Titans of Steel Valentine's Day Giveaway
eddys...@hotmail.com
You heard it right - Matrix is giving away this futuristic tactical
combat/RPG game completely free of charge.
More info about the game :
http://www.matrixgames.com/games/game.asp?gid=237
Download the full version here :
ftp://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/TitansofSteel/TitansOfSteelWarringSuns-PublicRelease-v121DR.zip
Nothing says "Happy Valentine" as a mech blasting and stomping on it's
opponent :)
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
MMQ
<eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> You heard it right - Matrix is giving away this futuristic tactical
> combat/RPG game completely free of charge.
>
> More info about the game :
>
> http://www.matrixgames.com/games/game.asp?gid=237
>
> Download the full version here :
>
>
> Nothing says "Happy Valentine" as a mech blasting and stomping on it's
> opponent :)
>
> Greetz,
>
> Eddy Sterckx
I'm one of those few people who actually got the boxed version in
retail. It's a decent little game. AI is pretty good, graphics are...
serviceable ;-) and there's a lot of depth to the design of your
Mechs, err sorry, Titans. One of the features that makes the game more
appealing is that it generates random battles and IIRC campaigns, so
there's lots of replay value. Don't know how well it works under
Vista, but it works nice in WinXP.
Hannu Harvanpaah
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:292a1bd6-0f55-4b41...@e30g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
Matrix store says the product is discontinued, and when I click on the
direct download link above get a 404 error.
Giftzwerg
@e30g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com says...
> You heard it right - Matrix is giving away this futuristic tactical
> combat/RPG game completely free of charge.
... a fiduciary maneuver which accurately reflects the worth of this
game. It's like getting a free punch in the kidneys.
--
Giftzwerg
***
"Senior Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyah, on the United States' most
wanted list for attacks on Israeli and Western targets, has been killed
by a bomb attack in Damascus"
- al-Reuters
"Mazal-tov, motherfucker."
- Giftzwerg
Giftzwerg
says...
> Matrix store says the product is discontinued, and when I click on the
> direct download link above get a 404 error.
Count yourself lucky. It's not worth the time it takes to download.
KG_Jag
even so much as 23 MB of the game.
eddys...@hotmail.com
> Good, bad or somewhere in between, I have not been able to download
> even so much as 23 MB of the game.
A download manager might help - Matrix recommends the free
Stardownloader, but their ftp server works with my GetRight as well.
Got the box of that game, might re-install it again to give it a go,
but I'm not really into mech games. I know some guys who do so I'm
going to hand out a couple of cd's, compliments of Matrix, at the
upcoming Red Baron wargame convention in Ghent in 2 weeks time.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
eddys...@hotmail.com
wrote:
> On 15 feb, 04:00, KG_Jag <wburb...@netscape.net> wrote:
>
> > Good, bad or somewhere in between, I have not been able to download
> > even so much as 23 MB of the game.
>
> A download manager might help - Matrix recommends the free
> Stardownloader, but their ftp server works with my GetRight as well.
Apparantly the Matrix ftp server got overloaded by too many people
trying to download it at the same time - there's now a mirror up at
the Strategy Informer.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Paulo Vicente
> In article <292a1bd6-0f55-4b41-811f-edb021f4feb9
>
> > You heard it right - Matrix is giving away this futuristic tactical
> > combat/RPG game completely free of charge.
>
> ... a fiduciary maneuver which accurately reflects the worth of this
> game. It's like getting a free punch in the kidneys.
>
I'm thinking about giving it a chance, could you tell us what makes it
so terrible?
I looked around and it looks like it got some inspiration from
Battletech, has anyone managed to play both this and Megamek, and if
so, what's the better game?
Giftzwerg
@s37g2000prg.googlegroups.com>, Paulo.Alexa...@gmail.com
says...
> > > You heard it right - Matrix is giving away this futuristic tactical
> > > combat/RPG game completely free of charge.
> >
> > ... a fiduciary maneuver which accurately reflects the worth of this
> > game. It's like getting a free punch in the kidneys.
