Offworld Trading Company (RTS)

[ThinClient]

I prefer playing with the black market off. Small map with limited resources, it's fun to completely control a resource.

 

[SunnyD]

After watching the video, I'm hard pressed to call this an RTS. I suppose fundamentally it's "realtime" and there's some "strategic" elements to it, so it fits the verbiage of what encompasses the term RTS... but it feels more like far more in common with an economy simulator (SimCity, Railroad Tycoon) than it does a traditional RTS (Command & Conquer, Total Annihilation) game.

I'd venture a guess that it wouldn't take too many replays for the gameplay to get stale. There's really not terribly much to expect from the AI's.

 

[QuantumPion]

Not sure what video you watched but no, it has nothing at all in common with Simcity or Tycoon. In fact it is very similar in gameplay to Starcraft. The AI is very smart and effective. I can barely beat the 2nd easiest difficulty although I'm still fairly new at it. The devs have said they cannot frequently beat the harder difficulties. But the real point of this game seems to be aimed at competitive multiplayer like Starcraft.

Whether the game will get stale or not depends on whether you like the simple-to-learn-difficult-to-master competitive RTS genre or not. Personally that genre has never been my cup of tea so I may get tired of it but it is different and interesting enough that it may hold my interest for now.

 

[SunnyD]

Not sure what video you watched but no, it has nothing at all in common with Simcity or Tycoon. In fact it is very similar in gameplay to Starcraft. The AI is very smart and effective. I can barely beat the 2nd easiest difficulty although I'm still fairly new at it. The devs have said they cannot frequently beat the harder difficulties. But the real point of this game seems to be aimed at competitive multiplayer like Starcraft.

Whether the game will get stale or not depends on whether you like the simple-to-learn-difficult-to-master competitive RTS genre or not. Personally that genre has never been my cup of tea so I may get tired of it but it is different and interesting enough that it may hold my interest for now.

There's no combat. It's an economic simulator, or at best an economic "strategy" simulator. Perhaps it's a distinct offshoot of the RTS genre I suppose, but it has a lot more in common with SimCity or the Tycoon games than it does Starcraft.

The game mechanics are Railroad Tycoon right down to the core. You build your network, you find and connect resources to bring in income and then your one and only goal is to buy out your opponents. OTC also has a lot of SimCity-esque city management elements to it, having to manage resources in order to be able to grow and upgrade properly.

The distinction is neither here nor there I suppose. On the surface the game looks amusing, but I'm personally going to hold off on it after seeing it in action based on what I saw having a good history with Railroad Tycoon and SimCity to see if these guys pull something different out of their sleeves.

 

[QuantumPion]

I've never played railroad tycoon myself so I can't make any comparison there. All I can say is coming from someone who owns OTC - this game is very similar to starcraft and has absolutely nothing in common with simcity or transport tycoon. Those games are persistent simulation games. OTC games are played in matches that last ~15-20 minutes and involve rapid fast paced tactical thinking, resource gathering, expansion/rushing, tech tree, and conquering opponents.

 

[ThinClient]

There's no combat. It's an economic simulator, or at best an economic "strategy" simulator.

That's basically what competitive StarCraft is. Economy Management with a little combat.

This is exactly that with a little less combat.

 

[Ns1]

That's basically what competitive StarCraft is. Economy Management with a little combat.

This is exactly that with a little less combat.

we must have different definitions of "a little"

 

[SunnyD]

we must have different definitions of "a little"

I was gonna say.

 

[QuantumPion]

There is plenty of combat - that is the entire essence of this game. It is economic combat, not military combat, being the difference.

 

[SunnyD]

There is plenty of combat - that is the entire essence of this game. It is economic combat, not military combat, being the difference.

I was wondering when someone was going to bring that knife to the gunfight.

I'm going to mostly leave that alone, but say that the thought crossed my mind at some point in the thread. Like I said, it's at best a very specific subset of RTS if you want to get right down to it. I can see the parallels of the logic (because I actually thought it out a couple days ago before shaking it off myself).

