What are you people playing these days? You know what we’ve been at from content published here, well, you have an idea at least. But, what about you? How have you been scratching your gaming itch lately? Been strategizing leisurely? Been in space recently? Something new or something more old school perhaps?
Please share what have been your recent gaming experiences. I’m interested to know your recent picks. And, it doesn’t need to be space-based, sci-fi themed or even strategy at all. Just want to know what you’ve been at so that we can all share some interesting findings, games we’ve probably overlooked or other off-topic games that deserve a spotlight.
So many games, so little time, right? So, what have you been at?
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Well, I can be short on that…. I have very little time to play games right now, though the itching becomes harder and harder to resist with games like StarDrive coming up. IF I have time to play, I’ll play a few turns in Endless Space. When I can pry the Ipad out of the hands of my GF I try to start up Imperium Galactica II.
Sometimes a few moments of Anno 2070. But that’s about it due to RL stuff happening.
I started playing Victoria II and Imperalism II. Also I might fancy another game of Alpha Centauri with the Crossfire expansion, GoG updated their version with the addon in December.
Might give the Paradox titles a shot although the complexity is really overwhelming, especially the economical part of Victoria 2. Hearts of Iron 3 might be my next try.
Can’t say that I have been busy with a space 4x (my preferred) game recently, but have been losing a lot of time with Warlock – Master of the Arcane. Its mechanics are simple but has tons of units/spells that are significantly different. Lots of replay value, and the Armageddon DLC adds mid/end game pressure that wasn’t there before. J
I’m in a city builder phase right now, so I’ve been playing Anno 2070 and Tropico 4 the most, with a little bit of Overlord: Raising Hell and Kerbal Space Program here and there. Lots of fun.
I’ll probably dive into 4X space games next – mostly Endless Space, Distant Worlds: Legends (I’ve been waiting for Shadows to start a new game, but it seems it will spend at least another month on the oven, so…), and perhaps Armada 2526 Supernova and Space Empires IV.
Minecraft, strange but true. Will burn out on it someday, maybe.
In theory i like 4X games better, but i play a lot of Minecraft, because it is better for unwinding.
The rest of the time recently it has been FreeOrion, play-testing to find issues to resolve for the upcoming stable release.
I’m going through a mix of games right now.
Hearts of Iron 3, EU3 and CK2 along with Vicky 2, all by Paradox, have been on my gaming list. There is something about those games that I love.
Also been playing Kerbal Space Program and reenacting BARIS. My 4x phase ended a few months ago, so that might be coming back round soon.
I played a lot DW Legends.. but its a waay too easy.
XCom was Ok but too less technology and too short.
Now I play a lot SC2 Multiplayer..
coolest RTS..
I would like to play Hearts of Iron 3.. because i liked HoI2 so much.. but I think they messed it up.
Base HoI3 is pretty bad, yeah. Get Semper Fi if you are gonna buy HoI3, it sorts out the game.
Crusader Kings II, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Battlefield 3
To fill my time ive been re-learning to play dwarf fortress whilst i wait for planetary annihilation
i’m playing Colonization. The game based on Civ 4 not the original from 1994. I play it with the TAC2.03 final (The Authentic Colonization) mod. With this mod it’s really fun to play. There’re many design mistakes from the original game how were beeing rid off by this mod.
I’m waiting for the1.3 patch of Elemental to start a new game, and i’m also waiting for DW Shadows, and the EVE & DUST 514 MOD for DW. It looks really amazing.
EVE and DUST most for Distant Worlds?
Link?
There you go.
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3186572
Looks amazing indeed.
Speechless….
Lots and lots of hours of Sword of the stars 2 end of flesh at the moment with some breaks of Wargame European Escalation.
Torchlight 2, Conquest of Elysium 3
Thinking about Elemental , Legend of Grimrock and returning to Skyrim (havn’t finished it)
Lately I’m playing mostly Mechwarrior Online and Planetside 2 with bits of Kerbal Space Program and GTA IV here and there.
Evil Genius, Dungeon Keeper2 and Startopia.
I´m waiting for stardrive, i hope zero starts to sell it soon.
Space Empires IV and V, Master of Orion III (modded, of course), Armada 2526 Supernova, Gratuitous Space Battles, Smugglers V and Harbinger (anyone ever heard about it here? :) ). These are ones on my hard disk at the moment.
How are you enjoying MOO3?
Can you say something about what mods you use?
I played it a little years ago and had the impression there was a great game in it that fascinated and also eluded me at the time. So I recently bought it on GOG….but have not fired it up yet.
The best part of MOO3 for me is its incredible atmosphere. All these blue-gray screens as if on old lamp closet-sized computer, monotone gloomy soundtrack, UI sounds… And you feel yourself like a real Emperor sitting before his old lamp comp: you have no need to involve in details of research, or to build manually all these huts and shacks on your innumerable planets… You just move your sliders with your black-gloved hand and throw the next million of your mutli-raced slaves into the Furnace of War, a-ha-ha!!! :) Something like this…:)
As for mods – try and seek here http://moo3.at
HUGE collection of mods and relatively alive and kicking forum where you’ll receive answers and advices from profis.
Me personally, I don’t like user-added stuff and I use only patches-mods that make original MOO3 quite playable (Bhruic Patcher, Gerra’s patches, Gophur’s UI mod).
