Forum Overview :: Galactic Civilizations :: But when combat comes around it's just stats and dice?

[quote name="Mischief Maker"]Like in Sword of the Stars, your shots are rendered in the engine as moving projectiles, your ships are 3D objects, and a "hit" is determined by whether the two connect and at what angle. This brings all sorts of tactical considerations, like how Tarkas make these snake-shaped ships with a very small forward profile so they're best deployed facing straight at their targets, while human ships have gigantic engine rings and they're better off attacking with sideways broadsides. When you start adding improved armor, solid shots that hit at an oblique angle can simply bounce off without causing damage AND might impact another ship. What's great fun is putting burster cannons on a large ship and splattering a wing of enemy destroyers watching every deadly piece of shrapnel rendered in 3D. Why the hell are simulations like SOTS the exception, but boardgame-like computer games remain the norm? In Gal Civ 2, no matter how messy the ship models turned out, all that determined combat success were Risk-like dice rolls as I sat watching my ships vaguely wobble around with laser effects shooting out willy nilly.[/quote]