Evochron Legends

Evochron Legends

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[color=blue]The Pyro world tour continues! After a lengthy (and expensive) chase across Africa, India and Japan, we finally cornered Pyro in Hawaii. With nowhere to turn, he delivered the following note, inscribed on the warm flesh of a coconut…[/color]

[b][url=http://www.starwraith.com/evochronle... Legends[/b][/url] takes players back to the days of PC flight sims: a glorious era that required knowledge of a mess of keys, a steely indifference to the idea of getting lost, and the willingness to become an ace pilot. But Evochron Legends is not an unwieldy experiment. Everyone should realize that there’s a bit of a learning curve to sailing the great black silence, after all.

If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll likely have seen a few of Evochron’s mechanics before (inertial flight, 3d radar, asteroid mining). That’s ok, though. The game features a solid tutorial that will walk any land-locked dirtfoot through the paces of interstellar flight and cartography. After that, it’s up to the individual to come up with something to do. Become a surly trade lane pirate? Run valuable medical convoys to and from solar systems? Plague the 12 stars as a roving spy/bureaucrat? There’s flexibility enough to do all of this, or just chill as you blast "Dark Side of the Moon" through the aether.

Of course, you’ll be playing out your star tours amidst beautiful planetary scenery. But the cold expanse of space doesn’t have to be intimidating. If you get lonely (or just plain stuck), you can reach out to a network of multiplayer contacts who will be more than happy to help right your course. For the solitary folk out there, there’s no need to socialize. You can spend your days drifting through the cosmos without ever contacting another living being.

I don’t see why you would, though. Evochron’s lone developer relies on fan input to help modify and improve the game. As a result, players really get to feel like they have a say in the creation of the game (or, at least, the avoidance of mass cosmic nerfing). In addition, players are encouraged to modify game elements and trade their creations with other Evochron users. It really feels like joining a community, much in the same way that Mount & Blade cultivated its own community following.

Why You Should Check This Out: Remember when modding was all the rage? When players could spend an afternoon downloading various packs and add-ons just for the chance to see new flight HUDs or player skins? Evochron Legends is a return to the idea that a meticulously crafted game can benefit from a little player input. Offering highly customizable knickknacks not only enables gamers to create their own additions to the experience, but encourages community relationships and interaction. It’s an aspect of gaming that’s been on a silent decline for a while, so it’s reassuring to see that the concept isn’t buried yet. Oh, and it’s also a robust game. If you’re into that kind of thing.

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Comments

Read about this a while back. Had the demo downloaded even, just hadn't got around to it. I did love the X-Wing series and miss being a space jockey sometimes. Maybe the peer pressure will be enough to get me to at least try it now.

Hm, from the FAQ:

I would like to buy several licenses for family/friends, can I get a discount for the game?
Yes. The discount varies based on the number of copies needed. Have a member of the group contact me with the details of your group (name of group, names of members including e-mail addresses, number of systems, etc.) and I will supply instructions on buying multiple licenses at a discount price. A separate registration will be given to each group member (each one will have the renewal option and full registration benefits).

GWJ Group?

"After that, it’s up to the individual to come up with something to do."

...and you lost me.

I'm sick of all the 'cool' space sims being a wild west/economy/business/stock broking/trucking sim. I want a mission briefing, a load out screen and a GO button. Is that too much to ask?

Carl

carljetter wrote:

I'm sick of all the 'cool' space sims being a wild west/economy/business/stock broking/trucking sim. I want a mission briefing, a load out screen and a GO button. Is that too much to ask?

Since the games have become sandboxes they've mostly been made by indie developers and indie games, well, tend to not be as friendly to people. On one hand I like that, but on the other hand sometimes it does get tedious coming up with things to do. Some direction is helpful at times. An interesting story doesn't hurt either (see: Freespace 2). I just don't expect we'll see a really well put together space sim game until the genre gets popular again. X3 and others have story in them, certainly, but it's nowhere near as engaging or streamlined as what we use to see.

Then again, you might like Darkstar One. Not a great game, but it's fairly straighforward and linear.

Anyway, I've known about this game for quite some time, but I didn't realize there was a demo. And multiplayer. Mmmmm. Sounds good to me.

Downloaded - ran through tutorial. So tired right now but going to start a little single player. I might be giving up $25.00 to a worthy cause before the weekend is out. . .

Thanks for the article. I am downloading now Firefly ship anyone?

I've played about half of my allotted demo time. All I've done is blow up asteroids and wander around the immediate vicinity of the starting station. Once you get the hang of navigation, it's a pretty good ride.

Time to go shoot at another ship just because I can. I wonder what multiplayer is like?

Edit:
Looks like you can't try multiplayer without ponying up for the game. I caved and fished out the credit card. Hope it doesn't take too long on a weekend for the key to arrive - I'm out of my demo time!

Stele wrote:

GWJ Group? :D

If you guys start one up, I'll bite. I've been jonesing for a good Elite clone.

How does this game stack up to X3? I am considering picking up X3 but I could be persuaded to buy this instead if this is a better game.

I found this thread from last year on Evocrhon - it might answer some of the questions.
http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/4...

Well, sitting here at work and reading about this game has sold me. Anyone up for recklessly Dishing out 25 dollars and starting a GWJ Clan online?

I actually set up a GWJ account just to comment on this -- I've started playing on the Babylon 5 server, which is a 24x7 community server for the game. Would love to see some fellow gamers on the system; look for me in the evenings, username ellF. Would be awesome to play with some new faces.