Hi Aigokeros :)
I really liked the soundtrack and athmosphere of MOO3 too….and once I figured out that macro & not micro-management was the point of the game I was into it. But I never played a complete game.
I will do one day soon.
So many games; so little time!
Thanks for the link and points about mods.
Ahhh, Harbinger! I remember playing that game as a kid on my family’s old Mac. I loved that game. I recently saw it on gamersgate and bought it; played through it again. It was still fun despite the fact you can just run away and kite everything. Pretty decent voice acting and a nice story.
Yes, the game is simple as potato but very fun and atmospheric. RPG traits minimized, only arcade shooting, running and kiting. The real childish joy when you find the better gun…:)
I still remember my first fight with this bloody bronze-glittering prototype Gladiator with huge cutlass…:)
Developing my own game right now :-)
But if I have some excess free time to kill, and I don’t have access to my code I watch some StarCraft II on YouTube. :)
I was on a Civ IV kick for most of January, but I’ve since gone back to try X-Com with the Slingshot and Second Wave DLC activated.
Playing The Secret World, presently, plus some World of Tanks to shoot down tension after a day at work.
EVE Online is a bit on the backburner, at the time.
I really wanted to like EVE, but it was the most miserable 3-4 hours of gaming I’ve ever done. Dull gameplay, clunky UI, and above all the most rude and elitist gaming community I’ve ever encountered. The only thing I liked about it was the dark, Blade Runner-esque ambiance. Also, it seems silly that you create this cool avatar, and yet the only thing others ever see of you is a postage stamp portrait. My gut feeling is that they had the right idea with EVE making it one big server with little or no instancing, but the implementation seems flawed, and the fact that the game seems to encourage sociopathic behavior.
My worries about EVE encapsulated. I spent far too long slogging through WoW to do it again with another MMO. I’d rather wait with a few good friends (SEIV, GC2,Borderlands, Torchlight) for an innovative 4X than suffer though a painful MMO in hopes that it isn’t what I know it to be.
I beg to differ concerning Eve Online. If you have only played for 3-4 hours, you can barely give a funded opinion about Eve Online and it’s gameplay. UI is complicated, agreed, but Eve houses a shitload of things you can do. Which cannot be figured out in only 4 hours of gameplay. Learning curve is steep. I must admit that the community can be harsh at times. And gamemechanics allow that you can loose lots of stuff you worked hard for ingame. But that is what makes Eve Online Eve Online. And yes, CCP has made major missteps, especially with the ‘Incarna’ (Walking In stations) stuff, causing quite a riot within the community, but they listened to the community, and actually they are doing quite a good job with implementing features the communitty has asked for. Eve Online is a hardcore game, with a hardcore fanbase and hardcore gameplay. I’ve played it for four years, loved it (and still do) but it takes too much time which I can’t afford to spend on it. Eve Online definately has it’s flaws, but the arguments you bring on are based on the few hours of gameplay and, in my opinion, don’t reflect the true beauty of Eve Online.
Distant Worlds: Legends has been ongoing for the last 3 months. Love the ease of modding the core game. Endless Space is another I have played a bit, and I do like it for the freshness.
Tried SOTS II (enhanced), and I had to take it off my hard drive (too bulky to use, and I don’t want to spend the time relearning it anyways).
Looking forward to Distant Worlds: Shadows expansion, and, of course I play EVE (not for the faint of heart).
Distant worlds, Fallen Enchantress and Dominions 3. I keep trying to get back into Guild Wars 2 and keep losing interest.
I’m playing a lot of Diablo 3 these days.
Counting down the months before the release of Age of Wonders 3. But enjoying it immensely. :-)
I hear you about AoW3. I was jazzed to read about it. The AoW series may not be everyone’s cup of mead, but I still think it holds the crown as the best 4x sword and sorcerer game. I like it better than Warlock or Fallen Enchantress. Also, the AoW2 campaign was so very diverse, big, and amazing. Hopefully the AoW3 campaign will be as good.
Diablo 3 and Worms Armageddon at the moment. Occasional some Chivalry and waiting for Stardrive and Eador as well as AoW3. :D
I have been wandering from game to game; all of them oldies.
Spellforce 1; Cossacks Back to War; Haegemonia Legions of Iron; Warcraft III…
Not sure what or where the itch is.
Great to see so many kerbonauts around¡
I have been playing mainly KSP and Hearts of Iron 3, I will come back to Distant Worlds, Galactic Civ II and Endless Space in a few days
Drox operative + Fallen enchantress occasionally :)
Funny that you took the picture of a chess board. I have been waiting for Star Drive for quit a while. Tried to play some of the older 4x but the enemies “AI” for the computer is simply too easy to beat after some games so I went back to mainly playing chess against human players.
Anno 2070-Deep Ocean
SimCity 4 Deluxe w/added mods and content
Rulers of Nations
Impire – brand new game from Paradox. My initial feeling – DON’T buy it! UI logistic problems.
Yeah, I’m regretting getting Impire. If you want to play a mix of Dungeon Keeper and DOW that manages to miss the point of both, there you go.
Currently I’m planning on sobbing quietly until Shadows or StarDrive comes out.
