This game looks like it may even be a step up from Homeworld's combat system. Releasing February for early accesson steam. It has z axis space as well as physics covered and designing your own ships. It has ai in multiplayer and even seems to have LAN support. Colour me very interested. But seems to be a very small dev team and I have been burned by space rts games twice in the past. So have to be wary.
This looks awesome. Has been on my wish list for quite some time. Didn't realize release was nearing. :notworthy:
If you give >= $10/month before January you can play the current version.
Another forum I'm on is playing this with great success. I think I'm gonna hit it.
This definitely looks like a good game.
Quote from: Redwolf on December 28, 2021, 12:56:11 PM
If you give >= $10/month before January you can play the current version.
Another forum I'm on is playing this with great success. I think I'm gonna hit it.
Red wolf it's only a one person development team right?
^no. I believe there are three on the team. The lead developer is on active duty in the navy.
I got press code and have been playing around with it. Very impressed so far.
Very nice. Active navy hypes me even more that these guys are not afraid of complexity and know radars etc and how things could work in space. I see so many posts on the WARNO and other Eugen forums about not making the game too complex it makes me sick. Because all you get when trying to cater for everybody is the same old games that their is nothing further to learn from. Yet you need to play because they are the only ones with multiplayer support and enough financial backing to make graphically pleasing and fully fleshed and functional. Indie games or dedicated wargame publisher games are generally missing something I need in a game, be it 10 v 10 multiplayer or a reasonable price tag for what you get. Even just a reasonably modern engine. etc
Very jealous that you got the press code, I looked on patreon and all the slots that would have given early access during the holiday season for me are gone. Probably just as well I did not even have the chance to consider that avenue of entry \m/
I was worried a bit about the Z axis 6DOF interface. But if you like it Jar, then I am even more hyped.
How long has this been in development? Could it be many more years before it is finished? They intend to do a campaign and it sounds like for at least one dev this is his\her second job. Sounds like the finished product could be years away yet.
I remember legends of pegasus and Shallow space....... don't want a repeat of those. Not that it sounds like this will be.
Quote from: Destraex on December 28, 2021, 09:11:34 PM
Very nice. Active navy hypes me even more that these guys are not afraid of complexity and know radars etc and how things could work in space. I see so many posts on the WARNO and other Eugen forums about not making the game too complex it makes me sick. Because all you get when trying to cater for everybody is the same old games that their is nothing further to learn from. Yet you need to play because they are the only ones with multiplayer support and enough financial backing to make graphically pleasing and fully fleshed and functional.
Very jealous that you got the press code, I looked on patreon and all the slots that would have given early access during the holiday season for me are gone. Probably just as well I did not even have the chance to consider that avenue of entry \m/
I was worried a bit about the Z axis 6DOF interface. But if you like it Jar, then I am even more hyped.
How long has this been in development? Could it be many more years before it is finished? They intend to do a campaign and it sounds like for at least one dev this is his\her second job.
I remember legends of pegasus and Shallow space....... don't want a repeat of those. Not that it sounds like this will be.
I'll post a link to the development road map when I get a chance. After Early Access release there are some exciting plans. Carriers with fighters/bombers, marines for boarding operations, solar system conquest mode, single player campaign, more maps and terrain effects, second set of unique ships for a another faction, etc. A bunch of cool stuff.
It is already extremely polished in its current state with six hull types and the ship designer is awesome. So is the damage control system and ship repair features.
Public roadmap...
https://trello.com/b/ZNxJIGSQ/nebulous-public-roadmap (https://trello.com/b/ZNxJIGSQ/nebulous-public-roadmap)
Dev seems pretty cool and really impressed by his down to earth and intelligent way of approaching his project.
^I spent the better part of the afternoon chatting with him. Hopefully he will pop in here. We're planning an interview for the main page.
Getting a serious Expanse vibe from this, and that's a great thing.
The Expanse space battles are aces.
I am pretty sure that given the game was built with modding in mind that somebody will do the Expanse. Exactly what I hope for. I just finished watching the latest Expanse episodes actually.
Sexy. :D
Release date is Feb 11.
I've been out of the gaming loop from moving and lately PC issues. Gonna be watching this one.
It's available as of today. $19.99. And here I am stuck at work all weekend.
I'm curious to hear what kind of content it has on EA release. I'm considering pulling the trigger but might wait a bit.
The game is f*cking awesome.
Shut up and buy it. :crazy2:
Yeah, it looks pretty good. Recreating expanse battles are probably worth the 20 bucks. Imagine if 4x games had this level in their tactical battles.
$30 for me, which is pretty much what I got WARNO for.
Although I cannot justify it right now. I am fairly sure I will get this before it leaves early access.
It really depends if any of my regular time zone gaming mates is willing to grab it with me.
I look forward to watching youtube reviews of this one before pulling the trigger. WARNO kinda has me bummed as the content in early access means that even though 3 other friends have it. We kinda run out of steam in it because of the lack of early content and some of the mechanics that are simply inferior to SD2. So burnt out on early access at the moment.
What I really did not like about NFC (nebulous fleet command) was that the maps seemed very "fish tanky" and claustrophobic. Like they revolved around the obstacles one might put into a fish tank to keep the fish occupied. The Asteroid belt thing needs to be expanded on to be more homeworld like. With a lot of open spaces. Perhaps it already has expanded in this fashion? I used to love the homeworld map that had the radiation field in it, the asteroids, but very open space apart from that.
Hope to get this one soon.
Can't remap controls. Lame.
How many maps are there and what do they look like? All crowded with Asteroids?
