UNL: Frankfurt match

It's been a while since my last real update. I should be posting older information but I just played a major game for our team. This was a UNL game against our rivals Frankfurt. We have not played in 5 years so this should be an exciting game. Both our teams have changed much in the last few seasons and as Heidelberg has been really struggling in the league, a good result here would be great for morale.

 Well a good result we got. An amazing game for our side, which relied on a great presentation from Omar Al-Mazam, who got a hat-trick. He has played some 10 games so far this season, but had not had any particularly great presentation; however today he showed a lot of promise. It's the first year at Heidelberg. He is only 19 years of age, but was one of our major purchases in recent times. I think it may have been a risky move, but I think this kid will definitely be worth his $5.75M price tag.

In terms of updates of this season so far. We are doing very poorly actually. Last game was our first win, and this is what things look like for us right now.

Our saving grace is the fact that we are doing fairly well in the Euro Cup so far.

Here are some of the other players I would highlight from this season so far.

Short Review: Lego Star Wars

Title - Lego Star Wars
Genre - Adventure
Platform - PC
Rating - B+
Comments - Very neat game, the graphics are lego but are definitely pleasing to the eyes. It is a great game for playing in two people, some missions are even made so that two players have to do them. The story follows the movies, so whoever enjoys the movies should really enjoy the game. I was never huge on the movies but even then I could still really appreciate the game. Definitely worth trying, it is a kids game so its fairly easy to finish but any adult can have just as much fun playing it.

Concise reviews of older games

Title - Fifa Soccer 2005
Genre - Sport
Platform - PS2
Rating - A-
Comments - Great game, if you like the previous games, you most likely will love this one. The career mode is also very good, it was improved from older versions. The new first touch control also adds some realism to the game. It felt a bit harder to play then the previous ones, but for me that wasn't really a bad thing, I like how it is more challenging.

Title - Counter Strike Condition Zero
Genre - First person shooter
Platform - PC
Rating - A-
Comments - The best FPS game I've ever player in game play, the graphics aren't amazing but it's definitely a game to try out. If you are familiar with the original one, its pretty much the same thing, they improved graphics a little, added a few maps and guns. It is still pretty easy on your computer, in terms of video cards and 3D accelerators.

Title - America's Army
Genre - First person shooter
Platform - PC
Rating - C+
Comments - The graphics were decent and it looks semi realistic, however the game play wasn't very good, and it seemed like there was more than skill needed to be able to play it well. The online option was also pretty bad, and the maps were in parts too confusing and claustrophobic sometimes.

Title - Rise of Nations
Genre - War Strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - C
Comments - The game is very similar to all other games of the genre, however it was even less entertaining than most of the other ones I have played before. I thought the campain option was well designed, but the the way they did the technologies was not as good as other games. Game also average on graphics, and it was kind of easy.

Title - Civilization III
Genre - Turn based strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - A-
Comments - The Sid Meyer's Civilization series is considered revolutionary, and this game definately shows why. It is a one of a kind game. I thought, at first, that because it is a turn based game, that I would be bored after playing it a little. I was surprised how quickly I became addicted to the game. The "Play the world" expansion is a rip off, but I got it anyway. The only advantage is that you get to play it online if you want.

Title - Galactic Civilizations II
Genre - Turn based strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - C+
Comments - If you have played any turn based strategy before, it is the same as this game. It is fun, specially because of the intergalactic scenario and the different species you can play with. Even make your own species if you want. But it is not as good as newer game of this genre, if you can choose, go with CIV4... Although, this one is worth trying, if you don't feel like being hooked to a game at the time.

Title - Populus: the beginning
Genre - God game/ strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - B+
Comments - The graphics weren't that great, but it was a fun game to play. I found that the first few levels were really easy but all of a sudden the level of difficulty increased greatly.