I am reading chess info everyday but I am not playing actively due to lack of time…:(
So if I have some spare time I am playing Need For Speed Hot Pursuit (PS3) and Tales of Maj’Eyal: Age of Ascendancy (PC).
AoW1, just started the campaign after the announcement of AoW3
Been playing a lot of modded Space Empires IV and Stars! recently. Don’t know why, it’s just great at scratching that 4x itch. A little bit of Endless Space, Fallen Enchantress, modded Torchlight 2 and Dominions 3 thrown in there too.
One of these days I’ll get around to actually playing Skyrim and X-COM… they’re still shrink wrapped.
Nice to hear about a stars! Player. Are there made any good mods for it?
And have you found anything close on the ipad?
Well… Here goes the list:
Skyrim – can´t get enough
King´s Bounty Crossworlds – rediscovered again after a long time since my last playthrough
Drakensang – good german RPG, having a good time playing it
Space Rangers 2 Reboot – a true gem, great game
Warlock : Master of the Arcane – Civ V with mystic surroundings
Aliens Colonial Marines – yes, I know… Lousy game, but I have to see what lies next, what can I say… I´m a Masochist.
Football Manager 2007 – oldie, but I made quite a few seasons in it, always liked football sims
That´s quite a few games I´m playing right? ;)
HI, regarding Space Rangers: a new version is beeing developed: http://spacerangershd.com/2012/12/29/status-update/
Space Empires V, Galactic Civilizations 2, Borderlands 2, Sword of the Stars (I, not II), and Torchlight II for me at the moment. Looking forward to Stardrive, Star Lords, and any of the other 4x spacers on the horizon.
I flirted with Distant Worlds, but can’t get over the hefty entrance prices for the base game and recommended expansions. I only buy games on sale (they are games, not necessities after all) and Matrix never lowers the prices to an attractive level.
I hear you Jeff. I took a deep breath, pulled out my credit card, and took the plunge on DW during their holiday sale, and was relieved to find how much I enjoyed it, especially with the Star Trek and SINS mods. I agree though, they definitely need to do something about the DW pricing model. No doubt it scares a lot of ppl away who would otherwise like it. It’s also interesting to note that this has been the subject of some heated debates on the Matrix forum.
Matrix Games have a very regressive and customer un-friendly business model.
Civ 5
CXL 2011
Minecraft
Crusader Kings 2 has taken over my life -yet again-. I’m greatly looking forward to CK2’s ‘Old Gods’ DLC and the new Vic 2 expansion (as well as Fallen Enchantress’ new DLC). I also plan on -finally- playing the new XCom in the nearish future.
I’ll probably get Eador when it finally goes on sale, and Masters of the Broken World when it finally comes out. Dragon Commander also looks ace!
World of Tanks (since beta almost $1000 in… help me stop someone)
Medieval 2 – Third Age mod and Call of Warhammer mod – will always be the best TW game
Borderlands 2 coop
This is the reason i hate “free to play” games. any other game, even monthly paid is alot cheaper, when you really play it, then a free to play! damn curse of the game industry.
Agreed, I’ve always paid for premium in TANKS but now with premium tanks and gold rounds and exp conversion I’m in a big hole.
If the game was mediocre I’d be fine but it’s addictive… I must keep fighting in tanks…
If Warthunder is any good I’ll probably change to that as TANKS is changing, and not in a good way.
Currently craving some galactic domination but waiting for Distant Worlds and it’s expansions to go on sale…wish they’d put their games on Steam… >_<
Yeah, the prices at Matrix/Slitherine are just absurd. Every Christmas I consider it, and every Christmas I realize that I just can’t spend so much for DW, even on sale, when I can get so many other great games for -so- -much- -less-. Additionally, I hate the download policies and such of Matrix/Slitherine. I know there are those who would prefer their approach to Steam’s, but I’m definitely in Steam’s camp here.
Has the developer ever stated why they only stay with Matrix Games and don’t branch out?
Matrix has very regressive pricing and download policies.
Puts me off completely.
I like Steam.
Damn, that is really unfortunate. Is there no other way to purchase Distant Worlds?
It’s Distant Worlds for me. I can’t play any other 4x game after it because all of them now seem ‘lifeless’ after playing DW.
I might try StarDrive when it comes out, but it does seem ‘lifeless’ as well compared to DW.
I usually play a shooter, an RTS, and a 4X and alternate between them. Right now it’s Borderlands 2, Conquest Frontier Wars, and Space Empires V. Next in line are Victoria 2, XCOM (the new one), and Civilization IV BTS. Sadly I don’t know of another FPS I want to play right now. It was supposed to be you, Aliens Colonial Marines. Supposed to be you.
Conquest Frontier Wars is a great little game. I played it whe it first came out and I still got it on my PC.
If anyone is interested they cn get in on GOG.
I played it about a year after it came out. I really regret losing my copy (and especially the manual. I still love printed manuals).
I’m hoping they make enough from GOG to finance the sequel.
Chess.
I find myself getting frustrated with all other strategy games lately because the developers overuse the random number generator.
In a strategy game, the victor should be the one who outmaneuvers his opponent, not the one who catches the luckiest breaks from the random number generator.
This is a really intriguing topic you bring about luck and strategy: luck vs skill.
