my rants and raves.... [contains spoilers]

[stingerhs]

okay, i've been playing E@W for over eight hours, and i do have a couple of issues. first, the good stuff: finally a Star Wars RTS that feels like Star Wars. Petroglyph really nailed it on the head with the presentation, units, and cinematic quality. i was downright impressed with the amount of detail. explosions, effects, unit quality, etc all looked very impressive. and don't forget the usual fantastic audio from a LucasArts title.

 

now for the issues. first, you have to understand that i've been playing a ton of Rome: Total War recently. in that game, the combat is very tactical. examples: attacking the flanks/rear; utilizing cavalry to split unit formations; use frightening units to facilitate an enemy retreat; not attacking spearmen from the front; utilizing units that can hide in forests to spring ambushes; etc.

 

in E@W, the combat is much simpler. it all really boils down to using units that counter other units. i'll be the first to admit that this does prevent unit spamming, but what it prevents is creativity. i've already realized that the best tactic is to create a lot of nearly identical armies/fleets that have a lot of units that counter other units. and do you get bonuses for attacking the flanks, splitting armies, or hitting the rear of units (especially tanks or walkers)?? nope. the success of an attack is almost completely dependant on if you're hitting the target with a counter-unit.

 

something else i also noticed was the lack of variety in the battle maps. yes, the battle maps vary between planets, but they all basically boil down to two types of areas: areas the units can traverse and areas units can't go. there are no areas to spring traps, and the maps all feel rather small.

 

it may have something to me enjoying tactics over strategy that makes this game a little bit dissappointing, but it is my opinion none the less.

[gswift]

Question: What is unit spamming? I'm an old guy, so I don't know that term.

 

I agree with your assessment of the tactics. I'm also a R:TW fan (had to take the R:TW disk out to install EaW) For some reason, EaW reminds me of the board games Axis and Allies and Risk. I've never grown tired of those games, and I can see myself spending a lot of time playing EaW as well. Would I buy EaW again? Yes. I like this kind of semi-simplified strategy once in a while. It's a nice change from R:TW.

 

You're also right about the audio. Try some good head phones, and it's even better.

[paws1111]

" splitting armies" uh.....that dosint work as well with guns......... that would mean chargeing in the middle of a group and in real life ud be mowed down before you get there

 

vehicles doing it..... id rath3r have them crush infantry

and veh vs veh truley they wuld crash so realy that dosint make sence to have a "wege" type formation

 

except for in space...... but there naturaly in wege formation

 

but all your other points would be nice to see

 

it would also be cool tho not only do some units be weaker in the back but some units too also not be affected by it (same armor all the way around)

[sven8136]

I'm kinda blehed by the galactic part of the game. I'd like more options with buildings and such. I'd really like more options with technology. I think lumping it all together into 1 upgrade kinda sucks. Also, i'd like to see more ship specific upgrades...

 

Examples: If say, I want to focus on tie fighters/bombers, can upgrade speed, attack rate, hull/shield strength, and damage power.

 

If I wanted to focus on SDs I could upgrade tie fighter/bomber capacity, shield/hull strength, laser damage, torpedo damage, engines, etc.

 

I just hope/wish that was moddable.

 

I'm still undecided if this game would survive if it didn't have Star Wars in the title.

[stingerhs]

unit spamming = using the same power unit as the bulk of your army/fleet.

[Sithxace]

i completely agree with stingerhs, like ive played Rome:Total War and its amazing, i mean the only thing keeping it from being PERFECT is the combat AI. But the sytrategy of building armies in rome and the battling itself was amazing. Then i have great memories of rebellion, if the ability to customize the ships such as admiral, fighters, troops on each ISD. The strategy of the map on rebellion was amazing unlike its space battles.

 

So to me add rome and rebellion together would be beyond amazing, but i played EAW for about 30 mins, i dunno if im growing up and im getting pickier, but like the gameplay on ground and space is just too arcadish. And like the galactic map isnt amazing because of it beinmg to simplistic to be fun, also feels a bit clustered with so many planets in a small area.

 

Since at heart im a hard core starwars fan, itll grow on me but for now its not, and like one of the reviews said, this is a game starwars fans will love, others will loose interest fast.

[Gezoes]

...this is a game starwars fans will love, others will loose interest fast.

 

So true. Not that that is a bad thing

 

I've also been playing Total War, well, ever since Shogun. Hard to compare and not fair IMHO. Still, a combo would mean... well... safe to say I'm listening!

