I want another (good) MoO, darn it
Oct. 2nd, 2009 12:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cmdr_zoomI was tempted again by SPORE today, having heard reports that mods and official patches have made the endgame suck less and added an "adventure" mode. But then I looked at it all again and realized that no matter how much I wish or try, it's never going to be a 4X.
What's frustrating is that the Civilization stage is a decent, if simplified, 4X - build up your forces and conquer your neighbors with guns or love, until you own the whole planet. But as soon as you hit the Space stage, the rules change again... and suddenly, nothing matters. You can only have one real "unit" at a time, even if you build an empire the size of the Grox; they have thousands of ships, but you only get one plus a pathetic few, weak wingmen from your "allies." Production is irrelevant, since you have to collect it yourself and planets can't store more than a thimble's worth (two thimbles, if you buy a silo); you get no more advantage from owning a hundred worlds than by flying a loop around the same half dozen, until you've traded enough spice to buy your way to the top of the tech tree. As I've said before, all a big empire gets you is more vulnerable territory and more neighbors to whine and/or rattle sabers at you.
Give me a real fleet, a hundred tricked-out battlewagons backed by my vast industrial base, and I'd be willing to take on an enemy as big and mean as the Grox. It'd take a long time to get to that point, and a longer time to finish the fight, but at least it would be something like a fair contest. But with just one ship, even if replacements are free? One might as well set out to move a beach with a toy bucket.
And I thought this game was gonna be so awesome.
What's frustrating is that the Civilization stage is a decent, if simplified, 4X - build up your forces and conquer your neighbors with guns or love, until you own the whole planet. But as soon as you hit the Space stage, the rules change again... and suddenly, nothing matters. You can only have one real "unit" at a time, even if you build an empire the size of the Grox; they have thousands of ships, but you only get one plus a pathetic few, weak wingmen from your "allies." Production is irrelevant, since you have to collect it yourself and planets can't store more than a thimble's worth (two thimbles, if you buy a silo); you get no more advantage from owning a hundred worlds than by flying a loop around the same half dozen, until you've traded enough spice to buy your way to the top of the tech tree. As I've said before, all a big empire gets you is more vulnerable territory and more neighbors to whine and/or rattle sabers at you.
Give me a real fleet, a hundred tricked-out battlewagons backed by my vast industrial base, and I'd be willing to take on an enemy as big and mean as the Grox. It'd take a long time to get to that point, and a longer time to finish the fight, but at least it would be something like a fair contest. But with just one ship, even if replacements are free? One might as well set out to move a beach with a toy bucket.
And I thought this game was gonna be so awesome.
