View unanswered posts | View active topics It is currently Tue Mar 19, 2024 4:43 am



Reply to topic  [ 20 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
 Let's vote in Stardrive 2! 
Author Message
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am
Posts: 4772
Location: Good news everyone!
Reply with quote
Post Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
For my 20th birthday yesterday, I got a game I've been looking forward to a while. It's called Stardrive 2, and it's a kind of neat game.

On the surface it's a very pretty and charming remake of the old 4x space game Master of Orion 2, but once you dig deeper, you find that it's actually a very pretty and buggy remake that's full of wasted potential. But we're going to play it anyway since I like it.

And yes, I do mean "we" - if any community is used to being invested in interesting games with lots of wasted potential and bugs, it's this one. So, join me on this questionable adventure.

Let the games begin! Or this game, more specifically.

Image

Are you ready? I'm not. Let's go anyway. :machine:



Image

This is the first screen that comes up when we start a new campaign. We have to select the race we want to conquer the galaxy. A tough decision, I know, but I think we can do it.

Here's some info on all nine races in order, so you can make your decision,

Cordrazine Collective
Quote:
The Cordrazine Collective are a peculiar race of extremely vain creatures who also happen to be adept at mind control. They are completely immobile and incapable of any sort of physical labor. However, they evolved advanced pheromone systems to hijack the minds of other species, thereby enslaving them to do their bidding.
Their first victims are natives of their home planet, Cordon Ot, and are hopelessly enslaved by the Cordrazine.
Those little guys are called Owlwoks. Aren't they precious?

United Federation
Quote:
The United Federation is a corporate military organization that represents the citizens of the Human homeworld, Earth. Aggressive and proud, the UFP projects a sense of Human exceptionalism that borders on naivety. Evenso, Humans are a creative and adaptive race who have equal parts capacity for kindness as for cruelty.
That guy's name is Admiral Pipesmoke. It goes without saying, this race is the ugliest.

Pollop Symbiosis
Quote:
Pollops are perhaps the friendliest race to ever fare the stars. They are plant-like creatures from the jungle world of sporl who have been sentient for far longer than most spacefaring races. Sunshine, music, and peace are the three highest values to a Pollop. As playful as Pollops can be, they are also acutely aware of the dangers posed to their way of life by xeno threats. It is this understanding that propelled them into space in the first place: expand and take root across the galaxy, or be uprooted.
Have you ever seen a Pollop ride a lawnmower to collect food? It's a little upsetting.

Chukk Affiliation
Quote:
The Chukk are a race of subterranean creatures who place a very low premium on the value of life. The concept of government is as alien to them as the concept of generosity. Space Piracy is a celebrated profession among the Chukk because their insectoid bodies are very well suited to crawling around the insides of ships, even in zero gravity.
That's Xalador Xahn. Nobody cares about him. He might look threatening, but that's just how Chukk look when they cry.

Kulrathi Shogunate
Quote:
The Kulrathi Shogunate is a feudal empire of bear-like people. They are peerless warriors and craftsmen who employ a philosophy of perfectionism to all aspects of their lives. The Kulrathi homeworld of Tor is incredible dangerous outside of the cities. A Kulrathi rite of passage is to survive a tear in the wild before becoming an adult. As a result, the Kulrathi have a sense of environmentalism; even though they could destroy the dangerous beasts of their world with advanced weaponry, it is more honorable by far to fight with fang, claw, or blade.
I love these guys. Bears in space, people. Bears in space. Space bears. Space marine bears. I love it. Oh, and that bear's name is Jardir.

Ralyeh Theocracy
Quote:
The Rayleh Devoted are religious zealots who worship a creature they call the Elder God. They believe that it is their duty to bring death to all sentient creatures who do not share their faith. They are, however, saddened by what they call their Great Burden. Notably, the Rayleh are an aquatic race and are thus eager to acquire and live upon worlds with large oceans.
They're the emo scene kids of the group. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

Draylok Council
Quote:
The Draylok Council is a band of mega-wealthy nobles who have taken it upon themselves to explore and exploit the galaxy. To the Draylok nobility, politics is both a game and a way of life. Deceit and manipulation go hand in hand with violence, theft, and betrayal. Their talents for espionage and diplomacy make them formidable opponents.
They might look hot, but they're hiding behind quite a lot of makeup.

Opteris Hive
Quote:
Opteris is not an empire, but a creature. It is a massive, decentralized cybernetic organism whose sum of total knowledge and abilities rests in each of its identical drones. Its imperative to find new worlds and self-replicate endlessly is its only apparent motivation. However, it would be a grave mistake to view this imperative as the mindless execution of a computer program, as Opteris is brilliant, industrious, and utterly lacking in compassion.
Pictured: An Opteris drone playing with simulations of paper airplanes. The Opteris really like paper airplanes.

