Considering purchasing, Just a few questions

[JOhnnyr]

Hello all,

I've come across distant worlds in my ever-continuing search for 4x space games. I just had a couple of questions before I plunk down $50 for the game + expansion.

I'm a pretty big 4x fan. I've played GalCivII (Loved it, primarily the ship design) Sins of the Solar Empire(Didn't really care for it) Sots (Loved it, the very quick and dirty 4x game) Star Ruler (Still Learning, but like it a lot so far)

My concern is if I will enjoy this game or not, considering it is a real time 4x, much like sins. (Don't get me wrong, I love real-time RTS games like homeworld, starcraft, etc etc. and play all kinds of games)

I couldn't really get into sins, and it's hard to put my finger on what I didn't like about it. I think the biggest thing was the pacing. It was just too slow for me to enjoy, which is a shame, because it has an amazing amount of depth. The other thing I hated were the pirates. They were far too numerous, and they were a constant annoyance and they always seemed to outnumber you and have better ships.

Maybe I'm broken, I don't know. I really wanted to like it, but I just can't get into it.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to get some opinions. Is there anyone here that didn't care for sins, but loves distant worlds?

Thanks!

[bertipa]

I really can't warm myself to Sins (I got Entrenchment too) but I quite like DW (with the Return of the Shakaturi Expansion).
I am not an RTS player at all, aside of Sim City, and still this feeling of a living galaxy and the simple pause system won me over.

[MartialDoctor]

Why do you think Sins is too slow paced?  It's a fast paced RTS game.  The games typically don't last more than 1 hour, maybe 2 hours+ if you're doing a 4v4 or ffa.  I heard the pirates got a boost in the latest installment so maybe they are different now.  In Entrenchment and before, they simply were a way for your Caps to get more experience.

But, yeah, it's completely different from DW.  Sins is more of an RTS with some 4x ideas.  It's not really the same type of game as DW.

If you loved GalCivII, you will probably really like DW as well.

[JOhnnyr]

ORIGINAL: MartialDoctor

Why do you think Sins is too slow paced?  It's a fast paced RTS game.  The games typically don't last more than 1 hour, maybe 2 hours+ if you're doing a 4v4 or ffa.  I heard the pirates got a boost in the latest installment so maybe they are different now.  In Entrenchment and before, they simply were a way for your Caps to get more experience.

But, yeah, it's completely different from DW.  Sins is more of an RTS with some 4x ideas.  It's not really the same type of game as DW.

If you loved GalCivII, you will probably really like DW as well.

Well, I think we will have to disagree on that. Sins for me is not a fast paced RTS at all. Homeworld, yes. Starcraft, yes? Sins? Much, much slower. I'm ashamed to say that I've never actually finished a game of sins. The longest game I've gone is about and hour and a half, and at that point both my friend and I were getting fairly frustrated as it felt as if we were getting nowhere. The pirates were constantly taking out ships and overpowering us, and as soon as we would take a planet, it would get taken back. We never had the resources to churn out enough ships to make a difference.

Does the game speed up when you get further along? It could be that I just need to give sins more of a chance.

But I'm glad that the bottom line is DW is nothing like sins. Thanks for your input =)

[J HG T]

My longest Sins game was about 10 hours. 8 player FFA against AIs of various difficulties, all settings to slowest.
Great game if you ask me. Love both DW and Sins a lot. Can't wait for the Rebellion expansion for Sins. 

[JOhnnyr]

ORIGINAL: J HG T

My longest Sins game was about 10 hours. 8 player FFA against AIs of various difficulties, all settings to slowest.
Great game if you ask me. Love both DW and Sins a lot. Can't wait for the Rebellion expansion for Sins. 

You've inspired me to give it another chance =)

Don't get me wrong, I love long games. I just felt like I wasn't getting anywhere with sins. I'll give it another shot. I wish you could speed up time in the beginning =)

[Webbco]

I totally get what you are saying about sins, I can't quite decide what it is I don't like about it. Just not very fun after a couple of games. I actually discovered DW from the sins forums when DW was about to be released. DW is definitely not fast-paced and requires a good amount of practice to get into it. It's not perfect and there's lots that could make DW more immersive in my opinion, but it certainly has a charm to it and has potential to keep getting better.