I am not sure it is really relevant, especially early on in the absence of an actual campaign. I mean by that, that the core focus right now is on the systems and the way they interact with each others. Maps won't be much different from what they are right now, I surmise, and they weren't either in Homeworld, for instance - where obviously art was phenomenal in order to convey an order of grandiose, but at the end of the day were all about obstacles, nebulas and resources floating in the void.
It is, simply put, a 3D CMO in space - I don't know how to put it better in regard of the complexity of the combat systems modeled - and as such, it is no different from an AShM duel in the north Atlantic. It is actually to some extent way deeper and varied in regard of possibilities due to the release of the constrains put on the simulation by history & realism. Not saying you should absolutely enjoy it. But if you can't enjoy it in its current form, it's better not to make yourself suffer much further, because that's possibly mostly how it will be.
On the other end, you might take a liking to the way the designer talks about his baby on his channel, where he posted a large number of dev diaries, explaining his choices - which might make better sense then. Don't hesitate to pay him a visit over there at Youtube ;)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ftSDxGEANHiOBamB69bUg/videos
One of the things that drives me crazy in games like this is when I can't figure out what is going on do to what I'd describe as poor logging. Does this game have functionality equivalent to, say, Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts in which when I get hit I know by whom and what weapon, and I know whether my weapons connected, or do I end up guessing, as in e.g. Children of a Dead Earth where I had no idea what the heck was actually happening in the battle?
Well, if your sensors are in no position or ability to report the position of an enemy, you will be kept in the dark as far as where a weapon might be coming from. Just like in modern naval combat, it is very possible that your first contact with the adversary will be warheads heading your way if they have been keeping tabs on you, even if you haven't. There are many ways to detect and counter detect the enemy, and don't worry the AI doesn't cheat, but it is easy to make mistakes as a human player if you are not fully aware of all the implications of using some of your devices, especially those which emit an active signature of any sort. It's part of the charm ;)
Lot of player feedback is available, but it can get messy very quickly - not unlike, say, Command. These are games where learning to read the tactical display is the difference between death and... lesser death? :knuppel2:
Quote from: The_Admiral on February 12, 2022, 11:02:54 PM
Well, if your sensors are in no position or ability to report the position of an enemy, you will be kept in the dark as far as where a weapon might be coming from. Just like in modern naval combat, it is very possible that your first contact with the adversary will be warheads heading your way if they have been keeping tabs on you, even if you haven't. There are many ways to detect and counter detect the enemy, and don't worry the AI doesn't cheat, but it is easy to make mistakes as a human player if you are not fully aware of all the implications of using some of your devices, especially those which emit an active signature of any sort. It's part of the charm ;)
Lot of player feedback is available, but it can get messy very quickly - not unlike, say, Command. These are games where learning to read the tactical display is the difference between death and... lesser death? :knuppel2:
Adding to this, the game models system damage and destruction. Each ship has basic radar panels that can be destroyed in combat. If this happens, the ship will be blind in the quadrant covered by the damaged or destroyed panel. The ships can also mount more powerful detection radar, signal and electronic systems that can also be damaged or destroyed in battle, having obvious consequences.
Damage modeling looks from the screenies like a 3d version of Airships...but in space. That would be a great thing.
Purchased.
Quote from: The_Admiral on February 12, 2022, 06:35:50 AM
I am not sure it is really relevant, especially early on in the absence of an actual campaign. I mean by that, that the core focus right now is on the systems and the way they interact with each others. Maps won't be much different from what they are right now, I surmise, and they weren't either in Homeworld, for instance - where obviously art was phenomenal in order to convey an order of grandiose, but at the end of the day were all about obstacles, nebulas and resources floating in the void.
It is, simply put, a 3D CMO in space - I don't know how to put it better in regard of the complexity of the combat systems modeled - and as such, it is no different from an AShM duel in the north Atlantic. It is actually to some extent way deeper and varied in regard of possibilities due to the release of the constrains put on the simulation by history & realism. Not saying you should absolutely enjoy it. But if you can't enjoy it in its current form, it's better not to make yourself suffer much further, because that's possibly mostly how it will be.
On the other end, you might take a liking to the way the designer talks about his baby on his channel, where he posted a large number of dev diaries, explaining his choices - which might make better sense then. Don't hesitate to pay him a visit over there at Youtube ;)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ftSDxGEANHiOBamB69bUg/videos
I disagree that the homeworld maps were the same. I know the default homeworld maps fairly well and they were not usually just one large obstacle. Generally their was a lot of empty space between them obstacles. That space was used to form up in, hide in and fight in. Additionally the resource asteroids would be gobbled up leaving you in empty space. Most times larger ships dwarfed obstacles like asteroids.
The map I have seen in nfc is just one huge stack of very large asteroids that dwarf ships. I would equate the nfc map I have seen to a city map in any other game. Is there currently more than one map? Lest I have missed something?
Quote from: Destraex on February 16, 2022, 09:39:15 PM
Quote from: The_Admiral on February 12, 2022, 06:35:50 AM
I am not sure it is really relevant, especially early on in the absence of an actual campaign. I mean by that, that the core focus right now is on the systems and the way they interact with each others. Maps won't be much different from what they are right now, I surmise, and they weren't either in Homeworld, for instance - where obviously art was phenomenal in order to convey an order of grandiose, but at the end of the day were all about obstacles, nebulas and resources floating in the void.
It is, simply put, a 3D CMO in space - I don't know how to put it better in regard of the complexity of the combat systems modeled - and as such, it is no different from an AShM duel in the north Atlantic. It is actually to some extent way deeper and varied in regard of possibilities due to the release of the constrains put on the simulation by history & realism. Not saying you should absolutely enjoy it. But if you can't enjoy it in its current form, it's better not to make yourself suffer much further, because that's possibly mostly how it will be.
On the other end, you might take a liking to the way the designer talks about his baby on his channel, where he posted a large number of dev diaries, explaining his choices - which might make better sense then. Don't hesitate to pay him a visit over there at Youtube ;)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ftSDxGEANHiOBamB69bUg/videos
I disagree that the homeworld maps were the same. I know the default homeworld maps fairly well and they were not usually just one large obstacle. Generally their was a lot of empty space between them obstacles. That space was used to form up in, hide in and fight in. Additionally the resource asteroids would be gobbled up leaving you in empty space. Most times larger ships dwarfed obstacles like asteroids.
The map I have seen in nfc is just one huge stack of very large asteroids that dwarf ships. I would equate the nfc map I have seen to a city map in any other game. Is there currently more than one map? Lest I have missed something?
Yes. There are multiple skirmish maps, including at least one that is in deep open space, but given how sensors and weapons work, this turns into very uninteresting fights where the winner is usually either more powerful in terms of numbers and hulls or simply lucky. In open space, it is quite literally a shooting gallery where there is no place to hide. The asteroids, on the other hand, can block sensors and help mask vessels, particularly if they are running silent. In addition, certain missile systems can be launched and sent around obstacles with waypoints, before switching to active radar mode and looking for targets. The space terrain definitely adds much more complexity and rewards the strategic player who can capitalize on the strengths of his systems while exploiting the weaknesses of his enemy.
Maps must not be that big then. Laser sprectrum should spread and lose power with range and rail guns should miss if a target moves at range.
I don't mind if they decrease realistic ranges to simulate this limit in weapons ranges.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 11, 2022, 04:07:06 PM
The game is f*cking awesome.
Shut up and buy it. :crazy2:
Fine. Twist my arm.
Picked it up last night. Really liking it so far.
I also picked it up last night and am enjoying the first two tutorials immensely.
So far I cannot see anything I don't like. Pretty solid for early access.
Only thing stopping me is I can't rebind keys.
Autohotkey works for games with limited keybindings but from watching someone play the tutorial on YT I get the feeling this one needs a lot of commands.
It is made for Qwerty keyboards and takes too much work to make it run for my Azerty setting (W is below S for us and that is something you can't get used to).
What's the re-playability like on this? Just wary that without a strategic layer that the novelty might wear off quickly.
Quote from: Manassassas on February 18, 2022, 05:59:51 AM
What's the re-playability like on this? Just wary that without a strategic layer that the novelty might wear off quickly.
It is in a early access and there is a story campaign and a solar conquest mode planned. The story mode is a multi-mission storyline campaign where the player will guide a small task force through a much larger conflict, with continuity of their fleet's material condition and ammunition. The conquest mode is described as a long-term strategic level single- or multi-player game. One team defends a solar system with a number of fleets and facilities while the other tries to conquer it. Individual battles will be fought in the same style as the current Skirmish gameplay.
I think both these modes will lend to replayability and longevity. Check out the link I posted to the development roadmap on page 1. It is very detailed and transparent.
Quote from: Pete Dero on February 18, 2022, 04:19:51 AM
Only thing stopping me is I can't rebind keys.
Autohotkey works for games with limited keybindings but from watching someone play the tutorial on YT I get the feeling this one needs a lot of commands.
It is made for Qwerty keyboards and takes too much work to make it run for my Azerty setting (W is below S for us and that is something you can't get used to).
Latest patch added a key rebind feature.
I am having real trouble with the Z axis tool for creating waypoints for missiles. I am sure I will get it. But I just cannot see depth enough to point the tool in the right direction. Moving the mouse is doing Z and XY at the same time. H holds it. But needs work. I think I would prefer to see cubes in the zoomed out view than empty space if it is going to be like this.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 19, 2022, 05:19:49 PM
Quote from: Pete Dero on February 18, 2022, 04:19:51 AM
Only thing stopping me is I can't rebind keys.
Autohotkey works for games with limited keybindings but from watching someone play the tutorial on YT I get the feeling this one needs a lot of commands.
It is made for Qwerty keyboards and takes too much work to make it run for my Azerty setting (W is below S for us and that is something you can't get used to).
Latest patch added a key rebind feature.
Thanks for the info. Nothing stopping me now.
Can't believe I am thinking of picking this one up....intrigues me but I have a feeling it will overwhelm me. But looking at this in various places, seems like it could be a good one. Just might be a little more micromanagement than might brain can handle, but pretty cheap so might give it a shot anyway.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on February 20, 2022, 11:22:57 AM
Can't believe I am thinking of picking this one up....intrigues me but I have a feeling it will overwhelm me. But looking at this in various places, seems like it could be a good one. Just might be a little more micromanagement than might brain can handle, but pretty cheap so might give it a shot anyway.
I've actually found it quite easy to get a handle on and I have a lot less patience for heavy micro games nowadays.
Quote from: SirAndrewD on February 20, 2022, 02:30:24 PM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on February 20, 2022, 11:22:57 AM
Can't believe I am thinking of picking this one up....intrigues me but I have a feeling it will overwhelm me. But looking at this in various places, seems like it could be a good one. Just might be a little more micromanagement than might brain can handle, but pretty cheap so might give it a shot anyway.
I've actually found it quite easy to get a handle on and I have a lot less patience for heavy micro games nowadays.
Ok trusting you:)
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on February 20, 2022, 04:08:28 PM
Ok trusting you:)
He said, not yet realizing his mistake...
Kidding aside, I don't think you'll be disappointed. If you've ever played Homeworld, you'll quickly get the 3D space portion, and the functions of the ships are pretty self explanatory.
It's kind of like Homeworld but you have direct control over your ships systems and they have real damage models/control.
