RE: Impressions? Preparing to purchase.

from Sins Forums
Hello:

I am an avid RTS fan planning on switching from Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance to this game after purchasing it tomorrow. I have a few questions that I would appreciate some answers to. My questions are fairly simple:

1. How is the game overall (e.g., user interface, fun factor etc).
2. Do the races seem to be balanced/unique?
3. How is the learning curve? One of my favorite aspects of Sup Com is the sheer amount of attention require to improve, but the fact that a noob could still have fun.

I am really hopeful that this game is as great as it seems to be, and I thank you guys for taking the time to read this.



23,196 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
1) I'm a bit biased being a long time beta tester, but the interface is very clean, pretty, and easy to use. One of the key points about the UI I always advertise is that you don't need to learn 50 different hotkeys, everything is keyed to their icon positions (so all the special abilities of your capital ships are QWER, if that makes any sense).

2) The races have the same basic gameplay component in that they gather resources the same way, use the same basic buildings (but not all! All races have some very unique buildings). All races have unique tech trees with only a few basic shared techs (planet colonization, shields/armor, for example). A lot of units serve similar basic roles, but pretty much every unit has a special ability of some sort that makes it stand out. (On that note, every ability has autocast, so you only need to micromanage as much as you want to)

3) Since the bare basics are the same, anyone can jump in and have fun. But as the races play out (and you research the higher tier techs) the gameplay dynamics change quite drastically between races. There are many interesting unit synergies for advanced players to discover, and many cool toys to play with.

I hope that helps a bit!
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
1. its damn fun , a bit of a learning curve , but you'll figure it out in about 30 min.
2. all seems very balanced, superweapons might need a looking at, but they are very very late game, if you can even get to them at all ( 2-3 hrs deep )
3. after you get the basics its all about knowing where to keep your fleets , where to attack, where to defend, and what to research and when, and also make sure to keep the pirates attacking your enemy and not you!
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
Absolutely buy this game! That's all I can say.....


One question back at you though?


2. Do the races seem to be balanced/unique?
End of quote



I can't seem to wrap my head around your question? How can something be both "balanced" (meaning no advantages either way) and "unique"?  :NOTSURE:


Anyway, I digress.....

buy, buy, and buy this game. Yes I know, I'm a terrible "reviewer".....hehe what can I say, I'm a "network geek".  :LOL: 


the Monk
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
These answers are precisely what I was hoping for. Thanks a lot.

And to the Monk, I was basically just wondering whether the races were carbon copies of each other or if they played differently. And I meant "balanced" in terms of how to took it.

As an enormous fan of both RTS and space, I am beyond excited to sit down and play this game for ridiculous amounts of time - as long as I don't fail myself out of law school haha.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
They can be balanced and unique in regards to each team having completely different units but neither team has a unit which is undeniably better thus causing an imbalance.
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
WuRkt, I also play(ed) SC:FA and this game is very fun. Kinda apples and oranges imo though. I like to develop new territory and this game allows it. I feel SC:FA definitely has it's merit but this game is much more deeper. If you ever played GalCiv then this is the RTS version.

SC:FA hasn't been out that long. Are you just looking for another game to play?

X
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
The one thing I have noticed is the mass of options in the UI. This is one feature you don't see much of in other games :)

It is a learning curve, but you should be able to get a hang of it once you play enough of it ;)

Cheers,

FrznMD.
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
It's the best UI in any RTS game ever. Period. And the gameplay is immersing and fun. Played as the Advent first time through and they really feel different from the others. The tutorials were short and sweet, too. Just enough to get you into the game so you wouldn't be lost. 7 and a half hours later... I'm taking a break to check in here and grab some food. Then it's back to purging some "Greedy Heathens"!
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
There are quite a few pretty unique UI elements to Sins. The Empire Tree is something that really doesn't show up in RTS games!
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
yeah, I really love the empire tree. That's an amazing innovation. I also really dig how research is set up - both on the trees and in terms of research labs. For some reason it just clicks. And the way the camera works lets you get in nice and tight on the badass action. All while a very sexy sounding female fanatic advisor gives me updates. Ahh, I love the little elements of polish. Great game. Can recommend it without question.
Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top
Xkik:

I absolutely love FA, don't get me wrong, but the thought of playing a great RTS game set in space makes me really really happy. If this game is even deeper than FA, then... :) It just sounds and looks amazing.

Everyone else, thanks for your answers! The Empire Tree sounds really cool, too.

Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
I've only played the game for a few hours, so can't really comment that much on game balance, AI, replayability and the like.

One thing I noticed right away is that the UI is extremely well done. Big improvement compared to 4X/RTS games that plays like clickfests or spreadsheets.