POST STUFF
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 by Agamemnon, Level 33
Last updated at July 29, 2009, 1:19 am
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While I have made my feelings about Spore quite public, it's still hard to remain angry at a game that you really wanted to love. Even after losing a CD drive to SecuROM, even after the shallow response to the criticism EA was receiving about the game, even after the insulting Creepy and Cute pack...there was still a part of me wishing that EA would find redemption in putting out their whorification plans to release 50 expansion packs, like they do for The Sims. At least in that plan The Sims actually became a better game.
However, nearly a year after its release, Spore is still a shallow game, struggling to stand up on the toothpick stilts its walking on as its publisher throws it into store windows. Instead of trying to improve the game immediately, we found the intellectual property being whorified in a different light. They resold some of the mini games to the DS and *shudder* mobile phones and now they're going to put out console version remakes of some of the other mini games on the Wii as well. On top of that they also plan to release yet another standalone Spore-related game known as Spore Creature Keeper, which is apparently a "kid friendly" version of the Spore Creature stage. Color me confused, but isn't Spore already kid friendly, what with all the squeaky cute noises and Bambi eyes?
To add further insult to injury, EA did eventually put out an expansion pack to Spore after they felt like they had rereleased their mini games well enough. Spore Galactic Adventures came out last month, boasting the Adventure Creator. Essentially what this does is it allows you to creature prop-centered planets and missions for your creature to land on and carry out once in the Space Stage. On paper it sounds like a neat idea--then again, so did Spore at first.
The reality to Spore Galactic Adventures is that it barely comes with any new content. Yeah, sure, editors are "new content," but when you have to create it it's just a smoke screen. Maxis apparently only felt compelled to create 10 different missions for this expansion pack, and when I mean "10 different missions," I really mean "10 different objectives." These objectives involve, "kill x," or "deliver x to y," or "find x." And when we're talking about the scope of the Space Stage, with over 1,000,000 planets...well, you can see where I am going with this. Out of the box Maxis gives you virtually zero to play with and it is then expected of you to spend copious amounts of time just to create one adventure. Of course, when you spend only 1/4th of the time playing the adventure than you did creating it, and then you couple that with the numerous pathing issues, and you're finding that Spore Galactic Adventures tries to hide how shallow Spore is by introducing yet another shallow feature into the mix.
I'm not sure why it's so hard for EA to listen to the major complaints surrounding Spore. It's not rocket science. It shouldn't be too hard to be able to focus on the stuff people want to see happen. Well, apparently it is. Rather than trying to get Spore to live up to the giant shoes it's trying to fill, EA seems more content with wanting to ignore the fact that they are going to have to put in some effort to fix Spore, and when I say "fix Spore," I don't mean, "Add more editors." So allow me to elaborate instead on what should be fixed or give an idea on how to improve this travesty.
However, nearly a year after its release, Spore is still a shallow game, struggling to stand up on the toothpick stilts its walking on as its publisher throws it into store windows. Instead of trying to improve the game immediately, we found the intellectual property being whorified in a different light. They resold some of the mini games to the DS and *shudder* mobile phones and now they're going to put out console version remakes of some of the other mini games on the Wii as well. On top of that they also plan to release yet another standalone Spore-related game known as Spore Creature Keeper, which is apparently a "kid friendly" version of the Spore Creature stage. Color me confused, but isn't Spore already kid friendly, what with all the squeaky cute noises and Bambi eyes?
To add further insult to injury, EA did eventually put out an expansion pack to Spore after they felt like they had rereleased their mini games well enough. Spore Galactic Adventures came out last month, boasting the Adventure Creator. Essentially what this does is it allows you to creature prop-centered planets and missions for your creature to land on and carry out once in the Space Stage. On paper it sounds like a neat idea--then again, so did Spore at first.
