" Star Wars: Stellaris..."
Simon looked at the content on the page, hesitated for a long time, and didn't click on it.
Although he was genuinely curious.
But if your boss catches you playing video games at work, that would be a real problem.
His gaze lingered on it for a moment before he quickly clicked the [Write a Letter] button on the left and began working methodically.
Yes, this is the homepage of novamail's website.
The completely free strategy resulted in a natural promotional channel.
We're giving everything away for free, can't we at least give our own products a little credit?
only...
Although he didn't actually click on it, his mind had already drifted far away.
A 4X strategy game with a space theme...
This description alone was enough for him, a space science fiction enthusiast, to disregard everything else. The last time he played a space-themed game was Space Invaders and Elite.
That's all from the past.
Ever since Gamenova burst onto the scene, Simon had been hoping that they could revive those interesting themes that had fallen out of favor for various reasons.
He saw a glimpse of this trend when he was working on Command & Conquer.
Unfortunately, Gamenova has hardly released any truly space-themed titles since then.
Even Command & Conquer is just a strategy game with a Star Wars shell; all the stories still take place on a single planet.
A space opera featuring a group of people who have mastered space travel technology hacking at each other with colorful sticks is not the space science fiction he wants.
The real space... should be like in " 2001: A Space Odyssey," like in Asimov's works.
It should be exploration, it should be the pursuit of knowledge, it should be interstellar travel.
What was that saying again?
Humanity's journey is to the stars and the sea!
Unfortunately, after entering the 1990s, the golden age of science fiction seemed to have come to a complete end. There was no new news about Star Wars for a long time, and the theatrical market rarely had such themes.
It seems that everyone has already accepted that it is no longer suitable for the new era.
Even Simon himself is almost admitting it.
However, perhaps this is simply Gamenova's strength.
If you weren't in decline, people wouldn't be interested in doing it at all.
As a player, Simon has practically been playing Gamenova all along.
He realized that Gamenova was a bunch of lunatics; the more popular the subject matter, the less likely they were to work with them.
Let's take a look at what his recent works are.
Pirates!, a genre that, like space science fiction, has already passed its golden age and is rapidly declining!
Rhythm games are a genre that hasn't seen a major breakthrough since Rocksmith.
Diablo gothic fantasy, psychedelic electronic Cold War post-apocalyptic, simulating running a hospital...
I'd like to ask, besides the sequel to Pokémon, what other works are simply copying the trend? Truly unique!
Well, perhaps it is precisely because of their unique style of doing things that I have the opportunity to wait for a space science fiction work that is truly created by Gamenova!
I remember how I rushed out of the company as if I were escaping, and how I flew home as if I were flying.
Simon couldn't remember.
He only remembered that when he came to his senses, he was already sitting in front of his old, not particularly fancy PC.
Simon didn't have the money to buy Hermes.
It's really beautiful, and perfect.
But it is indeed too expensive.
Not everyone is willing to spend so much money on a PC just to play video games.
To be honest, although Simon really wanted it, he couldn't convince himself to believe he had productivity needs.
A Dell is more than enough for his daily use. Fortunately, the great Gamenova is very generous; as long as it can connect to the TCP/IP protocol, regardless of the network provider or the computer model, the Nexus Browser can be installed.
This is important.
The web is a completely new platform, a platform built on the Internet.
Simon tried to access the Nexus homepage.
As expected, the promotional link for the new game has also been removed here.
That saved him some trouble.
We recommend you log in to the free novamail email account for a full online experience.
[Or you can choose:]
[Skip login, multi-user functionality temporarily disabled]
"Huh? Why do we need email to play online?"
Despite his doubts, Simon decided to log in after seeing the twinkling stars in the background.
To keep up with the times, he naturally has a Novamail email address. Or rather, who doesn't these days?
Paid email is completely outdated, bro.
Those who are still using those old email addresses are either too lazy to migrate their data, or they can't let go of some important features in the other party's software.
Or they simply dislike Gamenova.
That's a completely free email account!
This is no different from doing charity.
Even more incredibly, this thing requires absolutely no software; you don't need to buy a copy or try to download it.
All users need to do is remember the novamail website address and their own email address.
Where do you plan to start?
