Distant Worlds 2

[ojsdad]

(to share one of ojsdad's frustrations) that there doesn't appear to be a single screen from which I can order X number of Z ship type to be built, and instead I have to go a specific facility and manually queue some up. 

Found it!  Top right of the screenshot with the green box around it

[ojsdad]

Fleet management is found here, yellow box.  There is no tooltip for it.  The box below it for army management, which does have a tooltip.  When you go into the fleet management screen, I'm not sure you can assign more than one class of each ship type.  So if you have two different destroyer designs, one gun and one missile, it looks like you can only pick one. 

[ojsdad]

(to share one of ojsdad's frustrations) that there doesn't appear to be a single screen from which I can order X number of Z ship type to be built, and instead I have to go a specific facility and manually queue some up. 

Found it!  Top right of the screenshot with the green box around it

This doesn't seem to be working at all.  I've tried it a couple of times, but no ships seem to be getting queued up. 

[ojsdad]

It also looks like you cannot change the fleet home. 

[Martok]

So I'm at the point where I can't continue playing the game for the time being.  I know it sounds stupid, but that looping percussion riff I was complaining about (whenever I'm zoomed in on planets) is persistently giving me headaches.  Gonna have to set this aside until that gets fixed, I think. 


It's a pity, because for all its current bugs, flaws, etc., DW2 is still fun to play.  It captures that "living galaxy" feel like no other 4x game can, or has (except for perhaps its predecessor).  I love watching my industry slowly expand across my home system, and seeing the little civilian vessels (freighters, mining ships, etc.) zip around.  Building your first mining/research base on another planet (even when it's still in your home system) feels like a major accomplishment.  Pirates are actually interesting & worthwhile to interact with, and feel like their own entities within the universe. 

This game is going to be a real gem once Elliot & Erik get some of the kinks worked out.  But until that damned percussion riff goes away, I'm unfortunately going to have to take a break from this for now. 

[ojsdad]

I don't think I noticed the riff your talking about. I'm playing humans, could it be race related. I also turned down the music in settings.

[Martok]

I've encountered this riff playing as the Zenox, Ackdarians, and Teekans so far.  And those are the three races I'm most interested in playing (that are currently available). 

i actually like the soundtrack overall.  It's nothing amazing, but it generally feels nice and "spacey"; and it's undeniably an improvement over the music in DW:U (although that's a low bar to clear IMO).  I don't want to turn down the soundtrack volume; I just want that dang percussion riff to disappear, or at lest not be incessantly looping whenever I'm zoomed in on a planet/moon. 


(Incidentally, I'm guessing the riff is supposed to elicit the sense/sounds of industry?  That's sort of the impression I get, at any rate.) 

[judgedredd]

I'm not 100% sure it's the same thing as you're describing, but the previous game had a noise that played as you zoomed into a planet....kind of like a humming noise iirc.

[Anguille]

If it's a feature, then you should maybe write a request that this could be turned off?

[Huw the Poo]

Martok - much respect to you for being honest.

Yeah, from what I've been reading here and elsewhere this game sounds like it could've used at least another few months in the oven. I guess that's Matrix/Slitherine for you. And shame on me for pre-ordering; I rarely break that rule but thought DW2 would be a safe bet.

Oh well, I'm back from holiday so I'll give it a try tonight anyway.

[bayonetbrant]

OK, so who's on the podcast tomorrow night talking about first impressions?

[Martok]

Another patch (1.0.1.9) dropped today: 


https://www.matrixgames.com/news/distant-worlds-2-latest-update-1019

Spoiler: ShowHide

Changes in the 1.0.1.9 Build:

DISPLAY AND RENDERING
- fixed faulty display resolution detection at game start
- improved resolution of correct display adapter when specific adapter requested
- disabled fixed timestep updates (higher FPS)
- allow toggling on-screen FPS and other rendering data using shift-Tilde (top-left corner of most keyboards), which allows seeing which display adapter is being used
CRASH AND HANG FIXES
- fixed crash when empire has revolution and changes government
- fixed hang where fighters at colonies would lock up when their parent colony was wiped out
- fixed hang where exploration ship attempts to explore a location that has nebula sensor disablement that exceeds its scan power
EXPLORATION
- asteroids are now explored much quicker than planets, moons or stars (for both scan and survey)
- ensure all necessary resources in prewarp home system are discoverable at initial tech levels, even when already present
DIPLOMACY
- reduced envy factor in diplomacy when have positive diplomatic strategy for other faction ('We are envious of your huge strength and power')
- envy factor in diplomacy now grows more gradually
OTHER
- more careful about evaluating systems inside nebulae and related logic
- rebalanced loading of game processing for large games with many ships
- fixed ships sometimes getting stuck salvaging debris when has bonuses but came from one of own empire's ships
- construction ships now more careful to avoid building at distant locations (even in same system) when do not have hyperdrive
- no longer generate error sound and effect when move mouse off scrollbar while scrolling a panel or list

While they've obviously released a number of patches already, this one feels a little more significant:  Seems like it's done a better job at performance improvements, plus it's the first update to start addressing actual gameplay issues.  The changes to exploration are especially welcome, particularly when you're playing on a pre-warp start (which is the "default/recommended" setting). 

Downside to the new patch:  Playing as the Ackdarians, my ancient spaceport now gets automatically scrapped instead of rebuilt.    Not sure if it's a bug or "working as intended", but I did report it over in the Matrix forums.  Still, definitely good changes overall. 

[Martok]

I'm not 100% sure it's the same thing as you're describing, but the previous game had a noise that played as you zoomed into a planet....kind of like a humming noise iirc.

Yes, DW:U had an "industrial" track/sound-effect that played when zoomed in on planets as well.  That one never bothered me, though.  (In fact, I rather liked it.)  Go figure...   

If it's a feature, then you should maybe write a request that this could be turned off?

As a matter of fact, I did end up posting about my problem in the Matrix forums.  Thanks to replies from a few of the regulars there, I was eventually able to figure out how to track down and delete the offending mp3 file out of the game's music folder.  So I can happily -- and finally! -- now play DW2 without worrying about headache-inducing soundtracks.   

Martok - much respect to you for being honest.

Yeah, from what I've been reading here and elsewhere this game sounds like it could've used at least another few months in the oven. I guess that's Matrix/Slitherine for you. And shame on me for pre-ordering; I rarely break that rule but thought DW2 would be a safe bet.

Oh well, I'm back from holiday so I'll give it a try tonight anyway.

Thanks, Huw.  I try to give it to you guys straight, and not pull my punches. 


Despite all I've said, I don't want to be a Debbie Downer and make it sounds like Distant Worlds 2 is awful.  Despite my (numerous) gripes -- and there are undoubtedly more I have yet to discover -- I find the game is still fun to play overall.  Most of the issues I've come across thus far have been minor, and my general experience is one that's common to any modern PC game release. 

As I was saying to Brant during Happy Hour earlier today, I have to keep reminding myself that Stellaris wasn't great at release either, and that -- like DW2 now -- it had more than its fair share of bugs, imbalances, gameplay issues, polish issues, QoL issues, etc. back then.  I think for the most part, I'm especially frustrated with the current state of DW2 because of 1.) it's been my most-anticipated game these last three years; and 2.) its release was already delayed by around 1 1/2 years, so it's difficult not to be harsh.  If I'm especially critical, but it's because I care and really want this to be good. 

[Undercovergeek]

Should be able to dedicate some time to it today

[Martok]

Another issue I've run into, possibly two.  (I did already report it in the Matrix forums.) 

In the attached screenshot, I've officially encountered (established diplomatic relations with) 2 pirate factions. However, there's a 3rd pirate faction in my own home system (the Ackdarian Army) who I have *not* officially encountered -- and that's despite their base having fired upon two of my exploration ships already. Not sure if that's a bug per se, but it struck me as odd.

Also:  For this game, I set pirates to Very Few.  Yet I've already run into three pirate groups, despite not having even left my home system yet?  Maybe I'm just unlucky, but it seems like a bit much. 


On the flip side, early expansion pacing feels much better now when playing with a pre-warp start.  It's still not exactly blazing fast, but at least it doesn't drag on interminably like it did before. 

Should be able to dedicate some time to it today

Cool!  Will be curious to know what your impressions are.