1681

Was checking this out, always interested in different takes on the 4x genre and noted tha the developers have stated on the Steam forums that no save game is a mistake and that they are working to correct. The removing of save games from the feature list was an unfortunate coincidence according to them.

So tgb, report back once the save functionality is fixed. I’m interested in hearing more.

1682

That has to be the mother of all Broken-Upon-Release tales.

1683

The thing is, ability to save and restore games had been listed as a feature prior to release, and then removed. This suggests one of three things:

A save game was planned and the developer never got it working right so went ahead with the release without it, with plans to patch it in later.

It was planned at one time but the developers decided against it and never bothered to remove it from the features list.

It was never planned but listed as a feature to entice buyers.

No matter which one you pick, something stinks on ice.

1684

Or number 4,
They planned to have it working at release and listed it in their feature list. Then got ridiculed for having Save Game in a feature list, and then removed it from the feature list even though they still planned to include it.

1685

So they left it out out of spite?

1686

Well maybe I guess, but that isn’t what I meant. I just meant it wasn’t functional at release due to a mistake / oversight, but they removed it from the feature list because they decided it wasn’t worth listing separately as a feature - like “If you left click on a unit it gets selected”. Not much of a feature to list separately.

1687

Do i have to remind you that back in the old, old days (NES-age), most games didn’t have a save function! And in some games you had to type a ridiculous password system to retrieve your progress?

1688

Yes, because I never owned an NES.

So I played Station Tactics, and my vid is up and…it needs work. It’s kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinda fun, but it also shoots itself in the foot.

1689

And my Atari 400 loaded games from a cassette player, but that doesn’t justify releasing a game on cassette today

1690

Brian -

Good video but you didn’t mention other problems that still exist aside from the missing save feature.

Incomplete/Wrong Documentation - Aside from the mystery victory conditions, the docs refer to races having affinity for certain planet types. I never saw that in the game. What are Terraformers and how are they used? I’m guessing they improve how many resources you can get from a planet, but it doesn’t say. Clearly there are differences between the factions but they aren’t spelled out anywhere. The docs say that damaged ships can be repaired by being placed into orbit around one of your planets, but what good does that do if you have no feedback after a battles as to how much damage a ship has taken? I’ve lost a couple of battles I should have won, and I don’t know if that was because I sent in a couple of crippled ships or it was a bug.

Archaic interface - There’s no way that I can find to form fleets or otherwise group ships, so sending 5 ships into battle means issuing 5 separate movement commands.

Then there are the items that are still in the feature list that are either wrong or outright lies:

Assume the role of a faction leader and command one of four factions, each with its own unique personality, abilities and storyline

Storyline? What storyline?

Explore the galaxy to discover different planet types, from habitable and resource rich to barren and non-terraformable

Sort of. The planets all have descriptive text, but that doesn’t seem to have any bearing on the game.

Expand your empire by exploring, invading and conquering enemy-occupied planets, deciding which to colonize and which to destroy

Did you ever get an option to destroy a planet rather than colonize it? Yeah, me neither.

Watch battles play out in stunning, real-time 3D

I don’t think 3D means what they think it means.

Familiarize yourself with gameplay and game elements by completing a comprehensive tutorial

There’s a tutorial? My first reaction to this last one is that if you need a tutorial to play Starion Tactics, you’re probably in the wrong hobby, but seeing how incomplete the documentation is it may not be such a bad idea after all.

Finally you mention several times how refreshing it is to see something released without an Early Access tag. I think that this IS a beta or Early Access title, but the developers didn’t want to call it that which is disingenuous at best, perhaps even fraudulent. The irony, or course, is that if this was released ad Early Access, people would be cutting the developers a lot more slack.

1691

Hahaha, all good points. I was likely gonna get to 'em if I did an LP series, but without saves, I can’t do a series, and honestly I ran out of steam for the game.

1692

Much to my surprise Steam credited $15 to my Steam wallet and removed the game from my library. Perhaps their refund policy is loosening up a bit.

Now I have $15 burning a hole in my pocket.

1693

It’s not a space game, but if you like roguelikes, get Runers. Seriously, so good. If you wanna get a space game, I can help with that too. ;)

1694

Thanks, but not my cup of meat. Unless something jumps out at me I’ll probably put it towards Wasteland 2 in a couple of weeks.

1695

That’s great news.

But what did you say to them in order to get the refund?

1696

I made it a point to deal with customer service in a very respectful and polite manner. I just ran down all the listed features that weren’t in the game and how absurd not being able to save was, and included links to the Steam forum where other people said the same thing.

The game is still for sale and when I saw I had email waiting for me from Steam I figured it was a form letter saying they don’t give refunds. I was shocked that not only did they do so, they did it quickly and without a fight.

Like I said, I don’t know if they are re-examining their policy or I just hit the right service rep in the right mood on the right day. At any rate, the $15 has gone the Caesar In Gaul expansion for TW:Rome II.

1697

1698

No shit.

1699

Starion Tactics Save Function now fixed, so they claim on Steam.

1700

Ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh