This is a joke, right?

[Guest Duncan]

Just download and tried the single player mission.

 

My two cents:

 

Personally, I think that they are not doing the Star Wars Universe justice. Are they really planning on sticking with these graphics? It looks like is only running in 256 colors! It would be nice if they used some transparency effects or something on the smoke that is rising from a burning building. The dithered smoke looks like crap.

 

Darth Vader looks silly walking up to a building and slashing it with his lightsaber. Isn't he the commander of those troops or something? I would think it would make more sense to just have him stand back a watch or at least give him a ranged attack when attacking buildings, like lighting discharges or something. Leave the lightsaber for enemy units.

 

Since when do the ATST's dance around when firing their lasers?

 

Last time I checked TIE Bomber's don't hover in the air.

 

The rebel troopers didn't so much as walk and/or run to move from place to place but they seemed do some sort of shuffle.

 

Not to pleased with what I saw so far. Looks kind of like a shoddy SW mod. I really hope they improve it.

 

As far as those who will say "Graphics do not a game make!" I say your right, BUT the graphics should not detract from the game either. When I play a game, I like to become immersed in it. But, if while playing I keep thinking that the unit animations look silly or the fire doesn't look right or the building explosion animation was too quick. Then it pulls me out of the game.

 

I think the biggest problem is the color. Why 256? People have been making RTS games in 16 or 32bit color for over 3 years now. It's pretty much a standard.

 

Anyway just a little bit of a rant. I was really looking forward to this game but so far the demo has left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

[Guest Luke Skywalker]

Use logic. McGeeza did that to prove his points, most of you didnt. Read some Athiest works. Youll understand

[Guest Olsmo Lahun]

YOU ARE PIKY

[Wraith 5]

please let us not start another flam war.

(darth mike)

 

Duncan why did you just say the same thing that McGeeza said couldn't you have just said that you agree with him.

 

 

Luke Skywalker what or you are you talking about????

[Guest Yossarian]

Originally posted by Duncan

Personally, I think that they are not doing the Star Wars Universe justice. Are they really planning on sticking with these graphics? It looks like is only running in 256 colors! It would be nice if they used some transparency effects or something on the smoke that is rising from a burning building. The dithered smoke looks like crap.

 

I'm sure it's 256 colors because AoK was 256. On Age forums, Ensemble developers have said it was done this way to minimize resource usage.

 

BTW I agree with McGeeza, this demo is a pretty poor showing. I will most definitely not be buying the full version, and yes I have played multiplayer

[Guest NamelessOne]

Just because it says Star Wars on the box doesnt mean its a great game. The industry is selling the exact same game right back to everybody that it did a couple of years ago. namely, aoe. and i know that a hell of a lot of people are going to shell out 50 bucks for it, probably including myself.

the sad thing is, we'll probably never see an RTS game that does the Star Wars universe justice, simply because we're all so willing to buy something like this.

[Guest Muuurgh]

Lucasarts, since episode 1, hasn't released a good game. Their best games are the x-wing series, Dark Forces and Jedi Knights. After that they concentrated on "fun" games for the console, and lost the whole gameplay aspect for me. Hopefully with GBG they will go back to producing good games, not just fun ones.

 

Since episode 1, they have concentrated on games for consoles to try and make as much money as possible, and only recently have decided to get back into the PC market with deep and enthralling games. And about time. Star Wars Galaxies and Jedi Knight 2: Outcast are my most eagerly awaited games. Apart from civ3 and GB that is.

 

Jediknight, when it was first released was a first class game. Yes, the graphics weren't quite up there with the best of them, but it had the biggest and best levels of any FPS out there. And force powers and lightsaber battles just made it better. The main possible problem with JK2:Outcast may be that they're basing it on the Q3 engine, and therefore the levels aren't as big and "starwarsey".

 

Back to the original topic, I'm a fan of starwars, and I'm not a fan of lucasarts. Hopefully I will be again when they release their next set of games.

 

And I've played the demo, single player and multiplayer, and I'm not impressed. I am going to wait for the finished product before I decide whether to condemn it or not though.

[EndSub]

I still say LucasArts best game was day of the tentacle

 

Use logic. McGeeza did that to prove his points, most of you didnt. Read some Athiest works. Youll understand

 

no McGeeza was the one flaming and saying the games "sucks" saying they "took the easy way out" and that it is just an "AoE starwars mod" all from 5 minutes.......that isn't logic........and whats religion got to do with it? especilly the Atheism-Logic look......"in the beggining there was nothing.....then out of the nothing came something!"

 

but anyway this is not a religious argument......back on topic........