Also super impressed with the UI considering it's a small indy group. It's not the end all be all but it's a lot better than what I'd expect from an EA game with a small developer pool. I've seen similar games with much, much worse.
^You should work for their marketing department because that above post now has me interested!
Quote from: Gusington on February 20, 2022, 05:52:17 PM
^You should work for their marketing department because that above post now has me interested!
Well, I am a salesman, and damned good one.
I'd be willing to write copy for them. :coolsmiley:
You fellers still playing? I've got it in my cart on Steam right now.
'The Wife' part of my brain is saying 'you have Battlefleet Gothic (I + II) what do you want this for?'
Shut up brain, I'm trying to enjoy myself.
Still playing with some friends. I'm kind of ambivalent. Maybe I'm not playing it correctly but the battles feel pretty repetitive to me at this point. I don't tend to use a lot of the more in-depth features when it comes to movement or missile path plotting. I just kinda try to go stealthy until I spot someone. Then I shoot all the things at them while jamming. Either I die or they die. Repeat.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 03, 2022, 06:20:28 PM
Still playing with some friends. I'm kind of ambivalent. Maybe I'm not playing it correctly but the battles feel pretty repetitive to me at this point. I don't tend to use a lot of the more in-depth features when it comes to movement or missile path plotting. I just kinda try to go stealthy until I spot someone. Then I shoot all the things at them while jamming. Either I die or they die. Repeat.
I imagine that any damage to a spaceship IRL would be pretty catastrophic in terms of life-expectancy so this seems reasonable.
Normally it turns into a slugging match. Cruisers and bigger take a long time to die unless you manage to make their reactors go critical.
Thanks SDR
I keep saying it needs context like homeworld.
You really have no reason to station assets in anything but a set piece fleet just like the battle of trafalgar atm.
In homeworld you separate your fleet to protect various resource and capital assets as well as allocating ships for staging bases for attacks.
In this it's a very small skirmish. A few ships playing in what equates to one asteroid clump in homeworld.
I think the scale is too small. It needs to be much larger in scale and you need to be able to build fleet assets to respond and formulate strategy on the run. Otherwise things become samish in each battle. The variation comes from the strategy in RTS that lets you "change" things each time you play. Otherwise things become too much like canned battles. Fun once. The campaign will add a strategy element and that will make a difference, but multiplayer will mostly be about building ships pre-game without too many surprises. It will still be fun but like Battlestar Galactica Deadlock and Battlefleet Gothic, the multiplayer just won't take off because of the replayability factor and the short sharp battle lengths.
Guys...it's...early....access....as stated several times in this thread, the developer is working on a story campaign and a strategic conquest mode. There are also other fleet assets being developed, like carriers and marine boarding vessels. You guys are being way too unreasonably harsh on this one. Give it some time to develop. It's a single developer on active duty in the navy. What else is out there that has the foundation of this game? Nothing.
That being said, you can't please everyone so maybe you still won't like it even once it's actually finished and fully featured.
It does have excellent reviews on Steam and the price is right at that sweet, sweet 19.99 spot.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 04, 2022, 07:44:05 AM
Guys...it's...early....access....as stated several times in this thread, the developer is working on a story campaign and a strategic conquest mode. There are also other fleet assets being developed, like carriers and marine boarding vessels. You guys are being way too unreasonably harsh on this one. Give it some time to develop. It's a single developer on active duty in the navy. What else is out there that has the foundation of this game? Nothing.
That being said, you can't please everyone so maybe you still won't like it even once it's actually finished and fully featured.
+1
I am seriously considering buying this just to support the dev, adding it to my collection of unplayed games. There was a great game on DOS 3.0 or 3.2 about tactical fleet command that Nebulous reminds me of.
I've only played the tutorials, but I'm enjoying it. I think it will be awesome once they get the strategic layer built in. As Jarhead, said, it is early access. IMHO, for $20, it is worth it just to support the developer.
You guys have sold me.
Quote from: Gusington on March 04, 2022, 02:43:26 PM
You guys have sold me.
[singing] "Buy it, Gus.
It will satisfy all your gaming desires
Buy it"
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1200x675/p0112bqm.jpg)
boobies
A digital siren did appear in my room and dammit all to hell she just would not be ignored. So here I sit looking through the shipbuilder and the tutorial for a few minutes and I have to say, whoever wrote and put the music together should get an award.
Quote from: Gusington on March 04, 2022, 04:18:26 PM
A digital siren did appear in my room and dammit all to hell she just would not be ignored. So here I sit looking through the shipbuilder and the tutorial for a few minutes and I have to say, whoever wrote and put the music together should get an award.
Lauren Pham
https://open.spotify.com/album/3mlqKlC6rcZNGaqenzi7e8 (https://open.spotify.com/album/3mlqKlC6rcZNGaqenzi7e8)
Great music. Also on The YouTube for those Spotifyless:
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 04, 2022, 07:44:05 AM
Guys...it's...early....access....as stated several times in this thread, the developer is working on a story campaign and a strategic conquest mode. There are also other fleet assets being developed, like carriers and marine boarding vessels. You guys are being way too unreasonably harsh on this one. Give it some time to develop. It's a single developer on active duty in the navy. What else is out there that has the foundation of this game? Nothing.
That being said, you can't please everyone so maybe you still won't like it even once it's actually finished and fully featured.
"strategic conquest mode"
I have to go find out if this mode is for multiplayer. Because my whole aim is to comp stomp with mates. If it's just set piece fleets.... and I seem to remember that what you have to begin with is it, no re-enforcements, then their is no opportunity to change strategy during a game. This is why these kinds of games tend to become samish. Because people do not mix their strats up very much and situations tend to be the same. META is much easier to achieve.
