Messages

1

AI War / Re: Gearing up for the next AIW expansion: "Vengeance of the Machine"

« on: May 01, 2013, 09:02:25 PM »

On a more serious note, I hope this expansion focuses more on new mechanics than new units. The new units already introduced in Light of the Spire and Ancient Shadows (woo, spelled "ancient" correctly first time this time ) are still in need of balance polish. Introducing too many new units would just "backpedal" the balance work even more.

Not saying I don't want new units; those are cool and all. But I feel that this shouldn't be the focus of this expansion, so balance isn't disrupted even more than the relatively recently added stuff already has. Then, time spent on keeping things balanced and "polished" can be more productive.

Just my $0.02

I could not agree more with this.  TechSY is a hardcore AI War player and I am only casual, but I feel the exact same thing he says here so I think this is a legitimate problem.

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Tidalis / Re: Tidalis Beta 1.017: Improvements To Combo Scoring At Game Over

« on: March 29, 2013, 04:41:05 PM »

Is it bad manners to say that I think this is the second best game Arcen ever made (next to AIW)?  It's SO brilliantly done.  With the new focus on more bite-sized projects, I hope games with as much content and as many options as Tidalis has don't get overlooked. 

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Off Topic / Re: Drox Operative

« on: November 30, 2012, 02:20:50 PM »

Well you might be waiting a while, but hopefully not.  It took Steam something like 2 years to accept Din's Curse (Soldak's other big game).

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Off Topic / Re: Cargo Commander

« on: November 05, 2012, 05:07:53 PM »

So I guess I've been playing the demo (I really can't tell since I couldn't find the demo on steam). I can't play online and I'm only allowed to go to a sector Origo I or something. Thing is I get to the neighborhood of 6000 points and just get overwhelmed. I can't get weapons beyond the nailgun, I don't gain ranks or anything. Is there some progression that I'm just missing in the demo, or is the game actually this hard? Oooor... did I accidentally download a terrible version? I really can't tell. All I know is, if there is a sense of progression such that I don't feel like the enemies are cheating, then I'm happy and want the game. But, what I demoed of it doesn't make it clear to me.

I was not aware that there was a demo but I guess there is.  There are a number of weapons in addition to the nail gun in the full version of the game.   There are also upgrades for all your guns, your health, your suit, your run speed, your drill etc.  The game does get hard once you start pushing 6000 points in any sector, but these upgrades make it easier to press onward for a little while.  In the full version of the game the enemies drop a currency which allows you to upgrade your stuff at an upgrade terminal (which itself must be unlocked by collecting a certain amount of cargo).  The upgrades you make to your character are on a per-sector basis, meaning once you die the upgrades go with you and you start over with an un-upgraded character when you attempt your next sector.  This gives you incentive to try out a number of different upgrade builds since you aren't likely to earn enough currency to get them all in a single sector attempt.   The upgrades you get for your ship (such as access to the upgrade terminal itself ) are permanent.

One warning: the mac version is slightly buggy right now and the highscore servers are a bit overloaded sometimes so this can result in crashes.  They are working on it.  There is also an offline mode but in order to make any real progress you have to be online while you are playing so that the game can record your score on the leaderboard.  At least for now.

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Off Topic / Re: Cargo Commander

« on: November 05, 2012, 11:08:28 AM »

New note from the dev:

"The crashes on death (and when starting a sector and when using the navigator) have to do with server issues, which we're trying to find a solution for.. Sorry for the annoyances and lost cargo, people!

Crashes at other moments are a different issue. It helps a lot if you could send me the log after such a crash (like after the intro and in the midst of the game) - it can be found in Steam\steamapps\common\cargo commander\CargoCommander_Data\output_log.txt. To avoid cluttering the forums, please send them to [email protected] . Thanks!"



The game seems to be a bit more stable today now that some of the server issues are fixed.

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Off Topic / Re: Cargo Commander

« on: November 04, 2012, 04:23:49 PM »

Could be.  I am using one on a PC and it works fine.  Looks like there have been some Mac problems with the game, which one hopes they will get sorted out.  The good news is they have released 3 patches and the game has only been out a few days, so they appear to be dedicated.  That said, one of the patches broke the game so we'll see what happens in the long haul.

