Website (http://www.horizongame.com/)
Another one to look forward to, Grogs! Looks good. Not sure what the USP is, but who cares? More turn-based 4X goodness to get hard about! 8)
Actually there is proper open-space travel, i.e. ships can go anywhere. You don't see that very often these days. Anyway...this one is definitely going on The List. Oh, and it's published by Icerberg, a publisher I've always respected. They're one of the few who don't require a goddamn proprietary client or forces Steamworks on you just to play your game.
QuoteDue to design choices favoring a single player experience, it would not have been possible to make a multiplayer mode without putting severe limits on many features such as advanced tactical combat and ancient powerful alien races.
I'm out then :(
^You know what they say about opinions? People that demand multi-player in every game as the main draw really make me nervous. I prefer a single-player experience in all of my games and almost never take advantage of any multi-player. The trend of making EVERYTHING MP these days is very concerning to me. I am reassured when a developer makes a game that focuses on the SP experience. This is one to support and look out for.
^ +1 on MP...I just can't get into MP and avoid it like the plague
Not all games do need a MP and I agree that there's a trend to tack a half-cooked MP on every game nowadays. But a space 4x game where you can mix AI and human players (like in Armada) is much more interesting than sitting alone in front of the PC and playing alone through a solitaire experience ;)
I like options and I don't buy the argument that this game is a better SP experience because they let out the MP part. And turn-based game is perfect for PbEM games so this actually sounds like waste of opportunities to me.
I enjoy multiplayer on some games, but I too have concerns that single player is now becoming an after thought with a lot of developers :(
been on my list for nearly 10 years :o
Glad it's getting close to release 8)
Quote from: Anguille on April 11, 2013, 07:02:02 AM
been on my list for nearly 10 years :o
Seriously? :o
Quote from: Nefaro on April 11, 2013, 07:11:56 AM
Quote from: Anguille on April 11, 2013, 07:02:02 AM
been on my list for nearly 10 years :o
Seriously? :o
Yes! ;)
I found information on the game in 2003 i think. The old forum (number 2) is gone and so are my posts...but the registration date to the 2d forum is still there...2004.
10 years to near completion? Makes you wonder how long it will take to iron out any post-release issues doesn't it? :-[
I wonder whether a small studio like this one has the competence to produce a multiplayer experience with all of the requisite balancing and polish that needs to come with it. It must be harder to make a multiplayer 4X than a single player 4X, I would've thought.
Not that I know anything at all about game programming!
Quote from: Nefaro on April 11, 2013, 07:13:36 AM
10 years to near completion? Makes you wonder how long it will take to iron out any post-release issues doesn't it? :-[
They started on it and there was a long time during which it was on hold....they went back fully online only last year. I think Zaimat was alone for a while, working part-time on the game....looking good now.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 11, 2013, 05:49:55 AM
^You know what they say about opinions? People that demand multi-player in every game as the main draw really make me nervous. I prefer a single-player experience in all of my games and almost never take advantage of any multi-player. The trend of making EVERYTHING MP these days is very concerning to me. I am reassured when a developer makes a game that focuses on the SP experience. This is one to support and look out for.
I always demand multi-player! But only hot-seat. So I can play all of the sides all by myself. ;D
Quote from: Huw the Poo on April 11, 2013, 02:56:30 AM
Website (http://www.horizongame.com/)
Another one to look forward to, Grogs! Looks good. Not sure what the USP is, but who cares? More turn-based 4X goodness to get hard about! 8)
Thanks for the heads up Huw. I'll probably pick this one up when it comes out. As for what "USP" is, I think it stands for Unique Selling Point, but I could be wrong, since whats on the list from Iceberg's announcement doesn't look so unique. Seems like most 4x space strategy games claim some variant of what's on the USP list.
Here is a trailer video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN6Gi1ltW9A) I found on Youtube from last July (so it may not still be representative of the game....)
p.s. +1 for me as well as regards to not needing MP. Don't have enough time to do SP as it is.
Hehe Steve, you misunderstood me - I know what USP is, I was just wondering aloud what Horizon's specific USP might be! Like yourself, I've concluded that there doesn't seem to be one. :)
^Oh, I get it now, its read, comprehend and then post! ...as Homer Simpson would say "Doh!"
Like Anguille, I've been following Horizon for years now (although I didn't sign up for the forums until a couple years ago). The first place I saw it announced was in the old MOO3 forums.
I'm ecstatic full development has resumed this last year, and that Iceberg has signed them on for a publishing deal. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
Quote from: bbmike on April 11, 2013, 10:34:18 AM
I always demand multi-player! But only hot-seat. So I can play all of the sides all by myself. ;D
Now there's a man after my own heart. I too like playing all sides myself and feel that you can have a better control of the outcome rather than trusting the AI to use it's gamey gimmics to beat a human.
In my opinion though a TBS should have a strong SP game. Otherwise it's not a good strategy game. However, one does get bored after a while playing against a computer all the time and to interact with other mature human players in a TBS is a joy that should not be discounted!
EDIT: Another thought occurred to me. Take Dominions 3 for example. Here is a rich and deep game that is a joy to play however it too comes with a dark side. In order to do well in this game you have to hurry up and hurry fast to grab as much land as possible in order to support fielding an army that can defend yourself properly never mind conquer major nations. I find this sense of hurrying up before it's too late kind of a turn off. Commander: The Great War is the same thing. Hurry hurry hurry or you will be buried. I like to think, ponder, and watch my nation and armies slowly crush the opposition. Life is nothing but rushing around from work to home then back again and before you know it 10 years have gone by with nothing to show.
When I play my strategy games I want to escape reality and do it at a nice slow pace. If I want to rush like a bat out of hell I'll play an FPS online like COD or something. A strategy game should relax you into a dreamlike state of TBS euphoria not stress you out.
+1 on the trend to make everything MP and abandoning making a good SP experience.
My impression is that a lot of indies have someone that can (kinda) do graphics, and I suspect most of what's required to do MP are fairly standard libraries. Coming up with an interesting campaign and developing a decently playing AI are a lot harder to do. So, you make it pretty and don't even try to do an AI, you just make it MP, or even worse, decide it's an MMO.
QuoteLife is nothing but rushing around from work to home then back again and before you know it 10 years have gone by with nothing to show.
When I play my strategy games I want to escape reality and do it at a nice slow pace. If I want to rush like a bat out of hell I'll play an FPS online like COD or something. A strategy game should relax you into a dreamlike state of TBS euphoria not stress you out.
Agree, that's why I don't play RTS games :)
Quote from: panzerde on April 16, 2013, 06:55:24 PM
So, you make it pretty and don't even try to do an AI, you just make it MP, or even worse, decide it's an MMO.
Like they've done with the newly-announced Imperium Galactica (http://stargazer.imperiumgalactica.com/) title? >:(
Quote from: Martok on April 18, 2013, 11:34:07 AM
Quote from: panzerde on April 16, 2013, 06:55:24 PM
So, you make it pretty and don't even try to do an AI, you just make it MP, or even worse, decide it's an MMO.
Like they've done with the newly-announced Imperium Galactica (http://stargazer.imperiumgalactica.com/) title? >:(
?!
Wasn't the IG series turned into the Nexus Jupiter Incident series?!
And wasn't that game supposed to get a sequel?
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 11, 2013, 05:49:55 AM
^You know what they say about opinions? People that demand multi-player in every game as the main draw really make me nervous. I prefer a single-player experience in all of my games and almost never take advantage of any multi-player. The trend of making EVERYTHING MP these days is very concerning to me. I am reassured when a developer makes a game that focuses on the SP experience. This is one to support and look out for.
I really agree with this. Some games are good as multi-player. I know which ones they are. I do not need one that is only good for multi-player.
I don't like the idea of skimping the AI and using the excuse it is meant to be multiplayer. In that case don't bother.
By the by,
Horizon's AI programmer had this to say (7th post in this thread (http://forum.l3o.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=386)):
QuoteMy current aim is to have a balance between personality and challenge. It's my thinking that it is intensely important for the opponents to make decisions appropriate to their personality, current situation, and relationships (increasing believability and immersion potential), rather than always choosing the BEST option for every situation (increasing challenge).
I like the sound of this. As much as I enjoy an AI that can beat me, I like one that behaves somewhat believably even more.
Quote from: Tpek on April 18, 2013, 01:24:52 PM
Quote from: Martok on April 18, 2013, 11:34:07 AM
Quote from: panzerde on April 16, 2013, 06:55:24 PM
So, you make it pretty and don't even try to do an AI, you just make it MP, or even worse, decide it's an MMO.