[Orao]

What annoys me the most is the fact that all is automated. Launching fighters is automated, units which will enter the battle is automated. Ok I have nothing against it in general terms but for god sake let us make our choice dont force us to play with units at the start which we don't want.

 

BTW AT or as they calle them plex soldiers are way too powerfull. They can take on infantry and the armor.

 

On the other hand they nerfed AT-ST so much that is completly useless. It can be taken out by plex soldiers (which is normal) and by an ordinary soldier with just a fricking laser.

[swphreak]

I would also like the ability to turn on/off autolaunching on big ships (the station autolaunching is fine). Is the Hypervelocity gun supposed to be that weak, or was I not suppposed to shoot at a station with it? Also, I'm really ticked disappointed there is no direct IP connection option for multiplayer because the online service sucks.

 

(Bear in mind all I've played so far is Space Skirmish and attempted to play more than one multiplayer game.)

[stingerhs]

So true. Not that that is a bad thing

 

I've also been playing Total War, well, ever since Shogun. Hard to compare and not fair IMHO. Still, a combo would mean... well... safe to say I'm listening!

well, this game is going to get a lot of comparisons to the Total War series simply because of the Galactic Conquest mode. you have a strategy map (like Total War), and you duke out the battles on a battle map. and quite frankly, i really thought the combat was going to be more tactical than it is because i was under the impression this game was going to be similar to the Total War series in most respects.

 

IMHO, i don't feel like an admiral/general in this game like i did in the Total War games. there is no advantage to unit formations or organization. its a simple matter of pointing and clicking. in other words, i feel like i'm at an arcade booth, and it does detract from the experience.

[Hartmrolf]

Rome is quite arcadish itself compared to, for example medieval or shogun (it's two predecessors), there is a reason for two big realism mods (rome total realism and Europa Barbarorum).

 

Anyway i kind of like eaw, though normall i prefer much more strategy and tactics, dont know why, but this game just feels great for me.

But i can absolutely understand what annoys many people, especially because in most games i would be annoyed by it myself.

[arkodeon]

well, this game is going to get a lot of comparisons to the Total War series simply because of the Galactic Conquest mode. you have a strategy map (like Total War), and you duke out the battles on a battle map. and quite frankly, i really thought the combat was going to be more tactical than it is because i was under the impression this game was going to be similar to the Total War series in most respects.

 

IMHO, i don't feel like an admiral/general in this game like i did in the Total War games. there is no advantage to unit formations or organization. its a simple matter of pointing and clicking. in other words, i feel like i'm at an arcade booth, and it does detract from the experience.

 

This has already been pointed out before in this thread, but I feel that sometimes it just gets lost.

 

So, I'd like to reiterate it.

 

In real war, TODAY'S wars, not even talking about Star Wars Galaxy, would YOU have your TROOPS with GUNS walking in a WEDGE formation trying to break enemy lines, who also have, you guessed it, guns?

 

This is not meant to BE a Rome: Total War clone, because, quite frankly, it just wouldn't work in a Star Wars universe. The Rebellion doesn't HAVE that kind of power to send like... 2,000 units into one battle. And really, formations, etc, don't really work with 25-100 units.

 

But yes, it does have elements of Rome: Total War, a la World/Galaxy Map, strategic placements, etc. etc. But aren't most Strategy games becoming like this too? (Battle for Middle Earth 2, for example.) And I am glad it doesn't have the goofy camera system Rome: Total War had either.

 

I, however, liked Rome: Total War. I can relate that I'd like to see such a game exist, and If the developers find SOMEWAY to incorporate thousands of troops into the Galactic Civil War, then fine.

 

But something like that belongs in the Clone Wars.

 

=P

 

-----

 

To whomever said the AT-AT is nerfed:

 

How did your laser troops defeat the AT-AT? Lasers are not as effective against vehicles as rockets; playing my game, I see that the AT-AT effectively crushes the resistence from the Laser troopers, if it is not bogged down with multiple vehicles, and other infantry. Perhaps that was the problem?

 

I'm not trying to be harsh, but it's unusual for the AT-AT to be defeated by Laser troopers. Hm.