The reality to Spore Galactic Adventures is that it barely comes with any new content. Yeah, sure, editors are "new content," but when you have to create it it's just a smoke screen. Maxis apparently only felt compelled to create 10 different missions for this expansion pack, and when I mean "10 different missions," I really mean "10 different objectives." These objectives involve, "kill x," or "deliver x to y," or "find x." And when we're talking about the scope of the Space Stage, with over 1,000,000 planets...well, you can see where I am going with this. Out of the box Maxis gives you virtually zero to play with and it is then expected of you to spend copious amounts of time just to create one adventure. Of course, when you spend only 1/4th of the time playing the adventure than you did creating it, and then you couple that with the numerous pathing issues, and you're finding that Spore Galactic Adventures tries to hide how shallow Spore is by introducing yet another shallow feature into the mix.
I'm not sure why it's so hard for EA to listen to the major complaints surrounding Spore. It's not rocket science. It shouldn't be too hard to be able to focus on the stuff people want to see happen. Well, apparently it is. Rather than trying to get Spore to live up to the giant shoes it's trying to fill, EA seems more content with wanting to ignore the fact that they are going to have to put in some effort to fix Spore, and when I say "fix Spore," I don't mean, "Add more editors." So allow me to elaborate instead on what should be fixed or give an idea on how to improve this travesty.
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17 comments
Project_Xii Jul 29, 2009 at 4:08 am
+1 votes
Interesting read. I don't really have much to say about it, other then the usual "I hate this game and want it to crawl into Will Wrights lower intestine and die, forcing him to leave a vaguely putrid smell where ever he goes and stop him from ever making another turd like this again." But that's very cellular stage thinking, so I'll try to act more evolved.
You had some points. More complexity would be good, since what he have now in stages 1-4 is probably the most distilled, watered down form for those 4 different games you mentioned (**** I love Flow and Populous). Personally, I never followed the game closely, so when I heard they had a civilization and space stage I was like "Eeeerrr.... why?" I want to make creatures and little neanderthal societies, maybe follow a sequence of story missions to reach the pinnacle of evolution. I don't want to build buildings or cities or go into outer space.
The marketing I saw seemed very focused on your species and your own little character. As soon as it broke away from that, I lost all interest. Well, that, and the fact that the civilization stage was dog **** boring.
Sadly, the actual creature stage is probably one of the weakest areas in the game. That's the part I was expecting the most from, and it was nothing but kill/dance for this animal, find bones, move. Garbage, and painful to play. What's with those bull**** giant things that just appear and stomp on you, then hang around the nest to stomp on you for another 8 ******* eggs? Jesus.
They also need to remove the "skill requirements". Having a "dance level of" a certain number only makes people want to get the latest and greatest body piece in order to make the best creature. It doesn't promote enough variety. Making the dance game into some sort of progressively harder keyboard-DDR type thing would be far better and less restricting.
Meh, honestly I really don't care. Unless they flesh out the current content by... hmm.... 15x what we have now, I'll probably never go back to it. Keep up the good fight though, Ag.
You had some points. More complexity would be good, since what he have now in stages 1-4 is probably the most distilled, watered down form for those 4 different games you mentioned (**** I love Flow and Populous). Personally, I never followed the game closely, so when I heard they had a civilization and space stage I was like "Eeeerrr.... why?" I want to make creatures and little neanderthal societies, maybe follow a sequence of story missions to reach the pinnacle of evolution. I don't want to build buildings or cities or go into outer space.
The marketing I saw seemed very focused on your species and your own little character. As soon as it broke away from that, I lost all interest. Well, that, and the fact that the civilization stage was dog **** boring.
Sadly, the actual creature stage is probably one of the weakest areas in the game. That's the part I was expecting the most from, and it was nothing but kill/dance for this animal, find bones, move. Garbage, and painful to play. What's with those bull**** giant things that just appear and stomp on you, then hang around the nest to stomp on you for another 8 ******* eggs? Jesus.
They also need to remove the "skill requirements". Having a "dance level of" a certain number only makes people want to get the latest and greatest body piece in order to make the best creature. It doesn't promote enough variety. Making the dance game into some sort of progressively harder keyboard-DDR type thing would be far better and less restricting.
Meh, honestly I really don't care. Unless they flesh out the current content by... hmm.... 15x what we have now, I'll probably never go back to it. Keep up the good fight though, Ag.
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Agamemnon Jul 29, 2009 at 10:14 am
+1 votes
Yeah, the creature stage is the stage I usually spend the most in as well. I just really wish there was more to do in it though. I mean, I don't even really like the "friendly" outcome to that stage either. Yeah, sure, maybe animals do dances and singing to charm other animals, but I've only seen that happen with animals of the same species. I don't know, if they maybe had like an "offer food" option that could be a more viable alternative, but as it is now, everyone minds their own business in that stage. The other animals never go out to go eating or anything like that, and apparently the only herbivorous food available seems to be fruit (there's grass all around you, guys...).
Essentially I agree with you. They should have been able to make those mini games into something where someone could actually be able to play them for as long as they wanted to. I mean, in the cell and creature stage you can kind of do that, as animals continue to spawn, but in the tribal and civ stage that just doesn't happen and both of those stages have an end to them. That's why I suggested being able to expand in both of those stages, or at least impede obstacles to make them last longer than 20 minutes.
Essentially I agree with you. They should have been able to make those mini games into something where someone could actually be able to play them for as long as they wanted to. I mean, in the cell and creature stage you can kind of do that, as animals continue to spawn, but in the tribal and civ stage that just doesn't happen and both of those stages have an end to them. That's why I suggested being able to expand in both of those stages, or at least impede obstacles to make them last longer than 20 minutes.
Shadowlol Jul 29, 2009 at 5:03 am
+2 votes
Good read.
Spore could never live up to the game I imagined it could be when I first saw the creature creator, so I cut out the middle man and just felt disappointed without ever playing the game.
I agree with pretty much everything you wrote bar the space alliances. I feel alliances should provide a unique short term benifit which is good until you expand enough not to need them anymore, at which point you either betray or tag them along for free. I'm not sure what type of perk they could provide having never played it, but you'd have to know the whole religious thing with a faith system and forceful conversion mechanisms would never fly in such a simsish game.
Spore died for many because they promised so much and delivered so little. The problem with having a staged-based game is that every stage will have been done before, and been done better, so you'll just end up with a diluted version of five different games which you could have played for much cheaper. That all could still be fixed with an appropriate expansion for each stage, but I doubt any stage other than the final one (space) will get a look in, which is a shame since most people buy the game to play through the earlier more primitive parts.
And yes, I know the entire appeal was playing through the entire (albeit sucky) game with a creature YOU created from the ground up, but that's no excuse for delivering what became esentially a shallow one-track maze for your creature to plod merrily through.
Bah, here's hoping spore 2 will see a large improvement. Oh ****. Forgot. Will Wright.
Spore could never live up to the game I imagined it could be when I first saw the creature creator, so I cut out the middle man and just felt disappointed without ever playing the game.
I agree with pretty much everything you wrote bar the space alliances. I feel alliances should provide a unique short term benifit which is good until you expand enough not to need them anymore, at which point you either betray or tag them along for free. I'm not sure what type of perk they could provide having never played it, but you'd have to know the whole religious thing with a faith system and forceful conversion mechanisms would never fly in such a simsish game.
Spore died for many because they promised so much and delivered so little. The problem with having a staged-based game is that every stage will have been done before, and been done better, so you'll just end up with a diluted version of five different games which you could have played for much cheaper. That all could still be fixed with an appropriate expansion for each stage, but I doubt any stage other than the final one (space) will get a look in, which is a shame since most people buy the game to play through the earlier more primitive parts.
And yes, I know the entire appeal was playing through the entire (albeit sucky) game with a creature YOU created from the ground up, but that's no excuse for delivering what became esentially a shallow one-track maze for your creature to plod merrily through.
Bah, here's hoping spore 2 will see a large improvement. Oh ****. Forgot. Will Wright.
