Jump to content

Saracen

Retired Staff
  • Content count

    4,009
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Saracen

  1. It certainly has its inspiration from EotFS. But SE is more contained to a single planet. There's many similar systems at play, but also some new ones thrown into the mix. SE also plays more like a Wargame. That said, I wouldn't mind a remaster or a remake of EotFS that maintains the same complexity. I'd be all over that like a rash.
  2. It's called Shadow Empire. What is Shadow Empire? Yeah, it looks old, it looks like a Wargame. But what is here is an innovative mesh of different strategy systems and 4X gameplay. It's absolutely frigging incredible! A few reviews: https://www.strategygamer.com/reviews/shadow-empire/ https://www.wargamer.com/reviews/shadow-empire/ https://explorminate.co/what-to-expect-shadow-empire/ Some player one liners: This game is complex and as fun as hell. So much so, it has a 349 page manual. I have even sidelined the C&C Remastered Collection because all I want to do is play this game instead. It's hard to explain it, so I'm just going to show it off. This is a decent Let's play of the release version: This is the Steam Page (Coming Soon): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1154840/Shadow_Empire/ Buy Now Matrix: https://www.matrixgames.com/game/shadow-empire Buying now will grant you a Steam Key when it's released there.
  3. Genuine question. Have you played this game? If not then I would debate that point. I've played a lot of Cities mods and such and they still don't reach the complexity and interwoven systems that this game does. Shadow Empire does look rather basic on the outside and at first glance. But the bigger picture is anything but. I've put about 30 hours into Shadow Empire already in the last 6 days and I still do not have a full grasp of it. Those that have played 100 hours still haven't come to fully appreciate everything this game has to offer. Cities with mods that attempt to up the complexity? No. With knowledge of the SimCity franchise and some patience Cities is a breeze by comparison. I have experience with Wargames, even deep experience with Advanced Tactics Gold which is the foundation Shadow Empire is built upon, yet I'm still learning this game and its nuances. So no, unfortunately I would have to respectfully disagree with you on that point.
  4. You would think so. But I'll remain apprehensive until EA have a bit more of a track record behind them. This has to be across multiple platforms and IPs as well. My concern is even though a good job has been done of this remaster, I don't wanna see it as just a cheap appeasement of the community. I would hope this is the start of a new chapter. But we shall see.
  5. The problem with C&C as we know is that it's suffered from too much boardroom interference. The remaster hopefully can show these business types that if you give developers the run of the meadow and allow their work to shine, you can get a product that gains favourability and can even outdo other games of AAA popularity. I hope this is a lesson, I really do. I wouldn't say no to a TS and RA2 joint remaster as well, but the buck should then stop there and the focus shift towards something new. Or something new then the remaster. I don't mind which way around they do it. RTS isn't dead, and the remaster has shown that neither is the franchise. It just needs love and a bit of care. Along with some adequate funding and time? We might just get there again.
  6. Saracen

    BREAKING: KANE RETURNS

    Unbelievable that Joseph is 55 now. I'm 37 and look older than he does. Just proof that you can't age the messiah!
  7. I've heard Origin pre-loaders also get the Map Editor early too. I would hazard a guess that's their little platform timed exclusive.
  8. Saracen

    Smexy MCVs!

    Instead of stuffing this down in the RA2 forum where it probably won't be seen, I'm putting it here instead. These are too good not to share. Dunno who this guy is. But he likes Red Alert 2 MCVs it seems. Beautifully rendered, and very nicely animated too! And also he recently put together a making of video showreel of how that Yuri MCV came together. Stunning stuff. I've subscribed to him in hopes he'll do the allied one next, and who knows, maybe he'll move on to animating other C&C MCVs.
  9. Saracen

    Now Playing - Music

    With the remaster now around the corner. I've been watching /Listening to this in the background several times already. It's strange. Even though I've played these games to death, it feels like a brand new release that I just know is gonna be good.
  10. Saracen

    Trailer of Dawn of Tomorrow released

    Exactly. The remaster has got Nyerguds working for at least another guaranteed 25 years! He just doesn't know it yet! 😂
  11. Saracen

