Polaris Sector - another new space 4x

Started by RedArgo, November 02, 2015, 04:48:47 PM

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mikeck

Something that IS different from other 4x's in espionage. I detected an enemy spy ship in orbit. I have my own designed for stealth and electronic intercepts. Park it in orbit and your space spy collects info. Anyway, once I found the enemy spy, I had 3 options: reveal the spy and protest, Ignore it OR...feed him false information. When I chose the last one, I was presented with a list of things I could feed. I'm not ready for war so I tried to feed him info that my military was much more powerful than they thought but that my economy was far weaker. Hoping that convinces him to wait a bit longer. Great option.

You can also build ships that allow you to drop a special unit onto the planet that can sabatage buildings or perform other mischief.

I much prefer this over the DW list of things for the spy to steal. The false info is great. Just depends now on how well the AI uses it. In other words, does it have an effect
"A government large enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have."--Thomas Jefferson

jomni

Quote from: mikeck on March 31, 2016, 05:10:32 PM
I much prefer this over the DW list of things for the spy to steal. The false info is great. Just depends now on how well the AI uses it. In other words, does it have an effect

And does he uses it on you.

Steelgrave

Quote from: mikeck on March 31, 2016, 05:10:32 PM
Something that IS different from other 4x's in espionage. I detected an enemy spy ship in orbit. I have my own designed for stealth and electronic intercepts. Park it in orbit and your space spy collects info. Anyway, once I found the enemy spy, I had 3 options: reveal the spy and protest, Ignore it OR...feed him false information. When I chose the last one, I was presented with a list of things I could feed. I'm not ready for war so I tried to feed him info that my military was much more powerful than they thought but that my economy was far weaker. Hoping that convinces him to wait a bit longer. Great option.

You can also build ships that allow you to drop a special unit onto the planet that can sabatage buildings or perform other mischief.

I much prefer this over the DW list of things for the spy to steal. The false info is great. Just depends now on how well the AI uses it. In other words, does it have an effect

I haven't had this happen yet and I am totally "wow'ed"..... talk about game design that thinks outside of the box. Kudos.

mikeck

#168
Quote from: jomni on March 31, 2016, 06:45:00 PM
Quote from: mikeck on March 31, 2016, 05:10:32 PM
I much prefer this over the DW list of things for the spy to steal. The false info is great. Just depends now on how well the AI uses it. In other words, does it have an effect

And does he uses it on you.

Yes, that too. I want to see if he actually takes the false info and makes a decision based on that which the AI would NOT have made had it recieved real info. Of course the Dev will say yes...it alters the logarithm, but time will tell.

I DID SEE today that the Dev is working on improving the graphic weapon affects and explosions which is nice. For me though, this game is screaming for a DLC that builds on the espionage. It's such a great system with stealth spy ships, breaking crap, blowing up ships and false info. Me wants it

Edit: I'm wrong about the unit sent planet-side to wreak havoc. That is "abstracted" like other games. You pick "incite a rebellion" like DW and it begins. I had misunderstood a post.
"A government large enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have."--Thomas Jefferson

mikeck

Well I still don't know if the AI uses false info but I CAN tel you it certainly uses the hell out of espionage. I went to war with the cat people race. Next thing i know buildings and ships are going up in flames at about 5 planets. That means they had a spy ship there ready to execute the plan and sabatage stuff when war started. Sleeper cell sort of. Only cost a few factories but the ship hurts. Which brings me to the thing I love most about this game:

Every 4x tries to find away to make individual ships or units important since they aren't real people. Otherwise, the tendency is to put them in situations no real leader would and not to care if they are lost. This is always accomplished by "experience@ whereby the longer a unit lives, the better it gets. Polaris does this but that's not why ships matter. Ships matter because it takes A LOT of resources to build them and a lot of time. I am trying to build an destroyer for example and at my best industrial planet, it takes 4 years...at most it takes about 10. If that ship gets destroyed, that's a lot of resources down the drain as well as a long time to replace

You WANT to keep units alive because there is no way you will able to replace them in time to affect the war!
"A government large enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have."--Thomas Jefferson

Barthheart

Yeah, this is one of the aspects of Polaris Sector that I'm liking the most.. the time scale of everything... it feels epic. Spaceships should take years to build and should be a drain if you loose them.
It should takes years to develop specialized tech at the expense of researching other needed ideas.

I just wished that they'd let us name our ships...that would add even more stress on keeping them alive.....  :(

goldsboro

There is a way to name your ships. In the economics screen, fleet list, there is a rename button next to the each capital ship.

