a game that combines RTS with FPS

[Ari Rahikkala]

Originally posted by Kassiopeia
I could swear there was a mod like this for Half-Life. It had aliens as the other faction, I think.

Methinks you're referring to Natural Selection.

[Kassiopeia]

That's the one.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Solver
How come I hadn't heard of this? The HL2 mod scene is definitely impressive. Unfortunately, there are very few mods worth it for singleplayer, but if it's like a Starcraft/BF2 cross, I like it.

Sava, what about the team factor of the gameplay? You say it's team oriented, but in reality, so is Battlefield 2, only on public servers you typically see near-zero teamwork. Is this any better here?

BTW, as far as Steam goes, I am still opposed to it. I am no longer vehemently hating it, but I'd still rather not have it - there are too many things I would want changed about the implementation of it.

Because this mod just came out, the people who play it... the fan base... is relatively small, but extremely devoted. This means servers are usually full or near full, and people know how to play the game.

In fact, I've been the one who is "the noob" pretty much...

Not in terms of actual FPS skill... but in how to play this game, because of the RTS dynamic.

There is a lot of teamwork involved. In fact, the way the rank system works, you basically have to join a squad and work together in order to get rank points... which allow you to upgrade your character. Upgrades are very powerful, so if you don't work together, you will get nowhere in this game.

Also... the engineer class is very powerful... not the individual weapons, but because even though the commander "places" the buildings, the engineers actually build them. So in the beginning of the round, just about everyone is an engineer, building the buildings for the commander... expanding the base, etc.

The commander can also only place buildings in the "zone of control" which is around the base, or around other friendly players. So it's up to the commander and team to move to areas to expand.

On the servers I've been on, people do work together. It's very fun. I've been playing this mod more than 6 hours a day every day since I've downloaded it.

The complaints I have with it thus far are bug related and not player related, but that's to be expected since it's Beta 1 and just came out March 4th.

Supposedly, there is an update coming out very soon... today... or within the next few days.

The bugs that are problematic are not major, but are things like when there are too many vehicles, the game can lag... but it doesn't happen often. Only in later stages of the game. And when people abandon vehicles. People are aware of this, and so vehicles get destroyed and the commander also can restrict vehicle construction to prevent this.

The other "bug" I've seen is there is a limit on the number of buildings that can be built. But I've only seen this limit reached when the commander builds too many automated turrets. One time this happened was when I was the commander. I had our base well defended and wasn't aware of the limit. To my defense, I was stoned and a bit paranoid of our base getting penetrated. So I might have gone a little crazy with turrets. Plus, I had a lot of resources at my disposal.

I think I crashed the server.

But overall, the developers are addressing issues. They have forums that they read and respond to... which is good... and they even play on one of the official servers.

This mod is great and I hope it continues to grow and get updated.

[Solver]

Sound very cool. I'm definitely going to give it a try the next time I'm in a mood for some online kick-ass action (as in getting my ass kicked).

[Solver]

You know, this got me thinking that perhaps it's good that it's a mod and thus not widespread as, say, Battlefield 2. Thinking of Battlefield 2 (which I do own and play periodically), I would say immediately that the biggest problem of it now is that most people are not playing the game the way it was intended to be played.

Empires has some ideas vaguely similar to BF2, like the commander stuff, but because this game has less exposure, it's far more likely that the people will actually play it the way they're supposed to. Of course, the architecture of the game also seems to encourage that.

At this point, who knows... this might become the next Counter-Strike.

[Sava]

There are always going to be asshats. Nothing you can do about that.

The thing is, you just have to find good servers with lots of regs that like to play the game the way it was meant to be played.

Even with Counter-Strike, I have a lot of servers I play at where people actually do play like a team and focus on objectives and stuff. The other thing is, I usually play with some buddies of mine on a LAN, so we get on a team together, then join a server. With that, we've already got like 3 or 4 of us playing together... then we only need maybe 1 or 2 other people to help us out, and you have a very effective team right there. Especially on a 20 person server. We almost are always the dominating force on the server.

I'm trying to get my friends hooked on Empires... so far, so good.

I can only imagine how awesome it's going to be when we are all on the same team in that game... working together... maybe with one of us as the commander.

Also, Solver, you have HL2/Steam right? We should play some time... get on the same server.

