tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post4685393789521226823..comments2024-03-19T05:42:08.863-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Star Command: UpgradingCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-47752549040746051232012-06-02T22:45:44.018-04:002012-06-02T22:45:44.018-04:00SAS are British, and yes they are badass. Canada h...SAS are British, and yes they are badass. Canada has JTF2, who are also badass. However, they are 100% Canadian. They cross-train with the US, but actually got a reputations for showing the US up when working together in Afghanistan, as I understand it.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-73190317580619212082012-06-02T22:36:11.516-04:002012-06-02T22:36:11.516-04:00I understand the Canadian SAS are pretty badass (f...I understand the Canadian SAS are pretty badass (former US Army)...I keep reading your comment above<br />HEY. What is wrong with constitutional monarchies? *Glares at Chet, points to Canada's governmental system*<br />and I keep giggling...weweedmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876602994808037673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-12770122178581175902012-05-28T00:32:27.101-04:002012-05-28T00:32:27.101-04:00I've completed Wasteland three times, and I...I've completed Wasteland three times, and I'm not really clear about what is going on in Wasteland. Just that Christina loves ripping clips, and I was surprised at the lack of robot killers when I went to Las Vegas a few years back.<br /><br />I've been enjoying this series too, and the recaps help a lot.Fugu Tabetaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15883327419885139866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-6412016587983218152012-05-27T16:04:49.191-04:002012-05-27T16:04:49.191-04:00Depends; If she is actually a trained negotiator, ...Depends; If she is actually a trained negotiator, sure, why not? Most of the royals have jobs these days, and one of them is actually in the military and served in Afghanistan. If she was just being random, then no, I don't think she should get special consideration over a normal civilian.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-2751184505321118032012-05-27T15:31:52.982-04:002012-05-27T15:31:52.982-04:00Well, if, say, Princess Beatrice of York decided s...Well, if, say, Princess Beatrice of York decided she was going to try to negotiate with the Taliban personally and managed to get herself stranded in Afghanistan, and a team of Canadian soldiers had to risk their lives to extract her, how would you feel about constitutional monarchy then?CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-62868588532742237022012-05-26T23:35:54.148-04:002012-05-26T23:35:54.148-04:00HEY. What is wrong with constitutional monarchies?...HEY. What is wrong with constitutional monarchies? *Glares at Chet, points to Canada's governmental system*Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-85411141435351771882012-05-26T02:49:19.495-04:002012-05-26T02:49:19.495-04:00Huh. I just watched that again. You're right; ...Huh. I just watched that again. You're right; that rapid fire thing was pretty stupid.<br /><br />I had this idea that "reload" in space only worked on the ship's weapons. I didn't realize they also reloaded the melee weapons.<br /><br />I've done a poor job playing this game, where my blogging has been lagging behind my playing. Unfortunately, I'd won before I read this last round of tips, but I hope they help people who read the blog later.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-3637751259490305372012-05-25T23:58:18.036-04:002012-05-25T23:58:18.036-04:00For mapping or ease of travel, a collection of coo...For mapping or ease of travel, a collection of coordinates of planets that sell fuel. Most are on a route through insect territory towards the unknown reaches.<br /><br />23,25 s6 p1<br />23,25 s5 p1<br />19,25 s1 p5<br />21,25 s2 p4<br />22,24 s6 p1<br />23,23 s1 p1<br />23,21 s2 p1<br />22,19 s3 p4, p5<br />24,19 s1 p4; s5 p1; s3 p6<br /><br />18,25 s1 p3<br />18,24 s4 p6, p2<br />17,22 s2 p6; s5 p4<br />19,21 s6,p2<br /><br />19,26 s1,p2<br />18,25 s1,p3<br />15,26 s6,p2; p1<br /><br />17,19 s9,p2Kellandrosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-63258428056594830302012-05-25T23:54:39.985-04:002012-05-25T23:54:39.985-04:00Canageek- pretty sure it was intentional; there ar...Canageek- pretty sure it was intentional; there are several times where you get coordinates inside a base or event(Blackbeard's base, early mention of another location that will come up soon, the space hermit's maze). The mission afterwards won't always give exact coordinates down to the planet.<br /><br />There are a few versions of each mission and mission text, but the placements of special locations are not randomized.Kellandrosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-84908672630756445142012-05-25T23:19:51.573-04:002012-05-25T23:19:51.573-04:006,19 vs 5,20? Both are off by one, which could be ...6,19 vs 5,20? Both are off by one, which could be a math error in a random generation algorithm. Off by one errors are one of the most common problems when programming (Flip a plus to a minus, loose track of how many times a loop happens...). Now, the fact they are off in different directions makes this less likely, but who knows how they get the number. <br />This does assume that the game uses randomly generated coordinates. <br /><br />Also the lizard ships worth 10x less then the manual? I'm betting on a mistyped 0; Easy to do, and hard to notice on a long string of 0s like that, since you can't put in spaces or commas.