Plague Inc - Mobile game

[Aklyon]

Pandemic 2 is mainly known, besides its gameplay, as the game where you can lose the game on the whim of the madagascar port authority, due to that being the sole entry vector in. If you scare them too early you might as well start over.

[chemical_art]

Man, I wish there was a enough interest to make a full game for these simulations (again, the unnatural obession is setting in).

I love these games to death, but they don't follow the natural dynamics in one key way:
More deadly strains of the same disease must compete with the less deadly strains. Humans use vaccines, but it's present in the natural environment as well. For example, if a strain of the cold sore suddenly went lethal, all of earth won't die, just that one strain will kill its people. It will be at an evolutionary disadvantage because everyone is already infected, so antibodies are in place and its fighting its own disease in competition as well.

Other then that, these games are (mostly) golden in how quickly they can spread. It's just (whether explicit or not) your disease is already among the very, very lucky that the human body cannot eradicate it completely.

[chemical_art]

Pandemic 2 is mainly known, besides its gameplay, as the game where you can lose the game on the whim of the madagascar port authority, due to that being the sole entry vector in. If you scare them too early you might as well start over.

It happened as well in pandemic 1, and for the next 5 years be a part of any disease game.

[Mánagarmr]

Well, yes. No.
There is this thing http://www.crazymonkeygames.com/fullscreen.php?game=pandemic-2 but I have not tried it and from what I understand it's not the same.

Having written a thesis on bio-weapons and whether they really classify as WMD's or not, I have an unusal interest in these kinds of games.

I can say that pandemic I, II, and pandemic inc. are all fun games, but they are not the same game.

In terms of game play, pandemic inc is the most advanced with both the variety of "traits" your disease has, as well as random events influencing the game.

There are some pluses to pandemic I and II. Sadly, my memories will more or less lump them together since I played them both a year ago. Pandemic games aren't as easily cheesable. It's possible to have a symptomless disease pass under the radar for a while, but it will be noticed (and a cure will start to be researched) long before the whole planet is infected. This is honestly the only thing I find the pandemic I and II games better then pandemic inc, otherwise pandemic inc is the better game. The most aggrevating thing was having the ports to islands close off too rapidly in pandmic games, but way too late in pandemic inc games.

All, however, are a lot of fun.

I know you meant "Plague Inc", but I kept twitching every time regardless

And yeah, Plague Inc definitely made the "stealth" approach easier, but since it also includes a scoring system, you are SEVERELY punished for going the stealth approach. You'll never hit any reasonable score by going stealthy through it, because it'll take too long and your score will plummet. So if you're any kind of achiever and like scores, you'll find better ways to do it.

[Mánagarmr]

Pandemic 2 is mainly known, besides its gameplay, as the game where you can lose the game on the whim of the madagascar port authority, due to that being the sole entry vector in. If you scare them too early you might as well start over.

Yeah, Madagascar was an annoying thing in Pandemic 2. In Plague Inc, you can still infect even tightly locked down countries with the "Extreme Zoonosis" transmission, though it does take a rather significant DNA investment.

And funnily enough, in Plague Inc, Greenland is the new Madagascar.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Pandemic 2 is mainly known, besides its gameplay, as the game where you can lose the game on the whim of the madagascar port authority, due to that being the sole entry vector in. If you scare them too early you might as well start over.

Yeah, Madagascar was an annoying thing in Pandemic 2. In Plague Inc, you can still infect even tightly locked down countries with the "Extreme Zoonosis" transmission, though it does take a rather significant DNA investment.

And funnily enough, in Plague Inc, Greenland is the new Madagascar.

Qft, I've noticed Greenland being annoyingly resistant to getting ill.

[zespri]

Qft, I've noticed Greenland being annoyingly resistant to getting ill.

It's too cold there.

[keith.lamothe]

I wonder if the AI is conducting an Inverted Ender Maneuver.

*completely clueless* I assume you are talking about that thing "Ender's Game"?

Yes.

"Congratulations, you have won the game, humanity is exterminated!  ... well, there is still... you."

[Mánagarmr]

Ah.

[keith.lamothe]

Maybe it would work better in GlaDOS voice.

More on topic, I really wish pandemic 1 and 2 had a trait for giving the host an incredible desire to swim to Madagascar.

[Mánagarmr]

Maybe it would work better in GlaDOS voice.

More on topic, I really wish pandemic 1 and 2 had a trait for giving the host an incredible desire to swim to Madagascar.

What you need is the Neurax Worm's Trojan Planes from Plague Inc. Those things are pure awesome

"Oh, Greenland won't play ball? How about I load this here russian airplane up with 600 infected and send them right over, how's that?"

[Wanderer]

Qft, I've noticed Greenland being annoyingly resistant to getting ill.

It's too cold there.

Well, in some ways it's kinda right.  There's 54,000 ppl in all of that real estate (or so), and it's not like you're gettin' some nekkid petting in with random folks at negative 40 degrees, Cel OR Far. 

"So, whatta ya think of that chick?" "Eh, too much Michilin Man designerwear..."

Gotta say the game is an addictive little toy though.  I SUCK at it, but it's addictive.

[Mánagarmr]

I've found that to successfully infect and actually spread in the rich north (Scandinavia, Canada, Greenland, Iceland) you really need to invest in cold resistance, or be so late in the game that you have several very infectious symptoms (such as Coughing, Sneezing, Skin Lesions, Necrosis). Otherwise it just won't spread that well

[Mánagarmr]

I've also found that on Brutal difficulty, goind for "Living Dead" combo and "Coma" is awesome for cure defense. "Living Dead" is accomplished by taking "Anemia+Insomnia" which drastically reduces scientist efficiency and naturally, Coma is very hard to cure. If you don't want a lot of lethality (still spreading), you can then devolve any underlying symptoms once you reach Coma.

Bonus point is that it isn't very far to reach "Total Organ Failiure" from "Coma", so once you want to lay the smack down, just add it and watch the numbers roll. A favourite of mine is that and "Necrosis". Extremely infectious and kills like nukes.

My record was 445 million deaths a day. I felt an eerie feeling of "AWESOME!" and "oh god..." at the same time

[Mánagarmr]

And I've played pandemic 2 many times anyway. Thats why I asked

As far as I am aware, a PC port is planned for Plague Inc.