Messages

1

Game Development / Re: A big congratulations to Arcen Games

« on: February 11, 2011, 06:52:04 PM »

I really enjoy Sins because I think it is a nice blend between macro strategy and micro tactics, but it completely lacks an in-game storyline. If you don't read the manual, then you have absolutely NOTHING to immerse yourself in with regards to a storyline. I think this is a big turn off for many people, including myself, but the sheer magnitude of the research tree, diplomacy options, epicness of the game, and to an extent its graphics are awesome.

But I don't think that a comparison between Sins and AI War is a fair comparison. They're different games emphasizing different things. Within the RTS genre, I'm really impressed at what AI War was able to accomplish going to the other end of the spectrum. I like having RTS games from one end of the spectrum to the other. I just don't like having all the games stuck at one end. Sometimes when I don't have much time to spend on gaming, I do like having the option to play a quick RTS skirmish. I'm just really, really impressed at how a small indie company like AG was able to produce such an awesome game that is practically all macro (with minimal micro compared to other RTS games) yet can still be considered an "RTS" game.

2

Game Development / Re: A big congratulations to Arcen Games

« on: February 11, 2011, 06:14:39 PM »

I think the storyline of StarCraft 2 is pretty good, but I was really disappointed with the gameplay in general. After a decade of anticipation, I was expecting more than just the original StarCraft reincarnated with improved graphics.

I don't mind that RTS games be of the skirmish type, as this makes for pretty good multiplayer games, but it is very refreshing to be able to play an RTS game like AI War that breaks with the standard tech up, game ends in 20 minutes formula. In this regard, CoH and SupCom are good, but I found they becomes stale very quickly and very difficult (as in entertaining) to play single-player. But the one RTS that I think can compare on the grandness of scale to AI War is Sins of a Solar Empire. I find these two games complement each other nicely.

3

Game Development / Re: A big congratulations to Arcen Games

« on: February 11, 2011, 11:49:34 AM »

Completely agree.  I've become very disenchanted with the major gaming industry, you just hear story after story of games being released with horrendous glitches, bugs and balance issues.  Granted, 4.0 wasn't the smoothest release, and 5.0 has its issues, but the game is still extremely fun and playable, so I'm not worried in the least.

For me it's not so much about glitches, bugs, and balance issues - I think nearly every game will suffer from these things upon release. I really like the way AG follows up their releases with support and further development. I find a lot of games being produced nowadays are of the cookie-cutter type with too much effort going into graphics in order to compensate for poor infrastructures and little to no support or development after release. I think Arcen Games got it absolutely right in prioritizing gameplay over graphics, although I wouldn't mind seeing some updates to the graphics.

One thing that really makes me want to support game developers like AG is the business model and approach to DRM. I have literally passed on some highly-rated games offered for very cheap on Steam sales just because of the type of DRM they come with. And even though I'm new to these forums, just browsing around I really like how the developers are actively involved with the community. It reinforces that they care about their games.

4

Game Development / A big congratulations to Arcen Games

« on: February 11, 2011, 01:10:07 AM »

I just want to say that it has been a while since I've come across a game as satisfying as AI War. As an indie developer, Arcen Games is, in my opinion, producing games of much higher quality than some other, often much larger, companies in the business. Arcen Games is definitely a hidden jewel.