Hi,
I'm a guy in his forties who harks back to playing Elite on the BBC B machine. What a game.
I only play single player (I know I am missing out), as I do not like being rushed, and also do not have all the spare time to know every ins and outs of a game.
I love SoaSE but am now looking for a new stategy game that is more tunr based with some RTS. I own GalCiv II and Civ IV and enjoyed both of these games, but was never uber at them.
I have been looking at:
Armada 2526 - too similar to Sins?
AI War Fleet Command - what is this like compared to SoaSE?
Europa Universalis III - sounds great and similar to RISKm which I also love, but seems to take up too much time?. Also heard you can feel detached? Any thoughts?
Are there any other games that may suit this old duffer.
Thanks
Zinq
I love most Paradox titles, aka Euro Univ 3, etc- Also check out Empire: Total war, total war's in general if your machine is ok. And some fund trading games, like Patrician, and the newer East India Company.
EDIT - and apparently this: https://forums.elementalgame.com/370273
I would say try Armada 2526, as from what it appears, it is very nice and a lot more 4X and less RTS.
There is an indie game called "Star Ruler" (LINKY!: http://www.moddb.com/games/star-ruler) that is set to release in Q2 of 2010 (I'm guessing between April and June).
The coolest thing (IMO) about Star Ruler is the uber-modding potential.
AI War Fleet Command- an XPack just got released for it. The only turn-off (to me anyway) is the 2D nature of it.
Another one to check out that is open-source (W00T!! FREE STUFF!!) is Free Orion (search it on SourceForge). Right now its on v0.3.13 and has no, ah, good combat (I think ATM it is all math based), but v0.4 is planned to have a full 3D (but still TB, I think) combat. v0.3.13 is actually quite enjoyable (research tree is HUGE!!).
Warzone 2100 (source code released and a freeware/open source version is available) is a ground RTS. It isn't really TBS, but it does have- an excellently done in-game unit designer (diff. chassis, propulsion, and weapon/support systems combine to make different units). If you start at a lower tech level, then the AI doesn't rush you. Especially as at higher levels the VTOL (aircraft) propulsion is available, so the AI starts bombing you. Also on SourceForge.
Guys,
Some interesting games there and thanks for your thoughts.
I played the original TW and TWII - I wasn't that fussed with the TBS part of the game and sucked at the tactics of the combat. I heard Empire TW was a bit of a let down compared to the others.
The problem is there are too many good strategy games atm, and I hate not giving a good game a proper go. So I want to spend my time on the one I choose.
Must admit I am swaying to EU III due to it's RISK nature and there seems to be a solid community.
But then again AI War sounds interesting and not worrid about th 2D aspect. I also like to support the indy game makers.
I have also never been involved in modding and only played the vanilla versions of games. And I know I am missing out. Maybe whilst I spend my time deciding on the next game I should try out some of the Sins mods to breath some life into the game.
Thanks again and keep your ideas coming. It might help me decide
AI War will be a bit more of a lurning curve than EU3, though not by much. EU3 allows for a lot of different stuff- also AI wars is best in multi imo.
EUIII is a very good grand strategy game. IMO, it is more like a sim. And yes, it does have an active community. But I must warn you - it is not for everyone. It is tough, it has lots of details in which you have to delve to understand properly, it has pages upon pages of spread-sheets, it is VERY time consuming. If you can manage all that, and still find it to be fun, it is one of the most addictive games IMO. It will suck your time away and you will wonder where it all went as you plot your world conquest. Or just try to consolidate your nation. It is a totally sandbox game BTW. The only objectives are the ones that you set for yourself
Ah that might sway me against the game if it is geared more to the multiplayer community.
I don't mind the learning curve or the time it takes to understand if I know it will be worth it. If it is one of those games where I can run through the tactics or get my head round why x works with y when I am sitting on the toilet (come on who doesn't do that ) then it maybe the one for me.
SnallTrippin - am surprised you mentioned AI WAR has more of a learning curve than EU III. That sounds brutal. Is it because you can set yor own goals in EU III?
Dominions III is definitely worth checking out. I haven't bought the full game yet, but I have played the demo quite a bit and have a friend who has played Dom III for literally years (and GalCiv II, and TW, and I think even EUIII, but Dom III) is definitely his fav.
check it out here: http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Illwinter/DOM3/DOM3_page.html (PS: don't let the graphics fool you, this is a DEEP game)
AI war is .... strange ....
armada 2526 is good for old farts.
Then I definitely suggest that you get EUIII complete - you won't be disappointed IMO. Play only the latest version. As it is a sandbox game, there is no point in playing the older version. There are one or two excellent mods for the game, most notably the Magna Mundi mod that you must try later, which makes the game even more difficult and interesting
BTW, do check out the official EUIII forums to see how active they are right now. I haven't played the game since the last few months. There was also the talk of a new expansion pack.
Then it must be for me then
Having slept on this momentous decision I will be definately be downloading EU III, but I will also buy space Armada 2526 in the new year. That should keep me quiet fo 2010.
I have done a fair bit of reading on the game and the consensus was the original EU III was good but nothing more. The two expansions have turned it into a great game. The 3rd expansion has just come out but I will buy the complete version which has the two expansions included. Can't wait.