[Guest nXs_Altus]

ah yes, there was a game, day of the tenticle... bad graphics, horible sound, etc (by todays standards) but I think it would be fun still. I never realy owned the game but I played it often at other peoples places and found it quite fun.

 

As to my coment on no good games coming out since flopies (ex: x-wing) I stand partialy corrected. Jedi knight was good but the expantion came a bit late to be of note (since much better games had already come out for other companies)... few other good games came out besides that (and Jedi Knight was just a good game, not great).

 

as for the demo, I agree with many of the posts describing the game in a bad light (low end looking graphics, some lousy sound, the fealing that it is just a quick mod) however I also agree with the post noting that there are good (but few and perhapse too little) sides to the demo as well as the fact that the final product is likely to be much better than the demo in areas of sound, and graphics (hopefully gameplay as well). This demo is quite possibly months previous from its release but they took some time to the side (with the full release next month) and polished it up for us to try. This could even be one of the earliest runs of the game (we don't realy know) but I find it highly unlikely that they would release this demo based on the current build of the game which would detract from developement time. The demo seems very much like a "here is basicaly what we are shooting for, lets get some feedback" type of things. They are getting feedback as well and dont forget the various events going on (like a developer chat and such) for more direct (filtered) feedback.

 

Seems I ranted on a bit, sorry... to some up, lucas arts has released a barely noteworthy number of good games (none great) since games stoped coming out on flopy disks so much, the demo kind of sucks but the final release is likely to be quite a bit improved.

[EndSub]

Originally posted by nXs_Altus

ah yes, there was a game, day of the tenticle... bad graphics, horible sound, etc (by todays standards) but I think it would be fun still.

 

I don't think that the graphics or sound are bad, even to todays standard......

 

"I feel like i could.....like i could.....TAKE OVER THE WORLD!" - Purple Tenticle

 

 

Just thought of another cool game series made by LucaArts........the Monkey Island Series! that is the "big daddy" of graphic adventures (really depends if you count Quest For Glory as RPG or Graphic Adventure.....)......

 

*Hey cool, I'm a Wampa!

[Guest Home_Sliced]

I have to agree with McGeeza that it was a horrible DEMO. This is a post about the rancidness of the DEMO, NOT THE GAME. Taking a straight comparison with other demos of the same genre, there are few redeeming qualities.

 

First off, it's extremely limited. I was expecting at the very least to be able to play a skirmish game of some type. The only possible explination I can think of, is that the AI is not far enough completed to be included. I barely even got a taste for the game, let alone was drawn in by it.

 

Second off, what was there was (for the most part) lacking. When I say lacking, I mean in all aspects of a game that I consider important (gameplay, customization, graphics).

 

To be fair, it was a demo, so customization is and should be limited. I didn't have a problem with that. We know it has at the least a map editor, so that front is good.

 

I think my biggest dissapointment are in the graphics. The game looks worse, and I mean much worse, than AOE2 at the same resolution and # of colors. The unit animations are downright awful (Vader, ugggh). For some unknown reason, they decided to make everything look cartoonish. It was even worse in earlier version (see old screenshots). There are huge issues with unit moving speeds in conjunction with their animations (watch a trooper "walk"). Some of the animations are even "cartoony." Like the AT-ST careening back when it fires, the (shudder) horrific TIE Bomber attack, or (more shuddering) the Darth Vader attack. Although the purpose is probably to let us clearly know the unit is firing, there are better (and more subtle) ways to accomplish this. The worst graphic by far had to be the fires, though. I honestly wanted to look away from the screen whenever I attacked a building. AOE2's fire animation are about 1000x better. The whole grainy, dancing pixel thing just doesn't work. The environment isn't much better, either. The trees look pretty cool, but the whole puke green color scheme has got to go. The area we saw of Yavin for in SW had deep, lush greens with subtle browns and greys not the aqua-green washed out garbage in the demo. In fact, the only redeeming artwork I saw in the game were the buildings (I must admit the Sith Temple is pretty sweet), the menus, and a few of the units.

