OT, what games r u wating 4 now?

[WraithLord]

Very intresting to know what ppl are wating for.

My list:

TBS: Dominions III (most anticipated); HOMM IV; Glactic civilizations II; soulquest (http://www.revoltage.pl/) ; realms of hope (http://www.realmsofhope.com/) (MOM remake);

RTS: Spell force II.

RPG: Diablo III (heard a rumor that it's being developed...)

I must add that I would have loved to see a MOM-II but I know chances for that are slim http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[kruzader]

Disciples III and Dominions III

[daesthai]

Dom3 and Heroes of Might & Magic 5.

In the meantime, i've got Civ4 and Makai Kingdom to keep me occupied. =)

[NTJedi]

izaqyos said:
My list:

TBS: Dominions III (most anticipated); HOMM IV; Glactic civilizations II; soulquest (http://www.revoltage.pl/) ; realms of hope (http://www.realmsofhope.com/) (MOM remake);



Heroes_IV was a mess... from what I've seen with Heroes_V they're focusing on the pretty graphics again... instead of giving more units, items, buildings and larger maps. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif


izaqyos said:
I must add that I would have loved to see a MOM-II but I know chances for that are slim http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif



Very true... one game which has lots of fans praying for a sequel. Unfortunately so many developers just do their own thing instead of checking what gamers are looking for.


kruzader said:
Disciples III and Dominions III



Disciples_III would be great if the battles matched what we've seen from LordoftheRealm_2. Otherwise doing a few battles lost my interest for this series.


Definitely looking forward to what Dominions_3 will bring... lets hope a disable/enable setting will be available for spells, items and magic sites.

[Sammas]

Dom III of course.
Also X3:Reunion (Elite-style game just about out).

HoMM5 doesn't look like they're adding too much content - just going back to HoMM3 play and redoing the graphics. They need to learn what the Dominions devs already know - content is king.

[WraithLord]

I wonder if they'll change the battle mechanics in Disciples III. I liked the first two installments but the battles are too abstracted for my taste.

And sorry for the typo, of course I'm waiting for HOMM V, not IV. IV is only good for MP (if at all) because it lacks AI, you're basically playing against the maps not vs. AI.

I have played Nival's previous games, the etherlords ones, and they were nice. Very good graphics and some intresting ideas. overall I liked them for a while.
I liked their decision to put dark elves city in HOMM V.

As for MOM-II, I had the briefest of time when I hoped stardock will do it, but it turned out to be yet another disappontment.

My greatest expectations are from Dominions III.
Now with the hugh market for games today, that fact is meaningful. It either means that good strategy games are on the extinction list or that I've become some sort of a freak with weird taste for content and depth.

[daesthai]

izaqyos said:
IV is only good for MP (if at all) because it lacks AI, you're basically playing against the maps not vs. AI.




While I have to agree that HoMM4 fell VERY short or expectations, I still enjoyed it for it's own sake. Though it didn't come close to HoMM3 (let alone HoMM2!), I've still had a lot of fun with it - particularly with fan created maps, and especially after applying the Equilibrium mod.

[Ed Kolis]

Space Empires V
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Anything on the Nintendo Revolution http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[B0rsuk]

I recently created similar topic on drod.net forums. My entry is in the first post.

http://www.drod.net/forum/viewtopic.php?TopicID=8353

[RibbonBlue]

Dom3
Rise of Nations 2
The next game by blizzard north(same peeps who made diablo)

[Sammas]

The next game by blizzard north(same peeps who made diablo)

You're going to be waiting a while.

[Zen]

My greatest expectations are from Dominions III.
Now with the hugh market for games today, that fact is meaningful. It either means that good strategy games are on the extinction list or that I've become some sort of a freak with weird taste for content and depth.



Haha. Yes, I feel kind of the same way. I run into Bruce Geryk's strategy tastes to look for upcoming new 'strategy' games of various levels of intensity.

Though I do play other things than the hardcore strategy (I just got a 360) and enjoy them, it seems that a really good strategy game of any sort of package deal are few and far between.

Luckily we also got Civ4 recently.

[B0rsuk]

Oh, and in case it's not obvious for infidels: I'm also waiting for Deadly Rooms Of Death: The City Beneath. (DROD:TCB). The best puzzle game ever.