Jar I am rooting for this game. I have to play it a tonne more. I have only scratched the surface. But those are the things I see limiting its potential to be a homeworld3 competitor AAA title at the moment. I think it really could be in the same ball park if those couple of things were changed.
I am not being critical because I hate it! I'm picking on the 1% that I see holding it back. Loving the rest. But that 1% is going to be a deal breaker I think. Because it gives context and length to the games. Opportunities for more than one or two skirmishes and a strategic goal in multiplayer to achieve.
Just picked this up. Heaven only knows when I will have time to play it. I am busy with Shadow Empire plus I have only played TW Warhammer III two hours AND I have a war in the Ukraine to manage.
^Are you...Putin?
I love the combat engine so far, but it definitely needs more meat in the form of a campaign or strat layer. Would this combat engine be great for something like distant worlds to be the ultimate 4x game ?
You definitely feel the lethality of modern weapons like the battles portray in expanse. Played one skirmish where the AI had me completely jammed with ew and I couldn't even find targets.
I find lobbing a few bearing-only missiles in the direction of the suspected jammer is enough to get them to light up their PDCs. Then you hit the location with rail guns.
Quote from: Gusington on March 05, 2022, 10:47:10 AM
^Are you...Putin?
No. You may address me as Mr. Big, head of K---, a Delaware corporation. Control is an illusion and both sides are quite a mess! Perhaps they will get smart and heed us.
:(
I just saw this announcement on my Discord feed:
For those interested, There will be a live demonstration of Nebulous Fleet Command this Friday, March 4, 730-8pm (Eastern). Apprently there will be an opportunity to play some rounds and/or spectate the action. Details here: https://discord.com/channels/911355672132730893/927360940335325194/945137802646028368
^That is good timing, I am jonesing to jump into this.
Quote from: Tripoli on March 09, 2022, 12:21:43 PM
I just saw this announcement on my Discord feed:
For those interested, There will be a live demonstration of Nebulous Fleet Command this Friday, March 4, 730-8pm (Eastern). Apprently there will be an opportunity to play some rounds and/or spectate the action. Details here: https://discord.com/channels/911355672132730893/927360940335325194/945137802646028368
So what was it like Tripoli?
Quote from: Destraex on March 18, 2022, 06:52:19 AM
Quote from: Tripoli on March 09, 2022, 12:21:43 PM
I just saw this announcement on my Discord feed:
For those interested, There will be a live demonstration of Nebulous Fleet Command this Friday, March 4, 730-8pm (Eastern). Apprently there will be an opportunity to play some rounds and/or spectate the action. Details here: https://discord.com/channels/911355672132730893/927360940335325194/945137802646028368
So what was it like Tripoli?
I'm embarrassed to admit that the event was on 4 March, and had already occurred when I saw the announcement-its just that I didn't realize it had already happened. :-[ The mind is always the first thing to go when you get old..... :)
Some really interesting updates out now on this game. Serious work on EW\ELINT compared to most games.
Totally nerfed my sneaky corvette missile boat fleet. Now, even with radars off and comes set to "receive" only I still can't get my detection stat to lower even with prowler drives. Sadness... I was having fun with it. It was basically a U-boat wolfpack in space. Sneak around until enemy ships were detected, fire off 120 or so cruise missiles and then bravely run away.
Sounds like the MCRN stealth tech in expanse.
I still think this game needs some serious work on more than a simple "1000" points per side and go play fishes in a fish tank style combat to be successful for multiplayer PVE or PVP. The combat mechanics are great in pure terms. But it's not that interesting or realistic really to play under a points system. That's why RTS games usually allow re-enforcements and some sort of strategic base building or purchase element.
Homeworld had factory ships and resource mining
Steel Division 2 - A deck system and points tick per minute to purchase units
If these sorts of things are not in an RTS. The fights become fairly boring fairly quickly no matter how detailed the combat system is. Because every fight is the same and every time you fight you know exactly how many points the enemy has left on the field. The fight also becomes fairly pointless as you are fighting over nothing for nothing. The game becomes like a tech demo with combat mechanics for combat mechanics sake.
I know a campaign is coming but that is single player.
I havent played it but I think its still early days.
a lot of the bullet points you bring up could be applied to Close Combat. known points to spend, single map combat with no context.
however campaigns and custom campaigns and maps added years of playability and depth.
if the skeleton is solid then modders with polish the shit out of it.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on April 06, 2022, 11:04:36 PM
I havent played it but I think its still early days.
a lot of the bullet points you bring up could be applied to Close Combat. known points to spend, single map combat with no context.
however campaigns and custom campaigns and maps added years of playability and depth.
if the skeleton is solid then modders with polish the shit out of it.
Is the game even moddable?
Quote from: CaptainKoloth on April 07, 2022, 07:50:17 AM
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on April 06, 2022, 11:04:36 PM
I havent played it but I think its still early days.
a lot of the bullet points you bring up could be applied to Close Combat. known points to spend, single map combat with no context.
however campaigns and custom campaigns and maps added years of playability and depth.
if the skeleton is solid then modders with polish the shit out of it.
Is the game even moddable?
Yes. Very. It has workshop support.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 07, 2022, 07:59:56 AM
Quote from: CaptainKoloth on April 07, 2022, 07:50:17 AM
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on April 06, 2022, 11:04:36 PM
I havent played it but I think its still early days.
a lot of the bullet points you bring up could be applied to Close Combat. known points to spend, single map combat with no context.
however campaigns and custom campaigns and maps added years of playability and depth.
if the skeleton is solid then modders with polish the shit out of it.
Is the game even moddable?
Yes. Very. It has workshop support.
That's great! That's generally the difference in my book between whether a great game is an experience people fondly remember 20 years later, or whether they're PLAYING it 20 years later.
