Anyone ever play Aurora 4X?

[CaptainKoloth]

I'm curious and poking around the edges, but I every time I dig into some videos and let's plays of it I'm left wondering whether it's just a mess of tons and tons of stuff which is "complex by weight" only, as opposed to actually having some deep and satisfying gameplay- say, a Rule the Waves (which I would argue does have such gameplay, most of the time) vs. something like Caveman 2 Cosmos (a Civ IV mod with almost a thousand techs but that I think is notable just for having so much stuff within it as opposed to the stuff necessarily being compelling). Anyone ever play this at length?

[Jarhead0331]

https://www.grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=24321.0

https://www.grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=24468.msg668261#msg668261

https://www.grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=22993.0

https://www.grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=21415.0

https://www.grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=4912.0

...among others.

[CaptainKoloth]

So uh... you're saying I should use teh googlez, huh? 

[Jarhead0331]

So uh... you're saying I should use teh googlez, huh? 

the search feature around here is actually pretty good!

Aurora is a game I get into periodically and then obsess over for months before taking a break. My cycle usually corresponds to Steve's update schedule. The v2.2 patch has been in the works for almost a year and it has some major new features I've been waiting for, so I haven't really played since the  early v2.1 days.

I love Aurora and to answer your question, I do not think it is "complexity by weight". I think the parts fit together  in a way that makes for a very rewarding and satisfying strategic experience. It is totally worth the investment in time to learn and explore. In fact, it is so worth it, that I've repeated the process several times. Its so complex that when I put it down for several months, I typically need to relearn much of it when I pick it back up.

[Geezer]

IIRC Steve originally wrote Aurora to be a mechanism for him to write stories, rather than as a game.  It may have evolved into more of a game over the years.  I haven't played it in a long time.

[Jarhead0331]

IIRC Steve originally wrote Aurora to be a mechanism for him to write stories, rather than as a game.  It may have evolved into more of a game over the years.  I haven't played it in a long time.

It hasn't. It is still primarily a role playing tool to assist in fiction. But, it is certainly one helluva tool.

[Tripoli]

IIRC Steve originally wrote Aurora to be a mechanism for him to write stories, rather than as a game.  It may have evolved into more of a game over the years.  I haven't played it in a long time.

It hasn't. It is still primarily a role playing tool to assist in fiction. But, it is certainly one helluva tool.

I understand that Tom Clancy did something similar with the HARPOON board game (although the game was not designed for the purpose of supporting fiction).  "Northen Fury H hour" did something similar with Command Modern Operations,  but like  HARPOON, the game existed before the fiction.   I've never heard of it being done in the reverse order.  Has any fiction actually come out of Aurora?

[Jarhead0331]

Has any fiction actually come out of Aurora?

A $hitload. There is a whole section for C# fiction in the official forums. As far as anything being published, I can't say, but it wouldn't shock me.

[Steve Walmsley]

Here are some recent Aurora AARs

Battlestar Galactica Theme: http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=12909.0

Warhammer 40k Theme: http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=12590.0

British Empire in Space in 1890: http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=12714.0

[Geezer]

Thanks for posting here Steve!   

[CaptainKoloth]

Thanks for posting here Steve!   

Same! I'm still trying to decide if the game is "for me" but I am regardless in awe of what you have accomplished singlehandedly with it!