Vulfar Imperium
Quote:
The Vulfen Imperium is a savage and cruel civilization. While the average Vulfar grunt tends to be quite dumb, Vulfen society is led and dominated by Vulfar Alphas, a much smarter and stronger breed. Alphas are the ideological leaders of their race and they believe in Vulfar superiority through strength of arms and superior numbers. They breed fast, live fast, and die in spectacular numbers to accomplish their brutal goals of conquest.
Worse versions of the space bears.

Vote here!


Mon Jul 20, 2015 4:33 am
Profile WWW
Loose Canon
User avatar

Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:07 pm
Posts: 2992
Location: --------------->
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Space bears a go go.


Mon Jul 20, 2015 4:49 am
Profile WWW
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am
Posts: 4772
Location: Good news everyone!
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Image

Space bears it is! But now we have another question, and one without a formal poll.

Image

Do we want to customize our bears, and give them unique traits? Or are they good as-is?


Mon Jul 20, 2015 5:00 am
Profile WWW
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am
Posts: 4772
Location: Good news everyone!
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Alright losers, since you don't know what you want, here's the customize screen.

Image

The name of a pick is on the left, with the cost to the right of it. Negative cost means we gain points for choosing it.

Here's the poll, with some information on each option.


Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:27 am
Profile WWW
Data Realms Elite
Data Realms Elite
User avatar

Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:00 pm
Posts: 4144
Location: Hell.
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Ugh. Stardrive.

A good game ruined by a terrible developer who ran out on the first game and weaselled his way out of the promises he made to the people who bought the game. I bought Stardrive 1 for the multiplayer that was promised inside both the Kickstarter and on the game's website, only for the dev to remove the references to both and never add it to the game.

♥♥♥♥ Stardrive with a ten foot pole, and ♥♥♥♥ its developer with the gamma ray burst of two neutron stars colliding.

Choose Corrupt and Lazy Workers, so that this civilization is the same as the game's developer.


Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:50 am
Profile WWW
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am
Posts: 4772
Location: Good news everyone!
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Yeah I love the game and the ship customization but the developer is really bad. Sort of like with Cortex Command, to be honest.

Luckily I dodged a bullet by not getting Stardrive 1, and instead getting Stardrive 2. The first one isn't even really playable. I'm so sorry you got ♥♥♥♥, man.

Good news is that the dev, Zero, doesn't want to make another 4x game. He instead wants to try and make a game centered around the ground combat system, which means there won't be a Stardrive 3. So hopefully that means he'll actually work on Stardrive 2 patches more in the future. Maybe. Shouldn't count on it. But it's still enjoyable.
(I only decided to pursue Stardrive 2 after watching a playthrough and investigating a lot about it. It's a problematic fave.)

If you want a similar space 4x game with lots of ship customization, a Galactic Civilization game is a safe choice. Wouldn't recommend buying Stardrive 2 to anyone unless they knew what they were getting into.


Mon Jul 20, 2015 7:24 am
Profile WWW
Data Realms Elite
Data Realms Elite
User avatar

Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:00 pm
Posts: 4144
Location: Hell.
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
CrazyMLC wrote:
Yeah I love the game and the ship customization but the developer is really bad. Sort of like with Cortex Command, to be honest.

Luckily I dodged a bullet by not getting Stardrive 1, and instead getting Stardrive 2. The first one isn't even really playable. I'm so sorry you got ♥♥♥♥, man.

Good news is that the dev, Zero, doesn't want to make another 4x game. He instead wants to try and make a game centered around the ground combat system, which means there won't be a Stardrive 3. So hopefully that means he'll actually work on Stardrive 2 patches more in the future. Maybe. Shouldn't count on it. But it's still enjoyable.
(I only decided to pursue Stardrive 2 after watching a playthrough and investigating a lot about it. It's a problematic fave.)

If you want a similar space 4x game with lots of ship customization, a Galactic Civilization game is a safe choice. Wouldn't recommend buying Stardrive 2 to anyone unless they knew what they were getting into.

I got in on Stardrive 1 long before there was any information about a Stardrive 2, sadly. It was the first time I let myself get carried away and preorder a game, and the last time I've ever allowed myself to get excited for a game's release. To make it worse, Steam wouldn't give me a refund since that wasn't their policy, then, so I got ripped off for a game that isn't even finished, yet alone work properly. The dev is easily worse than Data, since at least Data didn't scrap his game halfway through to switch to a turn based model and give everyone who bought the first game a ♥♥♥♥ coupon as consolation for the fact the game they bought would never be finished.

I honestly suggest to not believe a word Zero says, he promised a ton of stuff to the players of Stardrive 1, saying that the game would be finished and that the missing shiptypes (the Titans!) would actually be added...but they never were. I'm generally a positive and friendly person at all times, but if I did a review for Stardrive 1 or 2, I'd tear him a new one in it.

Anyway :p I'd recommend getting a refund an agricultural build, because they were unbalanced as ♥♥♥♥ a good way to get an extremely high population as quickly as possible, which directly translates into shipbuilding potential.

