As we are now approaching the day we have all been waiting for I just wanted to say a word about what Aurora has meant for me. The first time I was playing Aurora it was a fantastic adventure. I didn't get everything right the first time around, far from it. I made mistakes with my designs, with placing colonies etc. But it was a great feeling of exploring something unknown, both in terms of game mechanics and the universe itself.
The first time I gave the order to open fire on an alien ship it was a really tense moment. I had absolutely no idea what would happen or how our power levels matched. It was an experience of going up against something completely unknown, something alien. Sensor blips and reading the status "Weapons firing" make things feel more real to me than any 3D graphics ever could. It was something I don't think I have gotten from any game since back in my childhood way before I understood all about how computers and computer games work.
As I have figured the mechanics out I play differently. Now it is more about letting the story evolve. Now it is maybe not me personally experiencing that tense first contact, rather my officers do it. But I always try to keep some of that feeling from my first few games with me, building it into my story. Now it is giving me something in-between reading SF and playing a game.
Speaking about reading there are all the great AAR:s from others playing it. I just love reading about how space empires evolve, the tough decisions faced when meeting difficulties, mineral shortages, aliens etc. Even if not playing the game for a year I can enjoy the stories it generates and go through old AAR:s.
But soon I will again lead my people out into space and it will once again involve a lot of unknowns (but fewer cpu cycles). So thanks Steve for sharing this with us.
When asked in another thread if he had a favourite charity in case people wanted to make a donation Steve said this:
Good idea. The British Legion would be my preferred charity.
Webpage is here:
https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/
