Space Hulk Tactics....

Over a year ago I posted about Space Hulk Tactics saying it was looking great and a game I'd keep an eye on. I then seem to have promptly forgot about it. That's more a me thing(again) than anything to do with the game.... that I can remember. I don't remember sticking it on my 'keep an eye on' list, or putting it on and then taking it off either.

Thinking back now I do faintly recall seeing the promo stuff when I posted that initial blog .... At that time as well there was a lot of talk about 40k licenses being overused and abused with games. Maybe I mistook Tactics for something else with that in mind.

I do like other PC based 40K games, be it space based with Battlefleet Gothic Armada (and again) or ground based in Space Hulk Deathwing (and again) or even with Space Marine.

So with a slight inkling of the game, this week I saw and chose to install it via the Microsoft store and Gamepass Ultimate for PC. Free is free after all. I did so more for the reason that it's a 40k game along the lines of 'why didn't I know about this game before!'.

I was hooked by it on the tutorial level. It's a great game. If you like 40k, Space Crusade then this is a game you have to try.

A few screenies to share the atmosphere....

Battlefleet Gothic Armada....

The one thing about the game that I both like and hate is that your never really given time to build up a fleet that's overpowered. At least that's the way I felt doing it on normal. I can only imagine it on harder difficulties. For example your constantly behind due to limited resources that can be used to do 2 of the current turns 10 "problems"; And those numbers only get worse. Like only having 1 action with 20 "problems". Like I said good and bad as it does force you to be tactical. As for the more major choices in the overall stories branching arc's, at least there's unrestricted saves in the game. It's definitely a game I've reloaded, reloaded and reloaded some more to get a better outcome.
In the end it was worth it. Like all the cutscenes in the game, epic in feeling.

I can't see myself doing a full replay of this game again, but there's skirmish mode. A chance to play as the Orks, Chaos and Eldar is worth a look at the very least.

Battlefleet Gothic Armada....

BGA is a proving to be a harsh game for me. I'd like to say harsh but fair but that wouldn't be in tune with the Warhammer 40k universe. It almost makes me wish for simpler times.

Ah the ready button, the deployment calm before the storm. Endless space a sea of possibilities...

And a graveyard of broken hopes and dreams....

The repair capabilities are not too bad, taking a completely destroyed ship back to action.

I'm loving the combat, even if I avoid some mission types in a broader tactical thinking, that's my excuse anyway. Having limited points to put ships in space means that taking out convoy's can be a pain if they have numerous ships spread out. If it's only two or three it's easy.

I did forgo a convoy mission's objectives in favour of destroying a nemesis, sacrifice or should I say victory in defeat is a key part of the universe and gameplay here.

The game perfectly captures the franchise, and even if you've never heard of 40k the gameplay is difficult but compelling. The story does carry a lot of punch with it.

Personally I really like the overly verbose (see what I did there!) speech, the overly complicated names, the formality. While I'm saying I like this game I am biased.

Casual Carebear

Battlefleet Gothic Armada....

The second of my Steam winter sale purchases was Battlefleet Gothic Armada. Like my other purchase(Doom) I got this more for the single player than the multiplayer.  Getting both games at half price for that reason made sense to me. Both had been on my wish list for a while.
I'm finding the game immersive and fun(the PC Gamer review is worth a read for details.).

Eve Online.... PVE & Alpha thoughts....

PVE in Eve seems to be getting a lot of discussion these day's. A lot of the talk is good. A lot more of the talk is sitting in a very grey area. At least in my view. That view is based on my casual carebear, solo, non pvp centric style of gameplay. That and the fact that I ignore the views that say "PVE is evil and PVP is all that counts".
Two good articles about the state and hopes of PVE are:
Portfolio of PVE from crossingzebras.com
&
The Passivity Purge from nevillesmit.com

The passive nature of some area's of PVE I think are vital, more so than others. I've found my time in Eve more constrained which limits options. Doing an in game activity that already has dangers and enforcing it to be more actively grindy in nature is only going to be a method to make people quit. I've heard a lot of people both in and out of the game and within the meta say that Eve Online IS a second job. That it IS spreadsheets online.  It is all perspective. I've said before that Eve Online has a fine balance and it is constantly being tweaked. A player can only take so much of that tweaking however, before their own personal playstyle and time limit make the game unplayable.
Take something small and passive, PI. Planetary Interaction.
When introduced to the game PI was free after initial setup costs, so importing and exporting materials was free. Then it was NPC taxed. Then it was player and npc taxed. That player taxation was related to the markets so materials that were needed the most had their source planets taxed more. Sometimes you would find a friendly Corp that set their tax lower but most times not. As if that wasn't bad enough CCP changed the markets via the introduction of Citadels. So selling in an npc station included increased taxation. Finding a new Player run station to sell was then a pain. Would you have a station live long enough to sell the items, would other players be able to buy your items etc etc... Having Jita 4-4 as a main trade hub was so easy. But that is where Eve does it's "thing". Tweaking multiple area's eventually cross each other and that cross over only makes for compounding complications.
Eve really, really does know how to make life complicated and hard. If not considered hard today it will be tomorrow and then you'll be taxed some more on it for good measure.

I'm glad I'm out of the Omega class. There is freedom in the thought that living as an Alpha will let me view my main's and alts on both my accounts to "keep in contact" with them. But to also fly care free with some older alts with which I can act almost without care. Its very appealing. My play styles will be so radically different when the game brings back to life my old alts. The "old" 21 day trial characters were disposable for a reason. Now they are being given new life, they get to live on as they were and then some. Lots and lots of options are being opened up.

The ongoing debate on the Clone changes are bringing up clear ideas on what should be included and what should be limited.

http://nevillesmit.com/blog/2016/9/3/turn-alpha-safeties-on


http://nevillesmit.com/blog/2016/8/31/the-caste-system


http://crossingzebras.com/safeties-off-gloves-off/



A great podcast that is really worth listening to is "On Grid". Their second episode has lots of informative content on the upcoming F2P/Freemium feature that will hit Eve in November.
http://crossingzebras.com/on-grid-episode-2/

It will be interesting to see what kind of jump there will be in long term player numbers and where things will stand once the new Alpha clone states have "normalised"...

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/519vza/ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhhhhhahahahaha/

I've dabbled as I've said with the liberation of playstyle using a trial account so I won't waffle on further about it here. I will say that I'm not the only one. More recently sandciderandspaceships has just started a trial a few weeks before the news of clone states.
Interesting reading:
http://sandciderandspaceships.blogspot.ie/2016/08/starting-over.html

http://sandciderandspaceships.blogspot.ie/2016/08/my-new-toon-is-now-week-old.html

http://sandciderandspaceships.blogspot.ie/2016/09/60-million-isk-and-loving-it.html

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada looks to be a detailed game, one to keep an eye on.