so what's new . . .

[Sobriquet]

Been away for a awile. (Man, starting your own business sure takes ALOT of your time!)

I have had the chance to surf the site every now and then, and I see lots of good posts/suggestions. Good to see interest is growing.

Anyway, what's new in the world of Horizon? Is the game out yet? If not, have I been picked to lead the beta team? Is my free copy due in the mail any day now?

[Sobriquet]

well, it appears I am mistaken. posted this yesterday and still no response . . . .


heeeeeeelllllllllloooooooooooooo . . . is anybody home?

[Zaimat]

Welcome back Sobriquet!

We've been crazy busy working long hours here all week, we are making good progress. It's good to hear you got a new venture going, it's hard work, I wish you success.

Our friends have been quiet past few days, I think they are just lurking or busy themselves (hopefully no one is on the way of the hurricane Ivan). I would like to see some more activity here, we're making some changes to the website to further improve it, I'm also open to suggestions to expand our audience.
_________________
Horizon - Lead Designer

[Sim-Mania]

I'm willing to spark conversation.

I was wondering how strong the orbital defense stations in Horizon are? In Moo3 the Orbital gun platforms were basically pointless. Say you had 11 or more of the defense stations around your system, an enemy fleet could decimate them in a mater of seconds with their missiles and fighters.

It would be much better if the orbital defense stations could actually hold thier own against enemy fleets, without totally and completely relying on backup from your own ships, as in Moo3. On the other hand - granted a large enemy fleet should be able to over come a planets defenses if it only consisted of orbital defense platforms and no fleet backup, but they should at least expect moderate Casualties.

I guess I'm trying to make the point that taking over a planet that has some kind of orbital defense network should not be a mundane task, and if you were facing a planet guarded by a fleet and orbital defenses, then these are the battles that should define and determine the outcome of a war, and you should expect heavy Casualties on both sides. I just found that this didn't happen in Moo3. The victor would usually suffer little Casualties, while the loser would suffer total Casualties.

[Sim-Mania]

By the way, Beta Testers I suppose are only delagated to those from Canada or the US.

[Anguille]

It's hard to say...you know i've been around since january or so but didn't have much to ask lately. You've explained a lot but still it's not easy to figure how Horizon will be. The races & ships are fantastic but it's hard to figure out in what kind of background they are working (ships seem to work in RTS but the global game is TBS). Here are some suggestions:

1. I'd change the main page:

- Access to various sections (see below)
- News (every time you post a new ship, screenshot). That would make the page active and attract people when they show up..."Oh...there's something new)
- Designer diary.

2. I'd open more sections with those subjects with access from the mainpage:

- General description of the game (as in the main page)
- Races have a small descriptions, i'd find it great if we could see more of their history. You could also add their strengths & weaknesses. Furthermore humans are not described.
- Ships section is cool but should be accessible from the main page.
- Buildings (what can you build and what for)
- Espionage (kind of spies etc..)
- Technology (how do you research)
- Planetary control (what can i do there)
- Empire control (how do i manage my empire)
- a faq. Some questions have been asked many times



3. I'd add some screenshots:
- in the different sections like you did with the ships and races.
- General Screenshots section (i know you're not so hot on that one, but still, even if some aspects will change, people want to know what's going to be on theirs screen). I'd add a screenshot every week or so. Last 3 months before gold 3-5 screenshots a week.
- Some wallpapers (maybe with calendar)

The thing is, i still find it hard to imagine how the Main screen will look like, i'd also like to see what planets look like on the surface.

Hope you find this usefull.

Cheers
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I may not post so much...but i am here watching!

[Sim-Mania]