Agamemnon Jul 29, 2009 at 10:21 am
+1 votes
Yeah, if your empire became expansive enough, there would really be no need for an alliance I suppose, but those groups in place would provide the player with another obstacle or interest in the space stage other than just having the Grox. I mean, to have your empire expand larger than the conglomerate of those groups in their combined forces together would be no picnic, as they are spread out across the entire galaxy. That's why I made it so you could effectively create your own group as well and placate your own rules for it (tax them for membership, require them to give them a portion of their military forces, etc.). Oh, and by the way, the religious aspect of the religious group is already found in Spore; there are actual space empires known as zealots that "follow the way of Spode" and aggressively shun you because you're not a follower and then demand outrageous sums of money from you because you are not a "believer." Eventually if you refuse tribute enough they'll actually go to war with you over it. They're real bastards.
I agree though, there is no excuse to what is found in Spore. These stages should be more than just mini games, you know? In Civ and Rise of Nations, you could limit the progressive playing field by capping the age of advancement and just play on a certain level of the age because the game was playable thruogh the different ages well enough on its own. That's the genius to those games; it didn't make the mistake of making things more "fun" in the later ages. But yeah, now that Will Wright has up and left Maxis/EA to become a loony dude and create children's toys really spells the doom for Spore.
I agree though, there is no excuse to what is found in Spore. These stages should be more than just mini games, you know? In Civ and Rise of Nations, you could limit the progressive playing field by capping the age of advancement and just play on a certain level of the age because the game was playable thruogh the different ages well enough on its own. That's the genius to those games; it didn't make the mistake of making things more "fun" in the later ages. But yeah, now that Will Wright has up and left Maxis/EA to become a loony dude and create children's toys really spells the doom for Spore.
mvLynn Jul 29, 2009 at 9:18 am
+1 votes
I wasn't sure I'd make it through the whole article when I saw how long it was, but I did, and I'm glad.
Like Shadowlol said:
"Spore could never live up to the game I imagined it could be when I first saw the creature creator"
Reminds me of when I first saw that video on Google Video years back, that hour long session of what's his face demoing his game. I remember watching it thinking "this game will seriously change my life, this is unreal." I don't think I could've been more wrong, or I've ever been more disappointed by a game.
I share all the same sentiments as you do Ag about the shortcomings of the game. Pre-space stage is too easy, too simple, and above all too short. Then the space age itself is just unmanageable to the point where it's not even fun and is nothing but a tedious chore.
It's funny because I actually wanted the game to take a very long ass time to complete, just so I could really experience a more accurately scaled representation of each stage of life. Granted, we'll never be able to even simulate the time frame of abiogenesis to intergalactic civilization, but Spore didn't need to make each pre-space-stage beatable in <1hr.
Then the space stage, what a mess. When I first got to it, I automatically thought, "Oh, I see why the rest of the game is so short, simple, and boring: the game saves everything for the space stage, which looks infinite and amazing." That lasted maybe another hour, until the pirate attacks and other less than relevant gimmicks became seamlessly successive. You couldn't do anything. There's no point in repeating everything that Ag said, but as soon as I realized this was how the space stage was going to pan out, I lost every ounce of hope I had left for the game, and realized it was nothing compared to what I thought it would be, and even terrible had I never had any expectations of the game in the first place.
I often think back to that video and wonder how amazing the game could've been. Maybe it was too unrealistic to achieve from the start, as the game tries to do so much, but when I saw that video I was convinced they would do it. What's worse is, because EA now has this idea in play, it's unlikely anyone else would even attempt this game any time soon, and try to actually do it right as such an epic undertaking deserves. Oh well, one can always dream.
Like Shadowlol said:
"Spore could never live up to the game I imagined it could be when I first saw the creature creator"
Reminds me of when I first saw that video on Google Video years back, that hour long session of what's his face demoing his game. I remember watching it thinking "this game will seriously change my life, this is unreal." I don't think I could've been more wrong, or I've ever been more disappointed by a game.
I share all the same sentiments as you do Ag about the shortcomings of the game. Pre-space stage is too easy, too simple, and above all too short. Then the space age itself is just unmanageable to the point where it's not even fun and is nothing but a tedious chore.
