Quote:
I may be too harsh, but I don't think I am when I say that without installing the 1.01 pre-release patch, I wouldn't even advise you to play this game, as you'll get so frustrated you'll likely quit. The path finding isn't good - units have collision detection and this will create complete confusion when they're supposed to navigate the many objects in the environment *and* their comrades. Some of the units will rush blindly into the fray and often, enemy stray units won't even react to the fact that you are killing them. Shoddy AI - the enemy will simply continue merrily on their way. Furthermore, the units are very unresponsive; they often won't attack the targets you've ordered them to attack. Consequently, they will create a tactical nightmare for any serious RTS player as they'll focus on the rather insignificant Native American dart shooters while letting the enemy artillery (which can be quite deadly) pound on them from its position. This would happen even though I have frantically ordered them a dozen times to attack the freaking enemy cannon.
And:
Quote:
The list of technical and design blunders goes on and on. When near caves or similar such environments, the units will switch to what can only be described as "bullet time" mode. The unit lag becomes horrific and it's almost impossible to move them across the map. Villagers can't repair buildings?!
The 1.01 patch fixes some of these issues, but certainly not all of them. It seems to me like this was simply an emergency patch to take care of some of the most glaring issues. I have installed it and played the patched version and *still* the path finding is bad. What's more, when you turn on anti-aliasing in any form (low or high), even in the patched game, the frame rate drops incredibly low and the unit lag gets far worse (I couldn't even run the game with high anti-aliasing on).
Of course, anyone who has played even a little of the demo knows you click the "hammer" button on a building to repair it, so this "reviewer" was obviously not thorough with his review of the game play mechanics. The part I am concerned (and disappointed) with is the PATHFINDING and unit AI. Have folks with the full retail game seen these issues? Is this reviewer exagerating? And if this is a big issue, are the developers planning to fix the pathing in a patch?
FYI, I'm still buying the game the day it comes out (I have it preordered), and I loved the demo. Still, I'm disappointed if the pathfinding and AI do have the problems described in the review.
BTW, the review link:
Thanks. -Feudal1
Currently Playing: Rise of Legends, Age of Empires III, Battle for Middle Earth II, Battlefield 2, Rise of Nations, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War