And if there are other Poly Tubbies who want to get into this game, if you want to, you can add me to your Friends list on Steam so we can play Empires (or other Steam games).

That way, you know there is someone who is going to be working together with you.

Sometimes... even just a few people working together can make a difference. Even other people on the team can see us working together and will want to be a part of that. I've taken charge of teams like that before. When they see teamwork having a positive effect, and the team is having success... people tend to listen and follow.

[Solver]

I've been lucky to be on good teamwork servers, yes - especially in BF2, and it was a completely different experience. In CS I've not experienced it as much, but then again, I have played very little CS.

Maybe it's a bit of a problem that I am really a casual gamer when it comes to online FPS games. I fire them up once in a while when I feel like it, I don't religiously play them or play them on a schedule. So I usually end up on random servers and don't get to know which are the ones with a core group of regs frequenting them.

I've had HL2 since the day it was out... I don't think I've looked forward to any other game more. Civ4 would have been the one, but the circumstances (fortunately) were different. But are you saying that the Steam Friends system is fixed? As far as I'm aware it never worked .

At least I wouldn't mind giving you a chance to kick my ass . I'm honestly one of the most dreadful online FPS players you could imagine.

What's the respawn system on this, BTW? Like BF2 where you can spawn at one of a few locations some time after you're dead?

OK, of course downloading the mod took me whole of an almost 9 minutes . I'll boot it up when I get the chance. I also like the fact that it's definitely going to have far better performance than BF2, Source engine works great for me .

[Sava]

Respawn is like BF2... you select a spawn point, a class, then left click to spawn. After you die, you have 10 seconds, then you can spawn again...

The thing about this mod though, FPS skill is less of a factor... meaning, strategic and tactical skill can make you more important to your team than being a good "grunt".

Let the people good at being rifleman go and do their thing... you focus on what you are good at.

The other thing about this game is, the guns are not accurate while you are running around. So you can run around, strafe like mad, and expect to hit anything. You pretty much have to stop and duck to hit anything. And most engagements between players (not in vehicles) take place at mid to long range. So if you are a rifleman, pick the heavy machine gun, load up on ammo. Pick out a good spot where you can duck, hide behind cover if need be... maybe retreat to refill ammo and health if you need to. And just wait for guys.

Otherwise, be an engineer, build stuff, support your team. Or be a grenadier and take out vehicles. The mortar is a very power weapon that I have a great appreciation for. I don't see many people using it... probably because most people are unable to use it effectively. But it is awesome. You can bombard targets from long range. But it is tricky to aim at first. Although once you get a hang of it, a grenadier with full ammo can devastate an enemy base all by himself. The trick is, getting within range.

Scouts are great too. The sniper rifle takes 2 shots to kill. So it's not a dominating weapon. Although when you get killed, you can't tell from where. Scouts also have a "hide" skill. You can be standing right next to a scout and they can be hidden.

Though scouts can also call in artillery barrages, although another player actually does the arty. I'm not sure how that works. I have to play that class more to know how to do it. I have not played the scout yet at all. I am still learning the other classes before attempting to play that one.

So far, the way I have the most success is by being an engineer in the beginning... building up rank points by building things. Then, when you begin to encounter the enemy, I usually am a grenadier and I go after enemy buildings. If you can take out refineries, you can disrupt things enormously for the enemy... usually the enemy commander is too busy to notice the ref's were destroyed to build new ones right away. Then, by the time he notices, his resources are gone, and his team can't build vehicles and stuff. Then, by the time he gets his team back on track, your team has the upper hand, and it is just a matter of time before your team wins the round.

All because I killed a couple of refineries.

One soldier can make a difference in this game. And teamwork can overcome it.

There are also so many different ways to win.

I think that's why I like this game. It's so dynamic. No two rounds turn out the same. Some last 2 minutes... some may last 2 hours.

[fed1943]

Funny,the piture looks like Dune II.
Best regards,

[DrSpike]

Hehe, not if you played it on the Amiga as I did.

[Adagio]

Dune 2?



I'm not sure how the picture of this mod looks like Dune 2

[DrSpike]

That's more like it.

[Sava]

The graphics on this game are a little better than that.

[Kassiopeia]

If by "better" you mean "flashier", then yes.

[Verto]

Sounds like the original concept for Halo.