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24117271905165227532012-05-25T21:24:31.962-04:002012-05-25T21:24:31.962-04:00While we're talking Kickstarter projects, I su...While we're talking Kickstarter projects, I suggest checking out Storybricks. I mentioned it in my blog, but here gets more traffic. Hope you don't mind Chet. I'm in no way affliated with this project: http://kck.st/K0iOqPZenic Reveriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16441583549326102945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-15151416631214534662012-05-25T20:40:14.960-04:002012-05-25T20:40:14.960-04:00I agree: Plot recaps are great. I never really fig...I agree: Plot recaps are great. I never really figured out what was going on in Wasteland.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-41476089774229744162012-05-25T20:36:47.675-04:002012-05-25T20:36:47.675-04:00Just thought I'd point out some RPGs on Kickst...Just thought I'd point out some RPGs on Kickstarter I'm backing, in case anyone else wanted to join in: <br /><br />Lodestar: Stygian Skies - Tactical Science Fiction RPG:<br />It seems to be a graphics light, polygon based hard SF RPG. It mentions OGL (D20/D&D) rules, and is tactically based similar to X-COM or Final Fantasy Tactics. Minimum cost to get the game is $16, has 20 days left in the Kickstarter, and needs more people if it is going to succeed. Linux, then Windows. Mac as a stretch goal.<br />http://kck.st/Jultfk<br /><br />Xenonauts: Basically X-Com, but modern. This game has been around a while, attempting to do Kickstarter before Kickstarter was around by selling access to the dev builds and offering a very low price. The price is a little higher now, I believe, but still a good deal ($20). The game is fully funded, and unlike a lot of the other games you can be certain this one will get made, as there are dev versions out, it is getting close to the finish and they've been working on it for years. They've hit the first strech goal and are $3000 short of the second, which is indoor missions. 15 days left. <br />http://kck.st/L4sdgM<br /><br />Ok, this isn't an RPG, but given how much crossover there is between here and Trickster's blog...<br />Portal (1986) Reborn. Portal was an interactive, experimental fiction "game". I played a port of the C64 version for windows, and it is an amazing bit of fiction dealing with things such as singularity, AI and what it means to be human years before such things were common in science fiction. Now they want to make a 3d adventure game out of it. Sadly, due to the obscurity of the original funding isn't going well, so chances are I'm not going to get to play it unless a bunch of people join up suddenly (Trending is 11% of the goal, down from 20% when I joined, so I'm hoping a few of you are really rich and hard science fiction fans).<br />Would it help if I've said I've now pledged more to this project then any other Kickstarter? The original was that awesome.<br />http://kck.st/J2r4THCanageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-70791277899375511432012-05-25T19:58:31.721-04:002012-05-25T19:58:31.721-04:00For a great example compare the interfaces of X-CO...For a great example compare the interfaces of X-COM and UFO: Alien Invasion, the open source remake. <br /><br />X-COM is clunky; You can't see things easily, inventory is a pain, and you have to reassign weapons all the freaking time.<br /><br />UFO:AI isn't great, but it is a lot better. You get lines between what you are shooting at and the character, can manage your base's inventory much more easily, assign gear to troops more easily, etc.<br /><br />Another example: Civilization. Look at the interface for Civ I and II. You needed a giant book by your side to look up what each tech did, and what it would unlock. Later ones simply show you a tree, and you can click on any tech and it shows you what it does. <br /><br />Also; things like Goto City, Improve this city (And other worker-automation features), the ability to order groups of units to move to a location all at once (Vs. manually moving each unit) and the fact it has a built in alarm clock to tell you to stop and go to bed....Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-88952110283832161522012-05-25T17:31:34.988-04:002012-05-25T17:31:34.988-04:00Why was that a troll? Canageek is right; graphics ...Why was that a troll? Canageek is right; graphics have improved, but so has usability and just general information display. <br /><br />Some of these old games were just brutal in the number of random keys you have to memorize and the difficulty in getting at information that you need to make decisions. <br /><br />Easily compared does not mean simplistic. You could be trading off weight, speed, offense, defense, etc but have the different options displayed side-by-side, or you could have to jump through multiple layers of menu to hop between the two number lists and end up just writing it down on a piece of paper.The Guilty Partyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05113955236856777152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65514598513239517042012-05-25T17:12:54.776-04:002012-05-25T17:12:54.776-04:00Finally had a full break to watch your video.
