Tzar: the best RTS game ever...
Chris White
series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't work for
the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of this
cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there. Here
is that review:
------------------------
Tzar is the best RTS game I have played. Period. Better than Age Of
Empires, Age Of Kings, Starcraft, and Command and Conquer. Don't get me
wrong, those are all very good games. But there is something very special
about Tzar that elevates it above the crowd. This game is **FUN**!!!
There are three civilizations from which to choose: European, Asian, and
Arabian. Each race has it's own unique units and technologies that breed
different strategies. You have access to conventional forces such as foot
soldiers, bowmen, pikemen, calvary, catapults, ballistas, priests, ships,
etc, but you also have access to wizards/mages. There is nothing cooler (no
pun intended) than casting a "freeze" spell that encases your opponents
forces in ice, then going in with soldiers to kill the poor souls. And then
when killed, raising them from the dead with another spell to create an army
of skeletons. Very nice. You also have access to other magical creatures,
either by conjuring them or capturing a magical gateway through with they
can be summoned. This *magical* aspect of the game is a very nice addition
to the gameplay.
As with most other RTS games, you collect/grow resources (Food, wood, gold,
and stone) to grow your civilization. You command your peasants to build
structures to research technologies, train soldiers, and store resources.
All standard stuff here.
The game AI is incredible. The computer will actually send in masses of
mixed troops to attack. The computer will also attack from multiple
directions at the same time, and will coordinate attacks with other computer
allies. Definately top notch AI here, not the trickle of units seen in
other games.
Multiplayer is very good. I played a game against someone on the other side
of the globe, with very high pings of 700-1200. The gameplay was
super-smooth, with very few stutters. Amazing! Any other game would be
brought to it's knees under these conditions!!! The network code is
brilliant! I would love to know how these guys managed this.
There are only a couple of downsides to the game (and they are minor).
First, the game has not received much publicity in the gaming press. This
is truly a shame, because this is the best RTS game I have ever played. A
lot of gamers who would love this game are going to miss it, just because
they have not heard of it. Second, none of the large online gaming services
support the game yet. Even this is not a problem. I have little trouble
finding opponents to play through ICQ or IRC. The website,
http://tzar.gameglow.com/ has a forum and ICQ list full of players willing
to play or discuss the game. Still, it would be nice to be able to go to
the MS Gaming Zone to meet opponents.
Overall, this is a fun game, with great gameplay. If you like AOK or AOE,
you will love Tzar. In fact, even if you don't like AOK and AOE, you may
still like Tzar. You won't regret it.
Additional information on the game can be found at:
http://tzar.gameglow.com/
http://www.haemimont.com/tzar
http://www.talonsoft.com/products/TZAR.html
--------------------------------
mark...@my-deja.com
The tactical AI in this game is incredible.
AI attacking from multiple sides, feigning an attack here to make
another attack elsewhere.
I love the peasant AI as well. The fact that a peasant, if left idle,
will pick up on any work nearby and start on its own.
Nice leveling aspect as well. Your troops can gain experience which
bumps their Attack/Defense and hit points.
There are a number of KB shortcuts which can help out a lot. The
documentation is lacking a bit but is about average.
The Arabian Janissaries are fast becoming one of my favorite units:)
Markus
In article <n62G4.17509$64.5...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
"Chris White" <nos...@no.spam> wrote:
> At least the best I have played (better than AOK, AOE, Command and
Conquer
> series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't
work for
> the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of
this
> cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
> http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
> http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there.
Here
> is that review:
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Jman
"Chris White" <nos...@no.spam> wrote in message
news:n62G4.17509$64.5...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> At least the best I have played (better than AOK, AOE, Command and Conquer
> series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't work
for
> the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of this
> cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
> http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
> http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there.
Here
> is that review:
>
>
mark...@my-deja.com
If by real you mean reviews by 'official' game reviewers you can find a
list of them at http://www.haemimont.com/tzar/reviews.htm.
TZAR has had little press unfortunately.
I was impressed as it is one of the most bug free games I have seen
released in some time.
Awesome game, I hope it gets the attention it deserves:)
Markus
Glen E. Bailey Jr.
mark...@my-deja.com wrote:
> In article <sehmib...@corp.supernews.com>,
> "Jman" <pvth...@gameaddict.net> wrote:
> > where are the other REAL reviews?
> >
>
> If by real you mean reviews by 'official' game reviewers you can find a
> list of them at http://www.haemimont.com/tzar/reviews.htm.
>
> TZAR has had little press unfortunately.
> I was impressed as it is one of the most bug free games I have seen
> released in some time.
> Awesome game, I hope it gets the attention it deserves:)
>
> Markus
I'm not too impressed. AI conducts feints? I haven't seen any.
I think AOK is still a better game. Some comments:
Good things:
-peons will go to work on their own after being idle for awhile,
although cowherding seems to be the favorite (I had 10 cowherders
for 2 cows at one point). It could be that cows was the nearest
resource to "harvest".
-the explore option, and any unit can do this.
-magic is a nice addition. A fantasy-based AOK would be great.
-peons converting buildings.
-peons can gain combat experience.
-bug free, almost. It has dropped me to the desk top 3 times in about
50 hours of playing. Good thing there's autosave.
(sigh, bug free should be standard, not something commendable)
-graphics are good, except for being too dark on my system.
Missing things:
-formations, I really like AOK's formations.
-the AI doesn't build walls.
"Bad" things:
-I haven't gotten anyone to use any book or potion items,
using the hot key for instant use didn't do anything.
-the grasslands/summer terrain makes it difficult to see things.
I've started playing more desert terrain (tan instead of green land).
I've turned off the day/night option because the game is almost too
dark in the day time. I don't know what night has to do with anything
in this game, either.
-I've seen rain falling, but as far as I can tell it had no effect.
-I don't agree with the costs of some things, but that's me.
-pathfinding could be improved (I suppose this can apply to
any similar games).
Things I'd like added:
-practice dummies at any time. Limit the experience gained
until you build the War Academy. Practice dummies also
cost too much wood, houses are cheaper.
-an option to convert a peon to a footman or archer (I'd like
this added in AOK, also).
-idle peons look for work based on the current work force and
distance to resources; if you're short of woodcutters, maybe from
an enemy raid, then woodcutter occupation would have a higher
priority.
-get artifact and come back. Would setting a waypoint on
an artifact cause the unit to pick it up? Something to try except...
It's hard to describe, but after one week I've gotten bored with it
and bought Majesty after all the glowing posts about that game.
You guys had better be right! :)
Glen
Chris White
Glen E. Bailey Jr. <geba...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:38E8F353...@bellsouth.net...
>
[snip]
>
>
> Missing things:
> -formations, I really like AOK's formations.
Formations would be nice. I find myself having to work at keeping archers
behind the line of footmen.
> -the AI doesn't build walls.
You're correct, the AI doesn't build walls. However, building walls costs
time and resources. If the AI spent it's time and resources building walls,
then it wouldn't be able to attack so quickly and massively. Makes the game
more fun and challenging in my mind.
>
> "Bad" things:
> -I haven't gotten anyone to use any book or potion items,
> using the hot key for instant use didn't do anything.
I've been able to do this. I had a peasant pick up a book to
"bring back the dead", which upon clicking, and then clicking
the area where I wanted the spell cast, caused all the dead bodies
to rise up in skeleton form. Very cool.
> -the grasslands/summer terrain makes it difficult to see things.
> I've started playing more desert terrain (tan instead of green land).
> I've turned off the day/night option because the game is almost too
> dark in the day time. I don't know what night has to do with anything
> in this game, either.
> -I've seen rain falling, but as far as I can tell it had no effect.
I haven't had problems being able to see any of the terrain sets. The
weather effects, while they don't affect gameplay directly, do add to the
atmosphere of the Tzar.
> -I don't agree with the costs of some things, but that's me.
> -pathfinding could be improved (I suppose this can apply to
> any similar games).
>
> Things I'd like added:
> -practice dummies at any time. Limit the experience gained
> until you build the War Academy. Practice dummies also
> cost too much wood, houses are cheaper.
> -an option to convert a peon to a footman or archer (I'd like
> this added in AOK, also).
> -idle peons look for work based on the current work force and
> distance to resources; if you're short of woodcutters, maybe from
> an enemy raid, then woodcutter occupation would have a higher
> priority.
> -get artifact and come back. Would setting a waypoint on
> an artifact cause the unit to pick it up? Something to try except...
>
> It's hard to describe, but after one week I've gotten bored with it
> and bought Majesty after all the glowing posts about that game.
> You guys had better be right! :)
>
> Glen
>
Try going to the Tzar fansite http://tzar.gameglow.com/ and finding some
online opponents. Great fun!
-Chris
mark...@my-deja.com
Responses inline:
>
> I'm not too impressed. AI conducts feints? I haven't seen any.
> I think AOK is still a better game. Some comments:
I have seen a couple on normal difficulty on random maps. These have
come after the initial attacks have had no luck denting my defenses.
>
> Good things:
> -peons will go to work on their own after being idle for awhile,
> although cowherding seems to be the favorite (I had 10 cowherders
> for 2 cows at one point). It could be that cows was the nearest
> resource to "harvest".
> -the explore option, and any unit can do this.
> -magic is a nice addition. A fantasy-based AOK would be great.
> -peons converting buildings.
> -peons can gain combat experience.
> -bug free, almost. It has dropped me to the desk top 3 times in about
> 50 hours of playing. Good thing there's autosave.
> (sigh, bug free should be standard, not something commendable)
Agreed 100%
> -graphics are good, except for being too dark on my system.
>
> Missing things:
> -formations, I really like AOK's formations.
I agree that formations would be a very nice addition. The AOK
formations add a lot to the flavor of the game.
I do enjoy the double click to select all units of one type (fairly
standard) and the Alt-double click to select all military units or all
non military units.
> -the AI doesn't build walls.
>
> "Bad" things:
> -I haven't gotten anyone to use any book or potion items,
> using the hot key for instant use didn't do anything.
I have not played much with magic items turned on so I can't comment on
that.
> -the grasslands/summer terrain makes it difficult to see things.
