OT: Stardocks Fantasy TBS

[Calahan]

Originally Posted by DonCorazon

Exactly!

I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to force myself to like Gal Civ 2. Bought all the expansions, fully updated it etc. but there is just nothing about the game to like for me I must have played Masters of Orion 1+2 until the image of the screen had burnt itself into my eyes. I wanted so much to enjoy Gal Civ 2, but this so called spiritual successor to the MoO series just feels like a very hollow shell to me.

Stardock seems to be a promising outfit, but they have yet to produce a game that grips my attention for more than a few minutes. Pretty certain I'll pass on Demigod, and will certainly want to play a demo of Elemental before they get any more of my hard earned cash.

[NiknudStunod]

I had high hopes for the new fantasy tbs game but when I heard that there wouldn't be any actual fantasy races I lost interest. I have always avoided playing the human races in any fantasy game so this one sound just plain bland to me. I think I will stick with dominions 3 and fall from heaven 2 mod for civ iv.

[Makinus]

Of the games that Stardock sells, i think the best one today is Sins of Solar Empire, it is a really good strategy game, but the best think in it is the community mods... They really bring the game to life...

I also didn´t got involved in Galciv (both I and II) and think MOO2 is still a better game...

[Baalz]

Originally Posted by Calahan

I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to force myself to like Gal Civ 2. Bought all the expansions, fully updated it etc. but there is just nothing about the game to like for me I must have played Masters of Orion 1+2 until the image of the screen had burnt itself into my eyes. I wanted so much to enjoy Gal Civ 2, but this so called spiritual successor to the MoO series just feels like a very hollow shell to me.

Stardock seems to be a promising outfit, but they have yet to produce a game that grips my attention for more than a few minutes. Pretty certain I'll pass on Demigod, and will certainly want to play a demo of Elemental before they get any more of my hard earned cash.

Lol, I thought I was the only one. I thought everyone loved that game but it just felt so bland to me. I tried so hard to like it, it seemed in theory like a game I should really like but it felt like playing a spreadsheet.

[Calahan]

Originally Posted by Baalz

Lol, I thought I was the only one. I thought everyone loved that game but it just felt so bland to me. I tried so hard to like it, it seemed in theory like a game I should really like but it felt like playing a spreadsheet.

I can safely say that I've had far more fun playing around with spreadsheets than I ever have from playing Gal Civ 2

[Baalz]

I'm enjoying Demigod, but it's not for everyone. I'm not usually a big fan of RTS games, but marketing hype aside this really does have a lot more RPG elements than RTS. Imagine Diablo, only the whole game is scaled so you level all the way up from level 1 in a 30-45 minute game, spit everybody into two teams and try to kill each other's base. You don't build buildings or recruit units (though some heroes have minions they can summon) or collect resources other than exp and gold (mostly from killing stuff). I think it's pretty interesting the differences you can build into a demigod design - there are so many different options when you consider all the different types of items and skills you can buy that you kinda have to have a build in mind before you start the faster paced game (you have to know roughly which item you plan on buying first, etc. You don't have time to sit and consider the cost effectiveness of things durring a game). What I find really fun is playing the meta-game and building my demigods to go against how the other players expect. For instance taking the big lumbering living castle dude and getting a bunch of speed buffs and slow debuffs. People expect to run up, whack me, then retreat and heal to slowly wear me down and instead get "OH GOD HE'S RUNNING ME DOWN!!!" Ah, good times. Anyway, I find it a lot less "memorize the optimal build order and practice over and over again to shave a couple seconds off of it" that annoys me in most RTS games.

[DonCorazon]

Funny, I did the same - threw good money after bad by buying expansions thinking that would liven the GalCiv games up. Never could get it into it - missing all the charm and soul of MOO2. Now I see the kingdom names, lack of fantasy races, etc in Elemental and it sounds like another big platter of rice cakes...unfilling and no flavor.

[Meglobob]

Well looks like I am an exception in this thread, in that I loved GalCiv2. There's nothing quite like playing on suicidal level on a gigantic map being attacked by 4 other races at once, desperately trying to survive in a very hostile universe.

Personally, many times playing the game its given me the, 'star wars' or 'Babylon 5' feeling of a truely epic space conflict.

Perhaps its the interface that gives the impression of no soul? But I would say its polished, slick, user friendly and very funtional. So functional and easy to use, you can run a 100+ planet empire before the game starts to drag. Running a 100+ province empire in Dom3 is certainly considerably alot more micromangement.

The tech tree contains alot of humour, the races have different, 'personalities' (different AI scripts), do you really not have any fun designing and redesigning your ships from fighters to mainline battleships? Then orgainising them into fleets, deploying those fleets for a first strike on a enemy empire? Or building up a massive economic and trade empire?

Surprised so many people don't like it!

I suspect Elemental will be equally polished, slick and user friendly with decent AI. I have not really been paying much attention to its development but have high hopes and I will be buying it once its officially released, personally not keen on playing alpha and beta versions.

[Calahan]

Originally Posted by Meglobob

....do you really not have any fun designing and redesigning your ships from fighters to mainline battleships? ......

I know one of the major beefs I have with Gal Civ 2 is the severe lack of variety when it comes to ship building. Do I use weapon type A, B, or C. Oh I forgot it doesn't really matter because the opponent can just use shield A, B, or C to counter it. Call them missiles, bolts or whatever you like, it's still an actual carbon copy of paper scissors stone. And the early version was pathetic in that little ships over big ships was a no brainer, since even if a ship had all the firepower in the universe, it could only kill one small ship each round. It's better now, but still pretty awful IMO.

MoO was great in that department because you had to decide weapon arc, close range defence, enveloping weapons, heavy or light mounting. Good missiles choices, as you could decided whether it best to fire lots of missiles but for only a few rounds, or fewer missiles for many rounds. Troops boarding tactics, energy absorbing shields. Proper space combat where you had to decide if you wanted more powerful ships that turned slowly, or lighter fast turning ship, or just not bother with turning and have all weapons 360. Basically, a whole host of options to design any type of ship you like. Obviously there were optimum designs, but it was always a joy to re-design my ships in MoO. In Gal Civ 2 it's always just a case of "Extra miniaturization. Great. Now I can have 5 type A weapons instead of 4 type A weapons. How exciting."

One game I did find quite enjoyable recently was Starships Unlimited. It has a pretty unique combat system which I liked a lot, plus ship design that took me back someways to MoO days

[Warhammer]

GalCiv 2 was a great game. Bob hit the nail on the head. I have never played another game in SP where I had 3 or 4 people go to war against me and actually be able to break up the coalition or be threatened with extermination. It was much different than Civ where eventually all the AIs team up against you "just because".

Regarding the weapons, I think there are several reasons for this:

1) It is much easier to make an effective AI when you are dealing with aggregate defensive and offensive values.
2) As a ruler, you really don't get involved with determining what arcs the weapons on your ships have.
3) It makes the game much easier as far as micromanagement in the late game.