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So, Gratuitous Space Battles is as boring as fuck?

Thread starter DarkUnderlord
Start date Feb 9, 2011

DarkUnderlord

Professional Throne Sitter

Staff Member

Feb 9, 2011

#1

I finally downloaded the demo and decided to play this... thinking I'd be in for some cool space ship commanding EVN-style only to find it's pretty boring.

There's all this cool module shit and spending money and balancing power and crew availability with the weapons you select, then you put your ships into battle and decide what orders to give them before the battle begins, then you basically hit a "go" button and...

Sit. And watch. And do nothing.

If the "Admit Defeat" button was renamed "Concede to Boredom" I'd have pressed it.

It's like, they had all these cool spaceship designs and I was really hoping to make some nice sweet ships and kitted out modules only to find that the game revolves around all the boring aspects of battles in space and none of the actual exciting battle bits. :/

I felt like there should've been a "Did I Win?" button which bypasses the boring space battles and just tells you whether your ship design is awesome or not.

Was really hoping it was more of a "you have a personal ship" which you actually command, like with a keyboard or something and are madly clicking and pressing keys to fire your lasers and cannons and manouvering around and shit while in battle.

The Barbarian

Liturgist

Feb 9, 2011

#2

There once was a game exactly like that.

You strap into a fighter on a 2D playing field, and play your part in a massive space battle. It really made you feel quite insignificant, as you zipped in and out of this gigantic furball, with capital ships, frigates and other fighters all exchanging copious amounts of fire around you.

In later scenarios, you could command one of those frigates or capital ships. As far as I recall, it didn't have the customization bits you might be looking for, but it definitely had that whole 'I'm a small cog in a big battle' atmosphere down pat and was fast-paced and really kinetic, to boot.

Now... if only I could remember the name of this late-90s gem... This is going to eat at me. It wasn't a big name production. One of those lovable shareware titles...

You can also have a look at Starshatter - The Gathering Storm, if that's your cup of tea.

Basically, similar idea: fighters, frigates, cap ships - and you get to control them all, at one point or another. It also has a dynamic campaign system (similar to Falcon 4.0's) which is interesting.

...

That first game is really going to eat at me.

Achilles

Arcane

Feb 9, 2011

#3

Yes, sadly GSB is boring. It really needs another layer of gameplay (maybe a proper single player campaign) and ship control during battles.

Awor Szurkrarz

Arcane

In My Safe Space

Feb 9, 2011

#4

I liked the demo. Mostly because I like watching ships getting blown up, Babylon 5 style.

thesheeep

Arcane

Patron

Feb 9, 2011

#5

I thought the whole point of the game was to have no control over battles and simply watch explosions.

GarfunkeL

Racism Expert

Feb 9, 2011

#6

Yeah, that's the whole point. Should have made it 3D. I can understand and tolerate 2D space if the actual combat is engaging but just watching ships duke it out on a flat, quite limited board isn't fun.

Awor Szurkrarz

Arcane

In My Safe Space

Feb 9, 2011

#7

They'd have to make 3D models and then enable damaging these models. Probably something that an indie studio can't afford.

GarfunkeL

Racism Expert

Feb 9, 2011

#8

Well, another indie studio made a 3D space battle game which felt much like Homeworld, except on a tiny scale (only a handful of ships on both sides) but then they added in talking animals and all kinds of shit. But at least in the battles, which were TB btw, you could fully control all ships in real 3D - which was pretty awesome. I think the demo was released around the same as GSB because I tried both of them at the same week or something. Curse my memory!

torpid

Liturgist

Feb 9, 2011

#9

Same reason why Dominions III is overrated and pretty boring. I guess the goal is to emphasize planning and preparation but in practice it's a crapshoot, especially when you take bad AI into account.

Johannes

Arcane

Feb 9, 2011

#10

So it's basically like Dominions in space, but only with 1-off battles that you have to sit through and watch?

Destroid

Arcane

Feb 9, 2011

#11

It's was especially trying when I played it because the time compression didn't work properly. Game is way too passive for my liking, although I suppose you are supposed to be analysing how your guys do to plan better for next time.

MicoSelva

backlog digger

Patron

Feb 9, 2011

#12

Alexandros said:
Yes, sadly GSB is boring. It really needs another layer of gameplay (maybe a proper single player campaign) and ship control during battles.

This.

But also:

GarfunkeL said:
Yeah, that's the whole point.

I guess some people find it entertaining.

I only managed to sit through one battle before uninstalling.

JarlFrank

I like Thief THIS much

Patron

Feb 9, 2011

#13

http://www.wyrdysm.com/games.php

Oh look, a game about designing spaceships and watching funky explosions and parts being blasted off the ships which actually gives you control over them and requires tactics and maneuvering to win!

And it's free, too!

