STARSIEGE REVIEW
Evil Avatar
in the open with nothing more than a flimsy suit of armor between
you and an enemy blaster? Surround yourself with 80 Tons of Weapons,
Armor and Steel because Steve Erhardt is going to take you on a
guided tour through Dynamix's new Giant Robot Fighting game Starsiege.
"As for the equipment and weapons that are available, well, all I can
say is "Holy mackerel!". This game will definitely delight those who
love to tinker with their Herc designs. I can’t even begin to list the
ways you can modify the Herc chassis you choose to ride because the
options are so diverse and plentiful. Multiplayer games (more on that
further down) should be full of surprising, unique designs, as players
tweak their machines six ways from Sunday between matches. There simply
isn’t anything you can’t change on these Hercs (or tanks, for that matter,
which are also playable). Weapons show up when you mount them, all with
their own distinct looks that change the silhouette of the Herc they
are mounted on.
Read Steve Erhardt's review of Starsiege at Evil Avatar.com
Thank you,
-Evil Avatar-
---
Evil Avatar
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Revvin
ie not twist like in Mechwarrior? I quite fancy getting one of the new breed
of Mech games after having alot of fun with Mechwarrior2, and Starsiege does
look alot nicer than Mechwarrior3 its just this possible inability to torso
twist bugs me as it worked so well in Mechwarrior2
Revvin
Evil Avatar wrote in message ...
Mark Cuarto
problem, at least not to me. The turret aim more enough replaces it. Also the
game does NOT play like an fps game such as Quke. Its a good game so far and
the multiplayer is smooth on a 56k. As of now, its the only 3d mech game to
play (until mech 3 and HG2 come out)
and it still is good, better than HG was when it came out last year. The
release is bugless also, so far... And if you can find it for around 30 bux,
(as it was on sale yesterday at Best Buy) ) its worth it.
Andy_Moore
is, can you only move the recticle around in the view or do you move the
entire view...ie mouse look.
Thanks,
Andy
Mark Cuarto <mcu...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:36FFF57E...@prodigy.net...
Mark Asher
>Did I read right somewhere that the torso is stuck in the forward position,
>ie not twist like in Mechwarrior? I quite fancy getting one of the new
breed
>of Mech games after having alot of fun with Mechwarrior2, and Starsiege
does
>look alot nicer than Mechwarrior3 its just this possible inability to torso
>twist bugs me as it worked so well in Mechwarrior2
There is no torso twist. You aim with the mouse or the hat on your joystick.
It's the best mecha game yet released, but it's a bit different from
Mechwarrior.
Mark Asher
Mark Asher
>Do I read the the mouse aiming to be the same as mouse look? What I mean
>is, can you only move the recticle around in the view or do you move the
>entire view...ie mouse look.
The view is fixed forward, and you use the mouse (or hat or keyboard) to
aim. It actually works quite well. People should just give it a try and play
it for a few hours. It's a mecha game, not a FPS. The multiplayer code is
very good and supports up to 16 in a game, maybe more -- can't remember. You
get 30 vehicles (about 20 hercs and 10 tanks) and they are extremely
configurable. You'll have lots of fun playing with different loadouts. The
game models shielding and energy management rather than heat management.
BTW, the tanks use turrets, if you have to have turrets. <g>
Mark Asher
Mike M. Farnsworth
hardpoint aiming is intuitive and a boon to gameplay. It's just too bad I
use the keyboard/mouse combo, while my force feedback joystick sits to the
side.
And those trees are AWFUL.
Farns
"Reb" Ruster <rebr...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:370125f...@news.earthlink.net...
> On Mon, 29 Mar 1999 21:56:20 +0100, "Revvin"
> <rev...@revvin.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>
> >Did I read right somewhere that the torso is stuck in the forward
position,
> >ie not twist like in Mechwarrior? I quite fancy getting one of the new
breed
> >of Mech games after having alot of fun with Mechwarrior2, and Starsiege
does
> >look alot nicer than Mechwarrior3 its just this possible inability to
torso
> >twist bugs me as it worked so well in Mechwarrior2
>
> Personally, I thought the Torso Twist was cumbersome. I kept having to
> re-center the torso when I wanted to look forward and walking with a
> skewed torso can be nerve-wracking.
> The Starsiege Herc's hardpoint aiming works much like a military
> Eye-Follower type of helmet display, where you can fire where you
> look. It only take the mouse to control it, which eliminates the
> centering key.
