Ok. I downloaded the demo.
Where the heck has this gem been hiding? I can't believe I missed it. Wow.
I went in expecting a flat diplomacy concept (I love intricate, lots of options, type of diplomacy). I went in expecting horrible graphics. I went in expecting just another shallow game.
All I can say is oh my lordie. Boy was I WRONG. Flat out WRONG.
So.. I launched the demo. And, as I did expect, alot of features were disabled. No problem, I'm just looking for a feel for the game. Cool.
So after creating the faction I use in most 4X games, the Trade Federation (haha, yes, Im a SW geek at times. I love the Trade Federation concept. Shoot me. It's my sandbox dangit.) was reborn in GC2 glory. I setup my UI scheme(which is very cool btw) and then my ship concept. Couldn't create a custom one, so I selected one that seemed interesting. I told myself I'd stay with a neutral concept, but eh.. lol. Saw I could choose my color scheme, so I picked an orange/black color. I usually use orange for my Trade Federation, it seems a neutral color.
I honestly that was the ship builder everyone was bragging about haha. So about 20 mins into the game while accustoming myself to the different clickables, menus, diagrams, statistics, etc etc.. I was overwhelmed (which honestly is a feeling I've been craving for awhile. I just hope that one day it doesn't all click and seems so simple.). it was great. I stumbled into the Shipyard and saw I could create a ship. Cool.
I was BLOWN THE HECK AWAY. I could not BELIEVE that this was happening. It was like The Sims, meets Sim City, meets Spore(if you have no idea what Spore is, go google it NOW. This game is gonna be great. Basically.. you start with one mico-organism.. and evolve it all the way to the space age. You get to totally design what you want etc, much like the Ship Builder. But for creatures. Seriously. The Trade Federation will totally live on in the spirit of some gnarly looking 6 legged reptile with 8 eyes, and a jaw that hangs on the ground). Ok.. sorry.. off topic. Anyhow...and all that meets the Space/SciFi nerd in us all.
The graphics are fine. They don't seem grainy or anything at all. I currently play on my 37" HD LCD TV lol, reclined back in bed... so I play at 1024x768 resolution and it seemed fine. I did like the custome resolution option, but it still cut some off on my TV. No biggie. One day I may get a new monitor. (I have a decent system... Q6600 processor, 8800GTS, 4gb ram, etc etc.. and my monitor crapped on me. Instead of buying a new one.. I now use my TV lol. I'm economical). But anyhow, the graphics are great. I have yet to see a fleet battle however. I didn't even research Military yet =0 I was too busy looking at everything, exploring the tech tree, etc. If I recall, the Twilight expansion will improve the graphics even more right?
After spending an hour and a half on just a small scout design (I am that meticulous..I will probably spend atleast that on every ship I can. I love control. GC2 gives it to you)...I came up with the Scorpion Scout. I intended to make something much more not-so-crazy..but I figured heck, lets see what I can do. The cool thing was, I didn't start building and decide it looked like this. I saw a dead scorpion up in the light fixture and decided ok. Let's see if I can build a ship which looks like a scorpion. I had NO IDEA that it would come out anything close like this:




I think it looks pretty good for my first attempt. I have no idea if the stats are right, but after about 30 mins in the game.. I realized I may want to make the Scorpion Scout Mk.2 by maybe taking off a sensor(s) and adding a survey module. Anyhow.. wow..
I am seriously BLOWN AWAY. The game has so much depth. I have a buddy at work who is looking for a new game to play, but I do not think I will recommend GC2. He finds Sins of a Solar Empire deep and complicated...he thinks the tech tree there is huge..(which btw, is AWESOME in GC2. Lots and lots of Tech) I don't think he would appreciate the intricacies and fine achievement of GC2.
I see a HUGE replayability factor. One game you could decide to play an evil race set on the destruction of all.. one, you could play a pacifist race. Another, you could play a greedy, monopoloy-driven faction... the next, a bunch of religious zealots out to vanquish the entire galaxy of a specific race(which, could be setup obviously. It's AWESOME). All you need is imagination and a bit of role-playing, all mixed in with a bit of creativity ..and bam.. you have a different game every time.
A few questions...
1) What is the Metaverse? I saw it was disabled in demo but it said something about competing? That sounds fun.
2) I noticed some of the factions pictures on the diplomacy screen were animated, and some weren't. Are most of them animated, or not? Just curious because I find the animated ones MUCH more attractive. It is a small detail, but it definently adds ALOT in my opinion. Makes them feel.. alive?
3) Does the Ultimate bundle come with the Gold Edition extra building parts? I saw some were specific to the Gold Edition version.
4) Are fleet battles have a pannable camera? I would hope so, but if not.. I can live.
5) Gameplay question. I noticed that when mining, a yellow stream existed between both the mining colony and the planet. Is there a way this can be "blocked" to cut off a planet from it's mining resources?
6) Another gameplay question. I have yet to setup a trade route but.. once again, is there a way to block a trade route? I.e, a blockade on the trade route, to prevent the funds from getting to the destination planet, to cut income on that faction's planet?
7) What is the best way to become unaddicted? =0
The only real complaints I had were minor. For instance, I kept wondering why my ships wouldnt move to the planet. It took me a bit to realize I could already see the intel on them. Doh.
I also wish you could pan the camera UNDERNEATH the galaxy. Frivilous really, but as I said, I like control. No biggie.
The demo was great..I expect the full game to be awesome.
Oh and to answer my own question.
yes, GC2 is deeper.
Yes, GC2 is better. Sorry SoTS fans.
I found my new home