> >
>
> I'm thinking about giving it a chance, could you tell us what makes it
> so terrible?
An excerpt from a post I made in 2003, when this crap-fest was fresh on
my hard disk:
***
[1] I can't imagine anyone playing through a campaign of this
preposterous turkey; having to micromanage every last footstep of the
mechs in ridiculously tedious detail - with the nightmare interface
fighting you tooth-and-nail all the way - is stupefying. A simple
example illustrates this magnificently well:
A. Here's how to move a unit one hex 60 degrees to the left in STEEL
PANTHERS:
Click on the unit. Click on the new hex. The unit cheerfully pivots
and rolls into the new hex.
Heck, there's gotta be a better way that this, right? Vee need ze
Cherman Engzineering...
B. Here's how to move a unit one hex 60 degrees to the left in TITANS
OF blah, blah:
Wait for your mech to be the "active player." Call up the Move Menu by
clicking on the Move Menu Icon. Issue the turn 60 degrees left command
by clicking on the Left Turn Icon. Open the attack menu[2] and click on
the Wait Icon. The Wait Menu will appear. Click on the Wait On Move
Icon. At this point, other units will move, shoot, do all sorts of
things. When the precise period of time necessary for your mech to turn
left expires, it will actually turn left. When you are "active" again
with this mech, it's time to actually move that one hex forward, now
that turning is taken care of. OK, open up the Move Menu and click on
the Move Forward Icon. Now open up the Attack Menu. Open up the Wait
Menu. Click on Wait on Move. When the time necessary for the mech to
move forward one hex expires[3], your mech will actually move a single
hex forward.
Simple, eh? Who'd a thunk it that such an infernally complex chore as
moving a unit one hex to the left could be shoehorned into such a
simple, intuitive, natural process? Hat's off to the brilliant designer
who pared complexity to the bone, and the sharp reviewer who (without
accepting a nickel!) realized how brilliantly simple it all is.
Multiple this by a map dozens and dozens and dozens of hexes wide, and
by having to plot each mech individually[4], and by the thousands of
individual seconds it takes to step through the game one-second-at-a-
time, and you're...
ZZZZzzzZZZzzzzzzZZZZZZZZ.
[2] I know, I know, it's fucking ridiculous to have to issue "attack"
commands when you're *not attacking*, but the first thing you have to
realize is that you have to give both attack and move commands (even if
they amount to Wait on <something>, every turn, even if you're only
doing one *or* the other.
[3] And being as the hex size was chosen at an eye-popping *333 meters*
- appropriate for a company or battalion-scale game, not a unit-tactical
game - it will take a medium mech two dozen seconds to simply move one
hex ... and you will be micromanaging each step (there's an "automove"
feature, but it's lethal if anyone spots you while you're ambling along,
and thus is worthless...).
[4] An exercise for the reader: Remember the classic MECHWARRIOR II?
Great sim. One tactic a lot of fast mechs liked to pull was to run in a
circle around a larger, slower opponent, swiveling the torso to keep
blasting away. Problem: Calculate the total number of mouse clicks
(within 50 or so, let's keep it simple...) necessary to accomplish ten
full circuits around the largest mech, using the smallest mech, in
TITANS OF NOT-MECHWARRIOR.
Extra Credit: Is this number greater or smaller than the Mean Time
Between Failure click-figure for a Logitech Cordless Optical
Intellimouse?
***
> I looked around and it looks like it got some inspiration from
> Battletech, has anyone managed to play both this and Megamek, and if
> so, what's the better game?
I've played both. MEGAMEK is at least *playable*. TITANS OF NOT-
MECHWARRIOR is just grim, tedious stodge.
--
Giftzwerg
***
"A leading human rights group appealed to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah
on Thursday to stop the execution of a woman accused of witchcraft and
performing supernatural acts."
- ABC News
ERutins
which we are now offering for free. Obviously, Gifty was not one, but
you'll find there is still a community out there that enjoys the game
and we hope this offer helps to keept that going. The interface does
have a steep learning curve, but the game itself is very detailed and
includes support for multi-player custom mech combat, so it's not like
games that realy do this are a dime a dozen.
