Sid Meier's Starships Catch-All

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New turn-based strategy game, taking place after Beyond Earth.

In the game, you'll control a fleet of starships as you journey through the galaxy to complete missions, protect planets and their inhabitants, and build a planetary federation.

As you trek through the stars, you'll be challenged to expand your federation's influence and reach. You'll also amass futuristic technology and take part in turn-based combat using a deep roster of customizable ships, some of which you can see in the image gallery above.

2K adds that the missions you'll take on have their own unique maps, featuring "dynamically generated tactical combat" that should boost the game's replayability.

Interesting. From the videos, it almost looks like it's built on the XCOM engine...

It's odd that a whole lot of game sites have the scoop on this, but 2k.com and firaxis.com have nothing.

Color me intrigued! I am, however, slightly concerned that it's coming to iPad as well. I predict a very simple control scheme of dragging and dropping and double clicking with graphics that don't break the bank. Doesn't mean the game will be bad, but when I see a game is also coming to a mobile device my hackles go up. IMO it severely limits design.

I'm intrigued. I like space ships. And I like Civilization. I'm getting a strange Battlestar Galactica vibe from this.

I see the same type of gameplay as his Sid Meier's Aces or whatever that WWI airplane game was called. Doesnt mean bad, but not something of great strategic scope.

Day 1 perch.

oilypenguin wrote:

Day 1 perch.

Fresh!

IMAGE(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/White_perch_GLERL.jpg)

RooksGambit wrote:

Color me intrigued! I am, however, slightly concerned that it's coming to iPad as well. I predict a very simple control scheme of dragging and dropping and double clicking with graphics that don't break the bank. Doesn't mean the game will be bad, but when I see a game is also coming to a mobile device my hackles go up. IMO it severely limits design.

What was your opinion on XCOM as a PC/Console game? That was pretty much a perfect port to the iPad. Because of that my reaction to Starships' iPad news isn't "Oh no, it's going to be dumbed down on my PC" it's "Yay! I'll have another real game to play on my iPad!"

Somewhere Firaxis games went from a auto day 1 perch to a wait and see for me.

So I guess I will wait and see.

I think this is day one for me. Ipad or PC...

Vargen wrote:
RooksGambit wrote:

Color me intrigued! I am, however, slightly concerned that it's coming to iPad as well. I predict a very simple control scheme of dragging and dropping and double clicking with graphics that don't break the bank. Doesn't mean the game will be bad, but when I see a game is also coming to a mobile device my hackles go up. IMO it severely limits design.

What was your opinion on XCOM as a PC/Console game? That was pretty much a perfect port to the iPad. Because of that my reaction to Starships' iPad news isn't "Oh no, it's going to be dumbed down on my PC" it's "Yay! I'll have another real game to play on my iPad!"

As I said, it doesn't mean it'll be bad but there's no question it limits design choices. Xcom is a good example where it can be done well. Sadly there are a plethora of examples where it's done very poorly.

I skipped Civ:BE (too similar to Civ V), but I'm curious to read more about Starships, and, of course, wait for reviews once it's released.

RooksGambit wrote:

Sadly there are a plethora of examples where it's done very poorly.

Firaxis' track record is pretty good though. It's not like they're going to replace their developers with a statistically average sample of all iOS developers. I feel like Beyond Earth's lukewarm reception is more of an anticipation killer than the iPad announcement.

I haven't particularly cared for the directions they've gone for multiple games, now, so I think I'll be waiting on this one. Might very well buy if it people are raving about it, but after Beyond Earth, I'm gun shy.

One of the things is that I just do not like that engine. It's horribly slow.

edit: Oh, and XCOM was fun, but in terms of actual gameplay, I believe it's inferior to a game done twenty years prior.... and I believe much of the reason for that was because it had to be dumbed down for a controller. It was worth buying, but I think it could have been far more than it was.

I'm all for a turn based Starship Battles game. I'd probably go all aflutter if a simplified Starfleet Battles was made. I dont have enough brain cells to learn that tabletop game again.

SpyNavy wrote:

I'm all for a turn based Starship Battles game. I'd probably go all aflutter if a simplified Starfleet Battles was made. I dont have enough brain cells to learn that tabletop game again.

Amen.

Weird that this and Battlefleet Gothic got announced so close together. What's next? Another Homeworld?

maverickz wrote:

Weird that this and Battlefleet Gothic got announced so close together. What's next? Another Homeworld?

I think they already announced one or at least one in the same universe.

RooksGambit wrote:
maverickz wrote:

Weird that this and Battlefleet Gothic got announced so close together. What's next? Another Homeworld?

I think they already announced one or at least one in the same universe.

Oh, I thought that was a remaster or something.

Yeah this seems to be like Homeworld. Man, when is someone gonna make a game like StarFlight I/II again.

Looks like it could be fun. Something to kill time between E-mails.

Very interested in this. Can't wait to see it all in action. I also like the fact that the release date is this year.

I'm a big fan of the way Firaxis announces a game and then it's out within 6 months. Sounds like this will be even quicker.

A lot more info over at pockettactics.

Screenshots look good, but I really want some gameplay to see how it actually plays. I'm confused whether this is Civ in Space or Xcom with Spaceships.

Veloxi? Comment?

As one of the apparently few who really liked Civ:BE quite a bit, I have to say I can't wait to hear more about this. This is one of those announcements that really messes with my pile management plans.

Intrigued.

Was I the only one who heard to reference to tribes and started to picture Battlestar Galactica?

Rat Boy wrote:

Was I the only one who heard to reference to tribes and started to picture Battlestar Galactica?

No, you were not. It seems at least inspired by that (although their current planet wasn't destroyed).

Apparently maverickz thought so too.

I'll keep an eye on this, although as someone (tboon) said above, the most recent Firaxis releases have not been the guaranteed buy for me that they used to be.

As the trailer alludes to and Sid mentions in the Gamespot story quote, I think this is a backdoor way to introduce new civilizations for the first Beyond Earth expansion. I assume we'll see this expansion sometime this year, probably late summer or early fall? Or maybe as a free update that tries to woo folks back in?

Gamespot follows up with an interview from Sid.

Veloxi wrote:

Intrigued.

Agreed.

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