Enough of that though. It looks mildly interesting, but like I said I'm going to hold off to see how it matures out and what other features get put in before I consider biting. Right now it's like a less featured Railroad Tycoon to me.

 

[IslandDog]

Didn't want to start a new thread as this was one here, so I'll start this one back up.

Offworld Trading Company was released today and is out of early access.

Gameplay trailer: https://youtu.be/wOjeepczC6g

If you were in early access, you will get the Deluxe edition DLC content added. Please let me know what you think of the game.

-ID
Stardock

 

[IslandDog]

Patch 1 for OTC was released with some new features and quite a few other updates and improvements.

Full changelog: http://forums.offworldgame.com/477335/

New Features

• Audio overhaul. Tons of new voice over and sound fx.
  
• Improved performance and reduced memory use.
  
• Using a Core Sample will now give you exclusive rights to claim the tile for 60 secs.
  
• Double clicking on the "Open Lobby" now creates a default lobby just like clicking on the Join Lobby button when the Open Lobby is selected.
  
• Players can new set which monitor they want the game to use in options.
  
• Updates for Portuguese, French, German, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Chinese and Korean languages.

 

[paperfist]

So which is it, Starcraft or Railroad Tycoon? Cause I'd love me some Railroad Tycoon!

 

[IslandDog]

The Patron and The Patriot DLC is out today for OTC.

Lots of info here: http://forums.offworldgame.com/480251

Features:

• Colony Class - Each colony now specializes in one area of the economy, altering local market conditions in a variety of ways.
• Campaign Length - The campaign tournament can now last for 4, 7, or 10 games. Each length comes with its own balance tweaks and gameplay subtleties.
• Wholesale Orders game mode - Not all colonies want you to build habitats and work modules for them. Now some instead want your company to supply a variety of wholesale goods.
• Two new Characters - New CEOs with new gameplay perks.
• Story-Driven Campaigns - Six interactive short stories about life on Mars, available to experience through playing the new characters on each different length of campaign.
• New Staffing Perks & New Achievements

 

[IslandDog]

Steam Workshop support has been added to Offworld Trading Company.

With this update:

• Modding xml data for buildings, units, resources, and more
• Writing your own C# code that can execute alongside the game's code
• Accessing Steam Workshop easily through the game
• Easy access to your work with a new "Mods" screen on the Start menu
• Downloading other game mods from around the world

More info can be found here: http://forums.offworldgame.com/480908

 

[Elixer]

I was always curious about this game, but I don't think vids give enough info.
Too bad they don't offer a demo of this game.

 

[Denithor]

Anybody playing at this point?

 

[moonbogg]

So its an early access game already with mods and people's own code added? What the hell is this? I'm instantly turned off big time by this stuff. Why not just make the game and release it?

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

So its an early access game already with mods and people's own code added? What the hell is this? I'm instantly turned off big time by this stuff. Why not just make the game and release it?

Happens. Not necessarily indicative of the quality of the game (see Kerbal Space Program).

 

[Chiropteran]

So its an early access game already with mods and people's own code added? What the hell is this? I'm instantly turned off big time by this stuff. Why not just make the game and release it?

No. It was in early access from Feb 2015. As of today it's been released since April of this year...

 

[moonbogg]

No. It was in early access from Feb 2015. As of today it's been released since April of this year...

Oh excellent. So is it any good? I haven't heard of it before.

 

[Chiropteran]

Honestly I haven't played it, but I like most Stardock games so I've been following it... mostly waiting for a good sale, I just hardly ever buy games at full price.

edit: that said, I just checked and it's 66% off on steam. Maybe it's time to bite the bullet.

 

[IslandDog]

The Jupiter's Forge expansion is available today with a new campaign, new factions, and more.

 

[paperfist]

I know the difficulty curve on this game is high and it might frustrate me. Is it more of an empire building game or a one shot winner takes all game?