Rank: Warmaster

TL;DR - If you're willing to read and you know what 'alpha' means, the game can be a lot of fun. Responsive developers meaning issues get fixed. Valheim in Space style graphics. Price point is debatable, but the gameplay is solid. Think of it as an investment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the bit for all those with short attention spans out of the way, lets talk about what Rank: Warmaster, where it is and where it's going. This review being for Alpha version 0.8.11.3676, beware there are dragons afoot! ---{ Bugs }--- ☐ Never heard of ☐ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☑ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs The nitty gritty: This being an alpha, I bet you're wondering how bad the bugs are. Well, they're there, and I'm not gonna deny it. They're usually *not* game breaking bugs, but there are definite annoyances. I haven't encountered any CTD's that I wasn't actually trying to cause, but I have run across both audio issues and problems with the tutorials. Odd graphical glitches can occur, but it's all been manageable. That brings me to a point that counterbalances the bugs: the Devs are definitely listening. Bringing up what I encountered in the Discord saw an audio issue (and savegame annoyances) fixed in the next update. Overall, it's not nearly as bad as you'd think for an alpha release. ---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☑ Decent ☑ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS If you're looking for AAA graphics, you're looking in the wrong place and this isn't gonna be your jam. This being an early alpha you'll definitely find graphical bugs, and some of the textures just aren't great. I think it'll get there with time, but right now the best I can describe it is 'delightfully retro'. If that's your aesthetic, you'll be fine. This is closer to Space Valheim than it is to Star Citizen. ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☑ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't The nitty gritty: This is where the game shines. Controls are mostly fluid, base management can be engaging, the combat system is multifaceted and fluid, you have *options*. Rank: Warmaster is ambitious in what it sets out to do -- combining a space flight sim with 4X and RTS elements is not an easy thing to balance right. There's a goodly amount of gameplay complexity burred here, and yet the game never feels bogged down by it. For the most part I'd say they're doing it right. This is not to say there aren't places things can be improved. The AI can get annoying, and the right balance for weaponry can be hard to figure out. I haven't yet figured out how to make the mouse wheel scroll rotation faster and that fact makes me weep in agony sometimes late at night. The quibbles never manage to undermine the core experience of the game, though, and at this stage that's exactly what I need to enjoy it. ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf The nitty gritty: I *love* the soundtrack to this game. There are no qualifiers to that statement. Full stop. If you're of a techy mindset, you're probably going to love it too. It's just a bit retro, but has elements that remind me of the soundtracks from Uplink or Hacknet with less hard edges and electronica. 2 of my on record hours are just so I can listen to the music. The minute I see the soundtrack going up, it's mine. That said, there are definitely places that the audio feels a bit 'off' to my mind. Some sound effects sound like they're still stock, and you'll likely pick up on it yourself if you're acoustically inclined. This isn't enough to bother me, and I expect it'll change, but it might bother some and keeps me from giving it full marks. ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma The nitty gritty: Your 10 year old will get enjoy flying a ship around and shooting the laser beams, but most of the game will be completely lost on them. It takes some maturity to get the most out of this game. Beyond that there's really no barrier other than interest. ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer The nitty gritty: I was honestly shocked to see that the RAM requirements on this game are as high as 12GB; I tested the RAM usage on my playthroughs and haven't gotten nearly that high. Most people aren't going to have a hard time running this on a modern PC, regardless. ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☐ Easy ☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ High School Graduate ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls The nitty gritty: Hard to give a fair review when the game's in alpha and the main story isn't implemented, but what's present has a fair bit of depth to it. Learning to pilot the ship is fairly intuitive, and the rest of the core gameplay can be read about in the documents that come along with the games' files. Once you know basically what your doing there's enough layers of complexity to keep you digging. The AI itself is not *incredibly* difficult, but it's not been a slouch either. That said, if you want difficulty, this game is multiplayer. Friends playing may just destroy you and everything you love. Hell is other people my dudes. ---{ Story }--- ☑ No Story ☐ Some lore ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Lovely ☐ It'll replace your life The nitty gritty: So there's not a lot going on with the story right now beyond some vague mentions in the tutorials. What *is* implemented seems interesting enough, but what I like about it so far is the sense of humor the game has. For example at one point the game gives you directions to turn the ship to the right -- simple tutorial stuff. If you turn left instead the game informs you, in a disappointed voice, that you can work on distinguishing right from left at a later date. The thread of this follows though what's actually present in the game, and the foundations are laid. Why *are* you alone on Mars in the middle of nowhere? Ares wants to know too, and it's a good bet he's keeping notes. What's *there* has potential, there's just very little of it right now. ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ Coffee Cup Game ☐ Short ☑ Average ☑ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond The nitty gritty: Look, I'mma need you to look up what a 4X is before we can even start talking about game length. ---{ Price }--- ☐ It's free! ☑ Worth the price ☑ If it's on sale ☐ Not recommended ☐ Light a dollar on fire, it's a better investment The nitty gritty: For what's present in the game right now the price point is debatable. There's a lot of here! There's also a lot missing if story and polish are what you care about. The core gameplay is pretty rock solid, but there's still a lot to be done. If you're the type to take a look at what's here and see what it's shaping into, buy it immediately. If you love strategy games, or you love space flight/combat, it's worth it the money. If you only *like* those things, wait for a price drop when it goes on sale. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---{ Extra Notes }--- -For those who use them, the game supports both gamepad mapping and joystick controls. -It runs pretty much exactly the same on Linux via Proton as it does on Windows (I've tested both)! -I mentioned the games files before -- searching through them is definitely worth a look. The extras from the devs are very cool, and a lot of the games' files are readable in plain text, which gives me a lot of hope for future modding capability. So yea, I like it. I think you'll like it too, if you give it a chance.

