Eador: Genesis Reviews Continue to Roll In

FarAway Sooner · February 03, 2013, 03:55:48 PM

Feel free to ban me for a week if I'm preaching up this game too enthusiastically for everybody else! :D

Based on the strength of the original game (available for $5 - $10 on GOG), I'm willing to preorder Masters of the Broken World site unseen, just because I feel like Eador: Genesis is a steal (once you get past the documentation challenges and the slight grindiness of steering towards a campaign endgame).

Here are a few links:

http://www.cpugamer.com/reviews/eador-genesis-review

"Eador is a turn-based strategy game, something of a cross between Might and Magic, Master of Magic, and Civilization.... The storyline to the game is amazing in originality. You play a godlike wizard (or wizardly god, it's not exactly clear which), going from world (called a "shard") to world, gaining knowledge. As you conquer a world, it adds to your demesne, giving you more abilities.... The AI is good, and merciless, and doesn't seem to be playing with the insane advantages that are common to other turn-based strategy games. Even on "beginner" it gives me a run for my money, and I'm no slouch when it comes to these games."

http://www.outofeight.info/2012/12/eador-genesis-impressions.html

"Eador: Genesis is essentially a mix of Civilization, Disciples, and Master of Magic.... Overall, Eador: Genesis is an enjoyable, feature-filled amalgamation of various turn-based fantasy themes at a very reasonable price."

http://dragonchasers.com/2012/12/15/first-look-eador-genesis/

"For the past two evenings I've been wallowing in strategy game nostalgia with Eador: Genesis. This is an older game, originally published in 2009 by Ukrainian developers Snowbird Studios.... If you have fond memories of Master of Magic, Warlords, or Lords of Magic then you are going to love Eador: Genesis. It's got everything you can ask for: the city building and resource management of a 4X game, the leveling of an RPG and turn-based tactical battles of a classic strategy title."

spelk · February 03, 2013, 04:21:49 PM

SOLD! :)

RooksBailey · February 03, 2013, 04:21:56 PM

Based on these reviews, I am really looking forward to the new game, too. Are we still looking at a March release?

tgb · February 03, 2013, 04:36:27 PM

Quote from: RooksBailey on February 03, 2013, 04:21:56 PM
Based on these reviews, I am really looking forward to the new game, too. Are we still looking at a March release?

End of March/beginning of April according to the developers. Stage 2 of the beta testing starts the end of this week. There will be a third stage in March devoted to multiplayer. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the developers did with all the feedback this past few weeks

Jarhead0331 · February 03, 2013, 06:31:40 PM

The think that steered me away from Eador was the reports that the player doesn't seem to really control armies in combat, but more like a handful of 5 or 6 men. This is hardly epic and just does not appeal to me.

tgb · February 03, 2013, 07:40:28 PM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 03, 2013, 06:31:40 PM
The think that steered me away from Eador was the reports that the player doesn't seem to really control armies in combat, but more like a handful of 5 or 6 men. This is hardly epic and just does not appeal to me.

So what? In HoMM a single sprite is supposed to represent hundreds or thousands. Just make the adjustment yourself. Besides, Eador is so deep, and there is so much to do, you don't even notice.

Jarhead0331 · February 03, 2013, 07:48:39 PM

Quote from: tgb on February 03, 2013, 07:40:28 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 03, 2013, 06:31:40 PM
The think that steered me away from Eador was the reports that the player doesn't seem to really control armies in combat, but more like a handful of 5 or 6 men. This is hardly epic and just does not appeal to me.

So what? In HoMM a single sprite is supposed to represent hundreds or thousands. Just make the adjustment yourself. Besides, Eador is so deep, and there is so much to do, you don't even notice.

So what? I don't like it. That's what. I shouldn't have to pretend, there are plenty of games out there that don't make my imagination do the work..

FarAway Sooner · February 03, 2013, 10:18:56 PM

There's no reason not to believe that each individual unit is comprised of a group of like-minded fighters, rather than a single one. However, if you're theoretically incapable of enjoying a game that doesn't operate at that level of abstraction, I guess it's your loss.

Do you find games that feature "hit points" equally taxing on your imagination?

(not being a taunt, I'm just a bit puzzled that this is such a sticking point--it seems like it'd rule out a lot of armies. FWIW, a full-sized battle in Eador can feature up to 15 or so units on each side, but it doesn't sound like that solves your problems...)

