SEV Recommend?
 

Hi
I'm either ordering dominions 3 or SEV..IS SEV challenging?...The AI I mean.....Fun.I'm not talking of waiting for future mods..I mean how is the game as is with latest patches?

thanks..Tom

Re: SEV Recommend?
 

Bad, unfortunately( if you're looking for a challenge). I'd go for Dominions and wait a few months before getting SEV.

Re: SEV Recommend?
 

I have both games but at the moment I'm finding SEV with balance mod much the better game.

Re: SEV Recommend?
 

The game is great with it's current patches and the balance mod, which has largely replaced the stock rules.

I've only played dominions 2 but I have played SEV. It seems like the AI is about equivalent, each AI will build the best available stuff it can and throw it at you without any real strategies. Both can kick your *** if your new but any real tactics will take it apart. The real fun and challenge, the meat and potatoes of both games is going against real people in PBEM or PBW.

SEV has a bigger scale to it, more territories, each territory is bigger, more things to build, more ships to build, bigger tech tree, and more flexibility in the individual ships, it can lead to more micro management, but if you use the hotkeys, the empire management menus that list all your ships and planets side by side and play with the ministers it is more then manageable.

In Dom 2 the "world" is much simpler, it's divided into territories like a Risk map. You build fortresses to defend a territory, Temples to spread the word of your pretender and Labs to research magicks. Each nation gets it's own type of units that can be equipped with custom weapons. There's like 6 or 7 branches to the tech tree, and they are linear. You move your units from province to province conquering as you go.

IMO it's the combat where SEV takes Dom2(and maybe 3) In SEV you order your ships and they do exactly as ordered, even if you are using the strategic AI they do as outlined. In Dom 2 the computer is making choices based on the outlined strategies but the units themselves don't always get with the program because of morale, and random checks and rolls so you'll have an entire army retreat because 1 guy got killed, even though you outnumber them you still lose. I get why they do this and it makes for some interesting tactics but I just like the way SEV handles it's space combat. Also SEV has some diplomatic options in the way of alliances, treaties and trade, even migration of alien races. Dom is more about pure conquest.

Also if you do invest in SEV and wait for the future mods and AI, there are players working on making it better, there will be new rules to play with, AI to beat, refreshing ideas implemented into the game. I'm not sure if Dom3 allows AI modding.

Go SEV if you want total control over every detail of your empire, it's units and just a bigger 'vers to play in. Go Dom2/3 if you want faster paced combat oriented play.

Re: SEV Recommend?
 

Dom 3 for me.

Re: SEV Recommend?
 

I have SEV, not Dom 3. I couldn't recommend SEV to anyone right now.

Re: SEV Recommend?
 

I have both and I would say if you were gonna buy one right now it should be Dom3. SE5 has alot of room to improve...

Re: SEV Recommend?
 

It all depends on the person. As you can see, some here are saying go for SEV, some say that they wouldn't recommend SEV as it is now (but it should get better, etc), some say go for Dom3... I personally prefer Dom3 at this time, but I haven't really put much time into either game yet. Perhaps a total of 20 hours over two months for Dom3, and about 3 hours combined with SEV demo and release version. Part of the consideration will likely be that Dom3 is much pricier than SEV, but I would say that Dom3 is the more complete game. SEV is getting there, and it was still fun when I played it, but since I was already familiar with SEIV AI, it wasn't really challenging.

Probably the best indicator for you would be to download the demos for both games, and give them a spin. It should give you the general feel of each game, which should make the choice a little easier. But the demos each leave out probably the biggest part of what makes each game so cool: for Dom3, the demo does not have the 300-something page manual describing nearly everything in the game; for SEV, the demo does not allow mods, which gives the series much of its balance and replayability.

Re: SEV Recommend?
 

Dom 3. I would recommend SE5 only after it gets patched to a good state, which I think will happen eventually. Personally I'm betting it takes about a year before I'll want to really get into it, due mainly to all the UI tedium and AI weakness.

PvK

Re: SEV Recommend?
 

Dom3!

Se5 might seem to be an ok game if you never played Se4, otherwise expect huge frustration and disapointment.


Hmm, can anyone make a SE5 mod for Dom3?