Armchair Dragoons Forums

News:

  • Connections Online 2024 will be held 15-20 April, 2024 ~~ More Info here
  • Buckeye Game Fest will be held May 2-5, 2024, with The War Room opening on 29 April ~~ More Info here

News

Connections Online 2024 will be held 15-20 April, 2024 ~~ More Info here

Author Topic: Astra Exodus  (Read 4961 times)

bbmike

  • Warrant Officer
  • Lance Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 7444
    • My Own Worst Enemy
on: July 02, 2019, 06:40:20 AM
A new space 4x has appeared on the Matrix Games site: Astra Exodus
Interesting that they compare it to Star Control. Stardock must have had some success with that one.

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
-Sherlock Holmes

My Own Worst Enemy


mirth

  • Cardboard Mohel
  • Lance Sergeant
  • ****
  • Posts: 7291
    • Armchair Dragoons
Reply #1 on: July 02, 2019, 09:17:34 AM
This is like announcing a new WW2 Bulge game   ;)

Being able to Google shit better than your clients is a legit career skill.


Martok

  • Patreon Supporters
  • Lance Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 6771
  • Tilting at windmills
Reply #2 on: July 02, 2019, 02:26:10 PM
I saw this last night.  At first I thought it was the long-awaited sequel to Distant Words, and I was super-pumped.  Even after I realized it wasn't, however, I was still pretty excited.  Astra Exodus looks good. 

"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Martok

  • Patreon Supporters
  • Lance Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 6771
  • Tilting at windmills
Reply #3 on: July 11, 2019, 11:31:25 PM
Man, I wish I had the time & patience to be a beta-tester for this one.  I would apply in a heartbeat. 



It is compared to star control because it is single player, turn based 4x with real time combat.  That is an odd combination since it is hard to satisfy the 4x and the real time crowds at the same time

No, it's not easy, but Sword of the Stars and Stardrive 2 both pulled if off.  Of course, they fell short in other ways, but they did manage to combine turn-based campaign and real-time battles in a way that was generally fun & engaging. 

Counterpoint:  Armada 2526 tried the TBS/RTS combo as well, but with less favorable results.  It's still one of my favorite space 4x games overall, but it's definitely not because of the combat (it's admittedly lackluster at best). 



Most genre bending releases fail.

I'm not sure we have a large enough sample size from which to draw any real conclusions.  Aside from the above-mentioned games, I can think of only a small handful entries in the 4x/grand-strategy genre from the last 25 years that have attempted to meld turn-based empire management with real-time battles. 

The major exception, of course, is the Total War franchise, which for all its many faults, is generally well-regarded.  I imagine including them in the sample set would throw off the results significantly. 

« Last Edit: July 12, 2019, 01:01:57 PM by Martok »

"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


bbmike

  • Warrant Officer
  • Lance Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 7444
    • My Own Worst Enemy
Reply #4 on: July 12, 2019, 09:23:43 AM
Interesting points Martok.

For me a 4x game has a zero level start at the bottom of the tech tree and one city/planet.  Total war games don't fit this.

I may be interested enough to get a review copy when it is released.

Sounds like you might like Predestination which I still need to try.

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
-Sherlock Holmes

My Own Worst Enemy


Martok

  • Patreon Supporters
  • Lance Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 6771
  • Tilting at windmills
Reply #5 on: July 12, 2019, 01:16:04 PM
Interesting points Martok.

For me a 4x game has a zero level start at the bottom of the tech tree and one city/planet.  Total war games don't fit this.

Oh, I agree.  I just felt it made sense to include grand-strategy games in the discussion, as the two genres share so much in common (Stellaris and Distant Worlds are often considered hybrids). 



I may be interested enough to get a review copy when it is released.

I'll be keenly interested in your take if you do. 

Although if I'm being honest with myself, I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up picking this up regardless (unless it turns out to be a hot pile of garbage).  :P  I've not put my finger on it yet, but there's something about Astra Exodus that really appeals to me. 



Sounds like you might like Predestination which I still need to try.

Me as well.  It just sits there in my Steam library, waiting...  :-[  Sigh. 

"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike