Will I Like It

[Rugens]

Greatful for your opinions.

Normally I'm a strategy gamer with a heavy lean towards monster games (WITPAE & GG War In The East). One of my favorite old games though was Master Of Orion 2 (yes, I'm an old fart). If you are familiar with some of the above, would I likely enjoy this game? Any other advice would be most welcome.

[Gelatinous Cube]

ORIGINAL: Carl Rugenstein

Greatful for your opinions.

Normally I'm a strategy gamer with a heavy lean towards monster games (WITPAE & GG War In The East). One of my favorite old games though was Master Of Orion 2 (yes, I'm an old fart). If you are familiar with some of the above, would I likely enjoy this game? Any other advice would be most welcome.

I also am a huge MoO2 fan. I haven't played those other games, but I am a huge fan of the Hearts of Iron series and Panzer General (and Panzer Corps, for that matter).

Distant Worlds is nothing like MoO2. Yes, it's in space and it's a 4x game, but it is real-time. That said, it is very slow real-time, like Hearts of Iron. You can pause whenever to issue up orders, and you will rely very heavily at first on the deep and (occasionally mystifying) automation settings. Also, the two Expansions are huge--much more content than you normally find in an expansion these days, and worth picking up if you plan on getting in to Distant Worlds.

Others will explain it better--I always have a hard time trying to explain this game. It's a 4x game and a war game. And an empire-building sim. And a create-your-own-space-opera kit. I've spent more hours on this game than I care to mention in polite company, and I don't see myself slowing down.

If you're wondering how the flow of a game tends to go, check out the AAR in my link. It'll take you to the mid-game, and I plan on doing another update tonight.

[comsolut]

Hi Carl,

Have you tried Time of Fury yet? I am really enjoying the grand scale and it definitely feels like the old SPI type board games.

I am enjoying Distant Worlds with the two expansions, but it seems to run itself with just key policy, strategy questions for me to decide. But then, I don't try to micromanage the game.

Hopefully others here will provide more insight.

Comsolut

[Keston]

If you like monster games, DW Legends will have the depth of detail you want but the management tools will make it feel like a walk in the park.

[DasTactic]

Distant Worlds is much much simpler than WITP and I would consider it the spiritual successor to MOO2. It is real-time but doesn't feel like real-time. I put off buying it because I enjoy turn based games but now DW is one of my all-time favourite games.

[nukkxx5058]

Well, DW-L is a kind of monster game for a 4X but nothing to compare to WITP or WITE which are mega-monster games (for instance WITP is far too much complex and detailed for me...) . The DWL pausable real time is not an issue even for a turn-based addict like me. The best is to give it a try IMO. If you like SF 4X games you shouldn't be disappointed.  

[martok]

I think Keston said it best:  If you're used to monster games like WITP:AE and WITE, then Distant Worlds should be right up your alley, especially if you also like 4x titles like MOO2. 
 
While a very deep game, the automation options can easily take care of most aspects of managing your empire (if you prefer).  However, you can definitely choose to turn off as much automation as you wish and micro-manage everything to your heart's content as well. 
 
 
 

[nukkxx5058]

Just don't forget to buy also the Legends add-on (and so ROTS)

[Rising-Sun]

ORIGINAL: Gelatinous Cube

ORIGINAL: Carl Rugenstein

Greatful for your opinions.

Normally I'm a strategy gamer with a heavy lean towards monster games (WITPAE & GG War In The East). One of my favorite old games though was Master Of Orion 2 (yes, I'm an old fart). If you are familiar with some of the above, would I likely enjoy this game? Any other advice would be most welcome.

I also am a huge MoO2 fan. I haven't played those other games, but I am a huge fan of the Hearts of Iron series and Panzer General (and Panzer Corps, for that matter).

Distant Worlds is nothing like MoO2. Yes, it's in space and it's a 4x game, but it is real-time. That said, it is very slow real-time, like Hearts of Iron. You can pause whenever to issue up orders, and you will rely very heavily at first on the deep and (occasionally mystifying) automation settings. Also, the two Expansions are huge--much more content than you normally find in an expansion these days, and worth picking up if you plan on getting in to Distant Worlds.

Others will explain it better--I always have a hard time trying to explain this game. It's a 4x game and a war game. And an empire-building sim. And a create-your-own-space-opera kit. I've spent more hours on this game than I care to mention in polite company, and I don't see myself slowing down.

If you're wondering how the flow of a game tends to go, check out the AAR in my link. It'll take you to the mid-game, and I plan on doing another update tonight.

I knew you were huge fan of MoO Series and wasnt too happy with part three, part three was a let down and something was good too. Question is do you have any modding skills? If so, why dont you make MoO2 in DW? I cant atm, been working on this mod and planning on few others as well. By the time i get into it, someone would have already did it.

[the1sean]

I am a huge MoO2 fan, and I love "monster games" that have tons of depth and take plenty of time to finish. They are my favorite because of the complexity and depth to the gameplay, and the emergent gameplay elements that make each game so memorable and fun.