Well, I think you could consider that there’s some “luck” element in chess too. Perhaps not on the board and rules themselves, but concerning your opponent. Maybe your rival misses a clumsy move from your part, or he/she is tired and overlooks an important move. But yes, there’s no random number generator in between, it’s just you and the other person.
The equivalent would be: “73% change to take Knight with Queen” :) But, in your head you could think: “I have a 90% chance he/she doesn’t detect what I’m doing”. D’oh!
But yes, intriguing topic. I personally like to have a small dose of luck/randomness in all the games I play. It helps in keeping things fresh and unpredictable.
I guess you could argue that chess involves some luck, but either way, every event that occurs is only influenced by previous decisions that you or your opponent made.
I concede that modern 4X games will need some randomness in order to remain unpredictable, but I hate to see developers use the RNG as a cheap and easy substitute for solid game mechanics, especially on things that have a huge impact on the outcome of the game. The AI rebellion in SotS 1 is an example.
Hi Adam.
I am sure there must have been discussions about this….and if not it deserves one imo.
The luck factor in chess with a human player is really skill or lack of….so it’s not really luck…imo.
I think the issue Tiberius raises is the old problem of developing an AI that can challenge a competent human player. So developers resort using ‘cheats’ that give the AI various advantages. And as you say this is at least better than a lame & predictable AI.
I am not aware of an AI that can challenge a competent human player Adam.
Are you?
Hello David,
it’s a tricky topic but a very interesting one indeed. Luck when playing against human players, especially in strategy games. You say that in chess there’s no luck/chance involved because or your opponent has the skill or he/she does not, so it’s not really luck or bad luck. I’m not so sure. It depends on what you consider when making the analysis. Only the rules of chess? Ok. Also the human condition? Then I’m sure there’s luck involved.
But we’re probably mixing too many subjects here: luck, skill, AI, Human, strategy game, not strategy game, cheating. I think this should be discussed but with a proper topic/subject. In other words, a strong premise, and then we can have fun discussing things.
About the AI, and your direct question. It depends on if you include cheating as an acceptable thing or not. I don’t know by heart which games’ AI cheat and do not cheat.
I tend to think that the Galactic Civilizations 2 AI is quite tough, at least in the higher difficulties, and even extremely tough in certain conditions.
Chess AIs are probably the toughest around, but that’s because the rules of chess are fixed and the algorithms to play good are well known. It really depends on the processing power you have available. I think it’s fairly accepted that the chess AIs can be quite formidable.
Strategy games in general, and especially 4X games, are very complex. There’s an enormous amount of possibilities sprouting every turn, depending on your game’s complexity as well also. So, it’s much harder to make good AIs for 4X games than for chess for example.
By the way, Soren Johnson (Civ4 designer) gave a great talk about the “AI cheating/cheating not” subject (among other things) called “Playing to Lose: AI and Civilization”. It’s a great talk that I recommend to anyone interested in the AI subject. There’s much more to the AI than to how strong and competent it is. But, in a strategy game, it must give a fight and also play to win of course.
Hi Adam
I think your point is that no matter how skilled a player is they can make an error and thus give you a lucky break; and in a way I agree; but I wonder – is ‘error’ is that case another word for lack of skill?
A famous golfer once said ‘the more I practice the luckier I get’.
I agree with what you say about the relative simplicity of coding for chess as against a 4X strategy game (I emphasise ‘relative’).
Personally I dont mind if an AI is given advantages in resources and die rolls etc; but I see now that Tiberius was talking about something else….ie random events that one cannot predict or really counter – random fait accomplits.
I’ve tried a number of times to play GalCiv2 and cannot get past the 2D dinky-lego style of the graphics and sound effects. For me the game has no ambience or athmosphere of ‘space’. So I always leave it after a few moves. So although I have heard the AI is good I have not experienced it.
I think for me the main thing an AI needs to do is simulate a realistic response and create an engaging game experience for the player; which is not the same as presenting a real strategic challenge; in the way a human player could.
I have played some HoMM3 and noticed the AI doing some impressive moves.
Also Age of Wonders 1 seems to have a good AI.
What you are really thinking of here is AI; and the difficulty (and expense) of designing a competent tactical and strategic AI. I dont know of any game AI that can challenge a human player who knows the mechanics of a game.
Do you?
If you want real challenge like “the victor should be the one who outmaneuvers his opponent” the only way is to play against a human player.
My complaint about randomness is applicable to games with just human players too. I’m talking about randomness built into the game mechanics (not AI opponent) that drastically effects the outcome.
Imagine an extreme case of a 4X game where every few turns you have a small random chance of losing half your empire. It’s completely beyond your control, so if it happens to you and not your opponent, you’ve basically lost the game due to one crappy RNG roll.
I see what you mean….and I agree.
To work, RNG must be at least related to a decision you make. In your “losing half your empire” example it could be acceptable if you hit a dilemma that could unleash a plague and kill billions or perhaps the result is finding a cure that boosts population growth. The outcome is out of your control, but as long as it is tied with a choice that’s ok in my view.
And that’s why people usually hate nasty random events. Because they come out of nowhere. If they were related to a choice you made now, or a few turns ago, then it probably is ok. But, constantly being stroke by meteors or supernovas is not fun.
But, a few out-of-your-control events can also be ok, as long as they are recoverable. This is a game we’re playing after all, not a real life situation with all it’s dull and heavily frustrating parts. But, a few sprinkles of randomness help in my view. It keeps thing fresh and helps creating more surprises, an essential ingredient of fun.
