Mon Feb 24, 2003 5:06 pm
Best Demo! and comments (SPOIL)
Wow! This is the best demo I have ever played. The many cinematic cutscenes/animations for certain actions give a tremendous "I'm really there!" feel (story immersion). Like: talking to people, going to different on-planet facilities, docking, entering hyperspace lane.
I LOVE how ship to ship transmissions are intercepted (Maintain radio silence!) and you can hear enemy pilots panic when you start pounding their hull.
I LOVE how conversations with different factions change depending on your reputation.
I was having a hard time with expenses at first and here's why. I would complete a mission and then either get attacked by pirates "seeking revenge" while heading back or do a little exploring and REALLY get ganged up on. Going solo against 4-5 pirates depleted my nanobots and shield generators and I spent all the money I made in repairs and refits. Now I have gotten better at doing the mission then getting the hell out of there in a hurry and money got good.
Making money in the demo (single solar system) seems hard, as it should be since anyone can haul stuff over short distances. The best "haul" I found was buying Boron ($120) on Pittsburgh and selling it for ($155) on Manhattan then buying Pharmaceuticals ($120) on Manhattan and selling them for ($144) on Pittsburgh. Hiring yourself out on missions makes you lots more money.
Since the goal for everyone here is to create the perfect game one day I will now mention some areas where it could be improved.
1. Conversations with people I know well don't need to be so long. We're both busy people. Suggest:
Trent - Hey barkeep any news for a freelancer?
Barkeep - Sure Trent. Here's what I heard. (Pop up Rumor window)
2. I read on the boards that the difficulty of the game is structured around a linear physical map. In other words. You start out in Liberty Space which is easy and progress to Rheinland Space or some Wild Space where it's hard. IF THIS IS TRUE then the developers dropped the ball. The superior configuration is to make the difficulty RADIAL on a physical map. In other words. The center (highly inhabited solar systems of Liberty space should be easy and the farther out and away from the center you get the harder (more numerous and larger enemy ships) you find since they wouldn't risk taking their battlecruiser into heavily patrolled space. Thus, each of the 4 major nations is more or less equal power wise. Borders between nations like the border between Rheinland and Liberty would be very dangerous because it is a point far from the inhabited centers of those two nations.
In summary, this game concept is one of the best out there. I plan on buying it. I think I will have more fun playing without reading website hints and tactics since it leaves room for surprises.
I LOVE how ship to ship transmissions are intercepted (Maintain radio silence!) and you can hear enemy pilots panic when you start pounding their hull.
I LOVE how conversations with different factions change depending on your reputation.
I was having a hard time with expenses at first and here's why. I would complete a mission and then either get attacked by pirates "seeking revenge" while heading back or do a little exploring and REALLY get ganged up on. Going solo against 4-5 pirates depleted my nanobots and shield generators and I spent all the money I made in repairs and refits. Now I have gotten better at doing the mission then getting the hell out of there in a hurry and money got good.
Making money in the demo (single solar system) seems hard, as it should be since anyone can haul stuff over short distances. The best "haul" I found was buying Boron ($120) on Pittsburgh and selling it for ($155) on Manhattan then buying Pharmaceuticals ($120) on Manhattan and selling them for ($144) on Pittsburgh. Hiring yourself out on missions makes you lots more money.
Since the goal for everyone here is to create the perfect game one day I will now mention some areas where it could be improved.
1. Conversations with people I know well don't need to be so long. We're both busy people. Suggest:
Trent - Hey barkeep any news for a freelancer?
Barkeep - Sure Trent. Here's what I heard. (Pop up Rumor window)
2. I read on the boards that the difficulty of the game is structured around a linear physical map. In other words. You start out in Liberty Space which is easy and progress to Rheinland Space or some Wild Space where it's hard. IF THIS IS TRUE then the developers dropped the ball. The superior configuration is to make the difficulty RADIAL on a physical map. In other words. The center (highly inhabited solar systems of Liberty space should be easy and the farther out and away from the center you get the harder (more numerous and larger enemy ships) you find since they wouldn't risk taking their battlecruiser into heavily patrolled space. Thus, each of the 4 major nations is more or less equal power wise. Borders between nations like the border between Rheinland and Liberty would be very dangerous because it is a point far from the inhabited centers of those two nations.
In summary, this game concept is one of the best out there. I plan on buying it. I think I will have more fun playing without reading website hints and tactics since it leaves room for surprises.