• Registered: 2006-10-01
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Topic: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

Who would be interested in playing some strategy game with a roleplaying twist? I'm talking about games like VGA Planets or Stars! where the players play opposing factions trying to take over the galaxy/world/whatever. Many of those have great potential for political roleplaying, and if people play primarily to roleplay their characters and only secondarily to optimize their strategy, it would be a great experience.

A good thing about these games is that you need only a handful of people to make it work. And since you play in a set pace (one turn a day, for instance), you can't get an upper hand simply by playing more (though you sure can think more and scheme more). I think we should go for a relatively slow tempo so we can all still play our favourite MMORPGs most of the time.

I'm not an expert in these games in any way, so please mention any interesting games, especially if they're free. No need to stick to sci-fi of course, even though the classics are space conquest games.

So, if you're interested, please say so in this thread and we'll see it from there.

  • Oluf
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

I am interrested!

I dont know any of the games you suggest but it sounds like it could be a lot of fun!

  • From: Grenoble, France
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

I'm also interested, and I will (of course) suggest Freeciv, since it's, well, basically, free big_smile

http://www.freeciv.org/

  • Registered: 2006-10-01
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

We'd still need at least one person, preferably more, to make this work.

  • Darkhawk
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

I'm in, I believe. As long as we go slow.

  • Oluf
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

Yes, slow is needed for me to be interreseted as well.
It does provide a lot of interresting rp oppotunities and its a new (at least for me) way to do rp so it could be fun!

FreeCiv looks good, its basicly just CIV2/3 for free, right?

  • From: Szentendre, Hungary
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

I'm a big fan of RTS and Civ series as well, so I'm in cool
There was some kind of addon in WarCraft 3, where you could only play with your hero, but I guess WC3 is not good enough for you smile
So, if I have time, I would love to join in.

  • From: Grenoble, France
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

WC3 is good, but you can't play it at a slow, turn by turn pace, right?

  • Registered: 2006-10-02
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

I'd be willing to give it a go- I love Civ-style games. The old Master of Orion games were always my favourites, but I'd be willing to give most a try.

What games are people thinking of playing? Some Sci-Fi game would be my personal favourite, as it would be realistic to say that it's the same person/people you're playing and not just a succession of rulers.

With that in mind, I would propose Alpha Centauri as the ideal game for this. Extremely atmospheric, with one of the deepest setting a strategy game has ever had. Plus, it's old enough that any PC around now can run it, but it still works on modern operating systems. Who else still has a copy lying around?

Last edited by Tantavalist (2006-12-02 00:25:36)

  • Darkhawk
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

Alpha Centauri is one of my favourites, and there's certainly possibility for strong, ideological roleplay. However, the roles would be predetermined of course. But I'm up for playing evil capitalist, good Gaian, etc. wink

  • Oluf
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

One of the games i am ashamed of not having played...alpha centauri!

But yeah... I am always up for sci-fi... sci-fi rules big_smile

  • From: Grenoble, France
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

*launches amule* big_smile

yay for sci-fi!

  • Registered: 2006-10-01
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

I also vote for scifi, since I'm no fan of History twisting in the Civ style. And playing one character would indeed be better justified.

However, I know only VGA Planets of such games that probably is free, and it might be frustrating to install and play as it's Old (as in 386 era). But there probably are at least some freeware/open source games like that, but then there's no guarantees of quality.

To me Stars! seems like the most promising candidate, but you have to buy a code for 14,90 euro, with a credit card, and I'm not sure even that is possible anymore.

Last edited by Kryigerof (2006-12-02 02:46:17)

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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

Alpha Centauri is still available if you look hard enough, and extremely cheap. As in it was £5 last time I looked. The one problem I've found is the inability to locate the Alien Crossfire expansion, either for sale or as a pirate download. My own copy became damaged last year, and I am determined to replace it, by fair means or foul. The extra factions were nothing special, but the new techs and landmarks filled in some major gaps in the game.

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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

Well, I'm all for Alpha Centauri then, if you tell us where you get it so cheap (and assuming you can use Visa Electron to get it).

Preset characters as faction leaders are no problem, as long as they're no Joanne d'Arcs in the stone age. It would simply be like GM specified chars in any RPG (the norm in Finnish LARP).

Last edited by Kryigerof (2006-12-02 02:55:47)

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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

You can get Alpha Centauri at play.com in the £5 / 3 games for £10 section. I assume it's going to be available elsewhere at similar prices.

There would indeed be specified characters, but they are all based around a philosophy for the future of the human race, and are certainly not as anachronistic as the Civ leaders. The game has such long-term appeal to me because it doesn't hold that one point of view is inherently right.