Title - Black and White
Genre - God game/ strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - A+
Comments - The best god game I have ever player. Really engaging, with amazing graphics for the time of its release. Very neat idea to add the animals. One problem I had with this game is that you could never start a game without having to go through the tutorials and the whole initial steps of the game. It becomes annoying after the first few times you play the beginning. I am really looking foward to the sequel.

Title - Sim City 4 + Rush Hour
Genre - Strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - A
Comments - I have always been a fan of the Maxis games, and Sim City specially has always been one of my favorite games. I have owned every single Sim City ever released. The new version however, adds many of the things I've always wanted on the previous ones. Rush Hour was also a very neat expansion, it seems like all the aspects that I found missing on the game, were added on the expansion. There are still a few things that I would add to the game to make it even more fun, but in general it is one of the most fun strategy/management games I've ever played.

Title - Evil Genius
Genre - Strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - B+
Comments - Very unique game, with some fun graphics. In this game, you play an Evil Genius, hence the title, and the main objective is to conquer the world with help from your minions, henchmen and other evil masterminds. It's not the type of game that you will remember for the rest of your life but it sure is fun while it lasts.

Title - Sid Meyer's Pirates!
Genre - Strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - B
Comments - A lot of fun, I love many things about this game, specially the physics of sailing and winds and all that stuff that makes the game almost realistic. The day I started playing it, I was immediately addicted, but the problem with this game showed on the 2nd and 3rd days, I got tired of it way too soon. The amount of things you can do is too limited for how much potential it has. I don't know about other people but I got sick of doing the same thing over and over even before I finished the game.

Title - Gran Turismo 4
Genre - Racing
Platform - PS2
Rating - A
Comments - I would have to say that this is the best racing game I've ever played. There are lots of cars, tracks and races. Soooo much to do, more licences and options than ever. I have played first game of the series and I owned #2, and playing this game made me see how much progress has been made throughout the series. It definately deserves an A, and I recommend it to anyone that likes racing or even if you just like cars, you might still get addicted to it. I loved the sounds of some of the cars, the graphics are pretty amazing and the physics of the game are the best I've ever seen.

Title - NBA Live 2005
Genre - Sports
Platform - PS2
Rating - B
Comments - Very good game, with relatively good graphics, and fun options of game. For a basketball game, I haven't seen a better game, but there are still improvements that could be made. Specially during seasons, I find that the budgeting is a bit limiting. Overall a decent game.

Title - The movies
Genre - Simulation
Platform - PC
Rating - B+
Comments - This is a great game, really fun to fool around with and it does get pretty competitive once your movies start competing for the "Oscars". The graphics are great, and I just love making characters and watching them get old and become drunks hehehe. It is a really fun game also in the sense that it has humour in it, specially if you listen to the radio station. It follows up with the years and the comments are really funny about communism, politics, war, technology and even some sexist comments in the old days. It is worth trying it out, I have to say all Lionhead games have been very good in my opinion, I hope they keep up the good work.

Title - Black & White 2
Genre - God Game / Strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - A-
Comments - Great game, with really cool graphics. I do wish there was a bit more freedom in terms of the story, the game is too great to follow a script all the time. It is a good game, the sounds is good but it does get tiring fairly quickly.

Title - Empire Earth 2
Genre - War Strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - B
Comments - I never reviewed the original game, which I use to love and at the time was the best of its kind, in my opinion. I was super excited for this game because it was supposed to look amazing. Well I got it and it is really good for playing multiplayer games but I found it dry if you play single player. I did like the whole city system, but the different traits that you can excell in are kind of annoying after a while. The graphics are good, and I love having the weather, but they aren't as good as I expected. I want to try Age of Empires 3 to compare, this time I think Microsoft actually won...