I think the right way to approach randomness in a strategy game is through map generation. In Civ for example, if you don’t get iron or your enemy ends up with a really lucky chokepoint it’s definitely not fair, but you can plan around it and it often leads to some really memorable and unique situations. AI War is practically built around this mindset, and I think it’s a large part of why it’s so good.
Really disagree about random events keeping things fresh though, I f’in hate them with a passion. Maybe in Distant Worlds where they mostly add flavor to the government or race you’re playing, but saying “Surprise! Have some monster spawns!” like in Warlock is irritating at best, and the most interesting thing that can come out of it is a game of whack a mole. Even if it’s recoverable, what’s the point? What’s actually interesting about it?
@Stupid Space Lizard
In a very small dose, and recoverable/manageable, I think nasty random events may be fun. They introduce an element of surprise, a twist that if it makes sense can help with immersion and force you to adapt your strategy and feel good about it. The same must apply to your rivals of course.
Examples: A meteor impact in a colony, a system that goes supernova, a resource that gets exhausted. If they happen very rarely I think they may be fun. They may even lead to diplomatic turnarounds. Maybe an enemy seeks your help to counter a menace, and, if you decide to help may put an end to a long conflict, or not.
But I don’t deny that this is tricky business and I guess you need to be a very good game designer to make it work, but I feel that it’s doable.
Ultimately, I believe that all surprises are fun, yes even nasty ones, it’s just a question to turn them into challenges and a problem solving activity, and all of them can be fun. Just probably not for the faint of heart designers, because if done carelessly: e.g. fire breaks lose, you lost a farm, and now a mine, 3 meteor showers in a row, that’s definitely not fun).
I see what you mean, I think I’ve just played too many games that used events as magic bandaids for game design.
Personally, if something makes a 4X more interesting I’m all for it, and I guess events fit into that. I think 4X games should be about presenting a memorable experience with interesting choices to make first, and fair or competitive as a distant second.
With advent of powerful videocard (like GF 580 and better) )adequate AI for 4X is possible at last with GPGPU( CUDA or OpenCL) and Monte-Cralo method (this approach was successfully applied to game of Go) For now GPGPU still remain domain of scientific computer and financial calculation, game programmed didn’t learned it yet. Also game programmer are not well acquainted with underlying math. But hardware already here in my opinion.
I dont see how graphics has anything to do with AI?
Can you explain what connection you see?
The procesing power of the new GPU units way exceeds the power of the main CPU for doing repetitive number crunching. So I think Serge is saying if CPU power is the problem with AIs then, using the GPU power would help.
What Vaxman2 said, and more – not only GPU power is about two order of magnitude bigger, but also we have now (for several years already) API to access it with C/C++ similar syntax (CUDA, OpenCL) on consumer (mid or high end) videocard.
So are you saying that the CPUs of the best graphics cards today are more than twice as fast as the best CPUs in computers?
And that the answer to AI is to run the AI on the graphics card CPU….not the computer’s CPU?
I would be astonished to find that graphics processors are so much faster than computer CPUs. Can you give me a link or something which supports that?
I got Civilization V with G&K and all DLC during the GamersGate sale and I’ve only been playing Civ 5 non-stop since. I played some Fallen Enchantress 1.29b recently, a lot of Tropico 4 and Just Cause 2, and also some Caveman2Cosmos.
I wanted to play Endless Space but I was waiting for a new patch, and it came out today and I’m disappointed that it took them a month to release such a small patch. I’m waiting for the community content patch. Until then, Civ 5… and I’m having a blast with it. I made it run great in full HD on my machine which is quite old.
Shores Of Hazeron
’nuff said
Playing Distant Worlds very, extremely patiently until StarDrive comes out!!!
To keep in the usual theme, I’ve been playing X3 Terran Conflict. But I’ve been shifting over to Gnomoria.
All of the above posters are reminding me to scratch my Distant Worlds itch (Still a newbie on that, have to learn more about how to play the game so I can be decent at it). Though I might swap to Imperialism II, it’s been a year or three since I last played it.
I went kind of crazy back in the fall last year with steam sales and bundles and stuff. I’ve bought a seriously massive amount of games. :S Extremely cheaply though so it’s ok. But I’m trying to play through most of them now in a strange mix of stress and pleasure. :D
Just finished Spec Ops: The Line and started up Tomb Raider: Legend yesterday.
And today I reinstalled Nexus: The Jupiter Incident and enjoyed it a lot more than when I played it a couple of weeks ago. I guess I’ve finally started to grasp the gameplay a little better after a second round of tutorials. I really quited enjoyed it. :)
Also been enjoying the Salvation Prophecy and I’m itching to get back into playing the Starflight and Flashback on the Sega Megadrive.
Also got Ascendancy on my iphone as it was on sale, and I plan on finishing Sword & Sworcery on the phone as well during my busride to work.
Dear god.. am I playing too many games? :S
I’ve been overdosing on Star Trek Online lately. The MMMO is not without its flaws, but Cryptic keeps adding content and improving it, and there’s something very compelling about the space combat. I’m hard-pressed to think of a space game that does space combat better, and you can spend glorious hours obsessing over all the intricate details of improving your ship. Also, I hated the STO exchange at first, but now I love it. I can see why when you go to Sol spacedock or Qo’nos you can usually find a lot of people wheeling and dealing on the exchange.
