The Ultimate Tease for Pandora: First Contact

[Apocalypse 31]

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.

Oh my god, so true!

[Jarhead0331]

Any more impressions?

[Martok]

Bearing in mind I've not played the beta in a few weeks, and that I didn't got around to playing SMAC enough to make a worthwhile comparison, I generally like what I've seen so far. 


Cons:  I agree the tech tree is small, and that the documentation is lacking.  In addition, the AI felt somewhat anemic when I last played it -- not horrible, but no better than average IMO.  Pandora also probably isn't quite as deep as SMAC, although you may want to take that statement with a grain of salt, given how long it's been since I've played the latter (and how little time I spent on it even at the time). 

Pros:  It's got a fairly modest learning curve (for a strategy game), it's somewhat more streamlined (but without being dumbed down), the UI is (for the most part) reasonably easy to figure out, unit design is fun, and I find it to have decent atmosphere -- it really does feel like an alien (and sometimes hostile) world that you're on.  The game's immersion factor isn't hurt by the fact that it looks nice and "science-fiction-y" (intentionally or not, I'm reminded of, well, the planet Pandora from Avatar); while I don't think I'm a graphics whore, I do have to compliment the game's visuals & aesthetics. 


FWIW, I'll definitely be getting this in the next few weeks (just gotta get paid first!). 

[mikeck]

The best description I can give is:" the game is what you think it is". Basically, it's SMAC light with updated UI and graphics. Is it worth $30? Well yes...so long as you are looking for an updated version of SMAC with a bit less complexity. It's not that it's "simple" or basic...but no terraforming new mountains and stuff like that.

Also, because there is no manual, I have no idea of there even is diplomacy let alone how it works.
I like it though

[Jarhead0331]

I was watching a few let's play videos and one of them showed the player research Guerrilla Warfare...why are you required to research a concept that was pioneered, I dunno, hundreds of years prior to the point in which the game takes place?  Little things like that bother me.

Is there any strategic use of satellites or spaceborne weapons?  The feature list mentioned assaults behind enemy lines with drop pods and that sort of got me excited...

[mikeck]

I was watching a few let's play videos and one of them showed the player research Guerrilla Warfare...why are you required to research a concept that was pioneered, I dunno, hundreds of years prior to the point in which the game takes place?  Little things like that bother me.

Is there any strategic use of satellites or spaceborne weapons?  The feature list mentioned assaults behind enemy lines with drop pods and that sort of got me excited...

Dunno...would love to tell you (as I "discovered" the satellite tech) about that and "operations" you can choose to conduct... BUT THERE IS NO ^%$&-ing manual so I have no idea what to do with half of the things I do discover

So frustrating because I like the game I just can't figure out how to completely play it is it that hard to write a damned instruction manual?

[mikeck]

Well after my first attempt at a game, I highly recommend playing with "alien aggression" at low. I played with it on medium and after about turn 39 or so, I was building nothing but troops to replace the troops that were dying by constant enemy attacks. I would also lose cities now and then. 100% of my effort went into fighting alien life.

[Martok]

Adam Solo over at SpaceSector has posted his initial impressions.  Sounds like he's generally liking it so far. 

[Shelldrake]

I also had fun with the beta. While a proper manual would be nice, gameplay is rather intuitive. I agree that it is Alpha Centauri lite but that is not a bad thing if you just want to unwind a bit with a fun strategy game.

[spelk]

Only played a bit of this, but am enjoying it so far - its quite streamlined I think, which helps me get short quick bursts of gaming out of the game, and I haven't got to keep a paper log just to remember where I am. Was going well first medium game I had, until the end game neared, and I had to force a war condition between one of the weaker AI's  - thinking I'd mop them up and use their resources to build up to face off against the big boy, I didn't anticipate having to fight both of them at the same time. The stronger AI rolled over me then! Wow. I was shanked by the old switcheroo, the same tactic I was trying to employ myself!

My advice, even Goliaths in boats fall with one hit. Keep them on land if you can. :)

[Lord Zimoa]

Very cool Pandora: First Contact video.

[Rayfer]

Anyone still playing this? I went to the Matrix forum to see what players had to say and found it almost void of any threads except for a few technical issues. Anything more thoughts beyond the initial ones posted earlier in this thread?

[Lord Zimoa]

Most activity for this game is at Slitherine, Beta testing also took place there:

http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=173

[Rayfer]

Most activity for this game is at Slitherine, Beta testing also took place there:

http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=173

Thanks for the link...quite a lot of activity/discussion there!

[mikeck]

Anyone still playing this? I went to the Matrix forum to see what players had to say and found it almost void of any threads except for a few technical issues. Anything more thoughts beyond the initial ones posted earlier in this thread?

I'm enjoying it. It's a pretty polished game but there is nothing groundbreaking here. It's a simplified civ 5 on another planet basically. That's a good thing!