Get a Sneak Peek at the Armada 2526 Manual!

[SeanD]

Take a look at a few key game mechanics for the highly anticipated sci-fi strategy game

Matrix Games and Ntronium Games (www.ntronium.com) are pleased to release a sneak peek of the manual for their highly anticipated turn based strategy/real time tactical blend, Armada 2526. This manual excerpt offers some information about colony management on the turn-based strategy layer and some details about formations and ship organization on the real time tactical layer.

More insight and design philosophy details are also available from Three Moves Ahead’s recent podcast interview with Armada 2526 creator, Bob Smith. Be sure to check that out for more info as well!

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said “Armada 2526 offers a rich and detailed sci-fi 4x experience with plenty of challenging gameplay and a streamlined interface. Fans of this particular genre will find that Armada 2526 brings them the style of gaming they love with plenty of innovation as well.”

Expand your Empire, Conquer the Galaxy!

Armada 2526 is the heir to one of the first great space empire-building games and it is the product of veteran game designer and developer R.T. Smith, of “Total War” series fame. You guide your race from its first interstellar journeys, until it becomes a mighty galactic empire. Along the way, you'll explore the galaxy, conduct research, diplomacy and trade, found new colonies, maneuver mighty star fleets, and fight epic battles. Create bustling colonies on foreign worlds to build powerful fleets, construct advanced buildings and research facilities that will help you master space and defend your civilization! In a close race for victory, alliances forged through bartering and good will can help tip the balance of power in your favor as alien empires seek power and glory at your expense.

Powerful tutorial and advisor features help any would-be galactic commander get up to speed quickly, and with endless possible strategies Armada 2526 offers many different strategies to best your alien foes.

Unlike many games in this genre, Armada 2526 focuses on providing a game that can be finished in a reasonable time and emphasizes decisive strategy over micro-management.

Check out the manual excerpt here and get more information on Armada 2526 from its official product page.

[Wade1000]

Cool. Thanks. I'm still reading it.

Why isn't Public Order listed in the Detail Tab of the Colony Management Screen?

It seems pretty important:(Page 28)

"Public Order – Public order determines how well a colony functions on a daily basis. Unhappy
colonies can still function at full efficiency as long as public order remains steady. However,
if the ruling power’s popularity drops low enough and there isn’t enough security present, a
colony’s public order will degrade. If the situation continues to deteriorate, the situation in a
colony can worsen from general unrest, to rioting (which interferes with production and output
at the colony), to full on rebellion where the controlling power is expelled from the colony
altogether."

[balto]

Thanks for all of the information. I never considered a Space game before.

I listened to the podcast and I am looking at Galactic Civilization II series (I never heard of it before until I saw the IGN article).

Am I correct in saying the Galactic Civ II is more grognadish then Armada 2526? I hear terms like "Armada is less micromanagment.., etc..," I love economic micromanagment and I do not like real time. Should I go with Galactic Civ II?

Thanks

[Wade1000]

There is a discrepency from page 30 to 31. It is missing the Defense category title and some part of the sentence.

[martok]

ORIGINAL: balto

Am I correct in saying the Galactic Civ II is more grognadish then Armada 2526? I hear terms like "Armada is less micromanagment.., etc..," I love economic micromanagment and I do not like real time. Should I go with Galactic Civ II?

Thanks

Well since I've not played Armada yet (soon! soon!), I can't comment on which game is more "grognard-ish", much less as to which one you'd enjoy more.

I will say that I like GalCiv2 quite a lot, and has been the only space empire game other than Birth of the Federation I've spent any significant time playing the last few years. The game is especially good if you have both expansion packs, Dark Avatar and Twilight of the Arnor, as well. (The Ultimate Edition, which has been available since earlier this year, includes both the original game plus the two expansions). And if you do enjoy economic micromanagement as you claim, then this is probably one of the better titles out there for that.

That being said, there are two caveats about GalCiv2 that I feel are worth mentioning:

1.) There is no multiplayer; the game is singleplayer only.
2.) There is no tactical combat -- all battles are automatically resolved, although you can choose to watch them play out if you so desire (which I sometimes do).

I play strategy games almost exclusively in SP mode, so lack of multiplayer really doesn't bother me much. Personally, the second one is the only thing that really bothers me at all, and I find even that's forgivable when considering how well done the rest of the game is.



So which one should you get? Ask me again in a couple weeks after I've gotten my greedy little paws on Armada. [:'(] I suspect even then I'll probably end up saying "both", but we shall see. [:)]

[ypsylon]

I'm tempted to take a look at manual, but I fiercely believe that real men don't read manuals. It spoils whole fun of learning the game. [:D]

OK, I must ignore this thread just like AARs ones. Prefer wholesale surprise than 'oh I saw that on the forum, and this and that too. yawn this is boring, I shouldn't read that stuff earlier' [:'(]

Have fun.

[Dodanodo]

nice, I like the hyperspace gates idear. never seen something like that before.

[balto]

Martok, that was hugely informative. Thank you very very much.

As far as single player, the podcast did say that he is not interested in multiplayer for Armada 2526 based on market feedback from Total War.

If Armada was going multiplayer (I love PBEM), that would be the deal breaker for me. Man, I do not know what to do here.., very tough decision.

Thanks again,

[SeanD]

There is a discrepency from page 30 to 31. It is missing the Defense category title and some part of the sentence.

This is a manual excerpt so we cut out past that part of the page. This isn't a finished or contiguous representation of the manual. The page numbering is just to make it easier for people to read. It does not represent the final numbering of the manual itself.

[Iceman]

ORIGINAL: Wade1000
Why isn't Public Order listed in the Detail Tab of the Colony Management Screen?

It seems pretty important:(Page 28)

[:D]

A few typos in the manual...

[Wade1000]

But I'm refering to the screenshot in the manual. The Colony Management screen\Details tab does not show the Public Order. Are you saying that the in game Details tab DOES actually now have Public Order listed?

[Erik Rutins]

Public Order shows up on the main colony screen actually, not on the details tab.

[Iceman]

The thing is, you don't want it to show [;)] If it does, that's a bad sign usually.

[Taxman66]

FYI,
For whatever reason, I'm unable to download the manual excerpt from your server. I get a forever circling 'connecting' message or just plain nothing. I know it's not my computer as I can download the screenshot pack.

Mostly just hoping the same situation doesn't arise when I purchase the game later.

Thanks!

[SeanD]

Taxman:

Before the PDF actually shows you need to download it in its entirety. If your connection is a bit slow or you haven't waited very long for it to download then it may appear as if the connection won't complete but in fact the document is downloading. They pretty much never give you visual feedback on if the PDF is downloaded. Please try for a couple of minutes just to see if that makes a difference.

Also, downloading the full game is a completely different system so if you have problems with our FTP that doesn't mean getting the product itself will be troublesome.

[Taxman66]

Ok I got it now. It did take longer than I expected, particularly without a progress bar or some such. It looks like a bad connection not an in progress download.

Thanks

[sokar]

How do you adjust taxes in a colony? Is that slider the only way? Slider seems to only do "High" or "Low"

[Iceman]

Yes. High, Low and Medium.

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

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