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Given that we do not know for certain the entire scope of life on Earth, let alone Mars, I'm happy to take the mysteries in stride.
After all, there is the simple option to toggle them off if the concept is unappealing.
I am fine with the mysteries. The artificial sun wonder is a lot more galling to me in terms of seriousness to me.
I'd expect that those wanting a more serious game can stick to the space elevators and moholes. With mysteries switched off.
Myself, I'm happy to include more fictional science fiction elements.
Myself, I'm happy to include more fictional science fiction elements.
I seriously hope for a more realistic reskin mod. While it is cute and nice to look at I personally prefer very hard realistic games.
That's why I still think HOI 2 Darkest Hour was one of the best games I ever played. Hoi 4 does a lot right but has simplified a lot of mechanics. I dont like that at all.
That... wasn't the point at all. The game play looks fine, but with advanced alien artifacts right next door, cute pokeball drones scratching at metals to conjure pipes out of thin air in arcane rituals, and all the fuzzy science, the game doesn't seem to strike a serious tone at all.
It's a cutesy sim game, not a 'serious business' colonizing model. And that's perfectly fine.
I really hope someone mods some of the worst "cutesy" offenders away...drones, I'm looking at you.
Hrm ... erroneous perception on my part I suppose. Sorry about that!
Cutesy I can deal with. The fuzzy science scratches me more, especially when I know there is a better engineering solution. The handling of cold waves/dust storms comes to my mind. Losing then feels like not having the right tools, same as losing to inaccessible UI or to AI stupidity.
In the end a lot of us will use mods most of the time anyway. Haven't even bought the new Stellaris DLCs because there are mods out there being just way better...
The main premise of the game is a building game. We have plenty of them out there in gameland and repetition seems the order of the day. What caught my attention was building (a colony) on Mars. So I checked into it and...I was hooked because it was sci-fi and held my attention. So started watching the various streamers. Almost to a one they LOVED the little robot drones (as do I) and that seemed to me to be a super good way to grab the attention of new players. As a game designer (retired now) I think whoever came up with the overall drone concept and look deserves a raise. If a game isn't fun it fails - period. Real science is hard and takes a long time. Fun (perhaps for Sheldon) but hardly great for a game.
This game and all its 'tricksy' methods takes the labor out of science (this is a game, not school) but those uneducated about science may well learn something and those dedicated to science and its true difficulty may well enjoy relaxing a bit with a semblance of familiarity. Finally, watching those streamer videos did have one point I thought might be interesting. Virtually all of them were fascinated with the gameplay (and looks) and found themselves with difficulty in stopping. Paradox have to be ecstatic over the response from the streamers and youtube viewers alike. As for me I am 72 years old and this game is exactly what an old disabled vet like ne needs to help keep mind sharp. I have pre-ordered and look forward to it and especially the hints in the 'mystery' as true sci-fi is my lifetime hobby.
I certainly agree with what you saying for the mass market. However paradox was initially a company making borderline autistic difficulty games. It took me about a day to even grab the basics of Hoi2 back in the day. But after that I just loved the complexity. I personally dislike the whole mass marketisation of niche games. The Anno series got completely uninteresting for me because of making it easy.
(If not i might just mod it myself, realistic batteries, lower wind turbine output, solar panels needing electronics for maintainance, storages just venting all their storage from time to time...)
I will certainly buy Surving Mars, however I also hope for Mods upping the difficulty by a lot. Seeing the videos of 535% difficulty and it is still way too easy with a bit of streamlining and optimisation. The endgame seems plain boring, however this problem is pretty much present in all games. Exponential growth.
But than I guess you are right again it is hard to make a challenge for a borderline autistic "sheldon" mathematician.
You do know Paradox isn't making this game ? It's only the publisher.
Indeed. However they are guilty of this themselves. But that is minor in a way. hoi4 is quite a lot easier than their predecessors.
Changing the learning cliff into a learning curve is an improvement to the game, not a detriment. People are generally less willing to deal with a game they cannot figure out quickly when they only have a 1 or 2 hour refund window to make use of. Games that prove "impossible" get refunded and deleted...
True, however dumbing down the mechanics, no real oil consumption, supply being region based without any chain (compare that to arsenal of democracy)...
No events with any effect...
I like that it is easier to learn, i dislike that it lost a lot of depth.
My problem with science is mostly that when I know it is wrong, not simplified, but simply wrong, it irks me to no end. Mods it definitely is for me.