[Olive]

- Dominions III (like anybody lurking these boards I guess http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif ).
- T.E.S.IV : Oblivion (http://www.elderscrolls.com) (the sequel of the sequel of etc...)
- The Dark Mod (http://www.thedarkmod.com/). A Thief-like mod for Doom 3 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif .

[PvK]

Dominions III
Tigers on the Prowl III
Weird Worlds: Adventures in Infinite Space (waiting for it to arrive in my mailbox - since it's already available)
ADOM Deluxe
JADE
All American: The 82nd Airborne in Normandy
Galley Battles
Combat Mission Campaigns
Space Empires V

[ioticus]

Dominions III (Surprise!)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Combat Mission Campaigns
Space Empires V
Galactic Civilization II: Dreadlords
Computer World in Flames
Empires in Arms
Heroes of Might and Magic V
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends
Hellgate London
Battle for Middle Earth II
Supreme Commander
Star Wars: Empire at War
Computer Squad Leader
Neverwinter Nights II
BioShock
Combat Mission: Shock Force
Strategic Command 2

2006 looks to be an awesome year for PC gaming. No doubt there are others I'm forgetting, but the above should keep me busy.

[Vicious Love]

Lessee...


Dom 3
Supreme Commander
Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth
JADE
S.T.A.L.K.E.R - Shadow of Chernobyl. Though it'll probably suck. If it's actually released.
Operation Flashpoint 2. Though it won't compare to the original.
X3 - Reunion. Sorta.

Haven't picked up Civ IV yet, either, but that'll shortly be remedied.

[RibbonBlue]

Sammas said:

The next game by blizzard north(same peeps who made diablo)

You're going to be waiting a while.


I know, they have not even finished hireing people, you can look at the blizz hireing page. They keep wanting people dor a d2 style game to work at blizz north

[Sammas]

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=6086

[WraithLord]

I have played ADOM. What is ADOM delux?
And what is "Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth"?

I have noticed that a lot of people are not excited with HOMM V. I wonder why.

BTW, those of you who've played AOW-SM, be sure to check the community patch. Imo it improves the game.

[Olive]

izaqyos said:
I have noticed that a lot of people are not excited with HOMM V. I wonder why.



- It seems that priority has been granted to nice looking 3d graphics than to innovative gameplay.

- Units in former HOMM seemed to be a big melting pot, but it had it's own personality. Now nival has imo turned it to noname standard fantasy.

- Starforce protection http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif .

[Vicious Love]

izaqyos said:
I have played ADOM. What is ADOM delux?




Just like ADOM, only more so. And shareware, apparently, but what can you do? http://www.adom.de/adom-deluxe/index.php3
Mind you, what I meant to say was JADE, aka ADOM 2. Unfortunately, I was too cripplingly sleep-deprived to notice. Shall edit my original post now.



And what is "Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth"?




You're familiar with the Cthulhu mythos, right? DCotE is an XBox action/adventure game set in and around Innsmouth. You'd think that sort of game would be destined to fail, but it seems Dark Corners of the Earth actually works. But I can't tell you why. You see, every review that convinced me this game was worth buying also spoiled at least one major plot point. I pretty much know what to expect in advance now, which I imagine could ruin the gaming experience. Pity.

I just wonder when this thing'll be released for PC.

[PvK]

izaqyos said:
I have noticed that a lot of people are not excited with HOMM V. I wonder why.




In my case, it's because I've played one or two earlier games in the series. While I enjoyed them briefly, I quickly figured out what they were like and that I especially didn't like the way the power levels increased. Like D&D and most CRPG's and MMORPG's, it's massively unbalanced and silly, IMO. If you think a Dom 2 human commander has no chance to defeat a Bane Lord, try a level 10 hero versus a level 15 hero in D&D, or EverQuest, or HOMM. Experience means silly amounts of hit-points, amongst other unrealistic super-powers, and so combat is more or less a matter of who is more ultimate, with the more ultimate toys, with a very long power curve that keeps getting more and more ultimate, and so quickly gets far away from any mortal, sane, or recognizable base-line as a reference point. I.e., it's more about efficiency and ammassing ultimateness than about tactics, and I like games about tactics - battle tactics, rather than summoning/equiping/producing/leveling tactics. Moreover, in HOMM, it adds in basic 4X balance which I also dislike and am bored with, where the game is largely a race to grab territory and thus simply multiply production, research and development. The single-player levels thus have to be carefully balanced or scripted so that efficient play ends up with the player winning at the end, because if the scenario is not set up that way, then the conclusion is more or less pre-determined unless there are AI exploits to abuse (or if the AI is coded to maintain the necessary balance, by cheating or otherwise). None of that is particularly satisfying or interesting to me, and looks like broken game balance to me, unless that's the type of experience one is looking for, which some players may be (due to conditioning and/or lack of imagination), but I'm not.