It's funny because I actually wanted the game to take a very long ass time to complete, just so I could really experience a more accurately scaled representation of each stage of life. Granted, we'll never be able to even simulate the time frame of abiogenesis to intergalactic civilization, but Spore didn't need to make each pre-space-stage beatable in <1hr.
Then the space stage, what a mess. When I first got to it, I automatically thought, "Oh, I see why the rest of the game is so short, simple, and boring: the game saves everything for the space stage, which looks infinite and amazing." That lasted maybe another hour, until the pirate attacks and other less than relevant gimmicks became seamlessly successive. You couldn't do anything. There's no point in repeating everything that Ag said, but as soon as I realized this was how the space stage was going to pan out, I lost every ounce of hope I had left for the game, and realized it was nothing compared to what I thought it would be, and even terrible had I never had any expectations of the game in the first place.
I often think back to that video and wonder how amazing the game could've been. Maybe it was too unrealistic to achieve from the start, as the game tries to do so much, but when I saw that video I was convinced they would do it. What's worse is, because EA now has this idea in play, it's unlikely anyone else would even attempt this game any time soon, and try to actually do it right as such an epic undertaking deserves. Oh well, one can always dream.
Agamemnon Jul 29, 2009 at 10:45 am
+1 votes
There are some modifications that you can apply to the game that change some of the most glaring obvious annoying features in the Space Stage by the way, if you're interested. One of my favorites is "Space is Fun." Basically that one greatly reduces the biosphere missions, the pirate attacks, and, over all, the general request that other empires ask of you. It's not much, but it does help when I'm trying to have fun or I'm off trying the impossible task of killing the Grox (I made a game for the specific purpose of that task; I've been in it for three months and I don't think I'm even half way through yet). There are a few others out there as well, but none that can really bring life to the Space Stage as I want them to, and no one is able to do that because the tools they have won't allow them to do so as well.
It's disheartening really. I too was doubly excited about the game, thinking that it'd be an "ender" of games, sort of like a pinnacle in gaming of something for all future sim games to gather from in order to garner their success. And then Spore came out and it was just twice as dissapointing. I mean, I still play the game every now and then, but after awhile I have to stop because it becomes such a chore. I try to enjoy some fo the mini games but some of them don't even last for as long as you want them to. You know that there are actual achievements to beating each stage QUICKLY? Finish the cell stage in 8 minutes, complete the creature stage in less than one hour, complete the tribal stage in less than one hour, complete the civilization stage in one hour...you know I got all of these on my FIRST play while exploring everything I could do in each stage?
So yeah, sorry about the long article. In truth I've had this idea for this article for a week and it's been bugging me and the only way for me to get the idea out of my head is to write about it. I don't know why, but I just have the knack for writing long ass articles.
It's disheartening really. I too was doubly excited about the game, thinking that it'd be an "ender" of games, sort of like a pinnacle in gaming of something for all future sim games to gather from in order to garner their success. And then Spore came out and it was just twice as dissapointing. I mean, I still play the game every now and then, but after awhile I have to stop because it becomes such a chore. I try to enjoy some fo the mini games but some of them don't even last for as long as you want them to. You know that there are actual achievements to beating each stage QUICKLY? Finish the cell stage in 8 minutes, complete the creature stage in less than one hour, complete the tribal stage in less than one hour, complete the civilization stage in one hour...you know I got all of these on my FIRST play while exploring everything I could do in each stage?
So yeah, sorry about the long article. In truth I've had this idea for this article for a week and it's been bugging me and the only way for me to get the idea out of my head is to write about it. I don't know why, but I just have the knack for writing long ass articles.
mvLynn Jul 29, 2009 at 10:58 am
+1 votes
Nah I was glad it was long, especially because I stopped playing the game a few weeks after it's release and I played through it a few times, so I never knew anything about the expansions or how the game evolved (stagnated).