As you said, it depends more on your monitor/video card. Those are two
of the easier to see on my system. The Winter terrain seems to washed
out on my system:)
> I've started playing more desert terrain (tan instead of green land).
> I've turned off the day/night option because the game is almost too
> dark in the day time. I don't know what night has to do with anything
> in this game, either.
> -I've seen rain falling, but as far as I can tell it had no effect.
Both are just eye candy as far as I can tell.
> -I don't agree with the costs of some things, but that's me.
> -pathfinding could be improved (I suppose this can apply to
> any similar games).
Completely agree:)
>
> Things I'd like added:
> -practice dummies at any time. Limit the experience gained
> until you build the War Academy. Practice dummies also
> cost too much wood, houses are cheaper.
I believe this is more to balance the usefulness. High gain (free
experience) high cost.
> -an option to convert a peon to a footman or archer (I'd like
> this added in AOK, also).
If you play the Arabians you can do this. Build a Mosque (sp?) and
research Jihad.
> -idle peons look for work based on the current work force and
> distance to resources; if you're short of woodcutters, maybe from
> an enemy raid, then woodcutter occupation would have a higher
> priority.
This would be an awesome addition to the AI. Personally I would expect
to see it within the next year or two in RTS games.
Have you tried turning on the AI economic assist? That may be more
help than you want but I found it interesting.
> -get artifact and come back. Would setting a waypoint on
> an artifact cause the unit to pick it up? Something to try except...
>
> It's hard to describe, but after one week I've gotten bored with it
> and bought Majesty after all the glowing posts about that game.
> You guys had better be right! :)
>
> Glen
Majesty sounds like a very interesting game. Played the demo and am
looking forward to trying the full version sometime.
Please feel free to post what you find out about it, I would be
interested.
LShaping@...
a base builder.
:o)
LShaping
Chris White
LShaping@... <NoS...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:5o3iesc3ug6gma20m...@4ax.com...
Caton
>
> I'm not too impressed. AI conducts feints? I haven't seen any.
You will :) Bastard bloody thing often send a small force to one of my resource
outposts, and after a minute or so, mobs another one with an army :(
> I think AOK is still a better game. Some comments:
>
> Good things:
> -peons will go to work on their own after being idle for awhile,
> although cowherding seems to be the favorite (I had 10 cowherders
> for 2 cows at one point). It could be that cows was the nearest
> resource to "harvest".
For me, that's usually because to idle peasants are 'in town' and I tend to
build by cow herd in town, too.
> -the explore option, and any unit can do this.
The computer uses this function, too. I've often seen lone enemy grunts just
walking around the outskirts of my base.
> -magic is a nice addition. A fantasy-based AOK would be great.
> -peons converting buildings.
> -peons can gain combat experience.
For all the good it does them :)
> -bug free, almost. It has dropped me to the desk top 3 times in about
> 50 hours of playing. Good thing there's autosave.
> (sigh, bug free should be standard, not something commendable)
> -graphics are good, except for being too dark on my system.
>
> Missing things:
> -formations, I really like AOK's formations.
Bleh. I don't miss formations at all. I *do* like the way you can select a
group, then right click on something (even one of them) and the group will form
up around it.
> -the AI doesn't build walls.
I suspect this is deliberate. Walls are very tough, and a wall-loving AI would
probably barracade itself in very effectively within a fairly short period of
time. Also, you'd have to give it some idea of 'enclosure' and 'complete line'.
These are notoriously tricky tasks in AI.
> "Bad" things:
> -I haven't gotten anyone to use any book or potion items,
> using the hot key for instant use didn't do anything.
IIRC, you just right click on the item.
> -the grasslands/summer terrain makes it difficult to see things.
I haven't found that at all, but that's probably related to your 'darkness'
problem.
> I've started playing more desert terrain (tan instead of green land).
> I've turned off the day/night option because the game is almost too
> dark in the day time. I don't know what night has to do with anything
> in this game, either.
AFAICT, nothing.
> -I've seen rain falling, but as far as I can tell it had no effect.
Ditto.
> -I don't agree with the costs of some things, but that's me.
> -pathfinding could be improved (I suppose this can apply to
> any similar games).
>
> Things I'd like added:
> -practice dummies at any time. Limit the experience gained
> until you build the War Academy. Practice dummies also
> cost too much wood, houses are cheaper.
Yeah, but they've got 5000xp to train your troops up... IIRC, you can't train
past level 8 using dummies. Every time a summon a crusade, I make sure they beat
the crap out of a bunch of dummies first... that extra 80hp(?), 4 defense and 8
attack makes a huge difference.
> -an option to convert a peon to a footman or archer (I'd like
> this added in AOK, also).
If a peon has outlived it's usefulness, there's always suicide scouting missions
:)
> -idle peons look for work based on the current work force and
> distance to resources; if you're short of woodcutters, maybe from
> an enemy raid, then woodcutter occupation would have a higher
> priority.
Yes, that would be nice.
> -get artifact and come back. Would setting a waypoint on
> an artifact cause the unit to pick it up? Something to try except...
Yes. It seems that *anything* can be 'waypointed'. I've been able to tell my
wizards to 'go there, cast fire storm, come straight back'
> It's hard to describe, but after one week I've gotten bored with it
> and bought Majesty after all the glowing posts about that game.
> You guys had better be right! :)
/me knows nothing about Majesty :)
--
Caton Little
Trade Agent
Wall building:
ES_Sandyman has in the AOKH forums stated he did not like walls but went
along with the crowd and placed them in the game. Even in AOK walls are not
replaced when forest is cleared and to see the AI place a gate against a
Forest so that it is virtually unuseable seems to show that wall building
and Ai still needs work.
Formations yes that would be good especially if they worked with out the
stutter shuffle that plagues the AOK formations. I think that maybe the
pathing involved in formations is what slows AOK down when you have lots of
units.
I read ages ago that formations were to be included but they have not been
implemented...maybe in the future? I would rather TZAR had formations but
if it is at the expense of smoothness of game play I will wait until they
get it perfect.
Kick to Desk Top: The official FAQ on the Official site says that there is
a patch for this known problem never had it myself.
> I'm not too impressed. AI conducts feints? I haven't seen any.
> I think AOK is still a better game. Some comments:
>
> Good things:
> -peons will go to work on their own after being idle for awhile,
> although cowherding seems to be the favorite (I had 10 cowherders
> for 2 cows at one point). It could be that cows was the nearest
> resource to "harvest".
Exactly...
> -the explore option, and any unit can do this.
> -magic is a nice addition. A fantasy-based AOK would be great.
> -peons converting buildings.
> -peons can gain combat experience.
> -bug free, almost. It has dropped me to the desk top 3 times in about
> 50 hours of playing. Good thing there's autosave.
no such thing as a bug free game :))
> (sigh, bug free should be standard, not something commendable)
> -graphics are good, except for being too dark on my system.
>
> Missing things:
> -formations, I really like AOK's formations.
> -the AI doesn't build walls.
>
> "Bad" things:
> -I haven't gotten anyone to use any book or potion items,
Why not??
> using the hot key for instant use didn't do anything.
> -the grasslands/summer terrain makes it difficult to see things.
Not in my Experience
> I've started playing more desert terrain (tan instead of green land).
Well everyone has their preferences thatis why you have a selection of
terrain packs. I hate dessert and prefer Summer. Variety is the spice of
life.
> I've turned off the day/night option because the game is almost too
> dark in the day time. I don't know what night has to do with anything
> in this game, either.
It has the effect of making it difficult to see units so that you can ambush
or be ambushed perhaps..
> -I've seen rain falling, but as far as I can tell it had no effect.
I guess it is currently only a visual hazard but perhaps soon it maybe more
of an effect.
> -I don't agree with the costs of some things, but that's me.
I suppose you prefer the costs of The AOk TC making it dominate the game
balance.
> -pathfinding could be improved (I suppose this can apply to
> any similar games).
>
> Things I'd like added:
> -practice dummies at any time. Limit the experience gained
> until you build the War Academy. Practice dummies also
> cost too much wood, houses are cheaper.
Experience can be earnt against enemy units as well meaning that dummies are
only a supplement to change the experience gaining ability would effect to
the detriment the gameplay...some never build dummies and Asians can't so
your suggestion would not work.
> -an option to convert a peon to a footman or archer (I'd like
> this added in AOK, also).
Peons can gain experince and be effected by technologies that make them more
powerful than a original Footmen so it is not needed.
> -idle peons look for work based on the current work force and
> distance to resources; if you're short of woodcutters, maybe from
> an enemy raid, then woodcutter occupation would have a higher
> priority.
This already happens if you use the AI assist. If you want new peons to
select a particular work then rally them at the resource. If you want peons
to do your economy building then use AI economy assist.
> -get artifact and come back. Would setting a waypoint on
> an artifact cause the unit to pick it up? Something to try except...
>
Well your boredom is your problem not the games. That and the fact that you
don't kno wthe game as well as you think you do as I have pointed out.
> It's hard to describe, but after one week I've gotten bored with it
> and bought Majesty after all the glowing posts about that game.
> You guys had better be right! :)
>
> Glen
>
Joe Fernandez
press..the name!! What were they thinking when they named it "Tzar"...that name
just won't stand out. They should've called it "Age of Magic" or something like
that.
Trade Agent
Age of Wonders
Age of Empires
Age of Kings
Age of Magic
Land of magic
Power of Magic
Magic Realm
Oh yeah stands out like a supernova.....
Actually when a name change was suggested in the Pre release those fans that
were following the development of the game Screamed it down voting something
like 90% plus to keep the name TZAR....
If you think that that is the reason and not the fact that other titles sell
by hype and with huge budgets and then release games full of bugs and
imbalanced units whilst the Media always sucking up to the Big developers
forget to mention the fundamental flaws in the game in their reviews then
obviously you live in the world of Magic Dreams.
This game is bottom line enjoyable.
Tzar: "The Burden of the Crown" is as good as any name changing it will do
it no good.
"Joe Fernandez" <fer...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:38E965F9...@earthlink.net...
