Armada 2526 - in open beta now

[Razgon]

Armada 2526 is a new Epic Space Opera game, in the tradition of Master of Orion being developed by Bob Smith whose credits include working on all the Total war games up'n till Medieval 2 where he was project lead - He was also part of the Original Armada 2526 which is one of the first turnbased space games ala Moo.

Right now he's looking for select people to help out betaing the game, and it already looks bloody good from the screenshots on the site.

More info here: http://www.ntronium.com/About.html

It looks damn interesting actually, and I got in the beta so I'm pretty excited.

I've signed an NDA about the game itself so I cant talk more about that but..Take a look yourself :-)

[Huw the Poo]

Wow, good find Raz!  I'm not keen on real-time combat in a turn-based game, but this sounds interesting:

Planetary assaults are especially intense with ship to ships battles, grounds battles and ground to air battles all taking place simultaneously. If the attacker doesn't complete the conquest quickly enough, the battle will continue into the next turn, giving each side the chance to throw in reinforcements.

Cool.  And then what else do I see?

Space is big, really big, and conceivably contains many sentient races and nations. Armada 2526 has been designed to cope with 100 or more players, either human or AI controlled, and to handle a large enough area of space to accommodate them.

Pirates, pan galactic corporations, reclusive aliens, rebels, and other expansionist empires. You'll find them all, and continually be finding new allies or trading partners, and always wondering if there's some powerful unknown enemy lurking just beyond the next star system. A large number of players can also make for epic long lasting multi-player games.

Of course you can set up smaller games too, including 2 player games that give an almost "chess-like" feel to the encounter.

I don't like beta-testing so I won't sign up, but this game is so on my radar now!

[Tals]

I don't like beta-testing so I won't sign up, but this game is so on my radar now!

On the other hand I love the beta testing process - AI War is a case in point to what I am expecting from this I've applied and cross fingers I get in. As it has MP it could be worth just signing up for that Huw and we can test together.

[CeeKay]

they got a publisher, and some more screenshots.

[Huw the Poo]

Tals, did you get anywhere with your beta application?

[Turtle]

If they're smart, they can include something like the civ 4 pitboss server.  Even going so far as to make a deal with places that run servers for FPS games on the PC for a fee, setting it up so you can run huge, long term games on external servers.

[marcusjm]

# Vulcan
# Desert Rats
# Arnhem

Some really cool wargame classics there. They rank among the bes wargames I have eve played.

Can't wait .

The Youtube clip looks nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVYafoBvycE&feature=player_embedded

Looks like he mixed the best from SOTS and MOO here.

[Huw the Poo]

Wow, cool video.  I'm really excited about this one.  I wonder how the claim of 100+ players is reconciled with only 12 races.

[Dan_Theman]

Wow, cool video.  I'm really excited about this one.  I wonder how the claim of 100+ players is reconciled with only 12 races.

Indeed - as we know, all humans get along so I'd assume it would be the same for others

(humor aside, I get what you mean - it does say you're leading your species out into the stars for the first time, so how would there already be other star systems populated by your species?)

[Goldchamp]

Beta Test Closed
Soory, the beta test has closed now.


Open beta this is not.

[CeeKay]

Beta Test Closed
Soory, the beta test has closed now.


Open beta this is not.

well back in September it may have been open, but they may be finished with the testing.

[ROTC1983]

Sweet, looks like this is coming out soon and is being published by Matrix Games.  Looks like a pretty dang good game, but I will have to try it first

[Huw the Poo]

Oh god.  It's going to cost about £50 then.

[CeeKay]

looks like this is due in June.

[Elmo]

It's been out a while:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=758

[CeeKay]

It's been out a while:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=758

NM, that was for those crazy Europeans.

[Huw the Poo]

So what's the consensus on this one?  I held off at the time of release due to lukewarm impressions around the net, but it's just gone on sale at Gamersgate and I'm tempted because it looks pretty.

[USMC Kato]

So what's the consensus on this one?  I held off at the time of release due to lukewarm impressions around the net, but it's just gone on sale at Gamersgate and I'm tempted because it looks pretty.

I would like to know as well, and the sale on this one makes it tempting...

[Razgon]

Dont...its simply not worth it. Its main attraction, the 3D space battles, are boring and not 3D at all and you have absolutely no control over anything.

Its a decent effort, but there are a LOT of other space 4x games that are better out there. Let me recommend Distant Wolrds instead..much much better, more polished and a true galactic empire builder

[Huw the Poo]

Thanks Raz.  Could you go into a bit more detail though?  Battles not being 3D doesn't bother me at all, but what do you mean by no control?  Are you supposed to have control but it doesn't work well enough, or is it supposed to be hands-off?  How does the rest of the game play?  Cheers mate.

[Razgon]

The big sell point of Armada was its 3D battles...and they suck - you were supposed to have control, while in reality you have little. There is little to no technology to research in the game, its not very pretty, and the game is..well, simply put, boring.

[Huw the Poo]

Hmmm...if it's that bad I'll probably hold off then.  God knows I have enough games in my backlog right now.  Cheers Raz, me old china!

[CeeKay]

looks like they're fixing the games shortcomings... with an expansion pack!   

Armada 2526: Supernova

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/402/details/Armada.2526:.Supernova

[Fuzzballx]

i really need a really good space 4x that doesn't kill me with details.

This worth buying now?

[CeeKay]

trailer for Supernova: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRpqdEPktGg

[Razgon]

i really need a really good space 4x that doesn't kill me with details.

This worth buying now?

Sorry for not noticing this before now - but I was in the beta, and the fact that its done by one man, really shows, I'm afraid. It was a nice enough game, but...it lacks a lot of features to make it great.

[Zekester]

I think this is the one that's been pretty cheap at "Half Price Books" for awhile now. $6 maybe? I've been tempted to pick it up everytime I see it.

[CeeKay]

Supernova: Plants vs Crabs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qmaz0ZBUMjo