 

That brings me to the gameplay. I can't say much about the SP except that I hope they have a lot better. I could have made that SP mission, and have a total of about 1 hour of AOE2 editing experience. If a newb can make the level, its normally not a good sign. The MP on the other hand was ok. There are some balance issues that need to be hammered out. Specifically air units, shields, and grenade units. The air units are puny and should strafe when they attack! This would actually kill two birds with one stone. Since they are moving, they are harder to hit making them relatively tougher. Second, the shielding was entirely too powerful. Two fully garrisoned medium towers and a handful of mechs could annhilate any ground attack force while shielded, while one or two missle turrets annhilate any possibility of an air strike. Instead of doubling HP, the shield should act as a long range and air attack protector. No shots from outside the shield bubble can penetrate (and visa versa), but once an enemy unit steps inside the bubble, he attacks as normal against normal defenders. Thus you have a passive defensive counter to the cannon (ie: trebuchet, not included in demo) along with other long range artillary and air attack. We know ships cannont fly through shields (ROTJ), ground units can walk through them(TPM), and blasters cannot go through (all) (granted these could be differnent kinds of shields, but I don't want to get into that ). Lastly, the grenade unit from the barracks was way underpowered for the cost. Perhaps triple to quadruple the damage, and halve the area of effect? Or double damage, same area of effect? I also think the unit bonuses and attacks need to be made more clear. A mech should have a stronger attack than a trooper no matter what it's firing at. However the larger mechs should not be able to target the smaller units as well.

 

I'd half to play a civ with all the tech levels to get a true comparison to AOE2, but as of now, I see no reason why I should buy the game since I have AOE2 and StarCraft (well, technically its my old roommate's ), Star Wars or not. If the demo is representative of what GBG has to offer, I went from a "probably getting the game" to a "almost certainly not."

 

Hopefully you can all pick out my thoughts, arguments, and evidence in the above rambling. Feel free to bug me until I give a straight, non-5 page paper answer if need be.

[Guest McGeeza]

Firstly, thanks for the support that some of you guys have shown. It's good to know that there are a few others of you out there that aren't owned by LA.

 

Secondly, Endsub, I said that the DEMO was awful, not the game and if you read my reply to Wraith 5 you'll see that I tried to give contructive criticism, hopefully something that I am capable of.

 

Thirdly, I do NOT hate Lucasarts. I have enjoyed many of their titles in the past, including:

 

Ballblazer

Koronis Rift

Rescue on Fractulus

Battlehawks

Their Finest Hour: Battle of Britain

Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis

Super Star Wars titles on the SNES

X-Wing + Expansions

Tie Fighter + Expansions

X-Wing vs Tie Fighter

X-Wing: Alliance

Dark Forces

Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight

Monkey Island series

Grim Fandango

Sam & Max

Day of the Tentacle

 

and i'm sure there are many more i've forgotton (you don't need to list them, I know you are ALL experts)

 

So please don't think the only reason I have posted is to Knock LucasArts and take the p*ss. To be honest, I've got better things to do, and if I wasn't passionate about the mess they are making of SW games at the moment, I wouldn't be here.

 

Lastly, I am also looking forward to Outcast, Knights and Galaxies as much as the next man!

 

Outcast - In the hands of Raven. Made a few mistakes in the past but overall, i'm optimistic thay can pull it off!

 

Knights - I guess it will be using the BG2 Infinity Engine, and if they can get the all important SW atmosphere across, that's good enough for me (You can't argue that BG2 with hardware FX looks gorgeous). I just hope they let Bioware write the plot, because i don't think LA are capable of doing a good one at the moment.

 

Galaxies - I've never played Everquest (Connection is a joke here in UK at the moment), but the QT VR shots of this are enough to get me excited.

[EndSub]

I think that you started off on the wrong foot........saying the games sucks (and not giving any real valid reasons...) then spending a page and half having a flame war (still don't see what age has to do with it.....) is proberly not the right way to make an entrance

[Guest McGeeza]

Do you ever shut up?

 

Your wrong. Be man enough to leave it.

[Wraith 5]

I think that you are both idiots!!!!

 

You are both arguing over the stupids thing!!!!

 

 

McGeeza you did start this thread saying the game sucked just because of one mission....

 

EndSub what is wrong with McGeeza thinking something different then you!!!!

 

Why don't you both shut up and get on with your lives. You both started this flam war, now why don't you both end it right now!!!

[Guest McGeeza]

Shhhhhh.

 

Shush now.

[Dehse]

I really wasnt impressed with the demo single player mission myself - I think that maybe they should have thrown in at least 2 - or maybe a mission that wasnt gonna be in the retail version, but what do I know. Im really new to the whole RTS thing myself - but the mp looks really cool - and I look forward to the retail version when it comes out. I was totally devastated with Rebellion and let's not even talk about FoCom.

 

You see, with me, it's all about atmosphere. When I see Vader dancing gaily as he attacks, I think he tends to lose all credibility as the hardest bloke in the galaxy. It's in the detail. To see the once-mighty TIE Bombers HOVERING above there targets dropping devastating green SNOWFLAKES , *and the Empire's credibility starts to wane.*

 

Actually, McGeeza, the Empire lost credibility when they got beaten by a bunch of teddy bears, uhhh, ewoks, I mean

[Guest NamelessOne]

Everybody backing the game has a major problem: They can't look past the SW license and take it for what it is

It's a half-ass attempt to make a buck.