Amarok
wrote:
>At least the best I have played (better than AOK, AOE, Command and Conquer
>series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't work for
>the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of this
>cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
>http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
>http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there. Here
>is that review:
I guess the 7k note was just for me :) Before I wonder how much you
played 7k or not, its like comparing oranges with apples. Better
compare with the other "standard" RTS games. Easier to be superior ;)
<snip>
Amarok
Dave Richardson
Chris White <nos...@no.spam> writes
>At least the best I have played (better than AOK, AOE, Command and Conquer
>series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't work for
>the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of this
>cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
>http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
>http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there. Here
>is that review:
>
>
>Tzar is the best RTS game I have played. Period. Better than Age Of
Don't know if I'd go that far.
Last Sunday I was stood standing in my local PC world wondering whether
to buy Tzar or Majesty, literally one in each hand. I liked the extra
weight in the Majesty box, which promised a decent manual, but I had
seen several decent reviews on this Forum of Tzar, and very little on
Majesty so went for Tzar (why not Czar?). After seeing the comments on
Majesty I guess I'll end up with that too eventually.
I started playing by jumping in at the edeep end with a real world map
on normal difficulty with fog of war.
By 5:00 am I decided I'd better go to bed for an hours sleep before
getting up at 6:00 for work.
(Don't you just hate it when that happens.)
So far its been a slugfest.
I am churning out units constantly up to the limit. I have my city
walled in and protected by towers. I face a constant onslaught of enemy
forces which I can just about repel with my towers and forces.
I Ran out of stone and gold ages ago.
I know where there are two new gold deposits but can't raise sufficient
forces to get rid of the enemy presence there. I have explored about
half the map - its bloody huge.
About an hour before I went to bed I managed to raise enough money to
start investigating what the guild buildings did - I should have done
that much much earlier I think. I currently have a mage guild, a mage, a
bat spell and those little bats are making exploring soooo much easier.
The stone golem spell looks like it may be *the* thing that will turn
the tide of the game in my direction - if I can trade enough food and
wood to get the gold to research the spell and buy some more mages.
I haven't done much with the little green spots that seem to be magic
items.
At one point early on I was very distressed when some kind of fire storm
took out my catapults and ballistas, I haven't quite worked that out yet
- but suspect some kind of enemy magic spell.
The enemy AI doesn't seem to be using much magic yet.
OK, I made life difficult for myself by jumping in and not reading the
manual.
The game seems very stable - though after 14 hours solid play I did get
a blue screen on exiting it.
I don't seem to have any music - but that may be because the SBLive
settings are wrong - effects seem OK.
The AI is pretty responsive to what I do. In fact I was somewhat
impressed by it.
The visuals are pretty.
I like the game enough to stick with and finish off this wretched first
game. I might even win it. It is stalemated at the moment.
I will certainly play Tzar a little more after that. It somehow lacks
the polish of AOE II, and isn't quite in the same league IMHO, but
overall I haven't found anything to make me dislike it, or stop playing
it.
I won't bother with the campaigns - I never do now in this type of game
anymore - they are like heavily orchestrated ballets IMHO where you can
only win them once you figure out what you are supposed to do and in
what order. Might give multiplayer a go.
Does anyone have any decent hints about playing this game?
Cheers,
--
Dave Richardson
Chris White
didn't particularly enjoy 7k (the original), but I did like 7k2. I thought
it was very well done, bug-free, and fairly enjoyable. However, I
*personally* find Tzar to be more fun than 7k2. Like you say, they are
different games, though both *are* RTS games with historic and magical
elements. I just found that the high level of micromanagement in 7k/7k2 got
boring after awhile (rather than fun). Just my opinion, of course.
Everyone has their own taste in games.
-Chris
Amarok <Ama...@netcologne.de> wrote in message
news:38e9cee...@news.netcologne.de...
> On Mon, 03 Apr 2000 14:43:31 GMT, "Chris White" <nos...@no.spam>
> wrote:
>
> >At least the best I have played (better than AOK, AOE, Command and
Conquer
> >series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't work
for
> >the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of
this
> >cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
> >http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
> >http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there.
Here
> >is that review:
>
Dicke
brutal. What a borefest. Then they followed it up with another borefest and
still Amarok shows up to defend it whenever talk of its bargain bin head
rises.
Christoph Nahr
<Da...@curverconsumer.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>Last Sunday I was stood standing in my local PC world wondering whether
>to buy Tzar or Majesty, literally one in each hand. I liked the extra
>weight in the Majesty box, which promised a decent manual, but I had
>seen several decent reviews on this Forum of Tzar, and very little on
>Majesty so went for Tzar (why not Czar?). After seeing the comments on
>Majesty I guess I'll end up with that too eventually.
Quick note on Majesty... the weight of the box is a trick. There's a
set of Magic: The Gathering cards included, this is what's so heavy.
The actual manual is comprehensive and fun to read, but it's just a
booklet of 86 pages, not a flight-sim style bible, as you might think
going by the weight of the box.
--
Chris Nahr (christo...@uumail.xxde, remove xx to reply by e-mail)
Please reply either on Usenet or by e-mail but not both!
Visit http://uuhome.de/christoph.nahr/ for Might & Magic information
and game projects with source code for download: Star Chess & Hexkit
mark...@my-deja.com
Yes, the fire storm was an Arabian spell I believe.
The real world map is really huge:) I have only tried it once myself.
Building a guild early can be a huge advantage. The mage guild will
give you a great advantage with mages. The warriors guild is awesome
for advancing your experience quicker, recruiting mercenaries and
heroes from your tavern and for the Arabian's at least, building really
powerful units (Jannisaries).
The priests you can get from the cathedral are great for healing and
blessing troops (bless adds 8 to the offensive stat for a limited time
to a group of your units).
The merchants guild is great for getting more money and developing
trade. It appears most useful in games with many players.
I find that if I can increase the experience of my troops it can help a
lot.
Also, if you send a couple of peasants to attempt to 'convert' a
building the AI tends to drop everything to try to kill the peasants.
This can be a useful distraction.
If you can convert a barracks or his castle (good luck:)) you can build
his units at those locations.
The stone golems are great as a center of a charge. If you can hit and
then heal them up so they last they will be quite an addition to your
army.
Bats are a great way to attach peasants as well. They don't stand up
to troops at all but will play havoc with his peasants and fishing
ships.
Good luck with the battle!
Markus
In article <JmlOvCAH...@curverconsumer.demon.co.uk>,
Dave Richardson <Da...@curverconsumer.demon.co.uk> wrote:
snip
>
> Does anyone have any decent hints about playing this game?
>
> Cheers,
>
> --
> Dave Richardson
>
Tom Chick
<Da...@curverconsumer.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>Does anyone have any decent hints about playing this game?
As Markus pointed out to me in another thread, there's apparently a
strategy guide in Adobe format on the CD. Of course, you haven't even
gotten around to the manual yet... :)
-Tom Chick
***** *****
***** No .sig for me, thank you. *****
***** *****
Tom Chick
wrote:
>Actually when a name change was suggested in the Pre release those fans that
>were following the development of the game Screamed it down voting something
>like 90% plus to keep the name TZAR....
Tzar is only half the problem. It sounds like a game about sending
cossacks out on pogroms. "Burden of the Crown" doesn't help much.
*Burden*? Yeah, that makes me want to play.
How about:
Tzar: Onus of the Office
Tzar: The Drudge of Leadership
Tzar: The Tedious Weight of the Tiara
Regardless of the quality of the game itself, I have to say this one
is saddled with a pretty bad name.
>Tzar: "The Burden of the Crown" is as good as any name changing it will do
>it no good.
Good luck with your impending marketing career. :)
Amarok
C&C clone bores me so I prefer a hardcore game if it just offers
anything new. Anyway, there must be a reason that reviewers always
love it and many players think its boring.
Amarok
Ian Marsh
Chris White <nos...@no.spam> wrote in message
news:n62G4.17509$64.5...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't work
for
> the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of this
> cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
> http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
> http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there.
Here
> is that review:
Played it for two days on and off before deciding it was a highly derivative
RTS game with much less functionality than AOK when it came to controls. I
miss my formations! The fantasy creatures seemed a right old mishmash to be
working alongside each other, and I found myself, somewhat incredibly,
pining for the integrated and well detailed forces of TA: Kingdoms.
Ian
Chris White
Have you tried Tzar? If so, I'd be interested in your opinion, and how you
think it compares to 7K2. You might actually be pleasantly surprised. :-)
-Chris
Amarok <Ama...@netcologne.de> wrote in message
news:38ea5b80...@news.netcologne.de...
Tom Chick
wrote:
>Your point is simply personal and arbitrary.
Actually, it was neither.
>If you don't like the name it is your problem not mine. Since the TZAR
>playing community like the name I guess the proof is in the pudding.
Whether I like the name or not is hardly a "problem". It was just a
casual observation, something we do quite a bit on Usenet.
BTW, a think "Tzar: Tom Chick" is an even worse name than "Tzar:
Burden of the Crown", but I'm sure Talonsoft appreciates your input.
-Tom Chick, Tzar Czar
Mark Asher
news:T3zqOOJcrh6IJ5...@4ax.com...
I have to agree with Tzar Tom. Both Tzar: Tom Chick and Tzar: Burden of the
Crown are bad names. I'd suggest Tzar: Mark Asher, but I'm too modest.
Tom Chick
(Quatoria) wrote:
>They should have individualized copies. Tzar: Burden of Mark Asher,
>and Tzar: Tom Chick's Crown. And, of course, Tzar: The Incredible
>Lightness of Quatoria.
Yeah! If Starcraft can have a different box cover for each race...
-Tom Chick
Caton
>
<snip>
>
> Does anyone have any decent hints about playing this game?
Yes. Yes I do.
Pick the nearest chokepoint/resource block and rally all your barracks to it.
Force a clearing, and get to work on some towers and a barracks or two. Repeat.
If the machine takes over a strategic location, take it back. Feint, Parry,
Riposte :)
Once it becomes clear that your in for a Long Game, pump your food production
through the roof. Any resource can be exchange for any other at 10 to 1, and
food is inexhaustable. Build a huge cow farm with about 20-30 cows (I've found
that one peasant to three cows works), and surround it with at least 10 fields.