Morkar Left

Guest

Feb 9, 2011

#14

DarkUnderlord said:
I finally *snip*

Reminds me of Star Trek Starship Creator. Awesome features to build your own Star Trek ships with a crew. But no control in missions. Only watching some blips on a map and reading what's going on with no control whatsoever. But at least you could print out your star ships...

Multi-headed Cow

Guest

Feb 9, 2011

#15

The best way to play GSB is to send challenges to bros. Still the same basic gameplay, but being able to smacktalk someone if you beat their fleet makes it more entertaining.

Sure as hell not worth the $20 and $6 per DLC he wants for it, but when it was on Steam bundled with DLC for $7 or whatever the hell it was, it's alright once in a while.

Awor Szurkrarz

Arcane

In My Safe Space

Feb 10, 2011

#16

GarfunkeL said:
Well, another indie studio made a 3D space battle game which felt much like Homeworld, except on a tiny scale (only a handful of ships on both sides) but then they added in talking animals and all kinds of shit. But at least in the battles, which were TB btw, you could fully control all ships in real 3D - which was pretty awesome. I think the demo was released around the same as GSB because I tried both of them at the same week or something. Curse my memory!

But do they have visible ship damage like in GSB?

JarlFrank said:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/games.php

Oh look, a game about designing spaceships and watching funky explosions and parts being blasted off the ships which actually gives you control over them and requires tactics and maneuvering to win!

And it's free, too!

It doesn't have epic graphics of GSB.

Serus

Arcane

Patron

Feb 10, 2011

#17

Adding the ability to command one ship or command all ships in battle would be against the basic concept of the game. What IS lacking in GSB imho is a CAPMAIGN mode - without a proper campaign all those battles are pointless. I design speaceships, give orders before battle (which is ok in my book - there are enough options there), they fight, and then... what ? Nothing. I win or lose and get score based on how many points i used to build my fleet. Why would i care ?
This game badly needs a campaign mode...

The Barbarian

Liturgist

Feb 10, 2011

#18

This game badly needs a campaign mode...

Then you will be happy to hear that the next expansion adds a campaign mode.

scratchmonkey

Educated

Feb 10, 2011

#19

Awor Szurkrarz said:
GarfunkeL said:

Well, another indie studio made a 3D space battle game which felt much like Homeworld, except on a tiny scale (only a handful of ships on both sides) but then they added in talking animals and all kinds of shit. But at least in the battles, which were TB btw, you could fully control all ships in real 3D - which was pretty awesome. I think the demo was released around the same as GSB because I tried both of them at the same week or something. Curse my memory!

Click to expand...

But do they have visible ship damage like in GSB?

The game being talked about here is Flotilla. Very fun if you're into small amounts of ships with "real" 3D combat, heavy emphasis on positioning, including rotating your ship along all 3 axes. Graphical bells and whistles are relatively minimal though.

DakaSha

Arcane

Feb 10, 2011

#20

How do you compare a planning simulator to a game like dominions which actually has a grand strategic component... Oh.. you're a fucktard thats how

Trash

Pointing and laughing.

Feb 10, 2011

#21

The Barbarian said:
There once was a game exactly like that.

You strap into a fighter on a 2D playing field, and play your part in a massive space battle. It really made you feel quite insignificant, as you zipped in and out of this gigantic furball, with capital ships, frigates and other fighters all exchanging copious amounts of fire around you.

In later scenarios, you could command one of those frigates or capital ships. As far as I recall, it didn't have the customization bits you might be looking for, but it definitely had that whole 'I'm a small cog in a big battle' atmosphere down pat and was fast-paced and really kinetic, to boot.

Now... if only I could remember the name of this late-90s gem... This is going to eat at me. It wasn't a big name production. One of those lovable shareware titles...

You can also have a look at Starshatter - The Gathering Storm, if that's your cup of tea.

Basically, similar idea: fighters, frigates, cap ships - and you get to control them all, at one point or another. It also has a dynamic campaign system (similar to Falcon 4.0's) which is interesting.

...

That first game is really going to eat at me.

Xenocracy perhaps? Starlord also springs to mind as an early game with space flight in which you engage in massive battles. Neither are 2d though.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/xenocracy
http://www.mobygames.com/game/starlord

Marobug

Newbie

Feb 11, 2011

#22

Well usually I wouldn't diss a indie production like this, but I agree this game is shit. It could have worked well in 3D though, in 2D it's just boring.

Gragt

Arcane

Patron

Feb 11, 2011

#23

Sorry to hear your sex life is so boring, DU.

The Barbarian

Liturgist

Feb 11, 2011

#24

Xenocracy perhaps?

Neither, unfortunately. It was an indie/shareware production - really low-key. But it provided hours of fun! Conan cannot remember the name of the game, sadly, no matter how hard he tries.

Hoodoo

It gets passed around.

Feb 12, 2011

#25

JarlFrank said:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/games.php

Oh look, a game about designing spaceships and watching funky explosions and parts being blasted off the ships which actually gives you control over them and requires tactics and maneuvering to win!

And it's free, too!

This

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