IGN 6.6 Review

[Captain Kwok]

Aaron needs help in the way of somebody who can cover off the manuals or data files etc; not with the actually coding.

[Urendi Maleldil]

For a game with the scope of Space Empires V Aaron needs a team. If Strategy First expects one man to design the game mechanics, program the core engine, design the UI, script the data files, write a killer AI, alpha test, and hammer out all the bugs, all on a pre-announced launch deadline, then they're going to get a pretty mediocre game.

I know Aaron is a great programmer. I've played SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4 and SE5. I've been a fan since 1995. But if he wants Space Empires to have mainstream appeal without compromising the loving detail that makes us hardcore suffer from the "just one more turn" syndrome, he also needs to be a great leader and have a dev team to back him up.

[Atrocities]

Well everything he learns in SE V will help him with SE VI.

[AstralWanderer]

Rather than a lack of "focus" I would suggest that SE has rather a "generic" feel to it, due to lacking a strong background story and atmosphere. The likes of Imperium Galactica, Haegemonia, Homeworld and Galactic Civilizations all had a background with a campaign to complete which provided players with a good introduction to the game.

SEV's introduction is pretty non-existent and the tutorial only seems to cover a quarter of what it should, leaving new players to learn by experimentation (which is where a second-rate AI probably becomes a bonus...). Producing an exciting scenario (let alone a campaign) would be a time-consuming task needing imagination, storytelling skills and thorough playtesting so it is understandable that basic game design/UI issues should be given priority - however does SEV offer enough in terms of event scripting to allow modders to produce their own campaigns?

[President_Elect_Shang]

A lack of background? Man you are talking main stream generic games here. That has never been SE, if you want background and scripted story go play StarFury. It’s very clear from your post you have never played any of the SE series before. The lack of background, the completely open script is what makes SE so darn powerful. Anyone of us ANY-ONE-OF-US can step in take this game and recreate it in any style or fashion we want! In fact we need not keep it as a space based game. With the right pics and some work you could make this an island adventure. Now how the heck does that qualify as “generic”?

[frightlever]

President_Elect_Shang said:
The lack of background, the completely open script is what makes SE so darn powerful. Anyone of us ANY-ONE-OF-US can step in take this game and recreate it in any style or fashion we want! In fact we need not keep it as a space based game. With the right pics and some work you could make this an island adventure. Now how the heck does that qualify as “generic”?

That's actually such an accurate definition of generic I should go paste it into the Wiktionary. Seriously, you should look these words up first before getting all indignant and wotnot.

The GalCiv2 campaign was PAINFUL. Basically play a map rinse and repeat, duplicating most of your research effort with each map. Then they patched it so the campaign was virtually impossible. Haven't looked at it since though I've pre-ordered the expansion for the hell of it. Slick game all the same.

If the reviewers think the game could do with some hand-holding options then why doesn't someone knock up a simplified mod that could be used as a newbies' mode. Simplified research tree and fewer ship options that sort of thing. Compared to what some of you guys are working on this would be a doddle. Getting it included in the stock game might be harder though.

[Atrocities]

Rather than a lack of "focus" I would suggest that SE has rather a "generic" feel to it, due to lacking a strong background story and atmosphere. The likes of Imperium Galactica, Haegemonia, Homeworld and Galactic Civilizations all had a background with a campaign to complete which provided players with a good introduction to the game.

You make a good point here, but I over looked one important thing. Those games had the benefit of a large teams working on them. SE series has only had one man, Aaron, and his focus has always been on programing. SE is a franchise dedicated to in depth game play. Its up to the players to make their own back stories for their races and many have.

Pretty much the only back story you need to know is this:

"The year is 2400.00 and the galaxy awaits exploration. Who could have ever imagine the wonders and horrors to come. Where peaceful exploration and diplomacy fail, conquest begins. Immerse yourself in the role of leader of a great Galatic Empire, or vast Intersellor Alliance. Explore the technology, build ships, and colonize the galaxy as you battle against other bloodthirsty races for absolute power."

[Raapys]

Even games such as MoO2, which had more people working on it, didn't go for a story-line approach, though. Imperium Galactica had some story-based setup, which was alright I guess. I wouldn't mind it for SE either, but I don't want it so much as to prefer Aaron worked on that instead of improving the actual gameplay mechanics and AI, which really needs alot of fixing. I do hope there'll eventually be a release of a good map/scenario editor( think Aaron mentioned something like that in an interview?).

Some sort of 'space monsters' or other drastic, potentially gainful, events would really spice the game up a bit, though. MoO2 really had a *huge* boost in the fun-factor with Antaran attacks and the Antaran Gate thingy.

[President_Elect_Shang]

Atrocities said:
Pretty much the only back story you need to know is this:

"The year is 2400.00 and the galaxy awaits exploration. Who could have ever imagine the wonders and horrors to come. Where peaceful exploration and diplomacy fail, conquest begins. Immerse yourself in the role of leader of a great Galatic Empire, or vast Intersellor Alliance. Explore the technology, build ships, and colonize the galaxy as you battle against other bloodthirsty races for absolute power."

And that’s just the Stock background story! Each mod presents something new even if it is minor there is always a new direction, flavor, theme, whatever label you care to apply! How does this grip you?

“Your people are hungry for growth and the stars are beckoning them to step forth and break your earthly bonds. But the stars can be cruel teachers; breaking those students who are unwilling to learn. Will your empire learn and rise to the top or will they be ground into oblivion under the heel of another? StarFire; let the race begin!”

Generic indeed! Grrrrrr

[AstralWanderer]

President_Elect_Shang said:
"The year is 2400.00 and the galaxy awaits exploration...

And that's just the Stock background story!

And that is what I mean by generic - nothing to mark it apart from other games (the year doesn't count), no indication of how you got there or what previous events shaped the galaxy.

With GalCiv you have races with (some) personality and the Dread Lords in the current version, a legacy from a previous war. In IG1 and 2 you have a background story with some in-game impact (a secret weapon in 1, a race-specific goal in 2). Homeworld is one of the best examples - your race has found out their planet is not their original home but a place of exile from a disastrous war. Haegemonia gives you a civil war to resolve before a period of exploration and encountering alien races (though this is quite tightly scripted). Moo2 you had the Antarans - but also Orion and the Guardian. Star Control gave you some of the wierdest aliens ever and Ascendancy had some of the most original (shame it's mechanics were flawed in so many other ways though).

As for previous SE experience, I've played both SEIII and IV and everything above applies to them also. Your posts suggest that you've never played anything else...