A little info from Strategy First...

[Renegade 13]

Strategy First Link, scroll to the very bottom (http://www.strategyfirst.com/en/games/upcoming/)

Ok, I was looking at the upcoming titles coming from Strategy First, and saw SE5 had showed up. I looked at the expected release date...and it wasn't what I expected. Take a look at the link, scroll to the very bottom and take a look at the expected release date for SE5. I hope it's not right.

[NullAshton]

Hey, it's good if it's a christmas release, more people get it. And more time for us to betatest, getting all the bugs out http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Atrocities]

My bet is August 2006 for either the game or a Demo.

[Captain Kwok]

Umm, Feb 2006 has been the date mentioned most often so I don't see why you are surprised.

[Combat Wombat]

thats not what I was expecting

[Fyron]

Winter 2006 can mean the beginning of 2006 too, you know. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Atrocities]

Captain Kwok said:
Umm, Feb 2006 has been the date mentioned most often so I don't see why you are surprised.



I think he is thinking Oct/Nov/Dec 2006 and not Jan/Feb/March 2006.

[Renegade 13]

Well, when it says winter 2006, I assume Oct, Nov, Dec. I don't think anyone has officially heard anything from anyone who'd know for a long time now, so any date could be plausible.

[Kana]

And that would be a shame...GC2 will be out before that...and Civ IV, and well...lets just say I dont' think I can wait a year...

Kana

[Will]

Well, technically 'Winter' (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) is December 22 - March 20/21.

I guess the Aussies won't be seeing SEV until around July 2006... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/firedevil.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Randallw]

Well I was planning to import it anyway as I didn't expect it to be in stores here. On the other hand I have seen O.R.B in the shop here and that's a strategy first game.

[NullAshton]

O.R.B. is a really old game. I've had it for a couple of years now...

[Baron Munchausen]

Winter starts on December 21st, remember. So most of a given Winter falls in the next year.

The end of 2006 is certainly a more realistic date. But I wonder if they (both MM and SF) can actually exercise that kind of restraint. Everyone from the Mega-Evil Empire itself (Microsoft) on down to the smallest developer has fallen back on the 'release and finish it later with patches' method since the earliest days of the PC industry. Does MM have the cash to just keep developing until it's really ready? Does SF have the patience to allow MM to do this? I doubt it. At the pace its currently going, they would be releasing without several of the major planned features in Feb 2006, just like they did with SE IV (no drones, etc.). That's likely what will happen.

[Enigma]

My concern is the "Real-Time Strategy" Game. Is that right?

[Ed Kolis]

Well, *space combat* is real-time, but everything else is turn-based...

[Puke]

no, thats uneducated marketing fluff. the news is that combat will be real time, but in multiplayer it will all be strategic combat that relies on your ship / fleet strategies.

just like now, except the single player combat will be real time (pauseable, i think).

I intend to be playing Wierd Worlds, SotS, and GC2 to hold me over. I see that MOO3 is now available for about 10 bucks, and there is a forum thread here talking about some official and unofficial mods and patches that make it into a good game.

I also plan to play X3: Reunion, when it comes out. and honestly, im not bored of SE4 yet. I might have time to get in another PBW game, soon.

Im happy to wait, as long as it means that it will be a good game. there are plenty of lesser games that will burn through my tiny shreds of free time, until Malfador delivers us the game to end all games.

[El_Phil]

Must be wrong, probably also the reason they pulled the 'more info' link. No point giving out even more inaccurate information.

[Renegade 13]

No, it's not an RTS at all.

[Renegade 13]

Wow, 3 posts at 11:29, and one at 11:30!

EDIT: Make that two at 11:30! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

Real time combat, yes. You'll be duking it out in real time, and the battle map covers the entire system, so no attacking isolated tankers when there's a massive fleet in the next sector unable to help..... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif You can warp during combat, and when you land on a planet (with troops, mind you, not with a diplomatic envoy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif ) you can fight a tactical ground battle. I don't know if tactical ground combat is real-time too, but what I do know is that you can call in orbital bombardments (WOOT) if you have the appropriate ships.

Don't believe me? Just take a gander at some of the space and ground combat screenshots and look at the control buttons in the lower right of the screen. Exactly.

[Ed Kolis]

Wait a second... the battle map covers the entire system??? How the heck is a ship in one sector supposed to instantly warp over to another sector for combat, then warp back to its previous location to continue whatever it was doing on the strategic map?!? You've got to be kidding...

[Puke]

maybe combat can span multiple "days" and ships can end up in different sectors at the end of it.

or maybe SIU is wrong. or the screenshots are deliberately doctored pieces of mis-information. although orbital strikes sound pretty cool.

[Atrocities]

And if you really want a laugh, read their feature list for SEIV. Especially the Political one. Ha ha.

[Renegade 13]

Strategia_In_Ultima said:
Real time combat, yes. You'll be duking it out in real time, and the battle map covers the entire system, so no attacking isolated tankers when there's a massive fleet in the next sector unable to help..... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif You can warp during combat, and when you land on a planet (with troops, mind you, not with a diplomatic envoy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif ) you can fight a tactical ground battle. I don't know if tactical ground combat is real-time too, but what I do know is that you can call in orbital bombardments (WOOT) if you have the appropriate ships.

Don't believe me? Just take a gander at some of the space and ground combat screenshots and look at the control buttons in the lower right of the screen. Exactly.



Ahem...this post contains some misinformation. Please note that Strategia is NOT a Beta tester (as far as I know)! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Fyron]

Strategia_In_Ultima said:
...the battle map covers the entire system...

Doesn't seem this way to me. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif There is a detailed combat model for troop invasions though.

[Kamog]

Huh? It is really going to be real time combat? Not turn-based?

[Renegade 13]

Pausable real-time is what Aaron has said.

[Enigma]

Well the Strategy First listing has it listed as a Real Time Strategy game. Obviously that is wrong. I am not a big fan of RTS games and tend to dismiss them. So this error could cause someone who likes a turn-based strategy game to give it a pass.

Although honestly I am not sure there are too many people who prefer turn-based strategy games who have not at least heard of SEIV.

I have not been following SEV real close and was initially shocked when I saw the RTS tag. My first thought was another good strategy game ruined by making the switch to RTS. But fortunately I see that is not happening.

[Suicide Junkie]

Certainly not an RTS.

Just to head off the common misconceptions; think of it as combat being turn based, in an SE4-simultaneous-play sort of way.

The best parts of turn based (not rushed, tactics & control, etc) and the best parts of real-time (perfect "initiative", continuum of locations, etc)

[Fyron]

They must have fixed it today, because now it is just listed as "Strategy."

[Ed Kolis]

Says "real time strategy" to me, and yes, I did refresh...

[Captain Kwok]

I see 'Strategy' for SE:IV Deluxe and 'Real-Time Strategy' for SE:V.

[Fyron]

I swear that said V earlier!