Re: Your History With SEIV
4X = eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate
MOO3 is actually advertised as a "5X" game, the 5th X standing for eXperience. And yes, the battles will be in real-time, but the strategic dimension of the game is turn-based, as it should be. I am not worried about this, since the MOO series has traditionally always been very concerned about gameplay and game balance. And, as a big fan of Homeworld, I think space battles are actually best rendered in real time and 3D. Imperium Galactica and SW Rebellion battles were also RT/3D and it worked great.
I like the idea of "eXperience", since I am constantly looking for the ultimate gaming experience. I'm sure most of you here would agree that gaming is not about winning, but about playing, i.e. the game or the "experience", is its own reward. I just hope that this is what Quicksilver has in mind when they mention the "5th X", and that it is just not some phony marketing thingy.
It certainly is a challenge for a game designer to create a good gaming experience. Ideally, a game should not have a preset difficulty level. Rather, the game should adapt the difficulty as the campaign unfolds.
Think about this imaginary situation: you have struggled in a SE4 game and overcome all the challenges the AI has thrown at you. You know you have won the game, and what is left of it is only hours of boring "insect crushing" of the Last enemies, as you lazily finish to research the Last technologies, and you spend more time micromanaging your 200 colonies than doing exciting stuff...
Sounds boring? It is... But, suddenly, out of nowhere, a warp point from another galaxy appears and an alien invasion fleet strikes your empire with fiery destructive force... What are you going to do? Sounds cool? It would be... This is an example of how the game decides that you must be bored and it gives you a new challenge. Unfortunately, such a game is yet to be invented. Just think about it...
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