Sword of the Stars Reviews

[Dagda]

Now that the game is running stable (credit to them where it is due, for that at least),

Just crashed two times within the first 10 turns, not to mention the lame random encounter bug. I don't consider this game stable at all. The only thing Kerberos should be credited for at this point is pulling a fast one on their loyal and unawares customers.

 

[cwg9]

Well, it's a lot more stable for me since yesterday's patch, but that's really besides the point, since there is hardly any game there to actually play anyway. I just sent in my refund request.

 

[stoicfaux]

Everyone upset and asking for a refund is on pretty solid footing in my opinion. I have never asked for a refund in over 20 years of gaming, but this particular case may be the one time I make an exception. Do not kid yourselves, there are no quick fixes to this game, they literally have months of work left to do to finish it.

^^ This ^^

IMHO, we're looking at six months of work. And that assumes that Kerberos will be around long enough to finish it. If they had to release an alpha due to financial issues, then my concern is whether Kerberos has the money to finish the game in time.

Think about it.
* the UI needs a lot work, from tooltips to colors to usability to the windowing system,
* basic stability isn't present,
* true stability will require a large testing pool due to the ridiculous variety in PC hardware,
* large aspects of the game aren't enabled/complete,
* which implies that balancing hasn't been done
* which implies that the AI isn't complete or thoroughly tested,
* which implies that major features might not even be finished
* which implies more instability issues as incomplete features are added/finished,
* they have lost team members,
* it sounds like they were hacking code as fast as possible, which means they're probably working with a bad foundation, which means the code is inherently buggy and probably difficult to expand on and fix without taking the time to refactor code,
* they've committed to two to three patches a week which implies more rush work,
and finally
* there's the concern of employee burnout.

The game has potential, but it really should have been a Q2 2012 release.

 

[Innocent Beard]

I didn't read the other articles. I just wanted to point out that the OP is looking for reviews, not news snippets. And he might not know German, so he can't check German "reviews" himself.

Hey safferli, sorry I should have made that clearer earlier, but I do think news snippets (from major game reviewers) are fair game, as I'm seeing that most game reviewers are using that as an early review (essentially giving the game a chance by not writing a scathing review from the get go). Also, they're informational to someone who might not be reading the SOTS/PDox forums. I think we'll mostly see new snippet type reviews for the first week, which seems to be the commonly held timeline reviewers are using to hold till until writing a full fledged review, be it good for bad.

EDIT: so news snippets submissions for now, but only full reviews after a week or so.
EDIT2: though I'd love to German at some point - but sadly atm its taking a backseat to arabic & french.

 

[MyLego]

I have to be honest with why I sent in my refund request.

I don't worry that much that they are going to run out of money, I worry they don't have the expertize to finish the game any more. Several key people have left the company and even Martin C, the CEO, has said they have a busted code base. Those things can very well take a year or more to sort out depending on how large the project is.

My worry is the game won't be finished, ever. I hope I am wrong.

 

[unmerged(402301)]

All the apologists for Paradox and Kerberos need to give their heads a shake.

I love paradox games, I am quite tolerant of buggy, unbalanced releases in need of more polishing. This is something else entirely: a game that has vast swaths of its features missing or broken. They released an alpha build and charged me $40 for it.

I am actually getting angrier now that I can see just how broken and unfinished this game really is. And the fact of the matter is, despite their appropriate apology for this debacle, they still have not provided any explanations as to why they knowingly chose to release an alpha build to the unsuspecting public.

Everyone upset and asking for a refund is on pretty solid footing in my opinion. I have never asked for a refund in over 20 years of gaming, but this particular case may be the one time I make an exception. Do not kid yourselves, there are no quick fixes to this game, they literally have months of work left to do to finish it.

My thoughts as well. And the only other game Ive even thought of asking for a refund on was my LTS in STO.

Now that the game is running stable (credit to them where it is due, for that at least)

For you maybe, I still cant get past hitting "confirm" to TRY to start a game.

 

[ashbery76]

One cannot really review the game or have any real opinion of the game machanics because they do not function.I like tha game concepts in the manual and that is why I will not ask for a refund.I want that game in the manual.

 

[Dagda]

One cannot really review the game or have any real opinion of the game machanics because they do not function.

But you can sure release the game at a 40 dollar price tag I guess.

The reviews should absolutely reflect the game's current state.

 

[wrongshui]

But you can sure release the game at a 40 dollar price tag I guess.

The reviews should absolutely reflect the game's current state.

Absolutely.

 

[unmerged(201913)]

But you can sure release the game at a 40 dollar price tag I guess.

The reviews should absolutely reflect the game's current state.

