SE:V, I'll be honest

Slick · #1 September 28th, 2006, 12:57 PM

I've played the demo a few times and tried out as many things as I could. I've looked at the data files. I've read the opinions of others. I've really worked at trying to like this game. I want to like this game. But it is just missing something intangible. I just don't get that "just one more turn" feeling. I have come to the realization that having to work at liking this game means that I just don't find it fun. I'm a huge SE fan and it hurts me to say these things but I think honesty is the best policy. I want so badly to like this game that I actually stopped playing the SE:V demo and started a new game of Starfury just to cheer me up a little. I'll give it some time to sink in.

I see huge potential for "funness" in this game but it's just not there yet. There's no single thing that has taken away the fun for me but here's a list of some things that I find disappointing:

- the UI. Enough said in other threads.

- the bugs; there are waaay too many at T-minus-one-month to release. I am hoping that MM will live up to past expectations and fix these but they will surely turn potential buyers off permenantly.

- the overall cumbersomeness of the game. This partially overlaps with the UI issue but there is more. Things are not very intuitive. Yes, once I figure it out, I know how to do it, but there is still a lot of cumbersomeness. Information that I want is there but not readily accessible. Too many of the things that I think should be options in-game are only modifiable in the data files.
This may sound trivial to most people but I know several people who won't mod the game based on the principle that they shouldn't need to for changing basic options - and they are very "turned off" as potential customers and won't be buying the game over this issue alone.

- the great unknown of what will be fixed after release. MM has a great reputation for continuously improving the game. I give him 100% credit for that. Without getting into an argument over the possibility of bug-free games here, there is a customer expectation of a certain level of performance at the time the game is installed. Frequent, hard crashes are unacceptable. Many of the issues are not fatal (software) flaws; many are just the cumbersomeness issues, so how many of these will be fixed?

I really want this game to be good, but it's just not there yet. Will I buy it? I am still not sure. I know it's too late, but I'll say this anyway: I am willing to wait as long as it takes for the release if the time is being spent to improve the game.

RonGianti · #2 September 28th, 2006, 01:07 PM

Well, there was quite a learning curve going from SEIV to this demo, but I'm over the curve and LOVING this game.

The demo is broken. Resources disappear, Neutral AI is basically disabled, etc. But have you looked at all the new treaty options? The fleet options? I even like the UI myself, now that I figured out how to customize it.

I wish this was called an alpha demo myself, but I have no doubt that I'll get the game on release day, and no doubt that it will be fun and playable right out of the box, and no doubt that patches will come regularly too.

Captain Kwok · #3 September 28th, 2006, 01:21 PM

Slick,

What options do you think should be in-game settings?

Slick · #4 September 28th, 2006, 01:31 PM

A long list, without listing every item, a lot of the things in "settings.txt" would be a great start. Some of the other data files have some items that would be great too. Being able to save them off as a "preferences" file would be better. I'm not talking about the whole file, just the ones that would make sense to be in-game. I guess "make sense" is subjective, though...

A couple of examples would be how "sight" is handled, default number of systems, etc. Those kinds of things.

Santiago · #5 September 28th, 2006, 04:18 PM

I guess one of the big questions is how close is the demo to the finished product?

I know MM is only one guy. But if I was the developer I would be all over the forums wanting to know people's reactions, bugs, ideas etc. Not working thru a few dedicated beta testers. That's just me.

Fyron · #6 September 28th, 2006, 04:21 PM

Aaron is rather reclusive.

narf poit chez BOOM · #7 September 28th, 2006, 05:33 PM

Although I think he has posted here, sometime in the past.

Atrocities · #8 September 28th, 2006, 05:56 PM

I want to be honest too. I love the game. Despite all of its flaws and problems I absolutlely love it. You know why because I know its just going to get better and better. (See me in one year.)

Possum · #9 September 28th, 2006, 06:11 PM

I'm kind of with Slick on this one. Yes, I know, I'm agreeing with a guy who uses a Han Solo pic as his avatar. So sue me

There's something about the SE5 demo that just doesn't grab me the way SE4 did, even the very first time I saw it.

People are saying "give it time, get past the learning curve". But the fact is, there's nothing that makes me want to. Like Slick said, I want badly to like the game, I'm trying hard to like the game, but it's not happening yet...

Santiago · #10 September 28th, 2006, 06:13 PM

Ah I didn't know that thx for the info. Even if he's in a cave at the top of a mountain- as long as he's got an internet connection to keep working on a great game.