Giftzwerg
@u72g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>, er...@matrixgames.com says...
...and it's not like there's much of a decision involved in grabbing a
free game and reviewing away for one's self.
What impresses me is that Matrix is offering a title that's reached the
end of the commercial cycle as a free download. I've been saying for
the longest time that more companies ought to do exactly this; it's a
nice gesture to customers.
Bloodstar
>> which we are now offering for free. Obviously, Gifty was not one, but
>> you'll find there is still a community out there that enjoys the game
>> and we hope this offer helps to keept that going. The interface does
>> have a steep learning curve, but the game itself is very detailed and
>> includes support for multi-player custom mech combat, so it's not like
>> games that realy do this are a dime a dozen.
>
> ...and it's not like there's much of a decision involved in grabbing a
> free game and reviewing away for one's self.
>
> What impresses me is that Matrix is offering a title that's reached the
> end of the commercial cycle as a free download. I've been saying for
> the longest time that more companies ought to do exactly this; it's a
> nice gesture to customers.
Or is it marketing? :o)))
Giftzwerg
Bloodstar
Nobody.
h...@viciousbyte.de
> In article <94554eb3-c762-45cb-928b-34b9c7517ee9
> says...
>
> > > > You heard it right - Matrix is giving away this futuristic tactical
> > > > combat/RPG game completely free of charge.
>
> > > ... a fiduciary maneuver which accurately reflects the worth of this
> > > game. It's like getting a free punch in the kidneys.
>
> > I'm thinking about giving it a chance, could you tell us what makes it
> > so terrible?
>
> B. Here's how to move a unit one hex 60 degrees to the left inTITANS
Your text clearly shows that you never managed to understand the games
turn system. Some players did complain as they only know the
traditional "I go - You go" system which has its own problems. Moving
in TOS is far easier then you described but I won't go into detail as
you seem to be very biased.
Here is an extract from the review at GameZone http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r22507.htm
"One thing that I was especially impressed with was in the movement
and battle systems of the Titans. There is a simple to use control
panel at the bottom of the screen which allows you to issue move
commands or orders to rotate the Titan, while flipping to the combat
panel enables you to lock onto a potential target, fire weapons, or
even eject if things just start going badly. It took a couple of tries
to get used to, but after I played it for about the third time and got
the hang of it, I realized that it was not only easy, but Matrix
seemed to have covered everything that I felt needed to be done while
playing."
Seems the reviewer found something you always missed.
Giftzwerg
@o10g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>, h...@viciousbyte.de says...
> Your text clearly shows that you never managed to understand the games
> turn system.
And that's exactly the problem here; the dimwit who built this shitware
designed such a retardedly overcomplex turn system that it makes veteran
gamers (who should be fans of the system) throw up their hands in
disgust after only a few games. The requisite level of micromanagement
in TOS can only be described as *excruciating*; it's as if the designer
took on the philosophy, "never use one action when three can be
provided."
Tactical game designs should start with the idea that there are really
only *two* orders players should need to give to their units: "move
here" and "shoot at this." A designer might need to insert additional
commands to handle other aspects of military reality, but TOS is really
the first game I've seen that decided to break those two fundamental
commands into ridiculously hyperdetailed component parts.
> Some players did complain as they only know the
> traditional "I go - You go" system which has its own problems.
Well, but players around here have used every system imaginable, from
turn-basing to PCT and every combination in between; and so can't be
dismissed as simply pining away for turns.
The problem with TOS isn't that the designer tried a hybrid turn
sequence, but that the designer broke the turn sequence - thus
everything about the game - down into ridiculously small increments ...
in a game with a 300 meter hex scale. Thus the hapless player is forced
to micromanage practically every footstep of the mechs. Add to this the
hyper-micromanagement aspect of having a parallel-track movement and
action sequencing system that forces the player to make actions "wait on
movement" and movements "wait on actions" *every* *fucking* *turn* and
you reach a situation where even players who enjoy detailed games just
rm* the whole thing.