Like they've done with the newly-announced Imperium Galactica (http://stargazer.imperiumgalactica.com/) title? >:(
?!
Wasn't the IG series turned into the Nexus Jupiter Incident series?!
And wasn't that game supposed to get a sequel?
Yes, and yes. However, I believe there was a Kickstarter campaign for
Nexus 2...and that it failed. :(
Quote from: Martok on April 18, 2013, 11:34:07 AM
Quote from: panzerde on April 16, 2013, 06:55:24 PM
So, you make it pretty and don't even try to do an AI, you just make it MP, or even worse, decide it's an MMO.
Like they've done with the newly-announced Imperium Galactica (http://stargazer.imperiumgalactica.com/) title? >:(
Yes, and how bitterly disappointing is that? :(
Extremely.
IG2 is on my personal Top Five list of space 4x games, and have long desired a true sequel. I was so pumped when the new title was first announced, only to be bitterly disappointed when I saw the MMO bit.
Ah well. At least there's no shortage of other space strategy games to play and look forward to these days (including Horizon). :) Even with disasters like Sword of the Stars 2 (at least initially) and Legends of Pegasus, the genre has definitely been experiencing a (modest) resurgence the last couple years.
I see this is now available as an early alpha on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/236130/?snr=1_4_4__tab-NewReleasesFilteredDLC) for $18.99. Anyone tried it yet?
Yes.
So far I am unimpressed.
But this is still in development so hopefully it will turn out better.
Quote from: Tpek on July 02, 2013, 03:04:04 PM
Yes.
So far I am unimpressed.
But this is still in development so hopefully it will turn out better.
To be honest, I'm not surprised. I think the game only entered a playable alpha state in the last month or two, so I would imagine it's still pretty raw right now. I've liked a lot of what I've seen, but it's very much an unfinished product at the moment.
Myself, I intend to pick up
Horizon this weekend, if only to get it at the cheaper price. However, I doubt I'll sit down and play it until sometime after the game moves into beta.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 11, 2013, 05:49:55 AM
^You know what they say about opinions? People that demand multi-player in every game as the main draw really make me nervous. I prefer a single-player experience in all of my games and almost never take advantage of any multi-player. The trend of making EVERYTHING MP these days is very concerning to me. I am reassured when a developer makes a game that focuses on the SP experience. This is one to support and look out for.
100% agree here
I am getting really sick of these indie 4X sci-fi games. I mean, they all seem to be copies of each other, and copies of games that are decades old at this point. And none of them have bothered to bring anything really new to the table (well, except Sins RTS environment, and Distant Worlds private sector - kudos to them). How about innovating the genre instead of just re-using the same formula time and again?!?! It's always planets and space ships, abstract research and diplomacy. Dry as a spreadsheet.
Lord, what I would give for a sci-fi 4X game with the deep character interactions and dynastic politics of Crusader Kings 2. Feel free to take this idea and run with it devs! It will profit you more than copying MoO 2 for the 146th time. Or is it 147? >:(
I hear what you're saying Rooks. I picked up Endless Space last week when it was on sale in STEAM. I've played about 2 hours worth of it and to me it's kind of meh. Just another space game that is trying to be different.
It seems that MOO2 was the last of the great space games that is the template now for every other space game out there. Look at GalCiv, Sins, Armada, etc. They all seem to have the same type of gameplay. Don't get me wrong, all of these games are great in their own way but none deliver the complete experience as well as MOO2 did for me.
4X used to be my favorite genre, but even I am burned out on the formula. I was watching a Let's Play of the beta for the upcoming Pandora:First Contact, and all I could think about was how much I enjoyed it back when it was called Alpha Centauri.
I haven't played the game yet but they always said that there are story aspects that will show up also in late game to keep the end-game interesting. Don't have any time now to test it however.
Just a heads up.... GreenManGaming has it for $18.99 and then add the 25% discount and it comes out to $14.25. Still in beta, but have read promising things.
PE
There have been two rather large updates to the game over the last week or so, as well. Have not explored changes, but the development is ongoing and that, at least, seems promising.
I bought it a couple of weeks ago and played for about an hour. It has potential, but I have such a large backlog I decided to uninstall until it's finished.
I'd be interested to hear how it has changed..... It has been on my radar for a while as it has the MOO feel to it. I heard the AI needed a lot of work, and that their currently is no difficulty setting.
PE