StarDrive -- 4x "action strategy"

[mikeck]

Seems like "distant worlds" light?

[Martok]

Soon as I can figure out my mouse-lag issues, am going to give this a go (finally!). 

Seems like "distant worlds" light?

That's certainly been the general impression so far.  Whether that's a good/bad thing probably depends on what you like/dislike in your 4x titles. 

[mikeck]

Well if anyone is interested, I am in the beginning stages of a game. Graphics are similar to endless space. Combat is pretty cool, especially with game set at .5 speed. 3d models are sharp and sound effects are pretty bad ass. I haven't gotten far enough in tech to open up many buildings So not much work into planet improvement has occurred. So far I colonized 2 planets besides earth. Earth is my jack-of-all-trades; research, agriculture and resources. The other two planets are barren and I cannot grow food there. With inhospitable at atmospheres I can't build much of anything until I research biodomes...but, both are rich in resources. Right now I have 4 freighters running routes taking food from earth to these worlds and bringing back resources.

I just researched corvette chassis so I will be designing my first ship soon.
So far, complexity is between endless space and distant worlds. There is only one resource u like distant worlds and you cannot mine gas giants and such like DW. On the other hand, you can manually set up trade routes, fight ground combat and control ships during RTT battles so that's a leg up over ES.

In the end, everything seems stable and polished. Graphics are good. Seems light in the "things I have to do" dept but I think that's because I haven't unlocked any buildings.

Edit: I am playing on an "epic" galaxy with 4 races and planets on "uncommon". Research is slowed and I turned in optional rules to slow ships traveling FTL in solar systems...all designed to slow the game down. In set up, like Dominions, you get points to spend on about 25 traits. Each is a benefit or handicap costing or granting different points. So if I want a race that has "naval tradition"...which costs four points, I might decide to click "polluted homeworld" and another handicap to give me the extra points...pretty cool

[mikeck]

Got to play with ship design a bit and I kinda dig it. Where you place things on the ship actually has an effect on what that ship does in battle. If you put an armored bulkhead around your power plant, the. It's less likely to explode. You can load a bunch of armor plating on one side of your ship and guns on the other. That allows you to turn an armored side to a threat when escaping or giving a huge broadside. Stuff like that. It's more than just clicking on things you want like distant worlds. Of course, speed, range and turn rate are all affected by what you add.

[Nefaro]

Got to play with ship design a bit and I kinda dig it. Where you place things on the ship actually has an effect on what that ship does in battle. If you put an armored bulkhead around your power plant, the. It's less likely to explode. You can load a bunch of armor plating on one side of your ship and guns on the other. That allows you to turn an armored side to a threat when escaping or giving a huge broadside. Stuff like that. It's more than just clicking on things you want like distant worlds. Of course, speed, range and turn rate are all affected by what you add.

Ship outfitting is the big strength of this game, for sure. 

[mikeck]

Great review over at IGN.

http://m.ign.com/articles/2013/04/19/is-stardrive-the-biggest-space-strategy-game-youve-ever-seen

It's really quite a good game

[tgb]

I've not played with the beta in several weeks, but with the release version a week away I'll look forward to the changes/improvements.

[mikeck]

Ok, I'm not trying to pimp this game out to anyone but let me say this: if you are a space 4x fan and  not playing Stardrive, you are missing out. Beautiful graphics, complex ship design, fleet screens that let you design formations, requisition ships and set tactics fleet wide or for individual  ships. Combat looks cool and you design has a direct impact on performance.

My favorite thing? Planet bombardment. Watching my freighter (which I made into a Q ship for bombardment) drop tactical nukes is cool. As they impact is looks like you would think nuclear explosions would look like from space. Nuke from above, take out a good chunk of enemy defenses, then land the marines.

It needs some work on the freighter trading side though. Planets can be set to export or import resources as and food. Freighters are supposed to take from one and give to the other. They do, but the way planets use and store stuff kind of messes it up at times.

This game is - in my opinion- far deeper than endless space and has much better combat, graphics, ship design and planetary improvement than Distant Worlds. There are some bugs here and there but expect a great game at release!

Edit: I should add that at .5x speed, it takes a long time for fleets to get places. Where you base them is important as is making sure you are sending them to the right place...one of the aspects I like about DW.

Diplomacy is decent but not up to DW standards...on par with ES

[Bison]

I've got this one on my wishlist.  I'm waiting for a few patches and a clearing out of my to play pile before I get another game.  At least that's my story.

[Martok]

It does look good so far.  I'm waiting for release plus a patch or two before I play, as there are some definite bugs and UI issues still to be worked out, but I'm definitely looking forward to this. 

[steve58]

Official version is out on Steam...downloading.

[Tpek]

And of course, still NOT out on Desura for those early-backers :P
In fact, we are waiting for the dev to hand out Steam keys.
You know, after he supposedly claimed we'd get the game via Desura and refused to give us those keys previously.
And many people were pushed into buying a Steam copy because of that.

[mikeck]

Well, in his defense, he is a one man band. If the keys get emailed out, Zero has to do it all himself. He messed up, but I think it was negligence more than malice. I always buy on steam anyway but I get the frustration.

I am enjoying the game....Interested to see what others think

[Nefaro]

And of course, still NOT out on Desura for those early-backers :P
In fact, we are waiting for the dev to hand out Steam keys.
You know, after he supposedly claimed we'd get the game via Desura and refused to give us those keys previously.
And many people were pushed into buying a Steam copy because of that.

That's just terrible, whether willfully negligent or not.  I hope the guy gets all of you fixed up.

I've purchased a number of beta buy-ins, not only on Desura, and just such dickery has always been at the back of my mind when purchasing them.  Kickstarters could potentially be even worse.

[mikeck]

Yeah, I have not even tried to buy into one of these kickstarter things yet. I will buy a beta on occasion but that's it... Only after Steam has picked it up.