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Preview Space Rangers 2 preview at IGN
- Thread starter Spazmo
- Start date
Naked_Lunch
Erudite
I'm not upgrading just out of spite now.
I finally got my copy 2 days ago. I've only put in about 3 hours, but I was surprised to find that the translations are pretty OK. I was on typo watch for the first hour or so, but there was nothing glaring, so I just relaxed and went along with the game.Country_Gravy said:
I do have the language pack tools, but I suspect if I bother with them, it will be to change all the words to American English spelling. And why bother with that if the game will be released in the USA in 8 weeks?
I think my only problem with the game so far is that another ship partnered with me after I completed my first mission, but then almost immediately (after I jumped back to our solar system) told me he hated my tactics, and he refused to partner with me anymore. That was odd. It felt buggy. I probably just did something in a bad order.
-Tony
Uz0rnaem
Scholar
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2006
- Messages
- 308
After all that "hype" I was actually a bit let down by the game. The translation is okay, but exploring the universe is not nearly as much fun as it was in EVN (you have to buy maps in order to access new systems, you can't just go ahead and explore them on your own), the combat is rather dull and the dialogue system seems to be a bit messed up, too. Also, SS2's interpretation of outer space is way too "lasershowy" for my taste.
It's an interesting game nonetheless, but if the makers had tried to perfect ONE aspect of the game (preferbly the space exploration aspect), instead of implementing so much different, rather pointless stuff (like the robot RTS minigames), it could've been great. On the other hand, maybe I would appreciate it much more, if I just hadn't read all the praise, which made me expect The Uber Game.
It's an interesting game nonetheless, but if the makers had tried to perfect ONE aspect of the game (preferbly the space exploration aspect), instead of implementing so much different, rather pointless stuff (like the robot RTS minigames), it could've been great. On the other hand, maybe I would appreciate it much more, if I just hadn't read all the praise, which made me expect The Uber Game.
Uz0rnaem
Scholar
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2006
- Messages
- 308
Yeah, I really got a false impression from the reviews and comments. But as I said, it's not a bad game and I don't regret getting it. I mean, a game that allows you to train your own pet cockroach and let it compete in a race must have something going for it.Balor said:
No, I've seen much worse. Some things are worded oddly and unusual phrases are used, but you always get the point, so it's not too bothersome.
bryce777
Erudite
Well, I am sorry if I have put anyone on the wrong path with this one. I have not liked a game so much in ages, though.
It is definitely not quite as easy to classify as many games, and it is genuinely goofy and crazy, but mostly in good ways. So, it might not be the bee's knees for everyone, but I am a huge fan of it and think it's very much worth a look, and not quite like anything I have played.
The spellings and grammar are bad at times, but I don't think they garble any actual meaning. Still, I am interested in helping clean it up a bit eventually.
It is definitely not quite as easy to classify as many games, and it is genuinely goofy and crazy, but mostly in good ways. So, it might not be the bee's knees for everyone, but I am a huge fan of it and think it's very much worth a look, and not quite like anything I have played.
The spellings and grammar are bad at times, but I don't think they garble any actual meaning. Still, I am interested in helping clean it up a bit eventually.
So, I have a question. I played SR2 for about 5 hours last night. My character, a fighter, was looking to get involved in liberation fights from the Dominators. However, for the 5 hours, my character just chased after the news alerts -- getting into a distant system would take 1 month of flight time, so the battle would always end before my arrival.
In the end, I ended up dinking around in some backwater system with 3 planets, trying to kill a couple of pirates. Even THAT didn't work -- they'd land on a planet every time I hurt 'em. One eventually paid me off, but that was only after I sat hovering around a planet repeatedly, waiting for him to emerge.
My only accomplishment was to run a piece of transportation hardware from a distant planet over to Venus.
In the end, I felt the time playing was unproductive. I do not like spending an hour of game time hovering near a hideout planet, waiting to for a bad guy to launch, so I can zap him and watch him immediately land again.
Can someone more experienced with the game explain how you are getting something good out of it? That's not a rhetorical question, nor is it meant as a gripe against the game. I seriously think I just don't understand the game mechanics. What do your gaming sessions look like? Do you spend lots of time waiting? Do you chase battles only to arrive too late? How do you win fights, how do you get a sense of satisfaction from it?
-T
In the end, I ended up dinking around in some backwater system with 3 planets, trying to kill a couple of pirates. Even THAT didn't work -- they'd land on a planet every time I hurt 'em. One eventually paid me off, but that was only after I sat hovering around a planet repeatedly, waiting for him to emerge.
My only accomplishment was to run a piece of transportation hardware from a distant planet over to Venus.
