Incredible Potential if...

[Zionis]

This game (considering it's just been released) can be great but it ain't there yet. The model for this game is based on BotF (Birth of the Federation) and I have to say it was one of my favorite games ever. This game has a few flaws that dull it down and this post is simply to make a few change suggestions;

Technology This is a great system except the game needs to give player's more control over the following;
-Allow players to disable technology improvements (such as I don't need pollution reduction/management technologies for my race who isn't effected by pollution. Allow me to stop researching it).
-Players can current make one category of technology the focus (50%) of our research thus reducing the other categories to 10%. Allow us to decide the percentages for each technology category.
-Make breakthroughs more difficult, thus making the +100% breakthrough Racial trait more worth while.

Tactical Map This is a great feature and worth while design but it's also the game's biggest flaw.
-As it stands now it can be very confusing to know which colors you are at war with and which you aren't because even neutral/friendly ships in your zones queue the tactical map. The game needs a way to clearly distinguish friend from foe in tactical screens.
-Balance turn rates. The difference between a mothership's turn rate and a cruiser is ridicules, making the mothership all but useless except for offensive campaigns.
-The AI hiding under fighter crafts makes them untargetable. Stop this.
-Tactical combat turns should be separate from combats in other zones. In early game this is fine but mid/end game range having to move your whole armada across all zones before you can act on round 2 for your fleet that's currently in combat is dumb and confusing as all hell.

Dig Remove this from the game, it's useless. Instead grant the advantages a dig action would provide to a player colonizing the planet. Wondrous machine, for example, would grant a breakthrough upon colonizing it's planet as opposed to taking the dig action. If you insist on keeping this function then at least don't make it so that ANY ship can dig, instead add a technology/special item that needs to be equipped before having the ability to dig.

I have more suggestions but fixing the above would already make this one of the greatest games out there!

[Xiphix]

I love this post. I agree with just about every point. The tactical combat needs to be more like moo2. It is very confusing and I dont quite understand it all yet myself. I still dont understand why sometimes it shows my fleet moving across the tactical map for no reason. I dont see any opportunity for combat. The maps are just too big and often i have to drag my fleet all the way across the battlemap just to get into position, taking several turns of just movement isnt very interesting.

PLEASE yes to manual technology management. So much this. I can 50% one tree, but everything else drops to 10? so blah.

I loved moo2 for a reason, if i did not know what something was, or what it did, or how it impacted my empire i could just right click it for a relatively detailed information box. While these games clearly are not simple to play, its incredibly frustrating to lose the game on turn 75 on very easy because you dont quite grasp the concepts yet and the computer is extremely accelerated when compared to my own production/econ. It seems like I have to turtle the first 100+ turns or get stomped by the AIs bigger, more advanced fleets.


That aside, after a very painful learning process I actually enjoy this game. While ill still probably go back to moo2 for my 4x hunger. Ill enjoy this for a while. If some decent updates are released that simplifies and makes tactical combat more enjoyable I could see buying copies for my friends for the multiplayer. As is now though, they would most likely play the game for 60 minutes and give up. Still though, as a huge admirer of anything 4x Im having a good time.

[Uberlord]

Excellent analysis Zionis. I just Steam purchased & downloaded the game, and it is my practice to cruise the forums to get the "buzz" before gameplay. Although I've never played BoTF (Battle of The Federation), I have experienced the tactical combat of moo2 (Master of Orion II) as referenced by Xiphix, and hope to enjoy this game as well.

I've also heard that this game is a clone of Endless Space on steroids, a game I just uninstalled in intense frustration cuz of it's lack of a Tactical ( "How to") rather than a Strategic ("What is") tutorial.

It wasn't that the learning curve was too difficult, it's just that any 4x (A Master Of Orion coined term: explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) turn game with alotta depth and technical nuance should include in it's tutorial a sample game or scenario of "what to do next", so that the Newbie can acquire a feel for both a "click's" purpose and game objectives rather than become overwhelmed while playing.