When it works it is a lot of fun, and it was working great up until last night.

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Off Topic / Re: Cargo Commander

« on: November 04, 2012, 04:00:51 PM »

I have been posting error reports on the steam forum.  The dev just logged on to Steam and said they are working on a patch to fix the crashes caused by the patch they sent out last night. 

As far as I know, the game is only working with 360 controllers (or mouse + Keyboard).  Are you using a 360 controller?

Forum link:  http://steamcommunity.com/app/220460/discussions/

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Off Topic / Re: Cargo Commander

« on: November 03, 2012, 11:22:55 PM »

Well the latest update appears to be crashing the game, so...that's unfortunate. 

9

Off Topic / Re: Cargo Commander

« on: November 03, 2012, 12:07:21 PM »

Well the Arcen level is now up and running so you if you happen to get the game and a sector pass, you can go there.  I ran through it quickly last night and it looked to be a perfectly good level.  I'll try to get some highscores up soon.

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Off Topic / Re: Cargo Commander

« on: November 03, 2012, 08:15:35 AM »

I don't think there is a demo out yet, unfortunately. 

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Off Topic / Re: Cargo Commander

« on: November 02, 2012, 09:46:05 PM »

I have tried both and could not tell that there was a big disadvantage with the game pad.   If you want to use a gamepad you will have to set it as the default in the options screen.

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Off Topic / Re: Cargo Commander

« on: November 02, 2012, 09:33:57 PM »

Mouse+ Keyboard work and also Xbox 360 controllers.  No Keyboard only because the mouse is used for aiming. 

I have not actually found any one else's body yet so I am not sure how that goes, I have only read that it happens.

As for the length of the levels, they can be quite long if you want them to be, or you can exit and go to another level about half way through (you will need a "sector pass" to exit, and those always spawn after you have collected a certain amount of cargo in your current level).  There is incentive to replay the same level again and again, however, because you can get higher scores for the online leader board.  You can also return to any levels you have already been to without using a sector pass.  Sector passes are only for creating a new level (using a new name for the random generation).  In my experience, I end up dying before I actually get to the end of a level but i can get 20-25 minutes in before that happens.  I don't know the point at which levels end but they are long if you want them to be.

All upgrades to your character are self-contained within the level you are playing, but you get upgrades to your ship that are persistent.  For example, after achieving the first rank achievement you get the upgrade station itself, second rank gets you 10 free points to spend on upgrades at at the beginning of every level (you normally have to collect these points inside the level), and third rank gets you a maintenance station with a few other useful functions.  I have read that fifth rank unlocks a new mode that allows you to turn the wormhole timer off so that you can just explore the random worlds without fear of being sucked into space every few minutes.

In case you can't tell, I am loving the game so far.  Here is a new write up from QT3:  http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2012/10/16/what-a-difference-a-font-makes-in-cargo-commander/

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Off Topic / Re: Cargo Commander

« on: November 02, 2012, 05:58:09 PM »

The sectors (levels) are generated randomly by name and each one has an online leader board.  Next time the opportunity arises I will make a sector called "Arcen" to get the ball rolling, then if any of you guys buy the game we can all compete for high scores.  When it comes time to unlock a new sector, just choose the option to unlock by name and type 'Arcen.'  You can also loot the corpses of people who play the same sector but who didn't get as far as you (sort of like Dark Souls).  I just unlocked the sector "QT3" and I'm gonna go see if I can get farther than Tom Chick did.

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Off Topic / Cargo Commander

« on: November 02, 2012, 05:28:45 PM »

This is a fun game if you are into Spelunky or a mixture of platformer and light roguelike elements.  There is also a whiff of AVWW mixed in there insofar as the worlds are randomly generated and you are trying to gut them of loot as fast as possible.

Here is an early review:  http://www.gamezebo.com/games/cargo-commander/review

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Off Topic / Re: Conquest of Elysium

« on: October 25, 2012, 04:11:24 PM »

I will suggest that to them.