Thanks drakonfire. For some reason I never came across this game. I have downloaded a demo, but a couple of things make me less excited to that of EU III or some of the others:
It is now 3 years old and it is a fantasy game.
I prefer space or something that relates to real life. Doesn't put me off totally but in light of newer games I think I will not have the time to give this game justice. It has a 300 page manual and from what I have read you need to read and understand all 300 pages - gulp.
If I had come across this game in 2006/07 I am sure I would have lapped it up.
I think the 3rd expansion pack will come out on Dec 15, so you will be better off waiting until then to get your hands on the really complete version of EUIII. Unless you get a hefty discount on EU3 complete right now. Or you don't care!
I suggest EU3. It's the most polished grand-strategy title by paradox and the community is really active. EU3 is the perfect access to other paradox titles like EU:Rome, Hearts of Iron 3 or the upcoming Victoria 2. Furthermore will EU3 get its third expansion on december 15th. It's called Heir to the Throne and will bring the game to a perfect level.
Btw: Paradox supports their games for a very long time (same as Stardock and Ironclad with SoaSE and hopefully later with Elemental, too).
And no DRM whatsoever. None at all!
Yeah, Paradox is really great with their games and the support and even how they sell them. I haven't played a game of theirs yet that I didn't find great to play, apart from Hearts of Iron series which for me is an overkill.
Grand strategy, well, that is way too broad. Here are a few games:
Making History Gold. It is a WW2 strategy game, you control any country you want. It is turn based, but it does not rely on history as much as other games. It is historically themed, but if you demand historic accuracy it is not for you. I find it a great game.
WW2:Time of Wrath. It is more like an operational level wargame, but I guess you could say it is a grand strategy game. You deal with the european theatre (plus north africa) during the (guess) WW2. You command divisions, corps, fleets and try to beat the crap out of the enemy. Perhaps my current favourite game of its type.
Star Trek Birth of the Federation. A 4X game in space based on the Star Trek world (TNG and a touch of DS9). You take control of the Federation, Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire, Ferengi e empire? Cardassian Union, and try to win. There are minor races as well. There are some problems with it, the game might be hard to find now days, you NEED to patch it with the 1.02 patch or just give up, the GUI you will either love or hate (I love). The battles are exactly like how I want battles to be in these games. You give orders to each ship or group of ships, then you press play and they execute your orders (and so does the enemy). Then the game pauses at the end of this phase, and you repeat. The strategic map (aka galaxy map) is more or less what you would expect from 4X games, on a 2D plane. The HUGE map is at best average compared to other games, but it is good enough. If you play at very hard then the game will be excellent, if you play at the hardest level then the game is almost impossible. There are easier levels too. Oh, there are also the Borg...thankfully you can disable them if you so wish.
For the ancient world, you can try Europa Universalis Rome and its expansion pack.
There are seriously too many games, so I could give more suggestions if you asked for a specific type of game and theme.
I think the 3rd expansion pack will come out on Dec 15, so you will be better off waiting until then to get your hands on the really complete version of EUIII. Unless you get a hefty discount on EU3 complete right now. Or you don't care! [/quote]
Talking of discount, I noticed Impulse is the most expensive at £25.99 of the three downloadable sites - the other two being steam and matrix. Come on Impulse every £1 counts for me and I would rather download with you than steam or matrix.
I would have thought the "complete" version would not include the upcoming 3rd expansion for another year, so will buy the "complete" now, and if I get into it will buy the 3rd expansion seprately in the next month or so.
Yeah, someone mentioned Dominions, goooood group of games there. I should buy 3 some time. Also, I sai AI Wars has a steeper learning curve cause it's not quite as streamlined and it's sort of weird.\
EDIT - If you do get EU3 make SURE you get ALL of them up to In Nominee or whatever AND once you've played for a while get the Magna Mundi mod. (Spelling could be off).
After all the comments and my own reading I have three defined strategy areas:
Space trading/combat - Sins satisfies me there, but looking for a new game. This will prob be Armada 2526
Real world historical expansion - gotta be EU III here
Historical war strategy - here I am not sure of the era. World war II or further back in history. My favourite era is the dark ages (love Bernard Cornwell's trilogy on Arthur), but haven't found anything that suits that brings the reality of that time to life.
That doesn't matter for now as it seems EU III is going to suck time from me in the coming months
Try Crusader Kings (Also Paradox) - it has one or two expansions as well. Good stuff, though the largest resolution is tiny.
http://www.gamersgate.com/DDB-CKDV/crusader-kings-complete-bundle
Sounds interesting but still in the medieval era - it looks like it starts at Wililam the Conqueror.
I'm looking more for the period when the Romans left Briton in the 5th Century and plunged the country into a disparate land of tribes along with the clash with the saxons/christianity and paganism. Would loved to have lived in those times.
Best I can do is BEFORE that...ANOTHER Paradox game...heh...
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-ROME/europa-universalis-rome
Yeah, I'm not aware of a really GOOD dark ages one.
Good Decision, IMO. EUIII upto In Nomine is a VERY GOOD game. If you like it, you can get the expansion later
Well, there aren't many strategy games for the era as you know.
Close to it, but not set in the dark ages, is http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-PDX02/knights-of-honor It's a good game.
I don't remember exactly when it is set, but Feudal Lords was good, but we are talking about 1990 game now.
If you don't want to go to fantasy settings, I can't think of any Dark Ages games.
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