Sagrannus Gaming: Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

Before we kick off I would like to say (write) a few things.
Firstly, I don't like having two colons in my title, it is weird.
Secondly - I apologise for the lack of content of late, studies and the establishment of my new YouTube channel have taken up a rather large amount of time. In the near future Sagrannus Gaming will transition to a new home, allowing The Narrative Within to return to its writing and literature focus.
Thirdly, Watch_Dogs is currently on sale on Steam for the low low price of AU$13.18 (or your regional equivalent. Finally, an acceptable price for that game.
Now, the main event...

Image sourced from wikipedia.org

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

Developer: Ironclad Games
Publisher: Stardock
Genre: Real Time Strategy (with 4X elements)
Released: Original - February 2008, Rebellion  - March 2011

I would like to point the spotlight, this week, at a game in my library that I find myself coming back to again and again. It is a game that, for me, stands alone a little - doing things in a way that other space based, sci fi light 4X strategy games just do not. There are manifold reasons for this, chief amongst them being that the game is real time, rather than turn-based. There are other real time 4X strategy games out there, that I do not deny. However, this is the only one that I find charming enough to come back to.

I first encountered the original Sins of Solar Empire in 2009, when a friend loaned it to me. Whilst immediately gripping, it lacked longevity. After maybe 15 hours I felt I had seen most of what there was to see in the game, and those few things I had yet to see were not compelling enough for me to press on and devote more time. I returned with the emergence of new DLCs (good, hefty DLCs that really added to the game), but each time seemed to play out the enjoyment relatively swiftly.

Then, at last, came Rebellion - the first stand-alone expansion for the game (which itself got two DLCs). This, with its diversification of factions (each faction splitting into two: Loyalists and Rebels), in conjunction with all the previous content editions (Entrenchment and Diplomacy respectively), brought Sins of a Solar Empire to live. To this day, I cannot quite nail down why this final edition uplifted the entire package, but it did. Perhaps it simply offered a level of polish and completion that Sins of a Solar Empire had simply not enjoyed previously. It is because of this I am going to discuss the game as one entity, and will not distinguish between different content patches.

Gameplay

On the surface, the gameplay of Sins (from now on, I am abbreviating) is relatively straight forward. You must colonise planets, mine resources from nearby asteroids, research new technologies, build a fleet (replete with gloriously destructive Capital Ships, and thanks to Rebellion, Titans), and ultimately stomp on everyone else in the Solar System(s). 

However, I am happy to say, while that seems straight forward, there is a little bit more micromanagement required to play well. Planets must be improved so that they do not become economic burdens on the Empire, you must ensure your Empire's influence is maintained and not overrun by alien influences (which, yes, can result in rebellions). The player must ensure they have enough supplies for their fleet, and crews for their Capital Ships. Pirates will launch raids against whichever Empire has the highest bounty on its self-important head, so players must keep an eye on the bounty bar (hehe). Each faction (TEC, Advent, or Vasari) has a unique super-weapon that can be used to some effect against rival factions. I will whinge, however, that these superweapons by and large are far too underpowered, and therefore little threat to anyone.

Blowin' up planets!

Ships (which come in three classes - Frigate, Cruiser, and Capital) are relatively diverse, with each faction having a distinct play style. However, ultimately combat boils down to sending in your fleet and watching the pretty explosions and lasers. The battle AI does the work, there is little to no serious strategic element involved, beyond triggering Capital Ship abilities, and deciding whether you should run away or not. All ships are bound to travel along star lanes (using Phase Drive), thus controlling movement around the map. That is, unless you are the Vasari - who can build Phase Stabilisers which allow them to create their own private lanes of travel (and warp in their Dark Fleet).

One element of gameplay I really don't bother with is the Diplomacy. Even with improvements of the life of the game, I never found it to have any impact. Sure, you could sign treaties with others (once performing tedious missions which often resulted in expensive conflicts) to trade or not shoot each other, but it never seemed to have much impact on the game. 

Titans, however, are the opposite. Only a considerable fleet can threaten one, while a Titan (sorry, one at a time per Empire) can scare the living **** out of anything. Rebel factions get more offensively focussed Titans, whilst the Loyalists have more heavily armoured Vessels of Mass Destruction.

Another interesting (and destructive) joy in the game was the introduction of starbases. Massive constructions that can hold entire fleets at bay, and prevent enemies from claiming systems. These behemoths (all stationary except for the Vasari starbase, which will slowly chase enemies around its system), alter the gameplay, often encouraging players to find detours, rather than suffer the losses that starbases can inflict.

Even the Suns have a gameplay impact, with some firing electromagnetic bursts through the solar system, shutting down weapons systems and generally shaking things up. Once out of the early game stages, this isn't too much of a game changer, but the added immersion is certainly not to be sniffed at.

The user interface is relatively user friendly, and packed with information that will help players. There is even a cinematic mode so you can drool over your pretty ships...

Graphics

TEC Loyalist Titan and Capital fleet opening fire.

With clean lines, stylish post-processing, and quality designs, Sins is a handsome game, even now. Plenty of time was spent giving each faction a unique appearance. The TEC (Trader Emergency Coalition) have a rugged industrial look, with their lumbering grey vessels often turning to broadside their enemies in a hail of laser, autocannon, and missile fire. The Advent, an apparently matriarchal, evangelical human sect, have shining white vessel that feature sleek lines, and even have slick sounding gunfire. The vicious Vasari, fleeing into human space as their enormous empire is destroyed by some dark unknown power, have a suitably alien design, with distinctly insectoid looking ships that seem to be creeping across space to destroy all in their path.

The planets change as they are improved upon, developing larger cities, and having a noticeable increase in traffic. 

Different coloured suns can result in the stellar backdrop being different in colour, which is a nice change from the stock standard black with random dots that other space based games have expected us to accept.

Overall, in the looks department, Sins does not disappoint.

Soundtrack

While not outstanding, the soundtrack is well written. It fits into the fairly stock standard sci fi soundtrack, but does its job well. The music shifts to more urgent motifs during battles, and keeps the player engaged.

Ship and building sound effects are, for the most part, good. A few things here and there are a bit cheap sounding, but don't ruin the game. 

The outstanding thing, for me at least, are the voice-overs. All ship captains have dialogue, all of which are good. However, the prize winners for me are the Capital Ship and Titan captains. The TEC captains range from brash meat-heads to slick, calm admirals. The Advent all have suitably ethereal sounding voices, and spout evangelical nonsense with great regularity. The Vasari, however, nail it with spine chilling voices that rasp and bubble. At times, you even wonder whether it was really humans who recorded those sounds...

(Re)Playability

This game, as you probably guessed, doesn't offer hundreds of hours of gameplay, except to hardcore RTS and 4X fans. Even so, as this game is primarily an RTS with a whiff of 4X, 4X lovers my find themselves stymied by the limited victory conditions. If you play with friends, this game is a tonne of fun - by contrast the AI is only fun and challenging initially, and you soon learn its little tricks, and it becomes almost a tedious chore to grind it into dust repeatedly. 

The diversity of the factions is probably what offers the most replayability, especially since the changes made by Rebellion.

Yes, that starbase will chase people around the system. That isn't at all creepy.

Overall, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, is a solid RTS with some interesting 4X elements added in. If you like space based games this is probably for you. If you like navies this is probably for you. If you like space navies, space pirates, and angry aliens then stop, you have reached your destination.

Sagrannus Rating – 7.5/10 (Safe Buy)

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Until next time, I have been either N N B Clarke, or Sagrannus...or both!

Sagrannus Gaming now has a new home on YouTube. For videos, please click here. Written articles will continue to be published here at The Narrative Within. Catch the first Sagrannus Gaming LOP of Endless Legend here.