[stingerhs]

In real war, TODAY'S wars, not even talking about Star Wars Galaxy, would YOU have your TROOPS with GUNS walking in a WEDGE formation trying to break enemy lines, who also have, you guessed it, guns?

really?? i never would've guessed. the concept of splitting an army in two in order to force the enemy army to fight as two smaller units is quite an advantage as it enables basic tactical maneuvers such as the pincer. the point is that the only tactic to this game is pairing up enemy units with your suitable counter-unit. there is no advantage to attacking flanks, attacking the rear, or forcing the enemy to fight as a split unit instead of a whole.

This is not meant to BE a Rome: Total War clone, because, quite frankly, it just wouldn't work in a Star Wars universe. The Rebellion doesn't HAVE that kind of power to send like... 2,000 units into one battle.

well, let me see here: the Rebels have control of entire planets which means they have a massive population base to recruit from. looking at it from that perspective, it is entirely plausible that the Rebels could recruit thousands of soldiers. is that something i mentioned before?? nope.

 

and let me also reiterate that i was not looking for a RTW clone. i was simply expecting more tactical options. the reason why it was compared to RTW in that sense is because RTW is more tactically based.

And I am glad it doesn't have the goofy camera system Rome: Total War had either.

if you're refering to the camera being limited to a range of your units, that is an option you can turn off. besides, i rather liked the ablity to actually rotate the camera which is something i have yet to figure out in E@W.

[Orao]

I said AT-ST not AT-AT. I was talking about the froggy the biped not about the quadriped teh elephent.

 

@stinghers

 

For camera issue. Go to the options and then game. Select two button controling camera. This will allow you to rotates the camera 360° while holding the left and the right mouse button.

[RogueL3ad3r]

The game isn't meant to be super uber strategy. The bulk of the strategy is being able to bring the proper units against what you're being attacked with. It's more of a reflex strat than a Rome Total War Clone. I don't think it was ever billed as that either, being as this came from the former C&C guys you ought to have an idea of what you expected in gameplay. Either way, the game is still quite good, and playing in Galactic Conquest in multiplayer adds alot of depth to the game strategically.

 

As for PLEX soldiers being over powered, I hardly think so. Run them over. They die quickly. You may lose an AT-ST or a Mauler or two, but they can not get out of the way in time generally to escape being squashed. Also, a dear friend of mine last night was taking groups of five speeder bikes and dumping detonators in the middle of all my infantry during fire fights. Since they were under cover they were slow, and I failed almost every time to move them away fast enough from the explosions.

 

AT-STs are hardly worthless. If a group of 5 AT-STs are brought against an equal amount of Rebel hover tanks, the AT-STs will win every time. It's called Barrage. A group of AT-STs can decimate just about anything if they use that command together.

 

Before you start complaining about balance, which this game is by the way through and through, there is a counter to everything I've come across so far, I'd play for a few more hours.

[Rousdower]

Must say, I agree with some of the comparisons against Rome: Total War. Definitely a good game to compare to, as Rome is a quality game, overall. I'm inclined to agree with what was said that Empire at War feels arcadish.

 

I'm coming from a background of having played a LOT of original X-wing, TIE Fighter, XvT, and X-wing Alliance. Even creating some custom missions for these can be somewhat akin to playing this RTS's space battle sequences. Generally, I knew what counters what and how much you can expect out of your units that were painstakingly set up while creating the missions.

 

I know that this most definitely isn't supposed to touch upon the same aspects of the original X-wing flyers, but I feel they should've used it as some kind of guideline. I'm having a little trouble getting next to how overall fragile ships are and how the rock-paper-scissors plays such a weighted part in the battles. Naturally ships are designed to counter other ships (you'd never send a TIE Bomber to destroy a flight of X-wings, for example), but at the same time, it just seems that the counters completely whup and any other ship (that's not a counter) just can't get the job done well enough.

 

Things felt much more realistic in the X-wing flyers even though you only had control over your designated wingmen, and yet I feel I could accomplish much much more with myself and my wingmen provided I loaded out the ordinance correctly and assigned useful orders. I do feel in EaW that I'm simply tossing units at their counters and hoping that they can perform well enough. I just don't feel the tacticalness of managing a massive space battle.

[gswift]

For camera issue. Go to the options and then game. Select two button controling camera. This will allow you to rotates the camera 360° while holding the left and the right mouse button.

 

To adjust camera angle (this worked in the demo, I haven't tried it in V1.01): Hold Ctrl and your center mouse button. Move your mouse to adjust angle and rotate.

