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UC, reviews, and system information ;)


Wyrdsmith
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WARNING! The following topic may contain sarcasm!

Readers discretion is strongly advised.

Hi all. I'm new, but not (I trust) a nuub.

Unlike some other battlecruiserly challeneged folks, I actually read the faq, browsed the board, read the manual and addendum, and *gasp* added my profile to my sig. Thats right folks, my ships may die like rabbits in the microwave, but I go down with a sig and the goddamn manual in my cold sweaty fingers. Usually I make sure to read it after I die to find out why too

Alright, back to the, umm, point. Here's the deal. I bought UC on a whim and loved it, having no experience with the BC series. I usually ignore reviews, as I seldom agree with them, but I like to check them out after I've played a game a bit, just to see if I agree. After several reviews, the general 'official' concensus seems to be as follows:

'Hi. I am reviewer drone #44579d. I have been assigned UC to review. I don't like it. It is too hard and makes no sense. It doesn't hold my hand or wipe my ass. I pressed buttons on the keyboard but no toilet paper came out of the disk drive. I got lost looking for the bathroom. Help me, I'm scared...'

Or some such rubbish. Why is it everyone nowadays expects games to hold their hands and babysit them? I never did understand that trend. Sure UC is complex, but with a couple of days of trial and effort I got everything more or less figured out control-wise. Playing well takes longer, of course, but that's the point, right?

Here's why I think a great game like this gets such poor reviews: You see, back in the before-time, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, we'd come home from brontosaur hunts and play ultima, elite, and star fleet on our commodores and apples. Idiots did not use those machines, and the games themselves took some time to learn. You had to put in effort to use both the machines, as well as the games. It was rewarding. Nowadays, what with Microshaft Winblows and such, anyone can use a computer, and what with our cultures penchant for 'fast and easy', the standard of gaming has gone down. Reviewers want quick and easy, not rich, difficult and rewarding. They'd rather play tic tac toe than Go, ya know? Nothing worth doing is easy.

SO! I have decided that the SC (nice to meet ya, by the way) could have avoided the entire problem by posting the following system requirements on the box, right after the os and processor stuff:

REQUIRES: Anti-twit version 1.0 or higher and Dumbass filter 2.067 needed.

REQUIRES:Attention span exceeding AT LEAST 256mg or higher. 1 gb recommended.

REQUIRES:Literacy and fourth grade education to run manual. Basic motor skills to browse said manual also recomended.

RECOMMENDED: Brain, with all OS upgrades installed.

That would have fixed those reviews, I'm sure

Lol, sorry if this sounds a bit ranty for a first post, but I'm *really* tired of hearing the few games I really get into dogged on by people who don't like them because they don't resemble the latest fad in gaming, you know?

Any other thoughts on this topic?

Cheers!

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*Looks at SC.*

*Gets many lackies to chant...*

DOOOO IT! DOOOO IT! DOOOO IT! DOOOO IT!

We mustn't forget BULLSH*T BUSTER 6.0b anti-Bullware software package. And of course, SC's favorite: Rubbish Remover 3.2.0.0.14c fast acting forum filter so any attempt they make at posting rubbish here in his forum gets deleted prior to posting, saving SC and the moderators untold amounts of cleanup time.

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ROFL

It's true, it's all true..

I too agree that games these days are too easy to figure out (with tutorials and all), but you musn't remember the number one quality a game needs to be truly succesful: Easy to Learn, Hard to Master. Although some (and yes, I'm referring to general idiots here) might say that BC is hard to learn (it really isn't all that hard, really...), it does take time to truly master the game. Seriously, planning and executing a complex assault on an enemy base, complete with 3 seperate forces (ground assault, air support & transporter), with fighters delivering precision strikes moments after ground assault forces complete their SEAD assignment, well that's hard.

(Especially since you cannot have commands issued at automatically at a specific time)

But enough of that. On with the chanting:

"Earth, Storm & Fire: heed my call.

From the depths of the forum

SC shall rule us all."

*DO IT!*

And now my daily prozac...sigh...

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quote:

Originally posted by Xanatos:

I too agree that games these days are too easy to figure out (with tutorials and all), but you musn't remember the number one quality a game needs to be truly succesful: Easy to Learn, Hard to Master.

Actually, the number one quality a that a game needs to have is to be FUN.

And that is 100% subjective.

If your definition of fun is "easy to learn and hard to master", then that's what fun is to you. Some people find that overcoming a challenge is fun, and I think that's what Universal Combat does (and why I think it is fun). Other people prefer to shut their brains off as entertainment. I personally enjoy a mix of both, depending how I feel that day.

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Glad y'all enjoyed that, I think I needed to get it out of my system . Seriously, though, the number of times I've seen good or great games bagged on in the press, merely because they don't 'fit in' is ridiculous. In the movie industry, smaller, riskier films are often lauded (Cannes festival etc), where as games that are innovative in an un-faddish way are too often put down. It's really too bad.

Oh and SC, you're not kidding about what you say being 'all over the press'. Having (previously) tried out 'not-so-free'lancer and x2-the slog, I remember seeing several posts on their respective forums regarding one 'Derek Smart' and his 'crappy' battlecruiser series. I believe the words 'arrogant' and 'megalomaniac' were tossed around a bit too It actually caused me to do a google search on you to figure out what the heck everyone was going on about. I'm glad I did. Not only did I find a game I really enjoy, but a community where raving fanboys and morons are gleefully and vociferously clubbed to death. Now there's a sport. Think I'll invest in a lead-filled bat.

Anyway, glad to be aboard folks.

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I don't club... I nuke.

*Pauses...* That would be interesting... a space to space missile weapon with Nuclear level blast energy. (Solar Flare) Launched from a distance (One hundred to two hundred K, too close for jump, too far for any other engagement.) with the Tac-Ops computer.

And of course, the other fun one, Hyperjumping cruise missiles for launching at opponents from cross-system. They'd be the most advanced and EXPENSIVE weapons in the game next to the RANDOM. Their weakness should be SLOW in non jump, and poorly armored. And they could only jam when not in the jump... Restrictions should be like, need such-and-such crew members on station with X amount of AI level before you can arm and launch them.

Can anyone test that out with GBS III? That would be an interesting type of weapon.

I LOVE stategic weapons. As of yet, only OTS weapons are really in the realm of Strategic. Everything else is tactical.

*Builds a SC shrine to appologize for the lapse in praise. Then bows.*

"HAAAAAAAAIL IL PALLAZZO!... er... DEREK SMARRRRT!"

*Turns on Excel Saga. One of many Anime Derek should subject himself to in order to increase his IP... or Insanity Points.*

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LOL Very true, I still laugh everytime I look at the manual and my ship gets blown up while I'm doing it, and then I think about Star Trek and how funny it would've been if Captain Kirk or Scotty was reading the manual...

KIRK: SCOTTY, WE NEED WARP SPEED NOW!!!

SCOTTY: No can do, Cap'n, we kinna find the manual!!!

hehe

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KIRK: Red alert, shields up

CREWMAN: damn where that button

SPOCK:somebody get him a manual, and Sulu get the shields up please.

Thanks SC for the wonderful game

I can have fun know if i can just get my machine for rebooting on it own. DAMN THEM GREMLINS. KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!

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