Space Engineers

There's nothing wrong with loving space, so I'm going to follow up my post on Shattered Horizon with another on a game which I expected would be similar, Space Engineers. The game is still under development by Keen Software House, but is available for early access through Steam for the hefty sum of $19.99. Now, generally, such a price on something that isn't done yet would deter me, but after thoroughly enjoying the concept I found in Shattered Horizon, I was eager for a more satisfying game with the same "lost in space" feel to it. So, before doing any of the appropriate research, I bought Space Engineers. To say that I regret buying it and that the only good thing I'll be getting out of the game is this blog post might be too harsh so early on, but at the moment I'm a bit sensitive about getting someone's hopes up before they're utterly dashed.

And now that I've set your expectations as low as I can, let me expound on the good aspects of Space Engineers. It has multiplayer. You can swap between first- and third-person camera views. You can build things and then look at them. So, now that that is done...

The game manages to be reminiscent of Minecraft, Robocraft, Shattered Horizon, and Kerbal Space Program all at the same time. It refers to itself as a sandbox game about engineering, construction and maintenance, yet it is, in essence, merely game about blocks (at this stage in development). If you've played Minecraft in creative mode then you've played Space Engineers, except that this game is in space which apparently means you inevitably float away from whatever you are working on (Oh, and don't bump into things or those will float away, too!).

I do think there is a market for games like this one, but I am sure that I am not a part of that demographic. Minecraft is quite popular among some groups and to fans of that game I'd recommend taking a look at Space Engineers, but if you're like me then those games lose your interest astonishingly fast. Don't get me wrong, I like to build things, I used to play with Legos for hours, I found construction to be the best part of Robocraft, but this game feels aimless. The trouble is that I don't enjoy the building process. For one thing, it's infuriating just trying to stand still as you can never quite get your inertia back to zero. True, you can stand on a platform while you work for some stability, but then you move like an over-encumbered dragonborn. I understand that these things are part of a realistic space simulation, but Space Engineers is a block-building game (at the moment) that is only made more frustrating and less fun for all the realism in it. I'm supposed to be frolicking through my imagination, not struggling to get close (but not too close!) to the slab of bricks I built to take me back to the space station.

Still, Space Engineers isn't a game without hope, it's just a game that they shouldn't be selling yet. I'm hopeful for the engineering and maintenance aspects which I have yet to see added to the game, and I do believe there are gamers out there who would enjoy this game as it is more than I do. If Space Engineers can find that audience it stands a chance of entertaining some folks, but it would also be wise to avoid a more massive market unless the game has a good deal more to offer in regards to narrative and variety than is currently available.

SolForge, Again.

Since my last post was a repeat, I thought I'd make a thing of it. SolForge is another game that I've kept on playing since I posted about it. That's where the similarities end.

My last post praised Smite for its updates and innovations, but I can't say the same for SolForge. Still, I will begin with the positives. SolForge has had two things going for it after their most recent update. First, they added a few new cards and changed both the art and abilities of a few existing ones. Stuff like that makes me feel like the game is getting worked on, getting polished, and getting ready for a full release. Second, Stoneblade Entertainment's latest e-mail blast informed me that the game has been released on iOS. I have an iPhone, so this was great news for me, but my brother (who plays the game with me) is not so lucky. I was pleased to find that the game is nearly identical on an iDevice, but that left everything feeling a little cramped. I'd think that on a bigger screen that wouldn't be much of a problem, and considering that I think it would be great to play on an iPad. Games can be played between iDevices and PCs which is convenient, as your ongoing games and saved decks are available anywhere.

But the game is stagnating. The new cards are few and the balancing they tried to do did not even touch Grimgaunt Predators, which is one of the strongest creatures in the game. Still, new art and new cards are what the game needs right now, and I'll take anything over nothing. I feel like I've run out of things to do in the game, and that's a huge no-no. Sure, I can play a few games every few days and earn a few chances for the rare new cards, but I have no reason to desire those cards. I can keep using the same deck I've been using for weeks now to win game after game, or try something new only to be faced with a variation on my last deck. In short, the game is not yet balanced. There isn't enough of a "come back and win" feel to most of the matches. They end up feeling tedious. Like reading short sentence after short sentence. There's too much punctuation--not enough flow. Nothing to excite me. Nothing to entice me.