If this game did not follow the SW universe, it would be agreed unanimously that this is nothing special.

[Wraith 5]

Namelessone please see why???

 

And read it again...

[Guest Duncan]

Nameless One I think you hit the nail on the head.

 

There are some people who will buy the game simply because it has the Star Wars name on it.

 

I personally was disappointed with the demo. The game doesn't look good. If they don't clean up the graphics, I don't think I will be able to get past it.

 

As far as the arguments were people are pointing things like Day of the Tenacle have crappy graphics but fantastic gameplay, remeber: DOTT was released around the same time as DOOM and the original Warcraft. Would any of you buy a new LA game if it used the DOOM engine even if the gameplay was really good? I think not.

[Guest god3345]

Well after hearing about this game comeing out for some time now i was quite excited about getting it, but after seeing the screenshots of cheesy animated walkers and getting and playing the demo i must say i am very dissapionted. from what i got from multi it is nothing more than a sw version of aoe2, no not just the engine, that would have been fine. nearly every aspect of the game is directly linked to aoe2, the few new aspects like animal farms and shields dont really counter all of the other units and upgrades that so closly resemble aoe2. I was shocked to realize that the town center is an EXACT replica of aoe2's (with the addition of healers and probe driods) but everything else as far as upgrades do the exact same thing for the exact same cost. as is the same with many other buildings, units and upgrades. i have star wars rebellion and one of the things i like most about it is how all of the emipires units look so big and powerful, they should be, they did in the movies!

overall, i rate the game poorly for all i have seem from the screenshots, demo, and tech trees.

[Guest snaayk]

Since everyone seems to be complaining (mostly) about the graphics and how they compare to AoE. Let's compare the two.

 

I don't have AoE2 installed, and I rather not go through the hassle. But if you do have it installed, take some screenshots of a comparable scene in GB and post them on a page for direct comaparison. I have a site to post them if need be, just email them to me.

 

With this we will be able to make exact comaprisons.

 

Even with that, I wouldn't expect a demo's graphics to be on par with a finished product. After all, when the final product does come out we all have to say "DAMN, THIS THING KICKS ASS!!!!"; which we may not say if it's EXACTLY like the demo.

 

My 2 <insert currency>

[Guest Starnick10287]

Look, its was just a demo no need to argue. Almost all pre-release demos are bad because all the bugs need to be beaten out and THE GAME ISNT FINISHED yet. Personally, the first mission was way too easy, but hey all first missions need to be easy. Also, the designers may change the mission for all we know. For multiplayer; the game rocks! I found it more fun than the AoK multiplayer! The color scheme is somewhat off and some animations too. But those are petty things. The game so far is good, but I hope they get it in shape by November. They're probably leaving that for last since their are so many bugs to be worked out. Oh one last thing: after reading one page i got a headache, and I suggest ending this post.

[Guest T.I.E]

Some people reinforce the issue of birth control, and I am not talking about the ones who like the demo.

[Guest HanSolo]

I also think that the game is a bit of sell-out by Lucasarts. Considering that they have the financial backing of the largest franchise on the planet, surely they can afford to develop their own game from scratch, rather than license a good - but OLD engine.

 

Whatever anyone says about the graphics, it does look dated. I don't think that 3D is the future of RTS, I hate about 99% of the attempts so far, but I think that a pseudo-3D engine would have been more appropriate. Compare SWGB to Warcraft 3 in terms of graphics. And then think that these games will be launching at the same price.

 

I must say that I was highly dissapointed with the demo. I wasn't expecting the graphics to be great, and I wasn't expecting the game to be a huge step on from AoE. I was expecting a game that was true to SW.

 

I was absolutely disgusted (I literally turned the game off after seeing it) to see them refer to 'Walkers' as 'Mechs'. That is a blatent example of how they are trying to make this game appeal to the main-stream gamer. Surely there are enough SW fans out there to make a game that appeals to them; even if it means alienating non-SW fans! Lucasarts seem so set on making a product that could appeal to ALL gamers, rather than just the SW fans.

 

That is where FC fell over. The original pseudo-3d game engine that was shown in those early previews looked great. Why did they dump it; because they thought a fully 3d engine would be more acceptable to the masses. Look what that produced...

 

I hope that by releasing this game, it will make Lucasarts realise that people will buy SW games, regardless of their genre-forwarding features. I hope that they will start to make games for the gamers again (TIE Fighter anyone?), and not for the 'casual gamer' - read: non-SW fans.

 

SOLO