2008-05-01 16:56:05 (edited by dark empathy 2008-05-02 05:27:58)

Well,

I've just tried smugglers 3 for the first time after installing Hal version 9. It's been a few weeks sinse I last tried it anyway, and sinse Hal 9 involved some virtual focus tweeks I thought I'd see what happened.

well, Dolphin said that Hal 9 was supposed to be more consistant over different screens and yee gods, that seems to be the case in smugglers 3, just for the heck of it, i played through the tutorial, sinse the Vf was able to stay on the tutorial windows successfully and not overlap stuff. i can't wait to see how it handles the crew recruitement screen, sinse before I always had to do that by counting down the various selection buttons for the different crew types, which was a miner pest.

The galaxy map stil has the miner problem of trade prises slightly disconnected to their systems, but using the read list box feature and F6 to read the currently selected item, it's fairly easy to get the prices, ---- even if I have to click on whichever system I want and then read the list box, rather than just relying on the prices listed under each system.

I'm also trying out smugglers 2 at the moment. It looks fairly useable, and has some interesting game variations, ---- particularly that there are only two factions and the syndicate is underground, but the fact that the trade prices are in a separate index to the travel screen,slows and have to be checked planet by planet slows things up slightly.

There is an interesting thing though about selecting or creating different game modules with a new add on which sounds intreaguing. if anyone else has tried smugglers 2, let me know what you thought of it.


Update:

smugglers 2 is proving interesting. Using the list box and F6, inter system trading isn't too bad, though with a lot more different goods to look through it does take longer, possibley it'll speed up when i know the markit better. Looting though seems much more lucrative, especially as cargo space seems much larger, and there is actually a catagory of ship wreck parts. The game also features more diverse text for missions and for news reports, or at least a greater amount than I noticed in S3. You can also accept missions fromthe independent trader coorp (which I'm guessing is what eventually turns into the confederation), so even if your in trouble with the governing body on whatever planet your on, ---- the federation or the outer rim alliance, you can stil have missions. Crime is also more interesting, sinse you actually get court summonsis, and obviously as it's set just at the start of the war, rather than when things have really gone for a burten as in S3, the lores are stricter, and illegal trading is more difficult, ---- you actually have to go in the bar and find the syndicate in order to buy illegal goods from them, and finding them is tricky.

I have however run into one problem which is rather annoying, there seems no way to buy weapon upgrades at all! I've tried clicking on the names of weapons and get nothing, even though i had the cash. I'm not sure whether this is something to do with planet types, ship types or rank or something else, or whether it's a screen reader issue. Missiles seem very weerd, in fact I think you buy a missile type which you then get one time use of in battle, because sometimes they work and sometimes they don't, and I can't be sure when.

It's entirely possible that buying equipment upgrades just doesn't exist in the demo version, ---- like in game sound, especially as prices for ships are much lower (a shaddow cat is only 33.00), and various ship types are much more available.

I would ask on the nielsbauer forum, but it's annoyingly down for maintenance at the moment.

I'll go on experimenting and see what I can find. It'd be nice if this game was playable as well, especially as the new lands add-on for the game sounds interesting.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)