Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Distant Worlds 1 Series >> Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/10/2011 10:00:57 PM

Webbco

Posts: 682
Joined: 2/6/2010
Status: offline

My latest Legends game is still really interesting....and it's the year 2808! Settings = 1400 star spiral galaxy and an 80% threshold on all victory conditions (with 65% on population, economy and territory).

This is a record for me, previously I got pretty bored after about 30-40 years or so but cool things keep happening.

E.g. a Boskara empire was on it's last legs with only 4 colonies left, but they managed to find a world destroyer and began systematically blowing up my ally's colonies! I ended up trying to chase it with 2 of my main fleets as it kept jumping from one system to the next

On the downside, I've been experiencing a few bugs that weren't present in the game earlier on, such as character icons not appearing and also the obvious slowdown that ensues as masses of freighters and escorts begin to clog up deep space between colonies.

So what are your experiences? What's the longest game you've had and how do long games end for you...is it the struggle to maintain a vast empire, simply achieving the victory conditions or something else?

Post #: 1

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/10/2011 10:18:18 PM

Neotheone

Posts: 100
Joined: 12/4/2011
Status: offline

I play on 100% of capturing 80% of the universe/galaxy. I don't like abrupt endings like some overpowered AI winning an economic game with 5 planets. lol Or the Hive type AI winning the population victory because they breed like ants again with just 5 planets. Unfortunately due to crashing bugs and flaws I haven't gotten to the point where it's become boring. Much the opposite is just when it starts getting good the game started crashing and wouldn't work correctly. This is pretty common in games with long play times though as playtesters rarely get to those points and so can't report all the issues of the endgame (like they should). Just thinking about all the mathematic routines in a 1000-1400 star system makes me bet the game will fail at some point before any endgame happens. I can only imagine how my system will bog down once I get many 100 years into it with millions of dots and diamonds and squares running around on the map.

(in reply to Webbco)

Post #: 2

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/10/2011 10:42:12 PM

Webbco

Posts: 682
Joined: 2/6/2010
Status: offline

Something like this maybe?

Attachment (1)

(in reply to Neotheone)

Post #: 3

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/10/2011 10:45:18 PM

Neotheone

Posts: 100
Joined: 12/4/2011
Status: offline

Yeah, how's that run on your system at different levels of zoom? Plus, what system specs do you have?

(in reply to Webbco)

Post #: 4

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/10/2011 11:04:23 PM

Webbco

Posts: 682
Joined: 2/6/2010
Status: offline

I've got a i5 2400 with 4GB RAM...but my system is not very smiley when I want to zoom in. Still playable though.

I'm beginning to see the slowdown as an excuse to go kill off the Gizureans (yellow).

(in reply to Neotheone)

Post #: 5

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/10/2011 11:05:30 PM

blastpop

Posts: 395
Joined: 11/27/2005
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Webbco

My latest Legends game is still really interesting....and it's the year 2808! Settings = 1400 star spiral galaxy and an 80% threshold on all victory conditions (with 65% on population, economy and territory).

The play and experience is the thing. Once the Galaxy gets going it becomes "personalized" and adds to the interest level IMHO...

(in reply to Webbco)

Post #: 6

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/10/2011 11:17:02 PM

Gelatinous Cube

Posts: 696
Joined: 10/26/2011
Status: offline

I don't like the 15x15 maps, but I do like 10x10 maps with 1400 stars, abundant colonies, hard AI, and 19 other empires!

So far no slowdown really in my current game, but i've had to play at a consistent .5x or (when i'm lucky) 1x just because there's so much going on. I don't mind that, it's just a change of pace.

(in reply to blastpop)

Post #: 7

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/10/2011 11:27:29 PM

Webbco

Posts: 682
Joined: 2/6/2010
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Gelatinous Cube

I don't like the 15x15 maps, but I do like 10x10 maps with 1400 stars, abundant colonies, hard AI, and 19 other empires!

So far no slowdown really in my current game, but i've had to play at a consistent .5x or (when i'm lucky) 1x just because there's so much going on. I don't mind that, it's just a change of pace.

Yeah, I think I'll play my next game on a smaller grid, I just wanted to test the 15x15 hugeness. What's your year date?

(in reply to Gelatinous Cube)

Post #: 8

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/10/2011 11:39:17 PM

Gelatinous Cube

Posts: 696
Joined: 10/26/2011
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Webbco

quote:

ORIGINAL: Gelatinous Cube

I don't like the 15x15 maps, but I do like 10x10 maps with 1400 stars, abundant colonies, hard AI, and 19 other empires!

So far no slowdown really in my current game, but i've had to play at a consistent .5x or (when i'm lucky) 1x just because there's so much going on. I don't mind that, it's just a change of pace.

Yeah, I think I'll play my next game on a smaller grid, I just wanted to test the 15x15 hugeness. What's your year date?

quote:

(

The latest pictures from my fleet posture thread are in the 2770s, but i've played up to year 2800-ish now. I don't get any slowdown except in when I open those top menus from the main screen, and only then just a quick delay when selecting the filter from the dropdown.

However, this computer's a beast. 8gigs of RAM, Nvidia GT520, and an i5 Quad-core 3.3ghz. Well, not really a beast.. just compared to my last computer, which was 4gigs of RAM, a Core-2 Duo (2.1ghz) and a GeForce 9800M. On the old one, I would get visual lag on the main map screen by this point. Nothing yet on my new computer, aside from those ledger-menu problems.

The biggest thing with playing a game on a REALLY BIG map is that you NEED to trust the automation to do what you're telling it to do. While I don't micro-manage most of my fleets, I do personally create all the fleets and assign them to their bases and postures manually--it's a pretty quick process initially setting all my fleets up as I go, but if a war breaks out and I have to re-assign half the fleet to different areas, that's almost an entire evening's session.

Conclusion? The larger maps require a very different approach to the game. When both you AND your enemies have over 30 colonies and 20,000 Military Strength, you can't just micro-manage one or two invasion fleets any more.

(in reply to Webbco)

Post #: 9

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/11/2011 12:12:11 AM

Webbco

Posts: 682
Joined: 2/6/2010
Status: offline

Indeed....and now, things have gone wrong for my really big game.

I got an error report saying: "Error Cod: ProcMn System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object...blah blah..." But I can't save a screenshot.

Any idea how I can get this to Tech Support without typing the whole thing out?

(in reply to Gelatinous Cube)

Post #: 10

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/11/2011 12:12:48 AM

Gelatinous Cube

Posts: 696
Joined: 10/26/2011
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Webbco

Indeed....and now, things have gone wrong for my really big game.

I got an error report saying: "Error Cod: ProcMn System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object...blah blah..." But I can't save a screenshot.

Any idea how I can get this to Tech Support without typing the whole thing out?

Your best bet is to upload a save. When you get those errors, you can usually still still click menu and save.

(in reply to Webbco)

Post #: 11

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/11/2011 12:16:29 AM

Webbco

Posts: 682
Joined: 2/6/2010
Status: offline

Thanks for the tip, I'll do that next time. Looks like I left the error message too long and when I tried to get to the main menu...CTD. Will load my last save and post it tomorrow.

(in reply to Gelatinous Cube)

Post #: 12

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/11/2011 12:16:32 AM

Erik Rutins

Posts: 37503
Joined: 3/28/2000
From: Vermont, USA
Status: offline

Yes, upload a save file please, or take a screenshot with Control-Printscreen and paste it into Paint.

Regards,

- Erik

_____________________________

Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.

(in reply to Gelatinous Cube)

Post #: 13

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/11/2011 12:29:58 AM

feelotraveller

Posts: 1040
Joined: 9/12/2011
Status: offline

You can also usually copy the text of the error message with control-c and paste it into a text program, before or after exiting.

(in reply to Erik Rutins)

Post #: 14

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/11/2011 12:32:21 AM

Neotheone

Posts: 100
Joined: 12/4/2011
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Webbco

Indeed....and now, things have gone wrong for my really big game.

I got an error report saying: "Error Cod: ProcMn System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object...blah blah..." But I can't save a screenshot.

Any idea how I can get this to Tech Support without typing the whole thing out?

How interesting! :P

(in reply to Webbco)

Post #: 15

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/11/2011 1:34:08 AM

tjhkkr

Posts: 2428
Joined: 6/3/2010
Status: offline

This is your brain.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by tjhkkr -- 12/11/2011 1:35:22 AM >

_____________________________

Remember that the evil which is now in the world will become yet more powerful, and that it is not evil which conquers evil, but only love -- Olga Romanov.

(in reply to Neotheone)

Post #: 16

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/11/2011 1:34:37 AM

tjhkkr

Posts: 2428
Joined: 6/3/2010
Status: offline

This is your brain on Distant Worlds...

quote:

ORIGINAL: Webbco

Any questions?

Sweet Savannah: that is almost psychadelic... not that I would know that personally~!

< Message edited by tjhkkr -- 12/11/2011 1:38:33 AM >

_____________________________

Remember that the evil which is now in the world will become yet more powerful, and that it is not evil which conquers evil, but only love -- Olga Romanov.

(in reply to Webbco)

Post #: 17

RE: Longest game so far + pros and cons of a long one - 12/11/2011 1:50:54 AM

the1sean