DennisS

I agree with just about everything you said. If you want short, fast games, then not having access to the higher techs would be very frustrating. I understand that. I did see the map of the planet, and it looks sufficiently large enough for me to allow for longer games. Life is good! Edit: Brit, thanks for responding so quickly! Your post was excellent, and well-considered. Consider me a fan, with at LEAST one confirmed sale.

I commanded the Base Weather station at Riyadh during the First Gulf War. This is a subject I know a bit about. Even with my 25+ years experience as a meteorologist, I was quite surprised at how much the weather changed, and how much precipitation there was. Storms would roll in from the southwest at speeds of 30 mph or more, unusual for that latitude. With the proper upper air pattern, you could easily see a rapid change in the weather, enough to warrant the ability to model it. Even with dry weather, a rapidly moving cool front could kick up a Shamal, a dust storm that would take visibility from unlimited to just a few feet in a couple of minutes.

I have been interested in this type of game for a long time. I am unable to find out whether or not this game can be played solitaire. IF it can be played solitaire, does it require server access, or can it be played on a laptop on a train? (for example). Not everyone enjoys a player vs. player environment. I would very much like to hone my skills prior to getting smoked by more experienced players. Thanks.

Hi there! I am a long-time lurker, looking forward to this game very much. (look at my join date, and my number of posts...I wasn't kidding about the long-time lurker part!!!!) Here are some of the titles I currently have on my hard drive: Advanced Tactics Empire Deluxe The Lost Admiral Civilization IV (with all expansions) Sins of a Solar Empire I prefer turn-based, tactical combat, and remember fondly all of the old Talonsoft titles. This game just looks sweet! I especially like the technology tree. If I may presume, I would like to provide just a little input into my personal preferences. 1) Don't make the technology too easy to acquire. I want my research to make a very real difference. If I shoot for better bombers, I want it very difficult to get better artillery, infantry, and ships at the same time, EVEN AT THE END OF A LONG GAME! 2) Like most 4X games, the early game starts pretty slowly. I like that. I LIKE a deliberate style of play. For a game like Empire Deluxe, the expansion is a heck of a lot slower than the unit creation, and this leads to dozens and dozens of units flying around, all heading for the periphery of the conquered area. This can be a micromanagement nightmare...so the development of the units need be kept slow. It should HURT when a unit is lost....conversely, a unit gaining experience should be a cause for celebration. 3) The gamemaps seem to pretty modestly sized. Can we get a feel for how many turns of movement it would take for a fast ship to circle the gameworld? If the world is too small, then what would be the benefit of a fast-moving unit? 4) Is there a provision for starting the world without the fog of war? One would think that when this universe is generated, with already having dirigibles and other "modern" units, that the general map and layout of the continents would already be known...the "New World" is no longer new. Now, I don't have any issues with not knowing what was ON these worlds, as far as cities, roads, resources, but the basic terrain shouldn't be a surprise to my destroyer. This will serve one big, big function. I will generally have a clue where to send my units!!! Searching for a landmass worked well for Cristoforo Columbus, here, not so much. 5) Please, please, please give some thought to what technology will do to the units. If I have an upgraded fighter, and go against a dirigible, let the results speak clearly. The ol' Civilization notion of a Ship of the Line beating a modern destroyer was (and remains) absurd. I want a bi-plane to have ZERO chance against a modern jet fighter. With that in mind, if the AI sees that it is badly out-gunned from a tech perspective, it needs to either abandon production of the badly out-classed units, or rapidly research the counter. 6) How many turns does the average game take? I would hope 300 or more. I would also like NO MORE than 25% of all available techs to be ABLE to be researched over a long time. If you have to double or triple research times, even better. Please don't use the same research times for all levels of research. For example: The first upgrade to biplanes may take 50 research points. The second should take a MULTIPLE of that...not another 50! As your empire grows, so should the requirements for research, geometrically. 7) Basic infantry should be cheap and plentiful, but with a cap, based on the number of cities you control. Many games use this mechanism, and I like it. This forces expansion, and stops players from "turtling." Enough for now. This games shows pretty good promise, as is. Thanks for letting me ramble.