EU is a wonderful game (and problem-free for me), but something is lacking and I've been spending the past several days racking my brains trying to determine what that is. I think I know now and it came from a fellow strategy gamer...
'being there' is so important
Because of the design of EU (and its genesis from a BG), you don't feel like you are there. Neither with Civ2, but that's just a fun 6 year old game. With today's technologies, we can become more immersed into a strategy game that ever before. And I guess, that is what some of us (or at least myself) expect, not just a complex computerized boardgame.
What I mean about 'Being There' can take several forms. I think what convinced me that EU is not immersive is the battles. They fight just like in Civ2, which is not a bad thing at all, but again, that's an older game. Shogun Total War has the same type of campaign map (but without the religious and diplomatic complexities) but when you fight a battle, it really brings you into the game. Two animated gifs fighting on a flat map just doesn't have the right feel, even though the battle results are well done. I don't expect EU to have Shogun-type battles (even though that would be a great idea), anything more than two animated units would be better. That's just one example of how EU can take you from a boardgame to 'Being There'. Other examples might include a more personable diplomacy instead of options on a menu, or having a ground-level view of your city that reflects your national architecture.
Before anyone accuse me of wanting fluffy 'eye-candy', I am a 40-something gamer who hates AoE and RTS games of that style. I definitely prefer TBS and RTS games where you play very slowly with a pause. I prefer text-based sports sims over sports arcade games, and I hate anything to do with console gaming.
Folks here have told my friend John-SJ to wait until 1.08. I don't see this patch (and any others) changing the design of the game, nor should they. I will play EU occassionally, mainly because of the scenarios. I am anxious to try the Amer Revolution scenario and any others that anyone here might develop (can someone please do an Age of Piracy scenario? Please?). In the meantime, I'll continue to say good things about EU, but also discuss the perception that it is not as fun as it can be because you are just playing a computerized boardgame.
'being there' is so important
Because of the design of EU (and its genesis from a BG), you don't feel like you are there. Neither with Civ2, but that's just a fun 6 year old game. With today's technologies, we can become more immersed into a strategy game that ever before. And I guess, that is what some of us (or at least myself) expect, not just a complex computerized boardgame.
What I mean about 'Being There' can take several forms. I think what convinced me that EU is not immersive is the battles. They fight just like in Civ2, which is not a bad thing at all, but again, that's an older game. Shogun Total War has the same type of campaign map (but without the religious and diplomatic complexities) but when you fight a battle, it really brings you into the game. Two animated gifs fighting on a flat map just doesn't have the right feel, even though the battle results are well done. I don't expect EU to have Shogun-type battles (even though that would be a great idea), anything more than two animated units would be better. That's just one example of how EU can take you from a boardgame to 'Being There'. Other examples might include a more personable diplomacy instead of options on a menu, or having a ground-level view of your city that reflects your national architecture.
Before anyone accuse me of wanting fluffy 'eye-candy', I am a 40-something gamer who hates AoE and RTS games of that style. I definitely prefer TBS and RTS games where you play very slowly with a pause. I prefer text-based sports sims over sports arcade games, and I hate anything to do with console gaming.
Folks here have told my friend John-SJ to wait until 1.08. I don't see this patch (and any others) changing the design of the game, nor should they. I will play EU occassionally, mainly because of the scenarios. I am anxious to try the Amer Revolution scenario and any others that anyone here might develop (can someone please do an Age of Piracy scenario? Please?). In the meantime, I'll continue to say good things about EU, but also discuss the perception that it is not as fun as it can be because you are just playing a computerized boardgame.