2big2fail

Going to try out the demo, thanks for this thread

[quote who="Tasunke" reply="37" id="2619790"]Personally I don't mind having a few things in the game which the AI does not know how to employ. Such things include things which might not add *alot* to gameplay, but can quickly turn into massively awesome when given the right circumstance. For instance SHADOWS. If the AI had learned how to appropriately use hawks, Shadows would have been massively worthless/useless. As-is, Shadows (while limited) can be incredib

[quote who="HuaynaCapac" reply="35" id="2619560"]Let me just interrupt the gushing a bit - I love SMAC/X, it's my favourite all-time game. A lot of the concepts are highly original and fun, and the narrative and way in which it builds the setting's verisimilitude is amazing considering it's a 4X TBS and not an RPG. The AI in that game was pretty bad. Don't put anything like probe teams in Elemental unless the AI will use them to their full effect. Don't make unit designer co

[quote who="Dale_" reply="28" id="2619088"]SMAC is too story driven. Feels like being herded down a single path. Not good for a strategy game. I also feel the same about Rhye's Civ4 mod. That mod scripted history way too much. Left no choices as there was only one right choice. And no choices is a BAD thing for a strategy game. I prefer the open-ended choices of Civ personally. But I will say the story and how Planet related to the sto

I'd really like to see two things: Elo rating Feedback rating - What I mean by that is at the end of every game a player can rate the other player for enjoyability. Elo rating would be best for competitive play in EWOM while the Feedback statistic might help you at the lobby screen if you are playing in a pub game. Feedback might also encompass the person's disconnects in a way that a simple disconnect number cannot. For example, it's much more deleterio

[quote who="HornedToad" reply="19" id="2613160"] You completely missed the point of what he was saying and don't seem to handle constructive criticism and so revert to insulting him. [/quote] At a certain point, basic communication comes before your sense of internet outrage. [quote who="HornedToad" reply="19" id="2613160"]Comparing ME2 cutscenes to AC cutscenes is idiotic and hurts your point. If you didn't include that then the post would be much more

[quote who="Adante" reply="17" id="2613045"]I loved AC and AC:AC was one of the best games I have ever played, and I like the points you are trying to make about the importance of faction uniqueness, yet however when you compare Mass Effect 2 and AC I just feel like we are talking about apples and oranges here. Mass Effect is an enjoyable game to a great deal of people, just the same as how AC is an enjoyable game to a lot of people. They each have something that people are looking

I agree with the three points and would like to add another. Design the AI to win. Not to come in second place.

gameplay AC's gameplay has not been duplicated to this day. The noticeable exception being civ 2. The more recent iterations of the civ series have taken a step backwards in some respects. Anyways, since EWOM is not a duplicate of AC it won't do us any good to talk about the specific features of the game, rather one should focus on what the effect those features has on AC. factions What did AC

Ill post up the rest this weekend but I should clarify something now. The post isn't about the cut-scenes, the post has nothing to do with cut-scenes. (ok maybe a little) The point is that designing a video game is like designing machine, not an ice cream sunday. More is not always more. In the end whats important is the feel of the game not the features within the game. This is what I mean by the sheer craftsmanship. Cut-scenes are just lumped in

With respect to the op: It seems to me that turn advantage isn't the problem (I'd say this is something you want) The problem is the homogeneity of tech per sovereign. 1)If it is in every players best interest to trade tech indiscriminately 2)every player will trade tech 3)if every player trades tech 4)tech per sovereign will be homogeneous 5) if tech is homogeneous, why have tech? This applies to multiplaye

[quote who="Wintersong" reply="3" id="2601752"]Because Mass Effect 2 is the best TURN BASED STRATEGY GAME ever. Really. [/quote] "WHOOOOOOOSH" isn't just a sound made by spaceships in Mass Effect, it's also the sound of points going right over your head. General craftsmanship of a game has absolutely nothing to do with the genre. Now, if I was to complain that the gameplay in mass effect 2 was lacking because it didn't have city/

Alpha Centauri (AC) is one of the most well-made video games ever. It is the best of the civ series and the zenith of strategy games. When any game, elemental especially (EWOM), attempts to compete in the same field, video games and strategy video games, it is important to ask yourself what makes players gush about a 10 year old game in my beta forums? I hope to answer that in this post and I hope that some of this will be new or prove insightful for the developers. AC

[quote who="Myles" reply="4" id="2595054"] Quoting 2big2fail, reply 2Testers and developers aren't the same people. No doubt all the testers want the game to go into multiplayer and add the 3d engine but that's because our livelihood (ok maybe that is a bit dramatic) isn't on the line. In short, I want to play more of the game but that's only because I don't care if it throws off their beta strategy. You'd be surprised at how professional most beta testers are. I doubt 70% would rec

Testers and developers aren't the same people. No doubt all the testers want the game to go into multiplayer and add the 3d engine but that's because our livelihood (ok maybe that is a bit dramatic) isn't on the line. In short, I want to play more of the game but that's only because I don't care if it throws off their beta strategy.