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Plenty of people have already spoken at length about the neat E-WAR features, as well as the realism it approaches with its semi-Newtonian space combat.

However, I want to highlight what it's actually like to play this game against players - and why it scratches an itch that other RTS's don't.

The opening of the battle usually opens with both sides looking for each other. Scouting in a race to be the first to find out where the enemy is - racing to gain the first bit of initiative. But unlike games where micro is the deciding factor, the movement is slow enough that your moves must be pre-meditated.

Questions need to be answered: "Where are they?", "What are they?", "Where are they moving?", "What is their intent?".

The side who can find the answers to most of these questions first controls the opening phase. But just as easy as it is taken, it can be lost. A radar can lose track, and suddenly the tables can turn. A decision you made for movement a minute before is about to have disastrous effects because you can't just right click away.

Soon enough, you're skirmishing, you're trading fire, but neither you or the enemy has decisively engaged. You're just plinking at the edge of your ranges as the battle begins to develop. Your teammates are assessing where they should make their move, and if your enemy is coordinated, they're doing the same.

Little by little, that range of engagement likely gets closer. At this point, it's likely that both fleets have committed to a fight. Whether it's an all-out-brawl, with all players just duking it out with missile spam and guns in close quarters, or a deliberate attempt to defeat the enemy team in-detail.

This is a game with decisive moments, where a single mistake from minutes ago can cascade into ultimate failure. The shifting of forces to redeploy them is something that is only in few other games. Because you can't just race to save your friends on the other side of the map, that move must've been made minutes ago. The missiles that you wasted in the opening skirmish are haunting you as the enemy Battleship only now revealed itself.

The mind games you can play with the e-war tools at your disposal would never work with AI. You can't necessarily trick an AI with a feint fleet movement and E-war, at least not in the same way.

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Matches generally take 30-60 mins, and depending on how coordinated your team is, it could be the most painful 30-60 mins you had of your day. Literally waiting 30 mins to lose because someone made a terrible mistake early on isn't fun. Other games make something like defeat a fast burn, so that you could go into the next match. But you may not know you lost until way after the blow. Comebacks are possible, they happen, but it's an uphill battle after a decisive action.

However, the reward for coordination and teamplay is something else. A stomp is infuriating, and those will happen a lot as the player base is still super fresh. But a close match (win or lose) is very rewarding. There is only one other strategy game that comes close to this: The NTW3 mod for Napoleon: Total War, another PvP focused experience.

As part of a community with very close friendships and coordination, this game is a joy to play.

The game's not gonna be for everyone. But if you have like-minded friends, or are willing to make new ones, this game fills a neat niche.

[h1]"The decision that won the match [i]happened 5 minutes ago.[/i]"[/h1] ====== Plenty of people have already spoken at length about the neat E-WAR features, as well as the realism it approaches with its semi-Newtonian space combat. However, I want to highlight what it's actually like to play this game against players - and why it scratches an itch that other RTS's don't. The opening of the battle usually opens with both sides looking for each other. Scouting in a [b][i]race[/i] [/b]to be the first to find out where the enemy is - [b][i]racing[/i][/b] to gain the first bit of initiative. But unlike games where micro is the deciding factor, the movement is slow enough that your moves [i]must be pre-meditated.[/i] Questions need to be answered: "Where are they?", "What are they?", "Where are they moving?", "What is their intent?". The side who can find the answers to most of these questions first controls the opening phase. But just as easy as it is taken, it can be lost. A radar can lose track, and suddenly the tables can turn. A decision you made for movement a minute before is about to have disastrous effects because you can't just [i]right click away. [/i] Soon enough, you're skirmishing, you're trading fire, but neither you or the enemy has decisively engaged. You're just plinking at the edge of your ranges as the battle begins to develop. Your teammates are assessing where they should make their move, and if your enemy is coordinated, they're doing the same. Little by little, that range of engagement likely gets closer. At this point, it's likely that both fleets have committed to a fight. Whether it's an all-out-brawl, with all players just duking it out with missile spam and guns in close quarters, or a deliberate attempt to defeat the enemy team in-detail. This is a game with decisive moments, where a single mistake from minutes ago can cascade into ultimate failure. The shifting of forces to redeploy them is something that is only in few other games. Because you can't just race to save your friends on the other side of the map, that move must've been made [i]minutes ago. [/i]The missiles that you wasted in the opening skirmish are haunting you as the enemy Battleship [i]only now revealed itself.[/i] The mind games you can play with the e-war tools at your disposal would never work with AI. You can't necessarily trick an AI with a feint fleet movement and E-war, at least not in the same way. ====== [h1]Make no mistake, this is a slow game.[/h1] Matches generally take 30-60 mins, and depending on how coordinated your team is, it could be the most painful 30-60 mins you had of your day. Literally waiting 30 mins to lose because someone made a terrible mistake early on isn't fun. Other games make something like defeat a fast burn, so that you could go into the next match. But you may not know you lost until way after the blow. Comebacks are possible, they happen, but it's an uphill battle after a decisive action. However, the reward for coordination and teamplay is something else. A stomp is infuriating, and those will happen a lot as the player base is still super fresh. But a close match (win or lose) is [b][i]very[/i][/b][i] [/i]rewarding. There is only one other strategy game that comes close to this: The NTW3 mod for Napoleon: Total War, another PvP focused experience. As part of a community with very close friendships and coordination, this game is a joy to play. The game's not gonna be for everyone. But if you have like-minded friends, or are willing to make new ones, this game fills a neat niche.