As for other 4x games, I'm a huge fan of this genre, but over the years it has gone into the gutter : Sword of the Stars II was even more broken than this game, though the dev's owned up to their problems and fixed it, so I have huge respect for those guys now (even if Paradox probably forced them to do so), Legends of Pegasus...jesus christ, I don't even know where to start about that game, but boy am I'm glad I pirated it before buying it, having learnt a lesson from Stardrive.

Man, even MoO3 wasn't this bad, and I've got that game on CD and it feels even more unbalanced than Stardrive, since I could spam indirect fire ships as the Meklar and just win every battle...and Space Empires V was brilliant but with a woeful UI that really, really hasn't aged well.

The 4x genre is pretty much cursed.


Mon Jul 20, 2015 7:54 am
Profile WWW
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am
Posts: 4772
Location: Good news everyone!
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Voting is still open! Only 5 responses so far, and it's very close between customizing and going pure bred space bear.


Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:44 am
Profile WWW
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am
Posts: 4772
Location: Good news everyone!
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Alright! The results are in.

Image

Here are the resulting picks, using data generated by the poll. (click spoiler to see interpreted response data)


Here are the descriptions of the chosen options:

Quote:
Peerless Spacefighters (Ship Attack)
With senses and reflexes bordering on precognition, accurate weapons fire results in a +50% bonus to ship Weapon Damage.
(6 point cost)

Rapid Breeders (Population)
Birth rates and life spans far above the galactic norm contribute to a 100% Growth Bonus.
(6 point cost)

Inspired Workers (Industry)
A Work is Life cultural attitude results in a bonus of +2 Production Per Worker.
(6 point cost)

Repulsive (Diplomacy)
Repulsive races are particularly poor at making friends due to their frightening countenances and odiferous humors. -25 to starting relations with every race.
(4 point bonus)

Reckless Polluters (Environmentalism)
Having absolutely no regard for the environment results in the production of an additional 25% Pollution, which affects production output.
(4 point bonus)

18/18 points used

Speak now, or forever hold your peace.


Wed Jul 22, 2015 12:22 am
Profile WWW
Data Realms Elite
Data Realms Elite
User avatar

Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:00 pm
Posts: 4144
Location: Hell.
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Find some way to get rid of that pollution modifier - there's no point in having such high production bonuses if we're going to lose a quarter of our output to pollution.


Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:51 am
Profile WWW
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am
Posts: 4772
Location: Good news everyone!
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Indeed, and I was going to leave it that way for giggles, but since you pointed it out, I think we can go ahead and replace it with -ship hp and -ground hp. Here we go!


Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:20 pm
Profile WWW
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am
Posts: 4772
Location: Good news everyone!
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Image

The penalties have been switched as to not gimp production, and here we are with our custom space bear race!

Will we survive the trials that our vast galaxy has to offer us? Will we thrive, and expand to the edge of space? Or will we shrivel and die, nothing but a speck of dust in a sharknado of emptiness.

Image

Our time is now.

And this is our solar system.

Image

It doesn't really have anything of interest, besides, of course, our home planet. Tor has 8 population, and no construction projects.

Image
Image

Currently, these are our options for what to build. We could also design a new ship, and build that instead, or simply focus on research for the time being.

Additionally, we started play with an exploration frigate and a colony ship!

Image

Where do we send these ships? We have two nearby red stars, and a blue star. Typically, red stars have planets with poor resources and fertility, and blue stars tend to have better resources available - but that's just general information. Anything could be around those red stars. We could even split up our ships if we wanted to, to scout the three as quickly as possible.

And, finally, we need to start a research project!

Image

Here are our available projects to choose from. Some give us new ship components, some give passive bonuses, and some are buildings we can produce to improve our colonies.


So, here are our questions.

  • What do you want to build with our homeworld, Tor?
  • Which star should your ships explore, in order to find a planet to colonize with your free colony ship?
  • Which project should you research?


Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:17 pm
Profile WWW
Data Realms Elite
Data Realms Elite
User avatar

Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:00 pm
Posts: 4144
Location: Hell.
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Split the fleet and send the colony ship to the coreward blue system, then send the scout to the rimward red one. Start construction of a second scout ship so that we might explore a little quicker, and start research on an improved research philosophy.

I actually prefer the way the research system was in Stardrive 1 over 2, as this one reminds me of MoO2 and a little of BOTF...and I don't mean that in a good way. From my experience, the Psilons always came to dominate MoO2 because of their research benefits.


Thu Jul 23, 2015 12:29 am
Profile WWW
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am
Posts: 4772
Location: Good news everyone!
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Additionally, we can rename our homeworld! First one to reply gets to decide the name.


Thu Jul 23, 2015 10:41 pm
Profile WWW
Loose Canon
User avatar

Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:07 pm
Posts: 2992
Location: --------------->
Reply with quote
Post Re: Let's vote in Stardrive 2!
Neo Bearistan.


Thu Jul 23, 2015 10:45 pm
Profile WWW
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic   [ 20 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group.
Designed by STSoftware for PTF.
[ Time : 0.169s | 16 Queries | GZIP : Off ]