>
>
Reb Ruster
Reb Ruster
wrote:
>Do I read the the mouse aiming to be the same as mouse look? What I mean
>is, can you only move the recticle around in the view or do you move the
>entire view...ie mouse look.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Andy
The mouse aiming works like the pilot's head turn. It's more like a
Virtual Cockpit in a flight sim.
Evil Avatar
>I agree. I find that Starsiege is a blast to play, and I think the
>hardpoint aiming is intuitive and a boon to gameplay. It's just too bad I
>use the keyboard/mouse combo, while my force feedback joystick sits to the
>side.
>
>And those trees are AWFUL.
>
>Farns
>
I think they are both different. I was never a fan of the Torso Twist until
I purchased some Rudders... in fact, I never used it in Mechwarrior 2, I just
turned my whole Mech the way you have to do in Starsiege when I wanted
to attack someone. Now that I have rudder pedals, I appreciate the torso
twist a heck of a lot more than I did when MW2 came out, but I still think
that both methods of controling your game are good.
The torso twist does seem designed for people who own rudder pedals,
so if you don't own them, then Starsiege seems like a better game than
Mechwarrior 2.
-Evil-
Scott Kasai
until
>I purchased some Rudders... in fact, I never used it in Mechwarrior 2, I
just
>turned my whole Mech the way you have to do in Starsiege when I wanted
>to attack someone. Now that I have rudder pedals, I appreciate the torso
>twist a heck of a lot more than I did when MW2 came out, but I still think
>that both methods of controling your game are good.
>
>The torso twist does seem designed for people who own rudder pedals,
>so if you don't own them, then Starsiege seems like a better game than
>Mechwarrior 2.
Heh... I am a major Mechwarrior Fan... Did the same thing to, wouldn't turn
the torso much. However, I think you will change your mind a bit when you
see Mw3 demo from Micropose/Zipper... The controls they had for it was not
super intuitive, but I did like the fact how they laid out the free-floating
reticle like what Starsiege did and how things seem to work. Check out
their demo.
Dr. Krud
position,
>ie not twist like in Mechwarrior? I quite fancy getting one of the new
breed
>of Mech games after having alot of fun with Mechwarrior2, and Starsiege
does
>look alot nicer than Mechwarrior3 its just this possible inability to
torso
>twist bugs me as it worked so well in Mechwarrior2
It's not a problem for me at all and I'm a big Mechwarrior fan. In MW the
targeting reticle moves with the turret but in Starsiege it moves
independently using the mouse. So you can still look and shoot left or
right while you're moving forward. The cool thing about this idea is you
can not circle strafe like you can in the MW games. Close range combat
is much more challenging this way. There are also tanks you can drive
that have 360' rotation, so you give up some fire power for the ability to
shoot in any direction while moving in one direction.
Multiplayer works great. The single player missions start out pretty easy
but get tougher as the game progresses. Overall they are pretty good.
The number of different vehicles and weapons makes customizing your
machine a lot of fun. The graphics and special effects are excellent.
For instance, when your machine takes damage you see pieces and small
particles flying off of it. The Hercs kick up sand or dirt when they run.
Weather effects and lighting are excellent. I think Starsiege is a
winner. At this point I would say it's the best Mech sim out there, at
least until Heavy Gear 2 and MW3 are released.
The only complaint I have about Starsiege is that I can't customize my
controls as easily as I can in most other games.
-Krud
Robato Yao
I thought it was a great game but I wasn't jumping up and down about it.
Until I got the chance to play as the Cybrids. What fun! Much better
than the Human campaigns. The Cybrids are so deliciously evil and
gloriously malevolent. They remind you of the Borg but with a bad
attitude.
HURT//MAIM//KILL
ACKNOWLEDGE//SUBMIT
Their language is great. I enjoy listening to the HUB mission briefings
and debriefings in its one minded pursuit to sweep//kill//erase
human//animals. Their machines look much better than the humans, more
terrifying, yet superbly artistic. Get a load of their color schemes.
Human Hercs (//warforms//) look industrial and ugly, the lean mean
Cybrid war machines look like they got a dose of anime design in them.
As psychotic they come, the intercom dialogue of your Cybrid squadmates
are much more interesting than the human grunts, especially
<<corinthian-blue>>. I like their straighforward search and
destroy//erase missions, especially deep raiding parties.
Dynamix should release a StarSiege featuring the Cybrids exclusively as
the stars of the show. That Haarabek/Canaan story plot actually bores.
