Automation being too effective means that playing the game yourself becomes less desirable - or at the very least leaves you with the nagging feeling that you're actually handicapping yourself.
that's a fair point. What makes actually playing the game more undesirable to me is the janky GUI. I don't mind doing a lot of reading but the text is tiny with bad contrast. I love an epic 4x strategy game as much as anyone, but if the interface hurts my eyes too much I'm not motivated to get really immersed in it. It is kind of fun to RP a lazy emperor and only chime in on major (or occasionally petty) decisions.
Basically you can automate everything and the tech tree is extremely slow to research, that makes the game a slog in normal settings. On the other side, if you manage to learn how to play, most of mechanics are impossible to handle simultaneously because there is too much to manage at once (and fleets are difficult to coordinate correctly). Sometimes AI has a better start than yours, thus steamrolling everywhere in the galaxy. That means that you can lose well before the funny part of the game kicks in. That means that you can play for 20-30 hours before realizing that you won't win the game, without even reaching the endgame.
Thank you for explaining!!! Sounds like some mechanics for Distant Worlds 2 still need to be refined?
Also, based on your comment, would you say that Distant Worlds Universe might be actually a more manageable game when not automated, and less likely to have frustrating things like only learning 20-30 hours in that you're screwed? In other words, more mature?
Yes, it works
Yes, that's the main issue of the game actually
the main issue?
Automation being too effective means that playing the game yourself becomes less desirable - or at the very least leaves you with the nagging feeling that you're actually handicapping yourself.
that's a fair point. What makes actually playing the game more undesirable to me is the janky GUI. I don't mind doing a lot of reading but the text is tiny with bad contrast. I love an epic 4x strategy game as much as anyone, but if the interface hurts my eyes too much I'm not motivated to get really immersed in it. It is kind of fun to RP a lazy emperor and only chime in on major (or occasionally petty) decisions.
Have you increased the size of the UI in the settings? I had issues with it at first, but it is adjustable now.
in dw1 couldn't find the setting
ive done several games with a lot of automation. it plays better than i *ever* would.
Perhaps some people might not agree with me, but I enjoy automating everything except for one or two aspects. I then experiment with those aspects.
> that's the main issue of the game actually Can you elaborate?
Basically you can automate everything and the tech tree is extremely slow to research, that makes the game a slog in normal settings. On the other side, if you manage to learn how to play, most of mechanics are impossible to handle simultaneously because there is too much to manage at once (and fleets are difficult to coordinate correctly). Sometimes AI has a better start than yours, thus steamrolling everywhere in the galaxy. That means that you can lose well before the funny part of the game kicks in. That means that you can play for 20-30 hours before realizing that you won't win the game, without even reaching the endgame.
Thank you for explaining!!! Sounds like some mechanics for Distant Worlds 2 still need to be refined? Also, based on your comment, would you say that Distant Worlds Universe might be actually a more manageable game when not automated, and less likely to have frustrating things like only learning 20-30 hours in that you're screwed? In other words, more mature?
Most people would say yes, but dw2 is better in most aspects and honestly it is not a bad game at all. But you have to accept its flaws gracefully