GC2 Fun Factors

[Hydro]

A game can have many ways to hook a player, but for me the key is the fun-factor that is a balance of game mechanics, strategic options, and a nebulous ‘feel’. For me GC2 succeeds by offering a non-linear way of playing and real strategic options. Moreover, a couple of items of GC2 are surprisingly fun.

1. Viewing combat. I don’t miss not having control of tactical combat since, as Stardock has mentioned, it is a primary way to cheese the system. Viewing combat in Chase mode and other modes is fascinating. You can watch each hit be deflected (from specific hardpoints, no less), a hit get through, and see explosions and hits all around you. This is particularly intense in larger battles and boatloads of fun (if you’ll excuse the pun). Very nicely done.

2. Good vs evil. GC2 doesn’t have near the atmosphere of my other favorite game (SMAX), but the good vs evil choices do make each empire take a stand. This does aid in role-playing, which for me is part-and-parcel of a game I’ll play long term. The AI does respond to you based on their inclinations, which is nice. The text with the choices still makes me smile, too: “Ah, slaves. You can never have too many slaves…”. My only wish is that there were more variety in these little ditties, or perhaps an occasional reward for making the good choice! I wasn’t sure that there was much penalty to being Evil (I’ve been experimenting with Korx), but then Council eliminated all but three of my trade routes! For the Korx that is a big deal (with 3 extra trade routs as one of our racial abilities and a 25% trade bonus). Grrrr!

3. Clean interface. After a short effort to get up to speed I’ve found that there is lots of data to understand what is going on, which is huge after the opacity of games like Moo3. Moving around is easy, and the display crisp. There are even nice details no matter how much you zoom in.

4. Ship builder. Originally I thought this was eye candy, but it is a sub-game unto itself. Much of it can be automated (the auto-place function of components with double clicking is nifty and it generally works just fine), but there are endless opportunities for customization. But beyond honing your ships to meet the needs of an empire there is aesthetics. I’ve seen some of the creations at the Stardock forums, and the BG2 and Start Trek creations are breathtaking. Some folks have real talent, and a lot of time on their hands! Moreover, it all works fairly seamlessly and intuitively.

I’ll be even more curious to see how this changes with GC2A.

Hydro

[Solver]

Have to agree. I love viewing combat and the ship builder. These are largely useless functions, being aesthetic in nature, but they add a good amount of fun to the game for me. With the ship builder, it's the sci-fi fan in me, probably. I saw some awesome designs that people create for hours. I don't have that kind of skill, but I really like how even with 5 minutes in the shipyard you can create a fairly distinct looking ship.

Good vs. evil is also great. I still find that Evil is a bit too advantageous (friendship with Drengin or Korx, which are usually powerful AIs, free starbase upgrades and benefits from all the evil event choices), but it's fun. It contributes to the atmosphere and to the feeling that those leaders have an agenda. SMAX does indeed have superior atmosphere, but it's something I don't even expect any other TBS to repeat.

[tetley]

I think it's neutral that has historically been too advantageous, but that has improved in DA. Good has nice diplomatic bonuses, and you really need that in Suicidal. Plus you've got that zero maintenance on your five biggest colonies. Man, talk about a reason to research Xeno Ethics early.

Does evil waive the up-front cost for starbases, too? In other words, do I still have to pay the 1200bc up-front fee for constructing my fifth economic starbase? Or does the evil bonus only apply to the add-on modules?

[Solver]

The evil bonus only applies to added modules, but it's huge for, say, cultural starbases,which cost a lot in modules. Of course, that also makes the starbase attack and ship assist modules free.