I want to see where this game goes. I'm not usually a 4X fan myself, but I've played Warzone 2100 with friends in the past and this game reminds me of that a lot. It has that "build your armada" and "expand your territory" element, but with the ability to pilot your ships directly and fly around shooting things yourself. There is an RTS mode that lets you be the "eye in the sky" and tell your fleet what to do. You can switch back and forth between the two, which is cool. I was able to instantly jump from setting up more turrets at my main base settlement to joining in on a battle a small scout fleet I had sent out a ways away got themselves into. (And we all died because the enemy AI team had better weapons because I was spending too much time building turrets. Yeah this game doesn't let you off easy.) The gameplay looks easily addicting. The tutorial alone had me take a small fleet of ships and engage an enemy squadron. It turned out that in my fleet was a couple of repair ships that can also salvage things. After the AI directed me to disable the enemy ships I was able to use the repair ships to scrap them for technology with their tractor beams. It's actually sadistically satisfying to watch one of your salvager units eat an enemy ship alive as it thrusters helplessly against the Martian soil hehehe. The dogfights get hairy quickly. The enemy AI will sometimes crank out ridiculous amounts of weak but agile little fighter ships and it's easy to get "gnat swarmed" by tiny little things that are hard to hit, each one chipping away at you. But there's something special about taking a squadron into battle and seeing them fly in formation around me and then watching them accelerate ahead after commanding them to attack the enemy ship I currently have targeted. Storming an enemy encampment and wiping out their base and taking their stuff is VERY rewarding after having to retreat three or four times before. It almost makes me understand why people watch sports. XD The game is apparently being made by a small indie studio using their own custom game engine. As much polish as the game could use, the graphics are impressive given those circumstances. They're rough in places, good in others. The glow effects are nice. I really like the blue halo around the sun when setting on the Martian horizon. There’s something cinematic about chasing an enemy ship attempting to flee and seeing the ground flush a deep red with the engine fire as the two of you drop down to low altitude and watching the plasma pulses and laser beams your ship fires briefly illuminate the hull of the enemy as you just barely miss your target. The game is in alpha so there are a few bugs. I had a CTD here and there. The tutorial got a little broken when I went overkill and destroyed all three enemy ships only to have the tutorial tell me to disable one of them and I had to restart and I was like "WOOPS." Conclusion: This is looking like one of those rare games outside of my normal genre that I can actually get hooked on. I look forward to future updates!

First off, I can only say that what was written before is absolutely correct. This game is a great example of what small indie developers can do. I admit I am not a big 4X games player but when I first saw the game the classical graphics had me. So exploring the game more after the developer was kind enough to let me test it I saw a LOT of potential. The game is, as it states, in an Alpha status which is totally fine because if you find a bug and report it you can be sure it will be reviewed and checked and the changes will be made quickly. The developer is very communicative and close to their player base so there is a lot that can be expected So far the game play is smooth, bugs exist but are not too much of an issue and the mechanics are awesome. You can play this game in almost any way and there is something for everyone in it. I am having fun with the game and will surely keep on playing it. There are so many mechanics I want to play with and I have big plans. I can only recommend this game if you are looking for depth over high end graphics If not, just give it a try and see for yourself. Also yes, I received this game for free but I am someone who says what he thinks. So go for it!