Recommended?

Polaris Sector is a sci-fi 4X game that offers exciting exploration, detailed resource management, unique research mechanics and intense tactical combat.
Happycat
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Recommended?

Post by Happycat »

Am interested in players' recent impressions of Polaris Sector. I like Homeworld 2, up to a point, but don't like the restrictive element of the storyline----I'm more into open play like Civ series.

Having established that as a criteria, and having my 9 year anniversary discount coupon in hand, would you who play Polaris Sector say that I should:

a. buy it now and say goodbye to sleep 'cuz it's so awesome
b. buy it now and say goodbye to sleep 'cuz it takes a long time to learn, but it's worth it
c. buy it now, it's not bad at all

or?

Thanks friends :)
Chance favours the prepared mind.
zakblood
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Re: Recommended?

Post by zakblood »

d, use the coupon, it's more up to date than most, and more fun than Stellaris imo, it has a easy learning curve but is built on a solid engine and has been worked on more than most games and has matured over it's development time.

regarding fun and re play ability is all depending on how you like to play these types of games, 200 hours+ is not uncommon on the largest maps, with the max settings from planets and stars and races etc, or an hour on the smallest.

can't really compare it to home world or Distant Worlds for that matter, it's a mix of more than a few games :wink:
RandomAttack
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Re: Recommended?

Post by RandomAttack »

It's a decent game. I bought it with MY anniversary coupon, and I feel I got my money's worth. There are a couple of caveats:

- AI gets large/unlimited fuel cheats. This can really destroy any sense of strategic planning. Wouldn't be a big deal if we could mod it, but I don't think it's possible. So in my opinion every game can easily devolve into just "a race to Frigates" so you can be assured to defend yourself from uber-range Corvettes.

- Diplomacy is pretty hit-or-miss. Sometimes it seems pretty good, other times it's just "WTH??"

I wouldn't compare it to the type of immersion/play you get in Civ. Basically a shorter, simpler, more streamlined game. But still fun in it's own way-- if we could just do away with the fuel cheat I would recommend it without reservation.
Happycat
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Re: Recommended?

Post by Happycat »

Thanks both of you for the valuable input. All in all, sounds like something I will add to my library.
Chance favours the prepared mind.
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Re: Recommended?

Post by Firefox440 »

And soon there will be a complete SW mod.;)
Happycat
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Re: Recommended?

Post by Happycat »

Nomada_Firefox wrote:And soon there will be a complete SW mod.;)
Really? That's good to know :)
Chance favours the prepared mind.
bjgrt
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Re: Recommended?

Post by bjgrt »

Right now - not recommended. The game is brilliantly developed, but not finished/polished (big time). Wait and see if the author at least acknowledges bug reports and promises fixes (or explains why those aren't bugs).
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Re: Recommended?

Post by BiteNibbleChomp »

This is as good, if not better than, Space Empires IV - the last space game I've played and thought was any good.

Plus, it seems heaps more realistic than SEIV, which is a major boost for me. (10 years to build a ship, as opposed to 10 months in most games)

- BNC
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elmo3
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Re: Recommended?

Post by elmo3 »

Thinking of getting this with my 12 year anniversary coupon. Did the AI fuel cheat/bug ever get fixed? How has dev support been? Thanks.
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Re: Recommended?

Post by Ufnv »

Elmo wrote:Thinking of getting this with my 12 year anniversary coupon. Did the AI fuel cheat/bug ever get fixed? How has dev support been? Thanks.
Yes, it's fixed :)
elmo3
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Re: Recommended?

Post by elmo3 »

Great, thanks for the reply.
Medway
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Re: Recommended?

Post by Medway »

Nice sale on now, time to finally pick this up.
Happycat
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Re: Recommended?

Post by Happycat »

Medway wrote:Nice sale on now, time to finally pick this up.
You're right, and it's not the only great buy on the site :)
Chance favours the prepared mind.
Medway
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Re: Recommended?

Post by Medway »

Ufnv wrote:
Elmo wrote:Thinking of getting this with my 12 year anniversary coupon. Did the AI fuel cheat/bug ever get fixed? How has dev support been? Thanks.
Yes, it's fixed :)
Is this in 1.05b or an upcoming one? Just purchased so want to make sure I got the latest.

Cheers
Ufnv
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Re: Recommended?

Post by Ufnv »

Medway wrote:
Ufnv wrote:
Elmo wrote:Thinking of getting this with my 12 year anniversary coupon. Did the AI fuel cheat/bug ever get fixed? How has dev support been? Thanks.
Yes, it's fixed :)
Is this in 1.05b or an upcoming one? Just purchased so want to make sure I got the latest.
In 1.05b. Upcoming is a massive one.
Medway
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Re: Recommended?

Post by Medway »

Is this in 1.05b or an upcoming one? Just purchased so want to make sure I got the latest.
In 1.05b. Upcoming is a massive one.
Excellent and looking forward to that then.
oninowon
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Re: Recommended?

Post by oninowon »

I recently bought the game and have been playing for a couple of days now. I was deciding between Polaris and Distant Worlds. Distant Worlds had the advantage of all DLCs included, all major kinks worked out, excellent mod capability, and decent back story (you learn more about the world as you explore more of the galaxy). The universe of Distant Worlds seemed much more vibrant than Polaris. However, the 4 things holding me back was the price (not that I'm complaining about a 50% off of a $60 game), graphics, the UI, and combat. In the end, I chose Polaris. It was cheaper (although overall value definitely goes to Distant Worlds), graphics were much better, much more friendly UI, more interesting battle mechanic, and the ability to easily build the ship the way you want.

Since this is my first go around, I've decided to play on easy mode. So far exploring has been a pleasurable experience. I like the artwork and description of each planet I've encountered. I like that the game gives you option of how much direct control you want of the planets you've colonized. The tutorial gave me taste of combat and I really enjoyed the tactical gameplay. The tutorial also gave me a taste of building a starship from scratch (although the hull itself is not changeable) which I also found fun. At the moment, I have not fully grasped how technology works (the basics of it were shown in the tutorial) in the grand scheme of things so have not tried to manually manipulate it yet (the tech and science discovery part seem excruciatingly slow enough to make me rethink if I'm supposed to actively take part in it).

In conclusion, I admit it is still too early for me to judge and give you a more thorough impression but I'll have t go with C. buy it now, it's not bad at all. Just like Civ 3 and up, I like that you have to have the necessary raw materials to build things. I like that upon discovering a habitable planet, whether you'll use it for food, industry, mining or some combination of them. While exploring, you'll occasionally come upon some anomaly or alien tech that needs further investigation and that adds a bit of spice to exploring.

Not sure how much I've helped with your decision but what ever you decide, have a happy holiday!
Medway
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Re: Recommended?

Post by Medway »

I was in a similar situation and also went with Polaris Sector. Hard to say how it compares to DW but so far I like it. Plus DW2 is hopefully due nexy year so will wait for that version.
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Re: Recommended?

Post by elmo3 »

You should just get both. They are both good games, and of course you can never have too many 4X games! :lol:
oninowon
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Re: Recommended?

Post by oninowon »

Elmo wrote:You should just get both. They are both good games, and of course you can never have too many 4X games! :lol:
I may have derailed the topic by mentioning my choosing between the 2 but the OP just wanted to know if Polaris was right for him. I know you were also deciding whether to get Polaris. Have you picked it up, yet? Have you played other space 4x games?
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