If Heavy Gear II or Mechwarrior III end up technically better, but I
doubt no friend or foe, North or South, Clan or Inner Sphere, can be as
much as fun as the Cybrids.
Rgds,
Chris
>
>-Krud
>
>
(counting down from top 50 oxymorons...)
10. Tight slacks
9. Definite maybe
8. Pretty ugly
7. Twelve-ounce pound cake
6. Diet ice cream
5. Rap music
4. Working vacation
3. Exact estimate
2. Religious tolerance
And the NUMBER ONE top oxy-MORON
1. Microsoft Works
---From the Top 50 Oxymorons (thanks to Richard Kennedy)
Reb Ruster
wrote:
>If Heavy Gear II or Mechwarrior III end up technically better, but I
>doubt no friend or foe, North or South, Clan or Inner Sphere, can be as
They also seem to have the superior weapons.
Dr. Krud
>
>I thought it was a great game but I wasn't jumping up and down about it.
>
>Until I got the chance to play as the Cybrids. What fun! Much better
>than the Human campaigns. The Cybrids are so deliciously evil and
>gloriously malevolent. They remind you of the Borg but with a bad
>attitude.
I agree, the Cybrid campaign was better than the Human campaign. Although
I had a hard time finishing the last few Human missions but I finished the
last Cybrid mission on the second try. Anyone know if Dynamix is planning
on releasing an add-on disk?
-Krud
Charles Ackley
years ago. Despite extensive time to finish the game and enormous player
input the finished product doesn't look or play as good as the Mech 3 demo.
I'm sure when MW3 is released there will be many comparisons of the games by
many "professional" reviewers but IMHO microprose would really
have to drop the ball to lose out to a fancy arcade shooter like starsiege.
The manuals are great though........
Evil Avatar
At this time, it does not look like Dynamix is going to release an Add-On
disk, instead going full blown into production on TRIBES 2 and Starsiege 2.
However, they are about to release the tools for both Tribes and Starsiege,
allowing users to create their own Missions (both Single Player and
Multiplayer Missions for Starsiege).
Keep an eye on my page for details about when these tools are released.
Thanks,
Robato Yao
>I've been looking foward to Starsige since I first heard about it almost 2
>years ago. Despite extensive time to finish the game and enormous player
>input the finished product doesn't look or play as good as the Mech 3 demo.
>I'm sure when MW3 is released there will be many comparisons of the games by
>many "professional" reviewers but IMHO microprose would really
>have to drop the ball to lose out to a fancy arcade shooter like starsiege.
>The manuals are great though........
I really never felt Starsiege to be an arcade shooter. In fact, it's
more of a leadership game. I finish my Cybrid campaign mostly with a
Goad or Seeker, preferring to let squadmates use the bigger machines
while I direct them to attack (or direct artillery when available.) I
use the small mechs to quickly probe and designate targets for the
bigger machines to eliminate. The squadmate AI alone is the best ever
for any mech game so far released.
Rgds,
Chris
>
>Reb Ruster wrote:
>
>> On 9 Apr 1999 06:24:11 GMT, cro...@kuentos.guam.net (Robato Yao)
>> wrote:
>>
>> >If Heavy Gear II or Mechwarrior III end up technically better, but I
>> >doubt no friend or foe, North or South, Clan or Inner Sphere, can be as
>>
>> They also seem to have the superior weapons.
>
>
>
Reb Ruster
wrote:
> I
>use the small mechs to quickly probe and designate targets for the
>bigger machines to eliminate. The squadmate AI alone is the best ever
>for any mech game so far released.
I noticed this also. Many of the Mech sims allow their machines to get
hung up on obsticles like rocks or buildings. SS mechs walk around
them.
Dr. Krud
"Reb" Ruster wrote in message <371687f3...@news.earthlink.net>...
Yeah and then they bump into me :)
-Krud
Nom
Have a problem with group hugs? +)))
/Nightweb - vay...@osu.edu
'Blessed is the mind too small for doubt.'
Reb Ruster
wrote:
>>I noticed this also. Many of the Mech sims allow their machines to get
>>hung up on obsticles like rocks or buildings. SS mechs walk around
>>them.
>
>
>Yeah and then they bump into me :)
>
>-Krud
Talk about tight grouping! :)
Professor Krud
>Dr. Krud wrote:
>>
>> Yeah and then they bump into me :)
>>
>> -Krud
>
>
Not if it's Tigress doing the hugging. Deathwish I think I would have a
problem with. Women with tatoos on their faces make me a little nervous
:)
-Krud