BTW, one thing I’ve been learning about MMO’s is that they have it all over single player RPG’s when it comes to between-quest stuff. I recall getting bored quickly with the between-quest stuff in Fallout and Skyrim, but in STO it can be a lot of fun. I mean, after a mission I’ll go to a spaceport and shop, trade and chat with other Trek and scifi fans, though I have had some disagreements with JJ Abrams fans. ;)
Speaking of MMO’s, I’m sorely tempted to try Cryptic’s Neverwinter when it gets released in a month or two. Of course the game may be covering the same territory as WoW, but since I mostly like STO, I would be willing to give it a try. In any case Cryptic has had a lot of experience doing MMO’s, and they certainly know how to make a beautiful looking game.
BTW, still very disappointed with Mr. DiCicco and company for not meeting their Star Drive public beta release date. What’s worse, no new date has been given. They must be running into serious problems with the game. I would venture a guess that the problem lies in the fact that betas aren’t what they used to be. Now people are expecting (public) betas to be very close to the finished product, and I guess the Star Drive team don’t feel that they’re there yet.
Speaking of disappointments, I had expected Distant Worlds: Shadows to be at or near release by now, but have heard nothing about it either.
ps….Don’t get me wrong, if Star Drive is not ready, I’m all for it being delayed. As a wise man once wrote, “The bitter taste of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of meeting the schedule has been forgotten.”
Could you help me on a subject regarding Star Trek Online? I have 1 character (Federation) but wish to delete it and create a new one (also federation) since I got o level 50. Is there a way I can do it and deliver all my current weapons and stuff to the new Starfleet Officer? How can I do it (being safe about it)?
Finished XCOM recently. Classic difficulty, mostly ironman (2 reloads). Easily my favorite game of the last 2 years. I only wish the strategy layer was more strategy and less puzzle. Once you figure out the puzzle of how to develop your base there is no more experimentation because the “correct” layout is always the way to go.
Tactical layer was awesome, but please devs add the ability to pickup dead soldiers equipment!
I am currently replaying Crysis games in anticipation of Crysis 3. In the middle of Warhead. Makes me sad how Crysis 1 and Warhead are better looking than anything I have played since they were released…
I am playing Fallen Enchantress and Tales of Maj’Eyal occasionally
Distant Worlds Legends, eagerly anticipating Shadows. It’s going to be one of the high-points this year. I also do a lot of Skyrim; both playing and modding.
Mount and Blade Warband with the floris mod, a really exceptional game
Eador genesis, the best TB strategy nowadays
The Cave with my wife (2 player mode) and Civ V Gods & Kings
I played Strike Suit Zero recently, but I was not so impressed. Can read my review of it here:
http://www.sgnonline.com/2013/01/30/strike-suit-zero-review/
Its a little long, but I’m a wordy chap =P
Other than that, I regularly play EVE and Team Fortress 2…
I’m in a big Minecraft phase right now. Survival multiplayer mostly. I just got bore of Kerbal Space Program and Endless Space not long ago, but I feel another 4X vibe coming on soon.
I’ve been getting into Dwarf Fortress these days and it’s surprisingly gratifying when you can see past the horrible UI and actually notice the semblance of a game deep down the face of the beast.
I tried DF a couple of times now, but somehow completely missed the gratifying stage. I don’t care about the graphics, but I *do* care about the boredom.
DF is one of the greatest games of our times, but if you already have problems with CK2, its maybe not your type of game. :(
I’m probably going to give it another try or two in order to hunt for this elusive greatness that many people report, but I fear that you might be right and it just isn’t my cup of tea.
Oh well, plenty of other games out there. Aurora is probably even more complex and I love that.
Aurora, ah ok. Maybe it´s the setting?
Just started playing Crusader Kings 2 but unfortunately I think that the steep learning curve is going to kill my enthusiasm. Nothing seems to be happening and I have absolutely no idea which of the 5 million things that I could do, I should be doing.
I’ll give it a bit longer and then probably move back to Skyrim and explore the Dragonborn expansion.
Playing Stardrive, Eador, Fallen Enchantress, Europa Universalis and Morrowind with the Overhaul 3.0 ( how beautiful it is! )
But i have major issues with deciding which game to play and end up with watching series. Mad Men at the moment.
Right now i mostly play Civ V Gods & King
But I also play Borderland 2 when I got friend online and I made a little comeback on Skyrim because i wanted to finish it a least once.
I got a lot of other game that i replay from time to time but the list would be too long so I will keep it to what I played these last two weeks
You’ve had a lot of feedback already but I’ll still do my part ;) – I feel I owe it to you as your site and reviews have become essential in my discovering and playing games!
I’m french and I must say it’s a pity for the french gaming scene that a lot of the best games aren’t translated – I can’t do multiplayer with some of my friends ;) !
I’ve played Star Ruler a lot, love the modularity and scale of things, with the Galactic Armory mod it’s terrific!!
Civ has been my regular lover for years now, and Civ V is getting better as it is getting fleshed out. IMO.