    Trailer of Dawn of Tomorrow released

    This looks fantastic. I will have to give it a try. I would imagine though, after all this work, this TC would fall under one of those projects that would need a full rewrite from scratch to get working on the remastered edition? Shame if that's the case, because I could see it getting a massive amount of downloads from the Steam Workshop.
  12. Considering Westwood always went for readability over realism, I would imagine this is exactly what it is. Tiberian Dawn's Nuclear Warhead was one seriously OP base destroying behemoth when deployed correctly. So the look matches the destruction. Unless of course they have most likely used the same animation for Red Albert's Atom Bomb which was so much weaker by comparison. But still, I see nothing wrong so far. It looks great and is still the same old core game underneath. I'm just happy they're breathing new life into it in any way they possibly can.
  13. That nuke is a thing of beauty. I remember when I was 12 in the summer of 1995 and had the opportunity to build the Temple of Nod. I would save the game when the nuke was ready, and then spend ages sandboxing the hell out of it. The enemy base, my base, testing it on every unit and structure to see what would survive and get wiped out right away. And the animation at the time was a thing of beauty back then too. I just enjoyed watching it cycle, so I'd reload and watch it again and again. Well looks like it's going to happen all over again now I'm 37!
  14. Saracen

    Old Commander reporting for duty

    The more things change, the more they stay the same I've noticed. The Steam Discussion forums aren't exactly a fun place either. At least here still feels like home.
  15. Saracen

    Old Commander reporting for duty

    Room for one more? I'm still about too. I think this remaster will see a few more old faces reappearing. Hopefully, might even see a little resurgence in the community altogether. That can't be a bad thing!
  16. Saracen

    AZ's YouTube Videos (skorvion.com)

    The introduction was great in Tiberian Sun. But the real goosebump moment was this: Also Anton Slavik is the greatest Nod Commander who ever lived!
  17. Saracen

    Returning After 2 Years

    Amazing what happens really when you pull away and re-evaluate your life. I'm barely a gamer anymore, I merely dabble in a couple of games I enjoy. I've mostly turned to reading, especially Brandon Sanderson books being my focal point. I've found that I'm getting more joy from that than I have gaming in the last several years! Oh and I'm no longer married after 15 years. Got rid of the Narcissistic bitch! I tried going back to a couple of C&C games myself just yesterday. I quickly came to the conclusion that the RTS formula is old, tired, and a bit crap. So I went back to playing some Turn based strategy instead.
  18. Saracen

