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Post by Waspman on Jan 31, 2012 23:05:34 GMT -8
I just hope the Titan ships aren't TOO overpowered. I just hate one unit being a game ender.. like in the Age of Mythology expasion, where you just rush to a Titan and auto-win. I do like all the new features though.. can't wait to play it.
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Post by Fayde on Feb 1, 2012 13:05:16 GMT -8
They say that a low level Titan can be brought down by a mid to high level Starbase. After that, it's Titan vs Titan. However, they did say they're balancing it with extreme expense, but it will be available in the early to mid game, depending on how the player is working the system. A couple people on their facebook page expressed the same concern though, and Ironclad said that they're working on balancing the game right now, but Titans ARE super units. They will own just about everything, but given the pace/scale of the game (unlike AoE: Myth), I am guessing you will have enough time to launch a counter attack against it before it completely cripples you. I can only imagine though how amazingly powerful they will be. Second, they did say that each Race and sub-faction will have pretty specific purposes. So people will use a TEC Titan for different things than Vasari or Advent. So maybe they will not be front line offensive units, but culture spreading and defensive support... Just a thought.
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Post by Waspman on Feb 3, 2012 19:35:04 GMT -8
If I remember correctly I think they did say that the factions would have different titans.. so it's possible that they might be specialized like Capital ships are.
Any idea when the beta testing is supposed to start? Maybe someone will start uploading screenshots/videos.
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Post by Fayde on Feb 3, 2012 23:23:04 GMT -8
Yeah, 1 Titan per sub-faction (6 Titans total). So like, each race will have 2 titans, split between the two sub-factions. But yeah, they are supposedly going to be just as customizable as Star Bases and Capital Ships. Though, not sure if it was discussed in that article, but a major change they are making is putting a level cap of 10 on each Capital Ship. Meaning your choices of abilities will matter a lot more, instead of just making 1 super-uber Capital Ship. I for one never really put too much thought into my Capital Ship upgrades due to the fact that I know I can always get it later. I like the idea personally.
No idea. They keep saying "it's ready when it's ready". From the pretty good load of previews and new screenshots though, I would say it's pretty close to closed bata at least. Maybe even a few lucky people will get to participate in it. ^^
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Post by Waspman on Feb 6, 2012 10:14:41 GMT -8
They did say that people who bought Trinity would be able to participate in the beta. But I figured once the beta starts then we'll start seeing videos and stuff beta testers uploaded 'cause at the moment there isn't a whole lot of promoting for the game except for a few screenshots and some interviews. Like it'd be nice to see tech trees and stuff.
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Post by Waspman on Feb 16, 2012 19:24:20 GMT -8
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Post by Fayde on Feb 16, 2012 23:54:04 GMT -8
Yup. Yeah, I wonder if certain shots were gameplay or not... They said the graphics were going to be improved... They're also adding a whole bunch of new music too, which is awesome as I love the soundtrack.
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Post by Fayde on Feb 20, 2012 10:59:13 GMT -8
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Post by Fayde on Mar 3, 2012 1:57:48 GMT -8
So... I ended up caving in and pre-ordering Rebellion, as I had a code from Stardock for 10% my next game through them, and it was going to expire soon. (Survey2011, if you want to use it). So, just played a quick, very small game, focusing more on re-learning some things, plus to see the Corvettes and Titan in action. So, here we go
First things first: TITANS are awesome. They are literally moving Star Bases, only more powerful when they're first built. Sadly, to my disappointment, Titans seem to pretty much be the end-all be-all of everything ever. I took on a entire fleet, a star base and a capital ship in a enemy capital world with my Titan and a couple support ships and my Titan's shields were only at 50% by the end of the battle. Now, I am sure that if the enemy had a Titan themselves, it wouldn't have gone so well. The main thing that balances them out (at least for the faction I was playing), is that you need to unlock the Titan at different stages. So, first you need 1 Military lab in able to just build the Titan factory and allow you to build 25% of it (it pauses the building of the Titan at 25% until you research the next "stage" of development). Then, you need to buy another military lab to get it to 50%, another for 75% and a forth lab to be able to finish the blasted thing. Needless to say, not only does it take TONS of money to do all this (makes a Starbase look like buying a Frigate), but it also eats up your logistical slots to build all those labs. PLUS, a Titan takes 150 supply, AND 2 Capital Ship Command points (which add to the massive cost of the ship). THEN you finally have the cost of the ship it's self, which is like, 6000 credits, and like, 1000 metal/crystal. Needless to say that, although Titans are AVAILABLE pretty early on in the game, they are by no means cheap and easily gotten. You would have to almost completely expose yourself to a early attack by pirates or a large scouting fleet in order to rush a Titan out. SO to summarize: 4 Military labs (requires lots of logistics and moneys) 4 Stages of research (more moneys) 150 Supply (even more moneys) 2 Command Points (You get the picture) A special Titan Factory THEN you can build the blasted thing (holy crap expensive).
Titans can also be upgraded much in the same way as Capital Ships, but also have some elements that are shared with Star Bases, such as the ability to upgrade your hull, antimatter and weapon damage, in addition to special abilities (Sniping, for example, which can do 2000 damage with a range of pretty much 3/4ths of a Grav Well. But mind you that this costs quite a bit of Anti-matter, and unless you are specifically controlling it, you end up sniping a scout frigate or something).
