Review scores sell or sack games, it doesn't make games better. Instead mod community's are them who make games great!
Is it taken into consideration??
ALL games on release date under a certain deadline fails on initial launch. And they have BIG budget teams behind them to do the dirty work. Make a game bug-free....uch!
To say the least a game actually comes through beta testing since the lack of good testers shoves a developer off with FTP type of players who THINK they can beta test......
Let me tell u this from my own experience in the gaming field since the early 80's!
This game has enormous potential to evolve into a great gold label once the hicks and honks are cleared. I can not agree with some of U who start running their mouths on judging such artwork with over-negative or over-positive type of views. It won't stimulate nor degrade any sale. It just makes a total fool out of yourself. To me it is plain transparent how trowing mud escalated into a reviewers/developers debate on several sites!
The things accomplished with this?
Making consumers confused into either rejecting or buying this game. Making them already hate it before given a fair chance. (A FTP demo version perhaps would be the trick here) The trustworthiness of reviews on these game websites will go down with the lies, trust me. I seen it happen allot before.
In the end it is mostly bullshit from both the over-positive and over-negative point of views.
Yet, to settle down with a score-table and buying or not buying the game on this ?(END)score? is just as idiotic as thinking loyalty comes for free nowadays.
It doesn't work like that. So talk all u want, as if N/P comments matter at all.
A Veteran gamer knows better then to let others flawed and brutal opinion be shoved up their sleeves.
Save it!
Imperium Galactica 2: had two followups.
Heagemonia: did quite well yet didn't live up to the fans expectations in the end.
Nexus: The Jupiter Incident which supposed to be Imperium Galactica 3 but the game got a makeover and turned out in a scripted story line type of game play with a strong story and good strategic combat but this was fleet type of gameplay only, not a Empire building type which Imperium Galactica 2 presented.
Then came Sins of a Solar Empire which can not be categorized as a full 4x space empire game because it lacks micromanagement which is a trade of for multiplayer purposes and gameplay speed.
Galactic Civilization 2 is a good turn based 4x game from stardock with a lot to go for but lacks realtime gameplay.
Space empires V could have been much better if only the graphics engine written for bitmap support didn't lag so much, but it's still a good 4x type which has realtime combat and a huge techtree.
In the end, with the right mods installed, a potential good game can transfer into a great game and this is the strong point of StarDrive.
Don't blame the developers on consumers demands and producers deadlines. Cherish them for trying to be as fast and quality focused as they can.
StarDrive has the capacity to be much better with huge flexibility.
I only wish the ground combat & planet could be redone because this is something that should have been a strong point just like it was with IG2.
Modders will ad more versatile planetarium eye-candy, ship styles & races, backgrounds and Science Fiction/Facts!
Wormholes, physical usable stars, super massive black holes which make star systems swirl around its center, pulsars, quasars, space monsters, more artifacts which need to be reverse engineered before usage, higher grade of immersion through cam usage and possible first person view from a ship u can control. ( a unique feature in this game, assuming direct control of any ship in your flotilla) This feature needs to be exploited to reach certain locations in a galaxy. Astroid caverns, planet ruins and dwellings. And a 3th person isometric exploration type of away team mission to investigate anomalies (star trek style). Single Player only.
This all bound with a intriguing scripted campaign for all races.
It definitely needs Multiplayer support and the skirmish setup should have the possibility for bigger universes which means; more exploring and mysteries to uncover.
The random scripted factor which pops up every now and then also needs more interesting events. It also needs victory conditions. Timed score, technology endgame, diplomatic achievement, Cultural Value, Dominance in the galaxy and Conquest. Or a master mode in which u need 3 of the mentioned victory conditions.There has to be more trade option so diplomatic values become more important to keep a hold on strategic resources that u can't get your hands on through simple conquest. Maintenance and happiness should have a greater factor so careful expansion is in place. The user interface needs an overhaul so u have can have faster control over your empire by seeing the correct information without scaling through UI screens to much. Re-balancing, bigger tech-tree, realistic game speed settings and star distances. (heavy mods)
All the things mentioned should be welded into a 2.0 GOLD release with some form of "free expansion" added to it and this game will be King of the 4x genre for the time being. Unless some other 4x game is in the making which i do not know off at the time being.
((Star Citizen isn't going to be a 4x type, just to remind U))
My conclusion,
If u are into modding and love the 4x genre with a real-time/(turn-based) hybrid type of game-play, like to fool around with XML settings and help developing this game into a gold mod state without the need to earn money for it. Then this will be your cup of tea per definition!
If u are a complaining type of player who wants to have everything handed out to him/her on a gold platter, win every game on hard setting with the least of effort into learning the game.
Then by all means, do not even consider a 4x strategy game let alone stand a grand strategy game. Go play doom or something, "kill kill kill" that's the motto.
For a 4x Space Empire building game it's "Think think think" before u act.
So would a score to this review be of any use?
My verdict handed out the present state of the game and what needs to be done to finish it.
If u already have the game, try out the "Techmod". It's around 10mb download. Be sure to adjust your localization folder into it's right location because usually this is messed up and makes the game crash if u try to load the mod. (language, patch issue, steam crap) Participate in the forums so you can polish up your game for the time being. And try out different modification to your liking. There is a serious mod community for StarDrive.
Personally I just remade the Sol system which is now bug-free and bigger then the vanilla version. It now contains, Uranus (ice planet, habitable) Neptune with rings, Pluto (habitable) & The Kuiper belt. Much more to do before my mod will be released, it just takes allot of time, that's all. So by all means, have some patience please.
Cheers & i wish everyone a good Sci Fi/fact RTS 4x eXperience