Simply put, I wish there was more I could say about SolForge at this point. In the weeks since my first post on the game nothing has gotten me excited to keep playing. New cards, I feel, are something that the game needs and so the most recent update is a step in the right direction, but it's like giving a starving man a cracker. There has also been a "campaign" button grayed-out on the main menu since release that I would like to hear more about. There does seem to be some backstory to the game (some explanation of just what a "SolForge" is will be nice) and I would hope the campaign aims to explore that, but obviously at this point it is impossible to know. Maybe Stoneblade is planning to wait for an official release before bringing out the campaign mode, which would seem to make sense, but why sacrifice the opportunity to get feedback on it? Furthermore, as the game is starving for attention at the moment, it seems like it would be a better idea to make what they have available sooner than later.

I hope that SolForge will make some improvements and expansions soon, because my interest is waning. It's the kind of game I want to like, but I don't see the developers making the effort for me right now.

FFXIV: A Realm Reborn Launch Failure

If you wanted to buy Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn tonight, too bad. They've temporarily stopped selling digital copies.

The game is meeting with positive feelings from its players--the ones who can get logged in, that is. Log in queues and outright blockages have hampered the early access period and look like they will continue well into the official launch phase.

It really is very unfortunate. I've been hearing good things about the game. Maybe it's just Final Fantasy fanboys getting their collective squee on, but that's exactly what a Final Fantasy MMO should be all about. If the game can please it's audience, it will be a good game.

All praise for the game aside, the fact that their servers are insufficient for the gamerload isn't all that surprising. The game is a relaunch, after all, and they must not have expected players to give them a second chance. Kudos, gamers. But I digress from the issue, which is that second chances don't beget third chances and Square Enix and pals seem to be squandering this one. The game didn't work the first time, and now their own lack of faith (it would seem) in their second try is dooming it to failure as well. They literally stopped selling the game. On the list of bad sales decisions, stopping people from giving you money is number one.

Remember the Diablo III launch? This is the kind of bad PR that destroys a game's potential to draw new customers. There are plenty of people who want the game, who've bought the game, who will play the game, but when things go wrong before the game can draw in players you have a sinking ship.

Here's how it's going to go down. The launch numbers will be fine. The folks who know about the game and want it are going to buy it and play it. Those same people are going to tell their friends to play it with them--hell, they might go as far as buying extra copies. The first few months are going to be tenuous, but just when everything seems okay, the problems will start. The new player numbers will drop; gamers who might have been drawn in will have forgotten to care how the game is doing--they'll only remember the ugly launch. FFXIV will be the butt of the same old jokes that plagued Diablo III, so the game won't be highly regarded. I've heard the most compliments for the game's crafting system, and no one picks up an MMORPG because they want grind blacksmithing levels. The game won't keep selling. It might turn free-to-play or pay-to-win. If that happens, the quality of the player base, which starts high with a fanboy game like this, will dwindle with influx of fickle free-to-players getting their kicks. Suddenly your party members won't have names like Aelix Whitetunic, they'll be grotesque abominations gestated in the churning bowels of a moron's poorly developed frontal lobe like Vajlick Swagdaddy. No one wants to play with you, Vajlick Swagdaddy, let alone spend their fun-time doing the same thing as someone like you. You ruined the fun for everyone because you're a sucktard.

Alright alright alright. Enough. The point is this: if FFXIV doesn't get their server issues solved soon, the future of the game is dark. Refusing to sell your game isn't a solution to anything; it's actually an enormous problem from a business standpoint. While you may want your customers to think you're doing something about the server issues, stemming the flow of hate mail you're receiving about it by cutting off sales will turn players away from your game for good.

Get your shit together, guys. Work through the night. Spend a couple thousand dollars if you have to. Get more servers up so people can play the game you want them to buy from you. We don't need an apology, we need to level up our blacksmithing.

The "apology": Announcing Server Enhancements and the Temporary Suspension of Digital Download Sales
Joystiq article: Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn struggles through early access weekend