[Host a PBEM room][Join an existing game]
No ideas? Why not give this a try?
[Join a random open room and start your game now] "pbem... Ah, no wonder."
Simon stared at the interface thoughtfully for a while, then suddenly realized what it meant.
Oh, this is a pbem game!
Hey, that's really rare.
He had tried this method before, but not with pbem; it was with the more traditional pbm.
At that time, a magazine in their area held an event where players sent letters explaining their actions, which were then processed by the magazine, and the results were published in the next issue.
Well, it was like a large-scale running club event, which was actually quite interesting.
Perhaps it was that experience during that period that led him to become the email clerk he is today.
Turning a hobby into a job... that's incredibly painful.
Shaking his head, Simon refocused his attention on the game itself.
"Even if I were to book a hotel room... I probably wouldn't be able to find anyone to hang out with right now."
"This is driving me crazy," he thought.
Scratching his head in exasperation, Simon decided to give up. This kind of game was definitely more fun in multiplayer than playing against AI in single-player mode.
Why not try the official feature of adding random rooms?
Simon dislikes playing games with people he doesn't know well.
One very annoying thing about these guys is that their schedules are very unpredictable; they can just walk away at any time, forcing a game that's going well to end prematurely.
Simon really hated this feeling.
But since it's just a matter of getting used to it, there's no harm in giving it a try.
Who knows, I might actually meet a group of like-minded friends?
[Looking for a suitable room...]
[Player " Simonemail " has joined the room]
[Currently online: 2/8]
[Waiting for action...] There were quite a few people in the room, but right now, including himself, there were only two people online, which made him slightly disappointed.
The game includes a built-in online chat room, but that's hardly a new technology.
As early as the 1970s, Plato had already implemented a basic multiplayer online forum mechanism.
[ Simonemail ]:[o/]
[ Donut ]: [hi]
[ Donut ]: [Just starting out?]
[ Simonemail ]:[yep]
[ Donut: [cool]]
The other person didn't seem very interested in me; after a casual greeting, the chat room fell silent again.
Simon shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, and left the chat room.
Logically, the next step should be choosing characters and such.
In grand strategy space games like this, developers usually design this process as "choosing a race." Do you want to play as the great humans, the Zerg, the robots, or some Alien of alien race?
but...
Stars! offers a whole new possibility.
"Preset races and... designer?"
Simon's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly clicked into the designer's interface.
This is actually a complete race designer!
He can completely customize his own race from scratch!
[prt main racial traits]
[LRT secondary properties]
[Environmental Adaptation]: [Gravity] [Ambient Temperature] [ Fallout Level]
[Economic Structure]: [Population] [Factory Efficiency] [Mining] [Scientific Research]
... It's a bit like many classic CRPGs, where players can completely create a custom race from scratch.
The points need to be allocated carefully.
Being strong in one aspect will inevitably lead to shortcomings in another aspect of one's race.
There is no truly perfect race in this universe.
The design of these primary and secondary features elevates its versatility to a new level.
With just a quick glance, Simon had already conjured up some classic pairings in his mind.
Take, for example, this entry for the word [he].
hyperexpansion.
Races possessing this statistic can expand at an almost terrifying rate.
This is clearly a standard locust-infested Civilization gameplay style.
In snowballing games like 4x, speed is everything.
This strategy of rapidly expanding by brute force population growth has always been the mainstream PvP meta in Civilization. However, Simon has little interest in this approach.
"Warmth mania, terrain modification, stealth fleets... none of these seem particularly suitable for me."
He flipped through the entries one by one, finally fixing his gaze on the one called "[it]".
[interstellar traveler]
"Interstellar..."
Simon looked at its name quietly.
It shares the same name as " Interstellar ".
This entry is called "[ Interstellar Traveler]", which seems to indicate the ability to deploy troops and supplies over long distances.
As a seasoned gamer who has played many games, Simon immediately recognized the characteristics of this thing.
A slow-paced, late-game powerhouse with extremely high skill requirements!
With the secondary trait of high-efficiency fuel, theoretically one could create a highly mobile and incredibly powerful flying region.
Although he played Civilization quite a bit, Simon played Command & Conquer the most, a game whose theme suited his taste. Do you get the feeling when I say mobility is paramount?