Home » General Chat » Circular File » New -4X Space Strategy -- Join for a game?
| New -4X Space Strategy -- Join for a game? |
Wed, 20 December 2006 18:33  |
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I recently picked up a copy of Sword of the Stars.
There is a reasonable demo for the game, but many improvements/bug fixes were included in the most recent patch. From what I read of reviews, almost entirely the game was panned based upon initial release bugs, most of which were fixed.
The current version is downright addicting IMO. Took me a little while to get used to the 3D UI, but the design overall is well done. The game also has a pretty good gaming community w/ VERY responsive developers. In fact, I've ended up in several multi-player games with the lead developer. Makes it easy to yelp for new features and UI tweaks. =)
Check it out. It's at least as addicting as stars...though the interface took me a lot longer to get used to since I normally don't play games w/ RTS features (combat is RTS, w/ turn based strategy).
With games over 2-3 people, games can take a long time. Good multiplayer support directly through game interface as well.
This may not be as readily apparent in the demo, however... Big changes in update from 1.1.1->1.2.1.
SoTS Forums
http://www.kerberos-productions.com/forum/index.php
Wiki/FAQs
http://sots.rorschach.net/Starter_Pages
Note: Should you opt to buy this game. Go for the retail (first of all because it's cheaper than direct download). Patches are released faster for retail version.
[Updated on: Wed, 20 December 2006 18:56]
g.e.
====
"When the newspapers have been read, the TV sets shut off, the cars parked
in their various garages. Then, faintly, I hear voices from another star.
(I clocked it once, and the reception is best between 3:00 A.M. and 4:45
A.M.). Of course, I don't usually tell people this when they ask, "Say,
where do you get your ideas?" I just say I don't know. It's safer."
-P. K. DickReport message to a moderator
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| Re: New -4X Space Strategy -- Join for a game? |
Wed, 20 December 2006 18:53  |
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Updated w/ links.
g.e.
====
"When the newspapers have been read, the TV sets shut off, the cars parked
in their various garages. Then, faintly, I hear voices from another star.
(I clocked it once, and the reception is best between 3:00 A.M. and 4:45
A.M.). Of course, I don't usually tell people this when they ask, "Say,
where do you get your ideas?" I just say I don't know. It's safer."
-P. K. DickReport message to a moderator
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| Re: New -4X Space Strategy -- Join for a game? |
Thu, 21 December 2006 00:13 |
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Hey, that looks pretty cool! Thanks. I'll see if I can find this.
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| Re: New -4X Space Strategy -- Join for a game? |
Mon, 08 January 2007 18:34 |
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| Coyote wrote on Sun, 07 January 2007 22:39 |
I love cloaked biowar cruisers.  Fear the Liir!
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I haven't yet tried using cloaks or biowar stuff yet.
Sounds interesting. I've been playing Humans and Tarkas most lately.
g.e.
====
"When the newspapers have been read, the TV sets shut off, the cars parked
in their various garages. Then, faintly, I hear voices from another star.
(I clocked it once, and the reception is best between 3:00 A.M. and 4:45
A.M.). Of course, I don't usually tell people this when they ask, "Say,
where do you get your ideas?" I just say I don't know. It's safer."
-P. K. DickReport message to a moderator
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| Re: New -4X Space Strategy -- Join for a game? |
Wed, 07 March 2007 17:38 |
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| vonKreedon wrote on Thu, 08 March 2007 08:17 |
I've downloaded the demo and played a game. I like actually being able to fight the tactical battle, in theory, but the implementation still seems clunky.
- In the full game are there more capable CnC units that allow you to control more than three cruisers at a time?
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yes
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- If you have multiple fleets at a location how do you force one of the fleets to be the first in? I've tried naming the fleets so that they are in the correct order in the fleet listing, but then some apparently random fleet is the first in and I'm scrambling to withdraw some ships while juggling the reinforcement list to get the withdrawn ships replaced by the ships I want in first.
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I'm not sure. I've never had a problem with this, but then the largest fleet has almost always been the one I wanted, perhaps it is based on some estimate of strength? (Maybe as simple as summing command point value.)
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- I keep wanting to issue tactical orders from the Sensor screen because I simply cannot pick out all the enemies in the murky Battle screen. I understand that in the full game this becomes possible, can someone confirm this and comment on the interface?
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It is possible, but I haven't had a game go so far as to bother researching it.
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Also, is there a way to make systems containing fleets apparent, like how Stars! puts little circles around systems with fleets?
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Well... Can't you see the fleet symbol in orbit?
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And, is there a way to view enemy ships designs?
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As far as I can tell, no. Rather frustrating 
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| Re: New -4X Space Strategy -- Join for a game? |
Wed, 07 March 2007 17:41 |
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I quite like this game. It's pretty simple, not a great deal of depth... But there is enough to be interesting, and the simplicity makes for a fast game... Relatively speaking that is... Fast for a 4X game 
The interface could do with a few tweaks / improvements, in particular when it comes to viewing the list of your colonies. Also a 'habitability view' overlay with coloured circles, like in stars, would be absolutely WONDERFULL for larger games.
