I just recently had a look at the added content in BtS, and came across the Final Frontier mod. I was immediately hooked. Let me start by saying how impressed I am, very very nice work!
I've been a fan of space-based 4X games for a long time, way back since the first MOO, but lately I've been somewhat disillusioned with the whole development in the genre. MOO3 was a huge letdown despite having lots of good ideas, GalCiv (I and II) was a step in the right direction, but didn't have that immediate feeling of connection, and the incredible amounts of MMing that could (had to?) be put down in order to best the game was tedious to say the least. So it's been a while since I played a really good space 4X game, MOO2 was the latest I was really addicted to.
Into this void comes Final Frontier, sneaking in through the back entrance without too much fanfare. Is it the next great space 4X game to fill the void? No, not quite. But it definitely has the potential to be. The basics of the game are just wonderful. I love how star systems with colonies are handled, with per-planet population limits, per-planet and per-system improvements, influence to reach out to outer planets. The background setting is well thought-out, and while a bit shallow to be fully immersive there's definitely great potential. The graphics are simply great (though I would ask for a bit more opacity in the holograph images).
But to completely fill the role of a great space 4X, there's simply too little content, after playing a while it becomes rather obvious that it really is a mod and not a full game. The tech tree is small, and the correlation between a tech and what it enables is far from obvious. The ships available are nice, though there are a bit few options IMO. The available civs are somewhat few for a full game (and why are there no female leaders?). The pedia could be fleshed out more. And there are some features that don't feel quite 100% perfect, for instance the handling of warp lanes make them feel (IMHO) a bit too much like the roads they are derived from (though a very nice touch given that the roads mechanic was what you had to work with).
So, the point I'm trying to get at is, Final Frontier is definitely the best space 4X game I've seen in a long while. But it's not quite there. I can say for certain though that if some more effort was put into it, to take it that extra mile needed, I would gladly buy a "Civ IV: Final Frontier" expansion pack, or for that matter a "Jon Shafer's Final Frontier" standalone game. What are the chances of that happening?
I've been a fan of space-based 4X games for a long time, way back since the first MOO, but lately I've been somewhat disillusioned with the whole development in the genre. MOO3 was a huge letdown despite having lots of good ideas, GalCiv (I and II) was a step in the right direction, but didn't have that immediate feeling of connection, and the incredible amounts of MMing that could (had to?) be put down in order to best the game was tedious to say the least. So it's been a while since I played a really good space 4X game, MOO2 was the latest I was really addicted to.
Into this void comes Final Frontier, sneaking in through the back entrance without too much fanfare. Is it the next great space 4X game to fill the void? No, not quite. But it definitely has the potential to be. The basics of the game are just wonderful. I love how star systems with colonies are handled, with per-planet population limits, per-planet and per-system improvements, influence to reach out to outer planets. The background setting is well thought-out, and while a bit shallow to be fully immersive there's definitely great potential. The graphics are simply great (though I would ask for a bit more opacity in the holograph images).
But to completely fill the role of a great space 4X, there's simply too little content, after playing a while it becomes rather obvious that it really is a mod and not a full game. The tech tree is small, and the correlation between a tech and what it enables is far from obvious. The ships available are nice, though there are a bit few options IMO. The available civs are somewhat few for a full game (and why are there no female leaders?). The pedia could be fleshed out more. And there are some features that don't feel quite 100% perfect, for instance the handling of warp lanes make them feel (IMHO) a bit too much like the roads they are derived from (though a very nice touch given that the roads mechanic was what you had to work with).
So, the point I'm trying to get at is, Final Frontier is definitely the best space 4X game I've seen in a long while. But it's not quite there. I can say for certain though that if some more effort was put into it, to take it that extra mile needed, I would gladly buy a "Civ IV: Final Frontier" expansion pack, or for that matter a "Jon Shafer's Final Frontier" standalone game. What are the chances of that happening?