In ...Finally had a full break to watch your video.<br /><br />In the space combat, you ended up rapid firing when his gun only had the ammunition for normal firing- I think you noticed afterward. But in that case you got all of the downside(half accuracy) and no upside(no extra shots could be fired).<br /><br />Quick suggestion is to by default aim instead of waiting- if for some reason they didn't die then your next guy in line gets a better shot next round.<br /><br />The mindshock failure thing bugs me too; it seems to happen when the majority of the enemies have already been killed. There isn't a range limit on mindshock.<br /><br />If you just have one guy left to kill, I would have suggested walking up and having your Esper just attack with a hand-to-hand weapon and save your ammunition at that point. Plus another communication phase, and them watching your party slowly amble towards them, might have made him surrender on a second try.<br /><br />---<br />Also, after the 2nd ship boarding 3 of your squad's weapons were out of ammo. If you use the 'Load'/'Reload' command on the ship(or map screen), it will reload those personal weapons as well so they are ready for next combat; in addition to your ships weapons. At the very least it saves you a round of combat.<br /><br />---<br />The 3rd ship encounter(Insect Patrol Ships): because your ship lost so much armor, it is now lighter and less overloaded. When you buy armor, it will list how many points of armor make up a ton of weight(bigger ships will be higher). So you had less movement penalty. You can use the C- 'Scan' option to see positions of ships that are out of visual range.<br /><br />Armor removal- doesn't give you any money back unfortunately. When you sell your ship, it will actually give you money back for any equipment left on the ship(the middle row of the sell ship results screen); I don't recall if the money back is any worse than selling each part individually.Kellandrosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-22857569297694546502012-05-25T12:28:59.296-04:002012-05-25T12:28:59.296-04:00Any word on the whole Andrew Schultz biz? Or are y...Any word on the whole Andrew Schultz biz? Or are you waiting for another post to tell us all what happened?williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13165046805752023823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-2737869923551659292012-05-25T11:49:13.591-04:002012-05-25T11:49:13.591-04:00Think about how long it would've taken in firs...Think about how long it would've taken in first person view. (shudder)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-54287580951215238392012-05-25T11:18:12.454-04:002012-05-25T11:18:12.454-04:00The castle tower would be fine. I hear they'r...The castle tower would be fine. I hear they're good for breaking sages' seals, and I could use a vacation in The Dark World.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-17374030656887687532012-05-25T11:07:42.405-04:002012-05-25T11:07:42.405-04:00Seems like a p.cool game.
Ive got a shipment of p...Seems like a p.cool game.<br /><br />Ive got a shipment of princesses for a C.Warner. Where do you want them?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-69903314896760960182012-05-25T11:03:19.088-04:002012-05-25T11:03:19.088-04:00I had warned him off the energy weapons initially-...I had warned him off the energy weapons initially- in the early game your ship has limited fuel to barely make the round trips to destinations outside the triangle. Unless you realize alternate ways to get fuel, it potentially can leave you stranded.<br /><br />In the middle game with a bigger ship, energy weapons are probably great. Towards the end, I'm used to having to try multiple times to hyperspace out of a combat against an overwhelming enemy(burning 40 fuel each time), so I tend to prioritize saving every bit of fuel possible.<br /><br />---<br />There is a small amount of reward from land/ground combat- there is a summary screen that flashes up after the enemy is defeated, but disappears almost too fast to read(unless you really want to crank down the time delay factor and then have the game run way too slowly). I think I've seen rewards of a few thousand credits- not much, but not completely nothing.<br /><br />But in general you are correct that ground combat is almost entirely risk and attrition with little reward.<br /><br />There is a little tactical maneuvering you can do(mainly terrain type bonuses or using impassable terrain to avoid melee attacks), but nowhere near the options in many other games of this era.<br /><br />---<br />On money grinding- all you should have to do is find about 5-10 weak ships to board and capture on the first few missions. That gives a nice starting supply of cash in order to skip incremental upgrades(which really drain your money supply). <br /><br />But on your first time playing the game you are probably just going to follow the actual missions the game gives you- which ends up cutting down your income(because getting done faster pays you fewer month's salary, not to mention the capture bonuses). And as you progress through the missions, you'll slowly see the size and number of your enemies increase, making combat more costly.Kellandrosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-69925921691291475872012-05-25T10:45:01.331-04:002012-05-25T10:45:01.331-04:00Didn't want to spell out that puzzle directly....Didn't want to spell out that puzzle directly.<br /><br />I think you are reaching what I consider the tipping point on space combat- the enemy out-guns you, is tougher, and is faster.<br /><br />The amount of firepower to kill a robot fighter is pretty high, and they can tear your ship up badly while trying to do so. Generally at that point I just run away unless you have to fight for a mission or the enemy is smaller than you.<br /><br />The lizard ships weigh 700 tons- well over the size of anything else you see. The amount of armor they carry is absurd, trying to blow one up with guns takes forever- and for some reason is only worth 2,800 credits(by the manual it should be 28,000).<br /><br />BTW- how is your galaxy mapping going on? I was thinking this morning about sending you my list of refueling planets(but its on my home not work computer). Going south through the right-most screen of insect territory, I was finding a planet selling fuel in almost every other sector.<br /><br /><br />----<br />Secondly, I really need to re-download this game and install it fresh- I keep forgetting about those difficulties in bases(if you were to start over with a fresh party without reinstalling, everything you have explored would be mapped, traps disarmed and doors unlocked, fixed encounters mostly killed). From laziness of avoiding reinstalling, I've gotten used to a game world with most of the challenges pre-cleared.Kellandrosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-14506551796672004662012-05-25T09:29:41.052-04:002012-05-25T09:29:41.052-04:00I laughed out loud at "Will you accept a ship...I laughed out loud at "Will you accept a shipment of Princess Versilda?"Stephen Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15870830727459657131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-9105535187890402772012-05-25T04:40:32.721-04:002012-05-25T04:40:32.721-04:00It looked like my kind of game. So I tried it.
Un...It looked like my kind of game. So I tried it.<br /><br />Unfortunately the tactical approach is too much dumbed-down for my taste.<br />The fact that enemy react to your move, mean you cant flank them or attack them where they have no weapon, or shield. Plus you dont know if they have any shield or weapon on which side.<br /><br /> And the money grinding is awfully long and boring. And having no reward (no xp, no scavenge , no weapon or ammo, no credit) from land combat is sad for a rpg. Especially considering how deadly that can be.<br /><br />I was pretty happy with laser ship weapon: you spend fuel instead of ammo which I think can save you money and weight. And more useful: you dont have to reload.<br /><br />It seems you didnt read the manual, some of the question you're asking in the video are in the manual.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24009972874418730892012-05-25T02:55:30.510-04:002012-05-25T02:55:30.510-04:00"Ultima just would have killed me."
Obv..."Ultima just would have killed me."<br /><br />Obviously, Britannia's (or are we talking about Ultima 1's version, Sosaria?) magic was not "sufficiently advanced" enough to do something as specific as tell you your party will die in the next few seconds after proceeding from your "ship" (depending on which Ultima this could be the literal or the space version, of course).<br /><br />Also, CA, I hope you understand that although only a few things have transpired so far (from what I gather from your and Kellandro's summaries), all the smaller segments of these events and supplementary stuff like science missions spread out over the last few postings I did get a little lost.<br /><br />The recaps are greatly appreciated, and I am hopeful there is some over-arching plot going on versus something like Alternate Reality, where you eventually run out of new things to do.<br /><br />Whether or not there is a "big picture" at game's end, I have to say I am enjoying the ride, especially the detail that has been put into the terms of combat.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com