I've played a 8 player game versus AI in a ~250 star map, and thanks to the game design it was quick to play turns and build up my fleets even when I had ~80 colonies... Very little micromanagement needed indeed. The most time consuming aspects of the game have been *scouting*, making my strategic decisions, and the combat itself. Other than the scouting hassles, that's a refreshing change for a 4X, to not be busy playing with econ all day.
AI is a bit disappointing, but the game is clearly designed from the ground up as a multiplayer one.
[Updated on: Wed, 07 March 2007 17:47] Report message to a moderator
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| Re: New -4X Space Strategy -- Join for a game? |
Thu, 08 March 2007 13:18 |
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| Dogthinkers wrote on Wed, 07 March 2007 14:38 |
| vonKreedon wrote on Thu, 08 March 2007 08:17 |
I've downloaded the demo and played a game. I like actually being able to fight the tactical battle, in theory, but the implementation still seems clunky.
- In the full game are there more capable CnC units that allow you to control more than three cruisers at a time?
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yes
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The CnC techs are 100% chance and follow a direct upward path as soon as the required hulls become available. They are extremely vital for anyone who wants to win battles.
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- If you have multiple fleets at a location how do you force one of the fleets to be the first in? I've tried naming the fleets so that they are in the correct order in the fleet listing, but then some apparently random fleet is the first in and I'm scrambling to withdraw some ships while juggling the reinforcement list to get the withdrawn ships replaced by the ships I want in first.
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I'm not sure. I've never had a problem with this, but then the largest fleet has almost always been the one I wanted, perhaps it is based on some estimate of strength? (Maybe as simple as summing command point value.)
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You can flag idle fleets as guard, meaning they will stay minimized.
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| Quote: |
- I keep wanting to issue tactical orders from the Sensor screen because I simply cannot pick out all the enemies in the murky Battle screen. I understand that in the full game this becomes possible, can someone confirm this and comment on the interface?
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It is possible, but I haven't had a game go so far as to bother researching it.
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This is very useful for engaging enemies too far away to see visually. Also, if you have a deep scan ship, cloaked enemies can be spotted and targetted on the sensor screen, possibly saving you from a devastating flanking attack.
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Also, is there a way to make systems containing fleets apparent, like how Stars! puts little circles around systems with fleets?
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Well... Can't you see the fleet symbol in orbit?
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...
[Updated on: Thu, 08 March 2007 13:18] Report message to a moderator
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| Re: New -4X Space Strategy -- Join for a game? |
Fri, 09 March 2007 01:12 |
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| Coyote wrote on Thu, 08 March 2007 10:18 |
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- If you have multiple fleets at a location how do you force one of the fleets to be the first in? I've tried naming the fleets so that they are in the correct order in the fleet listing, but then some apparently random fleet is the first in and I'm scrambling to withdraw some ships while juggling the reinforcement list to get the withdrawn ships replaced by the ships I want in first.
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I'm not sure. I've never had a problem with this, but then the largest fleet has almost always been the one I wanted, perhaps it is based on some estimate of strength? (Maybe as simple as summing command point value.)
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You can flag idle fleets as guard, meaning they will stay minimized.
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Actually, you can choose what fleets go into the battle. I've had multiple fleets with over 30 ships (assortment of support cruisers, a horde of specialized fast attack DEs, around a core Armada CNC DN flagship. Other smaller support strike forces for raids backed it up. Ultimately, you simply choose the biggest fleet to engage the enemy. =)
| Coyote wrote on Thu, 08 March 2007 10:18 |
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| Quote: |
- I keep wanting to issue tactical orders from the Sensor screen because I simply cannot pick out all the enemies in the murky Battle screen. I understand that in the full game this becomes possible, can someone confirm this and comment on the interface?
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It is possible, but I haven't had a game go so far as to bother researching it.
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This is very useful for engaging enemies too far away to see visually. Also, if you have a deep scan ship, cloaked enemies can be spotted and targetted on the sensor screen, possibly saving you from a devastating flanking attack.
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I tend to put off researching this as long as I possibly can to buy bigger guns or econ techs, but eventually researching the tech that allows you to command ships from sensor screen is absolutely essential.
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Also, is there a way to make systems containing fleets apparent, like how Stars! puts l |
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g.e.
====
"When the newspapers have been read, the TV sets shut off, the cars parked
in their various garages. Then, faintly, I hear voices from another star.
(I clocked it once, and the reception is best between 3:00 A.M. and 4:45
A.M.). Of course, I don't usually tell people this when they ask, "Say,
where do you get your ideas?" I just say I don't know. It's safer."
-P. K. DickReport message to a moderator
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