Okay, I’m not sure how I’ve gotten myself into this situation…
I consider myself a pretty serious gamer, but I’ve somehow managed to aimlessly wander through the PC gaming landscape for the last 11 years without having genuinely tried a 4x game. I got Civilization in a strategy gaming pack about six years ago, and played a couple turns, but then turned quickly back to the primary reason I bought that pack (X-Com TFTD) because I didn’t know what to do. I did get caught up in the Dominions 2 craze some, but it was just a diversion from my CoH addiction (which has since been cured).
Most of my exposure to exploration-type activity in games has been limited to RTS, but I’ve spent a LOT of time with the HOMM series as well, which strikes me as maybe 4x-lite.
I’d like to give the genre a more sincere try. Can you guys give me some recommendations as to a couple good entry-level games, some advice on basics of gameplay, and maybe point me toward some tutorial literature for the nascent world (or galactic) dictator?
Did they ever patch away the most fatal of the MOO3 flaws? The core design of the game is sort of dumb so I doubt patching could totally fix it but I wonder if they ever came up with something vaguely enjoyable.
Oh, and so as not to be a thread hijacker:
I recommend Civ3 as a decent starting point that isn’t too overly complex, is recent enough to have okay graphics and O/S compatibility, and is old enough to be cheap if you shop around :)
Did they ever patch away the most fatal of the MOO3 flaws? The core design of the game is sort of dumb so I doubt patching could totally fix it but I wonder if they ever came up with something vaguely enjoyable.
Oh, and so as not to be a thread hijacker:
I recommend Civ3 as a decent starting point that isn’t too overly complex, is recent enough to have okay graphics and O/S compatibility, and is old enough to be cheap if you shop around :)[/quote]
They patched MOO3 so the AI actually attacks the player – but other than that, the game is still a tangled mess that in spite of menus, sub-menus, and sub-sub-menues, manages to be a game comprised of clicking the “Next Turn” button. It’s an excellent game if you have a good book to read and need to exercise your clicker finger.
Also not to hijack:
I’d also recommend Civ 3, but even a step back to MOO2 might be good. MOO2 is fairly simple to understand, but it has terrific replay value. Keep in mind it may not work on XP, though. My second computer, a laptop, is a 98 machine and MOO2 is my airport game.
I think Galactic Civ is a good choice. It doesn’t seem overwhelming at first and you can have fun and interesting stuff to do almost straight away. Yet the game has enough depth that it never gets too easy or boring.
Well, you’ve played Dominions2, so your already half way home in my book. The only other 4x that’s been released in the last…2 years or so, that I could honestly advise you to look at would be Civ3.
I guess you could look at Stardock’s, Galatic Civilization. It’s a little older than that. There’s a demo. It’s…It’s ok, but I rarely had fun with it. That’s kind of like complaining that your porterhouse was a bit too thick, I suppose.
… If you liked Dominions, you might like the other big shrapnel kitchen sink game, Space Empires 4. Again there’s a demo.
If you want to go into older games…moo2, Imperialism2 are both fine games. Playing most 4x’s against computer players is an exercise in finding out which technologies leverage your military enough that you can expand with them.
Galatic Civilization. While not as good as the best, it is stable and was available at EB for a bargan price last time I checked (you may have to dig in the old games bin). It covers the basics pretty well and only has a few quirks like the Altarians turning evil because Mr. Fuzzy, thier pet hampster died or the fact you discover sciences to make artifical planets yet can’t actually make artifical planets. But other then that, its a good solid 4x game.
There is another one I liked, whose name I can not remember that did what galactic civ did, but also allowed you to specalized in some techs like organic techs, crystal techs, and a few other things. Also it had some intresting things such as some sectors full of plants, black holes or nebula. Also you could pick your own races, and actually make your own worlds.
It is indeed. I would recommend against Civ 3 because I felt it was a step back from Alpha Centauir in every area except graphics.
Space Empires IV was pretty good too, but the lack of a final score or rating kind of kills the replay value for me. It was great for the first month though.
It is indeed. I would recommend against Civ 3 because I felt it was a step back from Alpha Centauir in every area except graphics.
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I’ve heard that criticism before but never really bought it. Yeah, some of the innovations and complexity in Alpha Centauri would have been nice in Civ3, but Civ3 had some nice innovations all it’s own. I liked the culture system, I liked the simpler terrain improvement, etc. Civ3 isn’t worse, just a little simpler.
Especially considering this is a thread about recommendations of 4x games for someone new to the genre, I can wholeheartedly recommend Civ3 over Alpha Centauri. Civ3 has an easier learning curve and a slicker interface.
Civ3 also has the least fun AI of any 4x game. “Optimum colonizing algorithm” is not the same thing as “most fun”. However, it is the same thing as “most likely to royally piss you off.”