But yeah I was really interested in the article because of the title, it's very fitting and it's exactly how I felt. I mean lots of games get hype or anticipation and end up being a disappointment, but this one was so much different. This game felt meaningful and, like you said, the ender of all games. I thought the same thing, I thought, "If they make this work and do everything they're claiming to do, what more can you make in a game?" It'd be like combining the pinnacle game of every stage (best space simulator, say EVE or something, best civilization RTS, etc). I mean what more could you do? Plus again I've always went 110% on biochem and evolution and all that stuff, it was just so perfect.
That's what made this game different, and that's why you're title is so fitting. I still look back and desperately wish it would've been good, whereas most games that disappoint me I just say, "Fine, **** you developers" and forget about it. And like I said in my first post, I doubt anyone will attempt this again any time soon, at least on the technology we're currently accustomed to playing on.
But hey maybe I'll check it out again with that mod you mentioned.
But yeah I was really interested in the article because of the title, it's very fitting and it's exactly how I felt. I mean lots of games get hype or anticipation and end up being a disappointment, but this one was so much different. This game felt meaningful and, like you said, the ender of all games. I thought the same thing, I thought, "If they make this work and do everything they're claiming to do, what more can you make in a game?" It'd be like combining the pinnacle game of every stage (best space simulator, say EVE or something, best civilization RTS, etc). I mean what more could you do? Plus again I've always went 110% on biochem and evolution and all that stuff, it was just so perfect.
That's what made this game different, and that's why you're title is so fitting. I still look back and desperately wish it would've been good, whereas most games that disappoint me I just say, "Fine, **** you developers" and forget about it. And like I said in my first post, I doubt anyone will attempt this again any time soon, at least on the technology we're currently accustomed to playing on.
But hey maybe I'll check it out again with that mod you mentioned.
Dizko Jul 29, 2009 at 10:58 am
+2 votes
It's bad when after you play the cell stage your fun level beings to decline with ever new stage. I thought the Civ stage needed more complexity and the space stage was just... boring for me.
mvLynn Jul 29, 2009 at 11:43 am
+1 votes
btw, that picture in the title keeps cracking me up every time I see it, lol
Bethryn Jul 29, 2009 at 2:41 pm
+2 votes
I'm confused to this day as to what people saw in Spore. Especially after the release of the Creature Creator but even before then with the developer videos, it seemed obviously that it was an incredible method to vary things visually, on top of absolutely no game framework. I thought the CC was well worth the money, but the actual game? No way.
One word: micromanagement. It's such a damn shame that there is zero
micromanagement to be had in the Space Stage. Every damn thing to do in
this stage has to be done by you, the player, through your own controls.
Don't you mean this the other way around? Certainly in RTSs, that's exactly what micromanagement is: boring, repetitive actions on the player's part that might as well be done by the AI. Space Stage was criticised as requiring too much micromanagement in most reviews I read (obviously I haven't played it), and as you explored more, you have more and more things to keep you occupied that returned very few rewards for performing them.
One word: micromanagement. It's such a damn shame that there is zero
micromanagement to be had in the Space Stage. Every damn thing to do in
this stage has to be done by you, the player, through your own controls.
Don't you mean this the other way around? Certainly in RTSs, that's exactly what micromanagement is: boring, repetitive actions on the player's part that might as well be done by the AI. Space Stage was criticised as requiring too much micromanagement in most reviews I read (obviously I haven't played it), and as you explored more, you have more and more things to keep you occupied that returned very few rewards for performing them.
Shadowlol Jul 29, 2009 at 3:01 pm
+1 votes
"Certainly in RTSs, that's exactly what micromanagement is: boring, repetitive actions on the player's part that might as well be done by the AI."
I think you're confusing micromangement with macromanagement. Good micro is very hard to replicate with AI which is why playing against computer controlled opponents is a very poor way of practicing for multiplayer in RTS games.
I think Agamemnonononon's point was that so much has to be controlled by the player, it becomes difficult to concentrate on any one aspect of your empire at any one time. If some simple parts could be automated then it would allow you to focus on whatever you want to do next instead of just simply maintaining.
