Compliments to the Designers

[Kristover (OP)]

I found out about Aurora last week when perusing Space Sector website and decided to give it a go and I am very glad that I did.   This game is utterly fascinating and potentially the best 4x game I have played.   I grew up on MOO1 & 2 as well as Space Empires and I ALWAYS wanted a ridiculously detailed Space Empire simulation and this is fitting the bill nicely.   I have started several games this week only to get blasted, or forget something useful, or make a stupid mistake (like last night's most promising game when my civilian line removed by last mass driver from Earth and one month later, my homeworld was nuked by 4 incoming colonies worth of mineral packets).   None of this is dissuading me from the game as I am getting ready to start ANOTHER game here in a moment.   Thanks Designers for a wish come true!

[Panopticon]

It's somewhat more impressive when you realize it isn't "designers", it is "designer" as in the singular, Steve does this thing on his own, the community input helps guide the game a bit but this is very much a solo project.

[Kristover (OP)]

Indeed.   As I go through the postings, I have noted that fact which makes it all the more impressive.   I really do hope this game gets the exposure that Dwarf Fortress gets because this really is a suprsingly high quality product and would be enjoyed by that crowd as well.

[blue emu]

Steve is now working on a total re-write to the game... instead of the usual incremental updates... called Newtonian Aurora. It will use real physics (mass/acceleration/velocity etc) instead of the current non-Newtonian system.

Check the Child Board "Newtonian Aurora" in the Mechanics section.

[Owen Quillion]

Heh, the Dwarf Fortress forums have a thread (up to 563 pages as of today) titled "Aurora: The Dwarf Fortress of 4x Games", which is where I learned of the game myself; quite a few folks from there post around here too, from what I've seen in my lurking. PCWorld also recently gave a rather favorable review to it, so the game should be getting a bit more exposure.

The only real fault I can find is the somewhat finicky installation and resolution issues, which I imagine stymies a lot of new users. Unfortunately there's apparently not much to be done about that other than starting from scratch (which, sometime after the Newtonian Aurora branch, is supposed to happen with Aurora II, which also has a subforum here).

[Graknorke]

I found this through the Dwarf Fortress thread too.  There really isn't anything I can fault this game on, I can shrink it to fit on my screen, the interface and mechanics are easy to understand how they work and what to do with them, and I think I've been playing for about 8 hours this play session.

Honestly I'm not sure what people mean when they say you need a guide to play this game, everything's wither labelled or the name matches the purpose, and the mechanics are easy to grasp.

[Thiosk]

im glad you dove in so effectively!  People need some time to understand how the game is put together, i think.  I know that the first couple times I opened the windows, all I saw was boxes and numbers and letters-- took a bit before it all flowed together into something I could manage.

[Owen Quillion]

Honestly I'm not sure what people mean when they say you need a guide to play this game, everything's wither labelled or the name matches the purpose, and the mechanics are easy to grasp.

Not to say you're flat out wrong and no insult intended, but I'm curious if you'll have the same feeling after your first combat engagement. I felt largely the same way (albeit because I spent a lot of time just reading the forums), but then my fleet got plastered by when they outnumbered a Precursor group 3-to-1 (and I think outmassed them). The game occasionally throws a stumbling block even when you think you've 'mastered' it.

There's also the fact that 'need' may translate as more of a 'want [a guide] so that I'm not frustrated when I forget an AMM fire control / improperly align my beam weapon's tracking speed / have absolutely no idea what to do with all this freedom'. The sheer density of information / screens / information can be overwhelming and stuff can be easily overlooked. Also, some people embrace the 'losing is fun' paradigm more than others, so mileage, as always, varies.

Regardless, it's good to hear you're having fun with it - bonus points that you seem to have grasped it more easily than most!

[Person012345]

Actually, I think the game really needs a good comprehensive guide. I actually really want to do a playthrough-guide-thing, but I'm not sure if I really have the time. I might look at it when I start a new game.

[Erik L]

I think the issue with a comprehensive guide is that there is a lot that is left to player design. Are my lasers just like yours? Probably not. Same goes for almost every ship component.

However, if you do write one, post it here and in the wiki.

[xeryon]

There is just too much information for one person to try and cover it all.  I still cannot fathom how he had time to program it.

What we need is a wiki-style guide where different people contribute each section to make it more manageable.  I know there is a getting started guide on the wiki already, but it barely scratches the surface.  The remaining articles are incomplete and out of date.

[Thiosk]

I still cannot fathom how he had time to program it.

Over years, and it sprung from an earlier program

[Garfunkel]

It helps if you're familiar with RL military - especially naval and/or sensor stuff. Or have experience from Harpoon or somewhere similar. Plus experience from other 4X games helps as well. Then it's fairly simple to just dive in and merely check wiki/forums for obscure details.

Reading the stories posted here is also a big help, if only to show you what all is possible do in-game.