Wrap it in a wall with a gate, and once the right number of peasants is inside,
keep the gate shut. That should stop anyone else from 'helping'. IIRC, the
merchant's guild has a field productivity upgrade, and also a population limit
upgrade.
If possible, get a guild before your first gold mine runs out.
If you're European, the War Guild is a must. Body build makes a *huge*
difference. The Church is also vital, as well trained Crusaders are unstoppable.
If you're Arabian, get you a Mage Guild. Magic Carpets are the most effective
unit in the game, if used with care and cunning.
I've yet to play the Asians much, but a mess of dragons can make your life a
misery (which is why you should always scatter a dozen or so archers around any
important objective). Their construction and population bonuses are impressive,
too.
The only resource you should *ever* exchange is food (unless you're *really*
desperate). Fields don't run out, so don't be afraid of having too many. If you
suddenly find that you need 100 units in a hurry, you'll be glad of a spare
20000 sitting in your stores.
If you're feeling rich, wrap important defensive towers in a ring of wall (leave
one missing so that repairs can be done). This will stop melee attackers from
damaging them, and will help them to last longer. The same should also be done
for Guilds.
--
Caton Little
Trade Agent
content. It is not a Burden to play but you wouldn't know that obviously.
The point I was making is that how does any name stand out. TZAR stands out
very well as a point size on the BOX.
My Marketing carreer has financed comfortable travel around the world but it
has no baring to this game or the name so why you bring it up only adds to
your collection of irrelevance.
Your point is simply personal and arbitrary.
If you don't like the name it is your problem not mine. Since the TZAR
playing community like the name I guess the proof is in the pudding.
"Tom Chick" <tomc...@cutthispartout.primenet.com> wrote in message
news:I1XqOJW1Mclmy4...@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 4 Apr 2000 19:51:46 +1000, "Trade Agent" <nos...@nspam.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Actually when a name change was suggested in the Pre release those fans
that
> >were following the development of the game Screamed it down voting
something
> >like 90% plus to keep the name TZAR....
>
> Tzar is only half the problem. It sounds like a game about sending
> cossacks out on pogroms. "Burden of the Crown" doesn't help much.
> *Burden*? Yeah, that makes me want to play.
>
> How about:
>
> Tzar: Onus of the Office
> Tzar: The Drudge of Leadership
> Tzar: The Tedious Weight of the Tiara
>
> Regardless of the quality of the game itself, I have to say this one
> is saddled with a pretty bad name.
>
> >Tzar: "The Burden of the Crown" is as good as any name changing it will
do
> >it no good.
>
> Good luck with your impending marketing career. :)
>
Quatoria
"Mark Asher" <ma...@nospamcdmnet.com> wrote:
>
>I have to agree with Tzar Tom. Both Tzar: Tom Chick and Tzar: Burden of the
>Crown are bad names. I'd suggest Tzar: Mark Asher, but I'm too modest.
>
They should have individualized copies. Tzar: Burden of Mark Asher,
and Tzar: Tom Chick's Crown. And, of course, Tzar: The Incredible
Lightness of Quatoria.
-Quatoria
--
In this unpredictable, oftentimes contentious world,
sometimes you just have to sit back, take a moment to
reflect, and say "Well, I'll be a greased Jesus!"
triggercut
web or using deja, you're not really going to hit too much non-game info
when searching for Tzar.
Tom Chick wrote:
>
> On Wed, 05 Apr 2000 02:15:09 GMT, Quat...@NOSPAM.bellsouth.net
> (Quatoria) wrote:
>
> >They should have individualized copies. Tzar: Burden of Mark Asher,
> >and Tzar: Tom Chick's Crown. And, of course, Tzar: The Incredible
> >Lightness of Quatoria.
>
> Yeah! If Starcraft can have a different box cover for each race...
>
jrr_t...@my-deja.com
tomc...@cutthispartout.primenet.com wrote:
> On Tue, 4 Apr 2000 19:51:46 +1000, "Trade Agent" <nos...@nspam.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Actually when a name change was suggested in the Pre release those
fans that
> >were following the development of the game Screamed it down voting
something
> >like 90% plus to keep the name TZAR....
>
> Tzar is only half the problem. It sounds like a game about sending
> cossacks out on pogroms. "Burden of the Crown" doesn't help much.
> *Burden*? Yeah, that makes me want to play.
>
> How about:
>
> Tzar: Onus of the Office
> Tzar: The Drudge of Leadership
> Tzar: The Tedious Weight of the Tiara
>
> Regardless of the quality of the game itself, I have to say this one
> is saddled with a pretty bad name.
>
> >Tzar: "The Burden of the Crown" is as good as any name changing it
will do
> >it no good.
>
> Good luck with your impending marketing career. :)
>
Burden of the crown comes from the actual campaign story about Sator.
What is the definition of a 'Tzar'. Sator attempts to unite the
differing nations under one rulership not to wipe out other
civilisations (ala AOK).
JohnD
Mr Foo Bar
Amarok <Ama...@netcologne.de> wrote in message
news:38ea5b80...@news.netcologne.de...
> Maybe its because I play games since the good old C64 and that another
> C&C clone bores me so I prefer a hardcore game if it just offers
> anything new. Anyway, there must be a reason that reviewers always
> love it and many players think its boring.
>
> Amarok
>
> On Tue, 4 Apr 2000 07:51:13 -0500, "Dicke" <di...@curfew.net> wrote:
>
> >Seven Kingdoms hardly even makes a list for anything. Man that game was
> >brutal. What a borefest. Then they followed it up with another borefest
and
> >still Amarok shows up to defend it whenever talk of its bargain bin head
> >rises.
> >
> >
> >"Amarok" <Ama...@netcologne.de> wrote in message
> >news:38e9cee...@news.netcologne.de...
> >> On Mon, 03 Apr 2000 14:43:31 GMT, "Chris White" <nos...@no.spam>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> >At least the best I have played (better than AOK, AOE, Command and
> >Conquer
> >> >series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't
work
> >for
> >> >the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of
> >this
> >> >cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
> >> >http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
> >> >http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there.
> >Here
> >> >is that review:
> >>
Mr Foo Bar
etc etc.
triggercut <trigg...@mailhost.chi.ameritech.net> wrote in message
news:38EB1756...@mailhost.chi.ameritech.net...
Mr Foo Bar
Tom Chick <tomc...@cutthispartout.primenet.com> wrote in message
news:PqnqONjIGR1Gq6yX==gqc3i...@4ax.com...
Dave Richardson
Dave Richardson
Thanks markus
Had another session last night and I'm starting to get that "I'm going
to win this" feeling. Some way to go yet though.
James Dusek
tomc...@cutthispartout.primenet.com says...
> How about:
>
> Tzar: Onus of the Office
> Tzar: The Drudge of Leadership
> Tzar: The Tedious Weight of the Tiara
>
> Regardless of the quality of the game itself, I have to say this one
> is saddled with a pretty bad name.
The should have went for the movie tie-in,
IshTzar
Tzar Commander
Tzartantic
James Dusek
Glen E. Bailey Jr.
> Quick note on Majesty... the weight of the box is a trick. There's a
> set of Magic: The Gathering cards included, this is what's so heavy.
> The actual manual is comprehensive and fun to read, but it's just a
> booklet of 86 pages, not a flight-sim style bible, as you might think
> going by the weight of the box.
I didn't get any Magic cards in my box of Majesty. Not that I want any.
Glen
Glen E. Bailey Jr.
Once you build 1 stable, you can build horse units at any
number of barracks. You can even destroy the stable
and still build horse units. They might as well as made
it a tech advance instead of a building, but I guess one
could consider it a tech advance that costs wood instead
of gold.
Glen
Christoph Nahr
<geba...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>I didn't get any Magic cards in my box of Majesty. Not that I want any.
Might be a European thing, I have the UK version of the game.
Mark Hanson
Can you give me a little detail about that?
I started up a deathmatch game to test that, built the barracks, blacksmith,
farm and stable. Researched knights and started building them. I then
deleted and could no longer build mounted units.
I was playing the Europeans.
Any info would be great as I believe this should go the the bug department:)
Markus
"Glen E. Bailey Jr." <geba...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:38EB5314...@bellsouth.net...
Andrew Potratz
I've only played the demo, but what broke the stalemate for me was
focusing on getting a small group of good units to gain levels, and
get them magic weaponry.
I found shields and swords on the ground that would add +50 to my
attack or defense (normal units are more like in the 10 range without
such magic!). Plus, possibly a bug, you can carry multiple of the
same type, so I eventually had 5 Janissary units with ~150 attack and
~70 shields- then they just waltzed in and laid waste to the enemy
base, with very occassional rests for priests to heal em up.
If you can get to new mines, you can turn food and wood into
gold/stone in the tavern. Food in particular is good for that, as its
an infinite resource.
I also used mages to crank out units, as summoning didnt cost anything
except time.
Glen E. Bailey Jr.
Glen
Kathleen Chin and Joseph Zakszewski
The merchants guild will allow you to build 'trade markets' so you can
exchange recources. Since food is unlimited, trade food for gold. (check
out http://tzar.gameglow.com/ for a trade tutorial) Produce cows! They
allow your peons to carry 50 food per trip! This comes in handy if you need
to exchange recources in the tavern.
If you have a war college, get tactics. Then you can build dummies. You
can have your rookie units gain experience by attacking the dummies. This
way you your units can achieve 8th level before entering battle. (this gives
+8 attack and +4 defense)
Be sure to constantly make more peons, food and barracks.
The AI constantly expands with barracks a food production, giving it the
ability to send large attack forces.
If you have wizards, use the lightning spell on catapults. It seems to kill
anything with one shot.
Grab the items, many give +50 to attack or defense. This can make a very
nasty hero who can kill with one attack, thus gaining even more experience.
(and giving experience to other troops in the area if you have leadership
tech.
I have found that a group of elite units can break open a stalemate.