An Introduction to Doranath: Free Weekend

To celebrate 6 months since launch, An Introduction to Doranath will be free this weekend (25/26 of July). If you haven't got it yet, now might be a good time!

To those who have bought it, thanks. 

I would also like to take this occasion to thank everyone who has supported me either by buying my book, or reading The Narrative Within.

Change in Operating Practice

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to take the time to update you all on a change in the way the Narrative Within will operate.
Due to a change in my studies there will no longer be weekly instalments of The Narrative Within. Instead, I propose to do the following:
The Creation Myth - There will be one new piece of the Creation Myth released each month - completed as time allows.
Sagrannus Gaming - There will be 1-2 new editions of Sagrannus Gaming released each month, depending on time commitments and availability of material.
Discussions and Interviews - These will not appear on a set timeline, instead coming out when they are ready.
I apologise for these sudden changes, but hopefully this will allow for the delivery of more polished content which will allow The Narrative Within to continue to deliver material of a good quality and quantity.

Thanks,
N N B Clarke

The First Book of Cullus

This week sees the arrival of the second instalment of the Creation Myth of Doranath. In it we see the first fall of the Elves, and the Creation of Cullus - First amongst the Gods. I hope you enjoy.

The First Book of Cullus

The Three having ventured through the Universe that was their realm, did return to the World, which they had left in the care of the Elven kind. The World, to both their pride and dismay, had changed. A natural order had been established with their Custodians, the Elves, at the pinnacle of it.

The Elven longevity, and deep understanding of the magics of their Creators, placed them well above the beasts and plants of the World, which they called Ealdcýðð. They took it upon themselves to shape the World to suit their ends, and to carve the mountains into homes for themselves.

Whilst the initiative shown by the Elves did greatly please the Three, they wished to experience their World in a truer sense. To this end, they took on material forms, and each wandered the World alone, experiencing for the first time the pleasures of the physical, and the limitations that were bound to it. Sanas was drawn to the oceans, and spoke with the fish and corals, learning more of the world. Henas travelled the forests and jungles and did take great pleasure in the abundance of life. Goras, so driven by destruction, lifted a new mountain from the soils of the North, causing the World to spew forth its molten blood, and formed with this blood the greatest of mounts: Drael.

No matter where they went, however, the Three did learn the same things. The Elves had become aloof, and shirked their duties as Custodians, instead isolating themselves and caring only for their own. The beasts brought grievances against the Custodians, and begged for some new protectors that would better serve the World.

Upon leaving the World once more, the Three did hatch a new plan. First, they selected the greatest spirits that had formed throughout the world – those which were purest in their essence - and uplifted them, creating the first Gods. These beings had no identities, being simply forces of nature. With such greatly heightened strengths, and consciousness, they did battle furiously amongst themselves and did lay waste to many parts of the World. Appalled, the Three did quell these disputes, and decided upon an even greater endeavour. To guide these new Gods, the Three did sacrifice a small amount of their essences, fusing them into a new being – unique amongst all their creations.

This Being they gave all the knowledge of their creations, and power over all things living. However, having observed the savageness the Lesser Gods, the Three agreed to give more of Henas’ essence – the Essence of Preservation – to this new Being, in the hope that it would seek to preserve the World and all within it. This Being then wandered the World unbidden, learning of its charges, and watching the first Custodians. Then, the Being returned to the Three and accepted its charge, and gave itself identity. It named itself Cullus – using the tongue of the Elves to choose the name -  and did declare that it would be as a Father to the Gods, and to all the creations of the Three.

For a time, the Three observed Cullus and his actions around the World. First, he spoke with all the beasts of the World, listening to their grievances and resolving disputes. Then, he spoke with trees and plants, and found them calm. Moving on, he consulted even the stones, coming to understand their nature. At last he gathered together the Gods and did give them order. He formed them into Three Orders, and did give them each their duties within the World, bringing order from the chaos.