Barthheart

Quote from: goldsboro on April 01, 2016, 12:37:22 PM
There is a way to name your ships. In the economics screen, fleet list, there is a rename button next to the each capital ship.

Really?!? Cool! Thanks!  O0

RedArgo

I don't have the game yet, but with the long build times, is there an option to "buy now" like many 4x games have?  I don't like that, speed up a little maybe is ok, but insta buy is goofy.

undercovergeek

Quote from: Barthheart on April 01, 2016, 12:52:14 PM
Quote from: goldsboro on April 01, 2016, 12:37:22 PM
There is a way to name your ships. In the economics screen, fleet list, there is a rename button next to the each capital ship.

Really?!? Cool! Thanks!  O0

oh man, that and the veterancy they accumulate is awesome

unleash the SS Gusington

mikeck

Quote from: RedArgo on April 01, 2016, 01:06:08 PM
I don't have the game yet, but with the long build times, is there an option to "buy now" like many 4x games have?  I don't like that, speed up a little maybe is ok, but insta buy is goofy.

No "buy now" option thank god. I'm not sure how- in real life- you can get an aircraft carrier built in 1 day just because you have money. No, this game makes you take care of your toys. You don't have tons of ships and they take along time to build.

You can rename individual ships i think as stated above. BUT, is there any way to name a fleet? I hate that I can make a fleet but it just shows as "fleet". Better yet, an option to organize my marines into units and name them.

I haven't experienced the loss yet but I see it coming: 15 years to build a giant troop "amphibious" planetary  attack ship(a good reason to keep designs as simple as possible..more stuff equals more time), 2000 marines to board it and about a dozen tanks. Another is under construction and will carry ground attack craft. If I lose that ship on the way, that's about 100 years worth of construction all told. Even though that is split between planets that have shipyards, it is a huge investment in resources and time to build that.

You can ou build one thing at a planet at a time. So if you are spending 15 years on a troop ship, that's 15 years you can't build research buildings, farms, upgrade ships, etc.

Ships=investment and there aren't enough that you can throw any away. I have 4 fleets of about 8-10 ships each, but even the corvettes are valuble.

I'm such a pathetically giddy fanboi when i get a good game. Lol
"A government large enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have."--Thomas Jefferson

Jarhead0331

Quote from: mikeck on April 01, 2016, 02:02:46 PM
Quote from: RedArgo on April 01, 2016, 01:06:08 PM
I don't have the game yet, but with the long build times, is there an option to "buy now" like many 4x games have?  I don't like that, speed up a little maybe is ok, but insta buy is goofy.

BUT, is there any way to name a fleet? I hate that I can make a fleet but it just shows as "fleet". Better yet, an option to organize my marines into units and name them.

One of those immersive features that just happens to be in MOO3 at the exclusion of all other 4x games. How often in a space 4x can you create combined arms battalions, Regiments, Divisions, Corps and Armies and actually name them?

I like your description of the monumental cost in time and resources to create something such as an invasion force, that in most games we would just take for granted.  Invasion on a planetary scale would truly require a titanic expenditure of time, resources, energy and will power. Losing such a force in space would simply be disastrous.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Ian C

#177
First game and I'm having my ass handed to me in tactical battles. I fixated on getting the capital ships research to the exclusion of all others, so even though I have Cruisers and Battleships, I'm facing an enemy with better weaponry. My fleet got shot apart by better torpedoes and Fighters.
Fighters really are the crux of combat and it really is naval carrier warfare in space, which is great. I've not been off it since yesterday.
It's a keeper.

I like the way Tech is vital, moreso than other games (not just prerequisite milestones). If you successfully steal an important tech from an adversary, it's a game-changer.

vyshka

Someone needs to make an Honor Harrington mod

solops

#179
This is now my favorite 4x game. It still has warts and the dev has said he is addressing some of them already. I expect this game to be a classic. DW took a long time to polish and I think Polaris Sector is already well on the way. I like it because it has everything in it that I want in the right doses with a better than average UI. Perfect? No, but well on the way. Needs management tools, UI buffs, etc. It has more espionage and invasion stuff than I want, but I can tolerate what is there because it is done well and may get better. The key is depth and simplicity (elegance?) ...hard to explain. I just hit a wall in fleet size due to minerals. So, to continue building ships I had to redesign all of my ships, sometimes sub-optimally, to fit my available mineral supplies. Now I have to refit my ships without getting whacked by the AI or letting the pressure up in key sectors. BTW, I am almost always outnumbered 3-1 in fighters. The key is to annihilate the enemy ftrs with AA ships and then unleash your own...but carefully. Losing a fleet is a BIG deal due to long construction times. A planet with 5+ orbital factories is a true treasure.

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