Matrix Games Forums

While we wait for the update/expansion of DW, I was curious what other games DW fans are playing... I tried Victoria II, but gave up on it after a few weeks as I just didn't like it. Anyway, what else are you playing? Any recommendations for a good strategy game?

I played Civ V for a little bit, but it and Sid Meier have completely let me down....Starcraft II was LAME....Star Ruler has to actually be finished as does Elemental.  Basically, I don't have anything to play so, I'm trying to study, write some programs, and practice my web development so that I can get a job.    

I don't really consider Minecraft a strategy, but more like builder/miner game. I just want to say what a awesome game it is, and don't let the Atari graphics fool you. I let that put me off at first, however after watching some of the Minecraft Basics Youtube video I decided to give it whirl.

For only 9.95Euro you get a deep game in the Alpha state and free upgrades to the beta and release version. You can craft/ explore/ discover all the different recipes, or just check out the Minepaedia like I did.

The world you spawn in is huge, and blocky. However, you can't stay and enjoy the 8 block sun, you have to be productive and start getting some wood, which is important for getting your first workbench. With the workbench you can then craft wooden tools like pickaxes, axes, plows, and a shovel.

Next you have to dig out your first shelter, because at night creepers, skeletons, and spiders come out. Even if you figured out how to make a wooden sword by now (Wood is the least durable, Diamond is the most) it is almost impossible to fight off all the creatures and survive.

I picked a small size hill or mountain nearby my spawn (if you die, you spawn near your home) as my first refuge. I start by digging out a 8x15 cave, and close up the hole behind me by placing some of the cobblestone I dug up.

Fast forward to now and I have the front of my future castle taking shape, and a deep mine shaft with stairs all the way to the bedrock with an obsidian foundry, and smelting forges.

It has been a long time for a game to keep me up till 230in am, and I am pretty sure everyone here will like it as much.

http://www.minecraft.net/

ORIGINAL: Simulation01

I played Civ V for a little bit, but it and Sid Meier have completely let me down....Starcraft II was LAME....Star Ruler has to actually be finished as does Elemental.  Basically, I don't have anything to play so, I'm trying to study, write some programs, and practice my web development so that I can get a job.    

Yeah I am somewhat disappointed by Civ5 as well, I am hoping the mod community can help fix it. Starcraft 2 is ok, but I stopped playing it so what does that tell you. Star Ruler is unfinished but the price I paid was ok, as along as the devs keep improving it.

So I was really surprised by the addictiveness of Minecraft.

Apart from DW? Well, Master of Orion 2 (Thanks to GOG. Know yer roots!) Vanquish (There's nothing like the over-the-top, super-fast and ice-cool combat of Vanquish. "Bayonetta in space"), Fallout: NW (Been lucky with bugs, haven't run into them much), Some Halo: Reach (Haven't played it much lately. Good FPS, though) and some other mixed games. GOG has really been a gold mine for me lately. Old-school classics like Raptor, Outcast, MoOs 1&2 and others almost for free. Oh Yeah!

Still, I play DW on daily basis. I've always had a soft spot for great 4X and scifi/space strategy. You just don't get the feeling like playing DW (Or MoO 2 or orher 4X/Strategy) on todays "simplified" console games. Though, I still find many console games higly enjoyable. I think it as 50/50 situation. For example: it's pretty hard to make hyperactive action games like Vanquish or Bayonetta for PC, but also it's impossible to make complex 4X and strategy games for consoles. That's how the cookie crumbles.

Dominions 3 and Blood Bowl Legendary Edition here [;)]

Linkies to my Dom3 mod and map, go get [:D]

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=46399
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=46474

ORIGINAL: lordxorn

I don't really consider Minecraft a strategy, but more like builder/miner game. I just want to say what a awesome game it is, and don't let the Atari graphics fool you. I let that put me off at first, however after watching some of the Minecraft Basics Youtube video I decided to give it whirl.

For only 9.95Euro you get a deep game in the Alpha state and free upgrades to the beta and release version. You can craft/ explore/ discover all the different recipes, or just check out the Minepaedia like I did.

The world you spawn in is huge, and blocky. However, you can't stay and enjoy the 8 block sun, you have to be productive and start getting some wood, which is important for getting your first workbench. With the workbench you can then craft wooden tools like pickaxes, axes, plows, and a shovel.

Next you have to dig out your first shelter, because at night creepers, skeletons, and spiders come out. Even if you figured out how to make a wooden sword by now (Wood is the least durable, Diamond is the most) it is almost impossible to fight off all the creatures and survive.

I picked a small size hill or mountain nearby my spawn (if you die, you spawn near your home) as my first refuge. I start by digging out a 8x15 cave, and close up the hole behind me by placing some of the cobblestone I dug up.

Fast forward to now and I have the front of my future castle taking shape, and a deep mine shaft with stairs all the way to the bedrock with an obsidian foundry, and smelting forges.

It has been a long time for a game to keep me up till 230in am, and I am pretty sure everyone here will like it as much.

http://www.minecraft.net/

To this point, I've only read and heard about Minecraft and thought something like "meh". Having watched some small videos about Minecraft got me genuinely interested. Gotta try it out soon.

I've been replaying Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Truly one of my favourite games of all time.

Finished my 2nd game of DS and needed to decompress for awhile. Was interested in Elementals, War of Magic from Stardock but after reading all the lame reviews decided to forego buying it. As a substitute. I reinstalled a moldy oldie,  Lords of Magic, and been having some fun with that. LoM is perportedly what Elemental is based on.
 
I also have Imperium Galactica 2, the other real time space 4x game still installed on my hard drive and may give that another whirl after LoM. (ps. Anyone who knows where I can get a copy of the IG2 manual or where to download it, please let me know. I lost mine many moons ago.)  

War in the Pacific, Admirals Edtition.

Currently at war with Offenseman, playing the Japanese.
I am playing a part of the Allies, the US, Newzealand, Canada and the Sovjet Union while my cunning partner in evil plans, Rob Brennan, plays the British Empire, Australia, the Dutch East Indies and China.

As for the game, true, it is very complex, has a steep learning curve and even after playing its predecesor and its grandparent I still feel like a total newbie sometimes.
But it is the best game I have ever played and probably will for a long time. Very rewarding. And tickles in the braincells if you know what I mean. [;)]

It lacks a really scriptless AI, playing against the computer is still a challenge for training purposes as there went a lot of planning into this.
But where it excells is multiplayer.

ORIGINAL: ravincravin

I also have Imperium Galactica 2, the other real time space 4x game still installed on my hard drive and may give that another whirl after LoM. (ps. Anyone who knows where I can get a copy of the IG2 manual or where to download it, please let me know. I lost mine many moons ago.)  

Send me your email address ravincravin. I might be able to pull my manual out of mothballs
and copy it for you in PDF format to help you out. IG2 Alliances is a great game. But
Distant Worlds is the best. [:D]

As I am still getting into DW, i haven't put it on hold while the patch comes out. It is really an addictive game -- one of the best I have played in a very long time!

I keep thinking of going back for some WitP:AE, but every time I load it up, I close it down again without starting -- just such an overwhelming game. I was completely obsessed with it about a year ago, but one day just hit a wall of exhaustion, and really haven't gone back to it since. Maybe one of these days. It really is the best WW2 grand strategy computer game ever devised ... but playing it, esp. on the full campaign, can feel as daunting as writing a graduate dissertation on the pacific theater as much as 'playing a game'!

Also want to try to get into AGEOD's World War One -- similar to WitP in its very deep grand strategy, very steep learning curve. Like WitP, haven't had the time to devote to it.

Looking forward to release of Panzer Command Kharkov - Ostfront.

So right now it's mostly DW for me!

I'm only really playing DW, Evochron Mercenary and WipEout HD atm. I have a big pile of shame for the 360 and PS3 (my brother gets so many games, my pile of shame grows really quickly without my intervention) so there are a bunch of games I am in the middle of. Right now I'm focusing on Crackdown 2 as it doesn't take that long to beat.

Igard I broke out Jedi Academy the other week after steam had a special on a Star Wars game pack, never mind it is the second time I've bought all the Jedi Knight games. I used to play those games all the time, ahh for the days of the long dead LSF (Last Star Fighter League, a star wars gaming community that basically imploded when the Phantom Menace came out). Although to be fair I was better as a fighter pilot than as a Jedi.

I was thinking about trying Civ V, I played the first 3 (and Alpha Centauri is still one of my favorite games) but I skipped out on Civ IV. I think I'm going to wait until I have a chance to try it before buying given the mixed response it has gotten.

I have resisted the siren call of Minecraft, sounds like it is engrossing but also a major timesuck.

I downloaded the source code for Enemy Nations, an old favorite of mine. Unfortunately the instructions for making it work with a modern OS are written for someone who is familiar with converting old Visual C++ to a modern format. I know C, am starting to get into C++ and have spent some time with visual studio but I have feeling it is going to be a long time before I can play Enemy Nations in Win 7 rather than starting up my virtual XP environment.

There are also some other old classics I keep coming back to, Startopia and Frontier First Encounters.

I was playing a fair bit of Tropico 3 but now I am waiting for Tropico 4 to come out.

I should probably finish Nexus: The Jupiter Incident as I am most of the way through it. I should also give those Hacker Evolution games a serious go since I bought them.

My brother got me Empire: Total War as a present but unfortunately I have not played it much. I am still in the middle of a Medieval: Total War game I have had going for years (only turn 54 but I have fought over 500 battles in it). Same goes for Fallout New Vegas vs Fallout 3.

X3: Terran conflict is sitting forgotten in my steam account, not sure if I will ever get back into it.

So short answer: I am actively playing DW, Evochron Mercenary, WipEout HD and Crackdown 2. I am going to finish Crackdown 2 and put it away but I plan to play the others for the forseeable future.

Short version of the long answer: Gah, I'm drowning im games! But it is hard to complain about having too much choice.

Playing around with AI War - just updated to the new version 4.0.

It's got so much complexity that I'm feeling overwhelmed though. I can still have a blast building ships and having these huge battles with wave after wave of AI invaders striking my homeworld, but haven't a clue how I can actually win this monster. The strategy is deep, really deep on this one.

DW... you can put so much on automatic, but AI Wars seems to demand that you handle a lot of stuff.

I've been playing Armada 2526 quite a bit the last few weeks. It's really improved a lot since it was first released last year.

Yup, gonna second the AI War. I played it a lot a while ago, but with the 4.o update I got back into it. What an amazing game, kinda 4x but RTS (more RTS than DW) but a huge diversity of ship types and deep, deep strategy options. Think about fielding hundreds, even thousand of units, and it runs on my laptop!

Games take many hours to complete and the AI gets more dangerous as you progress. Dont take planets unless you really want it, or you might enrage the AI. Research your teach smartly to counter your enemy using intel you gather from your scouts. Many different types for AI opponents, so you never know what your up against until you learn it in game.

I have just returned to two old favourites of mine:

Titan Quest - A hack & slash action RPG. A few people here probably know this. Think Diablo 2 with better graphics and some unpatched hitches due to the developer going under before the game managed to make money.

Space Rangers 2 Reboot - An absolute favourite of mine. Strange mixture of Elite-like space trading & combat game with some hit-and- miss mini-games thrown in. A Russian production that never really caught on in the west, being totally, criminally underappreciated over here. It can still be purchased on Impulse and Steam too, and since the Reboot expansion (and for being a downloadable item since the availability on said online stores) it's Starforce-free.

Currently playing Victoria II and Europa Universalis III HttT, ordered Civ V and after that I'll buy Patrician IV (III is/was one of my favourites).

Can't play DW ('missing messages' - bug).

ORIGINAL: sbach2o


Space Rangers 2 Reboot - An absolute favourite of mine. Strange mixture of Elite-like space trading & combat game with some hit-and- miss mini-games thrown in. A Russian production that never really caught on in the west, being totally, criminally underappreciated over here. It can still be purchased on Impulse and Steam too, and since the Reboot expansion (and for being a downloadable item since the availability on said online stores) it's Starforce-free.

We concur. Honestly, I've played SR2 so friggin' much (over 20 playthroughs) that it has lost some of its charm for me. DW has similar "sense of wonder" which makes every space/scifi game great.

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn

Playing around with AI War - just updated to the new version 4.0.

It's got so much complexity that I'm feeling overwhelmed though. I can still have a blast building ships and having these huge battles with wave after wave of AI invaders striking my homeworld, but haven't a clue how I can actually win this monster. The strategy is deep, really deep on this one.

DW... you can put so much on automatic, but AI Wars seems to demand that you handle a lot of stuff.

This is the main reason I like DW better than most other 4x games. I hate micromanaging stuff. I like to control my fleet, and my military build qeue, but the rest I'm quite happy letting the AI handle. Let me build a fleet and and dole out the pain, the rest of it I leave on auto (well except for diplomacy...AI doesn't do too hot at that).

When not playing DW, I'll play some MoO, War in the Pacific (both Vanilla and AE...still have a PBEM going on Vanilla). I also hit a lot of games on consoles (being on call for work most of the time leaves one plenty of time for gaming).