Polaris Sector - another new space 4x

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

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Barthheart

Its a fun game JD but very different that Stellaris.

Polaris Sector is turn based.

Has really impressive sense of time scale, ships take years to build and years to travel to other stars. Because for this time scale you get more attached to your ships and don't just build tons and send them off to their deaths. It the effort to build just one ship makes them very valuable.

The AI cheats a bit with fuel ranges, but otherwise puts up a pretty good fight.

Tech tree is very different and can be daunting if trying to get specific techs. But has a very natural feel to the discovery of future techs. Again discoveries take years and years to  make.

Lower production value but not in a bad way.


Jarhead0331

#541
Quote from: Barthheart on August 02, 2017, 08:37:56 AM
Its a fun game JD but very different that Stellaris.

Polaris Sector is turn based.

Has really impressive sense of time scale, ships take years to build and years to travel to other stars. Because for this time scale you get more attached to your ships and don't just build tons and send them off to their deaths. It the effort to build just one ship makes them very valuable.

The AI cheats a bit with fuel ranges, but otherwise puts up a pretty good fight.

Tech tree is very different and can be daunting if trying to get specific techs. But has a very natural feel to the discovery of future techs. Again discoveries take years and years to  make.

Lower production value but not in a bad way.

Polaris Sector is not turn-based. At least, it wasn't the last time I played it. It is real time pausible. You can slow down time, speed it up, or stop it altogether.

Otherwise, I agree with your points. The major thing that sold me on PS was definitely the sense of time and scale. No other 4x game captures it the way PS manages to do. Large ships take years or even decades to build in most normal ship yards, vast distances are traveled over long periods of time and intergalactic wars can rage for centuries. Building a powerful fleet, or an invasion armada is a major undertaking in time, resources and expense. Losing one is a tremendous set-back and can have strategic ramifications impacting your empire for hundreds of years. This is the way I imagine interstellar warfare will work.

It definitely is not as polished or as pretty as Stellaris, but its still on my top 10 list, with the caveat that it did not grab me right away. It took quite a bit of trial and error to take. I only wish there were more mods for this title. 
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Barthheart

Oops yer right. It's pause-able RT. :-[

Just I played with the pause on so much it feels like RT.  :P

OJsDad

One thing about the real-time, when certain events happen, ships arrive at their destination, the game will pause.  I think this is configurable to some extent.

I haven't played in a while, but once the latest update drops, I'll give it another try. 
'Here at NASA we all pee the same color.'  Al Harrison from the movie Hidden Figures.

Jarhead0331

I haven't played PS in awhile too. The AI fuel issue was a real turn-off for me, but I thought it was addressed somehow in a prior patch.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Barthheart

They addressed it somewhat. I think the AI still cheats on the range but they were supposed to have put some breaks on it to keep it from crossing the galaxy...

FarAway Sooner

JD, I'll give you another bullet point or three:

+  There's a strong emphasis on combat.
+  Planet management matters, and the system works fairly well, but it's not a central part of the game.
+  Research can change combat A LOT, which is one of the best features of the game.  Your fighters and torpedo bombers may be tearing through the whole Sector, until the first time you run into an enemy with a couple MIRV-equipped Frigates.   L:-)

mikeck

Along the same line as the time scale, invasions are major undertaking. You have to reshoot and reinforce invasions with transports bringing new troops, tanks, fighters, etc. if you don't and the enemy does, you have a problem. Unlike other games, taking a planet can take months or years; allowing for reinforcements
"A government large enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have."--Thomas Jefferson

Martok

Quote from: FarAway Sooner on August 02, 2017, 02:56:12 PM
JD, I'll give you another bullet point or three:

+  There's a strong emphasis on combat.
+  Planet management matters, and the system works fairly well, but it's not a central part of the game.
+  Research can change combat A LOT, which is one of the best features of the game.  Your fighters and torpedo bombers may be tearing through the whole Sector, until the first time you run into an enemy with a couple MIRV-equipped Frigates.   L:-)
I'll second this. 

I've said it before, but Polaris Sector has far and away the best combat system I've yet seen in a space-strategy game.  (Or perhaps I should say, it's my *favorite* combat system; I suppose it's not necessarily the best, although I suspect most here who have played the game would concur it's at least one of the better combat systems out there.)  Tactics and positioning can actually matter in PS, and even more so the weapons & equipment you place on your ships. 



Negatives:  The first "X", Exploration, is lacking.  It's not entirely absent, but it is definitely more bare-bones than in other 4x titles.  This is clearly on purpose, however; as FAS has pointed out, the game (like Stars in Shadow) has a greater focus on war & battles.  Fortunately, it does that part quite well.  :) 

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Jarhead0331

#549
...and another bullet point or two...

New technological breakthroughs remain relevant and useful well into the late game. There is none of that all too familiar, "Laser Level 1" followed by "Laser Level 2" and so on and so forth. New weapons, modules and capabilities truly permit the player to design very tactical mission oriented vessels with the only real limitation being that of the player's imagination. Want to sneak special forces units onto an enemy planet? Design a transport vessel capable of bringing them there undetected. Want to conduct covert reconnaissance and surveillance deep into enemy space? Design a stealth spy vessel capable of sneaking in, collecting data and getting out. Its really amazing how the game presents players with traditional tactical and strategic challenges with respect to warfare, intelligence gathering, expansion, resource gathering ,etc. while also giving the player so many tools to solve these problems in new and very creative ways.

No ship designer, either before or since PS, has afforded the player with so much design flexibility. So, in short, the research/tech options and ship design/construction features are really second to none. 
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


solops

All of which makes the slow pace of the patches and DLC even more frustrating. This excellent game is all the more impressive as it comes from a one-man shop. I have not played much for some time,waiting on the patch to fix a pair of bugs I sent in...plus all of the other things I am sure he fixed or added. The DLC is an instant buy for me.
"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
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FarAway Sooner

I think the dev has run into some health issues.  Not sure how serious they have been, but I know they've been one factor, and I've seen at least one or two folks suggest that they've been a serious factor.

solops

New DLC announced : Lumens -  a new race plus some UI and tech goodies.  I am ticked at Matrix right now as I can no longer access my account to buy anything or get updates. Their new Captcha login security will not display on my PC, so I cannot log in. The Forums use the old security measure and I can get in to it just fine. Ever since the Slitherine site merger started I have had trouble with Matrix. Bollocks.
"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

Jarhead0331

Quote from: solops on September 08, 2017, 02:04:39 PM
New DLC announced : Lumens -  a new race plus some UI and tech goodies.  I am ticked at Matrix right now as I can no longer access my account to buy anything or get updates. Their new Captcha login security will not display on my PC, so I cannot log in. The Forums use the old security measure and I can get in to it just fine. Ever since the Slitherine site merger started I have had trouble with Matrix. Bollocks.

Not only was the DLC announced, but the long awaited update has also been released to the beta branch! Lots of improvements here. Its a meaty one! Perfect time to jump in...and its a Friday too!

Quote
This is version 1.06 Beta 4a and has these new features!

1.   New Configuration options for galaxy generation
2.   Ability to select which races the AI can pick from
3.   Improved AI for the hard difficulty settings
4.   Fleet Designer
5.   New fleets management screen
6.   Automatic fleet build and repair/refit
7.   Automatic replenishment of fighters for carriers
8.   Ship role assignment
9.   Ability to have your transports automatically transport satellites and fighters between systems
10.   Automated ship upgrading
11.   Automated ship repairing
12.   Rally points and automatic rally points
13.   Build a fleet at a rally point
14.   Enhancements in the tactical combat behaviour
15.   Updated pace of the resource depletion
16.   Updated Resource deposit UI – now shows also the resources reserved for queued builds
17.   Compare ship technologies on the Science screen or in the Ship Designer


Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


OJsDad

I've been wanting to jump back in, now seems like the perfect time.  I'm really excited to try the Fleet design/build options.  Could never figure out why others haven't done this before.

FYI, if you installed through Steam, you may need to turn on your beta option for PS to get the patch. 
'Here at NASA we all pee the same color.'  Al Harrison from the movie Hidden Figures.