Here’s a weird thing. I did the work for this review entry two weeks ago, took all the notes, picked the best screenshots out of hundreds, and began to write a draft…then I stopped. I saved the draft and came back to it and stared at it, several times, over the last couple of weeks. I try to write something, but I just don’t feel…motivated. For the first time since I began this blog, I…don’t feel motivated enough, or care enough, about a game to keep writing about it.
Maybe I need a break for a while, come back to it later and try again, but for right now I’m done with Sword of the Stars II. I hate that I feel this way, but I had to be honest about it, to myself and to all of you folks. I’ll try to come back to it with a fresh eye at some point, but until then, please enjoy all the screenshots I took after the cut. Thanks for reading, understanding, and visiting. Y’all rock. :)
Is that more of a “tired of writing for the blog” thing, or a “tired of writing about SOTS2” thing?
FWIW, I’ve enjoyed SOTS since the original came out. While the release of SOTS2 was certainly a disaster, Kerberos has followed through on their promise to make it right. The new “End of Flesh” expansion that was just released last week adds some major variations in gameplay with the new race. While there’s still more bugs than I’d like to see, the devs are very active in stomping them (another hotfix came out just a couple hours ago). I’m enjoying the game, and it’d be nice to for it to get some more publicity now that it’s actually playable.
Oh hell no, I still love writing for this blog. I’m actually readying a review for Zigfrak right now. It’s more of a “tired of writing about SOTS2” thing. I’m sorry I can’t feel motivated right now to give it more attention. :/
Heh. I was a SOTS 1 fanboi.. Actually bitched about Tom Chick’s review because of his association w/ Stardock. And how I ended up on QT3 and then discovering your blog.
I bought SOTS2 when it launched, played it once until it crashed on turn 3. And haven’t been back since. I know it took them a year to make it work, and have a free add on from last week and I still haven’t come back to it. The anger at Kereberos over it is still there. Maybe soon I will try it again, but I can understand not wanting to visit it. I still keep up with it, but every time I think of launching the game, I don’t.
I can’t blame you. It’s a pretty game, but it’s just…ugh…
Go fight some zombies for a few weeks on dead island, that will sort you out!
I’ll likely take a break around Christmas/New Years, like last year. Need to keep a balance.
So did you at least have fun while playing it, or was that also more of a chore?
You know what, Brian? You do a heck of a job! I didn’t think ANYONE was as devoted to space games as I. Even when I think I have discovered a new game, or one in the works, I’ll find your name somewhere on the site telling me you already found it. (That’s very impressive). You manage to work, put the blog together, and play these games. I have you to thank for many of the games I own. Thanks to you, I have come upon deals I never would have had the time to discover. Your hard work has made me a better gamer by far. Thanks!
AAaawwww, thank you so much, your comment really made my day, and I’m happy I can help spread the spacey gamey love. :)
Sledge, it’s weird. At times, I had fun, at times it was a total chore. I never really felt that connected to the game. Stuff was so counter-intuitive that it took me out of it. For example, in most games like this, you select a ship or fleet and give it a destination. For me that works because I imagine in my head contacting that captain or admiral and giving them orders. In SOTS2, you select the system, right click to select a mission, then select an appropriate and available fleet. It just seems to roundabout, and so not how imagine it’s done in the future. So yeah, some of it was a chore but there was fun in between. ;)
Some more info on why it became a grind unworthy of your time would be fascinating to read. SOTS2 is one of those things that for some reason feels like a brick wall to me when I try to start it up. It’s beautiful looking and I really wish I could get my head around it, but either the barrier to entry is just too high or I’m just not dedicated enough to figure out what the heck is going on.
Huh, would you like them here or in a separate article?
Either way! I think it’d make a decent article, but if you just wanna bullet-point it, this is fine.
I’ll sum up my thoughts quickly here then.
I hope that makes sense. :)
That’s exactly how I felt about the game, Ben.
Keep it up Brian, write what you feel is right and it’ll be far better than forcing yourself to grind out an article you don’t want to publish. Life’s too short for that kind of thing when you could instead instead write about something you’re enthusiastic about. A passionate article is so much more engaging! Once again love the blog, Brian, it’s become pretty much a daily read for me.
Yeah, that’s pretty much it. I’m gonna be playing both good and bad games on this journey, and I have the 6 hour rule I try to stick to, but this one didn’t feel like it even deserved the 6 hours of my time, you know?
Thanks for the kind words, also. :)
I’d like to echo what JediWoman said and thank you, Brian, for your dedication to everything space gamey. That is exactly why I have your website permanently open in a browser tab. :-)
Aawww, thanks so much man! :)