Huw the Poo · February 04, 2013, 02:21:56 AM

I don't agree with Jarhead but it's certainly a valid criticism. If I was playing a second world war scenario I'd rather see groups of tanks rather than a single one with a couple of soldiers. It's just personal preference, isn't it?

Greybriar · February 04, 2013, 03:08:44 AM

It's my understanding that Eador: Genesis is supposed to be like Heroes of Might and Magic, so that's why one figure represents more than one unit. I played the HoMM series many, many hours and the lack of multiple stacks of the same types of units didn't bother me in the least. Like Huw, if I had been playing a game about World War II (or the Civil War or World War I etc., etc.) it would have.

jjdenver · February 04, 2013, 09:36:57 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 03, 2013, 06:31:40 PM
The think that steered me away from Eador was the reports that the player doesn't seem to really control armies in combat, but more like a handful of 5 or 6 men. This is hardly epic and just does not appeal to me.

To be fair it's more like 10 or 12 units rather than 5 or 6 in a combat. However like most other games of this genre (Master of Magic, Heroes of Might and Magic, King's Bounty, etc) and every strategy game that I've ever played (including the very detailed "Advanced Squad Leader" which only had a piece for leaders), each piece/counter/unit represents more than one living being. I think the only strategy game that I've ever played that had an individual piece for every single living being was Warhammer 40k miniatures. So if the hang-up is that a piece/counter/unit represents more than 1 living being then that's a problem with every board or strategy electronic game that I've ever run across.

Oh, I just thought of a game that had 1 piece/counter/unit per living being - it was an old PC game called I think "82nd" airborne where you ran a squad across Normandy. Oh, and another was I think Computer Ambush - an old game on Atari 800 or Amiga or some other platform. Oh, haha and another was a boardgame called Wild West or something like that where you ran a gunslinger or a few gunslingers through scenarios but that was almost like an RPG really.

The point is that even games about WW2, ACW, etc feature more than 1 living being per unit at least in my experience.

Jarhead0331 · February 04, 2013, 09:42:08 AM

The problem is I've heard the game "feels" like combat is fought between a band of individual units, rather than armies. I realize there are tons of strategy games where a single character on a map represents a larger number of units. Eador has a separate battle interface, and it is in this part of the game that I have heard the battle system suffers by not conveying a larger scale and scope of action.

I don't care if you fans of the game think my opinion is misplaced, or if it is at "my loss." At least explain why the battle system still works, rather than just posting that in your opinion, my opinion, is incorrect. Sell the game to those of us on the fence.

jjdenver · February 04, 2013, 09:52:44 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 04, 2013, 09:42:08 AM
The problem is I've heard the game "feels" like combat is fought between a band of individual units, rather than armies. I realize there are tons of strategy games where a single character on a map represents a larger number of units. Eador has a separate battle interface, and it is in this part of the game that I have heard the battle system suffers by not conveying a larger scale and scope of action.

I don't care if you fans of the game think my opinion is misplaced, or if it is at "my loss." At least explain why the battle system still works, rather than just posting that in your opinion, my opinion, is incorrect. Sell the game to those of us on the fence.

Just to be clear I don't know if your opinion is misplaced or not because I'm not sure exactly what is driving your opinion, and I won't comment on that.

However I will say that the battle system feels a lot like the battle system in King's Bounty or HoMM if you've played either of those series. Neither those games nor this game has tactical battles that feel "epic" to me - they feel more like the boardgame Titan - fun but simple.

Nefaro · February 04, 2013, 10:05:09 AM

There was yet another new update for E:G at GOG recently. I dunno if it's just a new patch installer, or if some more issues were squashed, but this is the second new one they've put up since I bought it awhile back.

Jarhead0331 · February 04, 2013, 10:18:49 AM

Quote from: jjdenver on February 04, 2013, 09:52:44 AM

However I will say that the battle system feels a lot like the battle system in King's Bounty or HoMM if you've played either of those series. Neither those games nor this game has tactical battles that feel "epic" to me - they feel more like the boardgame Titan - fun but simple.

This seems like a fair comparison. However, in those games, each unit depicted on the battlefield had a number associated with it that represented the quantity of each unit class on the field. This at least permitted the player to articulate the size of the actual battle, as well as the cost in terms of casualties. Does Eador have anything similar?

FWIW, I did enjoy Kings Bounty and HOMM, initially. However, I lost interest in both titles fairly quickly.