So Where the @#$% is...

chopped into stew and simmered in a pot with potatoes and carrots!

mmmmmmm, snugglebunnystew....
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All that is done before the naked stars is remembered

Yeah, i know about those hairs...i shave them off once a week. Most annoying.

But good in a stew!

The puns! They burn!

Seriously, though, I'd like to know too.

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"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." -Jim Elliot

I'm with you Bunny. Be damn the bugs. I don't care... I know they'll be fixed, and I want the game NOW!!! I fell in love with this game the first time I smoked an AI space station from orbit and watched it burn... or the first time a large salvo of missiles flew out of my fleet of frigates to smoke the chasing AI destroyers one by one. The battles are so much less tedious and way more pleasant to look at than in SE4. The real time means mistakes can be made and makes the battles more challenging and realistic. I love the new ordinance and supply mechanics in the game. It gives more realism and more tactical possibilities. The interface seems clunky at first till you realize that right clicking gives you everything you need within one click (including the survey system and cancel orders button), and the shift button takes care of the problems in ship design.

So squish the bugs, do some modding to improve the ship dedigns used by the AI to make it more challenging (just as was done in SE4), and spend some time getting used to the interface... In the end, you're left with the best 4x game I have ever played hands down (SE4 and MOO2 were my previous champions).

I looked forward to MOO3 for many months... it had so much potential... my dissappointment left wounds that never healed... until I played SE5. Finally I had hope that someone out there could produce a new 4X sequal that was better than the prequal.
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The goggles... they do nothing!

You can preorder SEV at ebgames.com for $39.99 plus a free copy of SEIV (look for those on eBay). The site says expected ship date is October 5th, but has an option to send you an e-mail if it's delayed.

Planning on getting the game on release as well. I trust that Malfador will eventually get the bugs out as with previous versions of the game.

As for MOO3... well, we all know why they did not release a Demo (if they ever released one) when the game was launched.

Won't we be able to do a download buy from the Strategy First website? Why preorder at all if we can download instantly?? Will download buy be unavailable?

The goggles... they do nothing!

Download buy has problems. Namely, I don't trust the download system of any company to work right unless I've had lots of experience with it. Direct2Drive SUCKS, requiring seperate patches and mods, Steam requires Steam to be running and an internet connection to play, Ambrosia Software's has this really ridiclous registration scheme, etc.

I have no faith that SFIs will be any better, and I've already heard rumblings that it has some odd protection on it (eg unable to run the game if you change your hardware).

I am personally going to be buying a boxed copy of the game. I got SE IV from direct to drive and dont seem to be having a problem with it though. But you are right, in most instances D2D games are a bad idea. I only bought SE IV online because I assumed that there were no stores in my area that had it. FOr a long time that was true, but now the newly opend staples in my town has a few copies, i nearly sh** myself.

just incase you didn't know you dont need steam running to play SEIV, you just hafta manualy launch it from its directory

I'm concerned at what I'm reading. I buy all my games using direct download and so far I've never had a problem. The system Matrix uses is very straight forward and works very well. I bought GCII and it was a bit of a pain getting through their procedures but once I got the game I've had no issues and the patches are easy to get. I would like to here more about how this game's direct download will work. Will it require special software, or complex protections schemes? If so, I'll wait for the box. .

You can Pre-order SEV at Gamestop

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=646776

and EBgames:

http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=646776

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Your pain will be legendary even in Hell!

I've been thinking about getting the boxed version myself.
I think that with this game it would be nice to have a printed manual.