Not excited...... not one bit

[Dale]

I posted it 3 times, in the 2 places I frequent most, and the 1 place I thought this game would get the most traction.

In terms of excitement, I've posted this one thread 3 times, and at WPC in the announcement thread a couple times to say "SMAC2 eh?", "1upt?  Failed already".

That doesn't sound excited to me.  If anything, it's curiosity until I found out about 1upt.

[Buster's Uncle]

Okydoke.  Your support is appreciated.

[BlaneckW]

Maybe there is more ideologies and such they haven't properly explained or told us about that will be incorporated into the game, rather then just James Cameron Avatar version of  and a more militaristic  or the [progeny of unmarried parents] child of  and  .

No.  They knew what they were doing.  They're going for an audience that doesn't need a social engineering aspect to the game, and in all probably it doesn't have one.  I doubt it even has a tech tree other than as an accessory to the affinities mini-game and the military.  Otherwise they would have talked about "all the cool stuff in it" like AOW3 did in previewing it's class-specific spells.  And they did.  They talked about gleaming robots and mind worms, and that's what you're going to get.

I have my skepticism as much as anyone else, but I'll at least give it the chance of "I'll wait and see." Least my thoughts on subject.

If you want a good response, give a good preview.  Not all this babble about how sci-fi themed it is.  I'm not five years old.  Would it scare off the five year olds to give, say, a seperate preview/interview that does not cater to five year olds?  If they can't give an interview that doesn't cater to five year olds it's because they don't have one to give. 

Now if I'm wrong on these points, it is because they are very stupid, and not me - can't imagine how people who aren't simpletons will react.  So get on ye nerdy website where you won't scare the five year olds and talk about things other than mind worms.

[Green1]

At urging... my 2 EC...

I, unfortunately, will have to agree with Dale on some points. BE is not going to be Alpha Centauri : Alien Crossfire HD edition. I think it sounds more like the descriptions I have read about Pandora : First Contact. From what I have read, Pandora lacks the diplomacy game of SMAX and is much more wargamerish with little for builder types or diplo gamers. Not that a villain like me cares for such petty things due to my playstyle, but if everyone is aggressive, being an aggressor is not as special.

That said, some of these features in BE I have read about sound like what I would do if I designed an Alpha Centauri 2. Being able to choose your starting expedition and the addition of a complete orbital layer sounds like the right thing to do.

Do not let 1upt make you cringe. Yoyu are only cringing due to Civ Vs poor implementation. If AI is improved and can handle it, it will be a much better experience than building stacks of death. 1UPT is actually much older than SoD. Panzer General, as previously mentioned, had it along with many other earlier classic war games.

Till then, I am having a blast with Age of Wonders 3. Apologize about my ducking out, but it needed to be done. Now that life has stabilized a bit, me and my alter egos on other forums will be more verbose.

peace

[Green1]

Oh... and one more thing.

this is a Firaxis title. Most of these titles are fairly moddable.

You know the feelings towards Alpha Centauri and the legions of modders  on Civ Fanatics who will JUMP on adding our friends Miriam, Zak, and crew....

take this as you may.....

[BlaneckW]

Do not let 1upt make you cringe. Yoyu are only cringing due to Civ Vs poor implementation. If AI is improved and can handle it, it will be a much better experience than building stacks of death.

I never had stacks of death in Alpha Centauri.  Artillery makes it a poor idea in Alpha Centauri.  If you lose one unit in Alpha Centauri, it can effect the health of others, so you make limited use of stacking.

[Green1]

Do not let 1upt make you cringe. Yoyu are only cringing due to Civ Vs poor implementation. If AI is improved and can handle it, it will be a much better experience than building stacks of death.

I never had stacks of death in Alpha Centauri.  Artillery makes it a poor idea in Alpha Centauri.  If you lose one unit in Alpha Centauri, it can effect the health of others, so you make limited use of stacking.

Very underutilized by many gamers, too. The artillery-as-SOD-destroyer carried even over in the Civ series till Civ 4, which was the last to use stacked units.

Still,  may be in the minority but I kind of welcome this move towards 1UPT. It reminds me of the old tactics battles I had when I was a kid. Now, if only they could come with an AI capable of handling it and a strategic map with more hexes on it so as not to get bogged down. I think you should be able to fit more than one battalion of infantry on a hex that represents 100 kilometers or more. Make each hex represent less kilometers.

