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Archy -> Early feedback and pro/con (12/2/2009 4:10:38 PM)
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Greetings
I play any genre but in the 4x type i played these : SE5,GALCIV2+expantions,SOTS,LE:I.
I find Armada 2526 a melting pot of all those but in a better flow/balance.
Armada is by far the one with most potential to my eyes and also the most stylish. Graphics are top notch in both starmap and combat modes.
The whole thing is very well blended togheter and i love both equally as i do play my combats most of the time. I wish i could change font/font size and perhaps some other hud UI schemes and id like to choose my Flag Logo+Color and other stuff like that.
When you first pick up the game you are a bit overwhelmed but after an hour or so you get past the learning curve of the UI and it all becomes very clear, very fast, and also becomes impressive. One of the best UI i have seen in a 4x game and also lots of potential. Yet again, i wish you could move windows though.
I started with the tutorial, and learned my way trough. It was a very good experience as i learned a lot from mistakes and after 3 games in about 2 evenings i eventually took my objective.
The custom game options are pretty cool. Im started experimenting with options and after 2 trys i found a sweet spot i wanted to to play in because i didnt know how dense/sparse stuff would be etc.
So my first game is 120x80 16 players and 2000 turns. I'm at 210 atm.
Very impressed with this new 4x game. I will state my pro's/con's and whats obviously missing to my eyes. Keep in mind that the game is not perfect and never will be but i have never had so much fun in a 4x game.
Pros :
- Feels almost like a next gen 4x game due to the pace/combat.
- I enjoy both starmap&combat ui's and graphics.
- Depth in some various areas
- Impressive technology/diplomacy aspects/systems.
- Logistic/Economy actually feels like one. *i do not agree that the economy needs a boost for humans*
- Replayability
- up to 104 players, 1 million turns. Custom games have great options.
- Games have a good pace
- There are great formation types in the realtime combat, combined arms on planets is awesome.
- Nice overall system for structures, defences, ships, fleets, details, colonys.
- I found the game quite original in how you have to manage technology/research
- Good balance of micro/macro and gameplay balance.
- Great Charts for stats
Now here's what i feel are the Major things missing , theres not much imho.
1 : This game needs multiplayer, lan/tcp ip , pbem. Ill buy 3 more copies if you give me lan and spread the word, the game has too much potential both coop and pvp. Give people a chat lobby/metaserver if possible
2 : This game has a great technology/research system but to be honest i think the tech tree should continue at least 2x longer if not more. Perhaps there should be a way to add / remove techs in the tree to make games shorter/longer. Its clear that they could double the tech tree size, the branches are great, but it ends too quickly for my taste as i found the game to actually progress faster than the other 4x games ive played without removing depth.
*i honestly feel like the current tech tree is perfect but JUST for the tutorial , should be much longer/bigger in a real game with options if possible*
3 : The game needs custom ships/factions , i like the variety but there is not enough depth in ship/faction customization. This game really needs some kind of faction creator with list of traits etc, and flag/icon choices and color/picture. Im not asking 3 decks of 20 slots for my merlins or fancy useless 3d designs but a little more depth in the Faction/internal areas. The game outshines your spaceship/ground unit content imho its not on par yet in terms of depth. More planet variety / randomness would be nice. More random stats on various things making the totality less 'generic'.
Other than that theres very few minor annoyances.
- I can alt tab but music volume goes maxxed when coming back in.
- When someone makes you an offer the offer balance does not adjust unless you counter offer.
- Player opinion/agreement review windows can be hard to find
- Lack of Internal control/Lack of unique structures
- ai pathing exploits ( i can handle and survive vs 40 ships with 2 militias, there are pathing exploits)
- cannot tilt the starmap (beautifull 2d that would deserve some kind of way to turn/tilt)
- not enough hovering pop up informations
- overall feels great, lots of potential still for adding/perfecting. There is always room for perfection. Clearly.
In conclusion, i feel like this game is by far the best 4x title out there in every aspect altough a bit incomplete in other suprising aspects like multiplayer. This game screams coop/pvp and also deserves it, just like a 'complete' tech tree and more content in the ship customisation area. It's really not much and the minor stuff is not as important as its mostly bugs/glitches. I find the game quite stable but i had error once in tutorial. Great tutorial can be helpfull before getting into the big game.
I would recomend this game to anyone whos into 4x games , the game overall is impressive without being too overwhelming. It needs a few more features/patches/fixes and its really a must. Right now you can easily make a custom game that suits your taste in terms of star density/ universe size / faction numbers etc and can get a very nice experience.
right now this game is a solid 7.5/10 , can easily reach 9.5 with something similar to what i mentionned in a very short time. Polishing / new features and new content will make this game successfull if taken seriously. This game has modding and i would like to remind the devs that 4x games are not stricly for people who play alone, especially armada 2526 with the hybrid combat/starmap as well as a very original technology/research system that's not being used at it's maximum potential.
Have fun and S!
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