So, onto something else. I was probably more impressed by the Corvette class Frigates than I was with the Titan (mostly because I knew the Titans were going to own all). Corvettes are literally free-moving fighters. They're SUPER MEGA CHEAP (like, 100 credits and like, 5 Crystal or something), they build very fast, move very fast and pack a pretty good punch in large numbers. Alone though, they are super weak. They do 2 damage each, have no shields and have only 300-some Hull points. So a Capital Ship with a few upgrades will pretty much blow them out of the sky. However, I found them extremely useful for garrisoning my planets and guarding them from random siege attacks. They're cheaper and more flexible than building Turrets or Hanger/Fighters, as they're not only more powerful, but they can quickly be re-positioned as a small support fleet for a offensive strike. They produce a lot of targets too, unlike fighters which are usually ignored. I think Corvettes are going to open up a whole new set of tactics that can be used, specifically in defensive and garrisoning situations. Sadly, because I played a quicker game, I didn't have time to look into the different Victory Conditions too much. I did turn them on though. I won with a typical Military victory, but the new conditions I think are going to add a huge dynamic and further affect the way people play the game. They can gear their strategies toward different things other than just fighting. I would probably be more worried about a enemy whom I never see in a game now, than one who continuously harasses me, as they isolated one is probably going for a Scientific victory, which seems like it's a good sneaky way to win.
Some of the other points were the graphics. While they ARE improved big time, the game doesn't really look any different (really just feels like you're playing the regular one) unless you zoom in pretty close. The particle effects and textures do look re-vamped though and you can tell just by looking that it's better. I think the biggest change though is the shadows. The original game had fake shadows, and reflections off the hulls. Now, the ships have better bloom effects, and the light actually emits from the star and casts nice deep shadows on other ships and themselves. So while the textures are better, the shadows and particle effects are really where the graphic changes are at. Oh, the plant textures are 800% better though. Like, seriously, there are some mid-budget movies with crappier looking planets.
So is Rebellion worth it so far? Yes. And I say that as I drown the obsessive giddy fan-boy within. It does not feel like a Micro-expansion like Entrenchment or Diplomacy, which only added a couple features to the game (although large ones). Rebellion adds Titans, which changes the game like Entrenchment did with Star Bases. After that though, the victory conditions, more defined faction differences, corvettes, graphics and balance-fixes seem to be well worth the price of the game, even without the Titans. Especially considering that it comes with Trinity, which is a full game within it's self, and that most new games now days are at LEAST 50 bucks for half the quality.
Edit: There is also new music! I only heard 3 new songs, but specifically the menu music is awesome. There was a song that was playing in-game that gave it a eerie space-opera feel too, which was great. I am a huge fan of the original sound track (so much so that the boys at work listen to it too). SO AWESOME
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Post by Waspman on Mar 3, 2012 21:56:38 GMT -8
I went ahead and got it too. It's definitely worth it with the coupon on top of the $10 discount. Just gotta download it in steam. I do think it's nice that they let you test it right away, usually there's a big list and beta testers are picked at random. I'm interested in checking out online and the steam interface seeing how much better it is compared to the old Ironclad online.
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Post by Fayde on Mar 4, 2012 20:51:52 GMT -8
Awesome! We'll have to try it out online sometime (probably not this week, but next for sure!) I took some screenshots, but photobucket is being stupid right now...
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Post by Fayde on Mar 4, 2012 23:21:12 GMT -8
Close up of the Titan. Showing off some of the high-res graphics. After looking at some nice close up shots from the old game, is disturbing how awesome the new graphics are when zoomed in. img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Fragile_Idyle/screenshots/Sins-of-a-Solar-Empire-Rebellio-2012-03-03-00-50-08-55.jpgExample of a shot from Entrenchment. I mean, the textures still look cool and all, but there are almost no real shadows and lighting. And still, the new textures are a lot more clear and distinct. draginol.stardock.net/images2009/SinsofaSolarEmpireEntrenchmentScreenshot_100CB/Screenshot1545.jpgA close up of TEC frigates. I didn't get a better one, but they really do case shadows on the surfaces of each other, and gives a really cool effect. img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Fragile_Idyle/screenshots/Sins-of-a-Solar-Empire-Rebellio-2012-03-03-00-47-50-01.jpgI think this is a cool shot of the engine-glow/bloom effect, which seems to reflect off the surface of other ships as well (such as the titan in this shot) img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Fragile_Idyle/screenshots/Sins-of-a-Solar-Empire-Rebellio-2012-03-03-00-39-18-35.jpgImproved particle effects in this shot. Really reminded me of that one mod that we had for a while. Much improved, as you can see individual shots from a good distance. The explosions are a bit bigger and brighter too. img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Fragile_Idyle/screenshots/Sins-of-a-Solar-Empire-Rebellio-2012-03-03-00-35-16-42.jpgOnly complain I have about the new graphics is that the stars still look like gas planets. I wish they were literally blinding when viewed in it's grav well, and didn't really have a texture, but more of just a glowing sphere hanging in space. Always bothered me that you could clearly see the surface of it. However, the light generated in the game does come from the star, as well as ambient lighting from the sky boxes, which is awesome.
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Post by Fayde on Mar 4, 2012 23:27:46 GMT -8
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Post by Waspman on Mar 7, 2012 20:55:26 GMT -8
I heard it's actually using the same engine as the old Sins game but honestly I can hardly tell.. must be the lighting/textures and stuff but the graphics look waaaaay better.
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