Did Space Empires V kill Space Empires?

[PsychoTechFreak]

http://www.captainkwok.net/balancemod.php

This one.

[Dorjan]

Does that do AI as well as the tech trees?

Because I like the infinite old tech trees :P

[PsychoTechFreak]

But the AI does not like it (as much).

See Q1 thru Q3 here: http://www.captainkwok.net/balancemodfaqs.php

[Makinus]

The major problem is that SEV is not really a direct sucessor to SEIV, as the playing style changed too much from one game to another... I mostly stopped playing SEV because it took too long to process it´s turns in a reasonable time, as it is a showstopper for me....

I play 4x space games a for a loong time, started in VGA Planets and i´m today at Sins.

Now, for the first time ever, i´m considering a Real-time space strategy game as a good sucessor for the classics 4x space games (I´m talking about Sins of a Solar Empire)...

My evolution of good 4x space games:

VGA Planets -> Stars! -> Master of Orion 2 -> Space Empires IV -> Sins of a Solar Empire

[Arralen]

Originally Posted by Makinus

The major problem is that SEV is not really a direct sucessor to SEIV, as the playing style changed too much from one game to another... I mostly stopped playing SEV because it took too long to process it´s turns in a reasonable time, as it is a showstopper for me....

Try Kwoks mod with the small systems submod ... greatly reduces turn generation times especially in mid/late game.
Does this by reducing the system size, and scaling down movement, sensors etc. accordingly.
It would cut down on processing time even more, if it didn't add lots of IQ-points to the AI - but that's a change that I at least really appreciate

[Dorjan]

Oh thanks guys, the balance mod was a "mod" that was meant to be the master file!?

Wow. Also I agree with the "wait a few tech levels before upgrading" and if it helps the AI it helps the AI

[das123]

Killed it for me. I bought SEV based on my enjoyment of SEIV. After that I couldn't go back to SEIV.

Playing Distant Worlds now and not looking back.

[Fenris99]

SEV hates vista. That's the biggest problem for me.

[gregebowman]

Originally Posted by Fenris99

SEV hates vista. That's the biggest problem for me.

Huh?? I have Vista on my laptop, and SEV works fine for me.

[Black_Knyght]

The major problem is that SEV is not really a direct sucessor to SEIV, as the playing style changed too much from one game to another

What killed the SE series was not SE5 in itself, but the absolutely dumb idea to sell it to Strategy First

I absolutely agree with these two statements as to the core cause of Space Empires decline.

Firstly, SE5 was just TOO different from the previous incarnations, and had too many issues combined with an altogether new game style and awkward learning curve. While it does have it's diehard fans, SE5 has proven to have been realistically much less popular overall than SE4 was.

Secondly, and more importantly, selling off the franchise to Strategy First was a catastrophic mistake, and a costly one to Aaron personally. They even went so far as to have barred him contractually from working on another 4x space game for quite some time, and then all but abandoned any further development or support for SE5.

The combination of these two things dug a deep hole and have been slowly been pushing the SE franchise over the edge into it.

The odds are there might be a viable successor to the SE games, but there won't ever be any further development of existing, or hope for any new, SE franchise games.