 

I went home at lunch time and verified that Ctrl and center mouse button will let you change camera angles freely. Don't know why it's not in the manual...

[Ryebread]

Petro clearly stated many times that they set out to make a game that could appeal to both hardcore gamers and novices alike. In this regard I believe they have largely succeeded. But those that lean too far to the extreme may not find the plethora of options and details that they like. I like details alot but still find much to enjoy about the game's simplicity.

[paws1111]

i was thinking about flanks i think they could be added

 

palying the empire campains i notice darth vadeer only reflect lasers when his saber is up and hes faceing them.

 

so all you would need to do is add this same princible except take out reflections and make them always have reduced damage

 

upgradeable hard points most likly posible like in skirmish the upgrades for attack poweron space stations just add it to gc ( only problem is list might not be big enuf)

 

and i sware with LOTS of codeing you could create custmizable points make some code that would change other xml code that would change a ships hard poitns >.< but i dout that would works so....yea.......

[sheared]

I'm just a short way into the campaign (Rebel), and I'm disappointed with the mission design so far. I'm on the mission where I'm supposed to steal the X-wings. I have my forces, I've struggled through everything, captured all the landing zones, destroyed all the empire buildings, and, although my group is on it's last leg, I get the pilots to their ships.

 

All of a sudden, I have to destroy 8 anti-aircraft towers? All guarded by enough troops, that I better have 75% of what I landed with to succeed?!? Where did all these troops come from? To spring this on you just tells me, that for every mission from here on out, you better have your full force completely lined up in space, because you never know what stupid trick the mission might pull out of the bag later on (unless replaying each mission was a design element of the design team to increase play time). Play through a mission, get beat, see what forces you need, play through the exact same mission again (see below), but this time quadrupal your force since you know exactly what's coming up after you reach the first false ending.

 

Also, why do my pilots come down with the initial landing force? Why don't I send down troops, and land the pilots in at one of the captured points later on? Dumb level design.

 

Why doesn't at least SOME of my damage from my previous attack last when I have to reattack (after losing)? It's like I was never there in the first place.

 

Stupid stuff....

[Rousdower]

I wish you could pick your initial lineup for landing missions. Space missions too. Sometimes the computer's configuring leaves much to be desired.

[guyvii]

that is how the mission is possibly? In the Empire campain, the Empiror came down by himself and 2 body guards. That was it. I guess to make the mission easier to script , rather then guard the planet with 1000s of troops.

[gswift]

...but this time quadrupal your force since you know exactly what's coming up after you reach the first false ending.

 

Also, why do my pilots come down with the initial landing force? Why don't I send down troops, and land the pilots in at one of the captured points later on? Dumb level design.

 

Why doesn't at least SOME of my damage from my previous attack last when I have to reattack (after losing)? It's like I was never there in the first place.

 

Stupid stuff....

 

Well, you can look at it that way, or you can re-examine your strategy and tactics. There's a way to beat that mission with a very small force. I know, because I did it. I don't want to spoil it by telling how. If you really want to know you can PM me.

 

Please keep in mind that this is a strategy game. Overwhelming force usually works, but I think you should try some finess on that mission. Especially with the Rebel missions, you don't have to conquer the whole map in order to win. Think like a sneaky little bastard rather than a proud general.

[paws1111]

*edit i now noticed your talking about missions*

Its a mission in real life when you lose the mission you have NO SECOND CHANCES. do you honestly think that after you lose the mission that the empire is gona w8 to get thos x-wings? no there gona go right down there and STEAL the x-wings before the rebels attack again

 

so truly what the game is doing is reversing time as if you never attacked cas in real life you would never get the chance again

*end edit*

 

 

"Why doesn't at least SOME of my damage from my previous attack last when I have to reattack (after losing)? It's like I was never there in the first place."

 

Dis agree there im 100% shure that that can hapen like the way you want.....hapend to me once

 

i once attacked a planet and won withsome hevie loses one of my rebel squads had 1 guy in it. soon after i took the planet i had to defend it (like right hafter i assume the empire was sending renforcements before i attacked ) the battle started and my rebel trooper started with one guy! id also like to note i had baought anti inf turant in the previus battle when i was takeing the planet and it was STILL THERE!! It was like iv been there before.............

 

with the rebel troo[er thing i dont know how long before they repair them selfs but obiasly it must be short for many people not to notice but im shure its there