Hello! Some questions that will decide whether or not I buy SE V at this time. |
Hello all, my first post here and I would like to state that I am a great fan of 4X games, particularly the space based ones such as MOO and GC (and I have also played SE IV). I see there is a demo that is now patched to the latest version but some things need to be seen over the course of a full game.
So I would like to ask some questions to the community here to help me decide whether or not SE V is a good purchase for me.
I appreciate any responses.
1. How is the game's AI. How does it exploit weaknesses? Does it attack defenses with adequate force? How agressive is it?
I ask this because this is THE THING that decides wether I enjoy a game or not. SE IV was good, but in several occaions I found it lacking on occasion. A enemy wouldn't exploit my lack of defensive fleets in my last game. Plus the AI didn't seem to take into full account the forces I had in system to put forward an adequate force. How hard is playing against the AI for you?
2. How easy is the game to use (granted, this is SE we're talking about, it's not meant to be super streamlined, but is anything broken at this juncture?)
3. How active is the multiplayer community, is there a place to easily pick up games? It is PBEM? (Good for us full time workers, and I'm a active Laser Squad Nemesis player and fondly remember some Stars! games). An active multiplayer community (even better with PBEM capacity) could make any questions of AI irrealevant.
4. How good is the AI in fighting tactical battles, does it properly use fleets?
5. And yes, the most open ended question of all...IS IT FUN?
6. Any other points you wish to speak about? Anything else I should know? Do you have an assignment in marketing class to sell someone on somthing so therefore you want to sell me on SE V? 
Again, any answers will be appreciated. Thanks for your time.
God Bless
PegasusJF
ps...one last note, if I decide now is not the time. I'll keep an eye here, and I am sure to buy it sooner or later.
Re: Hello! Some questions that will decide whether or not I buy
1. in stock quite bad, the mods make it better 
2. The UI is a bit cumbersome as some say, but you can get used to it. Best is you learn the keyboard shortcuts, it this will help you play. (I mean the demo is the same layout, if you think the demo sucks, do not buy it, except you want to do Aaron and SFI a favor )
3. There is a more or less active PBEM community, which also supports different mods. They currently suffer some issues i heard, though :x
4. Nothing goes over a well-balanced hand-designed fleet 
5. I like it. Of course there are still some things to improve.
6. The modability is great. Create your own shipsets (with the right tools), AI, components, alter your game to your liking. And of course it is not a game that gets so easily abandoned after 6 months like MoO3 for example.
7. Yes, there are: Quadrant Mod, Balance Mod, Inter-Relations Mod, Ground Combat mod, UI mod, flags, (Golden Eclipse Mod)... and your own Mod, if you want to make one
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Re: Hello! Some questions that will decide whether or not I buy
If you want to look up some mods, there is a great modding comunity website at: www.spaceempires.net/home. Also, http://seiv.pbw.cc is a good multiplayer website, except games take along time to start...
Re: Hello! Some questions that will decide whether or not I buy
Here is a simple selling point
There is just no other space 4X game on the market that has that much depth into it!
If you played SEIV and you liked it, you will also like SEV even if it is not yet as mature. It has several improvements that really enhance the experience.
Re: Hello! Some questions that will decide whether or not I buy
One more question, kind of unrealated to the previous ones. Here goes.
Are there any noteworthy mods out at this time?