    Forged Battalion

    Well I'm gonna necro this since FB bombed harder than Japan in World War 2... So.... Since it's vaguely related and to be quite frank, it'd probably be better here than a new thread. Has anyone had a go at Uncrewed? https://store.steampowered.com/app/474890/Uncrewed/ It's an indie game, still in Early Access, but getting near to the end now. Has a unit design premise that's exceptionally deep. Not a massive structure building game per-se, more the units themselves. But probably does a better job than FB ever did. Smash-Gaming covered it in detail... Playlist below.. What does anyone who cares think of this one?
  19. Still an awful long way to go, as this video proves.
  20. "Indies" Yeah, that's a word that's become increasingly diluted over the years. Game presence on Steam has gone entirely through the roof, and I'm not going to deny it, an awful lot of so-called indie games are nothing but god awful shite! The problem is two-fold. 1) Game development is more accessible than ever. - Game engines like Unity, UE4 and Godot as well as software such as Clickteam Fusion and GameMaker allow pretty much anyone with some patience and time to make practically anything they wish. 2) The death of Steam Greenlight - Whilst this wasn't foolproof by any means. It was a vetting process in which much of the crap was kept out of Steam. The argument was however that a lot of (now great) games were doing exceptionally well elsewhere, but could never penetrate the Greenlight process. So with Greenlight scrapped, so was that filter. And now any kid with very little vision can pretty much get on Steam with little to no effort. In the beginning of Indie being popular, the industry was seen as a 2-tier thing. You had AAA and then you had anyone without a publisher blanketed into a single group of developers known as Indies. These days, or at least how I see it, the industry is multi-tiered. AAA - We all know this one. Big development farms pumping out great games, or large size studios under the banner of a much larger publishing entity. AA - Moderate Studios under smaller publishing entities which still make solid games. A - 1 man developers or small once indie studios where Publishers have seen potential and have invested funding. Then you have the indie tiers. AAA Indie - These are typically large/moderate studios who have broken away from publishers and have decided to self-fund with reasonably large budgets and produce games that are pretty close or equal to that of a AAA studio. Big Indies - These are moderate/small self-sustaining studios who have come to make a name for themselves and have a strong franchise or following behind them. These are some of the best you can find, and chances are, most people have played or have a strong interest in their games. These guys will get 1,000's of Steam reviews. Core Indies - These are generally 1 man efforts or small studios that still to this day drive the majority of innovation. They're what Indie is all about. Putting maximum effort into their games in an attempt to reach the big indie tier. There are many indies in this category that also have substantial following and will get mentions in the media. But overall they will do enough to turn a profit from what they are capable of doing. It's usually these Indies you find doing Kickstarters. They normally reach 100's to 1,000 Steam reviews. Upstart Indies - The potential for innovation is rife here with this tier, and are becoming numerous. These are 1 man or small teams of 2 or 3 who will attempt to create a game and have the passion to see it through. Somehow though their games will not reach a "Core indie" status. Whether its due to lack of marketing or maybe there's something missing that doesn't quite launch them into the bigger echelons of the industry. Many of their games will be diamonds in the rough though, and it's great when the consumer finds them. These guys will usually get anything from a few to 100 Steam reviews. Trash Indies - Most of the crap that now seems to appear on Steam. Little jimmy was once taught how to create the "Hello World" program in school. Now he's got his hands on a cheap or free engine and he's got a lust for greed and has no clue how to make a decent game. So he makes one for minimal effort with no real skill or effort with basic graphics, adds 100's of achievements and pumps out the same thing under a slightly different skin or name for $.99 a game. If it isn't little Jimmy, it's a greedy individual who's accumulated a crap-tonne of assets and is flipping them off for larger sum of money. No effort here either. Some might actually make a better effort to become an upstart tier. But this is as rare as unicorn shit, or a virgin hooker. As for your observation concerning a lack of RTS games. It's simple. These games require larger budgets, are exceptionally more difficult to develop a decent quality title and the genre these days is considered exceptionally niche in comparison to Turn-based Strategy which has an exceptionally larger market. There also comes the problem that RTS is considerably narrow in scope. Those that do take the Real Time route would rather mix in other sub-genres such as Tower Defence, or just take the decision for Real Time Tactics. Some developers also consider those that demand RTS to be considerably up their own ass. They want a C&C style game, and when they get it there's a foul cry of the game not being decent, original or innovative enough. Or more the case, half the snowflake RTS crowd these days will not touch an RTS unless it has tactical pause, where you can stop it every few seconds cos they can't cope with anything more than 10 APM. Personally I avoid RTS like the plague these days. Even Iron Harvest, which will attempt to make a decent attempt at being a solid RTS, I have no interest in at all. There may come a day where the genre will see a resurgence. But it's going to need a paradigm shift to take it in a new direction.
  21. Yeah he works for Sony's Santa Monica studio now as a Senior Social media and marketing. He was a huge influence on God of War's Global Marketing campaign strategy. This of which he won an award for the best official game website godofwar.com. Also he's been the driving force for God of War Mechandise and has been responsible for making it Playstation's most profitable brand. To say Aaron Kaufman is riding high is a bit of an understatement. He's become a behemoth in the world of Sony's Playstation Marketing. As a result he could pretty much go for any job involving online marketing in the entire games industry and they'd snatch him right up!
  22. I'm just gonna plant this here. I saw it on Facebook. It got a laugh.
  23. I still wouldn't put it past EA to do that though. We get plenty of mobile ports to Steam these days as it is. If the execs up high think they can press for a slightly modified PC version of the same game for more profit and little turn around? They'll do it alright.
  24. Hmm. Well that was not expected. Could probably expect a PC/Console port at some point though. This won't just stick to mobile.
  25. Hi guys, I'm here to tell you about our new game Freeman: Guerrilla Warfare. Freeman: Guerrilla Warfare is set in a chaos world occupied by battling factions, bandits and warlords who seek to rule the world. The game is about your career as a faction leader: Start with minimum assets, you need to make money, build an army, wage wars against other factions and eliminate you rival forces with thoughtful strategies and fine marksmanship and eventually conquer the world. The game provides a completely different shooter experience which strikes a balance between intense first-person action and general strategy. The game's innovative combat system blends tactical first-person shooter with real-time strategy, allowing you to command an army, plan for tactics in the God view, while immersing in the intense firefight as a foot soldier, in the first person perspective. Here is an Early look at Combat for the game. Steam Link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/773951/Freeman_Guerrilla_Warfare/ Website: https://www.freeman-game.com/ Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/playfreeman
×