New review from Tom Chick:
http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2017/07/19/stars-shadows-finds-place-sun/#more-43695
Could not agree more. And now after a new balancing patch this game is even so much better! And a new DLC is on the way:
http://steamcommunity.com/games/464880/announcements/detail/1430307963817159301
Want MOO2 with better graphics and bigger maps and more stuff? Well it is finally here for me.
I am trying a new game as the Gremak slavers and having a blast. Capturing slaves and allying with pirate marauders. Striking out of nowhere with my cloaking device and close range torpedoes. There is so much more to this game than even MOO2 had. Each race is really cool and different! Not many games where I don't have a favorite and want to play all of them.
Put on some Star Wars music and I am in Space 4X heaven. This is finally the modern MOO2 I was always waiting for! But better! Yes I said it. Better than MOO2.
It took me a lot longer to "break" MOO2, than this game, and the races played more differently (Darlocks and combat focused ones were very different from Klackons, and custom races allowed to try some new stuff), even though they were not balanced at all. I also had some fun playing MOO2 MP afterwards (but it is not very suited to MP, unlike Armada2526 or Space Empires 4).
The economic decisions are more interesting than in MOO2 thanks to the building slots, but the weapons are badly balanced.
The optimal techs are too obvious, to the point the weaker ones are only there to cripple the AI.
Missiles are a complete joke, because most designs have dedicated point defense slots making sure missiles never ever get through unless you have an overwhelming advantage.
Most beam weapons are mediocre at best (primary is good as point defense and maybe artillery).
The only valuable combat techs are railguns and fighters (and to a lesser extent, turbolasers with armor piercing).
Ship design also lacks flexibility as there are dedicated slots for each weapon type. On the other hand, a game like Space Empires let you do crazy things like designing mobile shipyards that could also fight.
Marauding pirates pose a greater threat than the AI early on, unless you managed to have good relations with them, which is quite easy (either pay them, or use diplomacy to get a cease fire, then do some transactions with them and keep a sizeable fleet, even if it is badly out teched, it will make them not want to taget you) for the player, but not for the AI.
But the game feels like it got Master of Orion right, so it could become really great with some balance adjustements (there were some already, so there is some hope!) and some more unique contents (like unique alien techs, something like the leaders of MOO2). It is really enjoyable in its current state, but I don't think it offers the longevity or variety of its predecessors.