Longjohn Needs Some Beta Testers (the Armarda 2526 thread)

[Longjohn4]

Need some play testers for my new game. See www.armada2526.com

[Longjohn4]

Sorry for brief message, but get a timeout if I try to post more than one line :(

[Longjohn4]

Basic idea is TW in space. If anyone has a few hours to help me get it balanced and polished, it would be much appreciated. Please send a mail to the address on the website

[Jolt]

Saw the preview in the site, and I must confess the graphics look pretty good for an indie game. I'll think about giving it a try.

[Greyblades]

Nice, It looks like Galciv 2 with a decent battle system, sign me up.

[Greyblades]

It looks like Galciv 2 with a better battle system. Nice, sign me up.

[Greyblades]

What the heck, I've just double posted 4 hours ago?

[Beskar]

The planet and space combition really entertains my imagination. I can see that being a very creative feature showing strategy and tactical prowess and style.

[Mailman653]

Looks nice, might keep me busy untill STO comes out.

[Papewaio]

Looks very interesting.

[Sheogorath]

Looks pretty cool. Sign me up, boss.

Although with the semester started I can't guarantee consistent reports, I might know a few other people who'd be interested.

[Martok]

Dang, this looks (and sounds) pretty frickin' sweet. As a fan of games like Birth of the Federation, Galactic Civilizations 2, and (increasingly) Sword of the Stars, Armada 2526 looks like it's right up my alley. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

[Meneldil]

Wow, looks awesome.

I'm not sure I'll have much time to test it out, but sign me up if you want.

[LeftEyeNine]

Site unavailable ?

[Hooahguy]

looks awesome, but ill need to know the minimum specs because ill have to test it on my home computer, which doesnt have such good specs.

[Mouzafphaerre]

Looks pretty cool. Sign me up, boss.

Although with the semester started I can't guarantee consistent reports, I might know a few other people who'd be interested.

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+1
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[Prussian to the Iron]

Hell, I'll do it! looks awesome. sign me up!

[Martok]

Update:


For those who haven't heard, Armada 2526 has been picked up by Matrix Games. In addition to being available from them, the game will also be coming to Impulse (when it's ready for release). I believe it will even be on certain store shelves, but I don't know which one(s) yet.


Also: While no firm date has yet been given, it sounds like we'll get to see the game before Christmas. Huzzah!

[frogbeastegg]

It's good to hear that the game has been picked up for publication. Got to admit I'm curious to see what Longjohn's come up with now he's branched away from the Total War series and headed into space.

In light of this news I've edited the thread's title to include the game's name so it can do double duty as the game's official thread.

[Martok]

It's good to hear that the game has been picked up for publication. Got to admit I'm curious to see what Longjohn's come up with now he's branched away from the Total War series and headed into space.

Well since I'm already quite certain that only death will stop me from getting this game, I'll be sure to post my impressions here. Just reading what Longjohn and the Matrix staff has to say about the game over on their forums has me salivating!




For those who are curious, this is what he had to say in response to some questions I had regarding the game's diplomacy and the AI's strategic thinking (which, as anyone who's heard me bitch & moan about dumb AI in games like Rome Total War, you'll know are issues close to my heart):

One thing I've learned doing this game is that doing good diplomacy is hard, and I've spent much longer on it than I anticipated :) To answer Martok's points.


The A.I. bases its decisions on whether to attack you on strategic factors, not the presence of targets of opportunity. It also isn't programmed to be continually at war with a human player who's winning, and frequently proposes peace offers.

It honors non aggression pacts and alliances, but these have time limits, so there is no guarantee that it will renew. It also honors defensive alliances by declaring war on player's who've attacked you, and sometimes you get WW1 like situations where chains of defensive alliances get triggered pulling the whole galaxy into war. Sometimes it will give you gifts or generous trades if you're at war with someone it considers overpowerful.

The diplomacy system tracks how much each A.I. player trusts you and likes you based on what's happened in the game, and the deals you've made with it. However, the fact that it likes you doesn't prevent it attacking you if you don't have a non aggression pact, so you can't guarantee peace by just giving it small gifts.

If you're nice to the AI in diplomacy, it remembers and will like you more. This means you have more chance of getting a favorable deal when you need it, and it has a tendency to attack players it doesn't like more than ones it does. However, it is primarily a wargame, and the a.i. needs to be active in starting wars, and sometimes you'll be the only viable target, however much it likes you.

Some good stuff there! And going by what snippets the game's beta-testers are allowed to say, it sounds as if the AI actually behaves pretty much as Longjohn describes. Oh, how I hope....

[Veho Nex]

I'm looking forward to this game. You got my money.

[Martok]

So, how is it? More information, pretty please? How would you compare it to, say, SotS or GalCiv2?

Um, give me a few more days at which point I should be able to give a more thorough opinion. (Ugh, so tired....) My thoughts at the moment:


The game is fairly easy to learn how to play. The UI & controls are reasonably intuitive, and the tutorial is pretty good at showing you the basics. The pop-up feature is a godsend; just place your cursor over something -- anything -- and it will give you a description of what you're looking at. Very useful for both new players and people who have poor short-term memory.

Colony management seems pretty decent; it's more complex than SotS but less so than GalCiv 2. (I've yet to decide whether the developer has successfully split the difference between being too simple/complex or if it just fails at being not enough of either). Every colony is different in terms of what kind of contribution it can make to your empire, as not only is the number of structures you can build limited by a colony's population; but also many systems grant bonuses and/or penalties to things like tax income, mining income, industrial production (which includes ship production) population growth, etc. (Example: You could have a minor colony that doesn't have the population or industrial base to build large ships, but is good at building small ships quickly.)

The game offers a good range of strategic choices: Do you build an empire of many less-developed colonies, a medium empire of fairly well-developed colonies, or a small empire composed of just a handful of heavily-developed worlds? Do go the military conquest route, make friends with your neighbors, just keep to yourself while you research your way through the tech tree, or something else entirely?

Diplomacy and AI are excellent, and is perhaps the single biggest area in which this game shines. If another race goes to war with you, it will have strategic reasons for doing so, not just because you left your colony of Proxima Centauri under-defended for a couple turns. The AI is not only *not* suicidal, it in fact behaves quite reasonably; i.e., if a race is losing a war to you, it will ask for peace. If you sign an alliance, it will help you out (and will expect you to do the same for them). It follows the old "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" philosophy; if you're getting your butt kicked by Race B who has a huge empire, Race C (who is concerned about Race B's growing power) may send you ships, money, etc. to help even the odds for you. Also, the diplomatic screen is laid out very nicely, and will automatically adjust the "weight" for different items; i.e., allowing a race to establish a trade mission on your minor colony of Sparta is worth less to them than allowing that same race to establish a trade mission on Earth.

In terms of ambiance, the game feels very "spacey" to me (which is a good thing). I particularly like the music and the art style. Visuals-wise, Armada won't blow you away, but it still looks nice enough IMHO.


At the moment, my main complaint is about the combat. It doesn't feel very "tactical" IMO, and this is furthered/hindered by a scant 3:30 battle time limit (which apparently cannot be edited/modded; grrr!). It's not too bad to look at visually and the battle soundtrack is decent, but Armada definitely doesn't have the deepest combat model I've ever seen.

I will also mention that the game is less customizable than GalCiv2. While there are 14 different races to choose from, you cannot create your own (at least not yet). Also, there is no ship design; vessels are like in BOTF in that they have set attack/defense/move stats and (sometimes) special abilities. While personally these things don't bother me very much, I felt it worth mentioning for those who like to customize everything in sight and tweak stuff to their hearts' content.



Despite any critiques I have about Armada 2526, the fact is I'm quite enjoying it. In fact, thus far, I'd have to admit I think I'm liking it more than even GalCiv2! It's not quite enough to overtake Birth of the Federation as my favorite space strategy game, but it might very well shoot up to #2 on my list. I still have to log a lot more playing time, though, before I can say that for certain. I'll try and keep you posted!

[Veho Nex]

I just sent him a beta tester request. I hope he accepts. I just need to play a good strategy game and from what you said martok this sounds like it's it.

Edit: This may seem silly... but is the game out? And if it is where do I buy it? Cause from what Im reading on their forums I cant tell if it's out yet. Some say its released while others are talking about the beta...

Edit 2: Ok Now I feel stupid, it is out. But damn hard to find. :/

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Are there still beta spots open and/or will there be a demo?

