Red Alert! - Page 2

Aub · #11 January 31st, 2002, 09:38 PM

quote:
Originally posted by geoschmo:
Am I so hopelessly out of step with the whole gaming world? What's the deal with all these "Real Time", strategy games. Why does everybody want their games to be real time? I like turn based. I like being able to plan and plot at my own pace, ...

I agree completely - I am the same kind of guy. I wasted too much tiem and money already trying to start liking any of the "real time strategy" games out there, and I gave up. My only problem now is that the "real time strategy" and "real startegy" games usually get the same space on all gaming sites. So I have to filter out all real time ones myself. It's like if someone decided that strategy games and first-person shooters are similar kinds of games and started putting their reviews into the same column...

Having said all that, there is some sense in the way "real time" is implemented in SU. Suppose they made it completely turn-based. Because you don't have too many things going on (only 6 ships, a bunch of planets slooowly building expensive structures), often you would get no events when you hit end-turn. So the only logical thing you can do really is to hit the end-turn buttin again and again, until something happens (or you are blue in the face

). Their real-time simply means that they press that button for you. The game goes on until something happens, and then it pauses and waits for your actions.

Now I am not claiming SU has executed that policy 100% accurately (e.g. they DONT pause when you spot an enemy ship on your radar!). And, independently of that, there are too many things it is missing (starting with multiplayer

). But being real-time is not the weakest point here. It's one of the rare cases when real-time does not hurt much.

Aub

LLB · #12 February 1st, 2002, 03:29 AM

I'd like to echo some of what Aub and Geoschmo have said here regarding RTS games: I can't warm up to them either. I haven't tried SU, but judging from the review it sounds as if SEIV is much the better game.

One of the things I saw in the review that sounded very loud alarm bells for me was the weak AI criticism. Nothing can kill a 4X game deader for me than an AI that doesn't properly develop its empire in the early game, so that by the time you find them they are so far behind that there's nothing for them to do but roll over and stick their paws in the air. SSI's Star General, for example, had some really nice features (including a planet invasion and ground combat system that I wish somebody else would emulate), but the AI was so weak that in the end the nice features didn't matter.

By contrast, I've played MOOII *a lot*, and at the highest difficulty levels I can still lose if I'm not careful. I don't have nearly as much experience with SEIV, but I'm still finding the AI a competent opponent.

Atrocities · #13 February 1st, 2002, 03:58 AM

Speaking of being able to pre-order, guess what.. I can do it now.

tesco samoa · #14 February 1st, 2002, 05:29 AM

Guys. Matrix games has put out some great games over the years. And there war games are great.

IF this game isn't good right now they will get it right. Which in my books is good for us and good for the community.

You should check out some of there other games and there free games.

Steel Panthers is a great game. And they have Pacific war !!!!

So download the demo and try it and post your findings here.

disabled · #15 February 1st, 2002, 06:01 AM

I always watch the other guys, it's not paranoia, but I never dismiss anything as being insignificant unless I made it get that way.

I suggest we drop to Yellow Alert.. lol

Tampa_Gamer · #16 February 1st, 2002, 03:04 PM

quote:
Originally posted by LLB:
SSI's Star General, for example, had some really nice features (including a planet invasion and ground combat system that I wish somebody else would emulate)

I totally agree. I still load that game into my hard drive every now and then just to get a taste of *real* invasions. I am hoping that the MOO3 described invasions will come close to this.

-TG

LLB · #17 February 1st, 2002, 04:18 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Tampa_Gamer:

I totally agree. I still load that game into my hard drive every now and then just to get a taste of *real* invasions. I am hoping that the MOO3 described invasions will come close to this.

-TG

Yeah, the descriptions sound promising. Or maybe we can coax Aaron into taking it on for SEV.

Daynarr · #18 February 1st, 2002, 04:53 PM

Well, ground combat has lots of room for improvement, that's for sure.

Like you guys, I was also enjoying Star General. I am just too busy to play it lately (and there is SE4, of course).

PsychoTechFreak · #19 February 1st, 2002, 05:25 PM

It does not look like it would become a multiplayer game soon, does it mean the AI is THAT good ?
http://www.matrixgames.com/cgi-bin/u...c&f=7&t=000049

mac5732 · #20 February 1st, 2002, 09:40 PM

Tampa Gamer & Daynar, I'm another who enjoys Star General, However, It always ends up freezing up, I have never been able to get the patch to download, and belive me, i've tried everything!!!
Any ideas or suggestions? Both my one son and I enjoy this game, its the freeeze ups that tick us off...

so we don't play it that much anymore

just some ideas mac