I think you're confusing micromangement with macromanagement. Good micro is very hard to replicate with AI which is why playing against computer controlled opponents is a very poor way of practicing for multiplayer in RTS games.
I think Agamemnonononon's point was that so much has to be controlled by the player, it becomes difficult to concentrate on any one aspect of your empire at any one time. If some simple parts could be automated then it would allow you to focus on whatever you want to do next instead of just simply maintaining.
Bethryn Jul 29, 2009 at 3:16 pm
+2 votes
I'm pretty sure I'm not.
Some examples of micromanagement:
Triggering an enemy's Vulture Mine in Starcraft and trying to avoid its explosion with a unit by repeatedly clicking new places for the unit to go.
Ensuring that all your worker units are harvesting in the optimal manner in Starcraft.
Using your scout ship in SoaSE manually, each time giving it a new star/planet/roid to explore when it's reached its previous destination.
Making sure your units are on the right side of cover in CoH/DoW2.
Making sure your vehicles are facing the correct direction in CoH/DoW2.
Note that in at least two of these cases (harvesting in SC2, scout ships in SoaSE), there is AI that adequately performs said micro. Similarly in SoaSE, trade ships automatically move between trade ports; if you had to do this manually, it would be an issue of micromanagement (and really stupid).
(the reasons behind computers being so bad to practice against are myriad, and to be honest, I recommend playing against computers to improve your micro in most RTS games, so that you're no longer having mechanical trouble activing abilities quickly and so forth)
And yes, I get what he's saying entirely. If I want to focus on one thing, my empire should damn well take care of itself whilst I'm busy doing that; I shouldn't have to monitor every decision made all the while trying to conquer a new planet and dodge anti-space ship ordnance.
Some examples of micromanagement:
Triggering an enemy's Vulture Mine in Starcraft and trying to avoid its explosion with a unit by repeatedly clicking new places for the unit to go.
Ensuring that all your worker units are harvesting in the optimal manner in Starcraft.
Using your scout ship in SoaSE manually, each time giving it a new star/planet/roid to explore when it's reached its previous destination.
Making sure your units are on the right side of cover in CoH/DoW2.
Making sure your vehicles are facing the correct direction in CoH/DoW2.
Note that in at least two of these cases (harvesting in SC2, scout ships in SoaSE), there is AI that adequately performs said micro. Similarly in SoaSE, trade ships automatically move between trade ports; if you had to do this manually, it would be an issue of micromanagement (and really stupid).
(the reasons behind computers being so bad to practice against are myriad, and to be honest, I recommend playing against computers to improve your micro in most RTS games, so that you're no longer having mechanical trouble activing abilities quickly and so forth)
And yes, I get what he's saying entirely. If I want to focus on one thing, my empire should damn well take care of itself whilst I'm busy doing that; I shouldn't have to monitor every decision made all the while trying to conquer a new planet and dodge anti-space ship ordnance.
Opet Jul 29, 2009 at 3:24 pm
+1 votes
Shadow, that's a literally inverted definition of micro :P
WIKIPEDIAAAAAAAA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micromanagement_(gameplay)
WIKIPEDIAAAAAAAA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micromanagement_(gameplay)
Shadowlol Jul 29, 2009 at 3:34 pm
+1 votes
ah my bad then.
most of my RTS experience comes from Command and Conquer and Halo Wars, both of which keep all resource related stuff to one building.
Pretty much the only micromanaging needed is in controlling your attack/defence and can mean the difference between leaving a skirmish with all troops intact and losing your entire army. In that sense micromanagement is anything but boring and repetative.
most of my RTS experience comes from Command and Conquer and Halo Wars, both of which keep all resource related stuff to one building.
Pretty much the only micromanaging needed is in controlling your attack/defence and can mean the difference between leaving a skirmish with all troops intact and losing your entire army. In that sense micromanagement is anything but boring and repetative.
Agamemnon Jul 29, 2009 at 4:58 pm
+1 votes
Yeah, I actually meant macromanagement. It was 1AM and Snail just left. Wasn't exactly on the ball. Sorry about that.
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Started December 26, 2008
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