Try medium maps for a 'normal' length game
Here are the unit bonuses from the websight
coast_towers]
ships_no_fish = +200%
[ships_no_fish]
ships_no_fish = +300%
[siege]
buildings_no_towers_walls = +400%
ships = +400%
towers = +600%
siege = +400%
walls = +900%
[a maceman]
mounted = +50%
[a footman]
peon = +100%
[pikeman]
chariot = +450%
mounted = +450%
[footman]
pikeman = +150%
arrow_unit = +150%
jihad_warrior = +100%
[r maceman]
peon = +200%
[mace_unit]
machines = +150%
[arrow_attack]
dragon = +75%
e pikeman = -75%
mace_unit = +50%
chariot = -80%
monk_priest = +50%
[mage]
priest = +400%
[priest]
mage = +300%
magic_creatures = +300%
[handtohand_no_priest]
bat = -75%
dragon = -50%
[troll]
buildings = +100%
[dwarf]
buildings = +400%
Good luck and enjoy!
GhengisRexx
Dave Richardson wrote in message ...
>In article <n62G4.17509$64.5...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
>Chris White <nos...@no.spam> writes
>>At least the best I have played (better than AOK, AOE, Command and Conquer
>>series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't work
for
>>the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of this
>>cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
>>http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
>>http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there.
Here
>>is that review:
>>
>>
>>------------------------
>>Tzar is the best RTS game I have played. Period. Better than Age Of
>
>Don't know if I'd go that far.
>
>Last Sunday I was stood standing in my local PC world wondering whether
>to buy Tzar or Majesty, literally one in each hand. I liked the extra
>weight in the Majesty box, which promised a decent manual, but I had
>seen several decent reviews on this Forum of Tzar, and very little on
>Majesty so went for Tzar (why not Czar?). After seeing the comments on
>Majesty I guess I'll end up with that too eventually.
>
>I started playing by jumping in at the edeep end with a real world map
>on normal difficulty with fog of war.
>
>By 5:00 am I decided I'd better go to bed for an hours sleep before
>getting up at 6:00 for work.
>
>(Don't you just hate it when that happens.)
>
>So far its been a slugfest.
>
>I am churning out units constantly up to the limit. I have my city
>walled in and protected by towers. I face a constant onslaught of enemy
>forces which I can just about repel with my towers and forces.
>
>I Ran out of stone and gold ages ago.
>
>I know where there are two new gold deposits but can't raise sufficient
>forces to get rid of the enemy presence there. I have explored about
>half the map - its bloody huge.
>
>About an hour before I went to bed I managed to raise enough money to
>start investigating what the guild buildings did - I should have done
>that much much earlier I think. I currently have a mage guild, a mage, a
>bat spell and those little bats are making exploring soooo much easier.
>The stone golem spell looks like it may be *the* thing that will turn
>the tide of the game in my direction - if I can trade enough food and
>wood to get the gold to research the spell and buy some more mages.
>
>I haven't done much with the little green spots that seem to be magic
>items.
>
>At one point early on I was very distressed when some kind of fire storm
>took out my catapults and ballistas, I haven't quite worked that out yet
>- but suspect some kind of enemy magic spell.
>
>The enemy AI doesn't seem to be using much magic yet.
>
>
>
>OK, I made life difficult for myself by jumping in and not reading the
>manual.
>
>The game seems very stable - though after 14 hours solid play I did get
>a blue screen on exiting it.
>
>I don't seem to have any music - but that may be because the SBLive
>settings are wrong - effects seem OK.
>
>The AI is pretty responsive to what I do. In fact I was somewhat
>impressed by it.
>
>The visuals are pretty.
>
>I like the game enough to stick with and finish off this wretched first
>game. I might even win it. It is stalemated at the moment.
>
>I will certainly play Tzar a little more after that. It somehow lacks
>the polish of AOE II, and isn't quite in the same league IMHO, but
>overall I haven't found anything to make me dislike it, or stop playing
>it.
>
>I won't bother with the campaigns - I never do now in this type of game
>anymore - they are like heavily orchestrated ballets IMHO where you can
>only win them once you figure out what you are supposed to do and in
>what order. Might give multiplayer a go.
>
>Does anyone have any decent hints about playing this game?
>
>Cheers,
>
>
>
>
>--
>Dave Richardson
mark...@my-deja.com
Markus
In article <38EB8F36...@bellsouth.net>,
geba...@bellsouth.net wrote:
> If I get back to that game, currently in "gotta play Majesty" mode.
> Glen
>
>
triggercut
of state either Tsar or Czar.
"Tzar" would be a Heimimont-created spelling. Honest.
Mr Foo Bar wrote:
>
> LOL only about a billion documents about Russia, the Russian revolution etc
> etc etc.
>
> triggercut <trigg...@mailhost.chi.ameritech.net> wrote in message
> news:38EB1756...@mailhost.chi.ameritech.net...
> > One nice thing regarding the name: when searching for game info on the
> > web or using deja, you're not really going to hit too much non-game info
> > when searching for Tzar.
> >
> > Tom Chick wrote:
> > >
Tom Chick
<trigg...@mailhost.chi.ameritech.net> wrote:
>Actually Mr. Quayle, I believe all Russians spell their historical heads
>of state either Tsar or Czar.
>
>"Tzar" would be a Heimimont-created spelling. Honest.
Just to show that I can nitpick with the best of them, is there a
distinction between an "s" and a "z" in the Cyrillic alphabet? :)
-Tom Szchick
Amarok
wrote:
>Amorak,
>
>Have you tried Tzar? If so, I'd be interested in your opinion, and how you
>think it compares to 7K2. You might actually be pleasantly surprised. :-)
>
>-Chris
>
hmmm, so you think they are really similar in any way? I will look for
a demo then.
Amarok
Amarok
>Reviewers regularly get things wrong.
of course, because they get all games for free and they are forced to
play them for a specific amount of hours without any mercy. No
marketing tricks work on them :)
Amarok
>Amarok <Ama...@netcologne.de> wrote in message
>news:38ea5b80...@news.netcologne.de...
>> Maybe its because I play games since the good old C64 and that another
>> C&C clone bores me so I prefer a hardcore game if it just offers
>> anything new. Anyway, there must be a reason that reviewers always
>> love it and many players think its boring.
>>
>> Amarok
>>
>> On Tue, 4 Apr 2000 07:51:13 -0500, "Dicke" <di...@curfew.net> wrote:
>>
>> >Seven Kingdoms hardly even makes a list for anything. Man that game was
>> >brutal. What a borefest. Then they followed it up with another borefest
>and
>> >still Amarok shows up to defend it whenever talk of its bargain bin head
>> >rises.
>> >
>> >
>> >"Amarok" <Ama...@netcologne.de> wrote in message
>> >news:38e9cee...@news.netcologne.de...
>> >> On Mon, 03 Apr 2000 14:43:31 GMT, "Chris White" <nos...@no.spam>
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >At least the best I have played (better than AOK, AOE, Command and
>> >Conquer
>> >> >series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't
>work
>> >for
>> >> >the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of
>> >this
>> >> >cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
>> >> >http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
>> >> >http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there.
>> >Here
>> >> >is that review:
>> >>
Trade Agent
expend quite considerable levels of resource to Guild and then research the
summonings...Dragon for instance is 800 mana and 80Gold. Stone golem costs
120 gold 600m.
mana basically incapacitates the spell ability of the mage.
now magic books may be free for summoning and instant summon as well so no
time cost.
"Andrew Potratz" <ap...@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:8susS9G00...@andrew.cmu.edu...
> > Does anyone have any decent hints about playing this game?
>
Trade Agent
"Kathleen Chin and Joseph Zakszewski" <chi...@mdc.net> wrote in message
news:38eb90e0@news...
> Dave,
>
> The merchants guild will allow you to build 'trade markets' so you can
> exchange recources. Since food is unlimited, trade food for gold. (check
> out http://tzar.gameglow.com/ for a trade tutorial) Produce cows! They
> allow your peons to carry 50 food per trip! This comes in handy if you
need
> to exchange recources in the tavern.
Hmm it doesn't quite work that way. You can trade Gold for Gold in trade
(obviously the markets fluctuate).
Check out th emeat value of cows just don't keep them kill them for quick
meat. They start at 300 food and soon move to 600. Kill one make two.
>
> If you have a war college, get tactics. Then you can build dummies. You
> can have your rookie units gain experience by attacking the dummies. This
> way you your units can achieve 8th level before entering battle. (this
gives
> +8 attack and +4 defense)
>
> Be sure to constantly make more peons, food and barracks.
> The AI constantly expands with barracks a food production, giving it the
> ability to send large attack forces.
>
> If you have wizards, use the lightning spell on catapults. It seems to
kill
> anything with one shot.
> Grab the items, many give +50 to attack or defense. This can make a very
> nasty hero who can kill with one attack, thus gaining even more
experience.
> (and giving experience to other troops in the area if you have leadership
> tech.
hmmm yes but I have noticed that in Team games 3v3 4v4 that magic items are
usually turned off as there is far too much to do looking after the other
guys 300 population.
Trade Agent
He may have inadvertently built two stables and when he lost one still had
the ability to build.
<mark...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:8cg5jq$jqp$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Trade Agent
will cluster around that unit in tight. maybe not ranks but groups them
nicely..also allocating a group number can help to organise.
Historically of course a travelling army was usually strung out not
formation all the way. Getting the Bulk of you army to the battle at the
right moment was the art of a general.
if they can do formations with out the hop skip and jump shuffle that AOK
formations have It will be cool. Try it out make a group and now change
direction by 45 plus degrees...whoa reform no you go over there....flanking
does it well lol.
I also like the way you can form a cluster of 5-10 Town centres in a rigid
formation in AOK. When you get two TC formations next to each other
Buildings shooting Buildings it makes for such interesting gameplay...not!
Of course all games are going to have their good and bad points..Why the AOK
stalwarts can't admit that of AOK I do not know.
Forget the AOK comparison it is a waste of Time play TZAR and Enjoy simple
enough not asking you to donate teeth.
Grand Fromage
>distinction between an "s" and a "z" in the Cyrillic alphabet? :)
Yes.
Russian Latin
C S
3 Z
It's not *really* a 3, but it looks an awful lot like one. :) At least, in
the type of transliteration I learned, that's how it's done. There are lots of
different Russian-to-Latin transliteration styles.
And, I think it's spelled "Cyllaric", but I don't know for sure. I've seen
that spelled many different ways, too. :)
Dave Richardson
<ap...@andrew.cmu.edu> writes
>> Does anyone have any decent hints about playing this game?
>
>I've only played the demo, but what broke the stalemate for me was
>focusing on getting a small group of good units to gain levels, and
>get them magic weaponry.
>
>I found shields and swords on the ground that would add +50 to my
>attack or defense (normal units are more like in the 10 range without
>such magic!). Plus, possibly a bug, you can carry multiple of the
>same type, so I eventually had 5 Janissary units with ~150 attack and
>~70 shields- then they just waltzed in and laid waste to the enemy
>base, with very occassional rests for priests to heal em up.
>
>If you can get to new mines, you can turn food and wood into
>gold/stone in the tavern. Food in particular is good for that, as its
>an infinite resource.
>
>I also used mages to crank out units, as summoning didnt cost anything
>except time.
I have completely ignored the little green spots representing magic
items up till now - look that that is a *real* mistake.
I have nearly finished my first game now, after four long evenings and
early mornings. As you say a real turning point is understanding that
unit level experience works like dungeon keeper - and works very well
IMHO. Once I got a dozen dummies up my units became much harder and
stronger and things became much easier.
I have also found summoning useful in that 10 mages can generate 40 bats
at the click of a button (stored mages in a castle until needed to stop
them wandering off) was very useful. 80 or 120 quickly produced bats
guarding half a dozen stone golems gave me a very useful enemy building
bashing combination. The bats took out ground troops so long as there
weren't swarms of them and the golems smashed the buildings. After much
building bashing the golems levelled up and became very strong.
PS That idea of dungeon keeper style experience increases to units is so
obvious and works so well that I am sure it will become a standard
feature of RTS games from now on.
--
Dave Richardson
Dave Richardson
<chi...@mdc.net> writes
>Dave,
>
<SNIP>
>>Dave Richardson
>
>
Thanks for this advice.
Just to air my ignorance publicly, what exactly do these numbers mean.
Does it mean for instance that a dwarf does four times the damage to a
building if he hits it than you might otherwise expect from his attack
rating.
Where did this stuff come from?
PS I am going to read the manual today :-)
--
Dave Richardson
Trade Agent
"Dave Richardson" <Da...@curverconsumer.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:F+tNpEAj...@curverconsumer.demon.co.uk...
Your mages should not wonder off unless you have AI assist on or they are
being attacked you can make then Stand ground. Select all units then select
symbol with 3 units and shields in the status panel. Make sure you do not
have war assist on though.
Bats are ok but archers take them out and priests and they take a lot of
micro to keep them effective against a good human player.
Trade Agent
It is on Tzar Guild at http://tzar.gameglow.com
Also at the official site which is linked from that one above. Dwarfs are
walking bulldozers against buildings. Priests Take out Dwarfs
"Dave Richardson" <Da...@curverconsumer.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:9vuTdIAu...@curverconsumer.demon.co.uk...
> In article <38eb90e0@news>, Kathleen Chin and Joseph Zakszewski
> <chi...@mdc.net> writes
> >Dave,
> >
> <SNIP>
> >
> >
Kevin Murphy
>
> Just to show that I can nitpick with the best of them, is there a
> distinction between an "s" and a "z" in the Cyrillic alphabet? :)
>
>
> ***** *****
> ***** No .sig for me, thank you. *****
> ***** *****
Moot point here. The Russian letter looks a bit like a square "u",
and is pronounced "ts".
--Zeno
Istvan
> Except that when I type Tzar Tsar and Czar it's only the last
> one my spell checker doesn't like. So clearly Tzar has entered some
> dictionaries, and not from Heimimont.
Actually all three have entered the dictionaries:
http://work.ucsd.edu:5141/cgi-bin/http_webster?isindex=tzar&method=exact
the online webster considers all of them as synonyms.
Istvan.
Kathleen Chin and Joseph Zakszewski
build two markets. (Or you can use a market and a dock)
Build a trade caravan(euro), camel(arabian) or use peons(asian), click on
trade(t), select the type of goods to give, and the type you want to recieve
by clicking n the pictures.
Click on the empty box next to the goods you are selling. This will change
the cursor- select the first dock or market.
Click on the empty box next to the goods you want to recieve. Again the
cursor will change- select the other dock or market you want to trade with.
The bottom trade box (the one with the coins) will light up, and you can
also cahnge the amount of goods to carry per trip. You will see something
like this 500+125. At the end of the trip you will have sold 500, and
recieved 500+125 in profit, ie 625 of something else.
Click on the box with the coins to begin trading.
Now you wont run out of gold or have to exchange food for gold at those
terrible rates in the tavern!
There is a limit to how much you can trade per minute, so you might see your
caravans stacking up once in a while.
You can trade with yourself or with someone else, the greater the distance,
the greater the profit.
I am sooo happy that I finally figures this out!
Now I can play the Arabians and really make magic items!
GhengisRexx
Trade Agent wrote in message <5kTG4.63586$3b6.2...@ozemail.com.au>...
>
>"Kathleen Chin and Joseph Zakszewski" <chi...@mdc.net> wrote in message
>news:38eb90e0@news...
>> Dave,
>>
>> The merchants guild will allow you to build 'trade markets' so you can
>> exchange recources. Since food is unlimited, trade food for gold.
(check
>> out http://tzar.gameglow.com/ for a trade tutorial) Produce cows! They
>> allow your peons to carry 50 food per trip! This comes in handy if you
>need
>> to exchange recources in the tavern.
>
>Hmm it doesn't quite work that way. You can trade Gold for Gold in trade
>(obviously the markets fluctuate).
>
>Check out th emeat value of cows just don't keep them kill them for quick
>meat. They start at 300 food and soon move to 600. Kill one make two.
>
>
>>
>> If you have a war college, get tactics. Then you can build dummies. You
>> can have your rookie units gain experience by attacking the dummies.
This
>> way you your units can achieve 8th level before entering battle. (this
>gives
>> +8 attack and +4 defense)
>>
>> Be sure to constantly make more peons, food and barracks.
>> The AI constantly expands with barracks a food production, giving it the
>> ability to send large attack forces.
>>
>> If you have wizards, use the lightning spell on catapults. It seems to
>kill
>> anything with one shot.
>> Grab the items, many give +50 to attack or defense. This can make a very
>> nasty hero who can kill with one attack, thus gaining even more
>experience.
>> (and giving experience to other troops in the area if you have leadership
>> tech.
>
>hmmm yes but I have noticed that in Team games 3v3 4v4 that magic items are
>usually turned off as there is far too much to do looking after the other
>guys 300 population.
>>
Andrew Potratz
> No summoning costs Time mana and resource best check again..also you have to
> expend quite considerable levels of resource to Guild and then research the
> summonings...Dragon for instance is 800 mana and 80Gold. Stone golem costs
> 120 gold 600m.
I only played Arabian, who make Jin. Could it be that Jin dont cost
gold? i dont remember seeing any costs when moving the mouse over the
icon for them. (I'll try a different civ tonight.
mana/incapacitating the mage is OK since i keep the mages in a safe
part of my base, treating them like production plants rather than
military units.
> Hmm it doesn't quite work that way. You can trade Gold for Gold in
> trade (obviously the markets fluctuate).
If you click on the picture of gold, you can change the resources so
that you can do a 10-for-1 trade of any resource for any other
resource. I've done it.
Later in the game you can also set up trade routes between two markets
to do 1-for-1 trade. (I've just read about this one though- I havent
tried it yet)
> Check out th emeat value of cows just don't keep them kill them for
> quick meat. They start at 300 food and soon move to 600. Kill one
> make two.
cool. good for when you have time to micromanage.
but sans micromanaging, i suspect milking cows produces more 'food per
second' than farming. if cows count towards your unit limit, that
could be a downside.
Selby Dyer
seen
> that spelled many different ways, too. :)
No its Cyrillic, named after one of its creators whose name was Cyril (no
joke!). I think it originally had a longer name which included the other
creator Methodie, and was (is) based on a combination of the Greek and Latin
alphabets at the time.
Selby
Selby Dyer
> distinction between an "s" and a "z" in the Cyrillic alphabet? :)
Only a lot. The Cyrillic "Z" looks like "3" (only I think its reversed) and
is pronounced the same. The "S" looks like "C" and is pronounced like our
soft c (or s). Unlike us useres of this alphabet are smart enough to
exclusively use K for the hard c sound.
As someone else pointed out the 'ts' sound in Tzar is actually represented
by one letter that looks like a "U".
Selby
Mark Hanson
> > Check out th emeat value of cows just don't keep them kill them for
> > quick meat. They start at 300 food and soon move to 600. Kill one
> > make two.
>
> cool. good for when you have time to micromanage.
>
> but sans micromanaging, i suspect milking cows produces more 'food per
> second' than farming. if cows count towards your unit limit, that
> could be a downside.
Yes, milking cows generates 50 food where fields product 10 (12 with
rotating crops tech).
I do believe the time involved is identical.
I do not believe cows count towards your pop limit:)
Markus
Dave Richardson
<nos...@nspam.com> writes
>
>Your mages should not wonder off unless you have AI assist on or they are
>being attacked you can make then Stand ground. Select all units then select
>symbol with 3 units and shields in the status panel. Make sure you do not
>have war assist on though.
>
>Bats are ok but archers take them out and priests and they take a lot of
>micro to keep them effective against a good human player.
>
>
Yes, all the AI is off, but the mages were "living" pretty close to the
front line. They had a habit of joining the fray and getting themselves
unnecessarily killed. I *think* enemy AI seems to target my Mages in
preference to other units.
--
Dave Richardson
Trade Agent
"Andrew Potratz" <ap...@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:csvBR5_00...@andrew.cmu.edu...
> "Trade Agent" <nos...@nspam.com> writes:
> > No summoning costs Time mana and resource best check again..also you
have to
> > expend quite considerable levels of resource to Guild and then research
the
> > summonings...Dragon for instance is 800 mana and 80Gold. Stone golem
costs
> > 120 gold 600m.