I can see that an Alpha Centauri roleplay would work especially well with the Seed community. I remember reading about Seed prior to the release and thinking to myself, "wow- it's like an Alpha Centauri MMORPG." There are certainly parallels. Seed and Alpha Centauri both shared a certain dark outlook that is generally missing in mainstream Sci-Fi with its endless variants on the Utopian Star Trek ideal. In both games, the potential was there to build a Utopia, but it wasn't the ineviatable, or even most likely, outcome, and people were going to have to get their hands dirty to achieve it.

Last edited by Tantavalist (2006-12-02 03:15:51)

  • Darkhawk
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

I have that Crossfire expansion somewhere. I remember it was extremely hard to get, fair or foul yes. But I prevailed. Never played it though.

Anyway, the more I think about it, the more of a brilliant idea it is to play AC big_smile

  • From: Ottawa, Canada
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

GalCivs 2!

Just think of it as an updated MoO2... not sure if it has multiplayer support though.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q125/coarsesand/graffisigtransparent.png
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

Wikipedia says no multiplayer for GalCiv2.

Does Alpha Centauri have a play-by-email game mode or equivalent to allow each player to take their turns separately? Or would we all have to get together every time we play, which would be most frustrating to organize?

If it has, I'd have no problem paying that £10 if all the rest of you will.

Last edited by Kryigerof (2006-12-02 11:24:10)

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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

Alpha Centauri has no play-by-email multiplayer option, so yes, we'd have to organise specific times when we can get together and play. But don't let that put you off- anyone who hasn't played the game should immediately buy it just for single player mode. It really is, in my opinion, the greatest turn-based strategy game ever made, even after all these years.

I played the original Galactic Civilisations game, before it inexplicably stopped working on my PC, and it seemed a fairly good game- though not a patch on the old Master of Orion II game. If the sequel does have a multiplayer option, I'd be willing to give that a try. I see on play.com that GalCiv2 has dropped to just over £10 in price now.

Did anyone ever play Emperor of the Fading Suns? It's abandonware now, and can be downloaded on several sites. It has a multiplayer play-by-email option. And it is based on a pen-and-paper RPG setting, so no shortage of rolplaying opportunity, especially as I have a shelf of Fading Suns RPG books.

Another option, if people want to have an email based strategy campaign, would be to do without the computer game aspect altogether. I've run several RPG and Wargame campaigns, and I could very easily put together a campaign based around politics and expansion in the traditional Civ-game style. No pretty interface, but a human GM would mean that players could flex their imaginations for what they want to do in a situation just like in the Seed days.

But personally, I REALLY want to try my hand at a roleplayed Alpha Centauri campaign. I even have the GURPS sourcebook based on the game. Is it too early to call dibs on the Human Hive if we do play it?

  • Darkhawk
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

Human Hive! So that's why you joined TM! wink

If you call dibs on them, I call dibs on playing Gaians.

I've tried Emperor of the Fading Suns as abandonware. Fun game too, for sure, and I love the setting, though my shelf is not filled with that many Fading Suns books, unfortunately, just a few.

Oh, and about Alpha Centauri, there's a great, atmospheric novel thingie you should all read before we play, that sets the mood. Based on how the colonists travel to Alpha Centauri, and the political and social upheavals happening on the ship. I remember it as a good read. But don't remember where I read it. On the official website I think, as they counted down to release. I think.

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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

The play-by-email thing was pretty much the point for me. I don't want another roleplaying-related activity that has to be scheduled and that takes several hours of my time each time it's played. In a PBEM game you could just casually think about your strategy throughout the day and submit your turn when you have a minute to spare.

So if you decide to go for a non-PBEM option, I'll have to pass.

And what comes to Alpha Centauri being the best stategy game ever, I already have too many "best games ever" I don't find the time to play.:(

Tantavalist wrote:

I played the original Galactic Civilisations game, before it inexplicably stopped working on my PC, and it seemed a fairly good game- though not a patch on the old Master of Orion II game. If the sequel does have a multiplayer option, I'd be willing to give that a try. I see on play.com that GalCiv2 has dropped to just over £10 in price now.

Wikipedia says GalCiv2 does not have a multiplayer option.

Last edited by Kryigerof (2006-12-02 20:23:13)

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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

I'm sorry, I think I'll have to drop this. As I mentioned in another thread, I found Phoenix - Beyond the Stellar Empire (the play-by-email massively multiplayer space strategy), and it more than fills this gap in my schedule. But you guys go on and play Alpha Centauri if you like.

  • Oluf
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

hm, i would perfere a play by email game as well.... but at the same time i really want to play aplha centauri heh

  • Registered: 2006-10-02
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Re: Strategy games with a roleplaying twist

Well, I'd be up for playing Alpha Centauri, Darkhawk has said he'd go for it, so with Oluf that would be three. Anyone else interested? It'd be fun to have all seven factions roleplayed, though I imagine that it'd be hard to find someone who'd enjoy RPing the Lord's Believers. Still, given their usual approach to dipomacy as a computer-controlled faction, they would perfectly fit the role of annoying expansionist enemy that can't be negotiated with.

Any more interested?