Solo4114

Reply to Stardock response to Paul and Fred [UPDATE] in Star Control StarControl Forums

[quote who="Frogboy" reply="89" id="3698976"] One reminder, TFB isn't involved in any of this. Paul and Fred are the ones who claim to own the characters and lore of SC1/2.[/quote] My mistake. I thought they basically were TFB. [quote]The single biggest issue I've seen is that people don't really understand what a trademark is. A trademark isn't just the name. Trademarks exist to ensure consumers know the origin of the go

Reply to Stardock response to Paul and Fred [UPDATE] in Star Control StarControl Forums

This seems like the sort of thing that ought to be resolved with a well-drafted settlement and release document, which could clarify and outline the respective rights of the parties. There's no need for this to go to actual litigation, at least from the peanut gallery where I'm sitting. I remember discussing some of the legal issues ages ago on the old Pages of Now and Forever, and as I recall, Accolade held the rights to the trademarks for "Star Control" and "StarCon,

Reply to re poll: Would you pre-order on-line a Master of Magic 2? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Oh, absolutely. If Stardock did make a successful sequel, it'd absolutely boost its name in the industry. Assuming they manage to please the long-time fans, or assuming that they make a great game on their own, it's a win-win. Ultimately, as long as they have creative control and thus get the credit for development, either scenario turns out well, with the MOM2 scenario turning out probably better because of the strength of the MOM brand (as you've said, more sales that way). What I'

Reply to Capturing planets with influence in Strategies Stardock Forums

I thought you were limited to 3 bases per sector?

Reply to Capturing planets with influence in Strategies Stardock Forums

Hmm...well, I may get impatient and just attack them anyway. I'm still only at 53% of a cultural victory in my current game, though I've managed to flip a few planets, which was nice. I'm not that into the combat in this game (much like I'm not usually into combat in the Civ games), largely because it seems a little too simplified. I tend to be more of a builder/researcher anyway. The problem is, the Scottlingas have a TON of influence. They're the second or third most influential g

Reply to Capturing planets with influence in Strategies Stardock Forums

So, wait. It's IMPOSSIBLE to culture flip a minor? Guess I've been wasting money and time on trying to get the Scottlingas to flip. Oh well. Guess I'll build some anti-matter missiles and just take 'em over.

Reply to re poll: Would you pre-order on-line a Master of Magic 2? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Yeah, since we don't have italics here, I tend to capitalize points that I stress, and I type the way it sounds in my head. Not trying to be arrogant or anything, just offering my opinion. If it's obvious to you, kudos. Great minds think alike. ;) I don't think people are stupid, though. I just hadn't seen those issues raised in the discussion thus far, so I figured I'd bring 'em up. Plus, most of what I write is just sort of free association/stream of consciousness. >shrug

Reply to re poll: Would you pre-order on-line a Master of Magic 2? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

The costs to both the copyrighted info AND the trademarks will be significant. Atari's not stupid -- as soon as they figure out there's a market for this stuff, it's blood in the water for 'em, and puts them in a VERY favorable negotiating position. And licensing is ALL about who holds the power in negotiating, as my licensing professor used to say. See, Atari CAN do it in-house and make money off of it. Even though MOO3 was basically panned, they KNOW they'll make their money back j

Reply to re poll: Would you pre-order on-line a Master of Magic 2? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

SC3/4 (I'D call it 3 since I'd rather ignore the 3rd one) would indeed be a real challenge. Anyone left who is a fan of the series is more likely a fan more of #2 (and 1, of course) and probably is rather opposed to #3 or just outright hates it. From what I understand, there's still some legal issues to sort out between Toys for Bob (Fred and Paul) and Accolade/Infogrames/Atari's ownership of various intellectual properties. Infogrames still holds the trademark for Star Control game

Reply to re poll: Would you pre-order on-line a Master of Magic 2? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Pherdnut's absolutely right. If you screw your fans, they WILL turn on you. On the other hand, there's still a lot of indiscriminate customers out there. But what I think we'll see happen in the next 5-10 years is, as the gaming population gets older and expands, it'll become increasingly more difficult to capture market dollars. Why? Well, as we get older, we'll have less time to devote to games, and will likely only want to buy the ones we REALLY like from the companies we REALLY like. P

Reply to re poll: Would you pre-order on-line a Master of Magic 2? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

When I play retro games, I don't find it to be an adjustment at all. I accept them as products of their time. Now, if I played a game TODAY that had such graphics...that might be a different story. But honestly, I think too much is made of cool graphics and sounds at the expense of good GAMEPLAY. Not that you have to sacrifice one for the other, but companies often seem to do just this.

