Please post your possitive reviews of 1.04 here

Haven't tried it yet. Looks good from just looking at the files
[Message Edited]

I think its much improved

I think people 'complain' when a new version comes out to help developers with bugs. This is one of the few sites I know where developers will, on the spot, address a bug issue and give you a work around while they fix it for the next patch. In response (because of this outstanding service) we (customers) beleive it is our duty to report these bugs as soon as they appear
so that develpment can address them asap and fix them for the next patch.

I think if the game sucked, people would post 'xyz sucks' in the title and not bother using this forum as a bug report.

I'm playing bright on small. Just to tell you how I've done in past versions, I've almost beaten maso on gigantic in 1.03, but decided I wanted to install 1.04.

Bright is much more challenging. The AI has given me the run for my money. Even at times of peace, you need to pay attention to all scopes of the game. Military, economy, trade. This was the first time I ever saw the AI (Drengin) do a full scale assault (with everything they have and attacking 'AI smart')on my systems...they were at war with me and I was the closest neighbor.

There are a few quirks (like saving or repeating dates).
Trade goods can't really be traded, but they are much more powerful.

My only complaint...as I play I will find out...is I like events like the dragnol, lobsters, and precursor stuff to happen a little more frequently...but this complaint goes for all versions after 1.02.

If you're careful with your save games and don't use autosave you should be fine. This version is good, seems like it so far.

Oh, one more thing, I don't know if I can come close to beating Maso on this version. But I'm not Staffa or Ray...hey can you guys hold a detailed 'How to beat Maso' workshop one of these days? Maybe a new title for these guys like 'Knight' or 'Sir' or 'General' :notsure:

Sorta did that in my post titled 'game story'

I love it and ain't going back - I was just a bit shocked at the degree of the tradegood changes: a bit hard to get used to. (I am playing at maso - at normal you might not notice this as much.)

AI is playing MUCH better, IMHO - I just lost 3 games, and I ain't used to that! Much better gathering of forces before declaring war, and less declaring war while powerless to do anything to me.

I am finding the stability to be vastly improved, although I am still be cautious with my saves (and I have now gone back to AUTOSAVE ON, and it seems to be OK so far).

I only play at "Normal" levels. Have Trade Goods lost their value here too?

Keep the good reviews coming please

In my estimation, the game is definitely better. No one has even mentioned the "locking" mechanism on the slider screens, whereby making it *much* easier to adjust those numbers as you see fit. The AI is certainly stronger (I also play consistently on Bright), but I think appropriately so. Trade goods have a greater effect, and it takes the AI much later in the game to complete them (and the player too, unless of course he/she is leasing them). Their trade value is a little lower at Bright difficulty, but not much.

I'm enjoying it, so far.

~SDC~

I see some good things, and some bad things.

Trading has been totally nerfed on genius/incredible. Except on rare occasions, you can't get squat in return for cash or trade goods. Trading techs leaves you at a severe disadvantage as well. There are a few techs that seem to have been flagged as 'low value' by the AI so that you can obtain them... but really, I could have gotten 'basic repair' by myself . Couple this with the fact that the AI's still sling techs around with each other quite freely, and you're in a world of hurt.

That said, I don't have a real problem with that at the two levels above intelligent. It's *supposed* to be unfair there. Some people have complained that trading is seriously screwed up even at intelligent (where the playing field is supposed to be level), but I have no experience with that. Genius is still beatable, and Incredible is close to impossible (it'd probably be completely impossible if it weren't for one thing...). But that's how it should be. So I'll give a (weak) thumbs up to the trade changes on the 'unfair' levels (genius/incredible), with a thumbs down in reserve if those changes also occurred on the 'fair' levels.

The tactical AI is noticeably better. Transports often get escorted, and damaged ships pull off for repairs. You still see corvettes ram into your overlords every now and then, but hey, nothing's perfect. Thumbs up.

One thing no one else has mentioned that I really like is the new selection of diplomatic messages. I *think* these are new to 1.04, and they're pretty spiffy. For example, if you trade at a severe diplomatic disadvantage, your statement is something like "Um... we'd like to trade some stuff, or something". This kind of flavor adds a lot to my game experience. Thumbs up.

Metaverse scoring: BIG thumbs up. The single most relevant factor in determining your score now seems to be difficulty level, with an enormous bonus for beating the 'unfair' levels, and piddly scores for beating lower levels. And that is *definitely* the way it should be.

Culture: Before, planets would start flipping at the drop of a hat. Control a couple influence resources, flop down a party palace, and most of the galaxy would rush to your side in a domino effect. If you could make it to dreadnaughts, the game was over on pretty much any level because of this. Now, they'll still flip, but you have to actually work at it a little. Which is how it should be. Culture was fixed without being neutered. Thumbs up.

That's all that's really stood out to me. There was some other stuff on the list of changes, but this is what I noticed. I'm looking forward to that expansion pack.

The game itself is great and the support is even better. Have you ever dealt with a more responsive vendor? I'd be happy to get this kind of support for a pacemaker, let alone a game.

I agree that the cool new phrases on the diplo screen help the flavor of the game. Contrary to my vote a month ago, I would like more backstory on the five other majors.