[Yitzi]

Personally, my main reason for not being all that excited is that while the purity/supremacy/harmony triad is interesting, it's not enough to make for a true successor to SMAC.    isn't just about harmony with Planet; it fits in with, and is motivated by, her peaceful personality and concern for others (which is why, when the time comes, she is fully willing to interfere with nature and leave humanity's mark on this once-pristine world in order to save Planet from itself.)  BE may do the tactical aspect well, and it may do it poorly, but I don't think it can do as well as SMAC where the latter shines brightest.

[Green1]

Personally, my main reason for not being all that excited is that while the purity/supremacy/harmony triad is interesting, it's not enough to make for a true successor to SMAC.    isn't just about harmony with Planet; it fits in with, and is motivated by, her peaceful personality and concern for others (which is why, when the time comes, she is fully willing to interfere with nature and leave humanity's mark on this once-pristine world in order to save Planet from itself.)  BE may do the tactical aspect well, and it may do it poorly, but I don't think it can do as well as SMAC where the latter shines brightest.

There is ONE hope, though, Yitzi and reason your interest should at least be tweaked. Unlike Pandora, Beyond Earth is a Firaxis game. Now, I am no fanboy, but I do notice things. Most Firaxis games with the exception of some of the console offerings have a huge fan base and tend to be very moddable. Many titles continue to be modded or forked for years. You yourself are a testament to this fact. For better or for worse, most 4x titles by other development houses with a few notable exceptions become lost and eventually abandonware after a decade.

Someone or an entire group of folks is going to mod in SMAX concepts in a way that will make the Civ 4:Planetfall mod look like a Commodore 64 game in comparison. This mod will be the "Fall from Haven" of BE if done right. Folks will play.

And, unlike  mod for an aging game, you will have decent MP support instead of slow PBEM riddled with bugs, a LARGE user base, and more modern tools that allow fro really good LPs and AARs.

But.. I also think the tactical aspects AND AI will make or break this game and are not to be ignored. Unlike Pandora, I also think the empire building aspect is pretty much mandatory in a Firaxis title as that is what the consumer expects.

[Yitzi]

There is ONE hope, though, Yitzi and reason your interest should at least be tweaked. Unlike Pandora, Beyond Earth is a Firaxis game. Now, I am no fanboy, but I do notice things. Most Firaxis games with the exception of some of the console offerings have a huge fan base and tend to be very moddable. Many titles continue to be modded or forked for years. You yourself are a testament to this fact. For better or for worse, most 4x titles by other development houses with a few notable exceptions become lost and eventually abandonware after a decade.

Someone or an entire group of folks is going to mod in SMAX concepts in a way that will make the Civ 4:Planetfall mod look like a Commodore 64 game in comparison. This mod will be the "Fall from Haven" of BE if done right. Folks will play.

Yes, modding probably could be used to make that work...at least if the game allows factions in more detail than just the basic triad.

But.. I also think the tactical aspects AND AI will make or break this game and are not to be ignored. Unlike Pandora, I also think the empire building aspect is pretty much mandatory in a Firaxis title as that is what the consumer expects.

True; part of what makes SMAC/X so good is that it combines strong gameplay with a good theme/narrative.

[Dale]

I'm going to take the "wait and see" position.

Whilst I'm motivated enough about the game to be curious, I'm not at the level I'm chasing information about it.  I very much doubt I'll be motivated to pre-order, or chase a alpha/beta position, or even day 1 it.  I'm going to wait to see what a few trusted people say about the game, then weigh up my options then.

After Civ5, I'm doubtful of the mods too.  Civ5 made it too easy to make a mod, and the quality got lost in the chaff because of it.

[Buster's Uncle]

Yah; I'm not really the market for anything being a practicing miser and not having enough time to play AC as it is, so not personally interested in BE in the first place, but wait-and-see seems wisest, and we'll certainly build it in hopes they come (and chat), with our enthusiastic support.

[BlaneckW]

I'm not at the level I'm chasing information about it.

That's good, there isn't any being given.

[Spaced Cowboy]

Totally agree with Dale on the 1UPT.

Still playing CIV4 as a result.

Just discovered some really cool mods for 4.

[Buster's Uncle]

Where?  Link(s)?