Initial Impressions
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:53 pm
I’ve only played for 30 minutes but, overall, I am satisfied with the experience.
I like the design, the aesthetics and the atmosphere of the game, it looks polished and elegant in an austere way. I like that. I’ve had no problem with the user interface, it’s efficient.
Some areas that may be improved:
- Factions are interesting, but they are presented in a much schematic way: the name, the basic bonuses they grant and a quote. Further info would be nice and helpful: leader biographies, history and achievements, portraits, logos, etc. That information would make the game less generic.
- Alien creatures are a real threat. I like a challenge, so I prefer to play a bit more before reaching a verdict, but right now I’m not able to expand and create cities because I am in the middle of a neverending war with the aliens. Exploration and expansion are hindered by constant aggression. I haven’t changed the average configuration of alien activity, by the way.
- After a few minutes I’ve started researching new technology blindly, without an aim. And the process of research feels too fast and almost random. I click technologies without knowing where they are going to lead me (besides the immediate benefit they provide) and I get them in a few turns and the process starts again.
To sum up, exploration and expansion are obstructed by constant aggression (at least in my first game) and the research process goes too fast, in a blind way. The game has an identity if we attend to form and design (it looks good) but the world lore is still schematic (the problem here is quantity more than quality, the few texts that the game provides are excellent).
Anyway, my first impressions are positive, congratulations!
I like the design, the aesthetics and the atmosphere of the game, it looks polished and elegant in an austere way. I like that. I’ve had no problem with the user interface, it’s efficient.
Some areas that may be improved:
- Factions are interesting, but they are presented in a much schematic way: the name, the basic bonuses they grant and a quote. Further info would be nice and helpful: leader biographies, history and achievements, portraits, logos, etc. That information would make the game less generic.
- Alien creatures are a real threat. I like a challenge, so I prefer to play a bit more before reaching a verdict, but right now I’m not able to expand and create cities because I am in the middle of a neverending war with the aliens. Exploration and expansion are hindered by constant aggression. I haven’t changed the average configuration of alien activity, by the way.
- After a few minutes I’ve started researching new technology blindly, without an aim. And the process of research feels too fast and almost random. I click technologies without knowing where they are going to lead me (besides the immediate benefit they provide) and I get them in a few turns and the process starts again.
To sum up, exploration and expansion are obstructed by constant aggression (at least in my first game) and the research process goes too fast, in a blind way. The game has an identity if we attend to form and design (it looks good) but the world lore is still schematic (the problem here is quantity more than quality, the few texts that the game provides are excellent).
Anyway, my first impressions are positive, congratulations!