UNL - It's not as easy as they make it seem

Another season was completed and I'm actually fairly into the following season. This is what happened:

Review: Civilization 4

Title - Civilization IV
Genre - Turn based strategy
Platform - PC
Rating - A+
Comments - This new Sid Meyer's Civilization game is simply amazing. initially I thought: What can they have done to improve the last game? But they did, it is for sure the best turn based strategy game ever. The graphics are pretty decent, not great because it doesn't need to be but it is surprisingly heavy on a weak PC. I absolutely loved the new features of this game such as the civics system and religions. I loved everything about the gameplay and the diplomacy, which has definately improved. The AI is still fairly predictable but I guess it will take a while to design more complex AIs. This game has the best value in term of how long you can play it, I am starting to think I will play this game more than any game I've ever played. I was fortunate to start exploring the modifications you can make. The developers were nice enough to release everything for users to create their own game based on CIV4. I haven't really touched any python but just changing the XML you can add civs, religions, civics, traits. You can also make new units which can be done easily if you know how to use 3dMax. Online it is not that different from single player, nothing really special aobut it... Anyway, I highly recommend this game to anyone into a strategy game, if you have never played any civ before, it will take a little bit of time to get used but trust me, it's worth it.

Review: Far Cry 2

I know this is kind of an old game to review but I had these written from a long time ago and since they are not posted anywhere else I thought "why not here?". I'll be posting some more reviews of old games, even though few people probably look for these, one thing the internet can never have too much of is information. All of them are pretty short too, which might bring some value to them. So here it goes...

Title - Far Cry 2
Genre - First person shooter
Platform - PC
Rating - A
Comments - I had big expectations before I got my hands on this title, after reading so many good reviews on the first installment of Far Cry I was expecting a lot despite never having played the original. Well, I have to say the game did not disappoint me, the game begins with an interesting story of a mercenary that has been sent to a country in Africa to kill an arm dealer. The country is in total chaos, being led by corrupt groups that are at constant war. Well, the story line is good enough to keep you involved in the game, however what really keeps this game interesting is the gameplay. That is really the reason I played it through its 30 hours of main content. First off, the graphics are very impressive and realistic. There are a lot of guns in the game, all of them fairly viable for completing any mission, but each one has a unique feel to it. My personal favourites are the AK-47 and the sniper rifles. The mortar and Missile launchers are also a lot of fun to play with. The game is really great, there is a lot of ground to travel, lots of places to go and tons of things to shoot. I highly recommend this game to anyone that enjoys a solid FPS. It does not feel like Crysis for those wondering that, and it may even be a better gaming experience if you are into realism.

Learning how to play Distant Worlds

I'm done this semester of school and finally have some time to try some new games and get back to playing some of the other games I've been craving. After done some reading, I've found out about Distant Worlds, which is a space "real time" 4X game. It's not quite real time, it's something more like the paradox games like EU3 and Victoria where you are playing in real time but are also encouraged to pause and speed up the game at points. It seems like there are a lot of great reviews of this game out there so I decided I should give it a shot. After all, I love the civilization series and this seems similar but with even more depth.

Anyway, I'm finding it quite difficult to find a good walk through of the game or a thorough guide, so I decided to put here some of the things I'm learning about it as I go. Maybe having this come from the perspective of a noobie will cover a lot of the noobie challenges.

Starting a game

Once you have clicked "Start New Game" you are prompted with a bunch of options:

Galaxy shape:
I believe this affects mostly how the map will come out, in a way a bit like the kind of map you pick on civilization for instance. Here is a breakdown of it from the wiki:

• Elliptical : In this configuration, the center and rim of the galaxy have the most stars per sector. Two wide radial arms move out from the center to the rim laying a loose trail of stars. The farther out these arms are from the center the less dense the star trail until finally reaching the rim. Beyond these areas you will find many sectors with little or no stars to explore.
• Spiral: In this configuration, the center has the most stars per sector. Two very wide radial arms move out from the center laying a loose trail of stars. The farther out these arms are from the center the less dense the star trail. Beyond these areas you will find many sectors with little or no stars to explore. In the center
• Ring: In this configuration, the rim of the galaxy has the most stars per sector. You will also find that the center contains a limited cluster of stars in a few sectors. You will find that between these two areas the star density is extremely sparse and will create a challenge in expansion.
• Irregular: There is no set pattern for the galaxy and the distribution is spread out evenly.
• Even Clusters: Stars are grouped together in constellations and spread out over the galaxy. These groups are relatively the same size. You will find that the sectors between these constellations are very sparsely populated with stars.
• Varied Clusters:Stars are grouped together in constellations and spread out over the galaxy. These groups are varied in size with some very large while others tiny. You will find that the sectors between these constellations are very sparsely populated with stars.

