Polaris Sector - another new space 4x

Started by RedArgo, November 02, 2015, 04:48:47 PM

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Jarhead0331

one of the best things about Polaris Sector is the manner in which it captures the epic scope of distance and time. It takes years to build vessels and move them across vast distances of space. Intergalactic Wars can rage for decades or even centuries. The loss of an important fleet or assault force can set you back by dozens of years. No other game captures this in my opinion.

Research and ship design are fantastic too. Throughout a game, the technology tree reveals valuable and useful technologies that open up new strategies to the player. When it comes to ship design, and ship purpose or role, the player isn't limited pretty much only by his imagination. You can really design ships to solve strategic and tactical problems.

Fleet combat can be very unforgiving. Build large capital vessels designed for ship on ship combat only to watch them get annhilated by bomber strikes. Carriers can really be critical and the AI uses fighters and bombers well.

Polaris Sector is simply a fantastic often under rated game.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


W8taminute

"You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

Romulan Commander to Kirk

Yskonyn

The presentation is my blocker.
The game just is so monochrome and bland looking.
But you guys keep praising it, so I think I should patiently try it again.
The mechanics do sound fine.
"Pilots do not get paid for what they do daily, but they get paid for what they are capable of doing.
However, if pilots would need to do daily what they are capable of doing, nobody would dare to fly anymore."

W8taminute

Polaris Sector is like that girl you used to chase in your youth.  You know, the one who wasn't the prettiest but not ugly either.  But boy did she know how to show you a good time. 
"You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

Romulan Commander to Kirk

Anguille

Quote from: solops on October 21, 2018, 12:09:28 PM
I play at Challenge level, 40% to 25% tech slowdown, max starlanes and then customise my race for food, sometimes tech. I play on med to large maps. Generally, after playing a large map I go back to something smaller. I keep finding and then forgetting about empire management tools because I micromanage each planet's setup and then never look at it again. I leave the minerals and other things alone, although I often play without the external threat, having already done it a few times. I do not play with depletable minerals.

Thanks for the tips!

Steelgrave

Quote from: W8taminute on October 22, 2018, 10:05:26 AM
Polaris Sector is like that girl you used to chase in your youth.  You know, the one who wasn't the prettiest but not ugly either.  But boy did she know how to show you a good time.

This is better than 99.99% of the reviews you ever see on Steam   :))  O0

Huw the Poo

Screw it, you guys have convinced me.  The only thing I don't like the sound of is designing ships which I always find tedious, but you have to do that in GalCiv too so it makes no difference.  Everything else sounds great.

Thanks!

Jarhead0331

This game is far superior to gal civ....in every way.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Yskonyn

"Pilots do not get paid for what they do daily, but they get paid for what they are capable of doing.
However, if pilots would need to do daily what they are capable of doing, nobody would dare to fly anymore."

solops

#654
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 22, 2018, 08:04:27 PM
This game is far superior to gal civ....in every way.
Agree completely. I had put about 60 hours into a GC3 game when I went on a two week trip to the ranch. There I spent about ten days on a Polaris Sector campaign. Now I am back home so I fired up the GC3 campaign again. It seems so dull and repetitive now. I won't be continuing it. I'll either start a new Polaris Sector campaign or try one of my many untried games.
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly. - Winston Churchill
Wine is sure proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. - Benjamin Franklin

FarAway Sooner

PS simplifies the empire-building mechanics to focus on combat.  It does combat extremely well, which is part of what makes it so enjoyable compared to all the other clones out there.

But the eXplore and eXpand parts of the game are a lot less riveting.  And the tech tree, while novel, collapses under its own complexity pretty quickly.

It takes some time to grok all the revolutions in technology and ship design and how the effect combat, but that's where the true challenge (and value) of the game lies.  That unstoppable bomber fleet you just built?  It just got chewed up by the first generation of MIRV-equipped destroyers that your opponent just unleashed!

Those moments are sheer delight, and pretty novel in a 4x game.  That's really the primary thing PS has going for it (along with the epic feel), but it's enough to make for a great game.

Rayfer

Quote from: FarAway Sooner on October 24, 2018, 10:26:23 AM

But the eXplore and eXpand parts of the game are a lot less riveting.  And the tech tree, while novel, collapses under its own complexity pretty quickly.


My experience exactly and why I keep going back to Stellaris. Though lacking in the fleet battles aspect, the Stellaris galaxy is very much alive and 'riveting', and the many quest storylines that pop up give it a sense of being something more than just battles.

Yskonyn

Would you say PS is more a sci fi wargame like Sword of the Stars is? Light on some of the X's, but did combat very well.
"Pilots do not get paid for what they do daily, but they get paid for what they are capable of doing.
However, if pilots would need to do daily what they are capable of doing, nobody would dare to fly anymore."

Gusington

I like the phrase 'scifi wargame' - you should copyright that.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

sandman2575

Quote from: Yskonyn on October 24, 2018, 11:35:25 AM
Would you say PS is more a sci fi wargame like Sword of the Stars is? Light on some of the X's, but did combat very well.

For my money, no space 4x has ship combat better than SOTS/SOTSII. The tactical flexibility (actual 3D combat, not glorified 2D 'spaceships, but let's make believe they'd behave just like ships at sea do'), the damage modelling, sophisticated design and tech choices that didn't just boil down to the rock-paper-scissors approach of so many space 4x like Gal Civ...