^Kind of like Sins of a Solar Empire...that game has legs!
Quote from: Gusington on April 07, 2022, 12:07:28 PM
^Kind of like Sins of a Solar Empire...that game has legs!
Perfect example. There are still mods in active development. And they're freaking awesome. Some of them (e.g. Armada III, Thrawn's Revenge) are in my opinion head and shoulders above any commercially released space startegy games coming out today. And it's just a bunch of extremely talented fans doing a passion project for free.
Some others that are very moddable and very much alive for it: Civ IV, Hearts of Iron IV, X Wing Alliance, Freespace 2. One that's totally dead for lack of it: House of the Dying Sun.
I still fire up Freespace 2 mods!
Quote from: Gusington on April 07, 2022, 04:43:28 PM
I still fire up Freespace 2 mods!
Battlestar Galactica Deadlock has since helped scratch the itch, but the BSG: Diaspora mod for Freespace 2 held a long reign as the best BSG game ever made.
Homeworld BSG was very very fun.
this will be a very different game in a year.
Rimmy and his friends did a multiplayer match against random players recently, posted on the 18th I think.
The missile spam stealth attack still works! -- sort of. Most missiles didn't get through the strong defensive spoofing. Also, the shooter forgot the "bravely run away" part of the tactic. ;)
With the last two big updates - Modular Missiles and Mod Support - this game looks like it may be turning into a real monster. It may be the best game in my library that I have not played! The devs say the next step is moving from fleet battles to conquest. My, my.
Yeah. The interface is a monster as well from the 3D perspective. They need cube based movement in the zoomed out instruments view. For those that do not know, like in homeworld, you press space bar to go to a large scale radar view. But I still have huge problems with perspective. I guess it just has not clicked for me yet.
I mean I can handle it most of the time and for simple things it's fine, but often if I want to go nuts with waypoints for missiles and move them around asteroids and such.... well I can sit their for 5 minutes trying to get the interface to puit the missile waypoint where I want it to go.
But damn the game is so lovely. It really gives me the feeling I had when I first played homeworld. The feeling I doubt homeworld3 will give me, because I am not really expecting a "new" experience from a sequel like homeworld3 is. This game though, this has stuff to learn! New stuff that is interesting just because it's deeper than homeworld.
Shame though that their will be no in game RTS economy like homeworld had. This is more like a small scale Eugen game, combat only. Except you built the ships from the ground up. Closest facsimile would be ultimate admiral dreadnoughts I think. BSG Deadlock is awesome BUT was very limited in scope compared to Nebulous. Deadlock is defo the easier of the two.
Quote from: Destraex on September 05, 2022, 05:18:39 AM
I mean I can handle it most of the time and for simple things it's fine, but often if I want to go nuts with waypoints for missiles and move them around asteroids and such.... well I can sit their for 5 minutes trying to get the interface to puit the missile waypoint where I want it to go.
Glad I'm not alone.
Yeah I see a fair few people don't like the 3D interface GUI. But you know devs, they probably spent years trying to get what they thought was the perfect solution worked out and now want to stick to it. Even if a lot of people are having trouble with it. If I crack the code I will let you know. But currently I can only say that holding CTRL and shortening the distance line with the mouse makes things a helluva lot easier to orient.
I think the problem is the Discord group. There's a small but very active and vocal contingent of players on there who are acting as gatekeepers. They pounce on any and all who do anything other than heap praise on the interface.
I'm fine with plotting nav points for my ship's courses but I find the viewpoint is zoomed in too much for trying to plot missile tracks in real time. I struggle with aligning the red cone shape at the terminus of the missile's flight path. Most of the time, I simply can't tell where it's pointing. I brought this up in Discord and made some suggestions like:
-adding x,y,z coordinates to each waypoint plotted based on the centre of the map being 0,0,0.
- allowing the player to zoom out the camera POV when entering waypoints
- creating a temporary 3D grid system that displayed an overlay on the map that appears as stacked cubes and having each cube that a waypoint path passes through highlight to give the player a better visual indication of the flight path. (If you've ever played a little indie game called Flotilla, it was done in that game and it makes 3D nav a breeze)
All ideas were shat upon with a ratio of almost 10:1 thumbs down vs up and I was basically told to "get gud" and learn the current system which is to be regarded as perfection in digital form (until the dev changes something in which case, this will now be considered perfection.)
I'm getting better at it with practice (and use of the CTRL key does help a lot like Destraex mentioned).
Minor UI issues are likely to be expected when you make a full 3D game like this.
An update on progress with the second faction. Which is a scratch built fleet of improvised civilian ships with a smattering of re-activated older warships.
Finding it really hard to get into this because of the interface and the dev teams belief that space combat is really about asteroid mazes.
Quote from: Destraex on December 02, 2022, 07:48:15 AM
Finding it really hard to get into this because of the interface and the dev teams belief that space combat is really about asteroid mazes.
The terrain elements add a layer of strategy due to the impact on electronic warfare, spotting, targeting and tracking, etc., as well as facilitating the creative use of the detailed missile systems. If you think about it, space combat will most likely not be fought in deep space. The chances of random encounters in the deep void would seem to be extremely unlikely and pointless. Therefore, I'd expect battles to be fought near planets, asteroids or other features that have some strategic value and which are near to points of commercial or military activity.
In other words, it may be annoying, but I think its somewhat authentic.
If there were locations that were spaced out a little more that seemed more plausible and were some sort of strategic asset then I would like that a lot more.
It is plausible for ships to hide out near asteroids for cover and revictualise from logistics assets etc, they could be hunted.
However the maps are all the same, they are all ambush maps except for maybe one open space map that is completely featureless.
