First impressions

[von Beanie]

I bought Spartan on a whim, mainly because I didn't know much about the period. This game is loaded with huge amounts of historic information that is quite interesting.

It is a very good strategy game, and is comparable to the CIV series. The tutorials are particularly good, and I have been able to play it competitively at the "very hard" level in just a couple of days. I would highly recommend this game to anyone that appreciates a turn-based strategy game with a reasonable economic model you have to learn about and exploit.

Here are some of my initial suggestions for possible changes in the future:

--When you are moving an army long distances, having some idea about how many turns it will take to get there would be useful (e.g., each turn's march could be displayed in alternating colors);

--I particularly like how I can't control units once a battle starts, but must live with my initial dispositions and commands. However, it would be even more interesting to have an option that introduces failed command control, such as a 5% random chance that a unit not adjacent to another will fail to react properly, and a 1% chance that a unit adjacent to other friendly units reacts improperly. Ancient battles are filled with stories of some unit acting on its own, or failing to react. Having an unexpected gap in my lines would sometimes make the battles less of a sure thing.

--Although the tutorials are very good, there should be some basic explanation of what changing the food per worker, worker efficiency and tax rate sliders do.

--The alliance system should be tweaked at the hardest AI levels to gang up against the human player if they act recklessly. Examining the equivalent system in Imperialism II would be a good model for this.

The bottom line is that I'm glad I bought this game on a whim, and I can see it will give me hundreds of hours of challenging game play. [8D]

[rhondabrwn]

You have some good ideas.

I share your appreciation of the command system. Some will express frustration that they can't control an ancient army like all units had modern communications devices, but both Troy and Spartan really capture the limited control that commanders had once battle was joined.

I would like to see one unit (under your direct command) like Alexander's "Companion" Cavalry that you could personally direct around the battlefield. That would seem reasonable and it would give you more of a feel of actually being a commander on the field of battle. Also, if "you" died, your side loses... that would keep you honest about leading unrealistic charges.

I love the reasonable pricing for these games. As you stated... you purchased on a whim... because at these prices it is so easy to try out games that may not be a primary source of interest for you.. and then you become pleasantly surprised as you explore a new period.