A True Tutorial Would've Been Nice
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Stardock Forums
Stardock Forums
I'm currently in the market for a new game or two, and I'm considering galciv. And I want to like it. From the reviews and play descriptions I've read, it sounds like a lot of fun, and Stardock is a company with what can only be described as giving fanatical support, even going so far as to fix bugs the very next day users report them. Part of what attracted me to galciv was Stardock's phenomenal reputation (contrast it with the extemely poor support of companies like Taldren and Activision).
Having downloaded the demo, my first impression of the game was utter confusion. Many, many options, menus and selections of every kind.
Even in the 'tutorial' mode, there is absolutely no hand holding of any kind. A true tutorial would've been a welcome feature, especially in a demo. A true tutorial would be just like those included with games like Starfleet Command 3 and Neverwinter Nights, which prompt you and step you through the process of using the game's features, guiding you every step of the way. With a game as complex as galciv, I would call this a necessity. If such a thing is included in the game, I have yet to find it.
Turning to the manual was of little help. It describes the various features, but the crucial element of a walkthrough tutorial was missing there, too.
An example of the kind of trouble I'm having is when I try to make a colony ship go past a certain distance, it doesn't let me, because I needed a friendly planet or star base within a certain distance from that ship to allow it to go further. So I thought, "OK, how do I get a star base?" The game should've told me how. Instead, I waded through several pages of the manual until I finally found that constructor ships are needed to build starbases.
Galciv looks like a fine game, and I'm curious enough to continue to give it a chance, but the learning curve is a real stumbling block. The point of a game should be how well you play it, not whether you can even figure out how to play it.
What am I missing, and what can be done to keep other people from missing it, too?
Having downloaded the demo, my first impression of the game was utter confusion. Many, many options, menus and selections of every kind.
Even in the 'tutorial' mode, there is absolutely no hand holding of any kind. A true tutorial would've been a welcome feature, especially in a demo. A true tutorial would be just like those included with games like Starfleet Command 3 and Neverwinter Nights, which prompt you and step you through the process of using the game's features, guiding you every step of the way. With a game as complex as galciv, I would call this a necessity. If such a thing is included in the game, I have yet to find it.
Turning to the manual was of little help. It describes the various features, but the crucial element of a walkthrough tutorial was missing there, too.
An example of the kind of trouble I'm having is when I try to make a colony ship go past a certain distance, it doesn't let me, because I needed a friendly planet or star base within a certain distance from that ship to allow it to go further. So I thought, "OK, how do I get a star base?" The game should've told me how. Instead, I waded through several pages of the manual until I finally found that constructor ships are needed to build starbases.
Galciv looks like a fine game, and I'm curious enough to continue to give it a chance, but the learning curve is a real stumbling block. The point of a game should be how well you play it, not whether you can even figure out how to play it.
What am I missing, and what can be done to keep other people from missing it, too?