What is this piece of CRAP.....! - Page 4

Mehrunes · #31 October 13th, 2003, 05:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jpowell:
It is pretty clear from many of the Posts that the game's lack-luster graphics and arcade physics limit many players' suspension of disbelief.

Works well enough for Star Control I/II/III, Escape Velocity/Override/Nova, Starfleet Command I/II/III, Starflight I/II, Darkspace, etc...

[ October 13, 2003, 04:18: Message edited by: Mehrunes ]

Pulaski · #32 October 13th, 2003, 02:32 PM

Uh jpowell, You say SE IV is the premire 4x game and SESF is lame, maybe we have to compare SESF to SE I or II.
Don't get me wrong, I still think it's boring as is but I KNOW it will be amazing based on MM's record. Should I have waited to buy it? Maybe, but I prefer to support the developer.

Although I'm still waiting for the refund on my 2nd day air shipping on the pre-order... thought I didn't notice I paid 11 bucks for 3 dollars of postage? Basically, I paid full price for pre-ordering and waiting for several extra months.

Fyron · #33 October 13th, 2003, 10:10 PM

If the game got to you 2 days from when it shipped, you paid the correct amount. The order was not "it will be here 2 days from the order", it was "it will be here 2 days after shipped, after the game is released).

TerranC · #34 October 13th, 2003, 10:27 PM

- Judging from the demo, the game isn't very stable. My system is far above the minimums, but it crashed every session.

So is mine. 2.6 ghz Intel pentium 4 processor, 80GB Hard disk, NVidia GeForce4 5600 356Mhz, 1024 MB of RAM, with Windows 2000 Professional. I'd consider that far above the minimums, and it sure as heck doesn't crash on mine.

- The ship you start with is a destroyer, but the game mechanics were that of a fighter. I never felt I was in charge of a crew and substantial vessel. Larger ships were somewhat better, but the game didn't simulate the experience of captaining a capital ship.

You can always mod the effect.

- Size relationships were way off. Planets looked like beach balls, even close up. Other than the distance "gauge", you couldn't tell how close you were to a celestial body until you impacted.

Size relationships are way off in any space game; show me one game that ever got it right.

- There are much better tactical space games on the market. You want tactics, great graphics, modability and 3D movement? Try any of the Homeworld games.

Homeworld is not a tactical game; it's an RTS. Starflet command is a better example; but then again, when you compare Starfleet command with Starfury, there isn't much to compare.

And Modding Homeworld is a *****.

Mehrunes · #35 October 13th, 2003, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TerranC:
Size relationships are way off in any space game; show me one game that ever got it right.

Umm, Elite/Frontier/FFE, I-War 1/2, Starshatter, and (dare I mention it) Battlecruiser 3000 A.D. are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

I think I-War 1 and 2 were the only games that actually have been published to be realistic and still have enjoyable combat. Not counting sequels, Starshatter might be #2 on that list (assuming milo ever releases it

).

milo · #36 October 13th, 2003, 11:50 PM

@Mehrunes: Oh, stop picking on me.

I think Terminus was meant to use realistic astronomical proportion as well. And possibly EVE.

PvK · #37 October 14th, 2003, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TerranC:

quote:

- The ship you start with is a destroyer, but the game mechanics were that of a fighter. I never felt I was in charge of a crew and substantial vessel. Larger ships were somewhat better, but the game didn't simulate the experience of captaining a capital ship.

You can always mod the effect.

I'm really not convinced "the experience of captaining a capital ship" can be modded very well in this game system. The patch to add 1/8 time scale will help somewhat, but it's still possible to crash your ship into planets and other objects because you were looking the wrong way, and in general the feel is that the player has no help at all from the crew - you have to do everything manually without so much as an "Um, captain, we're being attacked from a direction you aren't looking at the moment."

Quote:

quote:
- Size relationships were way off. Planets looked like beach balls, even close up. Other than the distance "gauge", you couldn't tell how close you were to a celestial body until you impacted.

Size relationships are way off in any space game; show me one game that ever got it right.

The I-War series did a rather good job. Omnitrend's Universe back in the 1980's even had realistic gravity effects.

Moreover, Star Fury doesn't even seem to try to get scale right at all, when ships and planets are nearly the same size, and it's taken literally, with ships actually in danger of collision (or accidental weapon hits) when they should be hundreds of kilometers apart, and their weapon arcs and ranges actually measured as if they were planet-sized ships. Meanwhile, due to the decision to use one-scale-fits-all for both combat and long-range movement, simply spending a few seconds admiring the view from different directions causes your ship to be in danger of surprise attack or navigational error for days or months of game time.

I'm not saying these are incompetant game decisions. Star Fury can be a lot of fun and many players don't notice or care about these things. However some of us do, and it doesn't make sense to say they don't exist, or to say all other games are the same way.

PvK

[ October 13, 2003, 23:17: Message edited by: PvK ]

Krsqk · #38 October 14th, 2003, 01:45 AM

I think it is a difficult job to merge the third-person viewpoint (so you can see all the action) with the first-person/captain's-chair feel. Captaining, by nature, limits the action portion--you give the orders and you see on your readouts what action has been taken; but it's more of a "follow-the-numbers-on-the-pretty-screen" sort of job. There just isn't much direct interaction with the different systems.

That said, it would be nice to receive status reports from each area: "APB 1 down, sir!" "Engine power down to 75%." "Port shields completely recharged." "Torpedo incoming on vector 215!" and so on. The trick would be to have enough helpful Messages, but not to overdo it in stressful times (for instance, WP ambushes). I really don't want to know if I'm being tracked by 15 IPMs.

Atrocities · #39 October 14th, 2003, 03:09 AM

I like the game.

NutButter · #40 October 15th, 2003, 11:44 PM

I loved SE4. The graphics were fair but the game is the best in its class if strategy and tactics are what you are looking for.

Starfury is just too prehistoric for me. The graphics are way under par with today's programming and hardware capabilities. Nice attempt, but not good enough.

Too many responses to critics of this game rely on the modders. Who thinks their will be a huge modding community, anyway? Sure, their will be some, but at the SE4 level? Will it take 2 or 3 generations of improvements to get the modders motivated? And why does the modding community make it a better game? Shouldn't it come out of the gates a winner and then move to excellency (uhum, SE4)? Cow dung will look and smell like cow dung. I'm not going to wait for a bunch of chemists to change its aroma or appearance before its acceptable to me - it never will be! Starfury isn't cow dung, but I think you get the point.

SE4 was genious - Starfury has that ambition, but lacks severely. But even without comparison, it desperately lacks good gameplay on its own.

Thanks to this forum, I avoided the purchase and went with Freelancer. Not only did I save a few bucks, but am having a great time playing the game. The graphics are a feast to the eyes and the gameplay is simple and fun. Though not as complex as SE4 (and a different genre altogether), it works for me.