Stardrive

Stardrive was a innovative game when released, with a ship building system that was far ahead of anything else at the time. It enjoyed frequent updates, until the game was declared to be 'feature complete' despite the official website listing a number of minor features as being included in the game but actually weren't. Additionally, the games 'sidequests' system was left incomplete, and later disabled entirely. A Pre-Warp game mode was added, but later abandoned and disabled. Two factions were lacking Titan class hulls, though these were later added in. Unfortunately, the hulls were in no way in line with their factions established ship aesthetics. A large number of bugs were left unfinished, with the Developer declaring that the remaining bugs - the most prevalant a memory leak issue that would cause long-duration games to eventually CTD - as impossible to fix. Modders took up where he left off though and have since reworked a number of the games features to improve them and fix bugs, as well as add some entirely new features. The game is worth picking up on sale if you can get the unofficial patch for the game, but just the base game itself isn't worth $30. . Otherwise go and look at the TBS sequel.

Bearing in mind that STARDRIVE was mainly developed by one man with a tiny budget, the final result is a true tour of force, because the game has all the specs of a 4X Space Strategy title: diplomacy, space combat, etc.. Not to mention some of the ideas of Master of Orion II, such as espionage and design of vessels. Alas, STARDRIVE also owns almost as many mistakes as qualities, its still worth a try if you're fan of the genre.

I specifically checked for multilayer before buying and noted from their home site that it would be added after launch. I then checked that regular updates were being made. There are bugs, but compared to EA's track record, this game is perfect at launch! I thought Sins would be better than what it was, and was looking for a GalCIV multiplayer for the wife and myself (since Stardock punked out and wouldn't release one!). This game is not quite there yet but well on it's way. Thanks Zero, look forward to a long and happy relationship with this game.

For those older people who remember MOO3 and how much of a disappointment it was the wait is finally over. Stardrive is, in every respect a spiritual successor to MOO2 - with a hefty does of nostalgia thrown in. A 4X strategy game with a great system for customising ships and an intriguing tech tree. I've had no experience with any bugs or crashes to date.

This game is made by a VERY small company, and yet it is still better than some of the AAA developers out there. To me, this game reminds me somewhat of 'Sid Meier Alpha Centauri'. Unfortunatly, this game isn't perfectly optimized, so lower end systems WILL NOT RUN THIS! GRAPHIC SETTINGS CANT BE CHANGED AS OF NOW! If you can play it, it is fantastic. Not too much micromanagement, but a lot if you want. This game is a work in progress, but what it is now, is a great game with many hours of fun.