In the end, I felt the time playing was unproductive. I do not like spending an hour of game time hovering near a hideout planet, waiting to for a bad guy to launch, so I can zap him and watch him immediately land again.
Can someone more experienced with the game explain how you are getting something good out of it? That's not a rhetorical question, nor is it meant as a gripe against the game. I seriously think I just don't understand the game mechanics. What do your gaming sessions look like? Do you spend lots of time waiting? Do you chase battles only to arrive too late? How do you win fights, how do you get a sense of satisfaction from it?
-T
Screaming_life
Liturgist
aboyd said:
You could try luring him away from the planet. You can fly away from him while at the same time firing... if you don't cause too much damage then he'll keep following you. The trick is to get him far enough away from the planet before he turns back, then unload full firepower. Rocket launcher is very usefull for this for it's range... and if he has rockets too you can target them with other weapons you might have. Alternatively you can ask nearby ships to help you out.
aboyd said:
The beginning of the game can be quite tough. Do missions and ask for easier ones that give you more time to complete them. Avoid combat ones as you most likely don't have the firepower or time to complete them. Text quests are very satisfying.
Watch the news channel for mentions of special prices on products, i made about 40 000 in one trip from doing that. When you've saved enough cash to buy a new engine that allows you to travel faster and jump further, then you'll really start to develop fast and the game becomes much more interesting.
If you have a big hull you can mine asteroids, you can make quite a bit doing this and it's quite fun judging their flight path etc. A bigger scanner is very usefull for this so you can pick them up earlier.
If you have an engine big enough to allow you to jump into a sector and jump back without needing to refuel then you could try entering dominator space and scavenging all the debris. You can find some valuable items that a scientific station will pay for.
You could always single someone out from the ranger rankings for annihilation! (use the search to find which sector their in)
When your ship becomes more capable the game becomes much more interesting.
bryce777
Erudite
The game can be sort of frustrating, and the biggest frustration is the cost of repairs.
You can see when invasions occur on the maps, as well, and when dominator attacks occur.
If you know a system being attacked is very well defended then you can often scavenge quite a lot of stuff from it.
The most important thing is to get a large hull...not necessarily well armored, though; by the end you will sort of need this but through most of the game you can do with a large upgraded hull.
Do the various quests, and if you want to, trade, or be a pirate, or some combination. Just being a straight fighter is very tough at first, and the rewards are fairly small.
You can see when invasions occur on the maps, as well, and when dominator attacks occur.
If you know a system being attacked is very well defended then you can often scavenge quite a lot of stuff from it.
The most important thing is to get a large hull...not necessarily well armored, though; by the end you will sort of need this but through most of the game you can do with a large upgraded hull.
Do the various quests, and if you want to, trade, or be a pirate, or some combination. Just being a straight fighter is very tough at first, and the rewards are fairly small.
Uz0rnaem
Scholar
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2006
- Messages
- 308
This is what I'd suggest as thing to do early in the game, too. If you want to play as a cowardly fighter, you can go to a dominator infested system or a system nearby, land on one of the planets and just pass time there until the battle is either won (by the "good guys" of course) or at least most of the dominators are killed off. The debris you'll find floating around in the system is well worth the effort (and the shame, you loserScreaming_life said:
). I found a device that added 14% to my defense within the first half hour of a game. Your top priority at first should be getting better equipment anyway, preferbly for free. I don't think you should bother with the missions or hunt down pirates/dominators early on, since earning a decent amount of money and expierence or improving your ranger rating can be really, really hard when your ship sucks. So look out for useful debris and get some probes to research uninhibited planets (you can discover very good stuff this way) to upgrade your ship first, then you can take care of the rest.
By the way, the challenging beginning is one of the things I really like about the game. It gives you the feeling that the universe doesn't revolve around you, you're just a very small part of it.
Zufuriin
Scholar
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2005
- Messages
- 110
I got this game about a week ago and I've been playing it practically non-stop since then. I am playing a merchant/errand boy most of the time, hoping to save up for a great hull and weapons to start fighting more. Like in most games, I am very frugal, saving up tons of cash and still cringe at the idea of spending a small fraction of it on repairs/new stuff. I usually upgrade once or twice before being able to buy the absolute top-of-the-line stuff. I was using the starting hull (human merchant) for I think 10 game years, before finally upgrading to another, bigger and better one. Is this normal for you? Or do you upgrade constantly, and never have more than what you need in your bank?