His first duties done, he did rest awhile, observing the goings on of his new Order, and consulting often with both his charges and the Three. Still, he felt an imbalance in the World, a lack of respect for his Order, and an irreverence towards the Three that made him ill at ease. He sought out the heart of this imbalance, and appeared before it. The Elves, offended by Cullus’ creation, and arrogant beyond compare, had raised a great temple to their leader - praying to him rather than to Cullus, the Gods, or the Three.

In a fury that revealed the nature of Cullus - The Storm – he did tear the temple asunder, shattering every stone and grinding it to dust. The Elves he did strip of many of their gifts, so as to punish them for their irreverence. He banished them from their cities, to return only once they had proven willing to serve their original duties as Custodians. He allowed them to retain their longevity, but did curb their powers, bringing them into closer harmony with the World.

In terror and despair the Elven arrogance fled, and they did kneel before Cullus. They begged him for reprieve, forgiveness, and guidance. Merciful but stern, he did give them all three. As Reprieve, he did grant them their own Gods, who answered only to him. As Forgiveness, he did grant them pardon for their past crimes, allowing them a new beginning. For Guidance, he granted them the gift to speak with the beasts and trees as he did, so the World might better communicate its needs to the Custodians. Grateful, the Elves departed their cities, and took up new homes across the World.

Pleased, Cullus rested, planning his next move as Father to the World. Relieved by the success of their Scion, the Three returned once more to Aether and Void, to explore and experiment further. It would take a cataclysm beyond the imagining of even Cullus to bring them once more to the World.

That is all for this week. I hope you enjoyed the First Book of Cullus.
Until next week,
N N B Clarke.

Sagrannus Gaming: Sid Meier's Railroads!

Welcome to the inaugural installment of Sagrannus Gaming. The idea behind Sagrannus Gaming is to write up a small article on a game selected with neither rhyme nor reason from my respectable game library. These are not so much reviews, or recommendations, but short discussions on various elements of the game in question, and my thoughts on the game as a whole.
Sagrannus Gaming will make an appearance every months or so.
I am not receiving any financing from anyone involved in the game industry, and my opinions are independent.
So, let's kick this off.

Image sourced from wikipedia.org

Sid Meier's Railroads!

Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Genre: Business Simulation Game
Released: October, 2006

As many gamers know, if it comes with 'Sid Meier' on the box, odds are pretty good that it will be a simulation game of some description. Personally, I encountered Sid Meier's games fairly late in my gaming life, with the first of his games that I bought being Civilization V, despite being a strategy/simulation lover. However, since then I have come to love the themes and gameplay of the games coming out of Firaxis games.

After playing Civilization V to death, I hunted for something new. My love of all things mechanical led me to Train Fever. Into that, I sank many more hours of my life, but the lack of any competitive elements, along with a number of other quibbles, resulted in me being left wanting. Then, dear old Steam recommended Sid Meier's Railroads! and, it being cheap, I snapped it up. 

Immediately the art-style caught my attention, and the simple and intuitive gameplay sucked me in. But enough praise, let us get into the nitty-gritty.

Gameplay

As I said above, the gameplay is quite intuitive. The game introduces concepts in a logical manner, and everything proceeds in a way that makes sense (at least to me), allowing the player to grasp the concepts quite quickly - as you progress through the game however, the difficulty ramps up...to a point...and the player is forced to build on the basics. 

Being real-time (though with a pause function), the player does need to be on the ball. Whenever in menus however, the game does pause, which is a godsend at times.

The player is given (at random) a starting station within the chosen map, and from there can choose to build up their rail empire however they so choose. They may connect to resources and link these raw materials with their related industries, selling the materials upon delivery - the next step is to link these manufactured goods to cities that will purchase them. Or, the play can transport passengers and mail between cities. Or any combination of the above - there is no one 'right way.' Here, with this in depth system, Railroads! trumps Train Fever.
Railroads! also offers competitive elements. While the player can go solo on a map, they can choose to have up to 3 rival railroad owners (who, as is Sid Meier's wont, are based on various famous historical figures, depending on the map you choose). The player competes in several ways - all resources are limited (e.g. a mine can only provide so much ore at any one time) so there is competition for resources/goods/passengers. Railroads can be used offensively to deny areas of the map to others. Various patents come up as the game progresses, offering technologies that may reduce costs, increase profits, or offer operational advantages to trains (better cornering, greater pulling power). Players bid on these patents, and they really can be game changes. The final competitive element is one I personally haven't seen elsewhere - stocks. Players can buy and sell stocks in their company and in the others - the end goal being to buy out their opponents to either merge companies, or liquidate their opponents' assets. This is a great gameplay element that adds that little bit of extra difficulty.

Objective complete! Image taken in-game by author.

All the developer made maps include a series of objectives that anyone can complete. Completion of these objectives are displayed as newspaper articles that help immersion. Random news events are reported in a similar fashion. There is generally some comedic element to these newspaper articles, which often brings a smile.
As time progresses in the game, new trains become available, and the player can upgrade their trains - once again asking them to balance efficiency and costs.

The AI ranges from pathetically simple to dangerously aggressive and I find it enjoyably challenging at the higher levels.

The simplicity of the overall gameplay means once you are good, you are nigh unbeatable.

Graphics

Despite being 9 years old now, it is a good looking game. Using a 3D cartoon aesthetic that was clearly well developed and implemented, the game has an appealing art-style (in my opinion), that is bright and charming. It can get a bit muddled late in the game as the chunkiness of the art means copious railroads begin to obstruct the view. Thanks to this neat art-style, the game doesn't look particular dated.

Charming and not too dated. Image taken in-game by author.

Those familiar with Sid Meier/Firaxis games will find the disproportionate art-style very familiar. Cities grow into massive sprawls, and the trains and railroads are larger-than-life against the backdrop.
An element I find really great is the animations of resources, and their interaction with trains. You can watch trees being felled and being drawn into the sawmill, or animals grazing in their fields. All raw materials have animations showing them being loaded onto the trains (see screenshot), which adds to the charm.
Best of all, because of the age, it isn't going to be a burden on your rig, whether it is a study laptop, gaming beast, or something in between.
Soundtrack
There isn't a whole lot to say about the soundtrack. It suits the game, and does not intrude, but isn't outstanding. It never becomes annoying, which is always good.

(Re)Playability

As with most Firaxis games, there is a lot of replayability. The open-ended nature of the game, and the variety of approaches available makes it worth many replays. The developer has provided a good number of maps with scenarios, and some custom maps. There is also a relatively active modding community that provides new maps (and I believe, trains) which extends the playable life of the game as well. Add the range of difficulties and the charming aesthetic. into the mix and you get a game that offers a long playing life. I play 5-10 hours every few weeks, and enjoy myself every time.

Overall, I think Sid Meier's Railroads! is a highly enjoyable game, and one of those rare few that despite its age, still doesn't feel dated or in need of a sequel. Hardcore sim/strategy players may find it a bit over-simplistic, but for a more casual simulation experience, this one fits the bill. If you are craving something to fill the business/railroad simulation shaped hole in you life, this might just be what you need.

Sagrannus Rating – 8.0/10 (Good Game)

I hope you have enjoyed the first installment of Sagrannus Gaming - as always comments and shares are welcomed. Next week, The Narrative Within will be back with the next Creation Myth installment.

Thanks for reading!

Sagrannus (aka N N B Clarke)

The Narrative Within Interactive Media (Part 2)

I have spent the past week or so buried in the wonderful world of The Witcher 3. It is the best written, best polished, and most immersive game I have played in a very long time. So, before I kick off today's discussion, I would like to say that (in my opinion) CD Projekt Red have shown the world of game development how it should be done. They did not rush their launch, taking the time to make sure the launch was stable, and the game playable on launch. This is fantastic, and the way that all developers should do it!
Now, moving on, we shall look at another element of the narrative within video games: Character Writing. I will focus the dicussion into Player Characters, and Non-Player Characters (with a focus of RPGs - though you might find some comments applicable to other genres). Some terms I use below are common parlance, others I have made myself.

Player Characters

The Player Character is, as the name suggests, the character(s) that the player controls throughout the narrative of the video game.  These characters take various forms, depending on the intent of the developer - how they want the player to interact with the character's narrative.
Empty Trousers - This type of character has little real personality, and at times little real impact upon the narrative of the game. This type of character allow the player to interact with the narrative by giving the a 'vehicle' through which they can observe the world. Often, in this case, the dominant NPCs of the game carry the story of the game - the Player character actually serving as a tool to help them complete their goals. This type of Player Character is not particularly common in RPGs - more often appearing in FPS (First Person Shooters) and other action-based games.
The Unalterable - A type of Player Character that is becoming less common in RPGs as writing becomes more common, this type is similar to the Empty Trousers but carries the story themselves. As mentioned last week, this results in the player at times feel like they are acting out the role of a character in a film. The actions of the player have no impact upon the narrative, the player simply performing the actions they are instructed to, much as the Empty Trousers type does. The most notable game of recent years that features this character type is the Uncharted series.
The Alterable - This type of PC is particularly effective in recent games. The Alterable PC is a character who has been initially created by the developer - their name, appearance, and past decided upon before the Player begins the game. However, once the Player takes control, the Player is given the power to make choices on behalf of the Character - how they respond to problems, how they resolve conflicts, how they interact with their world. At present, in my opinion, this is the most effective way for video games to achieve proper immersion. By giving the player a starting 'stance' within the game, with a clear backstory and appearance, the player is encouraged to engage deeply with the character. Surprise surprise, in my opinion the best example of this type is Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher series.
The True Player Character - This, potentially, is the direction in which future RPGs will take. Technology (particularly the AI, and world building sides of things) hasn't yet got the power to truly realise this character type, but video games such as Fallout, Wasteland, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and The Elder Scrolls have demonstrated the potential of this character type. Player's are permitted to define the appearance of their 'avatar', name them, sometimes even write their backstory. However, at present, they are still given a specific role to fulfill in the world, even if this role is relatively broad and unguided (Fallout and The Elder Scrolls are probably the best example of this).
Ultimately, I think, we will reach the point where a virtual world can be created, and the player can create any character they like, and have no overarching plot governing their way through the narrative, instead allowing the player to travel through a truly dynamic world - much like the best run Dungeons & Dragons table top games.
As you can imagine, all of these Player Character types can be effective in allowing the Player to experience the world of a video game. Each offers different levels of immersion, and allows the player to interact in different ways with the Narrative. Most people have a personal preference for a particular type of character and no way is the one 'right way'.
Each type would obviously come with its own particular complexities in writing, though some require fewer scripted elements, other would require more.

NPCs

Non-Player Characters are any characters within a game who are not controlled by the player. As such, their interactions with the Player Character and the narrative are predetermined. However, as you can imagine, the different types of PC impact upon how the NPCs actions are determined. In something as heavily scripted as Empty Trousers or The Unalterable, the NPCs are not required to react to anything, instead acting out their roles within the narrative. In games where the player has choices and is able to impact upon the world and its residents, the NPCs must be more complex, as they must have the capacity to interact with the actions of the player. If, in these games, the NPCs lack this necessary complexity, the immersive quality of the game is reduced, and can potentially ruin the gaming experience.

As such, the writing of NPCs is inextricably tied to the writing of the PCs.

Conlcusion

In conclusion, it can be seen that character creation is a a deeply involved process, and corner cutting would inevitably be detrimental to the game's narrative. Both PCs and NPCs must be written with their interaction kept in mind - neither type will be effective, or add to the narrative's immersiveness, if they fail to interact properly with each other. Without carefully written NPCs, even the best designed PC will fall flat, and vice versa.

I hope you have enjoyed this week's installment of The Narrative Within.

Until next week, 

N N B Clarke