What I would like to see though are more homeworld like maps where you have a cluster of asteroids here and their and decide whether to burn between them. Maps that give ships much more time to move out of the way or try strategies. I just feel like I have claustrophobia in space with their current maps. They are like cage fighting.
I love the ship models and ship builder. I think I want combat to be like Sins of a Solar Empire with realistic physics though. Slingshot in an orbit using gravity and fire as you pass or burn to a full stop to take on stationary facilities or fleets. If your orbit is out the game should show you if you can correct or not and you decide whether to lead etc. If only this game and sins had a baby.
Children of a dead earth was suggested but seems too dry and single player. I think that one would probably be orbital combat and nothing else. The two extremes basically. Knife fighting or rbital joisting.
P.S. I just finished the first three black fleet novels by Joshua Dalzelle. Really enjoyable. They are kinda inspiring me at the moment. Please no spoilers if anybody has read the series. I think I will probably keep reading them. Really well written but occasionally very poorly edited. I stumbled upon "stepped foot" instead of "set foot" on board for instance. Lots of little things like that which don't really matter, they just make you think for a second.
Quote from: Destraex on December 05, 2022, 08:40:14 AM
If there were locations that were spaced out a little more that seemed more plausible and were some sort of strategic asset then I would like that a lot more.
It is plausible for ships to hide out near asteroids for cover and revictualise from logistics assets etc, they could be hunted.
However the maps are all the same, they are all ambush maps except for maybe one open space map that is completely featureless.
What I would like to see though are more homeworld like maps where you have a cluster of asteroids here and their and decide whether to burn between them. Maps that give ships much more time to move out of the way or try strategies. I just feel like I have claustrophobia in space with their current maps. They are like cage fighting.
I love the ship models and ship builder. I think I want combat to be like Sins of a Solar Empire with realistic physics though. Slingshot in an orbit using gravity and fire as you pass or burn to a full stop to take on stationary facilities or fleets. If your orbit is out the game should show you if you can correct or not and you decide whether to lead etc. If only this game and sins had a baby.
Children of a dead earth was suggested but seems too dry and single player. I think that one would probably be orbital combat and nothing else. The two extremes basically. Knife fighting or rbital joisting.
P.S. I just finished the first three black fleet novels by Joshua Dalzelle. Really enjoyable. They are kinda inspiring me at the moment. Please no spoilers if anybody has read the series. I think I will probably keep reading them. Really well written but occasionally very poorly edited. I stumbled upon "stepped foot" instead of "set foot" on board for instance. Lots of little things like that which don't really matter, they just make you think for a second.
Children of a Dead Earth... is bad. Don't play it (I won't recapitulate my rant on it here from that thread but as a game it's really poorly designed).
The only game that ever really mastered this in my opinion was Klingon Academy. It had a wide variety of terrain (gas giants, asteroid belts, nebulas, rings, solar coronas, black holes, as well as deep space), all of which had different effects on gameplay, and you could choose to enter or exit them at will for tactical effect.
Quote from: CaptainKoloth on December 07, 2022, 08:31:13 AM
Children of a Dead Earth... is bad. Don't play it (I won't recapitulate my rant on it here from that thread but as a game it's really poorly designed).
I disagree with this definitive statement. I enjoyed the time I spent with it, thought it deserved attention for what it set out to accomplish and for being very unique in the genre.
Well at this point I doubt anyone is genuinely on the fence about a six-year-old super niche game... but in case they are, here (https://steamcommunity.com/app/476530/discussions/0/3200369647701833486/)were all my complaints with the physics ;D
Quote from: CaptainKoloth on December 07, 2022, 10:45:19 AM
Well at this point I doubt anyone is genuinely on the fence about a six-year-old super niche game... but in case they are, here (https://steamcommunity.com/app/476530/discussions/0/3200369647701833486/)were all my complaints with the physics ;D
Thanks for posting. That is a great thread. Lot's of interesting points and opinions.
Quote from: CaptainKoloth on December 07, 2022, 10:45:19 AM
Well at this point I doubt anyone is genuinely on the fence about a six-year-old super niche game... but in case they are, here (https://steamcommunity.com/app/476530/discussions/0/3200369647701833486/)were all my complaints with the physics ;D
Thanks for this. I might still give it a go when it's $10. But it still sounds like Nebulous with it's intentional limitations might end up being the best mix of realism and fun.
The problem with nebulous at the moment is that it's like Battlefleet Gothic Armada or even Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts. By that I mean that without it's upcoming campaign for context and fleet deployment which will mean engagement variety, the game feels very repetitive. It's great fun to look at though and good fun to play in small doses. Small doses because of the UI interface and the repetitive nature of the maps. The fish tank analogy in space still stands.
Quote from: Destraex on December 08, 2022, 05:37:52 PM
Quote from: CaptainKoloth on December 07, 2022, 10:45:19 AM
Well at this point I doubt anyone is genuinely on the fence about a six-year-old super niche game... but in case they are, here (https://steamcommunity.com/app/476530/discussions/0/3200369647701833486/)were all my complaints with the physics ;D
Thanks for this. I might still give it a go when it's $10. But it still sounds like Nebulous with it's intentional limitations might end up being the best mix of realism and fun.
The problem with nebulous at the moment is that it's like Battlefleet Gothic Armada or even Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts. By that I mean that without it's upcoming campaign for context and fleet deployment which will mean engagement variety, the game feels very repetitive. It's great fun to look at though and good fun to play in small doses. Small doses because of the UI interface and the repetitive nature of the maps. The fish tank analogy in space still stands.
Dreadnoughts did add its campaign quite a while ago. It's great now.
It's a bit of work to get running on Windows 10/11, but I'll reiterate, Klingon Academy is the game you're actually looking for...
