Re: IGN 6.6 Review
 

Lack of story is not the real problem. It's the lack of a well-designed way of controlling the depth and complexity of the game.

Re: IGN 6.6 Review
 

And that is what I mean by generic - nothing to mark it apart from other games (the year doesn't count), no indication of how you got there or what previous events shaped the galaxy.

With GalCiv you have races with (some) personality and the Dread Lords in the current version, a legacy from a previous war. In IG1 and 2 you have a background story with some in-game impact (a secret weapon in 1, a race-specific goal in 2). Homeworld is one of the best examples - your race has found out their planet is not their original home but a place of exile from a disastrous war. Haegemonia gives you a civil war to resolve before a period of exploration and encountering alien races (though this is quite tightly scripted). Moo2 you had the Antarans - but also Orion and the Guardian. Star Control gave you some of the wierdest aliens ever and Ascendancy had some of the most original (shame it's mechanics were flawed in so many other ways though).

As for previous SE experience, I've played both SEIII and IV and everything above applies to them also. Your posts suggest that you've never played anything else...

Re: IGN 6.6 Review
 

My post suggests that I have an imagination; that the SE series allows me to mod the details and story and depth as far as I care to. Your post suggests you want scripted events and as I said before if that is what you are looking for go play StarFury. Our posts clearly indicate that we see this in two different ways and there appears to be no middle ground. Agreed to disagree before this turns into a flaming.

Re: IGN 6.6 Review
 

In order:
GalCiv also restricts you to playing humans only. Most SE players would call that a bad tradeoff. (think they changed that for GC2?)

Homeworld is a mission-based RTS, not a 4x.

Haegemonia: see "tightly scripted" this is bad.

MOO2 does it the best out of all the examples, and even there it just turns into a win condition plus space monsters. Nothing major.

Star Control: Not a 4X. Only one scenario. Again, most SE players would consider that a bad tradeoff.

Ascendency had about as much backstory as SE.

Re: IGN 6.6 Review
 

Less hardcoded story = more flexibility = more replayability.

I'm making a unique story each time. And if those Phong don't like it, they can research their own doomsday devices http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

If SE4 had a fixed story we wouldn't still be playing it after 7 years.

Re: IGN 6.6 Review
 

AstralWanderer said:[
As for previous SE experience, I've played both SEIII and IV and everything above applies to them also.

You're right, that was one of the big strengths of previous SE games too. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Re: IGN 6.6 Review
 

In GalCiv2 you can play any race, or create your own custom race. The storyline is also optional.

In any case, SE5 could be given a great storyline that wouldn't detract from gameplay in any way, just by making it a set of scenarios. Hopefully this will be possible at some point if a scenario creator/editor is made/released.

Re: IGN 6.6 Review
 

Technically, it's entirely possible right now. You can script events (which presumably means you could schedule them for certain turns), you can play all players to set up the scenario situation... Sure it's a little tedious, but quite doable. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: IGN 6.6 Review
 

/delurk


Ok, I see it here again, a mention that Strategy First has 'Acquired' Malfador Machinations.. wtf? (sorry for the foul language) SFI Acquired 'Intellectual Property' From Malfador. they did not 'Acquire the company'. They got the Name and lisence for the Space Empires Franchise. PERIOD!

What does this mean? It means that SE and it's future are in SFI's hands, This Includes 'Starfury' since it's official name is "Space Empires: Starfury". They do not for example have the rights to Dungeon Odyssey, and If Aaron should so choose to start a new series of games he is free to do so.

Misinformation is worse than a bad review. It bugs me to no end. And here's a opinion of SFI.. They went through hell, Most companies would have gave up and pulled the plug, threw in the towel. Did they? No, they stuck with it and suffered the consequences. They can't change the past, only try their best to make the future bright. (Poo! happens to good people, anyone care to dispute this fact? It does not make the poo smell better, and spreading it around only serves to 'soil' everyone involved. grrrr..)

Sorry for the rant, but this misinformation about the 'Acquisition' has been going around long enough. It Irks me.

Nuf Said, Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: IGN 6.6 Review