PvK

[NTJedi]

Olive said:

izaqyos said:
I have noticed that a lot of people are not excited with HOMM V. I wonder why.



- It seems that priority has been granted to nice looking 3d graphics than to innovative gameplay.




Exactly from what I've been reading and seeing... they're not trying to make smarter AI, better balance, more unique structures, more monsters, etc., . Instead of adding improved content they're focusing on how pretty stuff looks. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/mad.gif

On the same note... who's going to by the newest and best looking sportscar when it gets half the horsepower, no A/C, no radio or DVD player, thin tires, and less gas mileage. That's what I've seen happen with game sequels way too often.

[Agrajag]

NTJedi said:
Exactly from what I've been reading and seeing... they're not trying to make smarter AI, better balance, more unique structures, more monsters, etc., . Instead of adding improved content they're focusing on how pretty stuff looks. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/mad.gif

On the same note... who's going to by the newest and best looking sportscar when it gets half the horsepower, no A/C, no radio or DVD player, thin tires, and less gas mileage. That's what I've seen happen with game sequels way too often.


And who can blame them?
Check out the HoMM Community, everyone there idolizes the 3rd game as the ultimate game (in the series, and in general). I think its quite obvious to Ubisoft the best way to please its fanbase is with a game that is "True to its origins".
Also, you have to remember its their first game in the series, they just recently purchased the rights to HoMM, and therefore would probably want to take minimal risks and make minimal changes on its very first realese, a game which will leave a "first impression" on all future games on the series.

[Cainehill]

Vicious Love said:
You're familiar with the Cthulhu mythos, right? DCotE is an XBox action/adventure game set in and around Innsmouth. You'd think that sort of game would be destined to fail, but it seems Dark Corners of the Earth actually works. But I can't tell you why. You see, every review that convinced me this game was worth buying also spoiled at least one major plot point. I pretty much know what to expect in advance now, which I imagine could ruin the gaming experience. Pity.




Um, not having seen any reviews, I could ruin all the plot points : You see things. You either panic and hide, or you try to save the world. Either way, you go insane. Then you die. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

(Big Lovecraft / Lord Dunsany fan here. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif )

[Vicious Love]

Cainehill said:
Um, not having seen any reviews, I could ruin all the plot points : You see things. You either panic and hide, or you try to save the world. Either way, you go insane. Then you die. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif




Touché.

[PvK]

I guess now we know what happened to all of the reviewers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[NTJedi]

Agrajag said:
[And who can blame them?
Check out the HoMM Community, everyone there idolizes the 3rd game as the ultimate game (in the series, and in general). I think its quite obvious to Ubisoft the best way to please its fanbase is with a game that is "True to its origins".
Also, you have to remember its their first game in the series, they just recently purchased the rights to HoMM, and therefore would probably want to take minimal risks and make minimal changes on its very first realese, a game which will leave a "first impression" on all future games on the series.


They don't have to make major changes, but usually when the developers focus on making stuff more pretty they begin removing or not working other stuff like what happened in Heroes_4. Heroes_4 was very unbalanced, less monsters, no unique heroes, etc, etc,... all it had was better graphics. If they make Heroes_5 the same as Heroes_3 it will be great as long as they have AT_LEAST as many movement squares on battle_maps, movement squares for world_map, monsters, items, town_types, unique heroes, and map_editor features... also game balance. All this is not really much to ask for since it previously existed in Heroes_3.

[Ygorl]

The Fool and his Money has an impressive legacy to live up to... If it's as good as The Fool's Errand was, it should be great.
http://www.fools-errand.com/05-the-fool-and-his-money/

[RedRover]

My current wait list isn't particularly long.

Dom 3 (the happiest expectation on the list, of course). http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Civ 4 (technically, I'm waiting for a chance to read an in-depth review of the finished product before springing for this. Likely to be my next actual buy if the reviews are good, but I'm not jumping on it. I liked Civ 3 far less than Civ 2.)