This game is great. Though not very deep in exploration (as mentioned previously) it still gives many hours of living a life of a space trade/fighter/pirate/etc. The one thing I like most about Space Rangers 2 is the light-hearted and humorous take on everything. Nothing about is taken too seriously which would require a lot of things to be changed in order for that to work. The random quests and the text adventures are also very well done, I've never had to do a repeat or know what is coming next. The text quests are excellent, but a few of them could have been expanded upon (ski resort was too simple) to make them more than find the pattern and stick with it (which is actually one of the quests). Otherwise they are fun and unpredictable, some of the options are hilarious and gave me a few laughs.
Although, like I said, it is not perfect. My biggest complaints (which are easily changed) are: 1) too many modern elements that do not fit in the setting, 2) lack of saving in planetary battles,3) planetary battles not well-developed and simple (but decent), and 4) the fact that it is very hard IMO to succeed without relying on trading or delivery quests.
1) Things could have easily been changed to keep the immersion (if you can call it that) constant. Too many times things were taken from todays modern way of life, but it seems it is only phrases or words from the text missions.. For example, when playing in a band, the band could have been composed of some made-up alien-type instruments, rather than the bass, guitars, drums and keyboard. Why would these exist 1300 years from now? Also, the automobiles in another quest could have easily been some other type of futuristic transport, not pickups/semis/SUVs! The shotgun could have been a plasma/whatever rifle, not a gunpowder-based weapon. Small things like smoking, tatoos , cans of beer, etc. I had more, but I think you all know what I mean, and a simple revision of small elements in the text would improve it greatly.
2) Gahh! This pissed me off so much! The way it is now is that I have to set aside a solid block of time to finish the battle, no saving it and doing it later if I'm in the middle of it. Also, it would crash to desktop/freeze completely at least 3 times after getting 10-20 minutes into it. If only I could save it and not have to start over when I was so close to winning it. Actually, I'd rather just have it not crash randomly anymore, saving is only needed because of this tendency. Simple? Difficult to implemen? I do not know why it was left out, but it should be in IMO.
3) Should expand in general on this concept. Too shallow, and only one good strategy to winning them. There should be more just as possible strategies. More types of components too. There is a good write up about this elsewhere, so I'll spare you all the details. This would require work, probably more than a patch. Maybe expansion or sequel.
4) Is it just me or does the player progression always start with being a trader, only much later being able to afford fighting/pirating? There should be some easier initial opponents to battle and loot. You could wait out battles and try to get in the last hit before the enemy ship is destroyed, but that is not very satisfying. I have to admit, it does give the game a point for being better than these games that anyone can pick up and excel at. However, once one becomes rich and high ranking, the frustration pays off in th end. It's not easy to change, probably only in SR3 one could hope.
Overall, I give it 9 stubborn bovine, out of 10.
The end
This game is great. Though not very deep in exploration (as mentioned previously) it still gives many hours of living a life of a space trade/fighter/pirate/etc. The one thing I like most about Space Rangers 2 is the light-hearted and humorous take on everything. Nothing about is taken too seriously which would require a lot of things to be changed in order for that to work. The random quests and the text adventures are also very well done, I've never had to do a repeat or know what is coming next. The text quests are excellent, but a few of them could have been expanded upon (ski resort was too simple) to make them more than find the pattern and stick with it (which is actually one of the quests). Otherwise they are fun and unpredictable, some of the options are hilarious and gave me a few laughs.
Although, like I said, it is not perfect. My biggest complaints (which are easily changed) are: 1) too many modern elements that do not fit in the setting, 2) lack of saving in planetary battles,3) planetary battles not well-developed and simple (but decent), and 4) the fact that it is very hard IMO to succeed without relying on trading or delivery quests.
1) Things could have easily been changed to keep the immersion (if you can call it that) constant. Too many times things were taken from todays modern way of life, but it seems it is only phrases or words from the text missions.. For example, when playing in a band, the band could have been composed of some made-up alien-type instruments, rather than the bass, guitars, drums and keyboard. Why would these exist 1300 years from now? Also, the automobiles in another quest could have easily been some other type of futuristic transport, not pickups/semis/SUVs! The shotgun could have been a plasma/whatever rifle, not a gunpowder-based weapon. Small things like smoking, tatoos , cans of beer, etc. I had more, but I think you all know what I mean, and a simple revision of small elements in the text would improve it greatly.
2) Gahh! This pissed me off so much! The way it is now is that I have to set aside a solid block of time to finish the battle, no saving it and doing it later if I'm in the middle of it. Also, it would crash to desktop/freeze completely at least 3 times after getting 10-20 minutes into it. If only I could save it and not have to start over when I was so close to winning it. Actually, I'd rather just have it not crash randomly anymore, saving is only needed because of this tendency. Simple? Difficult to implemen? I do not know why it was left out, but it should be in IMO.