I agree. but the reviewers should also revist sots in a week or two when the retail release is out. i think they will find a bit will have changed. its the only way to get a fair review. otherwise they will kill the game and any chance of future expansions if they dont.

 

[unmerged(402301)]

I agree. but the reviewers should also revist sots in a week or two when the retail release is out. i think they will find a bit will have changed. its the only way to get a fair review. otherwise they will kill the game and any chance of future expansions if they dont.

I believe that responsibility falls upon whoever's shoulders who let this fiasco happen in the first place, be it Kerb or Paradox. Personally, I put it on Paradox for making them drop the title when it wasnt ready as I would think with all the trust I HAD built up with Kerberos they wouldnt have released this game half done on purpose. The reviewers should and will review the game as is, mainly because, theyre selling it AS a finished game, so theyre reviewing in in the manner theyre selling it. If they drop the price and sell it as a beta opt in (like Minecraft is - although its a little late now), then yes, the reviews should wait. But the game, ready or not HAS released.

 

[Ordo Impavidus]

The game's state will always be improving. Every patch will try to prove this. Those reviews have value only if I print them out and use them in the unlikely event that I run out of toilet paper.

 

[Dagda]

I agree. but the reviewers should also revist sots in a week or two when the retail release is out. i think they will find a bit will have changed. its the only way to get a fair review. otherwise they will kill the game and any chance of future expansions if they dont.

It doesn't work that way. Whoever ultimately made the decision to hide the state of the game and then release a broken/non-working version of it at full price will have killed the game if it comes to that. They can survive the deservedly terrible reviews by fixing the game up to the standard of the first game in a timely fashion.

They made their bed by choice, now everybody has to lay in it.

 

[unmerged(402301)]

It doesn't work that way. Whoever ultimately made the decision to hide the state of the game and then release a broken/non-working version of it at full price will have killed the game if it comes to that. They can survive the deservedly terrible reviews by fixing the game up to the standard of the first game in a timely fashion.

They made their bed by choice, now everybody has to lay in it.

sadly true

 

[unmerged(201913)]

I believe that responsibility falls upon whoever's shoulders who let this fiasco happen in the first place, be it Kerb or Paradox. Personally, I put it on Paradox for making them drop the title when it wasnt ready as I would think with all the trust I HAD built up with Kerberos they wouldnt have released this game half done on purpose. The reviewers should and will review the game as is, mainly because, theyre selling it AS a finished game, so theyre reviewing in in the manner theyre selling it. If they drop the price and sell it as a beta opt in (like Minecraft is - although its a little late now), then yes, the reviews should wait. But the game, ready or not HAS released.

I think both parties are to blame to one degree or another. however im not gonna sit on the forum playing the blame game. I Know that kerb/paradox will put this right. They are a good Team of dedicated people, Who put a great deal of time and love in to this game.

What we need to be doing is not sitting on the forums raging and throwing blame or starting 50 different threads about wanting a refund, but wording it diferent, only for an excuse to start a flame war. those people should just send there request in for a refund and move on in there lives.

no what people should be doing is finding the flaws and bug and posting them in the stickes in the bug forum. so that the devs can get a clear picture on whats whong where and fixing the game for those of us who apreciate the time and work they have put in, and those of us who want to continue to support them and play the game.

also this post is just another one of those ill try and start a confilct and discredit kerb more while making it look like im tring to be informative posts.

 

[Sunfighter]

I dont consider 39.99 to be full price. Most average titles are 49.99 these days with blockbusters going for 59.99.

 

[unmerged(402700)]

... I read the reviews, the negative ones have a point.

 

[stoicfaux]

I agree. but the reviewers should also revist sots in a week or two when the retail release is out. i think they will find a bit will have changed. its the only way to get a fair review. otherwise they will kill the game and any chance of future expansions if they dont.

It's going to take months to fix SotS II until it's decently playable.

 

[unmerged(401472)]

The game's state will always be improving. Every patch will try to prove this. Those reviews have value only if I print them out and use them in the unlikely event that I run out of toilet paper.

Is that so? Besides the crash bugs, obvious placeholders etc. even core game mechanics are non-existent, seriously flawed or suffer from unintuitive controls. These problems will not be solved in a matter of weeks, but month, so the base on which reviewers review this game will be true for quite some time. Most reviewers do not make their decision based on the number of crashes they experienced, but on what the actual game design is.

 

[stoicfaux]

The game's state will always be improving. Every patch will try to prove this. Those reviews have value only if I print them out and use them in the unlikely event that I run out of toilet paper.

The reviews have value for those who haven't purchased the game yet. They also provide value for those game owners who don't read the various forums by providing a summary of the drama/events/overall picture.