Mon Feb 24, 2003 8:13 am
I Love the Game, but it''s Missing...
I got the demo when it was first released (I'm a Fileplanet subscriber... got lured in by the Earth and Beyond beta) and was immediately enchanted by the well-done story missions and good voice acting. The random missions, although repetitive, are still fun since it's always fun to blow stuff up. I also like how there are weapons (e.g. Drail) you can only get by looting them and hidden pirate bases to find, etc.
On the annoying side, it strikes me as unfortunate that space is 2D (i.e. all planets, trade lanes, stations, etc are in the same plane, there's no going "down" to get somewhere). It makes the whole game seem less real. Also, I like the mouse control system overall, but the interface is almost too good. I sort of feel like I'm running a starship simulator rather than flying a starship. Everything is just point and click.
Overall I'm really excited about the game and it seems awesome, but there's one major flaw that's really got me wondering WHY?!
*** The only ship systems are weapons (admittedly diverse), shields, and thrusters.
What happened to the generators, scanners, targeting computers, nav computers, jump drives, enhanced afterburners, cloaking devices, EMF equipment, auto-tracking turrets, etc, etc?!?!?! Why do all ships go the same speed?!?!?! For a game where the main goal is to make money to improve your ship's equipment, it seems really odd that they've simplified ship equipment so much. It also looks like there's a clear progression of better ships, guns, and shields, with no *choosing* between different--competitive--options.
Oh well. I guess I'll have to wait for release to find out whether multiplayer will give it the staying power to overcome the lack of ship customization.
--
Piper, Piper, the red red worm
Woke last night to the sound of the storm
Words are the worlds I've sailed upon.
On the annoying side, it strikes me as unfortunate that space is 2D (i.e. all planets, trade lanes, stations, etc are in the same plane, there's no going "down" to get somewhere). It makes the whole game seem less real. Also, I like the mouse control system overall, but the interface is almost too good. I sort of feel like I'm running a starship simulator rather than flying a starship. Everything is just point and click.
Overall I'm really excited about the game and it seems awesome, but there's one major flaw that's really got me wondering WHY?!
*** The only ship systems are weapons (admittedly diverse), shields, and thrusters.
What happened to the generators, scanners, targeting computers, nav computers, jump drives, enhanced afterburners, cloaking devices, EMF equipment, auto-tracking turrets, etc, etc?!?!?! Why do all ships go the same speed?!?!?! For a game where the main goal is to make money to improve your ship's equipment, it seems really odd that they've simplified ship equipment so much. It also looks like there's a clear progression of better ships, guns, and shields, with no *choosing* between different--competitive--options.
Oh well. I guess I'll have to wait for release to find out whether multiplayer will give it the staying power to overcome the lack of ship customization.
--
Piper, Piper, the red red worm
Woke last night to the sound of the storm
Words are the worlds I've sailed upon.