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Fishey...)()
23 Aug 06, 00:11
VENT a little...and if the update adds new features, fixes the pointless run away battles, resolves the missing time issue and anything else I mention please shoot me...

Here we go... I have no problems paying $65, $90 or even a $120 for a professionally produced simulation. But there are drawbacks to this exclusive pricing, however justified. From the start it will always create high expectations and open itself to a lot of criticism, especially in the elite uber-simmer world. As for me to be tickled, I believe at the very least the product should be able to hold its own with other premium Sims, and there are many, and surely it should out weigh those paltry $30 grab and go-a-gunnin’ jobs…right?

Well after taking a good long look at the $65 core game features both inside and out its pretty light. I don’t how see 17 canned scenarios, a random generator (that sometimes creates a mess) and a basic beer and pretzels multi-player mode warranting such a premium price or having much longevity, especially in today’s MOD friendly oh and heres a SDK PC gaming world.

The complete lack of an in game editor or any means to recreate fair and interesting scenarios is completely inexcusable. If you look around you’ll find numerous Sims that are still going strong some for as long as 7 years! because of this one little thing. Also missing is an in game encyclopedia, a pretty standard feature in most Sims since the 1990’s. What about multiplayer games, support for 16 players has so much potential and its to be stuck with randomly generated battles that carry no meaning! Oh and those same 17 scenarios. I imagined Virtual fleets, massive slugfests, a crowded lobby and qiuet PBEM campaigns....:nervous:

But hey isn’t game play the most important thing? Well I’ve counted 4 updates since I downloaded last week, great support! or bad playtesting? At least someone is out there :nuts:
My first foray into the generator was very fun and continues to be, though every now and then it behaves oddly but no biggie. I can however see this type of scenario design becoming pretty boring after a while, have to blame the missing editor.
The scenarios I tried were very good also, but in an age where ADD is all the rage...............Honestly all the battles I have fought have been fantastic, and at some points of the day the 3-d ships and lighting effects really produce a "real as it gets" look, and to think I wouldn've been happy with 2-d counters :laugh: This is the beef and its cooked pretty good just need more to go with it.
Oh how about the campaign isn't it what we all want. Well thanks for making me believe I didn’t pay for it :lier: The features are all there and at times it starts to glimmer, but the next page is missing! Why all of a sudden am I commanding a lone cargo ship in the 3-d world that I have no control over on the campaign map, and having nothing more to do but to watch it sail away for 10 minutes over and over again? And while I’m doing such ridiculous tasks what are the real forces doing while I’m away? Are they in some crazy time hold or are they drinking vodka and sake, or god forbid fighting the battle I been setting up for days without me? C’mon man did you really think you could mess with time, in a game played by the anal-retentive? And why have a hexed based campaign map that can’t translate into the 3-d environment? We are amateur strategists every move has to equate into the sim no matter how small otherwise it’s just a game.

I hate to vent like this but I did donate $65 to an unfinished product.
I know it’s not easy, but lets get real, you are trying to convince folks that this is a $90 simulation! Take a look at some recently released Sims like steel beasts or Dangerous waters and then take a look at what your offering, without some serious additions soon this will fade away..........:shock:

Lempereur1
23 Aug 06, 00:17
Whats your customer number and email address?

Lempereur1
23 Aug 06, 00:32
You paid $65 for the main game and scenarios. The campaign game was free. Your statement about 65$ for an unfinshed game is a bit untrue...



Still waiting on your Customer ID and email address...

Fishey...)()
23 Aug 06, 00:48
I actually sent it PM.

"You paid $65 for the main game and scenarios. The campaign game was free. Your statement about 65$ for an unfinshed game is a bit untrue..."


I'm not sure I understand this? I was under the impression it was a promotional deal. If not finished why was it included or why not say its a work in progress and feedback was welcome? I would be more than happy to help. To be honest if it didn't include the Campaign I would've skipped.

Here is the ad:

DISTANT GUNS : The Russo-Japanese War at Sea

- BUNDLE PROMO -
Item # 6103 - $64.95 - BUNDLE - Buy theMain Game and get the Campaign Game FREE! Includes both Items # 6101 and # 6102
A Savings of $24.95! LIMITED TIME PROMO

Lempereur1
23 Aug 06, 01:11
Were not selling the campaign game! We are giving it away free!

Two of the last four updates have been reposts due to corrupted files during the transfer.

It seems that we cant win either way. The majority of the Distant Guns players here voted to have more updates, more often, rather than only once or twice a month. The beauty of the autoupdate feature is that it is just that.

We have spent the majority of the time since release chasing down AMD processor bugs and Direct X9C problems whitling down the issues until only our issues were left.

version 1.014 resolves the campaign issues. The problem that caused the pointer moverment (Programmer shorthand) did not occur in all the systems. The result is an almost impossible situation of recreating the problem. We have endevoured to please, but I think most poeple here agree that there is nothing on the market like Distant Guns...

Fishey...)()
23 Aug 06, 01:44
Thanks for the PM, it honestly puts me at ease, I sent back a reply but may have bothced it :rolleyes: let me know.

Sorry for the misunderstanding...><>

Lempereur1
23 Aug 06, 02:01
I didnt get the PM.

We plan to expand the random battle generator's functionality a bit more and will also be expanding the multiplayer system.

Another feature we will be adding soon is the ability to save and covert campaign game battles to stand alone scenarios. The contain far more data than a stand alone scenario, so the campaign data has to be stripped out.

Our commitment to less glamourous and less profitable sectors of history requires a higher price for addmission. Most said we were crazy for doing the Russo Japanese War, but we looked at it as a way to build something from the ground up and get people excited about a period in history that they passed over. Many ans have wrote in to tell us how excited they are about the RJW period becuase of Distant Guns and how they just order 4 new books on the subject and cant wait to get them in!

We are not perfect, but we truely feel we are breaking new ground and delivering a premium product. :)

Fishey...)()
23 Aug 06, 02:52
I didnt get the PM.

We plan to expand the random battle generator's functionality a bit more and will also be expanding the multiplayer system.

Another feature we will be adding soon is the ability to save and covert campaign game battles to stand alone scenarios. The contain far more data than a stand alone scenario, so the campaign data has to be stripped out.

Our commitment to less glamourous and less profitable sectors of history requires a higher price for addmission. Most said we were crazy for doing the Russo Japanese War, but we looked at it as a way to build something from the ground up and get people excited about a period in history that they passed over. Many ans have wrote in to tell us how excited they are about the RJW period becuase of Distant Guns and how they just order 4 new books on the subject and cant wait to get them in!

We are not perfect, but we truely feel we are breaking new ground and delivering a premium product. :)

Now this is good news, even if not a full blown editor the ability to select shipclasses, weather, general location etc.. in a quick builder would make MP greatly improved, As would saving battles.

Believe me I have no qalms with your qeust for the obscure! and as long as it stays fresh i'm staying on board.

Lempereur1
23 Aug 06, 08:50
Norm and I both hate stale bread!

Fishey...)()
23 Aug 06, 17:26
I've had a couple of differnet messages about this
“how can you compare it’s not even in the same century”

I’m not talking about gameplay but more of what you get for your dollar, and lets face it at the end of the day those truly interested in the subject will pay whatever the cost, those on the fence want the best deal for their buck and the casual will walk away.

With Dangerous waters a sim that seems to come up a lot when DG is mentioned, when compared they offer quite bit for $20-$40 depending where you shop. Including 20+ SP&MP missions, a Campaign, An editor that can build SP, MP and campaigns, supports triggers and scripted events, MP lobby (gamespy + fanbased) a vast in game reference library and some 600+pages of pdf documents, also an optional spiral bound manual is available for $20.

I don’t particularly enjoy modern Naval sims and I know very few people who enjoy staring at a waterfall display trying to make sense of static lines for hours on end. But when I saw it for $20 hey why not. In the end I had a blast with the Orion and Seahawk, plus spent countless hours in the editor and library.

I just want to see SES do well and pick up more than a handful of new fans along the way.

WallysWorld
23 Aug 06, 17:40
A scenario editor would be nice, but the battle generator does the trick for me. For myself, the campaign game is more important and more fun than playing custom scenarios or battles. In fact, the lack of an editor had absolutely no effect on my decision to buy DG.

Gusington
23 Aug 06, 17:52
I'm one of the few who was interested in the RJW before DG was released. With the game now out, it is just icing on the cake and I just want to say 'thanks' to the developers for taking a risk and investing in a fascinating time and place. For a real challenge and even more obscure conflict, how about a naval simulation of the Sino-Japanese War ebfore moving on the WWI? :laugh:

I'd probably be the only one who'd buy it.

BlackVoid
23 Aug 06, 18:24
Well, I think $65 is too high a price for the current game. The campaign has lots of problems, multiplayer campaigns are not supported, no editor... Lots of longevity issues. I hope everything will be patched up and if we get a multiplayer campaign I won't complain.