Sword of the Stars? (New 4x game apparently)

Hunpecked · #1 August 17th, 2006, 04:13 PM

Gamedaily has the demo:

http://www.gamedaily.com/download/in...eid=0078701454

I've been playing the demo on and off (RL has kept me busy lately).

The demo comes with a "mini-manual" which only explains the controls on the various screens, and a "tutorial" mode which is just enough to get players started. The lack of documentation was frustrating at first, but I eventually found the answers to most of my questions at the Kerberos forum, which has a whole sub-forum dedicated to the demo. Nevertheless, I suspect some potential players may have been put off by the lack of handy instructions.

More information on the game can be found earlier in this thread, and in the thread "Sins of a Solar Empire" also on this forum. For those undecided about buying SoTS, I strongly suggest investing some time in playing the demo; that would be more useful than any second-hand account I could give.

Ragnarok-X · #2 August 17th, 2006, 04:42 PM

So, i take it you like the game, Hunpecked ? I was one of the main-flamers in the thread you are referring to.

Kana · #3 August 17th, 2006, 05:34 PM

I thought GalCiv 2 was simple...SotS practially plays itself...I was expecting some new ground breaking game, and in the end it turned out to be a rehash of a couple fo different games, and didnt do any of those things well..

Hunpecked · #4 August 17th, 2006, 05:52 PM

Actually I'm ambivalent about SoTS. The strategic side is a bit too abstracted for my taste, as I mentioned in the "Sins of a Solar Empire" thread. A good tactical game could make up for all the strategic abstraction, but there's a problem with SotS tactical combat: I really, really suck at it.

However, so far I've only played one of the two demo races, I've only played 1 vs 1 against the AI, I haven't found the end of the demo tech tree, and I've never played more than about half way to victory or defeat. So I intend to play the demo a lot more before making up my mind.

Kana · #5 August 18th, 2006, 06:16 AM

Most games for me...if I'm hooked, or like it in the first hour of play, then it probably will be a good game...if it turns me off, or even worse pisses me off, int the first hour, then I probably never play it again...

DarkHorse · #6 August 18th, 2006, 09:04 AM

Played the demo for several hours yesterday; it has potential, but I certainly don't see it as a replacement or even competition for SE:V. They could do a little better job of explaining how combat works, I never did figure it out. There's a reason I usually avoid RTSs...

TurinTurambar · #7 August 18th, 2006, 02:37 PM

Mecron's idea for the game was the "ooooo.... shiney" of Homeworld with the simplicity of SpacewardHo!. It's a mass-market game designed for broad appeal, not the nit-picky hardcore SE-fan. That was stated from the beginning.

Hunpecked · #8 August 18th, 2006, 06:52 PM

Well, the "ooooo.... shiney" aspect may capture the impulse buyers, but it wears off pretty fast when, like DarkHorse and me, you're trying to figure out how combat works and the game just isn't helping. Similarly, the voice responses are cute at first, but lose their charm with repetition (although I still get a kick out of the shipyard guy; he sounds just like Fat Bastard).

From recent posts on the Kerberos forums I gather that the manual won't clarify a lot of the game's nuts and bolts, perhaps on the theory that prolonging the learning curve will prolong the game's longevity on customers' hard drives. For "mass-market" gamers, however, I would expect just the opposite. Yes, all the answers will probably be available on the Kerberos forums, just as so much of Space Empires' lore is found here. But how many "mass market" players will bother with the forums?