The Ultimate Tease for Pandora: First Contact

[tgb]

The game is up for sale at the Matrix site, so I'm assuming the NDA is no longer in effect.

If you said that this looks like a modern SMAC, you win a cookie.  The problem I have with it is that it copies SMAC too slavishly, right down to the names of units, the factions, and just about everything else.  Other than the graphics, SMAC does everything better.  Everything shows a lack of imagination, imo, from the victory conditions, to the faction descriptions.  The only way this game differs, as others mentioned, is a wider variety of flora and fauna.  Dialogue is goofy, and the A.I. is questionable.  In several games an AI faction would declare war when first encountered for no discernable reason, and then sit on it's hands.

I don't want to say this is a bad game, because it's not, in spite of a couple of bugs that may or may not have been squashed (beta testers received their final build last Sunday, so I don't know how much has been done to fix the release version). It's just bland, generic, and, as long as you can still play SMAC on a modern system, unnecessary.

[JudgeDredd]

I think NDA's last into release...though how long I don't know. Just giving you a heads up...just in case. I'm ALL for honesty.

[JudgeDredd]

I stand corrected with this post from a Moderator at Matrix

Hey,

Sorry for the lack of info.

There will be a new trailer with the release and all that jazz.

Slitherine is keeping the NDA up until Thursday, but you can take a look at an AAR, check a preview or read through the story manual in the meantime.

Hope that helps,
Rok

And thank you for your honesty.

This was never on my radar anyway.

[tgb]

I think NDA's last into release...though how long I don't know. Just giving you a heads up...just in case. I'm ALL for honesty.

It has been released.  Read my post again.

[JudgeDredd]

Sorry - my use of the English language I guess.   :)

By "into release" I meant past release (as in into the release date and beyond)

But as you can see anyway, I corrected myself with a post I found at Matrix.

[Steelgrave]

MINE! It's all MINE! Come to me, my precioussssss........

There goes the rest of my day!

[JudgeDredd]

lol - someone wants it!

[Lord Zimoa]

Pandora: First Contact Releases

http://www.thelordzgamesstudio.com/site/2013/11/pandora-first-contact-releases/

[Tpek]

I can't download the game.
The first download started at somewhat reasonable speed, and then after a while just stalled towards the end forcing me to start downloading again.
And now it's downloading even slower than before (about 155KB/s) and looks like it is going to "get stuck" like the previous one.

[Tpek]

Finally downloaded and installing :)

[son_of_montfort]

I would love to hear additional impressions. I like the idea, but the caveats that TGB gave have been pretty much spot-on with my impression of the game from afar.

[mikeck]

I played around a bit with it. Graphics are nice and it seems polished. Two things I DONT like: no frickin documentation or manual outside of the "manual" that simply explains the factions..wtf? For example, there are tons of little icons denoting all sorts of things from minerals to fungus. But I don't know what any mean because I don't have a damn manual worth a crap.

Second: the tech tree seems awfully small. Now for me, that is not a big deal since research is just a means to get to better weapons...so the sooner I get there the better.

Can't say much else at this point. I would recommend at playing on "slow" or "epic" (or whatever they are called) instead of "standard" in regards to the speed of the games research. I blew through about 6 techs in about 20 turns.

Anywho...seems pretty fun. I mean, it is what if is...civ 5 in space...or a remake of alpha centauri. I suspect if you liked SMAC and are expecting a slightly less complex remake, you will like this. I don't sense this is complex as SMAC but am not sure.

(Edit: I do like that you can modify military units like changing weapons and armor and abilities and such. So you could make a heavily armored unit armed with flame throwers and have other infantry lighter armored but carrying rockets)

[mikeck]

The game is up for sale at the Matrix site, so I'm assuming the NDA is no longer in effect.

If you said that this looks like a modern SMAC, you win a cookie.  The problem I have with it is that it copies SMAC too slavishly, right down to the names of units, the factions, and just about everything else.  Other than the graphics, SMAC does everything better.  Everything shows a lack of imagination, imo, from the victory conditions, to the faction descriptions.  The only way this game differs, as others mentioned, is a wider variety of flora and fauna.  Dialogue is goofy, and the A.I. is questionable.  In several games an AI faction would declare war when first encountered for no discernable reason, and then sit on it's hands.

I don't want to say this is a bad game, because it's not, in spite of a couple of bugs that may or may not have been squashed (beta testers received their final build last Sunday, so I don't know how much has been done to fix the release version). It's just bland, generic, and, as long as you can still play SMAC on a modern system, unnecessary.

Except I'm kinda of a graphics who're and SMAC makes by eyes hurt on my monitor

[bbmike]

Except I'm kinda of a graphics who're and SMAC makes by eyes hurt on my monitor

Seize the heretic and burn him!  ;D

[mikeck]

Lol. Yep. Same reason I don't play John Tiller games. I think TW graphics are so bad that one of his civil war games actually have me a brain tumor.