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by Hans Clastorp 11/03/2014, 8:54am PST |
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pinback wrote:
It's Civ 5 with a better UI and lasers instead of arrows. Who cares. Lighten up.
And I think the map is gorgeous. You have bad taste in things.
"Critical savaging". There are actual BAD GAMES out there to critically savage. Let's focus on those for once!?!
Who cares? I care motherfucker. I want a game industry that is experimental and creative and willing to take a chance. I want game reviewers that will knock studios for being too conservative and unambitious. It's hard to criticize a game for being too conservative, because that sort of amounts to criticizing it for all the things that it didn't do. Even a lot of the glowing coverage expressed a kind of vague feeling of dissatisfaction or emptiness with what the game ended up being, without really thinking too hard about why. My basic criticism/explanation for this sense of emptiness is that they didn't make it distinct or focused enough to really engage the imagination or ground the experience in the conceit of planetary colonization. I thought focusing the endgame would help, but that's just one idea. Here's another one: reduce the affinities to just Harmony and Purity, make them deeper with more radical changes. Let harmony spawn alien hives to fuck with other civs. Have terraforming technologies that fuck with the global constants of the planet like atmosphere composition or sea level. That's just off the top of my head.
Also, the map is objectively bad. As I mentioned, it's incredibly easy to accidentally walk a unit into miasma because it's really hard to spot. Everything else is muddier too. Can you tell tundra tiles from desert or plains tiles at a glance, or forested hills from forested plains? I could in Civ5, but in CBE I have to hover to distinguish terrain types. Reasonable people can differ over what colours look good, but this is as objective a UI problem as there ever was.
I dunno man. I wanted to like it, but after finishing a playthrough as each affinity I really can't see myself going back to it. |
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This game deserves more of a critical savaging than it has received. by Hans Clastorp 11/02/2014, 9:35am PST 
I'd love to see Reynolds' reaction by fabio 11/02/2014, 2:28pm PST
I don't get the impression he cares about games anymore. He moved into f2p, NT by he wants to get paid and get out 11/02/2014, 2:53pm PST
SMAC's multimedia producer Mike Ely has a writing credit. IMDB lists five others by serial malcontent 11/02/2014, 2:58pm PST
I did give it a critical savaging by WITTGENSTEIN 11/02/2014, 5:50pm PST
Oh, shut up. by pinback 11/03/2014, 6:57am PST
I can actually hear you selling yourself down the river by serial malcontent 11/03/2014, 8:50am PST
Just the kind of incisive analysis I've come to expect from Caltrops by Hans Clastorp 11/03/2014, 8:54am PST
Re: Just the kind of incisive analysis I've come to expect from Caltrops by pinback 11/03/2014, 4:38pm PST
You give up too easy by Hans Clastorp 11/03/2014, 4:51pm PST
I dunno, man. by pinback 11/03/2014, 6:21pm PST
uh.. I think the map looks good, actually NT by RetroRomper 11/04/2014, 6:13am PST
Here is my problem with this kind of criticality... by RetroRomper 11/05/2014, 10:11pm PST
Tilting at the purple windmill. by pinback 11/06/2014, 3:33am PST
Criticism IS fun! by Mischief Maker 11/06/2014, 5:08am PST
Your plan only works if everyone here has the same taste in games. Which, hey, NT by maybe that's the way it is. 11/06/2014, 5:52am PST
That's like saying everyone who turns down McDonalds has the same taste. NT by Mischief Maker 11/06/2014, 6:13am PST
Ideally people know what they like well enough to bridge that gap. by Worm 11/06/2014, 6:30am PST
Do more Let's Not Play videos. NT by Caltrops Cares 11/06/2014, 12:35pm PST
Anyway, I think Retro's point is: by pinback 11/06/2014, 8:20am PST
Re: Anyway, I think Retro's point is: by Hans Clastorp 11/06/2014, 9:19am PST
I think I know what's REALLY going on here: by Mischief Maker 11/06/2014, 10:24am PST
You are a crazy person. by pinback 11/06/2014, 1:10pm PST
pinback : 4x games :: MM : shmups by Fullofkittens 11/06/2014, 3:58pm PST
Absolutely not true! by Mischief Maker 11/06/2014, 4:48pm PST
Absolutely true! by pinback 11/06/2014, 7:50pm PST
He's got you there, MM NT by WITTGENSTEIN 11/06/2014, 8:14pm PST
It only seems that way because shmups are cheaper and more prolific than 4X. by Mischief Maker 11/07/2014, 4:22am PST
I didn't purchase BE. And axe grinding is fine, but are you guys really writing NT by about videogames? - RertroRomper 11/09/2014, 7:49pm PST
Re: Anyway, I think Retro's point is: by Caltrops Cares 11/06/2014, 12:52pm PST
Really, what the fuck are you talking about? by pinback 11/06/2014, 1:13pm PST
Re: Really, what the fuck are you talking about? by Mysterio 11/06/2014, 1:23pm PST
OH SHIT nigga just turned shit around on me NT by pinback 11/06/2014, 1:41pm PST
When Firaxis stock dips, pinback emails, "We sick?" NT by EBONICS, YO! 11/06/2014, 3:25pm PST
Well you wouldn't say someone is wrong for waiting for it to go on sale right? by Worm 11/06/2014, 1:49pm PST
Nobody is wrong for waiting for a sale, no. by pinback 11/06/2014, 2:30pm PST
Gosh yeah I should pre-order it and play the shit out of it to crack this case. by Worm 11/06/2014, 3:20pm PST
Your hard-line principles have obviously made you a happier person. by pinback 11/06/2014, 3:24pm PST
Whatever, I'm glad you won. Congratulations. NT by Worm 11/06/2014, 3:36pm PST
Re: Here is my problem with this kind of criticality... by Hans Clastorp 11/06/2014, 9:00am PST
This "reskinning" bit is starting to sound like people played for 30 minutes. by pinback 11/06/2014, 1:48pm PST
When I saw the "Frenzied Aliens" option in a video I laughed. NT by Worm 11/06/2014, 1:50pm PST
That option is not part of the standard game. NT by CALTROPS BE MAKIN' FUN OF OPTIONS 11/06/2014, 2:28pm PST
Oh ok? NT by Worm 11/06/2014, 3:03pm PST
How is THIS game? FUCK YOU THERE ARE OTHER GAMES! WAAAAAH! NT by pinback 11/03/2014, 8:59am PST
Re: Oh, shut up. by Roop 11/13/2014, 6:16pm PST
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