3) Should expand in general on this concept. Too shallow, and only one good strategy to winning them. There should be more just as possible strategies. More types of components too. There is a good write up about this elsewhere, so I'll spare you all the details. This would require work, probably more than a patch. Maybe expansion or sequel.
4) Is it just me or does the player progression always start with being a trader, only much later being able to afford fighting/pirating? There should be some easier initial opponents to battle and loot. You could wait out battles and try to get in the last hit before the enemy ship is destroyed, but that is not very satisfying. I have to admit, it does give the game a point for being better than these games that anyone can pick up and excel at. However, once one becomes rich and high ranking, the frustration pays off in th end. It's not easy to change, probably only in SR3 one could hope.
Overall, I give it 9 stubborn bovine, out of 10.
The end
Well, last I heard, that a lot of people begin pirating/figting at once... but it seem to require quite a bit of experience to get right.
You'll need to jack yourself up with good drug, find a few good guns, and always listen to the news, etc.
Doing missions is my favorite way of gaining money - using drugs that give you 2x reward and 2x time to complete quests - can result in pretty easy and very rewarding missions.
However, those are really rare and do not last long, unfortunately.
But you can alwasy S/L them out, heh.
You'll need to jack yourself up with good drug, find a few good guns, and always listen to the news, etc.
Doing missions is my favorite way of gaining money - using drugs that give you 2x reward and 2x time to complete quests - can result in pretty easy and very rewarding missions.
However, those are really rare and do not last long, unfortunately.
But you can alwasy S/L them out, heh.
bryce777
Erudite
Well, you really want to upgrade right away or at least as soon as a bigger hull comes along you can afford. You can't do jack shit with a small hull, especially when it comes to salvage.
I had no problem with the planetary battles. They are all pretty easy except the grand canyon one which is nearly impossible. Well, tricky, anyhow.
The key is to manage your resources well, and to make bots with repairers on them to support each other and also to hide them behind turrets when enemy bots are attacking. that's about it.
Usually they take me about 10 minutes to complete and I am not a big rts guy. I do like these because they are simple, short, fun, and relatively rare.
I had no problem with the planetary battles. They are all pretty easy except the grand canyon one which is nearly impossible. Well, tricky, anyhow.
The key is to manage your resources well, and to make bots with repairers on them to support each other and also to hide them behind turrets when enemy bots are attacking. that's about it.
Usually they take me about 10 minutes to complete and I am not a big rts guy. I do like these because they are simple, short, fun, and relatively rare.
Zufuriin
Scholar
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2005
- Messages
- 110
Yup, the RTS is easy. It's just that I wish it had a save option (because it keeps crashing (which may be my HD's fault)) and had more to it. It is just too simple, exactly how you just summarized it.
Did anyone else ask that gipsy Peleng about finding a goo hull? He said something about when the yellow race (damn, forgot name) builds an Aqua-something. Yea, that's pretty vague.
Also, what is the dematerializer good for? Seems like a waste of Dominator equipment and 60000 credits to me...
Did anyone else ask that gipsy Peleng about finding a goo hull? He said something about when the yellow race (damn, forgot name) builds an Aqua-something. Yea, that's pretty vague.
Also, what is the dematerializer good for? Seems like a waste of Dominator equipment and 60000 credits to me...
bryce777
Erudite
Zufuriin said:
bryce777
Erudite
Zufuriin said:
It would be an aquadane hull and there would be two of them.
The funny thing is, he mentions santa clause and santa claus is one of the names transports have sometimes!
Dematerializer? I believe you need that in order to face keller.
bryce777
Erudite
Balor said:
So how do you get rid of him without it??
You have to equip the ring to do that.
Har-har-har-har!
Russian patch 1.5 has released! Squirm in envy! And bug English localizers to translate it.
Misc fixes skipped...
New features and balance tweaks (most juicy ones):
Added info on credits taken in ‘additional information’ menu.
Added info on weapon’s tech level in equipment information menu.
Extra information on items stored and working probes.
Hot keys for equipment configurations added. In ship menu pressing CTR+number will store the configuration, and just ‘number’ - will recall it.
F9 will now make a screenshot and put in into ‘Screenshots’ folder.
New artifact functionality (not sure about English spelling of some of them).
Prolonger - Now also allow to find ships in other systems.
Biomir - Now shows duration of stimulants and diseases, and rises player’s immunity.
Erimetr - Rises the speed of tractor beam (you ‘suck in’ goods faster), increases radius of it.
Probablity analyzer - now predicts dominator attacks on systems
Polarizer - gives small chance to reflect damage back to enemy.
Rocketang - gives ability to self-destruct your missiles.