I forget who said this, but the most pithy thing I read about TOS was,
"It speaks volumes about the game system that the most important command
the player needs to understand is 'wait'."
> Moving
> in TOS is far easier then you described but I won't go into detail as
> you seem to be very biased.
<laughter>
Yeah. Whew. That explains why I think this fucking game sucks: I
picked the title randomly out of the catalog and decided to hate it.
h...@viciousbyte.de
> In article <0f77df76-b2f7-48fc-9ad7-4b7ac6b34676
> @o10g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>, h...@viciousbyte.de says...
>
> > Your text clearly shows that you never managed to understand the games
> > turn system.
>
> And that's exactly the problem here; the dimwit who built this shitware
> designed such a retardedly overcomplex turn system that it makes veteran
> gamers (who should be fans of the system) throw up their hands in
> disgust after only a few games.
The dimwit was Ralph Reed who created this system for the old amiga
shareware Mechforce which had lots of fans. I liked it so much and so
much better than the standard turn sequence that I used it for Titans
of Steel (freeware). I'm guilty and in charge. The freeware (same turn
system) had lots of fans and therefore Matrixgames asked to do a
retail version. I simply disagree that the system is too complicated
and had lots of battles with a smooth flow. No problem if you disagree
(others did too) but your examples clearly show that you didn't grasp
it. Continue to hate it or not, I don't care.
Here is a review from www.wargamer.com by someone who actually played
it :
BP
>Yeah. Whew. That explains why I think this fucking game sucks: I
>picked the title randomly out of the catalog and decided to hate it.
Really? I thought it was just a ploy to try to confuse Mario about
your status as a shill for Matrix...
BP
Giftzwerg
@q70g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>, h...@viciousbyte.de says...
Here's a clue for ya; having whelped an interface that needs "grasping"
isn't exactly polish for your resume.
And that's just the point; there's no need for elaborate "grasping" in a
game where the design elements are appropriate and the interface clear.
TITANS OF NOT-MECHWARRIOR, in sharp contrast, seems to have been
explicitly designed to present a perfectly retarded degree of
granularity to the users. Things which other games accomplish with a
single click can require dozens of clicks in TON-M.
TITANS OF NOT-MECHWARRIOR almost seems like it's trying to be a RISC
wargame - only with the player taking on the role of the CPU grimly
tasked at processing zillions of tiny little steps in excruciating
detail. The ultimate incarnation of this is the wretchedly stupid
decision to model events in *two* queues so gameplay becomes a painfully
annoying exercise in switching back and forth between the two modes
telling each in turn to "wait" on the other. This is so fucking brain-
damaged that it just beggars the imagination.
The real problem is that turn-basing is fundamentally incompatible with
actions playing out in meticulously-timed chunks of seconds; if you're
unwilling to abstract the fiddly little actions to fit a turn sequence,
why not just chuck "turns" and build a game where the clock runs and
everything happens in the amount of time it takes to happen?
Then you end up with a game like STARFLEET COMMAND, where the game
handles all the fiddly little timings and mechanics, and the interface
just shows at a glance where all the processes are.
> Here is a review from www.wargamer.com by someone who actually played
> it :
>
> http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/titans_of_steel/
"Actually played it?" Nice try, but the method by which I determined
that this game wasn't worth shit was "actually playing it."
h...@viciousbyte.de
wrote:
> In article <e12a7de2-4c9a-4922-8604-db45085b8109
> @q70g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>, h...@viciousbyte.de says...
>
>
>
> that this game wasn't worth shit was "actually playing it."
>
I've made my point. Nothing more to say. Anyone interested can look
for himself. Game is for free. Have a nice day.
eddys...@hotmail.com
Mario will be permanently confused when I state here that Mr.
Giftzwerg is 100% right in his assertion that only people who are
very, very, very much into micro-managing *everything* can get some
joy out of this game. There are people like that, but I'm not one of
them. I'm not even sure releasing it as a free game is such a good
idea as it'll turn away more people than it'll garner goodwill.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx