17 April 2019, 21:24 | #1 |
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Steel Empire/Cyber Empires in depth video review
Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, I wasn't sure... anyway, I've just done an (AGDB!) video review of a largely overlooked Amiga game, which I think is massively under-rated; Steel Empire. It's an action/strategy Mech game - have a look if you're interested. :-)
[ Show youtube player ]
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25 April 2019, 16:13 | #2 |
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26 April 2019, 19:56 | #3 |
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A great game which I have fond memories of. Someday I hope I'll find the time to program an updated version of it
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14 June 2019, 14:01 | #4 |
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I was inspired by your video to try this game again, I never played it much back in the day but since you released your review I played through the campaign four times! My thoughts on the game:
An updated version of the game would indeed be cool, maybe with isometric graphics similar to Mech Assault. Last edited by Cherno; 14 June 2019 at 14:07. |
24 June 2019, 13:12 | #5 |
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Wow, nice break down, Cherno. It's good to see there is still love for this game. I like to use the Titans myself, sure they take three turns, but once you gear up your production you can have several rolling off the the factory floor every turn, but yeah, Hercules are like the Sherman M4 of the game. It would be brilliant if somebody could add some tweaks to the game after all this time. I recall Sven (Dark Angel) the guy who coded the WHDLoad slave telling me that he thought the game had been programmed in a sensible and logical manner - not his words, but to that effect.
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25 June 2019, 20:06 | #6 | |
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Quote:
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28 June 2019, 11:35 | #7 |
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Hey!! I know some people that are going to be pretty interested in your Hired Guns work. People were so disappointed that the AGA version was never released. <br>
<br>Regarding Steel Empire I will keep my fingers crossed. :-) Maybe a planetary sytem campaign where you had several planets to capture (small ice worlds, volcanic Mercury style, moon type world). With some logistics/strategy involved to efficiently secure the system. :-) Optional 3D view! :-) p.s. Isn't there an alliance option in the game? I couldn't find it, unless it is briefly offered when 2 sides move into adjacent countries? p.p.s. I think you can check your own forces with the spy option, can't you? |
28 June 2019, 13:30 | #8 |
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A random world gernerator would be nice, like in games such as Civilization. A little bit harder to do if not using hex tiles but doable. Single-biome planets are also a great idea, or even a planet completely covered by a single, massive city. I don't think there is an alliance option, the manual doesn't say anything about it. Friendly forces can be checked with the option but I find it cumbersome to use it just to see what's in a terrority. It would be better if small icons and numbers on the map itself (or even when the cursor is over a territory) would immedetialy tell me how many and what cyborgs are present, and what their status is
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28 June 2019, 22:49 | #9 |
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Yes, that makes sense.
I just thought I remembered a message saying something like: "Your opponent has received your request for an alliance, time will tell if he honours it." Maybe I'm thinking of Full Metal Planete. :-) |
06 August 2019, 18:56 | #10 |
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Just for fun, I created a voxel version of the Mars cyborg in MagicaVoxel.
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06 August 2019, 22:38 | #11 |
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Added a little walkcycle
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06 August 2019, 23:42 | #12 |
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Nice!
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08 August 2019, 00:53 | #13 |
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A had so much fun creating the Mars that I spent the day building voxel models of the other cyborgs as well
My favourites are the Mercury, Hercules and Behemoth When I started working on the Cyclops, I feared that it would end up looking like the infamous Urbanmech from BattleTech... And it indeed does look like a trashcan with legs, and the autocannon muzzle could only be hinted at and makes it look even worse When viewed from above, these cyborgs exactly match their top-down sprites from the game (Only the feet were occasionally positioned slightly different). *********************************************** Mercury - Cyclops - Dragon *********************************************** Mars - Crossbolt - Achilles *********************************************** Hercules - Behemoth - Titan *********************************************** Mercury - Cyclops - Dragon *********************************************** Mars - Crossbolt - Achilles *********************************************** Hercules - Behemoth - Titan Last edited by Cherno; 12 August 2019 at 12:17. |
08 August 2019, 03:10 | #14 | |
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This one's been on my list of games to try for a while now.
Quote:
I noticed in some of the screenshots that the PC version uses ~120 colours, while the Amiga OCS/ECS version is ~16. Appreciate you sharing that. |
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08 August 2019, 21:07 | #16 |
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[ramble]
For a remake, it would like to see something like pilots for each cyborg. Since these seem to be robotic units, maybe the pilots are actually controlling the machines from the headquarters like drone jockeys. they are not directly in harm's way since they are not sitting inside the cyborgs, but they will get damaged when their vehicle is heavily damaged or destroyed due to the bio-feedback that allows them to pilot these extremely complex machines. Totally not inspired by Shadowrun's riggers and deckers! Depending on the damage received, the pilots will have to rest a few turns, but over time they can gain experience and increase their stats, such as gunnery and sensors, and maybe also get special abilities. A player would probably load a saved game once an experienced pilot is killed so I'd just make them unkillable but introduce the rest period after receiving damage as a way to make players care. Another thing that would be cool is a neutral facction, namely the militia of the planet. These forces have no cyborgs on their own and rely on cheap masses of tanks and artillery. Still, they can be a potent threat in the beginning of the game and in regions where they can play to their strengths, i.e. cities. Maybe once in a while, a conquered region rebels and you have to fight some rag-tag insurgency with your 2nd tier garrison forces. Or you spent some money to incite a riot in an enemy's valuable region Maybe as a random event, an ancient Ogre Mark VII tank (from Steve Jackson's Ogre boardgame) rolls out of some disused military depot and starts wreaking havok on the map... Something like this would fir in perfectly with the game's scenario. [/ramble] Just some random thoughts |
15 August 2019, 22:43 | #17 |
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Just found out that there was a game called Mech Wars or Mech Lords in development which got killed by a lawsuit.
https://twitter.com/dosnostalgic/sta...98224374165507 |
17 November 2019, 15:41 | #18 | |
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Quote:
Wow, Cherno! I only just caught up with this thread, you're a talented dude! :-) |
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17 November 2019, 19:29 | #19 |
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Thanks! Keep an eye on this thread because there is more to come!
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17 November 2019, 20:09 | #20 |
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Will do!
I read your "ramble" - maybe the basic tank units, could disregard the cap on normal cyborgs per engagement, so although they are not top line fighting vehicles you could defend somewhere with enough of them to be a real nuisance - and also beef up your cyborgs force with extra numbers? Maybe the absence of one cyborg allowing the presence of 2 or 3 lesser units? |
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