[Uncle_Joe]

I truly wish I could recommend SEV. I've been trying to 'get into it' off and on for the last few months. But it just doesnt grab me. It feels glacial compared to SEIV and the interface woes dont really help. I find myself playing the first 30-40 turns and then getting bored and saving it and not coming back. Then, a few weeks later I'll fire it up again, start a new game and repeat the cycle.

I've tried the Balance Mod (which is excellent work) but there is still something missing from SE5. I shudder to think about trying to play Stock. I cant put my finger on whatever it is about SE5 that just doesnt do it for me. I played SE4 to DEATH and would still be playing it now if the later patches hadn't broken TCP/IP play. The fact that SE5 also apparently doesnt work via TCP/IP is another turn-off as that was my group's preferred way of playing SE4.

Like PvK, I'm hoping that it eventually sorts itself out. There appears to be a lot of potential here. But at the moment, playing SE5 seems more like work and less like fun. I'm hoping some enterprising modders save the game much the way mods like Devnull and whatnot did for me for SE4. The only downside here is that modding SE5 seems to be a heck of a lot more complicated so I'm unlikely to do it myself, again unlike SE4 where I worked on my custom mod for years.

I'll keep trying SE5 though. With each patch and Balance Mod revision I usually fire it up and play again. Hopefully one day it will grab me and I'll be able to recommend it whole-heartedly!