SEIV Fans Please Read

[Tenryu]

SE4 is always the first "fun" program I install on any computer I'm going to be using. Whenever I travel for either business or pleasure it is on my laptop HD. I always wind up playing it. Other games come and go but SE4 remains fun.

[FadingSuns]

This is the only game that has never been removed from my harddrive, has a shortcut on my desktop and an archive in "work" drive. Other games usually never stay on my computer long enough for me to start moving files around to accomodate them. I'll install them where I can easily remove them when I finish the game, or get bored with it (guess which happens first..)
This game has to be addictive because its ALL ABOUT THE FUN. Yeah I can have a game with eyecandy, a winning path, killer strategy, B-actors in cutsceen and the rest of that crap. But after awhile you have to ask yourself "What about the FUN?"
Fun is pounding weaker races. Fun is getting pounded by races you didn't think were a threat. Fun is having a race pull a fast one on you that you didn't see coming. Fun is knowing you are supporting a software developer and not just a store in the mall. Fun is being so engrossed in the game that you take boarder incursions personally. Yeah, I'd buy this game again.

[Aloofi]

Well, I just have been playing for a couple months, so I'm still in the first love period .

[trooper]

I'm a newbie on SE IV ( only 9 months playing with it). I think I love it because it's incredibily rich, because all games are different.
With it, I can create races and share them.

I tryied a few mods, like some, dislike others. My only regret is that I don't have enough time to test TDM right now, and I can't be involved in more than two PBW at a time.
My only fear is that my wife will sooner or later tell me to stop playing, or that my future job will take me far away from home and from my computer.

[Ruatha]

SE Iv is besides from CIV 1 the game I like most.
I got Civ2 and Call to Power and Civ 3.

But what I always comes back to is Civ1 (well, actually CivNET).

[PsychoTechFreak]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
I've had Civ2 installed much longer than SE4 has been around. I think I have 2 Versions currently, Gold and Test of Time. I lost count of the huge number of mods I have for it long ago. Of course, it also had a much larger following than SE4, so it makes sense that there are more mods for it.

ToT mods? Where ? Could you provide a link for me, pleeeaase?

My longtime non SE4 Favorites are still:
SMAX, Civ ToT, Age of Wonders II, full stop.

[Saarud]

I love SEIV like the rest of you. I have a vast experiance from strategy gaming from the early 80's until today. SEIV is one of the most enjoyable and addictive games in my career as a strategy games player.

MM is one of the best game companies. They always carefully listens to their customers. The only company that can top them are Paradox who by the chance also has produced the best game ever Europa Universalis II.

For me strategy games are like art is for artlovers.... even though I'm probably not going to play Moo3 as much as I did play Moo2 it's still has beutiful nuances that other games don't have and it's a worthy addition to my near 150 strategy games collection.

I am sure that SEV will be an even better game but I have a feeling that there will be lots of complaining just because SEV will not turn out as some peoples has imagined. This always happen to every game that follows up a series of great games.

I have never regretted any of my strategy games buy (with the exception of perhaps Destiny ) and I am always open minded about the games I buy and well awared that they may not be like I had imagined.

[ March 12, 2003, 10:07: Message edited by: Saarud ]

[PsychoTechFreak]

Originally posted by Saarud:

I am sure that SEV will be an even better game but I have a feeling that there will be lots of complaining just because SEV will not turn out as some peoples has imagined. This always happen to every game that follows up a series of great games.

The difference to other great game series is this:

MM is one of the best game companies. They always carefully listens to their customers.

It seems to me, MM has exactly the same vision/tastes for a neverending strategy series as 99% of this board. I can not imagine a better stroke of luck than an "independend" programmer who is addicted to the same kind of game visions as I have.
Although, you might be right. I have heard of many complaints about the differences of SE4 to SE3. Let's hope the best (and take the rest), as long as it does not become a realtime series

[Aloofi]

Originally posted by PsychoTechFreak:
. Let's hope the best (and take the rest), as long as it does not become a realtime series

Oh man, don't even mention that. I had enough with Lords 3 going real time. I hate it when developers try to sell to the Casual Market.

[Foiden]

A lot of times, that fact is just unavoidable. Particularly when you are on a large enough team that has extra costs. A one-man show can survive staying on the non-mainstream if they are lucky enough to still turn a profit, such as this case. However, there have been some companies that went for a better choice than going just mainstream. Sure, mainstream gets the money you need, but it's always nice when a company decides to do spinoffs of a series for the mainstream, while still supporting your non-mainstream fans.

In a way, Battletech/Mechwarrior kind of comes to mind. That is, having a series to satisfy your gathered fans, and then branching off mainstream appeal series that work to get the casuals in. Sometimes this works wonders because *some* casuals like the universe but want something with much more substance and/or story, so they end up becoming new fans of the non-mainstream Versions. Then you have a much larger non-mainstream audience with the addition of the used-to-be casual gameplayers. Mechassault is probably as far from the strategy of Battletech that it could get, being a very arcade deathmatch-style game (moreso than even Mechwarrior 1). A mech Version of a FPS, basically, but with special abilities thrown in mildly-resembling the systems in that universe. But it spurred new interest in even the table-top turn-based games. Not a bad way to sell your games. You get the mainstream dollar, and you promote your heavier strategy Versions that you are still supporting. Of course, this only works for big companies, but I guess that's the point we're talking about. Of course the small companies can afford to support the niche market, since their internal costs is so small.

I guess this is a bit of a food for thought for the idea that MM may get big due to increasing sales. Of course, you do run the risk of some head of publication screwing you over and pressuring you to stop with your development of the non-mainstream game just because it isn't raking in the megamillions of the mainstream product. That's a sad fact and could happen to anybody who gets a publisher like that. Maybe the safe thing is to sell just the game with a mainstream publisher, but make sure you keep the rights of the game-universe to yourself. That way your less-mainstream more substance game stays with the people you know will allow you your freedom and is running with the lower resources to make good money off it. Too bad console development has gotten to the point of being so expensive, it's becoming go-mainstream or die. At least half of Sega's sufferings go to this alone. (Too man people to pay, and too much always trying to make new innovative game instead of countless sequels) Perhaps, this is the real main thing that puts the Personal Computers in the undying spot for gaming.

[ March 12, 2003, 15:39: Message edited by: Foiden ]