Sim Golf 2 (not a chance--about 1% on the "which old game to redo" poll at Firaxis.) web page (http://www.firaxis.com/community/polls.php)

Colonization 2 (second place in the "which old game to redo" poll at Firaxis, at 31%.)

Master of Orion 4 (given what happened to MOO3, not likely any time soon--I really hope MOO3 has not sunk the frachise.)

Xenocide (current fan development of the classic game, UFO Defense, total vaporware for the forseeable future, IMO.) web page (http://www.projectxenocide.com/index.html)

Skaven mod for Civ3 (currently under development on CivFanatic site). web page (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=118264&highlight=skaven)

Actually, I haven't been doing a lot of looking recently, and own far more computer games than I have mastered.

I'm still looking for a more satisfying 4x space game than anything I've seen so far (MOO2 without the 7th inning stretch would be an ideal starting point, IMO. I like elements of Space Gold IV, but some of the micromanagement busywork drives me up the wall. Also, I find that universe not immersive enough; MOO2, Star Trek, Babylon 5, and Star Wars are all much more so; but all five, plus Reach for the Stars, beat Galactic Civ by a wide margin on this count.)

[Vicious Love]

RedRover said:
Civ 4 (technically, I'm waiting for a chance to read an in-depth review of the finished product before springing for this. Likely to be my next actual buy if the reviews are good, but I'm not jumping on it. I liked Civ 3 far less than Civ 2.)



Played it. Going to buy it soon. Seems a mite better than its predecessors, with more multiplayer goodness. Minor improvements, a few even less significant design mistakes, good stuff.


Colonization 2 (second place in the "which old game to redo" poll at Firaxis, at 31%.)



Pshaw. Stardock had a poll like this, and I don't see them making Master of Magic 2. Nor even a proper StarCon III.


Master of Orion 4 (given what happened to MOO3, not likely any time soon--I really hope MOO3 has not sunk the frachise.)



Oh, it's sunk. And none have shed more tears than I.


Xenocide (current fan development of the classic game, UFO Defense, total vaporware for the forseeable future, IMO.) web page (http://www.projectxenocide.com/index.html)



You pretty much said it. You're waiting for a lot of games that aren't going to happen, ain'tcha? Can't say I don't sympathize. X-Com was right up there with MoM, MoO, and StarCon II.



Skaven mod for Civ3 (currently under development on CivFanatic site). web page (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=118264&highlight=skaven)



Heard of Mark of Chaos (http://pc.ign.com/articles/658/658322p1.html)? The gaming industry being what it is, I imagine it'll turn about to be just another mindless, soulless by-the-number RTS. Then again, there's always the possiblity of another Dark Omen or, better yet, Shadow of the Horned Rat. Worst case scenario, those are some high-res stormvermin, aren't they? Gotta love the skaven.

[Endoperez]

Vicious Love said:
[quote]
The gaming industry being what it is, I imagine it'll turn about to be just another mindless, soulless by-the-number RTS. Then again, there's always the possiblity of another Dark Omen or, better yet, Shadow of the Horned Rat. Worst case scenario, those are some high-res stormvermin, aren't they? Gotta love the skaven.



Well, along the lines of Xenocide, there are few games being made by indie developers that I would be interested if they were complete:
0 AD: http://www.wildfiregames.com/0ad/
and The Last Alliance http://wildfiregames.com/tla/

0 AD is in better shape, but still mostly unfinished.

[RedRover]

Vicious Love said:
You're waiting for a lot of games that aren't going to happen, ain'tcha?


I do seem to pick up the stray puppies, don't I?

The early online buzz on Civ 4 indicates teething problems not solved by the first patch, possible directx problems, and heavy system overload in the late game, as well as its exceptionally high ratings. I've spent the last week trying unsuccessfully to download the demo, only to have it show up today on the PC Gamer Jan issue demo disk. That saves a deal of time, though I haven't actually fired it up yet.

Hadn't been tracking Mark of Chaos (I like Skaven more than Warhammer as such), but checking it out put StarWars: Empire War on my radar screen, so thanks.

((I still play the old Rebellion game, which always seems to find its way back onto my computer. After MOO2, it's probably the most persistant returnee--although Birth of the Federation keeps getting back on each time I forget why I took it off, maybe once every 18-24 months or so). By comparison, Dom2 has never been off my system.))