I think that DW is the first great successor to MoO2, and a ton of the community here agrees. One of my favorite features of the game is the ability to have the AI Advisors "suggest" courses of action to you in all different fields of gameplay (colonization, war, diplomacy, ship building, exploration, etc). It softens the learning curve and also makes the entire experience manageable. The depth is there in each field (economy, diplomacy, war, research, etc), and you can choose to dive into each field whenever you feel the need or just desire to do so.

IMHO, Distant Worlds is the greatest 4X game out there, as well as the best Epic Space Opera and starship battle game too boot. Add in the awesome active community, incredible support from the devs (minor patches released almost daily it seems), and the great modding support and community, and DW is a game with tons of replayability.

[ehsumrell1]

Bravo Sean, well said!

[galenhammond]

I enjoyed Moo2 back when I bought it in the late 1990's (don't recall which year but probably close to 1998 or 1999). I also bought Moo3 and while it was somewhat enjoyable I never actually finished a game of Moo3.

However, I must say I am very amazed (and pleasantly surprised) by DW and the expansions. I bought the DW + RotS on a whim in October after seeing a review somewhere. I don't even remember what I was looking for that brought me to the review....probably saw it suggested on Gamersgate or something.

I am extremely happy that I bought this game.....it is strongly supported by the developer and they are constantly trying to improve the game based on player feedback. The price is steeper than most games, but in this case I believe it is definitely a case of "you get what you pay for" and I'd rather plunk down $75 or so for a game with 2 expansions and constant patching than $40 on a game that is only patched once and the developers are never heard from again. *cough* Moo3 *cough*

Galen

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: Carl Rugenstein

Greatful for your opinions.

Normally I'm a strategy gamer with a heavy lean towards monster games (WITPAE & GG War In The East). One of my favorite old games though was Master Of Orion 2 (yes, I'm an old fart). If you are familiar with some of the above, would I likely enjoy this game? Any other advice would be most welcome.

If you liked MoO2, WiTPAE and WiTE, then you will feel right at home playing DW. Speaking as a MoO and WiTPAE player myself, so if that indicates anything to you...

Actually I like DW far better than WiTPAE, due to so much less micromanagement on my part, yet still having full control over everything. Unlike AE, with DW I can let the AI handle certain aspects of the game for me and it actually does a good job of it (just think how bad the auto-convoys in AE are and realize that DW does not have that problem).

[Rising-Sun]

ORIGINAL: Shark7

ORIGINAL: Carl Rugenstein

Greatful for your opinions.

Normally I'm a strategy gamer with a heavy lean towards monster games (WITPAE & GG War In The East). One of my favorite old games though was Master Of Orion 2 (yes, I'm an old fart). If you are familiar with some of the above, would I likely enjoy this game? Any other advice would be most welcome.

If you liked MoO2, WiTPAE and WiTE, then you will feel right at home playing DW. Speaking as a MoO and WiTPAE player myself, so if that indicates anything to you...

Actually I like DW far better than WiTPAE, due to so much less micromanagement on my part, yet still having full control over everything. Unlike AE, with DW I can let the AI handle certain aspects of the game for me and it actually does a good job of it (just think how bad the auto-convoys in AE are and realize that DW does not have that problem).

I agreed with you too, WitP:AE is too much to handle and headaches. That game was the most expensive i ever bought and i still have the very first gary grisby game (warship) back in the 80s and Pacfic War as well. Dunno how the game can be compare 4x RTS for WWII from DW, btw im still modding Pacific Storm: Allies and trying to get it setup realistic, it took months to do it.

[Chet Guiles]

Carl,

I play a lot of WPAE and have War in the East and as bunch of other BIG wargames -- and really like DW. I am also an "old fart" (70 in 2 weeks) but really like the gameplay on this one. I especially like messing around with ship design and managing R&D to get the mostest fustest. Also playing around with modding things is fun. I'm using ships from several modders sets. There are some talented people out there in gamerland.

I have gotten my money's worth several times over playing DW. You'll need to get the original the ROTS and Legends upgrades to get the best of all three.

[Rugens]

Thanks very much for everybody's time and comments. Sounds like it is one to get. I will probably pick it up after Christmas. Appreciate all of the guidence.

Good to hear from you comsolut. I've not tried Time Of Fury yet. It seemed a bit like Panzer General but that may be inaccurate. Am I off base?

One thing that suprised me about the Distant Worlds Series is that it is only playable against the AI. Are there plans to change it to multi-player in the future?

[Gandalf]

ORIGINAL: Carl Rugenstein

Thanks very much for everybody's time and comments. Sounds like it is one to get. I will probably pick it up after Christmas. Appreciate all of the guidence.

FYI, Distant Worlds is 33% during the holiday sale... Not sure how long that goes on after Christmas.

[Howard Mitchell]

ORIGINAL: Carl Rugenstein

One thing that suprised me about the Distant Worlds Series is that it is only playable against the AI. Are there plans to change it to multi-player in the future?

Not that I'm aware of. Being a solo game with a strong AI is one of the things that attracted me to DW initially and has kept me playing. I don't have the free time to play a long two-player game, and games like WitP-AE are poor single player experiences. I haven't even bothered with War in the East as it soon became obvious that it's also far better as a two player game.