Apart from that Fallen Enchantress now and again, a bit of Divine Divinity II , and I get regularly back to Sins Rebellion and Sword of the Stars II ( yes I do! I think there’s a lot of good things in it but, yes, it’s a bit shallow despite all the lore… ).
Finally the two big recent discoveries : Crusader Kings II , just amazing, and Alpha Centauri. Shame on me I’ve just started playing it but I’m making up for it ;)
One last word : I play most of my games with mods and I would never have had such enjoyment if it hadn’t been for the love and energy that the community is giving to its passion. Lucky me I didn’t lose any friends.. ;)
And many many thanks Adam!!
You’re welcome! I’m glad that you’re enjoying the place and the content. Yea, Alpha Centauri, a bit oldy on the graphics side but as deep and atmospheric as can get. There’s Pandora: First Contact now, kind of similar gameplay. Let’s see how that goes. Currently playing the beta. You’ll a have a new preview/first look to look for soon ;)
I’m playing massively Cosmic Supremacy and Astro Empires. I think the future of 4x will be totally mmo. What do you think?
I asked that same question a couple of years ago. The article was “Can MMO games be the future of 4x space strategy?”. The site was very recent by then, and the comments few, so we didn’t reached any meaningful conclusions.
Cosmic Supremacy was referenced by then though. I tried it. It looked quite deep and very Master of Orion reminiscent, at least on how the economy worked (if I remember well, I only played Cosmic Supremacy for a little while).
I have a feeling that we’re going to get back to this topic often in the future, however it’s still unclear at this stage if 4X and MMO mix well.
Funny that. I actually wrote almost a year ago to Adam to ask if he’d like to write a review about Cosmic Supremacy, and he offered me the chance to write one instead. I was actually very excited – it would have been my first attempt ever at a game review, but then procrastination kicked in and reality kicked in even more that I’m not really a natural writer – I wrote 2 paragraphs, then decided that there’s so many things I want to write about, I couldn’t decide in the end what I’d really write.
I still play the game though – have been playing for almost 2 years now, and I still love it. It’s nice to see Predictorian join the community too. Game development may be slow these days, but I still have a lot of good times playing the game.
If I get down to sparing up some inspiration for writing ‘one day’, wonder if I could still take up Adam’s offer of writing that review :p.
Can you imagine how mmo version of Imperium Galactica II look like? or Endless Space?
Currently with technologically speaking, Blizzard leads the way with SC2. But I still prefer deeper games such as Outpost1 by Sierra. I know it was from the stone age of pc gaming, but after almost 20 years, I remember every bit of this game. Maybe it was a result of the magic hand of a NASA scientist to the game.
One hell of a turn out for this thread.
Please dont ever speak about mmo 4x. The concept may work but If successful it would get highjacked by idiot marj eting people who see every online game as a social network cash machine.
:) So, you’re afraid that it could work. There are lots of challenges though.
4X and multiplayer don’t go too well (yet). So, on a massive scale chances are that it’s even harder to make it work. It could be an interesting branch though.
But, 4X is about leisure paced planning, play when I want, I want to win and feel powerful kind of thing. I have serious reserves that this could work with an MMO without losing most of its qualities, since then it would be about either cooperative gameplay or fierce/frenetic competition, and currently neither please the hardcore 4X gamer I think.
But the cooperation thing might work… Think of people acting as Admirals, others as Captains, others as Explorers and one guy running the show as the Emperor. And then, multiple clans each with its own structure. The problem/challenge is that people have a life and it’s hard to coordinate play time. That’s why SP and save/load will not go anywhere too soon.
I agree with you about cooperation thing. And 4x could be better with 3c which is cooperation, competition, community. Competition and community could be achieved by league structure. I often compare 4x space strategy games with sports such as chess, better say correspondence chess very similar to turn based 4x space strategy games (making moves, analysing positions, etc.)
Playing X3 Terran Conflict with X-Tended mod 2.0, great game and mod.
I’m totally out of stuff to play at this point – I’ve played out pretty much everything listed above. I’m waiting for StarDrive and just finished playing the new Fire Emblem (I bought a DS to play it).
Since I have nothing to play at the moment I’ve mostly been working on the script for the pilot of ARCH (http://betterthanyour.tv) a web series that will tell a story similar to what you might find in many 4X games (It’s about a planet that is being colonized by modern-day Humans and if successful will eventually go on to show how they discover advanced technologies, spread to other worlds and ultimately form an intergalactic empire far away from Earth).
Civ4 BTS w/ RoM mod, DCS A-10, WinSPMBT.
That’s about all for now.
I’ve mostly spent my recent time on these:
– EVE Online
– Shores of Hazeron (mainly keeping my empire alive while under constant attack, but succeeding fairly now after having removed all my “filler” colonies from my empire while drastically increasing fleet size).
– Some small bits of Minecraft (I mainly do it because I administrate a server for a political party, which is one of the oldest multiplayer-oriented MC communities out there).
– OreSome Alpha (you should try this one! Very promising space game with plenty nostalgia inside).
Usual games during lanparties:
– Freelancer.
– Supreme Commander (soon to become Planetary Annihilation as I pleged for 4 people).
– Homeworld 2 (direly seeking a worthy successor here).
Waiting for these games:
– Planetary Annihilation (as mentioned above).
– Star Citizen (pledged here too, with 3 keys for friends coming).
– Distant Worlds: Shadows.
