SMAC vs Empire Deluxe

Helium Pond · November 2, 2000, 03:43

So, I've been playing a little Empire Deluxe recently, and I'm really impressed with it, for such an old game. It's got the simplest graphics ever, and it's really nothing but a war game. It's great. And I keep thinking how cool it would be if the battle dynamics of SMAC were like the battle dynamics of Empire Deluxe:

--the defender almost always has an advantage, meaning that an invader has to be certain of having a LARGE number of troops in order to make an effective invasion, which seems more realistic to me. (Obviously SMAC has limits on large armies, because it can't really handle tons of units very well, but the armies in Empire Deluxe really feel like armies--the conflicts involve tons and tons of troops attacking tons and tons of troops.)
--naval power is fearsome. Naval bombardments can decimate armies near the shore, and naval units are among the strongest in the game, being able to sustain the most hits, and therefore the most likely to be able to retreat and repair themselves.
--air power is excellent for surveillance and scouting, but not that good for combat. Unlike SMAC, in which the air units are unrealistically decisive, in Empire Deluxe the air units won't help the battles much. They're mainly good for attacking transports. And any unit can attack an air unit, which makes it risky to leave your air force out in the open. This emphasizes the ground war. I know, I know: Empire Deluxe is a World War II sim essentially, and SMAC is futuristic, and air power has grown to matter much more than it used to. But still, it makes the air power exist as a support tool, not a battle tool.

Just my two cents.

stuntman19 · November 2, 2000, 12:15

Where can you find this Empire Deluxe? How old is the game?

Helium Pond · November 2, 2000, 17:15

You can get Empire Deluxe from this excellent site:
http://www.theunderdogs.org/

Do a search for Empire Deluxe, and be nice and click on some banners (I'm not affiliated with the site or the advertisers in any way, it's just one of the few sites I like so much that I think it deserves a little inconvenience...)

How old is it? The copyright is 1993...
[This message has been edited by Helium Pond (edited November 02, 2000).]

hroman21 · November 2, 2000, 22:31

Ahhh yes!! Empire Deluxe.... I still play it once in a while - another old timer identified by the game titles he has played. By chance did you ever play the version prior to Empire Deluxe? (not the one in Fortran but the first boxed set)

My favorite unit (for some god awful reason) is the sub. There is just something about sneaking up to those battleships and sinking them that is just great.

BTW - ever played a on-on-one on the smallest possible map? It's a unique experience.

hroman21

Helium Pond · November 2, 2000, 22:48

I actually just started playing ED, because my friends (basically SMAC newbies) gave up playing PBEM SMAC with me. They suggested ED instead, which they know better than I do, and I've been playing some practice games to get ready. I have to say I've found subs pretty useless, because they rarely kill anything. In fact, I hate attacking in general; I usually just let the AI kill itself against me. I have no idea how PBEM will work, though: do both sides just sit there, waiting for the other to attack?