Been playing Sword of the Stars 1 Complete Edition again, man o man is this one fun. The graphical HD mods help, but as I've said before...this game has aged and it shows. Doesn't make it any less fun though! How I wish modern 4X games would step up and try to compete with the combat presented here...and I'm talking the simpler SotS 1 combat, not even what was done in SotS 2 (combat is amazing, but the rest of the game?? well... we won't go there).
Regardless, I wish I could blend GC3 sans its horrible instanced combat viewer, and blend in SotS combat.
I digress though, SotS Complete for $10 not on sale is worth every penny IMHO. I wish it had aged a little more gracefully, and I guess in some ways it has...but others it really hasn't. Mix that with some odd design choices that don't help that for new gamers, this game is probably a little harder to initially get into that it was 10+ years ago. But it is absolutely worth it if you like some 4X, some RTS, and a lower-level MoO 1 style empire management. That is arguably the weakest part of the game, but how it was designed with the sliders between developing a planet and a developed planet is pretty solid. You have some management of the sliders, but at least I'm not finding it overly annoying or as bulky as queuing each building on a planet.
That being said I love GC3's depth and busy work, I guess that's the micromanager in me. Makes less sense why I like SotS's simplified empire management but I do, for SotS. I guess because it allows you to keep more of your focus on war, which is clearly what the game strives to offers and succeeds at. I also like the challenge of the slightly randomized tech tree...I'm without shields this time around so that means my go-to isn't available. I like that!
Now, to find a way to blend the complexity of the empire development I enjoy in GC3 with the combat I love in SotS. If I could convince Stardock that GC3 could succeed with tactical combat and still be seen as "Civilization in Space" I'd be set! I keep trying, but it's not gonna happen. I won't give up though. But there are plenty that want combat to be boring, hands off, sloppy affairs as is evident by what has been done in NuMoO, GalCiv3, Stellaris, Endless Space series. While those all offer something to be enjoyed, they all SUCK at combat. Some embarrassingly so, especially when compared to an older (sometimes by decades) 4X. But this little $10 gem of a game keeps me entertained and engaged, I'll keep playing it until I can't. I plan on digging into the new expansion and patches that recently hit BSG Deadlock, that game is a blast! But I held back knowing some changes were coming to how some units were used and controlled, among some other additions. Now that's out of the way, I'm going to roll up my sleeves and start a fresh campaign. First, I must conquer the universe I've created in SotS, at least as the Tarka's and Humans, maybe spread my wings to other races I've rarely or never tried to play as...see if I can be entertained or if I get bored and move on.
