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PaperclipPerfector  9d ago (text post)   1750 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 28, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I played a few.

  • Orbi Universo II: It looks like Democracy but mixed with Civ/GSG. The content in the demo was a little thin and the systems don't seem particularly balanced, tooltips could use some work, etc, but I'll probably pick up the full game when it comes out as it has some interesting ideas.
  • Icaria: Factorio + programmable bots (with a visual scripting language). I understand this is a bit of a mini-genre of its own; I haven't played any of the other program-bots-to-build-a-base games. It seemed neat, but the demo ends just as it starts to get interesting. Could be a solid foundation, so long as there's enough content in the full version.
  • Machine Mind: A cute little top-down tower defense-esque driving/shooter with customizable vehicles and resource gathering. My only concern is there doesn't seem to be much depth (no production chains) and it's rather casual. Full game will probably include a series of campaign missions that trickle out new mechanics which is not a design I'm fond of, unless it's handled well e.g., Thronefall.
  • Private Military Manager: Tactical Auto Battler: I wanted to like this more than I did. I really want someone to make "Football Manager" but with PMCs. This is not that, it seems very linear and the decisions you make are not interesting.
  • Outworld Station: I liked this a lot. Factory automation in space. Demo sadly ends just as it gets interesting, teasing you with ship-based logistics and then not letting you play with them. It's polished -- zipping around your starbase feels smooth, hauling asteroids back to your forge is satisfying, though combat is a little too trivial but could be fleshed out with e.g., more enemies, allied ships, co-op, etc. If they deliver on the mid & endgame then it could be really good.
  • Terminal One: Airport simulator, like Airport CEO & SimAirport (both reasonably fun). Terminal One is 3D, which sets it apart. Except it's utterly unfinished, so much so I couldn't evaluate it; I placed my stands in the wrong direction and couldn't figure out how to delete them (maybe I was still in tutorial mode?); would not recommend the demo, but I like management games so I will probably give it another shot when it's out in EA.

Not part of Next Fest, but recent releases I've played:

  • Microtopia: Factorio-like with robot ants. The neat thing is it inverts the logistics system you typically see in factory games: everything is delivered by your ants. Your ants also expire, so your base has to be designed around your queen, who poops out larva -- then you hatch them into workers and send them along a defined "trail" with branches based on logical conditions. They grow old and die, but you can merge and evolve your basic workers into more advanced types which resets their lifespan. So your entire factory ends up being a big loop, which is very satisfying to set up and watch in motion. It's cool, though the progression continually unlocks new features that have major implications for your base design, so if you need everything to be 'perfect' at every stage you're going to be in for a rough time.
  • Heart of the Machine: I like Arcen Games, they're always interesting but tend to fall down on the execution. HotM is more polished than I was expecting (thanks Hooded Horse?) but it's probably best described as a sort of visual-novel with a strategy/management wrapper: the actual mechanics are not challenging and mostly serve as a framework to deliver the writing, but the writing itself and some of the story branches are decent enough. I'm also a fan of the nested game loop structure where "new game+" is actually a coherent part of the design and the content updates have been hitting nonstop since the EA launch. Hard to evaluate. I wish there were more systems and less narrative but I like the theme and the concept.

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