SiN Posted January 22, 2005 Darwinia is finally here! In case you don't know, Darwinia is from the makers of the rather excellent Uplink. These guys have spent the last 3 years of their lives making the odd (what i would call) action-rts in a retro-trippy world. Check out www.darwinia.co.uk for more info The demo is available, and refreshingly, its a mere 10 megs to download. Having played it last night, I can safely say the game is awesome, but confusing. It'll take you a while to understand whats going on, but once you do, it's simply amazing! The game is gonna be released on the 4th of March. Now the problem is getting some cash to buy this game ... SiN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lechimp Posted January 22, 2005 Seems really awesome and worth buying but it seems like I'm stuck. Is the first building you take over a refinery? Because I made an officer and stuff and led the people to the thing but they don't seem to be doing anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrHoatzin Posted January 22, 2005 The rafinery is the big thing in the middle of the first island. When you bring the green people close to the machine they stand in these booths on both sides and do stuff. Now, the problem I have are the fucking spiders on the island with the tall mountain range. Is there a way to kill the motherfuckers? They keep killing my little green people and programs but there doesn't seem to be a way to beat them... The game is very close to being beautiful, alas. And the controls and documentation are clunky as all hell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lailoken Posted January 22, 2005 i really like it... the whole minimalistic interface and stuff... dunno, just nice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted January 22, 2005 Ooh, I read about it in Edge and it looked extremely promising in all its retro-designed state of the art glory! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SiN Posted January 22, 2005 They keep killing my little green people and programs but there doesn't seem to be a way to beat them... thats where i got stuck too. apparently u CAN kill them, but only with explosive based weaponary. I'm gonna try a rocket-launcher and/or airstrike later today. The game is very close to being beautiful, alas. And the controls and documentation are clunky as all hell. introversion said that the full game will come with a tutorial level, so that should be okay. as for the controls, they arnt all that bad, i got used to them VERY quickly. the whole WASD thing is great, and the alt-tab thing is genius! SiN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrHoatzin Posted January 22, 2005 I also don't get what is there more to it? Where is the strategy and tactic? It is like Black and White without the big goofy animal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SiN Posted January 22, 2005 heh, i also thought the game was VERY black&white-eque, but thats not a bad thing IMO. I guess the whole british-developer-influence had something to do with it. im pretty sure introversion will mix it up as we go further into the game, but im rather satisfied with what i see. basically, its cannon fodder/syndicate for the next generation. u shoot at things they blow up, u choose the right weapons for the right job ... u make decisions as to which squad should be terminated, etc. i dont think the game is suppose to be challenging in that head-scratching lets-think-of-the-most-super-complex-tactics way, and i for one like that! this is more of a throwback to when RTS's were simpler games ... when they were actually fun. the only thing that bothers me is that it doesnt seem possible to lose at all. introversion said there was, but only on the testers board (so we cant see it). i cant really see any obvious way as to how you'd lose. i guess if later on, virii could take over your bases, it would be possible to lose. either way, im very pleased with how this turned out. SiN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Intrepid Homoludens Posted January 23, 2005 I love it!! I even started a thread about it but SiN beat me to it so I locked the thread! And Kingz, you're a moron for not being able to figure it out right away, but I love you regardless. Those little green men are awesome. I'm reminded of my flared pants wearing Brady Bunch look days when I was a kid and used to play Battlezone, Tempest, and Centipede in the booth at the cornershops. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ysbreker Posted January 23, 2005 darwina rocks My only gripe with it is the price tag they're giving it on their site:/ 39 euro for an independent game? Ok you get a copy mailed to you, but I mean this is the 21st century! embrace the internet properly. and bring out an online version which costs half or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SiN Posted January 23, 2005 @ysbreker: same here ... except its even more annoying for me. canada counts as "rest of the world" so i have to pay C$70 for the game, where as in the states, its a mere C$50. its kinda annoying, but i just might crack & shell out for the game anyway ... ... simply because they've been working on this for 3 years, and have stated that they're in quite the debt ... they NEED this money to keep themselves alive. @Walter: i kinda agree with you. IMO, the basics of the game should be laid out. u shouldnt have had to "figure out" that right-click = fire. that should have been told to you at the apropriate time (and it was btw, u just werent paying attention ). however, i love it when u discover the subtile things yourself ... its just SO much more rewarding. to sum up : tell me the basics, let me figure out the rest. i beat the demo last night ... absolutely awesome! the game works SO well, and has so many neat ideas ... even the little things are awesome, like converting polygons to primitives the only problem is the game should have had its intense moments (like the battles with the spiders) but those were lost due to the whole "i cant lose" thing. somewhat annoying, but the game is a blast anyway! SiN ps : for those spiders, i'd highly recommend switching to rockets Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tanukitsune Posted August 26, 2005 I'd like to say I finally got me a copy of Darwinia and I'm loving it! I love how the start sequence changes each time! I laughed my ass off when I saw the Spectrum loading screen! For once I am pacing myself and instead of playing it whenever I can I only play a level or two a day, since I only got it a few days ago I just left the generator level... The mine level is just the same as the demo level but with triffids (the egg spitters)... Am I the only one that thinks Dr. Sepulveda is a homage to Sir Clive Sinclair? The Spectrum intro I got when I played it today made ever more suspicious... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