What makes me stick around is that I like where Elliot (the one and only developer, afaik) is taking the game. I like his ideas; the vastness of the galaxy, pirate activity, lots of research and resources, ship design, lots of mining, trading, migrant transports and tourist activity - background "life" that gives the universe character. For 2D, the galaxy looks great. If you're going to buy, definitely get the expansion. For me personally, the features in Return of the Shakturi make the game vastly more enjoyable.

Hope this helps.

[JOhnnyr]

ORIGINAL: Webbco

I totally get what you are saying about sins, I can't quite decide what it is I don't like about it. Just not very fun after a couple of games. I actually discovered DW from the sins forums when DW was about to be released. DW is definitely not fast-paced and requires a good amount of practice to get into it. It's not perfect and there's lots that could make DW more immersive in my opinion, but it certainly has a charm to it and has potential to keep getting better.

What makes me stick around is that I like where Elliot (the one and only developer, afaik) is taking the game. I like his ideas; the vastness of the galaxy, pirate activity, lots of research and resources, ship design, lots of mining, trading, migrant transports and tourist activity - background "life" that gives the universe character. For 2D, the galaxy looks great. If you're going to buy, definitely get the expansion. For me personally, the features in Return of the Shakturi make the game vastly more enjoyable.

Hope this helps.

It does! A living. breathing galaxy sounds awesome. I think I am going to try it out =)

Thanks very much for the help guys.

[MartialDoctor]

Ah, you guys are playing against the AI.  Yeah, I definitely would not like Sins against the AI... it's strictly a multiplayer game imo.

And when I say fast paced, I meant comparing against games like DW here or GalcivII.  Against SC or Homeworld, you're definitely right, not fast paced hehe

I think you'll find DW to be more down your alley [:)]

[MaxyGamer]

Distant Worlds is something new, a game like no other. Never was a fan of real time strategy games. Only battles were nice. Turn based though, that's what I've always preferred to play. No rush...grander scale. This game though, this game is the only strategy game that I need. It's got depth, various speed options you'd prefer to play your game at, would suit both real timers and turn based people, the feeling is there... that's what actually does it for me.. the feeling that I get from this game.

It's massive, got everything you'd want from a strategy game. To coin a phrase, buy the game and play it, man. Buy everything about it and tell your friends about it. Don't tell your girlfriend...that's competition.

It's the only strategy game you'll need. I love it. Yes ...there...I LOVE IT *cries*... I know the developers will keep on improving it and DW 2 is not too far away (makes me feel warm and fuzzy thinking about that one)... That was a good piece of therapy, by the way. Thanks for listening.

Maxy

P.S. I stopped playing Dragon Age 2. Lost over 35 hours on it. Don't have much time to spare and lost so much of it playing DA2 thinking the game would get better. Back to DW now. Back to it now.... Back to making sure no frog survives my war.

[Data]

You MaxyExterminator [:)]

[cmdrnarrain]

Don't buy it.  It's like paying $60 to be a beta tester.  The early game is fun, but by mid-game you will have completely dominated AI, but get this, you won't be able to wipe out the hapless AI empires because as soon as you do your empire will rebel and split in half.

The game is hopeless as it trys to do too many things, none of which work properly or if they do very poorly.

Skip it until the developer figures out what kind of game he is trying to make.    

[bertipa]

ORIGINAL: cmdrnarrain

Don't buy it.  It's like paying $60 to be a beta tester.  The early game is fun, but by mid-game you will have completely dominated AI, but get this, you won't be able to wipe out the hapless AI empires because as soon as you do your empire will rebel and split in half.

The game is hopeless as it trys to do too many things, none of which work properly or if they do very poorly.

Skip it until the developer figures out what kind of game he is trying to make.    

With the Shakaturi expansion the developer is honestly trying to address the domination of the hapless AI and the second problem that you are pointing out never came out in my games, even those where I defined at 50% the domination of the galaxy needed to win.

Perfect? No.

But I'm happy to have it.

[Data]

I'll not judge why you are saying all these things but:
 
1) You can do everything you want without splitting your empire, you just have to learn the game mechanics. Which are pretty basic in this regard and common to most 4x games; just makre sure your colonies are happy and you can fight everyone if you'd like.
 
2) Many of the things work properly or better than in other games.
 
3) Elliot stated from the get go what game he did and what he wanted for it.
 
I'm not sure how familiar you are with the game or forum since you don't know this basic stuff.

[cmdrnarrain]

I gave that recommendation because I'm very familiar with the game.  I got $90 invested in a 1/4 of a game (the early game, the rest is worthless).  Now I hear I get to invest another $30 for "Malibu Stacy with a New Hat" again in a couple of months for $120 total when I'm still waiting to receive a complete game from the original $60.  

The problem is that Malibu Stacy didn't work in the first place and another "new hat" is highly unlikely to fix the fundamental problems with the game.

The forum is full of people desperately trying to get some sort of return on their $90 investment to no avail.  If Matrix is offering refunds I would like to receive one.  

[Kayoz]

This is the wrong place to be asking for an impartial assessment of DW. This forum is frequented by people, who for the vast majority, find the game enjoyable.

I'd suggest you check the reviews of DW to assist you in making your decision.

I think this is one of the better reviews - or so I see it from my perceptions of the game:

http://www.outofeight.info/2010/04/dist ... eview.html

[J HG T]

That is unnecessary cmdrnarrain. Constructive criticism is great but you are just ranting now. World ain't perfect and majority of the people here in forums genuinely enjoy the DW despite its current problems.

I don't regret spending my money on DW 'cause:
1) It's different 4X with lots of its own idea.
2) Developer(s) try to work hard to make the game better, and listen to us while at it. Very rare nowadays.
2) By buying DW I'm supporting the extremely small CodeForce so they can keep making it better.

[cmdrnarrain]

Let me explaining to you what is going to happen over the next year,

1) A couple more patches claiming to fix bugs which existed from the first version of DW
2) An expansion for $30 adding a new hat to the game

About a week later you will still be begging for a complete game and to have the same bugs and all the new content bugs to be fixed. 

It is about time Matrix or the developer woke up and invested some resources into making a functional game.  All of the good intentions of a small development crew will not make it playable.  Skilled programmers will however, so beg, borrow or hire some.  

Am serious about the refund.

[Kayoz]

While I understand your frustration, I think there is a disconnect here on what people want and expect.

I believe that Matrix is catering to gamers who are more interested in something that is innovative, over the polish of the game. If you want polished games, stick with the mainstream publishers and be happy with their "soldier sim of the month", which come out ad nauseum. If you want innovation, then you'll have to accept some inevitable bugs and imbalances that exist because they are making a game that is considerably off the beaten track.

I didn't purchase from Matrix with the expectation of a game as polished and comprehensively tested as Halo or the like. I purchased from Matrix because I wanted something that was different from the mainstream publishers that are so averse to risk that they will only release games which are covering territory that's been covered a thousand times before. How many more soldier sims, C&C clones and such can you play before they all blur together?

As for the development - well, it's a matter of priority. Elliot needs to fix the critical issues first - crashes and problems with interfere with the gameplay to the extent that they make the game difficult or impossible to enjoy. He's been slowly working in balance and mechanics changes as well - but I have to agree with his approach that the critical issues must be fixed first, or introducing new code will only exacerbate the problems. His progress is slower than I might like, but it's going in the right direction. How many games do you see which release no patches or follow-up support? All too often. The fact that Elliot is still fixing bugs is quite admirable and a very positive sign.

I believe you should reassess what your objective is. Do you want a polished, slick game? Or do you want something that is new and different. Both would be nice, admittedly - but which has higher priority?

[wodin]

Some people seem to like frequenting forums to pi#s on other peoples cornflakes....sad but true