OT: Geez, but I'd forgotten just how fun The Corporate Machine is

from Stardock Forums
Was poking around with my Drengin subscription and reinstalled TCM for old time's sake and can't stop playing the silly thing. Was really fun to get to know it again while taking a break from the GalCiv beta. Don't recall why I lost track of TCM, but glad to have been reminded to go give it a go again!


~SDC~
460 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
I recently fired that up to keep me from clicking 'forum' on this site every couple minutes, and it worked for a while. There's another thread around here with all kinds of strategy games to keep us non-beta people from exploding until the 26th.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Simple to play... hard to win.
I'm betting $39.99 GalCiv will keep my interest even longer. Although I really liked how I could set the options and play a very fast game.

~SDC~
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
i just tried the demo. brilliant game. the rules are very simple, but it allows for very complex strategy. most excellent strategy games are like that. i hope galciv is as well.

cheers

h
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Yeah, the strategy in TCM is very understated and it's the sublties (much as with GalCiv), especially at the higher AI levels, that really make the game something special. Both games have a nice and refreshing board game feel to them and knowing that the AI is up against the same issues you are really makes the difference for me in the long-term playability of the game. Real life tactics work as you'd expect and as often as I've undercut the AI's prices to drive them out of a market, it's actually really fun when they do it to me as well.

Guess that's the nicest thing about both games is that when you get beat, you feel like you were beat on even terms and often you're impressed with what the AI did and wish you'd thought of it or been faster to do it yourself... :)

~SDC~
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
I was never able to undercut in TCM on highest levels... Cant figure out why, anyway, this simple little game provides me still a challenge. I casually win on Normal, one-in-two on level above normal, but _never_ on highest level. I think it is connected to not use marketing enough.
Nice refreshment - game that is difficult to win ;)
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
Yup, difficult to win, yet still satisfying to win on the lower levels as well. It's a good example of the "human-like" AI that Brad often talks about that in TCM the higher levels are hard to win precisely because the AI doesn't worry about marketing at the lower levels... Much as I often don't worry about marketing at the lower levels... ;)

But once you have the AI exploiting all available options and doing so much more relentlessly than your average human... Whooo boy!

~SDC~