Reply to Good early game/beginners tips? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Yeah, I hear ya. I'm in a game currently where I've got about 8-10 planets colonized in a corner of the map, and am behind on techs and military (and most other things). But, I've got good positioning, and I'm learning that techs can be obtained VERY quickly, once you get far enough along. I'm trading for techs as much as possible, and have a decent cash flow, so I'm not selling 'em much. The majors seem to be bankrupting themselves currently, though I've only contacted two. The m

Reply to re poll: Would you pre-order on-line a Master of Magic 2? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Re: old titles on new computers, try using DOS emulators. DOSBox is one I've heard of, but haven't tried. Alternatively, make a DOS startup disk and use that. Re: iCapn's point, I agree that StarDock has a good reputation. I'd trust them to make a game with fun mechanics and overal gameplay design. As for making sequels, I think it really depends on the nature of the original games. SC3 sucked because...well, for too many reasons to get into here. But one of the primary reasons wa

Reply to re poll: Would you pre-order on-line a Master of Magic 2? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Whoa, wait a second -- you guys are in licensing talks with Atari?? GET THEM TO LICENSE THE STAR CONTROL STUFF. And THEN go get Fred and Paul to write the story. Do that, and you'll get my pre-order. If it's the OFFICIAL sequel to Star Control 2, as written and approved by the original creators, I'll preorder no questions asked. MoM2, though, I can't say, since I never played the original.

Reply to re poll: Would you pre-order on-line a Master of Magic 2? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

For the old poll, I'd go with Star Control, but again, only if the two principles at Toys for Bob (the original creators of the series) were responsible for the storyline and approved the mechanics.

Reply to re poll: Would you pre-order on-line a Master of Magic 2? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

I never played MoM, but I'd definitely be interested in a StarCon (not Star Control -- Atari/Infogrames still has the rights to that name) sequel IF you managed to get Fred Ford and Paul Reiche on board as story designers. After the botched job Legend Interactive (now defunct) did with SC3, I don't want ANYONE but the "Precursors" touching the game, story-wise. I want to see THEIR sequel to The Ur-Quan Masters, which is still one of THE best games of all time, across the board. I'll

Reply to Suggestions for GalCiv II in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Interesting feature, but I'm not sure if they'd develop it, given time/budget constraints. I think CivIII had a feature similar to this that let you watch generally how the game progressed, turn by turn, but only at the end of the game, and only that one time.

Reply to Suggestions for GalCiv II in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Re: the "See what the AI did/what I did to win" thing, don't the logs cover that? Or do you want a specific video playback? Or maybe, like, an ability to watch chart progression, and focus on a particular event to watch it replay?

Reply to Good early game/beginners tips? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

True. I'm used to games like Civ2 and 3 where, if you start getting behind, unless you have geography working for you, you're in bad shape. That's one of the few things I miss about the MOO games -- the star lanes concept. You could have real lynchpin/crossroads planets and other planets that were farther away and MUCH easier to defend. In some ways, I actually prefer a corner start position because it limits my exposure to attack and gives me far better defensive posturing (which I tend to

Reply to Good early game/beginners tips? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

I perused the strategies section, and saw some interesting stuff, but actually, your suggestions were more what I was looking for. Just general global strategies, not so much Steps A, B, and C strategies (which seems to be more what I find on the strategy center) or narrowly focused strategies (IE: how to stop a transport rush). I guess maybe I'm bailing too quickly on my games and should let them play out a bit more. I'll just have to mess around with things. FWIW, I'm pla

Good early game/beginners tips? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

The game has been kicking my butt regularly, lately. I can't seem to expand, develop my fleet, keep up on research, AND have a good economy all at once. And I'm only playing in normal mode right now (not even up at Intelligent). The AI ALWAYS seems to be ahead of me in terms of tech, ships, money, etc., and I can't figure out why. I may need to study my game logs and see what the AI is up to while I'm struggling. Maybe I need to stop fiddling with the tax and production sliders so much or i

Reply to Suggestions for GalCiv II in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Thanks! :)

Reply to Suggestions for GalCiv II in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Maybe. I'm a little gun-shy about governors in games like this. Anyway, I'd say the biggest three issues I'd want to see are: 1.) Option for customizable ships/units 2.) Option for more tactical space combat 3.) Meaningful resource/planet-type system, with specific and unique ramifications for each race.

Reply to Suggestions for GalCiv II in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

As far as the governor goes, I wouldn't know, since I never use governors in games like this. Ever. I'm talking about where I specfically say "Build the following ships in the following order, and at the same time, build the following social projects in the following order." What I was getting at with the "I strongly urge that this be optional" comment was that the modified combat system (where you actually fight fleet battles and such) be optional. Not the graphics. Though, hey, th

Reply to Suggestions for GalCiv II in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

I've got a few suggestions, actually. I'm just getting back to the game after a LONG hiatus from 4X games in general (this being the only one I play now). Gameplay Suggestions: 1. Ship customization -- by this, I mean FULL customization. Hull design (graphically speaking, I mean -- not that it'd have an effect on performance), weapon/equipment loadouts, color schemes, etc. Maybe even coloring of your weapon effects and such (that might be a bit much). In te