First Impressions....

Fans of Legions of Steel - a boardgame designed by Clark Browning, Marco Pecota and Derrick Villeneuve – will be happy to know that the French developers from Studio Nyx have revived the eternal war between the Empire of the Machines and the factions from the Milky Way.
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jack54
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First Impressions....

Post by jack54 »

Hi everybody,

I 'Love' the design.... but too easy. ( 1 patch could make this a classic) IMHO (Edit: Not 'all' of the scenarios are easy)

Great atmosphere and graphics , again imo, and I really like the fact that they went with a top down view and less flashy 3d Graphics, because of this the game loads very fast and I can be playing in seconds on my mid level PC.

There are a many movement and fire options, more than I was expecting, Basic fire, Auto, various types of cover/ suppression fire.... walking, running, or remaining static affect your accuracy.

Skirmish mode seems to be levels from the campaign it's not like Battle Academy's random generated skirmish. (Fog of War) Electronic Warfare mode is currently only available in Skirmish mode.
The campaign has NO fog of war .Edit FOW turns on after a few campaign missions.

Of the 2 campaigns 1 is a tutorial... the other seems to be played against the machines. (Disappointing one campaign is a tutorial).

The AI is a mixed bag as it will use it's 'Smoke' grenades well but will often attempt a more difficult shot over a closer higher percentage Shot. In general the AI side could use some help

Suppression fire is over powered, IMO, and I have stopped using it against the AI as a house rule. With 3 machines in a corridor, if you switch to Suppression Fire there is a good chance of taking them all out.

It's probably a 'very good' multi-player game but I can't say as I play 90% of my games solo.

In closing I must say again that I love the Design and Atmosphere, it has 'exceeded my expectation in many areas'. No FOW in the campaign and no true 'random Skirmish mode' are disappointments. With some support this could become one of my favorites. Edit: FOW turns on mid campaign.
Last edited by jack54 on Mon Jul 20, 2015 1:08 am, edited 4 times in total.
FroBodine
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by FroBodine »

Great summary, jack! I was just about to buy this game, then I read your post.

While it looks and sounds like an excellent game, the things you talk about are enough to steer me away until they are improved.

Bummer. I was looking forward to playing. I can be talked back into it, though, with some positive feedback around the things you noted as issues.

What is bad about a campaign against the machines? Are there cooler races to fight against that would have made for a more interesting campaign?

No fog of war in the campaign?!? That is a huge disappointment, especially since it is one of their major selling points. Hmm . . .
jack54
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by jack54 »

FroBodine wrote: What is bad about a campaign against the machines? Are there cooler races to fight against that would have made for a more interesting campaign?

No fog of war in the campaign?!? That is a huge disappointment, especially since it is one of their major selling points. Hmm . . .
My disappointment is not with the campaign against the machines it's that 1 campaign is a tutorial... when I saw 2 Campaigns I assumed that (1) would be played as the machines and (1) as the commandos.

But please don't let my feedback discourage you as this is a quality product and quite fun to play. The developers have put a lot of effort into this game it's just that some things I was hoping for are not there... yet. Hopefully they happen.

As it stands now I'm still glad I made the purchase.
Rosseau
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by Rosseau »

Is this similar to a 2D version of X-Com Enemy Unknown/Within? My problem is there are a ton of tactical games somewhat similar to this one appearing on Steam lately. Space Hulk Ascension, Door Kickers, Survivor Squad Gauntlet, Breach & Clear, Machines at War 3, Telepathic Tactics. Most of these are moddable, have an editor and/or Workshop.

It appears the scenarios and campaign(s) in this game are hardcoded for the best AI performance. Skirmish really isn't what Skirmish is in every other game we've played. It's a perfectly acceptable design decision by the devs, and the price is quite modest. I see boardgame players are quite happy with it. That is good. But for me, I like to mod.
Muddy
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by Muddy »

The game is great, I am loving it. I just hope that they add a few more campaign's at some time in the future, but already plenty enough game here to justify the price.
jack54
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by jack54 »

I stand corrected.....After playing several mission in the campaign Electronic Warfare has turned on... we now have Fog Of War. YEAH!

FroBodine.... this is an unofficial ARM Twist. :D
giffin
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by giffin »

Just wondering if more people are buying the IPad version or the Pc Version?
FroBodine
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by FroBodine »

jack54 wrote:I stand corrected.....After playing several mission in the campaign Electronic Warfare has turned on... we now have Fog Of War. YEAH!

FroBodine.... this is an unofficial ARM Twist. :D
Good to hear that fog of war kicks in! My arm is very easily twisted. In fact, it's barely hanging onto my body with all the games I have been talked into buying lately!
bssybeep
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by bssybeep »

Good first impressions. I would like to see additional single-player content added to the base game - like more campaigns, maps and missions. Currently, with just two campaigns (one a tutorial) and only 15 maps I wonder how much replayability it has? (again I'm only interested in single-play).
budd
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by budd »

Anything at this tactical scale interests me. Does seem a little light on SP content. Is this right, it's kind of a fixed skirmish mode? meaning once you choose the map the type of game is set? Is the AI scripted in skirmish mode? Are the troop types always the same per map in skirmish mode? Just seems if your not going to play MP you'll be done with this real quick. How about a little info on any SP plans in the future, if it's going strictly MP route thats cool.
bssybeep
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by bssybeep »

it would be nice to hear from the developers.

Is this a good single-player experience with replayability on the single-player side? Or is the game targeted for the multiplayer crowd for longevity? Will there be some free additional campaigns planned?

thanks
IainMcNeil
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Re: First Impressions....

Post by IainMcNeil »

There is a strong multiplayer mode but definitely plenty of single player content too. It's not aimed at one or the other, just trying to let people play the way they want to play.

Additional content is definitely possible of there is a demand for it.
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