Man, it's just not there.

cshank2 · #1 June 14th, 2007, 01:32 AM

Is there something wrong with me? I could spend almost an entire day playing SEIV. It's been, and still is, one of my favorite games.

I was pumped for SEV but... I don't know... I just can't play it for hours like I can SEIV. It has to go in thirty-minute spurts or something.

What's different?

Kana · #2 June 14th, 2007, 01:36 AM

For me its hunting for information.

I fired up SE4, so I could get ramped up to particpate in the PBC IV game. Now you could say it was just familiarity with SE4, but I found it very easy to get any information I needed while playing with one or even two clicks of a mouse. And basically that is how the rest of the game played. I may need to play a bit more of SE5, but I really don't have that same kind of experience.

Randallw · #3 June 14th, 2007, 01:45 AM

I am a devoted SE player. Happy to help out, even if it does sometimes cause trouble. Personally though I prefer multiplayer. I get bored fairly quickly if I play single player. Better to have a handful of games where I do one turn every few days. Also I am not very nostalgic. I have no trouble moving on to something new. All my SE4 games have dried up and I am considering deleting SE4 to free space.

So that's me. I can't answer your question as it seems I just experience them both differently to others.

Kamog · #4 June 14th, 2007, 02:16 AM

Same with me. I used to play SEIV sometimes almost continuously for a whole day or more. With SEV, I couldn't do that because there's still some little annoying things about the user interface that start to bother me if I keep playing for more than a couple of hours. SEV has improved tremendously though, from when it was first released, and it is becoming more and more enjoyable to play, and I could it play it for longer and longer before I have to stop. The patches and Captain Kwok's Balance Mod have really made things better.

Randallw · #5 June 14th, 2007, 02:20 AM

oh yes of course balance mod. It's the only type I play. I played stock once and quit when I discovered I couldn't build base yards from the beginning.

cshank2 · #6 June 14th, 2007, 03:16 AM

Yeah, I think it's the interface in SEV... It's just... so... clunky. I mean, really. Why couldn't they just keep the normal interface and add 3D? Or something.

Raapys · #7 June 14th, 2007, 10:38 AM

There's three major problems I'd say. The UI, as has been mentioned, very long turn processing times, and harmless AI.

It's great to see the dedication Aaron is giving the game, though, and I have hopes that all these three issues will eventually be at least partially removed.

Spoo · #8 June 14th, 2007, 11:07 AM

For me, the major drawback to SEV is the turn processing times. In SEIV, most turns processed in seconds - leading to the "just one more turn..." feeling. SEV takes much longer. By the time a turn is done processing, "just one more turn..." has changed into "well, I guess I'm done after all."

Renegade 13 · #9 June 14th, 2007, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Raapys said:
There's three major problems I'd say. The UI, as has been mentioned, very long turn processing times, and harmless AI.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. The largest problem of the three is the processing time. It just takes too bloody long, making the kind of games I like (255 systems, 10ish TDM empires, 20k max ships and units) impossible.

Atrocities · #10 June 14th, 2007, 11:04 AM

Quote:

cshank2 said:
Is there something wrong with me? I could spend almost an entire day playing SEIV. It's been, and still is, one of my favorite games.

I was pumped for SEV but... I don't know... I just can't play it for hours like I can SEIV. It has to go in thirty-minute spurts or something.

What's different?

I think that SE IV and SE V are two different kind of games. One is certainly more fun to play than the other and as to why well who knows.

I ten to play SE V for only a few minutes before stopping. I think the game is a great game, but just not the kind of game that I enjoy playing for long periods of time. As you said is just simply doesn't have it.

The game dynamics are very different between IV and V. While I think IV is a superior game for game play, V certainly has far more features for modding and it has 3d aspects and ground combat.

Personally I would have loved to see the UI updated for SE IV, and small 3d models used for the planets and ships. This way the planets would spin, the ships would be true 3d and wouldn't get all pixely when seen at angles. I would have been fine with keeping the top down combat system, so long as the ships were 3d and looked and acted according. Adding ground combat would have been a great addition, and updating the UI to have a more SE V look would have been great.

After thinking about it for a while I think that SE IV is for the true gamer, a person who isn't interested in eye candy so much as function ability, game form, and immersion. SE V is a beast compared to its older brother. The ships are bigger, the planets and systems are larger looking, and the game is for all intents, a brand new take on an old idea. SE V is a new game period. Like all new games that take on the mantel of an old and beloved treasure such as SE IV, expectation are high and seldom equaled.

I love both games. I just prefer to play SE IV over SE V because SE IV is more my type of game. SE V is a great game in its own right but it isn't the kind of game that blows my skirt up. Much like the GalCiv games. They are all good games, just not what I am interested in.