Quote from: CaptainKoloth on December 09, 2022, 08:30:11 AM
Quote from: Destraex on December 08, 2022, 05:37:52 PM
Quote from: CaptainKoloth on December 07, 2022, 10:45:19 AM
Well at this point I doubt anyone is genuinely on the fence about a six-year-old super niche game... but in case they are, here (https://steamcommunity.com/app/476530/discussions/0/3200369647701833486/)were all my complaints with the physics ;D
Thanks for this. I might still give it a go when it's $10. But it still sounds like Nebulous with it's intentional limitations might end up being the best mix of realism and fun.
The problem with nebulous at the moment is that it's like Battlefleet Gothic Armada or even Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts. By that I mean that without it's upcoming campaign for context and fleet deployment which will mean engagement variety, the game feels very repetitive. It's great fun to look at though and good fun to play in small doses. Small doses because of the UI interface and the repetitive nature of the maps. The fish tank analogy in space still stands.
Dreadnoughts did add its campaign quite a while ago. It's great now.
It's a bit of work to get running on Windows 10/11, but I'll reiterate, Klingon Academy is the game you're actually looking for...
Klingon Academy on GOG or anything? Thanks for the advice. Klingon Academy is not multiplayer (easily) and is very old graphically speaking iirc.
I played it a little bit a while back and agree it is excellent and the command system especially is outstanding. I did not realise it had realistic orbits and whole squadrons of ships that you controlled in large battles though.
I have star trek bridge crew as well. Which is ok but I have not explored it too much. I'd probably rather play star citizen. Bridge Crew just seems like a simplified console game apart from being meant for VR. Which may have been the problem. I should try this again.
Quote from: Destraex on December 10, 2022, 07:38:51 PM
Quote from: CaptainKoloth on December 09, 2022, 08:30:11 AM
Quote from: Destraex on December 08, 2022, 05:37:52 PM
Quote from: CaptainKoloth on December 07, 2022, 10:45:19 AM
Well at this point I doubt anyone is genuinely on the fence about a six-year-old super niche game... but in case they are, here (https://steamcommunity.com/app/476530/discussions/0/3200369647701833486/)were all my complaints with the physics ;D
Thanks for this. I might still give it a go when it's $10. But it still sounds like Nebulous with it's intentional limitations might end up being the best mix of realism and fun.
The problem with nebulous at the moment is that it's like Battlefleet Gothic Armada or even Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts. By that I mean that without it's upcoming campaign for context and fleet deployment which will mean engagement variety, the game feels very repetitive. It's great fun to look at though and good fun to play in small doses. Small doses because of the UI interface and the repetitive nature of the maps. The fish tank analogy in space still stands.
Dreadnoughts did add its campaign quite a while ago. It's great now.
It's a bit of work to get running on Windows 10/11, but I'll reiterate, Klingon Academy is the game you're actually looking for...
Klingon Academy on GOG or anything? Thanks for the advice. Klingon Academy is not multiplayer (easily) and is very old graphically speaking iirc.
I played it a little bit a while back and agree it is excellent and the command system especially is outstanding. I did not realise it had realistic orbits and whole squadrons of ships that you controlled in large battles though.
I have star trek bridge crew as well. Which is ok but I have not explored it too much. I'd probably rather play star citizen. Bridge Crew just seems like a simplified console game apart from being meant for VR. Which may have been the problem. I should try this again.
Bridge Crew is unfortunately a really flawed game, it's simplified to the point of a mobile game - no real tactics, and is explicitly just aimed at getting four people together to do teh social mediaz. But since Ubisoft abandoned the game years ago and it has a very small player base its been left in a weird no-man's land. It's barely playable in single player, but not much fun due to the aforementioned total lack of tactics (most missions are press button to be taken to enemy, mash phaser button and hope other guy blows up before you do. I exaggerate, but not by very much). It has nice graphics in VR, I guess.
Yeah, Klingon Academy is a hidden gem with incredible depth. A 300+ page ring-bound manual, from the time when PC gamers could read (I'm getting old and crotchety). It is unfortunately not available legally anywhere (probably due to appearances by Christopher Plummer and David Warner and whatever licensing nonsense that creates), which is why I don't feel bad at all saying it is easily available and patchable for modern systems via the usual "other sources".
Thinking about picking this up while it's only $13.19 on Steam. Sounds like the devs have put a lot of effort into it since early access. They also have an impressive roadmap if they do actually get it all done. Anybody still playing it here?
Quote from: Geezer on December 31, 2022, 03:51:33 PM
Thinking about picking this up while it's only $13.19 on Steam. Sounds like the devs have put a lot of effort into it since early access. They also have an impressive roadmap if they do actually get it all done. Anybody still playing it here?
Get it.
Got it. ;D
Bunch of my buddies have gotten their monies worth just building different ship designs and testing them out. I haven't had the time to dig in, but watching them, there's some depth here. When they deliver on the campaign content, this game will be must have.
I still dabble. I love the ship designs. The mechanics are some of the best I have seen in a space RTS.
But without more context to the battle and the ability to change the strategic situation as you can in homeworld with resources and ship building in game. Hopefully the campaign will be coop or I might be sunk.
I bought it to support the devs as much as anything. Looks like it has a lot of potential if they really do everything on their roadmap. In the meantime I can learn how to fly around without making too many impact craters on those asteroids! :) Might never make it to multiplayer but it should be easy enough to get my moneys worth from solo play.
This guy does all kinds of tutorials and training vids for the game - they're really well informed I simply lost track of the game as others came out
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eqn7F97M8XA&t=251s
Agreed geek. Watching a couple of his videos helped convince me to get the game since it felt like I actually understood what he was saying.