Ascendancy

Boris Godunov · May 28, 2002, 00:49

Ok, who remembers this conquer space game?

I for one think is the most beautiful such game ever made. The interface was lovely, and the graphics still hold up as being really good. Sure, there were some big flaws (very poor A.I., not being able to que/automate build orders, not being able to move a ship to a distant star system without having to give it orders to jump from A to B to C to D etc., not being able to group ships, no ship templates for construction), but these are outweighed by the epic scope of the game (huge tech tree, a very dense star cluster is almost impossible to fully explore, the music score, etc.).

I for one would love to see this game redone, retaining its original beauty but improving the flaws listed above. Anybody else remember it? (I've actually gotten to work on my new computer, and while the music is a little shaky, the game runs beautifully)

ravagon · May 28, 2002, 01:23

I think its available (justifiably or not) on a few abandonware sites for download. I considered trying it some time ago but was put off as you said by reports of a poor AI.
Maybe I'll give it a try after all ...

Garth Vader · May 28, 2002, 14:02

It was an interesting game, but suffered from too many flaws.

I didn't like the interface, it required too much clicking to move about, plus with the excess micromanaging I actually wore out two left buttons playing this game.

Ship combat was very interesting, but shields were almost useless. If an enemy had shields you could just stay out of range until he ran out of juice and then move in for the kill.

I agree with your other negatives.

Ecthy · May 28, 2002, 15:03

I used to be a big player of that game, always preferred Chamachies

Ecthy · May 28, 2002, 15:03

BTW, I find one of the loveliest details about the game was the music

Rex Little · May 28, 2002, 17:38

I never heard the Ascendancy music; only played the game on a work computer without a sound card. I suppose I should reload it on my home computer once I get the sound fixed.

Besides the idiot AI, the thing that killed Ascendancy for me was the repetitive micromanagement. On any large planet, you'd build one manufacturing and/or research facility after another, and once you had a sizeable empire you'd be ordering half a dozen of these every turn.

The graphics were stunning, though.

moomin · May 28, 2002, 17:54

Great demo, that, Ascendancy. Too bad there wasn't any game, because the interface and production values sure were sweet.

Boris Godunov · May 28, 2002, 21:55

Quote:

Originally posted by Ecthelion
I used to be a big player of that game, always preferred Chamachies

Of course, as the tech advantage couldn't be ignored!

And the music was superb--created an atmosphere that was really wonderful. And I still think the fully rotatable 3-D maps are spectactular.

I would just love to see a redux of the game, with perhaps real-time combat in addition to fixing the other bugs I mentioned. But I would like it to be faithful to the original in terms of graphics style, music and general gameplay (the excessive micromanaging, yes, needs to go...but so it does in all similar god-games of that time).

MBD · June 2, 2002, 17:05

Yeah, good music, interesting interface -- also had a 3d tech tree, if i remember correctly.

But was undone by the bad play-balance. It was far too easy to win by just being popular/nice with everyone until you reached some threshhold value for the win.

Andemagne · June 2, 2002, 17:27

I played ascendancy once, and found it too easy,
perhaps because my race had that tech advance thingy.

moomin · June 3, 2002, 07:53

Oh, it was too easy no matter what you did. The AI simply didn't do much but wait for you to come and crush it. But it was a beautiful game otherwise and would certainly deserve a revival.

Spaced Cowboy · June 3, 2002, 11:16

I think that I played this three times only, and became so sick of the micromanagement, that I tossed it in the pile. Plus for some reason, it seemed like it took forever to move your ships later in the game.

Boris Godunov · June 3, 2002, 12:35

I really would like to see a conquer-the-galaxy game with those kind of production values, just a better game. I've tried so many, but none have quite fit the bill. Imperium Galactica II was lovely, but there was limited replay value and felt more like RTS than a great strategy game. The interface was a little clunky, too. And once you defeated that one big fleet the AI always had, you could pretty much overrun it easily.

MoO2 was okay...the graphics are, IMO, ugly, and it is not a particularly satisfying experience. I won't even go into SW Rebellion, the single biggest disappointment of my gaming life!

moomin · June 3, 2002, 16:41

SW Rebellion held so much promise... and boy did it fail to deliver. But there sure were fascinating concepts - the whole kidnap your ememies subgame, for instance.

I loved, love and will probably always love Moo2. Couldn't care less about the graphics - I think the game just oozes feeling and immersion anyway.

Boris Godunov · June 3, 2002, 22:19

I did find a way to make Rebellion a little better. Download the RebEd editor, and with that you can seriously reduce the build times and maintenance costs. Makes for a MUCH faster game.

Sadly, it doesn't fix everything else that sucked.

Cyclotron · June 4, 2002, 01:06

Oh my gosh!

I still ahve this game... until the TLF forums closed down a few months ago, I was one of the biggest posters there. We posted on that forum for years, just a handful of Ascend fanatics... and actually talked with TLF guys one in a blue moon. They got a new site (good) but they removed the forums (bad) so the communioty is gone... but I still hold out the distant hope for Ascend2, something that TLF says it is working on.

www.logicfactory.com

moomin · June 4, 2002, 06:08

Cyclo: What's their tagline? "Ascendancy 2: More than a slideshow" is it?

MBD · June 4, 2002, 10:21

Quote:

Originally posted by moominparatrooper
Cyclo: What's their tagline? "Ascendancy 2: More than a slideshow" is it?

That's right --

Ascendancy 2: This Time There's a Real Game Behind the Pretty Pictures!

Spaced Cowboy · June 4, 2002, 10:41

Quote:

Originally posted by cyclotron7
Oh my gosh!

I still ahve this game... until the TLF forums closed down a few months ago, I was one of the biggest posters there. We posted on that forum for years, just a handful of Ascend fanatics... and actually talked with TLF guys one in a blue moon. They got a new site (good) but they removed the forums (bad) so the communioty is gone... but I still hold out the distant hope for Ascend2, something that TLF says it is working on.

www.logicfactory.com

Oh my Gawd...I went there by accident or to look at some ai stuff and saw all of those posts by you. You mena that there will not be a sequel. Seems like there are enough 4X space games in dev to keep everyone happy.

On a lighter side, I remember trying to code the universe rotation for that game.

R:PM

Cyclotron · June 4, 2002, 12:18

Quote:

Originally posted by moominparatrooper
Cyclo: What's their tagline? "Ascendancy 2: More than a slideshow" is it?

Well, I liked Ascend 1... Suppoesdly, Ascend2 will be "massively multiplayer." But believe me, the Ascendancy forum and I talked for years about how that would be pulled off, and we still have no idea!

The TLF forum was my first "forum experience..." I'm sure I would have been a diety.

EDIT: We used to have a fan site called "Ascendancy Island," but I can't find it anywhere. Oh well...

The Rusty Gamer · June 5, 2002, 09:20

This game proved to me that you can have good graphics without

1) Windows

2) Alot of disk space.

Yes, written in good old DOS, this game proved that you can have good graphics and having to use Windows was just a myth. You see, DOS graphics use up far less overheads so you save on disk space as well.

What annoyed me about the game though was that it was too easily to go into "automatic" play mode by pressing the advance to next day button and forgetting to deal with your enemy which you knew had turned up on your doorstop but with the other things you were doing you had forgotten and now he's taken your planet or he's got away and you could have easily have dealt with him.

That happened with a game I was playing, I could have wiped the blighter out but pushed the advance button without thinking and it was a colony ship so then I spent ages having to deal with a colonised planet or it was something like that, I can't remember all the details now but it was frustrating.