs in a larger/advanced game. My system (Athlon 3400+, 512MB RAM, Nividia GeForce FX 5500) may not be the newest, but is far above the published system requirements. And in a game at stardate 2412.0 with about 70 systems and 18 empires a game turn processing lasts several minutes. Even changing the system display or some larger lists may take a few seconds. Compared to SE IV this is a huge difference on my computer.

Re: SE5 bad reviews and problems.
 

On hi rez - many people's pc's don't run the game well. But if you have a small screen or a laptop like I do, there is no way to reduce the UI footprint. It should be made minimizable; ie the button area, info area and map separately. Angling it works to an some extent but its just not suited for my taste.

On another note, the columns for various info such as ships, planets, colonies should be made movable just as in any windows app, so we could fit more when using custom layouts. Since the column width is fixed, there is wasted space I could use to put another selected column into.