Second Play Through After a Break

[FrozenFallout]

So after having a fun game on my first play through, I put down Horizon and watched updates roll out for it, while I played Civ 5 BNW and a few other new or updated TBS games.

After seeing many great base improvements to the game in updates I decided pick up the game for another play through. To sum up my post about my first play through, I dominated by just being friendly and won by crushing 1 race with all my buddies because they wanted to knock him off and being Allies with everyone I easily ruled the Galaxy. I have to say Im very happy to see the direction that the game is going.

The ability to move between your colonies with the left and right arrow buttons is great. I would like to see a button on the screen with left and right arrows that also move between colonies but I'm not complaining. The AI also seems to be a bit more active but still seems to be a bit easy to just friend up and decline breaking an alliance. It felt like if I said no to breaking an alliance there wouldn't be any problems. At first I was worried I might lose my alliance with one if I didn't break the other but that never happened.

I got more into exploration this time and survey system order is awesome. I found so much tec just digging up sites and a good number of cool planets to colonies just by pumping out scouts in the first few turns and getting out there to explore. I also got into the missions but haven't been able to finish the Egg mission when it asks you to search a whole sector I wasn't able to find the site and on my first play through I was able to complete the Heart Mission but only got the start for it this time and couldn't figure out a way to get the next part to activate. The other missions I found fun and really hope that its easy to make missions and that Modders will be able to make missions because I feel that will make the end game extremely fun. I also feel its a great way to tell the story of the game. However currently I don't feel that story playing but in bits and pieces right now I haven't found something that feels like the main story line yet.

Was great to see miniaturization and made me play around allot more with builds in Mid and Late game. I also hope to see hull improving tech and other specials to boost how much can fit on a ship. I also see very little difference in ship tech at this point and hope that they get much more distinction as things go forward.

I really like the start of the game, I felt I had a ton of things to do and find in the galaxy but by mid Game I found my self fat with cash and being extremely lazy and still beating everyone down. I only had 7 colonies I owned from the start of the game. I only colonized 1 planet in each system never doing more than that and basicly tried to cherry pick far away places. Due to so much peace in the galaxy and I think the AI really hadn't been building for war at all I was able to make peace with everyone and nearly get the whole Galaxy under my Alliance. I had crushed everyone not inside my Alliance and just needed to finish off those who opposed only have to conquer 2 planets. Although the game was fun, economy is broken where I was just pulling in the cash it felt. By the start of Mid game I was making so much cash I didn't even know what to do with it other then go on huge buying sprees every couple of turns. Even in the start of the game I guess I always buy stuff like my first 4 scouts, and my Assault Shuttle Transport with Heavy Lasers. But after a while I had to start blowing it on a huge unstoppable army. I don't think this is intended. I was basically able to upgrade with out a worry, I did have a strat to upgrading like farms and tourism and taxs on Terran and Factories on Gems and Gold or the like. I also didn't do factories that much on poor worlds making them more tourism (if they had the tourism upgrade which is why I took a poor world normaly) or if they are Terran I did a farm world and once they started making good money I upgrade Research and everything as far as I want.

At the end game I was just passing turns and having some fun battles here and there but for the most part turn 300 to 400 I just blow by in less then an hour due to just hitting turn a bunch. I was hoping for more interaction and world building. I also don't feel much difference in tech or power levels at all. Some are more planets or more tech or more money but that never flows over into meaning much. I just did what I wanted when ever I wanted. Sure I payed everyone off with Tech at the start and I always give away tech, because hell why not. Although some tech is very important and give great bonuses such as ground tech others like space tech seem only marginally better or different from each other. Level 10 Laser is only Marginally less damage then Level 10 Crystal weapons but I see where there could be allot of play with weapons. But even when I had level 10 in all Techs and I was about to win the game I though it would be fun to go to war with everyone.

I have to say the AI is pitiful when it comes to war. Im able to crush them at every turn and have way more ships then all of them put together. I also am not even trying with 100 Trillion in the bank ready for when they really start trying. Its Turn 430 right now and Im about to take out Many surrounding planets. I just don't see much difference in weapons or what the mega big weapon does at all, basically seemed useless at least in its current form. It was fun making them and thinking about what to put on my ships in the Endgame but found no real difference between techs of old and new. I also never had any power issues on any ships no matter how I fit them. I also never us Cargo, It really needs a size reduction. I also hope we will get more then one model to pick from for ship models in the future. Gets a little bland to see all the same look for each ship size and also made it harder to know which one was fit which way.

Cant wait for more updates to come out and have to say you have one stable and beautiful game. I also cant wait to see what the Mod tools will be like and if it will be linked to Steam Workshop. I can see this being a game I will probably play for years if it continues in the direction its going.

Some Suggestions:

Monsters: Please Please tell me you will have Monsters for us to fight

More Story being Played out in the game

Major Events: These are always great

More things to find while Exploring. Splinter Colonies are great, finding an Intact Ship was always a great find in games or one time upgrade for your ships that found the site. Also finding things in space would be cool. Linking this stuff with Monsters can make it feel more rewarding.

Extremely end game tech. I really like the level system to your tech but would love to see it divided up a bit in the ways of power levels. Not that you should get access to some techs early game but more powerful tech should take much more tech points to research and there for are late game techs. Also It felt like the Ancient Races had the least useful tech for me while by Mid game I had all the crazy cool tech, although I did explore to find a ton of cool tech which some I would have like to have to get from a race and got more cool things like an ships or upgrades.

Heroes: I really hope something like this gets in. Heroes really makes you care about special ships. Also governors can and ship heroes can add another great layer to the game.

Experience for ships: I see something in place for this but its not enable form the look of it. Would be nice if this did play a big part on how good a ship is and what it does.

Layers to Exploration: Have Exploration have a second or even Third phase in the game. Something to make you keep going back out on exploration missions during late mid and endgame other then missions (which is a great way to force exploration). Having Scanning equipment upgrades that allow for after a certain tech level or tech you have to go back out and explore again. You could also then place cool ruins on Mars and the Pluto that can be found mid game to uncover missions or the like.

Explored/Unexplored label on a planet. Just like you have listed under the game for Ruins and Gems when you select a system on the over view map.

Strategic Map: Was wondering if you might consider making a strategic Mode, Something focused on a Galaxy view for Combat and maybe exploration. It would be a map you could flip to in order to see more information. Something you could access in Combat mode to see where you are in the galaxy and what is going on in that sector.

Note Pad in Game: Something for me to record my thoughts on while I play. Also allows me to make a Log of events.

[Zaimat]

Thanks for the detailed feedback, it's been very helpful. We are addressing some of the major points in the update that's coming very soon. Many fixes to the AI and improvements that should make the game more challenging are on the forefront. Balancing is also a close second but it's going to take some time to get it right as things keep changing and it's a fine line between making it easy for new players and challenging for everyone. Oh and yes there are going to be some monsters.