rithkil rithkil

Best game ever?

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Best game ever?

Or at least on it's way there...

from Elemental Forums

I picked this game up recently during the Steam summer sale, but I've had my eye on it for a while. For this genre, I haven't had this much fun in a long time. I struggled through my first play-through, but for my second attempt I decided to record my progress: 

 

And here is the playlist of where I am thus far: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1HbNiG5nGTekoOYaMLl8noyLYQlVkeZP

 

So what do you veterans have to say about the game? How does it hold up over multiple play-throughs?

86,748 views 31 replies +1 Loading…
Reply #26 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting edelfred, reply 22

I never heard about it coming ,thanks for good news:)

They are , approximately,  same as FE ,but they have three affiliations for 15 races - Good ,Neutral ,Evil . 2 races are extreme ones- one is Pure Good and another is Pure Evil . You can have different races in army but there is penalty for it according to affiliation. So while Orcs and Goblins or Dark Elves can be in one army with only minor penalty for morale getting a dwarf or elf together with evil races will result in desertion . Even Pure Good Archon can not be in one army with Human,Frostling,Tigran,Draconian ,Nomad  who are Neutral .

Also some other minor difference like armies in adjacent hexes get involved in combat . 

Units can only go up 2 levels 

Maps can have an underground map level as in Heroes of Might&Magic  (They had even the third map level Shadow World -a warped realm in their

Age of Wonders Shadow Magic,which is more developed version of Age of Wonders 2 )

Generally both games are inspired by Master of Magic- so they are  related .

Am very positive .
End of edelfred's quote

Of course! After watching the trailer, I am unbelievably excited. And that's from not having played any of the previous games yet. I hope it can live up to the hype of the diehard fans.

 

Quoting GFireflyE, reply 23


I really like that SD continues to pour support into the product. They're continually improving like....like there is a certain element of pride involved in their workmanship. That sort of commitment doesn't exist in many places anymore. Sure, it costs customers extra to stay on board, but anything good is going to cost something...else it's too good to be true.

I can definately see this game, once it reaches it's rumored final 1.5 state, as being the 4x benchmark for many many years to come.
End of GFireflyE's quote

 

A very lofty goal, but one I would like to see come to fruition. What are we at now, 1.2?

 

Quoting Borg999, reply 25

IMHO, LH is in the top 5.

I live for the day when someone is able to take the crown from Alpha Centauri.
End of Borg999's quote

 

So says the Borg. Hmmmmm....

Reply #27 from Elemental Forums Top

Wow!  Well, I like Stardock and I'm happy that some of you all like the game so much :D

Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #28 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting smakemupagus, reply 27

Wow!  Well, I like Stardock and I'm happy that some of you all like the game so much
End of smakemupagus's quote

 

I'm a huge fan of Stardock after this, and Sins of a Solar Empire. Now I need to get my hands on some of their classics, like Galactic Civilizations. How long have you been a fan of Stardock?

Reply #29 from Elemental Forums Top

I think it needs a lot of refinement and balancing

 

strategy game quality = proportional to how frequent, difficult, and interesting the decisions are

 

FE/LH have a setup that allows for this, but it feels like the game can be very formulaic because there's no challenge that requires the player to adapt or think

 

maybe the player can set up his own challenges (eg. win without using X, win without abusing Y, with with giving the AI bonuses of Z%), but that's too artificial.

the players need to actually be players, not designers

 

I'm sure the game can be modded to be extremely good even without AI (just monsters), but I don't know whether that'll happen

Reply #30 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting The_Biz, reply 29

I think it needs a lot of refinement and balancing

 

strategy game quality = proportional to how frequent, difficult, and interesting the decisions are

 

FE/LH have a setup that allows for this, but it feels like the game can be very formulaic because there's no challenge that requires the player to adapt or think

 

maybe the player can set up his own challenges (eg. win without using X, win without abusing Y, with with giving the AI bonuses of Z%), but that's too artificial.

the players need to actually be players, not designers

 

I'm sure the game can be modded to be extremely good even without AI (just monsters), but I don't know whether that'll happen
End of The_Biz's quote

 

In what way do you think this could be improved upon? More random behavior from the AI?

 

What games do you think handle this appropriately?

Reply #31 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting rithkil, reply 30


Quoting The_Biz, reply 29
I think it needs a lot of refinement and balancing

 

strategy game quality = proportional to how frequent, difficult, and interesting the decisions are

 

FE/LH have a setup that allows for this, but it feels like the game can be very formulaic because there's no challenge that requires the player to adapt or think

 

maybe the player can set up his own challenges (eg. win without using X, win without abusing Y, with with giving the AI bonuses of Z%), but that's too artificial.

the players need to actually be players, not designers

 

I'm sure the game can be modded to be extremely good even without AI (just monsters), but I don't know whether that'll happen

 

In what way do you think this could be improved upon? More random behavior from the AI?

 

What games do you think handle this appropriately?
End of rithkil's quote

 

I think the fundamental problem is the game's reliance on symmetrical progression, like Civilization

this works in a multiplayer setting

 

 

But when bad AI's try to simulate that multiplayer setting, it falls apart

Even if the AI is better than the rest of the genre, it will still fail

 

 

The empire-building / diplomacy / warmongering will never succeed if it's just a contest vs. AIs

even if the AI's get more variation, they will still fail at providing a challenge

Realistically, the only chance they have at making the game great is to focus on the aspects that don't rely on strategic AI.

 

 

The environment with its monsters and asymmetrical progression and randomness has a lot of strategy to it. And the problem of tactical AI for a single battle is much easier to solve.

Rogue-like games and turn-based tactical games (RPGs / any games with a party + battles) have been successful at providing challenge in this area.