[Veho Nex]

Are there still beta spots open and/or will there be a demo?

The games out apparently.

Bit late now, it's in the shops

Bob Smith
Managing Director
Ntronium Games
www.ntronium.com

[Martok]

Sorry guys, I should've been clearer on that. Yes, the game was released this past Tuesday the 24th (although apparently some Gamestop stores broke the street date and started selling it a few days early).

Here in the U.S. & Canada, I know the game is available at Gamestop (you can order it from them online if they don't have any copies in stock), and I believe Best Buy is supposed to have it as well. I'm not sure about which other retailers are carrying it, and I unfortunately have no knowledge about whether European retailers are selling it at all.

If nothing else, you can of course purchase Armada directly from MatrixGames' website, which I'm pretty sure they would prefer anyway as more of the money goes directly to them (and Ntronium Games, the developer). Matrix does have online shops for both Australia & Europe (plus a separate store for the UK), so it's at least widely available through them.

[Veho Nex]

Already bought and downloaded a copy. :sadface: no mp :/

[frogbeastegg]

The game's currently 50% off on Impulse so now would be a good time for some updated opinions from those who have the game.

[Martok]

For $25 (not sure of its equivalent in pounds right now), it's certainly worth getting. I won't say it's the greatest space strategy game I've ever played (although it it is one of the more fun ones I've played in recent years), but I definitely don't regret purchasing it either.


Pros: Reasonably easy to pick up and play; the UI is pretty user-friendly. Lots of customization options (although probably not as many as GalCiv2), including huge maps and lots of factions (if you so desire). Very solid AI, including diplomacy -- it generally knows a good deal from a bad one, it won't shirk from suing for peace if it's losing a war, and it pursues long-range strategic goals as opposed to tactical short-range ones (i.e., you won't see a repeat of MTW where a tiny faction attacks a much larger one simply because the bigger guy left a single province/planet under-defended for a couple turns!). Seems to be easily moddable (although I don't have direct experience with this part). Colony management is straightforward and not overly time-consuming. You don't win by having to conquer the entire galaxy, but rather through successfully pursing your faction's goals and racking up the most amount of victory points by the time the game expires (which the player also sets). The bureaucracy feature makes it easier for smaller empires to compete with larger ones. The art and soundtrack combine to give a nice "spacey" feel & atmosphere.

Cons: No multiplayer (at least not yet). No ship design (personally I'm not terribly bothered by that, but I know it's important to some folks). There's currently a memory problem where games on large maps cannot be saved (will hopefully be fixed/ameliorated in a later patch). Some feel the tech tree is too short/shallow. The bureaucracy feature is probably somewhat overpowered ATM; larger empires seem to be a bit *too* crippled by it at times. You have to move your population between colonies manually, which is a pain (although a soon-to-be-released patch will automate this for you). And for those who care, the game's visuals are relatively simplistic; they're not going to blow anyone away.

My biggest personal beef: Combat is very "meh" IMHO. The battle timer is short (a little over 3 minutes) and cannot be edited/modded. In general space battles just don't feel very tactical to me; numbers seem to matter a lot more than what formations/maneuvers you use. Also, ground combat is virtually pointless as is -- if you're the invader and have achieved space superiority, there's little incentive to risk deploying your Marines to the planet to engage the defending troops because you can simply bombard them from orbit instead....and *then* you can deploy your Marines....



Still and all, I've been enjoying the time I've spent playing Armada. Maybe even more than I've enjoyed GalCiv2 -- and I don't say that lightly. (Possibly because the former adopts a more serious tone than the latter? I'm not sure.) It certainly isn't for everyone, but if you like 4x space strategy games, you could do a lot worse than to try out this one (especially at that price!).

[frogbeastegg]

I'm torn. All of the above sounds great, and thanks to Mass Effect 2 and a scifi book reading binge I'm in the mood for tinkering with some space strategy. However reading the forums I learned that the game has problems with certain nvidea cards and I can't find out if the 8800 is ok or not. The game won't display battles, so it's hardly a minor issue. There's no demo or way to check before I buy.

For roughly the same amount I could get both the second Sins of a Solar Empire expansion and the first one for AI War ... or I could buy some more stuff for my new house. Space strategy or wine glasses, that is the question.