Star Amount and Physical size:
These affect how big your game will end up being, which also means if you don't have too much RAM you may want to avoid Large or Huge star amounts.

Expansion:
This dictates how advance your enemies will be in terms of development. So picking starting will put the AI at the same level as you in the beginning if you also pick starting, while mature and old will definitely give the AI an edge over you.

Difficulty:
Pretty intuitive... it affects specifically the the colony income ratio between the player and the AI. So harder settings will increase the income for AI. I sort of see this as an artificial way to benefit you or the AI, expansion setting might create this gap a little more naturally if you prefer it.

Aggression:
Affects hostility and expansion behaviour from the AI.

Colony prevalence:
Has to do with how common inhabitable planets will be, so in a way I guess it should be kind of tied to the star amount and physical size sliders. If in doubt just choose "Normal"

Research Cost:
Affects the speed in which all players and AI develop technologically

Independent Alien Life:
Affects the prevalence of more developed species that can trade with different groups. So you might want to have some of these around for different purposes.

Space Creatures:
How common space critters are in your game... I think for the most part these are hostile creatures

Pirates:
Having more pirates doesn't necessarily make things harder since less pirates affects your reputation to AI, meaning more pirates around makes you look better overall, hence making them somewhat less aggressive towards you.



Choosing your race will be a matter of flavour of course, however it does have a bit impact on your game. As I'm new I can't comment too much on this but for instance, if you start with an aggressive race, AIs will have a negative opinion of you right off the bat. I'm going to pick Kiadian because I want a rage that's not too agressive and fairly technologically oriented. These seem like a good one to pick right for my game.





Your Empire

First few options are mostly aesthetic such as colours and empire name. Now the Galaxy Starting Location is an important choice. Basically it affects what's around you and where you are in the galaxy. So the effects of this choice is influenced by what kind of galaxy you chose. In my game, since I'm playing a spiral galaxy, I think I'm going to chose the Outer Core option because I want to be somewhat close to the denser clusters of the galaxy, but not necessarily in the middle where I will potentially have to deal with more threats right away.

Home system:
Seems like an intuitive option, where Harsh involves giving you a harder starting location and Excellent will provide you with more to begin with. So it basically is a difficulty setting.

Size:
Another difficulty setting, where Starting means you start off a bit more behind in terms of development. This is related to the expansion selection from before. So previously you picked the tech level of the AI, here you are chosing your tech level. So to start more evently, pick the same level as the AI.

Tech Level:
Simple enough, just how advanced you are.

Corruption:
Obviously, more corruption will be more difficult for you. It's basically how much of an income hit you will get from corruption.

Government type:
This is a neat selection you can make which will affect not only how your empire will behave with bonuses and problems involved with each one. But it will also affect which empires will be more or less friendly to you. For a more full and detailed list of these visit Distant Worlds - Legends.

Other Empires:

Here you can chose the number of empires in your game. This affects the difficulty of your game, but not in an intuitive manner. Having a lot of different races around doesn't necessarily make it harder. If you have a friendly race, having a lot of other empires may actually make the game easier since you can trade tech more aggressively for instance. However, if you are playing a very aggressive race it may make the game more challenging. Starting with fewer races will usually mean that you will play a more independent game in general.

Also allowing independent races to form empires is a neat little option that allows races that last long enough to develop their own empires, which adds "fun" to the game.