Star Ruler - worth another look

Shelldrake · March 08, 2012, 07:44:35 AM

After reading a review of Star Ruler v1.1 by Adam Solo over at Space Sector (http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2011/09/star-ruler-gold-review/) I fired up my copy that has been sitting on my harddrive for ages, updated to v1.1 and worked through the tutorial. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and gameplay, even though I prefer turn-based to RTS. This game is on my to-play list for the upcoming weekend.

Jarhead0331 · March 08, 2012, 08:06:06 AM

Its definitely a pretty good game now. However, I'm disappointed that the developers have essentially abandoned it and have moved on to another project. Supposedly there is one more patch they are going to release and then that is it.

Shelldrake · March 08, 2012, 08:12:18 AM

Another patch would be good but what I would really like is a comprehensive manual. As far as I know there isn't one.

republic · March 08, 2012, 08:32:13 AM

I really enjoy the game but it quickly gets way too intense. I end up having to run at a fraction of game speed just to keep my head wrapped around what is going on. It could really use some Distant Worlds style automation.

mikeck · March 08, 2012, 09:15:00 AM

Yeah, its actually not bad if you run it at a slow speed....real slow. My biggest complaint is that you can colonize every planet around ever star and there is no diplomacy. So in effect, you just rush to colonize and accumulate the three components needed to build ships....then you just build a crap load of ships and swarm the enemy. Its good for a few hours of kicks but really needs a bit more.

LOVE the Newtonian physics though....

Martok · March 08, 2012, 01:54:27 PM

Quote from: mikeck on March 08, 2012, 09:15:00 AM
Yeah, its actually not bad if you run it at a slow speed....real slow. My biggest complaint is that you can colonize every planet around ever star and there is no diplomacy.

No diplomacy? Bummer; I was hoping that had been added in since I tried the demo way back when. That's kind of a deal-breaker for me. Shoot.

Quote from: mikeck on March 08, 2012, 09:15:00 AM
So in effect, you just rush to colonize and accumulate the three components needed to build ships....then you just build a crap load of ships and swarm the enemy. Its good for a few hours of kicks but really needs a bit more.

I've heard others say this as well. A pity the game is relatively one-dimensional in that regard.

Oh well. I still have plenty of other good games (and space 4x games) to keep me occupied...such as Distant Worlds: Legends with the new beta patch! ;D

mikeck · March 08, 2012, 03:46:29 PM

I should qualify the diplomacy part...Technically, there is diplo, but its basically "I'm at war with you, your at war with him, but we're both at peace with that other guy" Thats it really. Occasionally, you wil get a "I'll trade money for components". Its just not meaningful diplo like DW

Martok · March 09, 2012, 06:37:21 AM

Fair enough.

Still, I'm hit with the feeling (and not for the first time) that Star Ruler might not be for me. I like alot of the game's concepts, and I love the engine it's built on, but it seems like it might be a bit simplistic for my tastes (which was part of my initial impression way back when I tried the demo).

Of course, the price is right, so it wouldn't be much of a risk per se. However, whether or not it would be worth investing the necessary *time* to get into the game could very well be another matter...

Shelldrake · March 26, 2012, 09:09:39 AM

New patch (v1.2) is out but oddly I had to DL from GamersHell since the autoupdate in the game didn't detect it.

mikeck · March 26, 2012, 09:46:48 AM

anything new of note?

Shelldrake · March 26, 2012, 09:49:36 AM

Quote from: mikeck on March 26, 2012, 09:46:48 AM
anything new of note?

Just some more bug squashing is all.