Stardrive 2

[bbmike]

I'm playing both. I think GalCiv3 is deeper and in the end will be the better space 4x game out there.

[Martok]

Martok, my guess is that you are going to like this game.  ;)

I have a feeling I will as well.  8)  I've been following it since pretty much the beginning, and I've liked most of what I've seen throughout the development cycle. 

I'm playing both. I think GalCiv3 is deeper and in the end will be the better space 4x game out there.

Presuming GalCiv3 is similar to GalCiv2 (which I own) -- and everything I've seen/heard indicates it is -- it's a safe bet that GC3 is the deeper game. 

[W8taminute]

Lol! When AJ comes to the astroid base tactical battle, the NPC complains about Martok! 

Heh, I noticed that as well.  Due to being a Kickstarter backer, I got a mention in the original game too.  I guess Dan decided to make it a tradition.  :) 

That explains why the pirate leaders name in both games is Martok.  That's awesome thanks for sharing that tidbit and congrats on being immortalized in two cool space games.   O0

[Martok]

Heh, thanks. 


(Incidentally, I feel compelled to add/clarify it wasn't just because I was KS backer -- lest other KS backers feel miffed for not also getting mentions -- but also because I'd long been an active participant in the forums, and overall enthusiastic supporter of the game.) 


Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play.  :D 

[Martok]

Thoughts/impressions after around 12 hours of playing (most of it from last night/this morning): 



I'm having fun with it overall.  I like how colony development & management works, the exploration aspect is enjoyable, ship design is fun, the AI seems to be competent so far, and of course it looks good. 


So here are my complaints so far.  (They're not "game-breakers" for me, however.): 

1.)  A couple times now, I've run into a bug where I'm unable to save ship designs.  Restarting the game seems to fix it, but there's no telling when/if I'll encounter it again. 

2.)  Other races can colonize inside my territory.  Argh!  Most annoying in the first game (not to mention a couple other space 4x titles).  I'd thought this issue had been addressed in SD2, but apparently not.  >:( 

3.)  I'd not fully realized/appreciated it til I started playing it myself, but the battle maps are pretty small.  Not much room for maneuvering, especially if you have larger fleets. 

3a.)  More a personal preference, I know, but I have to admit I'm really bothered by ships being constrained by Newtonian physics in combat.  For some reason, seeing ships (especially the smaller ones) move around like that actually makes me feel somewhat queasy, almost to the point of being a little nauseous.  :-\ 

4.)  Seriously, the maps are too damn small!  100 stars is simply not enough room for 9 races to play in (and I want all 9 races in). 

5.)  Holy shit, this game is trying to fucking kill you!  With just about every star system worth colonizing being guarded by Crystalline Entities, Pirates and whatnot -- not to mention Pirates will also enter your space and come after you -- expansion is a bitch.  Mercifully, Dan's latest update includes options that let you disable Pirates/CE's and Neutral Attacks on Easy difficulty (which to my shame I must admit I switched to for the time being :-[ ), but Normal difficulty is still a poor fit for "turtlers" like myself. 


Speaking of which...  I must admit the game seems to be more war/combat-oriented than I normally care for.  (That the AI also appears to be quite aggressive adds to this impression.)  I know SD1 was rather like this, but I'd been under the impression (wrongly, as it turns out) that this had been toned down somewhat in the sequel.  Granted, it does depend somewhat on the factions you run into -- Pollops, Humans, Draylock, and even the Kulrathi can be reasonable -- but I'm starting to realize that I'm probably not precisely the type of player Dan was aiming at when he sat down to make SD2 (or the original). 



All that being said, I *am* enjoying myself.  This is the most fun I've had with a space-strategy game since Distant Worlds was released.  Is it my ideal 4x title?  No.  But it is damn good, and I'm having a great time with it so far.  I mean, I've been playing this game almost constantly since I got up last night (aside from meal and bathroom breaks), so I'd say that's a positive sign.  ;) 

[Anguille]

Thanks for the reports Martok!

[W8taminute]

Yes awesome report Martok.   O0

I agree with you on the fact that the game wants the player dead.  I wish I could find a lush planet in my current game but so far every surrounding star system (I'm playing on a 90 planet clustered systems map) is filled with either gas giants (uninhabitable) or asteroids.  My homeworld seems to be the only planet in the known galaxy that has a food surplus. 

