Drox Operative - Space Action RPG

[Elcs]

http://www.soldak.com/Drox-Operative/Overview.html

Anyone heard of this game? It doesn't look fancy but seems to have something about it that reminds me of some of the awesome old games.

Downloading the demo now. Will leave my impressions here, though if someone grabs it... I'd love to hear about it too.

 

[MeatballTuesday]

It takes a little while to wrap your head around gameplay. I know there's a help site that aids in playing styles, hints, and strategies for those new to the game. Just search for "Drox Operative Help" and you should find that site. You're right, it's not too fancy, but it can be a lot of fun once you get past feeling a bit overwhelmed.

It starts out kind of slow, so look for items to speed up your ship, like a second Ramjet drive; and equip it asap.

 

[Elcs]

This game is really quite fun. Sandboxy and addictive.

Combines a few nice RPG and loot elements with Diplomacy and stuff. Might have to purchase.

 

[MeatballTuesday]

Since you do reviews, Elcs, you might be able to get the game for free as a review copy if you contact Soldak's Steven Peeler.

http://www.soldak.com/Company/Contact.html

Soldak is a small indie company with no advertising budget, so I'm sure they would be happy to see another review to get the word out about the game.

 

[KaOTiK]

Looks neat, will try the demo sometime soon hopefully.

 

[trapper700]

I purchased this game the other day and it's really a ton of fun. It's a lot like a mix of Diablo, Space Rangers and a 4x game. I'm a big fan of Soldak games. Depths of Peril and Din's Curse were pretty good, too.

 

[you2]

I played beta for a whiel; it is nothing like space rangers or 4x games. It is more like a real time nethack but without the final quest; it just goes on and on and on. To be honest it was kind of boring after a while but it was fun for a couple of weeks.

 

[MeatballTuesday]

Here's a recent review of Drox Operative:

http://www.gamercast.net/drox-operative-review

"Between juggling the inhabitants of a sector, building the best darn ship that ever soared and bringing the Drox up to the legendary status that they once held, Drox Operative is a ridiculously addictive, and extremely effective action-RPG, and it puts some of the higher budget PC titles out there to shame in what it achieves 4/5."

 

[you2]

Again I want to point out that this game is not really like your typical action rpg (i.e, torchlight, diablo or titan quest; and space is not the only difference). It is much closer to rogue/nethack than it is any of the above mentioned games.

Here's a recent review of Drox Operative:

http://www.gamercast.net/drox-operative-review

"Between juggling the inhabitants of a sector, building the best darn ship that ever soared and bringing the Drox up to the legendary status that they once held, Drox Operative is a ridiculously addictive, and extremely effective action-RPG, and it puts some of the higher budget PC titles out there to shame in what it achieves 4/5."

 

[Elcs]

So I reviewed Drox Operative (after speaking to one of the Devs) and here is my review.

Certainly worth the money for me.

 

[MeatballTuesday]

I read Elcs review, and it was very well written and quite accurate IMO. I was about to say that he was pretty generous about the graphics, but then I looked at the game credits and see that there are a total of 7 devs listed there. If I'm not mistaken, only 2 work fulltime. So, I guess that the indie graphics reference is at least partially justified... maybe.

My question is this: What defines an indie company? Where do you draw the line? Runic (Torchlight's creator) is still considered indie. Will they still be considered an indie company once they're as big as Blizzard (which I think is quite likely)? Are comparisons of some tiny indie company (like Soldak) with a much larger company (like Runic) even fair? Sometimes it seems like comparing apples and pineapples. But, then again, they're both making games and selling them to the public, so...

 

[Red Storm]

Downloading the demo now.

 

[ControlD]

I spent about an hour on the demo and I still have no idea what I am doing. I can see the appeal however, it just has a higher learning curve than I expected. The game appears to be very well made.

 

[MeatballTuesday]

GameBanshee posted a link and quote from Elcs review.

http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/110324-drox-operative-reviews.html

 

[Red Storm]

Edit: Wrong game.

 

[MeatballTuesday]

Interesting game. I like the mech unit and the free flow between flying and ground fighting, but this game is just way too fast paced for my liking.

There's are pacing options under Sector Setup (when you first start any sector) that range from Very Slow Pace to Very Fast Pace. The game has a lot of options so you can tailor it to how you want to play.

 

[ControlD]

Interesting game. I like the mech unit and the free flow between flying and ground fighting, but this game is just way too fast paced for my liking.

Ground fighting, mech units? I feel like I am playing a different game. All of my time has been spent in space. I must have just scratched the surface last night.

 

[MeatballTuesday]

Ground fighting, mech units? I feel like I am playing a different game. All of my time has been spent in space. I must have just scratched the surface last night.

Yes, that sounds like he was playing a totally different game now that you mention it. There's no ground fighting in Drox Operative, that's for sure.

 

[Red Storm]

LOL. Uh yeah sorry guys, completely different game. I saw my earlier post and thought it was about that game (which is AirMech).

 

[ControlD]

LOL. Uh yeah sorry guys, completely different game. I saw my earlier post and thought it was about that game (which is AirMech).

LOL. Well that was a sureal feeling for a few minutes there.

 

[Elcs]

I read Elcs review, and it was very well written and quite accurate IMO. I was about to say that he was pretty generous about the graphics, but then I looked at the game credits and see that there are a total of 7 devs listed there. If I'm not mistaken, only 2 work fulltime. So, I guess that the indie graphics reference is at least partially justified... maybe.

My question is this: What defines an indie company? Where do you draw the line? Runic (Torchlight's creator) is still considered indie. Will they still be considered an indie company once they're as big as Blizzard (which I think is quite likely)? Are comparisons of some tiny indie company (like Soldak) with a much larger company (like Runic) even fair? Sometimes it seems like comparing apples and pineapples. But, then again, they're both making games and selling them to the public, so...

Thank you for a positive and constructive comment of my review.

I tend to label a small, relatively unknown dev team as Indie. Whether I am right or wrong by my own personal definition I do not know but if someone decides that a company which I have expressed as being Indie is not Indie at all then I respect their opinion too

LOL. Uh yeah sorry guys, completely different game. I saw my earlier post and thought it was about that game (which is AirMech).

LOL. Well that was sureal feeling for a few minutes there.

You sorta had me thinking... "Did I spend enough time reviewing Drox Operative? Is he talking about Space Rangers 2? That doesn't make sense. The RTS element was awful there!".

Once I had regained my composure and picked myself up from off of my floor I realised that it was just a case of PEBKAC

 

[MeatballTuesday]

I tend to label a small, relatively unknown dev team as Indie. Whether I am right or wrong by my own personal definition I do not know but if someone decides that a company which I have expressed as being Indie is not Indie at all then I respect their opinion too

No right or wrong here. I was just trying to open it up for discussion. I'm just curious if Runic will always be called an indie company. Even though their roots are there, so are many other companies (like Apple and Microsoft)

 

[ImpulsE69]

No right or wrong here. I was just trying to open it up for discussion. I'm just curious if Runic will always be called an indie company. Even though their roots are there, so are many other companies (like Apple and Microsoft)

Nah, think of Lionsgate (the movie company). Years ago, they used to be a small independent that made great B movies, and now they are a goliath monopoly that sucks 99% of the time making supposed A movies.

 

[power_hour]

Game looks neat but looks quite a bit like SPAZ? Any further feedback?

 

[you2]

I haven't played much of SPAZ but I don't really think it is similar. In all honesty I find this game extremely one dimensional (not so interesting for long term play). I think SPAZ has a little more substance.