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[Borodin]

Originally posted by laiocfar@May 20 2006, 02:05 AM
Now that i played it a few, i found it some kind of unconnected to SC2 and only the half of interesting.

The joys of the developer, Legend Entertainment, were highly overrated. IMO, their glory days were when members of the team did text-based adventures a decade before. Everything they did in the later years suffered from lack of imagination and poor implementation. What a shame the Toys for Bob guys weren't engaged to develop the third title, as well!

[guesst]

Originally posted by Borodin@May 23 2006, 12:57 PM
What a shame the Toys for Bob guys weren't engaged to develop the third title, as well!

Well, it's not often we get a do-over with this sort of thing, but that looks exactly like what's happening. In a recent news post Toys for Bob producer Alex is asking for support from the community. E-mail them or sign the automated petition and give them some ammo to take to Activision. If you hated Star Control 3 or are just curious to see what it should have been, now's your chance.

[Japo]

Originally posted by Guest_Nathanael@May 23 2006, 04:07 AM
Now new question how do I use the Anti-Matter capsule. Im at a Rainbow world but it wont let me land cause of anti-matter. But i cant figure out how to use the Anti-Matter capsule.

It happened the same to me, the story was poorly told so that I thought I had to use the anti-matter thingy before I actually had to. So don't worry, carry on with other issues, you'll be clearly told when you're supposed to do this. Yes I know the script sucks.

So finally I see the 3rd part of the famous Star Control and I have to say: why does it get a score of 2?

95% of what's good in this game is directly ripped from SC 2 - most annoying being the speech of the League races, which is a direct copy-paste job of their dialogue from SC 2. Almost nothing they say is new. Most of the new races are bland, both in look and speech.

The combat not only lacks the captain animation, it also suffers from bugs and bad AI scripts. It's REALLY annoying to have a fast enemy ship simply run away from you and not even try to fight you. Only a freak collision with an asteroid or planet can save you, but this can take a _long_ time. The isometric view is extremely confusing. Also the combat screen and the ships themselves are gray and dull. In other words, combat is more boring than fun.

The game's interface is a mess, so unlike the one from SC 2. That one gave me no problems. In SC 3 I spent most of my time trying to figure out how to do something. Also there's some horrible bugs - a notable one being when I tried to deploy a landing capsule I accidently canceled the deployment and I simply lost all the colonists I was about to deploy!

Finally, the story is also unimaginative and often poorly written, and ties in with the SC 2 storyling poorly.

If this game wasn't titled Star Control, then it could maybe recieve a 2 or 2.5, but since it is, and even the little good stuff in it is ripped from SC 2, this game surely deserves a 1. It's an insult to SC 2.

[Japo]

Originally posted by Mcguffin@May 24 2006, 12:08 AM
So finally I see the 3rd part of the famous Star Control and I have to say: why does it get a score of 2?

Looks like you didn't read my review?

It's an insult to SC 2.

Indeed.

[Borodin]

Originally posted by guesst+May 23 2006, 02:09 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (guesst @ May 23 2006, 02:09 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Borodin@May 23 2006, 12:57 PM
What a shame the Toys for Bob guys weren't engaged to develop the third title, as well!

Well, it's not often we get a do-over with this sort of thing, but that looks exactly like what's happening. In a recent news post Toys for Bob producer Alex is asking for support from the community. E-mail them or sign the automated petition and give them some ammo to take to Activision. If you hated Star Control 3 or are just curious to see what it should have been, now's your chance. [/b][/quote]
Thanks for passing that along! This isn't the first time that the petition has been made public, however--it's been around for years. I'm just glad to see that there's some response from the player community. I'm rather surprised Toys for Bob hasn't tried to make it as an indie game, but then, the sheer resources required to do it right by today's standards would probably require a pretty heavy bankroll.

Originally posted by Japofran+May 23 2006, 10:48 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Japofran @ May 23 2006, 10:48 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Mcguffin@May 24 2006, 12:08 AM
So* finally I see the 3rd part of the famous Star Control and I have to say: why does it get a score of 2?

Looks like you didn't read my review?
[/b][/quote]
I did. Sorry, looks like you didn't get me - why does it get a 2 at all, instead of an outright 1? The game is below average, and the only things that keep it from being outright terrible are those that have been taken (ripped-off more accurately) from SC 2. Also they ruined the story.

In other words, the game is not just a poor attempt to copy SC 2, it's a poor rip-off. Taking a great game and ruining it doesn't deserve a score of 2 IMO.

But on the bright side let's hope something better comes out of the petition!

[guesst]

Originally posted by Borodin@May 24 2006, 03:10 AM
Thanks for passing that along! This isn't the first time that the petition has been made public, however--it's been around for years. I'm just glad to see that there's some response from the player community. I'm rather surprised Toys for Bob hasn't tried to make it as an indie game, but then, the sheer resources required to do it right by today's standards would probably require a pretty heavy bankroll.

Not so. If you signed the old petition it does not count towards this endevor. You must sign the new one. The old petition wasn't being read by Toys for Bob. The new one is. The need a sampling of the current gaming population, not the gaming population of the last 10 years.

And as for doing an indy game, well, Toys for Bob really likes to eat. That's why their last tites have read like a whos-who of sell out titles. The operative word here being sell.

In other words, the game is not just a poor attempt to copy SC 2, it's a poor rip-off. Taking a great game and ruining it doesn't deserve a score of 2 IMO.

I hate smiley's, but right now I'd have one rolling on the floor laughing. (I also hate internet acronims.)

[Borodin]

Originally posted by guesst@May 24 2006, 12:02 PM

Not so. If you signed the old petition it does not count towards this endevor. You must sign the new one. The old petition wasn't being read by Toys for Bob. The new one is. The need a sampling of the current gaming population, not the gaming population of the last 10 years.

Oh ho. Thanks for passing that along, too.

And as for doing an indy game, well, Toys for Bob really likes to eat. That's why their last tites have read like a whos-who of sell out titles. The operative word here being sell.

And did I imply they should do otherwise? As I wrote, "I'm rather surprised Toys for Bob hasn't tried to make it as an indie game, but then, the sheer resources required to do it right by today's standards would probably require a pretty heavy bankroll." On this same point, I recently interviewed Chris Crawford for a non-game magazine, and he is--as if anyone doubts it by now--firmly of the opinion that the games industry killed off all signs of creativity in gaming over the years. Certainly, the "one size fits all" approach to designing modern games, in which an 8 year old has to understand quests, puzzles and strategies used in a proposed title or it doesn't financed, is hardly conducive to original, quirky, imaginative stuff like Star Control 2.

[guesst]

Somehow Star Control 3's failure always turns people intelegent enough to be introspective to a discussion about the failures of the modern video game industry.

Tempted as I am to chime in my 8 cents (that's 4 times more than anyone cares) I'm going to not.