>
> I only played Arabian, who make Jin. Could it be that Jin dont cost
> gold? i dont remember seeing any costs when moving the mouse over the
> icon for them. (I'll try a different civ tonight.
>
> mana/incapacitating the mage is OK since i keep the mages in a safe
> part of my base, treating them like production plants rather than
> military units.
>
> > Hmm it doesn't quite work that way. You can trade Gold for Gold in
> > trade (obviously the markets fluctuate).
>
> If you click on the picture of gold, you can change the resources so
> that you can do a 10-for-1 trade of any resource for any other
> resource. I've done it.
>
> Later in the game you can also set up trade routes between two markets
> to do 1-for-1 trade. (I've just read about this one though- I havent
> tried it yet)
>
Trade Agent
to build another farm and food is available.... again as long as it is a
live it is replenishing supply. Having many options to arrive at your goal
is one of the latent enjoyable features in TZAR.
"Mark Hanson" <mar...@flashemail.net> wrote in message
news:38ed09a7$0$42...@news.solutionsgroup.net...
>
> "Andrew Potratz" <ap...@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
> news:csvBR5_00...@andrew.cmu.edu...
> > > Check out th emeat value of cows just don't keep them kill them for
> > > quick meat. They start at 300 food and soon move to 600. Kill one
> > > make two.
> >
> > cool. good for when you have time to micromanage.
> >
> > but sans micromanaging, i suspect milking cows produces more 'food per
> > second' than farming. if cows count towards your unit limit, that
> > could be a downside.
>
Trade Agent
which was included after the tutorial was made. You don't need to go food
one way and gold the other. You can go gold both ways. Remember also that
you have to protect the trade route. If you ship goes down you lose th
egold you had to the depths...the spoils will be spilt over the ground if
your Trade Camel is attacked. Your enemies can then recover it.
richar...@hotmail.com
"Dicke" <di...@curfew.net> wrote:
> Seven Kingdoms hardly even makes a list for anything. Man that game
was
> brutal. What a borefest. Then they followed it up with another
borefest and
> still Amarok shows up to defend it whenever talk of its bargain bin
head
> rises.
Heck, I don't care for 7K, and don't care for 7K 2 either. I don't get
into it. But I will defend the title by saying that, for the person
who happens to like it, it is one of the best titles ever on the PC.
It sure tries to do a bunch of neat things, but for most people (myself
included), we just don't get it. I still respect the title though.
And for $10, or whatever it is going for now at EB, it is worth
considering. I recommend people try the demo and see if they like the
game. Heck, I am still holding onto 7K2. Maybe one day I little light
will go off with it. But now, it hasn't.
- Richard Hutnik
--
Visit DocReason's Strategy HQ for free games, reviews, and
support and opponent finding for obscure/orphan games at:
http://www.geocities.com/timessquare/fortress/7537/
Jabba
of its own while TZAR fall in the Warcraft-Starcraft cathegory.Which does
not mean it is not a good game.
Just an opinion,
Jabba.news:38eb6cde...@news.netcologne.de...
> On Tue, 4 Apr 2000 19:03:00 -0400, "Chris White" <nos...@no.spam>
> wrote:
>
> >Amorak,
> >
> >Have you tried Tzar? If so, I'd be interested in your opinion, and how
you
> >think it compares to 7K2. You might actually be pleasantly surprised.
:-)
> >
> >-Chris
> >
>
> hmmm, so you think they are really similar in any way? I will look for
> a demo then.
>
mark...@my-deja.com
your mages.
Try putting your mages on Guard mode if they are near the front lines.
This should keep them close (to whatever you decide to guard) while you
are away:)
Markus
>
> Yes, all the AI is off, but the mages were "living" pretty close to
the
> front line. They had a habit of joining the fray and getting
themselves
> unnecessarily killed. I *think* enemy AI seems to target my Mages in
> preference to other units.
> --
> Dave Richardson
>
Amarok
like "gather resources and build up an army" it won't be my game no
matter how well these parts are implemented. After Red Alert I was
already satisfied by that kind of games.
Amarok
Jimmy Chan
>In article <sejpfr4...@corp.supernews.com>,
> "Dicke" <di...@curfew.net> wrote:
>> Seven Kingdoms hardly even makes a list for anything. Man that game
>was
>> brutal. What a borefest. Then they followed it up with another
>borefest and
>> still Amarok shows up to defend it whenever talk of its bargain bin
>head
>> rises.
>
>Heck, I don't care for 7K, and don't care for 7K 2 either. I don't get
>into it. But I will defend the title by saying that, for the person
>who happens to like it, it is one of the best titles ever on the PC.
>It sure tries to do a bunch of neat things, but for most people (myself
>included), we just don't get it. I still respect the title though.
I have to agree with Richard here. I've played 7K, didn't appeal to
me though it appealed to many others. Didn't get 7K2 since 7K didn't
appeal to me, didn't think 7K2 would appeal to me also. There was
nothing wrong with 7K, in fact it was one of the most bug free games I
ever came across but somehow it lacked a certain something for me to
really get into, and I played about 3 games and for about 2-3 weeks.
"Here we go again. When you can't get anything meaningful going, resort
to name calling." - Derek Smart, PhD Fraud
Andrew Potratz
> Yes, all the AI is off, but the mages were "living" pretty close to the
> front line. They had a habit of joining the fray and getting themselves
> unnecessarily killed. I *think* enemy AI seems to target my Mages in
> preference to other units.
boy, i'll say! one time, the computer breached my base defences,
completely ignored my military units that were trying to engage them,
and went all the way to the very back of my base to try to kill my
mages.
but i realized soon enough to play 'run the mage around the castle',
and the computer lost half its units to my archers, ballistae and
towers before abandoning the chase.
Amarok
I had a similar story. I think it took me just 1 month to play it for
the first time. Except the excellent review nothing attracted me and
even after I played 2 games against AI I was not really interested.
Fortunately I asked a friend to play just a network game without
anybody knowing the game yet. That was the key for me. We played at a
very easy level and we could concentrate just on our stuff. Our first
game lasted for 4 hours and during that time we figured out step by
step most features of the game. I still remember how we discovered
espionage. Suddenly we were bribing like crazy other troops. This was
probably the fun moment which let me continue to play this game.
However, even in that game we asked each other after 4 hours: Hell,
I'm doing fine and you too, but what is our goal?
The game offers you a wondeful virtual world in which you can do more
or less everything and its still balanced, however, it doesn't show
you how much fun that is. This you need to experience by yourself and
it takes for some people too long so they quit playing before they do
experience this. Populous and Civ showed that its possible to make
even a very complex game open for the mass. If Trevor can improve on
anything then its this.
However, as a single multi-game was the key for me I offer anybody to
play a one 1-1 game with me where I show you how much fun it is to
play in the virtual world of 7k2. Let me guide you through this world
of espionage, economy, diplomacy and military.
Amarok
Trade Agent
<mark...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:8clghe$f0o$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> 100% correct. The computer AI will give 'preferential' treatment to
> your mages.
> Try putting your mages on Guard mode if they are near the front lines.
> This should keep them close (to whatever you decide to guard) while you
> are away:)
>
> Markus
>
> >
> > Yes, all the AI is off, but the mages were "living" pretty close to
> the
> > front line. They had a habit of joining the fray and getting
> themselves
> > unnecessarily killed. I *think* enemy AI seems to target my Mages in
> > preference to other units.
Chris White
For me, there is just something about the games atmosphere that draws me in,
and keeps me interested. Unfortunately, alot of the games being released
today are:
1. So full of bugs as to make the game unplayable.
2. Have little or no gameplay.
3. Are technically competent, but have no "soul" (ie. not fun to play).
Tzar has no major bugs that I have seen (multiplayer and single player), has
excellent, well-though-out gameplay, and is simple fun to play.
Amorak, if Tzar is not your cup of tea (seems you're not really a big RTS
fan anymore), try Majesty. That is another outstanding game. Again, really
not similar to 7K/7K2, but extremely fun to play, with little or no bugs. I
love 'em both!
-Chris
Chris White
was released in the US (after the whole publisher fiasco). :-) It was ok,
but there were other games at the time that I had more fun with. Also, the
7K2 matchmaking service seemed to be down more than it was up (I'm more
interested in multiplayer than singleplayer games). A shame really. It was
a bug-free, well executed game. I think the whole UbiSoft publishing mess
really killed it.
(By the way, I still have the CD and manual).
-Chris
Amarok <Ama...@netcologne.de> wrote in message
news:38ee7627...@news.netcologne.de...
Tarquelne
>who happens to like it, it is one of the best titles ever on the PC.
I'm a long time strategy/wargame player, and like very, very few of
the "RTS" or RTSish titles.
7K, I like.
Tarquelne
<os...@apk.net>
I know how God can make a rock so big He can't move it.
************************
Use the address above to reply - not the anti-spam "Reply-to" address
___________________________________________________________
"When in doubt assume the fetal position." --Don Heplar
Amarok
game. Fortunately the game doesn't crash often, but we still have to
use ICQ. Its ok for me now, since I prefer to play the same people
more or less anyway, but in general this is of course a big
disadvantage. However, such a service should offer the publisher not
the developer IMO (the server, not the software).
Amarok
On Sat, 8 Apr 2000 18:53:53 -0400, "Chris White" <nos...@no.spam>
wrote:
>I think I may have played a team game of 7K2 with you shortly after the game
>was released in the US (after the whole publisher fiasco). :-) It was ok,
>but there were other games at the time that I had more fun with. Also, the
>7K2 matchmaking service seemed to be down more than it was up (I'm more
>interested in multiplayer than singleplayer games). A shame really. It was
>a bug-free, well executed game. I think the whole UbiSoft publishing mess
>really killed it.
>
>(By the way, I still have the CD and manual).
>
>-Chris
>
>Amarok <Ama...@netcologne.de> wrote in message
>news:38ee7627...@news.netcologne.de...
