I prefer turn based combat, but the current system is also nice, but i wished we had more influence and combat options.

I also perfer turn based, but i cant comment on the current system , cuz i havent done combat with it besides auto

No - the current combat system is more than fine, but turn based could be nice too:-)

For me the combat system was a positive surprise and TBC would have been also good choice.

Ofc some of us don´t like it but hey, nothing is perfect, even though this game might be close to it

raw wrote:


Also, there are no tactical 4x games on the market. It's impossible to go "elsewhere".

http://beyondbeyaan.blogspot.com/

http://predestinationgame.com/

Smight wrote:
http://beyondbeyaan.blogspot.com/

http://predestinationgame.com/

more betas \o/

raw wrote:
more betas \o/

You can wait until Legends of Pegasus is released, it's a turn base 4X game with a real time combat system, but you can pause it anytime you want, so it's not that different.



b2t

I'd prefer turn based combat, but the current system also works for me. It's not my favorite, but it's quick, easy and quite cinematic. There are still some things that should be improved (e.g. free camera movement, preset action cards for auto combat, ...), but it's an interesting approach.

This sytem is really fun and easy to use, but needs more complexity and a more thought our selection of modules other then a weapon and its counter.

This is a good system because i need to use less my brain for the same time than a turn based and this design is a innovation that make me think to buy this game and not an another.

Ok put your hand up if you love the combat system!!! Woot Woot NOW smack yourself and ask, do you still watch the combat or do you hit auto? I am sorry I can't watch that lame boring joke of a combat system any more. BORING!! It is the same thing over and over and over with some minor changes with ships and size of fleet. If you have played more than 45 minutes you know what I am talking about. Now do not get me wrong the first time I watched it was wow cool looks greats. Then hmm I can't move the cameras to watch my missiles hit. Crap Why is my dreadnought unloading 40 guns and 10 missiles at a single scout when there is 15 other targets. The missiles hit space! The bottom line is if the combat system does not get improved then you will lose most of the players after the first week of play and the multiplayer will sink even quicker!! This means WAY less word of mouth and decreased overall sales.

Make a choice in the game for what kind of combat system from the setup at the start of each game may infact give everything to all players.

What you are proposing doesn't make much sense in a 4x game.

Although more sophisticated combat options might well be nice, and I certainly liked the hands-on option offered by MOO2, there is one simple option that could make the existing play so much more enjoyable for me... simply slowing it down. The user plods a long with a turn-based system in which they can carefully consider the possibilities and consequences of every resource allocation and build decision. Then a battle occurs and the only permissible options are "automatic" or "manual". But the "manual" mode goes by so fast I have virtually no time to react during play, and certainly not to learn how to react well.



I played ES for days before I realized that I could and should select battle action cards for my side, and then took a great many days more before I came up with a strategy for doing so. At first it consisted of taking a screen shot (just once) during a battle so I could have an off-line copy of the playable cards to consider on a second screen. This was before I eventually discovered that the cards playable by a given fleet can be viewed by means of a button that I had never noticed. Once I could view, and took the time to study, all the cards in detail I could start forming some strategies of which cards were best for my specific ships vs those of other specific factions. But if I don't plan out in advance what specific cards I want to use before a battle occurs, then the cards may as well not even be available as an option. I simply have no time in the heat of the battle to read the myriad, small, multi-line inscriptions on a dozen cards and make a snap decision before the long rage phase of battle begins.



I would love to see either a setting in the options, or a third choice upon battle commencement in addition to "automatic" and "manual" that gives me the option to make battle more turn based, or manual-phase-paced, or whatever the appropriate term is. Once I learn how to battle well I'll no doubt be impatiently waiting on the game to run through the phases. But my biggest complaint with ES is that the interface makes it extremely unapproachable and difficult for new users to learn how to use and engage the battle card mechanism, simply due to time pressure.

There should simply be a card selection phase, before the cinematics start. Both parties select their cards, both click on a [x]ready button and then the cards selected are revealed to everyone and you can watch the channel pan out in super duper HD cinematic mode. Alternatively you can click [x]return to star map at any time during the cinematics. Fleeing from a battle should not be a card but a standard game mechanic.

It would be good if allied fleets could help you out. If you are low on ships it would be nice if thy took the initiative to defend some planets for you, or join in fleet battles with you.

Reading through the thread and distilling to the comments / observations pro and con I have my own 2 dust to add (borrowed phrase.)

Combat is boring after awhile and no one plays manual mode - I can only speak to my experiance but the combat AI is too unreliable to leave some battles to. In particular thoe involving heroes. Also in a MP game unless they are gimme battles close ones can be decided purely on card selection and changing of the medium and melee cards on the fly.



Turn based combat while interesting to me would in a multiplayer game be detrimental and is a large factor in why good new ones do not come out - the demand is not generally high enough for a return on investment.

If it could be available in a single player mode - which from reading a majority of players enjoy - then this would be good option but I believe as mentioned before requires a major investment in time and change to the game. You do not have to figure in relational mechanics of speed objects etc to just scratch the surface.



RTS - well that is a different ballgame - it can add a lot of tactical value - but again same comment as above though I would enjoy this more in a single player game where i have not killed my MP opponents with boredom.



The system is good as it is. It is unique and I too like unique. It is subtely more challenging than either of the two above through the research of better cards. And once the things like drones or fighters and orbitals etc come into play later on (i think they are on the list) it will add more complexity to the game.



My two dust worth.

I just wanna ask one question. Where is the GAME???



- in game, everything goes full automatic, even system improvment and combat itself

- research...always same for everyone

- AI...meeeeh

- option...where is? all is basicaly same, going on same way...in every game (y...some luck with random map...but its all...LOL)



Where is the GAME then? Where is the point, where my smart decision impact the gameplay?

Have a turn-based system, with the option to do combat automatically. That way, there's no slowdown for multiplay (you just turn combat to auto, unless everyone agrees it's ok).



Frankly, I find the card-based thing a big letdown in an otherwise promising game. I hoped it was a placeholder; overall, the cinematic is just plain dull since it still takes a fair while to complete, and the player is just sat there doing nothing for the majority of it. This seems the worst of both worlds - we have to still have to wait around for the cinematic to finish while we play a three-round card game, but we're not actually playing the game while it does so - we pick a card and then watch a thirty second cinematic which has little difference regardless of which cards you pick.

I would beg to differ, i regularly fight wars where the difference between victory and defeat is a successful choice of a card, besides watching the battle is like watching Battlestar G, just plain old cinematic fun.

I agree, I've lost and won lots of battles because of good or not so good card choices. To say they don't have any effect is blatantly untrue.

Havoc wrote:
I agree, I've lost and won lots of battles because of good or not so good card choices. To say they don't have any effect is blatantly untrue.

It would be nice to see the AI use the cards better. What the heck is Weapons Overdrive (40% more kinetic damage) going to do for an all-beam/torpedo fleet?

Because of things like this, it's too easy to win against bots.

I could just play against human players, but I don't really have that kind of time to binge on a single game. I take many breaks.