Nanitoids - Now fix installed equipment first, and then goods in cargo hold. No longer fix Vertixes, UMHOs, and Torpedo launchers.
Transfactor beacon: now, after using it, the player gets ‘Radiation sickness’ disease, that decreases experience you get for killing dominators.
Transglukator: It’s equipment no longer degrade.
New commands: Collect items in space and drop collected items.
Phaser now causes ‘chain’ damage up to three targets.
After loosing the target, torpedo automatically seeks next hostile target. If unable to find one, it flies back to player and returns into weapon.
Rockets and torpedoes lose target that became friendly.
Max capacity of rockets and torpedoes now depend on weapon tech level.
Dominators destroy only hostile rockets with vertixes.
Dominators no longer shoot quarks.
Blazer will attempt to flee the system if near death.
Inflation on commodity goods now increased by 25%.
Pirate bases no longer sell nodes.
Micromodules are cheaper now.
You can only repair Vertixes, UMHOs and Torpedo launchers on Science and Pirate bases, and, in addition to money, you’ll need some nodes.
You can now upgrade dominator equipment for money and nodes on Science bases.
The higher Dominator difficulty, the more experience you gain for killing them, and vice versa.
You can be awarded ‘bad’ medals for bad deeds.
You can now pay authorities to release pirate from prison on planet.
You can now upgrade bases for money and experience.
You can buy programs for nodes on Pirate bases too.
You can install camouflage systems on Pirate bases.
Extended equipment search engine in Ranger Center implemented.
Dominator toughness and activity algorithms tweaked.
Added dominator difficulty mod - Horrible, Nightmare, Hell.
Russian patch 1.5 has released! Squirm in envy! And bug English localizers to translate it.
Misc fixes skipped...
New features and balance tweaks (most juicy ones):
Added info on credits taken in ‘additional information’ menu.
Added info on weapon’s tech level in equipment information menu.
Extra information on items stored and working probes.
Hot keys for equipment configurations added. In ship menu pressing CTR+number will store the configuration, and just ‘number’ - will recall it.
F9 will now make a screenshot and put in into ‘Screenshots’ folder.
New artifact functionality (not sure about English spelling of some of them).
Prolonger - Now also allow to find ships in other systems.
Biomir - Now shows duration of stimulants and diseases, and rises player’s immunity.
Erimetr - Rises the speed of tractor beam (you ‘suck in’ goods faster), increases radius of it.
Probablity analyzer - now predicts dominator attacks on systems
Polarizer - gives small chance to reflect damage back to enemy.
Rocketang - gives ability to self-destruct your missiles.
Nanitoids - Now fix installed equipment first, and then goods in cargo hold. No longer fix Vertixes, UMHOs, and Torpedo launchers.
Transfactor beacon: now, after using it, the player gets ‘Radiation sickness’ disease, that decreases experience you get for killing dominators.
Transglukator: It’s equipment no longer degrade.
New commands: Collect items in space and drop collected items.
Phaser now causes ‘chain’ damage up to three targets.
After loosing the target, torpedo automatically seeks next hostile target. If unable to find one, it flies back to player and returns into weapon.
Rockets and torpedoes lose target that became friendly.
Max capacity of rockets and torpedoes now depend on weapon tech level.
Dominators destroy only hostile rockets with vertixes.
Dominators no longer shoot quarks.
Blazer will attempt to flee the system if near death.
Inflation on commodity goods now increased by 25%.
Pirate bases no longer sell nodes.
Micromodules are cheaper now.
You can only repair Vertixes, UMHOs and Torpedo launchers on Science and Pirate bases, and, in addition to money, you’ll need some nodes.
You can now upgrade dominator equipment for money and nodes on Science bases.
The higher Dominator difficulty, the more experience you gain for killing them, and vice versa.
You can be awarded ‘bad’ medals for bad deeds.
You can now pay authorities to release pirate from prison on planet.
You can now upgrade bases for money and experience.
You can buy programs for nodes on Pirate bases too.
You can install camouflage systems on Pirate bases.
Extended equipment search engine in Ranger Center implemented.
Dominator toughness and activity algorithms tweaked.
Added dominator difficulty mod - Horrible, Nightmare, Hell.
Screaming_life
Liturgist
Thats a very nice looking patch!
quark bombs?
for what reason?
Balor said:
quark bombs?
for what reason?
Quark bombs, of course. Quarks is Russian slang name for them.
This ability will prevent it.
I guess you have not played a lot - you have no idea how much I've witnessed a great piece of dominator machinery, a fat chunk of nodes or an advanced micromodule got blown to bits by my own missile!
This ability will prevent it.
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