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rezaf -> RE: First play after vanilla DW - Impressions (1/25/2012 4:13:37 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Kayoz I strongly suggest you bring this to the attention of the Matrix bods. Heh, don't worry, it was just a side remark. Didn't want to start a discussion about that topic. I'm aware that Matrix and a lot of their fanbase disagree - and despite my rant - I don't regret purchasing the expansions, either. But still, in this day and age, I can't really recommend it to anyone when the price for the complete package with base game plus two expansions is as high as it is. I don't really see what'd be wrong in making a gold edition, either - but it's Matrix' decision, of course. quote:
ORIGINAL: Raap Don't really agree with all of this. Didn't ask you to - opinions are destinied to differ. [:)] quote:
ORIGINAL: Raap The tech tree isn't great, but it's a *huge* improvement from vanilla DW. From a technical standpoint - absolutely. The implementation, however, leaves a lot to be desired, imo. quote:
ORIGINAL: Raap At any rate, I find it takes me a rather short while before I have enough new components to start making new designs, even with research cost set to the highest. Maybe I'm just playing wrong, but the only chance of this happening for me is to really focus on one are and get far ahead of the curve. I mean, sure, stuff like combat scanners, countermeasures, the early fighters - they become available relatively quickly, as soon as you focus on getting them. But if you concentrate on beam weapons, for example, you get two techs that improve the naxos blaster, a possible third one and then you can branch out into two other beam weapon types, both of which have to be improved with yet another tech to make them a viable replacement for the naxos. By that point we're more than halfway through the beam weapon techtree... quote:
ORIGINAL: Raap As for automation, I think that's been working great lately. Maybe if you're very careful and know what you're doing, you can make it happen. But the whole process is WAY too fiddly and has too many BUT's. You can automate single ships. You can automate a fleet seperately. A fleet's default stance allows it to be called to anywhere on the map. Etc. If you set everything up correctly, it MOSTLY works. But not always. And it should be WAY simpler. A single checkbox: This ship is controlled manually. The AI should NEVER, for NO reason mess with it. Maybe a second checkbox allowing "low brain" functions to work - automatic refuelling, fleeing when below the threshold set in the design etc. But not: Look, there's a pirate attack half a dozen sectors away, let me try to get there in time. Or: Lemme just fly all the way back to the homeworld to load some troops, just in case. quote:
ORIGINAL: Raap I think the range problem is that actual hyperspace travel doesn't use enough fuel/energy. Combat and weapon fire balance is fine, but engines need to be much less fuel efficient when travelling at warp speeds. This would single-handedly fix the problem, assuming the AI would handle the change. An alternate or perhaps complementary solution would be to (significantly)lower the warp speed across the table too, something I've been wanting for some time. Agreed. On the smaller maps, you can basically fly to every system in the known universe from your homeworld, right from the start. Even on big maps with standard fuel cells, your range is at least a couple of hundred percent too big. I'd be all for leaving this as it is on default - as long as it was adjustable like tech speed or universe size. quote:
ORIGINAL: Raap On characters, I agree that it's a somewhat bland system, but I also can't seem to think of a better one. Sure, you could spend time making pictures and maybe even a background story for unique characters, but in the long run it would just be time wasted since the practical effect would still just be a bunch of bonuses. Keeping in mind that there's a limited amount of resources to spend on this game, I don't think I'd make this a priority given how much else there's to do. Well, but why bother adding the characters in the first place, then? Pictures should at least be moddable so each char can have a different face, but fluff text is unneccessary. Still, if you want to see a good character system, check out Paradox' Crusader Kings. It's MUCH more complicated, that's true, but for a game like DW, you could throw out large parts of it, like marriage, offspring and all the dynastic stuff. But imagine if your characters could make personal friends and enemies, could have a small amount of "interests", could trigger personal events every now and then... I agree that this isn't exactly the first area further developments should be focused on ... but as I asked, if you're not going to make them count, why implement characters in the first place? quote:
ORIGINAL: Raap I can't really say I agree so much on the 'maintaining my empire' part though. Maybe I've just played the game so much that I've figured out what I need to pay attention to and what I can safely ignore, but I like to think I've very good control without spending much time microing. I'm sure experience with the systems at work plays a role there, yes. quote:
ORIGINAL: Harry2 I thought so too at first, but what is actually messed up is the very limited amount of official documentation on controlling things in Legends. And what does exist tends to be outdated. To see how much BETTER ship and fleet control is in Legends than the preceeding versions you have to (unfortunately) scour this forum for useful information. A fellow by the name of Gelatinous Cube has put together some very detailed and informative documents. And there are others. I strongly suggest you take the time to search out the forum information otherwise you will be missing much of the very good stuff in Legends. Not all is good I admit (IMO) but far more than you seemed to have experienced. Well, while that's better, it's also not. Heh. You can't rely on your forum members to document your game features for you. I admit a lot of the features work pretty good - for example, refueling etc. was a MAJOR pain in vanilla, but it functions as good as I'd expect it to now. The whole trade/economy automation seems to work great as well. It's only when you try to adjust one detail, but leave another on auto when the system comes crashing down on you. But yeah, I guess the beef of it is bad documentation and a relatively small number of flaws that are now more apparent since everything else works so good. That sound better? ______ rezaf
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