Off topic: How are games failing you?

[Trumanator]

I thought EAW was probably the best Star Wars strategy game so far, but space combat was the only thing worth coming back to.

[JimMorrison]

Originally Posted by Trumanator

I thought EAW was probably the best Star Wars strategy game so far, but space combat was the only thing worth coming back to.

Other than the fact that Rebellion, which was published 9 years previous, had fully 3 dimensional space combat, and EAW is purely 2D.

You may scoff at this, but you could set waypoints in full 3 dimensoins in Rebellion, and perform some very stunning tactical maneuvers, taking full advantage (or disadvantage) of weapon facings, mobility, differing weapon types, etc. EAW's space combat is much more of your traditional RTS fare, in comparison - fast action, few tactical options beyond the "special abilities" of the units themselves, and the superficial interaction of differing weapon ranges and whatnot.

All things considered, I found my experience with Rebellion to be far more enjoyable, on nearly every level (besides eye candy, of course).

[Trumanator]

In actuality, now that I think about it I haven't played any other SW RTSes besides Galactic Battlegrounds. I'm guessing the combat in Rebellion was like in Homeworld? Even in that case I still don't think I would have liked it. Too many weird keyboard commands and such. I'm too casual a player.

[JimMorrison]

Honestly, I don't think it's fair to compare the space combat to anything - other than what I imagine space combat would and should be like.

That is, most ships are somewhat slow and cumbersome, but have a freedom of movement that very elegantly offsets the reduced mobility. IIRC in Homeworld, things happened very fast, as most games try to portray them. I think in reality, gravitational forces and inertia would have profound effects on what you could and could not do with a ship in combat, and this comes across well in Rebellion. It's a much more strategic system, where I think frequent use of Pause is not only reasonable, but to be expected.

The shortcomings were of course the limit of 2 factions, the lack of any sort of randomized map, the lack of any customizable characters, and an AI which we poo-pooed at the time, but while bad, was still better than nearly every game I've played of such scope and magnitude.

[rdonj]

I played rebellion a long... long time ago. I never really got into it because I completely failed to understand the resource system, and as a consequence, sucked. I wonder if I could make something of it if I went back and tried it again.

[Trumanator]

Is Rebellion available as shareware?

[JimMorrison]

Originally Posted by Trumanator

Is Rebellion available as shareware?

Everyone seems to agree that it should be Abandonware by now, it's been out of print for a long time, and has no LucasArts support. However, Home of the Underdogs apparently -will not- host LucasArts games, because they are notorious aholes about it. I found one site that hosts LucasArts abandonware titles, but their list stops at 1997, and I found one site that promised it had a "full download" of Rebellion, but it wanted a signup fee.....

Cheapest used copies on Amazon are $38+shipping, and a new copy will run you ~$150.

[Aezeal]

Tie fighter was a great game associated with lucas arts

[Trumanator]

Jesus Christ Screw that. I guess I'll just have to look for a torrent or something.

[sector24]

Try the 2nd link. I loved Rebellion, and X-wing vs. TIE Fighter. Ah, the golden age of gaming...