Then my government was challenged by lobbyists who wanted a war with the only race we've met so far in game and I refused to bow to their demands.  So the first half of my game has been spent fighting crystalline intruders, pirates, and a group of separatists who want war.  I'm liking it so far though.

In Star Drive 1 my experience was either you steamroll your way to galactic conquest or you get crushed like a bug within the first few years of the game.

[bbmike]

2.)  Other races can colonize inside my territory.  Argh!  Most annoying in the first game (not to mention a couple other space 4x titles).  I'd thought this issue had been addressed in SD2, but apparently not.  >:( 

I'd read that if you have a non-aggression pact with the race in question they should not do that. I haven't tried it yet. And I hate it when someone else colonizes Mars. 

[tgb]

I just fought a small ground battle to take control of a derelict ship one of my explorers came across.  When I won, it revealed the location of a previously hidden planetoid.

Very cool.

[Martok]

I'll admit I'm not enthralled with the ground combat, but at least it's actually included in a space 4x game for once.  Would love to see it expanded on/improved in the future (I would guess in an expansion).  I also really like that we can upgrade/customize our ground units; it definitely adds a nice touch. 

Leaders are fun. 

2.)  Other races can colonize inside my territory.  Argh!  Most annoying in the first game (not to mention a couple other space 4x titles).  I'd thought this issue had been addressed in SD2, but apparently not.  >:( 

I'd read that if you have a non-aggression pact with the race in question they should not do that. I haven't tried it yet. And I hate it when someone else colonizes Mars. 

Not true, unfortunately.  Races will still colonize inside your borders -- including your core space -- even with a treaty. 

Incidentally, Dan has apparently stated he's not changing/fixing this; claims it limits/impedes the AI too much.  It sounds like his view is that if you want to stop other races from grabbing planets inside your territory, then that's what laser cannons and your own colony ships are for.  :-\ 

[Bison]

Holy shit is this game brutal. I was invaded by crystals and then the dogs which destroyed my space station, my meager fleet, took my one colonized planet, and left me scratching my head.  I don't like the idea that they can colonize inside of your core space violating diplomatic agreements.  I will say that I for all the information panes and tool tips there are some ambiguous areas.  Like retrofitting.  WTF?  How do I know what is being retro fitted?  I get the option, but I have no idea what is being retro fitted.

[W8taminute]

I got hammered in the my first game.  Everything was going fine.  I crushed the internal rebellion.  Built a decent defense fleet that could take on the crystalline intruders no problem.  The game was quickly lost once the squid people who constantly bug you for tithes to their squid god came a knockin' at my door for the umpteenth time asking for a 'donation' and I said no.

Next thing I know I've got two enemy fleets in my territory both with command ratings of 12 or more and my single defense fleet of command rating 8 was wiped clean after the first engagement. 

Started another game and this time managed to colonize some nice tundra planets but no Terran unfortunately.  Then I met the insectoid robot people.  I gave them a donation the first time they asked me and all was good until they told me to stop colonizing or else.  They certainly can colonize as much as they want though.  So what did I do?  I built myself another colony ship.  As soon as it left dry dock the bastards declared war on me. 

I'm going to try and fight this one out before giving up but again they've got two fleets with a lot of ships in each and I've got a couple of plastic toy tugboats to defend my space. 

I'm beginning to think that in the early game you only want to colonize one or maybe two planets and stop there.  Concentrate on building up the economy and a good fleet with decent ships.  Then try to grab more space.  Your own fleet size I think is key to telling other races to either leave you alone or kill you because you're too weak.

[Huw the Poo]

I'm going to try and fight this one out before giving up but again they've got two fleets with a lot of ships in each and I've got a couple of plastic toy tugboats to defend my space. 

The odds are against us and the situation is grim.  Attack!!!

[W8taminute]

I'm going to try and fight this one out before giving up but again they've got two fleets with a lot of ships in each and I've got a couple of plastic toy tugboats to defend my space. 

The odds are against us and the situation is grim.  Attack!!!

General Ferdinand Foch in space!!!

[bbmike]

I really hope this isn't another "AI always attack human, no real diplomacy" game.  :(