– Thrive (something like Spore done right, seems good).
– Shores of Hazeron 1.0 (this would serve as the perfect EVE replacement).
– Imperium Galactica 4 (Stargazer).
– Starship Corporation.
Developing a 4X/RTS game at the moment while improving code of an older project.
Playing the living shit out of the Stardrive beta. Unable to stop.
Waiting for the new expansion before more Elemental.
Right now, couldn’t care less about Distant Worlds. They aren’t very communicative and Stardrive is so much better, in my opinion.
I promised myself to give Endless Space another whirl after they cleaned up the multi-player problems. The .60 release that came out yesterday claims to do that and so I have been looking for a MP game to join. In the meantime I have been playing a lot of online poker lately, mixed in with some initial stabs at FTL.
My recent favorite games
————————
1) Don’t Starve (realy fun, trying to survive)
2) Open TTD (Free, Tycoon)
3) Gnomoria (Well Done)
4) ES (4x Games)
5) X3 Terran Conflict (open space simulator, waiting for Rebirth)
6) The Settler 7 (recent special price below 10 $)
7) Microsoft Flight (Free, because of my Dad)
8) Galaxy Online 2 (Browser, Free)
9) DW (4x Games, Less interest about this game)
10) SIN (same as DW)
Waiting for SD (StarDrive) from the combat prototype…pre-ordered it when steam release it, hope less than 2 weeks. :-)
P.S. Adam continue your great work of informing us. your in my bookmark for more than a year. Just after my youtube, google daily check.
On the PS, that’s great to know man, thanks! About DW, let me know if you need any tips.
What am I playing?
Not much really.. im in the pre-release hell right now, waiting for some titles that are just around the corner.
Passing the time with League of Legends and Path of Exile mostly.
What I would LIKE to play is
– Fallen Enchantress expansion
– Crusader Kings 2: pagan DLC
– Stardrive beta
– Xenonauts beta
All of these should be coming reasonably soon.
Then there is also
– Wasteland 2 (ever since their latest video i just can’t stop drooling)
which, while it may not even reach beta for at least 6 more months, is absolutely #1 on my list for this year’s most anticipated games so far.
Oh and with the holiday season, I might convert to become a console junkie, once I get my hands on a new PS4.
Not much
Darthmod empire 8.01 (for Empire: Total War)
Planetside 2
Civ 5 and designing two of my own strategy boardgames ;-)
Victoria II (AHD – POP Mod)
Galactic Civilizations II
Mass Effect 3
Metro 2033
hoping to get into Star Ruler and Strike Suit Zero in a little while
Well I must say I am proudly playing Omikron: Nomad Soul (yes, on Win7) and other oldies like Pax Imperia: Eminent Domain and Lands of Lore 2: Guardians of Destiny… bit old school, but seems to me there’s nothing fresh these days.
Retaken by Crusader Kings II, having fun with doing a bit role playing and not reloading the game when something goes wrong. And the Sun Invasion addon and retinues are really fun.
Apart from that a friend makes me play Planetside 2 which is fun enough especially when you start up your own squad. Exciting and rewarding if you successfully secured an objective as a team but sometimes makes you feel like you are just one little soldier in the meat grinder called war.
Apart from computer, quick chess games with my best friend in the coffee breaks and on the weekends, if we can get everybody together, classic boardgames like risk, carcassonne, settlers of catan and others.
Sots 2 and Civ5 G&K + Civup+Gem+1 Color Religions+ infoaddicit
And a little Fallen Enchantress.
I found a pretty nice old tbs gem : Spartan and it’s expansion Gates of Troy. Also playing some Sword of the Stars 1 inbetween. And I cannot force myself to like SotS 2 … for the love of God why do the ships have to come back to their starting planet after a survey mission ?! Can’t they stay there and just send the info back… they do fire Anti-matter missiles but have trouble transmitting data through space?
I’m playing Civ V. Found some cool mods. Have an awesome game going against Russia right now. We are the last two left and control half of the world each. I am gearing up for massive invasion.
Olá Adam, tudo bem? :)
Im always on the hunt for new games so last weekend i bought gratuitous space battles at a great discount on steam, love the explosions, its a nice game, getting the hang of it.
Also playing counter-strike global offensive, i always have a FPS to play online and this one is a classic, dont like to invest time on games that “die” after a year or so.
Looking forward to stardrive,x-rebirth and whatever else catches my eye,so i check regularly this site.
now excuse me i must go,i need to re-read “A List of Sci-Fi/Space Games You Can’t Miss In 2013” to make sure i dont miss anything.
Thanks SpaceSector!
I’m waiting for Stardrive to finally be released, luckily Kerberos released The Pit, which is a fun little RPG which makes my wait more bearable.
Not twice, usually 20-50, up to 200.(You know what “order of magnitude” mean?)
You can google gpgpu or check Wikipedia.
Been playing X3 Terran Conflict. After around 300 of hours of play, I began to wind down and start a new campaign. Went with the unlocked Tormented Teladi start and am trying to restrict myself a bit to keep it interesting.
Can’t wait for X Rebirth.
Wow, had no idea that such game exists. I love space trading games, the last one I’ve been playing was Privater 2 :)
Hope you enjoy the X games….but be advised they are not arcade games as I understand the privateer games are.