Something Serious

[mottlee]

Hmmm... I looked it up and I did not find even a demo to D/L SEIV has it beat in my book

[Arboris]

Richard,

I was aware of "Galactic Civilization's" long history. Honestly I plan to purchase it along with "Moo III", Stars Supernova" and any other 4x space conquest game I can get my hands on.

However the true spirit of "Atrocities" post is one of support for "SE IV" and his concern and devotion reminded me just how incredible the support "Malfador " and "Shrapnel" has given this. It also reminded me of a nice experience I once had ordering one of your other products.

In an age where most game companies treat their customers with disdain and offer little to no support of their products. It is good to know that there still is a bright spot in the universe where you can still find product devotion and exceptional customer service.

As a jaded, impatient, give it to me now kind of gamer. I was skeptical of the early support provided by SE IV. In fact I was critical of both Malfador & Shrapnel in a post many moons ago...

As many I also wanted revolutionary AI a "Robert Jordan" sized multi-volume rules manual and strategy guide. A 3D holographic display of ship battles that jumped off my monitor screen that allowed me to plot my combat via voice command. Never ending patch support and free product upgrades that I could pass down to my children.

I even resisted and resented the notion of purchasing SE IV gold in order to enhance my enjoyment of SE IV. In fact I did not plan to do so until I read "Atrocities" post.

However for some inexplicable reason "Atrocities" post struck home and it reminded me that...

#1. I come here at least once each week and follow the many Posts on this forum. I have received my money's worth from the entertainment value of this forum alone.

#2 Because of the magnificent game design we have a wealth of incredible game mods that allow for almost any kind of gaming experience that you might desire. In fact I'm usually overwhelmed with the plethora of choice that exist. SE IV GOLD will extend the game's mod-ability even further.

#3. Space Empires IV has truly evolved and despite limited resources it is clear "Malfador" & "Shrapnel" have given this game their all.

#4. Game support such as this deserves to be rewarded.

As a result I purchased "SE IV GOLD " today along with the " Official SE IV Gold Mouse pad" to show my support.

I hope that this post will push a few more fence sitters like me in the right direction and if I may as be so bold as to suggest...Purchase a Mouse pad too:-)

-Nigel Wulf

[mac5732]

I've been a gamer since the 8th grade and have played countless wargames both board and computer, and even tho I shall continue to purchase and play other games, I always come back to SEIV on a continuous basis. I can honestly say, In my opinion, SEIV has been the most enjoyable, fun and entertaining game that I have played and shall continue to play. Others are good and fun but I don't enjoy them as much as SEIV. And as for this forum, it beats hands down any other gaming one on the net. Anyone who has played the game and seen the support from Sharpnel,MM and those here knows what I'm saying.
I wouldn't worry too much about other games, SEIV will be hard to beat, why do you think other companies are looking into incorporating similiar ideas into their games? SEIV has become a leader and has set precedents other companies wish they had.

just some ideas mac

[Saxon]

Shrapnel has a great record of supporting games, which are very modifiable by the players and should be rewarded for their championing of a good idea. With that kind of innovation comes the curse that someone else is going to copy you, which is generally good for the consumer, if hard on the innovator.

That said, the idea needs to be backed by strong initial design. SEIV is great, but Armies of Armageddon left me cold. In fact, it left me so cold that I wrote a review against the game and Shrapnel demonstrated their integrity by leaving it on the reviews page. Runesword, AOA and SEIV all use the modifying concept and, as Richard says, there is no harm in having a similar game out there. This new game happens to be in the same genre as our beloved SEIV and is with a different publisher. Let us see if it has an initial design to match (or beat) SEIV or if it is an Armies of Armageddon. The competition is going to come no matter what (MOO3 anyone?) and the SEIV team (and community) will have to rise to the challenge.

Given their past record, I don’t doubt they will.

[Richard]

I just noticed your place of origin was Kenya. Wow I am impressed, I know we sell games everywhere but I don't think I can remember a posted from Africa before . Or maybe I just haven't noticed .

[Grayhorse]

Shrapnel Staff rock for all their great support. I have never not had good contacts with them. They are always curteous and informative. Heck, I had been screaming for a tcp/ip play for this game since I bought the original way back when. Shrapnel staff didnt have to email me to tell me about gold, but they did. Just goes to show you how great there staff is, and there concern for there customers.

Keep up the good work...

[GhostBear]

I am a big fan of 4X space games. I don't mind paying to support an "indie", in fact, I've been playing Starships Unlimited: Divided Galaxies and find it quite refreshing. However, STUN G has proven to be ultimately limited in its replayability due to its lack of depth. But, for the first three weeks or so its a bLast, well worth the investment.

So, when I saw the GalCiv post, I went and looked at the website. Sadly, (I cut this from their site)

Combat is Galactic Civilizations is simple. Two ships intersect, there is a very brief battle and one of them is destroyed. There are no “ranged” attacks and no “fleets” in the traditional sense. Two ships simply intersect and one of them is destroyed. The other one may take damage as each ship has so many hit points allocated to them. While this may seem simplistic, in actual use it plays very well as there is no issues with “unit AI” and there’s no such thing as “rushing” since even a unit not doing anything will automatically defend itself and swarms of ships do not give any advantage to the attacker.

So, I won't buy it.

Long live complexity!

GB