>> On Fri, 07 Apr 2000 18:18:49 GMT, Jimmy Chan <ji...@hgea.org> wrote:
>>
>> >On Fri, 07 Apr 2000 12:31:36 GMT, richar...@hotmail.com wrote:
>> >
>> >>In article <sejpfr4...@corp.supernews.com>,
>> >> "Dicke" <di...@curfew.net> wrote:
>> >>> Seven Kingdoms hardly even makes a list for anything. Man that game
>> >>was
>> >>> brutal. What a borefest. Then they followed it up with another
>> >>borefest and
>> >>> still Amarok shows up to defend it whenever talk of its bargain bin
>> >>head
>> >>> rises.
>> >>
>> >>Heck, I don't care for 7K, and don't care for 7K 2 either. I don't get
>> >>into it. But I will defend the title by saying that, for the person
>> >>who happens to like it, it is one of the best titles ever on the PC.
KA
accrual by the units. This adds a strategy element that most RTS don't have.
If I had one minor complaint it is that the units could be somewhat larger,
but this doesn't ruin the game.
Also, it would be even better if there were "either/or" choices in the
technology tree. What's the point of choices if you and your opponents can
have all of the upgrades over time?
Kathleen Chin and Joseph Zakszewski
Actually, it is almost impossible to get all of the upgrades in a single
game. The major Guild upgrades are so expensive that it is difficult to even
get two out of the four (Warrior, Mages, Merchant, Church) This forces
major strategic decision making in the midgame.
GhengisRexx
KA wrote in message <8cp6do$a8r$2...@slb2.atl.mindspring.net>...
Trade Agent
ones you do share can have different results on each civ. SO unless you and
your opponent are both the same civ and take all the same Guild paths then
you won't have all the same civs unless you play a "friendly".
"Kathleen Chin and Joseph Zakszewski" <chi...@mdc.net> wrote in message
news:38f02e31@news...
Kmadjzoob
The Campagin is the best I have ever seen in this kind of games,great
story, Good AI, etc.. but most of all you can't win it unless you use
stratagy not just with brutal force! play it you will know what I mean or
else the game will be very much like other RTS games.
Dave Richardson wrote:
>
> In article <n62G4.17509$64.5...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> Chris White <nos...@no.spam> writes
> >At least the best I have played (better than AOK, AOE, Command and
Conquer
> >series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't work
for
> >the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of
this
> >cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
> >http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
> >http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there.
Here
> >is that review:
> >
> >
> >------------------------
> >Tzar is the best RTS game I have played. Period. Better than Age Of
>
> Don't know if I'd go that far.
>
> Last Sunday I was stood standing in my local PC world wondering whether
> to buy Tzar or Majesty, literally one in each hand. I liked the extra
> weight in the Majesty box, which promised a decent manual, but I had
> seen several decent reviews on this Forum of Tzar, and very little on
> Majesty so went for Tzar (why not Czar?). After seeing the comments on
> Majesty I guess I'll end up with that too eventually.
>
> I started playing by jumping in at the edeep end with a real world map
> on normal difficulty with fog of war.
>
> By 5:00 am I decided I'd better go to bed for an hours sleep before
> getting up at 6:00 for work.
>
> (Don't you just hate it when that happens.)
>
> So far its been a slugfest.
>
> I am churning out units constantly up to the limit. I have my city
> walled in and protected by towers. I face a constant onslaught of enemy
> forces which I can just about repel with my towers and forces.
>
> I Ran out of stone and gold ages ago.
>
> I know where there are two new gold deposits but can't raise sufficient
> forces to get rid of the enemy presence there. I have explored about
> half the map - its bloody huge.
>
> About an hour before I went to bed I managed to raise enough money to
> start investigating what the guild buildings did - I should have done
> that much much earlier I think. I currently have a mage guild, a mage, a
> bat spell and those little bats are making exploring soooo much easier.
> The stone golem spell looks like it may be *the* thing that will turn
> the tide of the game in my direction - if I can trade enough food and
> wood to get the gold to research the spell and buy some more mages.
>
> I haven't done much with the little green spots that seem to be magic
> items.
>
> At one point early on I was very distressed when some kind of fire storm
> took out my catapults and ballistas, I haven't quite worked that out yet
> - but suspect some kind of enemy magic spell.
>
> The enemy AI doesn't seem to be using much magic yet.
>
>
>
> OK, I made life difficult for myself by jumping in and not reading the
> manual.
>
> The game seems very stable - though after 14 hours solid play I did get
> a blue screen on exiting it.
>
> I don't seem to have any music - but that may be because the SBLive
> settings are wrong - effects seem OK.
>
> The AI is pretty responsive to what I do. In fact I was somewhat
> impressed by it.
>
> The visuals are pretty.
>
> I like the game enough to stick with and finish off this wretched first
> game. I might even win it. It is stalemated at the moment.
>
> I will certainly play Tzar a little more after that. It somehow lacks
> the polish of AOE II, and isn't quite in the same league IMHO, but
> overall I haven't found anything to make me dislike it, or stop playing
> it.
>
> I won't bother with the campaigns - I never do now in this type of game
> anymore - they are like heavily orchestrated ballets IMHO where you can
> only win them once you figure out what you are supposed to do and in
> what order. Might give multiplayer a go.
>
> Does anyone have any decent hints about playing this game?
>
> Cheers,
>
>
>
>
> --
> Dave Richardson
--
Posted via CNET Help.com
http://www.help.com/
Gary Hladik
>On Fri, 07 Apr 2000 12:31:36 GMT, richar...@hotmail.com wrote:
[snip]
>>Heck, I don't care for 7K, and don't care for 7K 2 either. I don't get
>>into it. But I will defend the title by saying that, for the person
>>who happens to like it, it is one of the best titles ever on the PC.
[snip]
>I have to agree with Richard here. I've played 7K, didn't appeal to
>me though it appealed to many others. Didn't get 7K2 since 7K didn't
>appeal to me, didn't think 7K2 would appeal to me also. There was
>nothing wrong with 7K, in fact it was one of the most bug free games I
>ever came across but somehow it lacked a certain something for me to
>really get into, and I played about 3 games and for about 2-3 weeks.
Loved 7K, plan to get 7K2 when I burn out on SMAC. So many games,
so little time! :-)
Gary
nate
I enjoyed 7k immensely. I had just gotten over a very long-term
addiction to Total Annihiliation. StarCraft had been a bit of a
disappointment and so i bought 7k. I had already read the negative
criticism about the graphics, but I didn't care. I wanted gameplay and
that's what it gave you if you stuck with it long enough to learn the
rules.
Nate
Kieran Jackson
KOK: 7K2 Patches, Links, Downloads, FAQ, Technical Support, Msg Boards,
Player's List, and much much more.
nate <nrpenn...@utah.rr.net> wrote in message
news:38f2c6f8...@news-server.carolina.rr.com...
SpySmasher
Chris White wrote:
>
>
> At least the best I have played (better than AOK, AOE, Command and
Conquer
> series, Starcraft, Warcraft, Seven Kingdoms). By the way, I don't work
for
> the developer, publisher, etc. I'm just one of the fanatical fans of
this
> cool game 8-) (I post stuff on the forums at the fansite
> http://tzar.gameglow.com/). Read some of the Tzar reviews on
> http://www.reviewplanet.com. I wrote one of the reviews posted there.
Here
> is that review:
>
>
> ------------------------
> Tzar is the best RTS game I have played. Period. Better than Age Of
> wrong, those are all very good games. But there is something very
special
> about Tzar that elevates it above the crowd. This game is **FUN**!!!
>
> There are three civilizations from which to choose: European, Asian, and
> Arabian. Each race has it's own unique units and technologies that breed
> different strategies. You have access to conventional forces such as
foot
> soldiers, bowmen, pikemen, calvary, catapults, ballistas, priests, ships,
> etc, but you also have access to wizards/mages. There is nothing cooler
(no
> pun intended) than casting a "freeze" spell that encases your opponents
> forces in ice, then going in with soldiers to kill the poor souls. And
then
> when killed, raising them from the dead with another spell to create an
army
> of skeletons. Very nice. You also have access to other magical
creatures,
> either by conjuring them or capturing a magical gateway through with they
> can be summoned. This *magical* aspect of the game is a very nice
addition
> to the gameplay.
>
> As with most other RTS games, you collect/grow resources (Food, wood,
gold,
> and stone) to grow your civilization. You command your peasants to build
> structures to research technologies, train soldiers, and store resources.
> All standard stuff here.
>
> The game AI is incredible. The computer will actually send in masses of
> mixed troops to attack. The computer will also attack from multiple
> directions at the same time, and will coordinate attacks with other
computer
> allies. Definately top notch AI here, not the trickle of units seen in
> other games.
>
> Multiplayer is very good. I played a game against someone on the other
side
> of the globe, with very high pings of 700-1200. The gameplay was
> super-smooth, with very few stutters. Amazing! Any other game would be
> brought to it's knees under these conditions!!! The network code is
> brilliant! I would love to know how these guys managed this.
>
> There are only a couple of downsides to the game (and they are minor).
> First, the game has not received much publicity in the gaming press.
This
> is truly a shame, because this is the best RTS game I have ever played.
A
> lot of gamers who would love this game are going to miss it, just because
> they have not heard of it. Second, none of the large online gaming
services
> support the game yet. Even this is not a problem. I have little trouble
> finding opponents to play through ICQ or IRC. The website,
> http://tzar.gameglow.com/ has a forum and ICQ list full of players
willing
> to play or discuss the game. Still, it would be nice to be able to go to
> the MS Gaming Zone to meet opponents.
>
> Overall, this is a fun game, with great gameplay. If you like AOK or
AOE,
> you will love Tzar. In fact, even if you don't like AOK and AOE, you may
> still like Tzar. You won't regret it.
>
> Additional information on the game can be found at:
>
> http://tzar.gameglow.com/
> http://www.haemimont.com/tzar
> http://www.talonsoft.com/products/TZAR.html
>
> --------------------------------
SpySmasher
quality and diversity of the original TA (but neither does TAK). I do like
the weather effects, eventhough they do not seem to affect how units move
in rain, etc....
STEAMFAX
However I would like to see a couple more things
Priests auto heal (or have an option to do so) when injured units are in range.
Peasants auto repair when buildings are damaged(or have the option to do so)
Someone mentioned some auto spell casting from the wizards, I know trying to
micromanage one wizard while other things are going on can be disasterious.
svp...@gmail.com
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