By the way, for those of you trying to get your friends interested in AI War (thank you!), if they don't like it that doesn't mean there's nothing to be gained; if you could give us their feedback (or better yet, herd them to these forums so they can tell us themselves) that could be really helpful. Obviously there are things we can't or won't change but often there's something that we can do. Also, I've found it's often possible to take those stated desires and distill them down to the real "itch", and then find another way of scratching that which does fit with our philosophy.
I tried to get my brother interested, but the gameplay did not turn him on, even though he's very much into conquer the galaxy games like Master of Orion and such -- he particularly enjoys Sword of the Stars by indy developer Kerberos Productions. Usually he's *very* involved in any forums for games he enjoys, so perhaps I can get him to post at least something here....
But the feedback in a nutshell from him is that he felt that with the fleet sizes in AI War that all the units 'felt' the same, or were simply variations on a theme, there may be tons of units but when you have a swarm of a bazillion going around, they're all just flying guns that go pew pew -- build a few hundred ships, fling them at the enemy. (He's much into designing his own ships, also enjoys Gratuitous Space Battles).
Personally I don't think that's the case, but again I'm passing along 'feels like' not 'is'. I'll try to finagle him posting something more lengthy. Do you want the feedback in a particular place? I know we have the Suggestions forum, but for one-off posts that might not have the person coming back....
Decided to log in and post. Sizzle's brother here.
For me the biggest issue is I've moved away from RTS, as a gamer, over the years. I enjoyed Dune 2 when it came out, but RTS was already getting old for me when Starcraft I came out, and that's quite some time ago. I have never really enjoyed the TA-style resource acquisition mechanic that makes me feel like I should always be doing something with those resources that are constantly rolling in. I am a much more methodical planner and definitely like to take my time making (and optimizing) strategic decisions. Even a relatively slow RTS like Sins of a Solar Empire just didn't fly with me, as a game I'd want to commit to; the combat mechanics seemed like a fancier version of rock-paper-scissors, and the strategic side of the game struck me as a bit lacking.
So a quality 4X game such as Sword of the Stars, that's easy on the micromanagement without stinting on depth of gameplay, is just plain more up my alley right off the bat than any RTS. (BTW, SotS is definitely worth another look, especially with SotS2 due out next year. But if you do, make sure to get the Complete Collection, as the game has matured a lot through the various expansions. I imagine you guys share a similar philosophy with Kerberos as far as ongoing support goes.
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Now, I would like to like AI War! I think that a solid AI is extremely important and I've heard no complaints in that department. I very much appreciate the asymmetrical approach to AI development and find the concept refreshing. While from my "non-RTS gamer" point of view, the units seem by-and-large like spammable flying blobs that go pew-pew and don't have a lot of personality, where I prefer carefully crafted warships that are both aesthetically pleasing and capable on an individual basis rather than en-masse... I understand and accept that there is real variety in the number of different kinds of units in terms of how they work, even if this isn't immediately apparent to someone who has mostly given up on RTS conventions and gameplay.
I decided give AI war another shot now that 4.0 is out; some of the changes may help (both on the UI side and streamlined gameplay side,) and improved tutorials certainly wouldn't hurt. (Playing a solo game where I can pause at will and not feel like I am making my brother wait on me could be helpful too.) Because I like to support indie developers that I feel may develop games that are up my alley in future, and Arcen seems to have a certain amount of credibility as a strategy game developer, I went ahead and purchased AI War even though it's not exactly what I normally prefer to play.
Hopefully the 4.0 changes and a fresh start will help.
