Star Wars

[Atrocities]

A couple of things I would have loved to have seen added to SE IV would have been:

1. The ability to set any component as required to any design.
This would be great for those special one of a kind weapons or components being required for X design only. Much like must have life support, could set, must have component Family: XXX on this design to make it valid.

2. One per empire limit ability for Facilities, and components.
This would be used for Palace and or specialty facilities or components. Say One Emperor, or One Vader.

3. Ability to have specialty facilities for specific planet types. Such as Cloud City facility for Gas Giants.

4. Higher limit on the amount of mounts you could have, say 255 per technology type. (Empire Technology = 255 possible mounts.)

5. The option to give ships the ability to become cargo. (Much like fighters.)

6. True counter Intel options.

7. The ability to set multiple types of damage per weapon. IE, Ion cannon will damage both Engines, Weapons, and Shields. etc

8. FIX the AI so that when you restrict a component it won't use it or exceed the limit for that component type.

9. FIX the problem with the AI not building and keeping the set amount of ships as indicated in such and such file. (Don't recall the file name.)

10 A UI based ship designer that you can use to custom design ships then have it generate a design file for it that can be placed into the Design_txt file. This way you know exactly what will go on the ship because you placed it their and the AI will follow that format.

[Black_Knyght]

I agree completely!!! Those are all excellent ideas!

[Atrocities]

I will never understand why Aaron didn't take the best of SE IV, improve upon the UI, and go with that for SE V.

I have been cut completely out of the loop for SE VI and given the dismal sales for SE V, I wonder if there will ever be a sixth installment to the game.

I recommended a while back that they should have released SE V under a different name... Space Empires - Evolution or something.

If they do come out with a new game, that'll have to be the road they go down. To call a game Space Empires VI would be an injustice and bad marketing IMHO.

SE V had a lot of great attributes, none of which inspired me to play it. The weakness out paced the benefits thus turning off my interest in playing the game. However SE IV still holds my interest albeit at a substantially reduced value these days.

I think, rather hope, that people will turn back toward the game once they realize that nothing new is coming out. PC gaming is on its final legs these days and the industry knows it. So most developers are focusing on console games and downsizing their PC options.

The spirit of innovation has been killed off one independent developer at a time. Gobbled up by the big evil mass marketing companies like EA games and others.

It was only 12 years ago that the spirit of radical innovation was alive and thriving, but now, the fields that were once busting with life life are but a desolate waste land. We are stuck with inferior clones of clone of sequals of great games. Gone are the inspirational "Got to have it" games that drove the industry for years. Even the PC game magazines are dead, or dying. The games of today are so lack luster filled with eye candy but no depth. Easy to play, and quick to bore are the standards of today.

Case in point, EAW, Lucas Arts aging game that could have been a lot more than it ultimately was. I played Empires At War and the expansion version and just couldn't get into them. They lacked depth. They offered nothing but ground hog day play. I grew bored with the game within hours. Same thing with GalCiv 2.

GalCiv 2 was really really boring. My God was that a dull *** game.

I tried Sins of a solar empire and a few other games but found them all to be repetitive and boring.

It is funny now that a simple basic browser game like Cyber nations holds my interest as captivity as SE IV once had. Out of all the games there are, this simple free to play game is the most appealing to me. Go figure.

One more thing I would have loved to have seen done with SE IV would have been:

11. The ability to more than one type of construction facility to the planet. One for ships, one for fighters, and one for troops. And for the AI to use them equally and build them.

12. The ability to set a requirement as to what facilities you want the AI to build and it actually would build them. As it is now, it be broken. The AI builds what the AI is hard coded to build. As it is now, I have to come up with a work around and that is proving to be impossible. (Another reason I burned out.)

[Kana]

I completely agree with our your assements and improvments AT. If Aaron could even consider just turning SEIV into the graphics of SEV, with those few additons you've mentioned, it would have been a great game. Hopefully he will consider either updating SEIV (Space Empires Advanced?), or just making the next SE installment we all really wanted. Yet again it makes me wonder who all did the beta testing, can if Aaron really listened to any one when making SEV.

Of course this will be after he makes his Civ clone....

[Black_Knyght]

Originally Posted by Kana

Space Empires Advanced

Now THAT is both an excellent idea and title for an updated version of SE4, if Aaron were to just release the code.

Sooooooo very much more is possibly for SE4, and it could really save the title in ways SE5 never did!!!

[Atrocities]

No one in the Beta will talk about the beta. NDA.

But we all know who most of them were so we know Aaron got the best of the best.

I would say that when it comes to Space Empires, Aaron sets the bar high. He nailed it out of the park with SE IV, but got rained out on SE V. Many of us in the know were in the bleachers doing what fans do. We all regret the game being rained out though and really really want see a rematch.

[Captain Kwok]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with the general comments of last few posts.

Out of the list of 12 items that Atrocities posted, 9 can be readily done in SE5. Of the remaining 3, export/import ship designs for AI and vehicle type specific construction yards could be done through scripting. Only planet type specific facilities at this time would not be possible.

I understand some have difficulty getting past the different UI and it makes SE5 not enjoyable for them, but that shouldn't be used to ignore/dismiss SE5's improvement on many of SE4's mechanics. I'd be hard-pressed to find many non-UI areas where SE5 has regressed.

I'm not so bothered that you guys don't like SE5, but you should at least be somewhat specific in your criticism if you choose to post about it. The vagueness of the comments here just tells me that you never really played SE5 all that much and don't really know what the gameplay/feature differences are.

Unfortunately SE5 was released before it should have been and there wasn't time to address the primary UI issues. IMO, too much was taken on for a single developer - custom scripting language, new graphics engine, new combat engine, formula data fields - plus the usual coding/documentation that goes along with an SE game. That's the issue, too much is made of this 'testers were ignored' sentiment, which is not true.

I'm not sure how many of you lamenting guys have kept up with the patches though since the UI/game has been steadily improved from the early days and might even be "tolerable".

[Ironmanbc]

what AT said "I will never understand why Aaron didn't take the best of SE IV, improve upon the UI, and go with that for SE V"

we could say the same about MOO3
it's like WHAT were they thinking


oh well people try new things and they don't work out the way everyone like it to be

i know i haven't been on top of stuff but this starwars mod sounds like a great idea you were off to a good start and then ......

if you make it for se5 there is more scriping to play with and in a way you can do more

I don't mind the UI i just learn to live with it

i do ask if you make the mod for se5 try to make some more neostandard shipsets (if ya can) like 10 more sizes so we can custom make ships to do stuff like

Juggernought
Medical Ship
Mining Ship
Repair Barge
Resource Ship
Resource Station
Stellar Manipulation Ship
WorldShip

just to name a few