I looked at the new Shrapnel demos: Weird Worlds, Lands of Legend. Been, done, gone; not my cup 'o tea, but both feel like good lunchtime games for casual play.

I have not been able to get excited about Galactic Civ II. The first game had an exceptional AI, but the game universe had all the immersion value of pushing LEGO blocks around on a Chess board. My suspension of disbelief was totally trashed by the arcade-style powerup mechanic. Following MOO3 as it did (MOO3, the last time I bought a computer game before waiting for the reviews), it was a crushing disappointment. If I want an abstract strategy game that rewards metagaming, I will play chess. If I hear that GCII is substantially different from GCI in its approach, I will be more than pleased. For now, I remain skeptical.

Endoperez: Thanks for the WildFire reference. I have a friend who I think would be most interested in this.

[Vicious Love]

RedRover said:
I do seem to pick up the stray puppies, don't I?




Which would be a good thing, if you were a major game developer... you're not, are you? You're pretty much my last hope.


Hadn't been tracking Mark of Chaos (I like Skaven more than Warhammer as such), but checking it out put StarWars: Empire War on my radar screen, so thanks.



We've got much in common. I really can't stand Warhammer, but I bloody adore the Skaven. I suppose other aspects of the gameworld are decent. The Empire, Tzeench's Lords of Change, there's some cute stuff in there. But none of it compares to the Skaven.



I have not been able to get excited about Galactic Civ II. The first game had an exceptional AI, but the game universe had all the immersion value of pushing LEGO blocks around on a Chess board. My suspension of disbelief was totally trashed by the arcade-style powerup mechanic.



Couldn't agree more. Bland, bland, bland! Although I discovered it a good while after MoO III, so I was amply equipped to handle the disappointment. I assume you also bought MoO III circa the day it hit stores? I was giddy, giddy, I tell you. Quicksilver Games, from Hell's heart I stab at thee.

[RedRover]

Vicious Love said:
...if you were a major game developer... you're not, are you?


'Fraid not. Sorry. Wish I could help. But no.


...from Hell's heart I stab at thee.

I'd like to save a little of that for the PC Gamer demo disk with Civ 4 on it. Can't even get my system to acknowledge there's anything in the drive. Tried everything I could think of--currently waiting to hear from their tech support. (It's only been a day or so.) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/fear.gif

[Vicious Love]

RedRover said:
The early online buzz on Civ 4 indicates teething problems not solved by the first patch, possible directx problems, and heavy system overload in the late game, as well as its exceptionally high ratings.



Huh. I thought the patch had remedied the DirectX-related problems, at least. It definitely fixed them for my system, as well as for a bunch of other forum users. To the furthest of my knowledge, there's only one major complaint making the online rounds: the lategame memory leak issue. Which can be a bit of a showstopper, of course. I haven't run into it, myself, but I can imagine how it could totally ruin a game.

If you give up on trying to get either demo to work, I suppose you should wait for the next patch before deciding on whether or not to pick up a copy. It's difficult to imagine Firaxis not fixing this in the near future, but you never know.

[Morkilus]

Performance issues? Memory leaks? Well that seals it away for me. My compy P4 is running about 3 1/2 years old now... Great for running Dominions, though.

[RedRover]

Morkilus: I wouldn't be so quick to write off Civ4 for now. Over at CivFanatic, there is a fanpatch that reportedly fixes the late-game memory issues.

And I could just have a bad demo disk. If the PC Gamer tech support runs business hours, then a reply from them can't really be called overdue at this point (I wrote late Friday night/early Saturday morning, so if nobody's there on the weekends, it's really only been one working day).

[alexti]

RedRover said:
Morkilus: I wouldn't be so quick to write off Civ4 for now. Over at CivFanatic, there is a fanpatch that reportedly fixes the late-game memory issues.


Isn't it ironic that one guy without access to the source code has fixed memory problems faster than Firaxis team?

I've played Civ4 for quite a while. It has pretty decent single player mode, in my opinion, better than any previous Civ, but their coding is pretty poor: people have all kind of problems, the game is resource hog and there're plenty of minor problems nobody pays attention now.

Hats off to big Dom2 team who manages to produce stable code despite (maybe due?) to their small numbers http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif