Frozen Synapse has SHIPPED! As this thread has burst to life again, I have been asked to update the OP with the new information. What is Frozen Synapse? I think the original preview still sums it up best:
It’s basically the logical collision between Laser Squad Nemesis, Poker and Contract Bridge, complete with a beautiful post-Introversion retro-future aesthetic. Plus tiny flashes of Worms and classic-era Rainbow Six. And other stuff.
Given this is an SC forum, no doubt many of you enjoy other strategy games. If you're like me and NOT playing SC2 then you may be looking for something else to while away the hours until that's released. Check out Frozen Synapse! I recently pre-ordered this little indie gem after reading the RPS preview and it's a BLAST! 17GBP/19EUROS/26USD gets you TWO beta keys which will be upgraded into 2 full licenses on release.
Edit: Penny Arcade had a talk with the designer, Paul Taylor, and has posted some thoughts about how the game was designed. An interesting, if slightly disjointed read. http://www.penny-arcade.com/
Give me 1200 words. I’m going to make you pre-order something you’ve never even heard of.
It’s basically the logical collision between Laser Squad Nemesis, Poker and Contract Bridge, complete with a beautiful post-Introversion retro-future aesthetic. Plus tiny flashes of Worms and classic-era Rainbow Six. And other stuff.
Here’s the trailer, which highlights a lot of its merits.
Once you have it, my nick is 'theSAiNT'. Drop me a message and we can have a game!
Aside from strategy, I feel like this one has a lot of yomi-showdowns. It's very cool when you take out your 3/4s of your opponent's force without losing anything the first round.
Yomi-showdowns can be fun! But it's definitely deeper than plain old rock/paper/scissors if that's your gripe.
The 'reveal' when your best laid plans either come to fruition or are dashed to the rocks is definitely a rush. Come on TL! Where are you turn based strategy buffs!
On April 23 2010 22:58 theSAiNT wrote: Yomi-showdowns can be fun! But it's definitely deeper than plain old rock/paper/scissors if that's your gripe.
The 'reveal' when your best laid plans either come to fruition or are dashed to the rocks is definitely a rush. Come on TL! Where are you turn based strategy buffs!
That wasnt a gripe, its a fun thing. Also, yeah when OUTCOME displays it can be terrifying.
I got this with a friend two days ago, so much fun.
I dislike the youtube uploading though. It lacks sound... + Show Spoiler +
First match vs my friend :D. SO INTENSE AT THE END. Only shotgun left, oh man.
Can't say I like the match system. Uploading to a server... it's a pain but then again it's somewhat nice to be able to just log in to a bunch of games that are waiting for a move. The UI is horrible! Along with that map editor...
@noClue: Well it's meant to be a turn based game so this system allows you to just upload moves and come back later. Having said that, usually when I play it's with a friend and we do it pseudo real time, both submitting our moves together.
Also it's still a beta atm but log on to the irc, the dev is on there quite often so you can talk to him!
Haven't touched this since getting an SC2 beta key (Thanks TL.net and Mikami!) but I'm sure I'll come back to this at some point.
Just bought the game and it is really REALLY fun. Lots of opportunity for competitive play as well in the future. A lot of tactics involved and it has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard, seriously. You get two copies as well at the moment, so I think it is worth it. If you are into squad based, turn based tactical play then it's the game for you. I suggest going to watch TotalBiscuit's first impressions if you are interested, as mentioned above.
On May 27 2011 20:45 RoyalCheese wrote: So the game got released today. I'm seriously considering a purchase....it looks pretty cool. There is also WTF IS video by TB ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jJrUY27O0Y&feature=feedu
Really cheap price for being two copies of a game that seems to have so much replayability. I think this game deserves to be bought if nothing else, then at least to support developers that try new things.
I would totally buy this game if it didn't come in a two pack. Just kills a lot of your sells by doing that. It looks like a game I would really enjoy but there isn't even a demo to try to make buying it for having a two pack only worth it.
On May 28 2011 02:16 RndmGdNck wrote: I would totally buy this game if it didn't come in a two pack. Just kills a lot of your sells by doing that. It looks like a game I would really enjoy but there isn't even a demo to try to make buying it for having a two pack only worth it.
Convice a friend to buy it with you. Then you will have someone to play the multiplayer with too. I just bought it and gave the second copy to the first friend who messaged me. It's only $20.
On May 28 2011 02:16 RndmGdNck wrote: I would totally buy this game if it didn't come in a two pack. Just kills a lot of your sells by doing that. It looks like a game I would really enjoy but there isn't even a demo to try to make buying it for having a two pack only worth it.
You can play the game online with random strangers too, you know.
On May 28 2011 02:16 RndmGdNck wrote: I would totally buy this game if it didn't come in a two pack. Just kills a lot of your sells by doing that. It looks like a game I would really enjoy but there isn't even a demo to try to make buying it for having a two pack only worth it.
You can play the game online with random strangers too, you know.
@DrainX unfortunately my friends are console gamers and the one friend that does play on steam is probably not worth it to him as he doesn't do it very often.
On May 28 2011 02:16 RndmGdNck wrote: I would totally buy this game if it didn't come in a two pack. Just kills a lot of your sells by doing that. It looks like a game I would really enjoy but there isn't even a demo to try to make buying it for having a two pack only worth it.
The two pack is a pretty genius idea though. The game is still pretty cheap, and it's mostly MP based so by selling it in a 2 pack they help spread the game and keep their online #s up which increases the value of the game and encourages more people to buy it. Nothing is worse than owning an MP based game that has no one online to play with.
Just played the first 6 or so missions from the single player campaign. So far it has been a blast. Nice music, fun tactical play, witty British humor and lots of fun.
A good friend got the game today and gave me the second copy of the game and I have to say : it's absolutely amazing. It gets so intense in multiplayer, it always took me like 10-15 minutes to finish my turn because I always tried to think about everything lol
I'm Lambdadelta in there, hit me up with a challenge if you want to. Don't expect too much though, I just started. :D
Bought the game today and love it. This is the modern version of chess. Competing with friends is so much fun and the resulting replays are great to watch.
I think this game has potential to develop a big competetive scene around it. The Youtube integration is genious and will make this game spread fast.
On May 27 2011 20:45 RoyalCheese wrote: So the game got released today. I'm seriously considering a purchase....it looks pretty cool. There is also WTF IS video by TB ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jJrUY27O0Y&feature=feedu
Really cheap price for being two copies of a game that seems to have so much replayability. I think this game deserves to be bought if nothing else, then at least to support developers that try new things.
Really don't like what I see in that 1v1 replay there in the end, since it seems to solely revolve around the rocket launcher
On May 27 2011 20:45 RoyalCheese wrote: So the game got released today. I'm seriously considering a purchase....it looks pretty cool. There is also WTF IS video by TB ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jJrUY27O0Y&feature=feedu
Really cheap price for being two copies of a game that seems to have so much replayability. I think this game deserves to be bought if nothing else, then at least to support developers that try new things.
Really don't like what I see in that 1v1 replay there in the end, since it seems to solely revolve around the rocket launcher
Well it just got released today. You shouldn't expect miracles.
Question for the owners of the game. How long does a game take? It seem pretty lenghty.
On May 27 2011 20:45 RoyalCheese wrote: So the game got released today. I'm seriously considering a purchase....it looks pretty cool. There is also WTF IS video by TB ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jJrUY27O0Y&feature=feedu
Really cheap price for being two copies of a game that seems to have so much replayability. I think this game deserves to be bought if nothing else, then at least to support developers that try new things.
Really don't like what I see in that 1v1 replay there in the end, since it seems to solely revolve around the rocket launcher
That was just one map though. I haven't tried multiplayer yet so I don't know about all the possible modes. If you look at other matches they don't look the same. I have seen a match 3v3 soldiers where one machinegun soldier killed the entire opposing team through some sneaky moves, facing rocket launchers among other weapons.
The best setup is a combination of weapons. Rocket launchers are almost impossible to hit with if your target isn't close to a wall. If you are out in the open you are almost immune to them. If you are out in the open you are very easily picked of by a machinegunner from behind cover though etc.
On May 28 2011 02:16 RndmGdNck wrote: I would totally buy this game if it didn't come in a two pack. Just kills a lot of your sells by doing that. It looks like a game I would really enjoy but there isn't even a demo to try to make buying it for having a two pack only worth it.
it costs $20 for a 2 pack... that's like 1/3rd the cost of a new game.... for 2 games... one you can give away to a friend or do something nice for a random person. It's worth it imo.
On May 27 2011 20:45 RoyalCheese wrote: So the game got released today. I'm seriously considering a purchase....it looks pretty cool. There is also WTF IS video by TB ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jJrUY27O0Y&feature=feedu
Really cheap price for being two copies of a game that seems to have so much replayability. I think this game deserves to be bought if nothing else, then at least to support developers that try new things.
Really don't like what I see in that 1v1 replay there in the end, since it seems to solely revolve around the rocket launcher
Well it just got released today. You shouldn't expect miracles.
Question for the owners of the game. How long does a game take? It seem pretty lenghty.
I'm not sure about the multiplayer games. When I play singleplayer one mission takes between 15 and 60 minutes to complete. Depends on how much I try to plan ahead and how careful I play. I guess you will be able to set a maximum time per round when you play multiplayer though. A game is usually around 5-10 rounds long. My guess would be that a multiplayer game lasts 20-30 minutes on average.
On May 27 2011 20:45 RoyalCheese wrote: So the game got released today. I'm seriously considering a purchase....it looks pretty cool. There is also WTF IS video by TB ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jJrUY27O0Y&feature=feedu
Really cheap price for being two copies of a game that seems to have so much replayability. I think this game deserves to be bought if nothing else, then at least to support developers that try new things.
Really don't like what I see in that 1v1 replay there in the end, since it seems to solely revolve around the rocket launcher
Well it just got released today. You shouldn't expect miracles.
Question for the owners of the game. How long does a game take? It seem pretty lenghty.
I'm not sure about the multiplayer games. When I play singleplayer one mission takes between 15 and 60 minutes to complete. Depends on how much I try to plan ahead and how careful I play. I guess you will be able to set a maximum time per round when you play multiplayer though. A game is usually around 5-10 rounds long. My guess would be that a multiplayer game lasts 20-30 minutes on average.
Thanks for the answer. Please let us know how did you liked multiplayer when you played some...altho i'm pretty sure i will buy the game eventually anyway ^_^
On May 27 2011 20:45 RoyalCheese wrote: So the game got released today. I'm seriously considering a purchase....it looks pretty cool. There is also WTF IS video by TB ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jJrUY27O0Y&feature=feedu
Really cheap price for being two copies of a game that seems to have so much replayability. I think this game deserves to be bought if nothing else, then at least to support developers that try new things.
Really don't like what I see in that 1v1 replay there in the end, since it seems to solely revolve around the rocket launcher
Well it just got released today. You shouldn't expect miracles.
Question for the owners of the game. How long does a game take? It seem pretty lenghty.
I'm not sure about the multiplayer games. When I play singleplayer one mission takes between 15 and 60 minutes to complete. Depends on how much I try to plan ahead and how careful I play. I guess you will be able to set a maximum time per round when you play multiplayer though. A game is usually around 5-10 rounds long. My guess would be that a multiplayer game lasts 20-30 minutes on average.
The games take less time when you get used to the planning phase. In the beginning my multiplayer games took about 30 minutes but now they take about half that time.
I agree with you that they should add a timer or something like a chess clock to make it possible to have faster games. The developers will probably add that options in a patch.
The multiplayer part of the game doesn't have a set duration, you basically do your moves and click Prime, this sets your moves in stone and sends them to the server, if your opponent hasn't primed his moves yet you can't do anything about this particular match. you can however do other stuff, play Singleplayer, or even start another multiplayer match, or even quit for now and comeback later.
When your opponent from the first game has made his move, you will be prompted that you can view the outcome of the fight and make your moves again, this basically means that your games can last as long or as short as you want them to. Because you are never restricted to just one game, and you can take as long as you like during any of the planning phases.
You can startup a game with 10 people if you wanted to, and then occasionally keep an eye out in the news feed if there's any games where you can plan for the next phase.
As for the weapons, they seem fairly balanced, a shotgun will win over any other weapon in close combat, the unit with the shotgun fires first, the sniper has a huge range and is very accurate kills with one shot, and the machinegunner has medium range, longer than the shotgun and sprays bullets until some hit . The rocket launcher is very good if your target is close to a wall, if he's out in the open you won't be able to hit him at all.
The game is much more in depth than that tho, many things determine the winner of a fire fight in the end, such as position, cover, whether you were moving or stationary, if you were aiming or fast walking, crouched or not etc. Really fun game definitely recommend it to any fan of turn based strategy.
this game looks like a lot of fun. Im usually turned off by turn-based games but I think that because you aren't really taking tuns (since both players' moves are issued at the same time) i am digging it a lot more than I would otherwise.
If i can find a friend to split the cost with me I will definitely buy.
On May 28 2011 10:54 SixTwo wrote: The multiplayer part of the game doesn't have a set duration, you basically do your moves and click Prime, this sets your moves in stone and sends them to the server, if your opponent hasn't primed his moves yet you can't do anything about this particular match. you can however do other stuff, play Singleplayer, or even start another multiplayer match, or even quit for now and comeback later.
When your opponent from the first game has made his move, you will be prompted that you can view the outcome of the fight and make your moves again, this basically means that your games can last as long or as short as you want them to. Because you are never restricted to just one game, and you can take as long as you like during any of the planning phases.
You can startup a game with 10 people if you wanted to, and then occasionally keep an eye out in the news feed if there's any games where you can plan for the next phase.
Game does not "revolve around rocket launcher" - it's something to keep in mind sure, but the thing is with a rocket launcher you can not score a direct hit on a guy: only way to kill with a rocket launcher is to hit on a nearby wall or obstackle. Edge of the map does not cause a rocket explosion. Also you can't explode a rocket mid-air or shoot it at empty ground.
Here's a video of a game I played today:
What my video did not show was the granade launcher: bit like rockets, but they do not break walls, instead granades bounce off walls and have a slightly lesser radius, also are slower so you have more time to run away from them.
What makes this game especially great is two thing in my opinion: 1)There is no luck involved. Everything is mathematically calculated, and if the test simulation shows something will happen in some way, it will happen so when the turn is executed for real. 2)You have infinity to plan, test, and try out different things. This means also that your enemy has, so if you get bored waiting for your enemy to finish his turn, you can start another game! This way you can play multiple games at the same time, and game informs you when you get a next turn in a game you are not currently in, and shows all active "action is needed" -games. This way you will never be bored, and you will always have as much time as you need to take all scenarios into account.
Also, I should say, your guys are not always scattered around the map, sometimes each team starts in one corner of the map. For example, green on top left and red on bottom right. Also, all of the maps are randomly generated. Also, this video all enemies are visible, and there are some game modes where all enemies are visible, but in this game I didn't see where enemies were (with exception is the planning phase of 1st turn), or when I had them in my LOS.
Also, there are multiple different gameplay modes with different objectives, like hostage escort, "enter the area" and "collect these items and get out". You can choose what modes you want to play.
This game is incredible. Such a unique concept and so very well executed. It really does feel a lot like chess.
You both have identical starts but most of what you do is a combination between:
1) Doing what you want 2) Taking into account what the enemy might want 3) Go over several scenario's that could unfold and attempt to play in such a fashion that you are ready for each different one.
You are constantly wondering what the enemy is wondering and in the line-of-sight version (where you only see enemies that you have line of sight on) you even start think about what your enemy thinks you are thinking.
The game can get crazy complex like that, and at times you might overestimate your enemy who's just doing whatever he feels like whilst you are planning as if he's a genius.
Only thing i still have a bit of trouble with is stationary units in a room when you don't have rockets to knock down walls or grenades to smoke them out. Almost feels a bit like a gamble when you have a machine gunner and you have to take out another machine gunner who's standing still in a room.
seems like since the maps are randomly generated and asymmetrical, there's no way most of the maps generated will be balanced. is this the case?
Sort of yes the thing is any imbalance is mostly imbalance for both of you as you tend to have the same units etc also it adds an extra tactical thinking to the game by trying to secure areas with your units while denying others to his. The only real issue is when you see 1st move teamkills because of dodgy spawns but this only happens really on tiny maps.
Premade maps could be a good thing though for the cross spawn game modes to really start screwing with peoples heads.
Pretty fun little game to play while I'm watching Hulu or Streams. The load time between turns is kind of annoying though, but if it actually takes that long, then so be it.
The servers seem to be getting a bit hammered at the moment. But the popularity will be good for the community. Give it some time and hopefully it'll get ironed out soon.
Updated OP with link to Penny Arcade. Those guys seem to like it too and have done a write up about how it was created with the help of Paul Taylor, the creator of Frozen Synapse.
On May 28 2011 22:34 Greentellon wrote: 1)There is no luck involved. Everything is mathematically calculated, and if the test simulation shows something will happen in some way, it will happen so when the turn is executed for real.
How can you say there's no luck? You don't know what your oponent will do. You have to guess. If you guess right you win, if you guess wrong you lose. I'm thinking about buying this game. But after seeing the videos it just seems like there's WAY too much luck in it. Am I missing something here?
Also, is there any multiplayer mode where each person must make a move in X seconds? (similar to speed chess)
Because the whole luck + slowness of the game makes it seems like the kind of thing that I would enjoy for a few days but get bored very quickly.
On May 28 2011 22:34 Greentellon wrote: 1)There is no luck involved. Everything is mathematically calculated, and if the test simulation shows something will happen in some way, it will happen so when the turn is executed for real.
How can you say there's no luck? You don't know what your oponent will do. You have to guess. If you guess right you win, if you guess wrong you lose. I'm thinking about buying this game. But after seeing the videos it just seems like there's WAY too much luck in it. Am I missing something here?
Also, is there any multiplayer mode where each person must make a move in X seconds? (similar to speed chess)
Because the whole luck + slowness of the game makes it seems like the kind of thing that I would enjoy for a few days but get bored very quickly.
As far as I see it; if you "guess" wrong, you just assume wrong.
You can literally simulate everything in a multiplayer game. You can set ghost-opponents to do simulations about where they might be and go.
So basically if you assumed wrong, it was because you either didn't simulate certain situations or you simulated them wrong.
It might seem like luck at first because there is just so many possibilities. Everything can be simulated.
The only thing that worries me is the map randomization because it will certainly create some positional imbalances.
On May 28 2011 22:34 Greentellon wrote: 1)There is no luck involved. Everything is mathematically calculated, and if the test simulation shows something will happen in some way, it will happen so when the turn is executed for real.
How can you say there's no luck? You don't know what your oponent will do. You have to guess. If you guess right you win, if you guess wrong you lose. I'm thinking about buying this game. But after seeing the videos it just seems like there's WAY too much luck in it. Am I missing something here?
Also, is there any multiplayer mode where each person must make a move in X seconds? (similar to speed chess)
Because the whole luck + slowness of the game makes it seems like the kind of thing that I would enjoy for a few days but get bored very quickly.
You can literally simulate everything in a multiplayer game. You can set ghost-opponents to do simulations about where they might be and go.
So basically if you assumed wrong, it was because you either didn't simulate certain situations or you simulated them wrong.
It might seem like luck at first because there is just so many possibilities. Everything can be simulated.
I'll try to give an example:
Suppose there are only 2 possibilities: A or B. You can simulate both, so you do that. You find that: - if A is true you need to do A-1 to win - if B is true you need to do B-1 to win
But you don't know if A or B is true. And you still have to choose between executing either A-1 or B-1. So whatever you pick, you still might win or lose. Only depends if you get lucky.
On May 28 2011 22:34 Greentellon wrote: 1)There is no luck involved. Everything is mathematically calculated, and if the test simulation shows something will happen in some way, it will happen so when the turn is executed for real.
One caveat. There IS an inbuilt luck factor (as opposed to players having random optimal strategies), which occurs in the very very occasional case when two guys attack each other in the exact same circumstances (such as two shotgunners walking towards each other with the same ROE and with no cover until they come into range). It rarely happens and it is the case where the fairest thing to do is go for the coinflip, so it's not a huge deal.
On May 28 2011 22:34 Greentellon wrote: 1)There is no luck involved. Everything is mathematically calculated, and if the test simulation shows something will happen in some way, it will happen so when the turn is executed for real.
How can you say there's no luck? You don't know what your oponent will do. You have to guess. If you guess right you win, if you guess wrong you lose. I'm thinking about buying this game. But after seeing the videos it just seems like there's WAY too much luck in it. Am I missing something here?
Also, is there any multiplayer mode where each person must make a move in X seconds? (similar to speed chess)
Because the whole luck + slowness of the game makes it seems like the kind of thing that I would enjoy for a few days but get bored very quickly.
You can literally simulate everything in a multiplayer game. You can set ghost-opponents to do simulations about where they might be and go.
So basically if you assumed wrong, it was because you either didn't simulate certain situations or you simulated them wrong.
It might seem like luck at first because there is just so many possibilities. Everything can be simulated.
I'll try to give an example:
Suppose there are only 2 possibilities: A or B. You can simulate both, so you do that. You find that: - if A is true you need to do A-1 to win - if B is true you need to do B-1 to win
But you don't know if A or B is true. And you still have to choose between executing either A-1 or B-1. So whatever you pick, you still might win or lose. Only depends if you get lucky.
Usually you can find a C that means you can win if he does A, but you don't lose if he does B. The set of possible moves is very large.
On May 28 2011 22:34 Greentellon wrote: 1)There is no luck involved. Everything is mathematically calculated, and if the test simulation shows something will happen in some way, it will happen so when the turn is executed for real.
How can you say there's no luck? You don't know what your oponent will do. You have to guess. If you guess right you win, if you guess wrong you lose. I'm thinking about buying this game. But after seeing the videos it just seems like there's WAY too much luck in it. Am I missing something here?
Also, is there any multiplayer mode where each person must make a move in X seconds? (similar to speed chess)
Because the whole luck + slowness of the game makes it seems like the kind of thing that I would enjoy for a few days but get bored very quickly.
You can literally simulate everything in a multiplayer game. You can set ghost-opponents to do simulations about where they might be and go.
So basically if you assumed wrong, it was because you either didn't simulate certain situations or you simulated them wrong.
It might seem like luck at first because there is just so many possibilities. Everything can be simulated.
I'll try to give an example:
Suppose there are only 2 possibilities: A or B. You can simulate both, so you do that. You find that: - if A is true you need to do A-1 to win - if B is true you need to do B-1 to win
But you don't know if A or B is true. And you still have to choose between executing either A-1 or B-1. So whatever you pick, you still might win or lose. Only depends if you get lucky.
I see your point but that is very rarely the case. Almost every time I lose really badly it is becausemy opponent did something I wasnt expecting. It is usually possible to at least make an even trade with your opponent if he performs one of the strategies you have considered. If not, you must have put yourself in a very risky situation in the earlier rounds. There is usually some way to play "safe".
Bought the music-version of this game, as the trailer and TB's vid made the gameplay and setting seem enticing - I'm a sucker for cyberpunk.
Problem is, though, it keeps crashing when I try to launch it, both from steam and from the .exe. More specifically, the game launches a 800x600 window, which loads for 5 or so secs, before it crashes. This is the error message I get (Sorry for the norwegian, I'm sure you understand what goes where if you're a person that understands that kinda stuff):
On May 31 2011 05:21 plated.rawr wrote: Bought the music-version of this game, as the trailer and TB's vid made the gameplay and setting seem enticing - I'm a sucker for cyberpunk.
Problem is, though, it keeps crashing when I try to launch it, both from steam and from the .exe. More specifically, the game launches a 800x600 window, which loads for 5 or so secs, before it crashes. This is the error message I get (Sorry for the norwegian, I'm sure you understand what goes where if you're a person that understands that kinda stuff):
Oh, and I'm running Vista.
reinstalling your videocard drivers helps some people (you can do that in steam, by going to steam -> check for video driver updates)
If you already have the latest version you need to manually download it
I love the game. My only issue is that their servers are pretty slow. Hopefully once they get the new one it'll be very enjoyable. I see a lot of possibilities coming to this game.
On May 31 2011 05:21 plated.rawr wrote: Bought the music-version of this game, as the trailer and TB's vid made the gameplay and setting seem enticing - I'm a sucker for cyberpunk.
Problem is, though, it keeps crashing when I try to launch it, both from steam and from the .exe. More specifically, the game launches a 800x600 window, which loads for 5 or so secs, before it crashes. This is the error message I get (Sorry for the norwegian, I'm sure you understand what goes where if you're a person that understands that kinda stuff):
Oh, and I'm running Vista.
reinstalling your videocard drivers helps some people (you can do that in steam, by going to steam -> check for video driver updates)
If you already have the latest version you need to manually download it
That worked, and I feel silly for not trying it before asking here.
That being said though, I've had similar problems on my stationary on minecraft and haven&hearth, and for those two, reinstalling the drivers did no good, so I expected this to be the same blind end for that solution. I'm glad it wasn't. Thanks.
Only 200 member so far but it has been growing steadily for the last couple of days. Add it to your front page if you have reddit and enjoy the game A couple of nice videos posted there already.
I just got this game, it's pretty fun! I can see it getting competitive if they make maps that are always the same (for balance) with fixed starting locations and such. That being said, the random maps are fun and keep things fresh for random games.
What people mean by "no luck" is that there are no dice rolls. In Laser Squad Nemesis there were dice rolls, which could result in some infuriating results where enemies dodged/absorbed more shots than anticipated or there was a tiny chance your grenade wouldn't bounce out of the window but instead came back to your own feet. In FS there is no random factor, no dice rolling. Cover, Stillness and Aiming are what matters. Someone in cover will beat someone in the open, there is no possibility of a "flukey headshot".
As for the "luck" that you guess correctly what your opponent will do... I don't think that's luck. I think that's the skill of anticipation. This game is ALL about anticipating what your enemy is doing. It's an amazing feeling when your opponent does exactly what you anticipated in your simulations, and your plans work out.
Someone earlier said about a single unit aiming still in a room. The trick here is to try and distract it with one unit, and attack with another. It can be difficult to pull off, but if you can't flank or use explosives it's often the only option.
Game is thoroughly worth the £7. It doesn't stop me waiting for LSN 2 though
On June 01 2011 01:11 3Form wrote: As for the "luck" that you guess correctly what your opponent will do... I don't think that's luck. I think that's the skill of anticipation. This game is ALL about anticipating what your enemy is doing.
That doesn't make any sense, you cannot anticipate the unknown. What if there are no one move that is best against anything the enemy could possibly do? Then you have to guess what he'll do to choose what's best against it. There's luck because you have to take a guess.
Rock, paper, scissors has zero dice rolls in it. Just a human vs another human. You can perfectly simulate and anticipate all your enemy's possible moves and pick the ideal strategy against it. Do you think there is no luck in that game?
On June 01 2011 01:11 3Form wrote: As for the "luck" that you guess correctly what your opponent will do... I don't think that's luck. I think that's the skill of anticipation. This game is ALL about anticipating what your enemy is doing.
That doesn't make any sense, you cannot anticipate the unknown. What if there are no one move that is best against anything the enemy could possibly do? Then you have to guess what he'll do to choose what's best against it. There's luck because you have to take a guess.
Rock, paper, scissors has zero dice rolls in it. Just a human vs another human. You can perfectly simulate and anticipate all your enemy's possible moves and pick the ideal strategy against it. Do you think there is no luck in that game?
I'm 124-12 and yes... there is luck, but it's not by luck that I win most of my games it's because i play a safe style that doesn't put me in a situation where I will always kill as many guys as i lose +1.
And yes, you can anticipate the unknown if you know the rules of the game. You can anticipate in rock paper scissors your opponent will chose either rock paper or scissors. That's the rules of the game so you're safe to assume that.
In frozen synapse each unit can move a set amount of spaces. Ducking slows you by 50%. shotguns range versus rifle range... these things are constant and you can use them to make judgements that allow you to setup in the best situation. To be quite honest there is very little luck in this game, but because people don't play out enough scenarios in their head it may seem like that.
On June 01 2011 01:11 3Form wrote: As for the "luck" that you guess correctly what your opponent will do... I don't think that's luck. I think that's the skill of anticipation. This game is ALL about anticipating what your enemy is doing.
That doesn't make any sense, you cannot anticipate the unknown. What if there are no one move that is best against anything the enemy could possibly do? Then you have to guess what he'll do to choose what's best against it. There's luck because you have to take a guess.
Anticipate: Regard as probable; expect or predict
The whole point of anticipation is that it is unknown. It wouldn't be a prediction if it was known.
However, I do admit there is some luck involved, as in any game with incomplete information. I would just like to suggest that it is quite a small component because the range of possible moves is very large and you can usually find a general 'counter'.
Rock, paper, scissors has zero dice rolls in it. Just a human vs another human. You can perfectly simulate and anticipate all your enemy's possible moves and pick the ideal strategy against it. Do you think there is no luck in that game?
There is. But it evens out over games and top players consistently win at RPS.
On June 01 2011 01:11 3Form wrote: As for the "luck" that you guess correctly what your opponent will do... I don't think that's luck. I think that's the skill of anticipation. This game is ALL about anticipating what your enemy is doing.
That doesn't make any sense, you cannot anticipate the unknown. What if there are no one move that is best against anything the enemy could possibly do? Then you have to guess what he'll do to choose what's best against it. There's luck because you have to take a guess.
Rock, paper, scissors has zero dice rolls in it. Just a human vs another human. You can perfectly simulate and anticipate all your enemy's possible moves and pick the ideal strategy against it. Do you think there is no luck in that game?
did you watch TB's video? It shows exactly how you can simulate enemy movements and outcomes.
It's like chess: you don't know what your opponent will do, but you can plan/anticipate different moves. Yes, you might get "lucky" or "unlucky" by missing something - but that's not "random luck".
A friend gave me his code on sunday, really enjoying it, only doing single player so far. Wish these guys had the rights to X-Com instead of that stupid company that is making it an fps.
I've experienced a weird thing a couple of times where in my simulations my guy would be able to escape a grenade or rocket blast but when the outcome ran he died. I cancel aim and ignore enemies, I'm not sure what could be happening differently in the real run to cause this. Any ideas? I'm wondering if the full range of the explosion doesn't get simulated because it ends too quickly or something...
I only have one problem with the game right now. I feel that on some maps when you play with only shotguns and machine guns in termination mode the defender gets too much of an advantage. It troubles me that it is sometimes easy for either player to force a draw or for a player who got an early kill to ensure a win by just camping. This is usually not the case when you play with rocket launchers and/or grenade launchers since they can often easily deal with camping soldiers. I'm not sure what can be done about this other than always playing with at least one rocket launcher on each team or avoiding maps that give you too little room to flank your opponent.
Here are two more videos. First one is a comeback from someone who is supposed to be high on the daily ladder with a pretty nice score. (Kasami)
The second one is a game me and my friend just played.
On June 01 2011 03:29 mucker wrote: A friend gave me his code on sunday, really enjoying it, only doing single player so far. Wish these guys had the rights to X-Com instead of that stupid company that is making it an fps.
I've experienced a weird thing a couple of times where in my simulations my guy would be able to escape a grenade or rocket blast but when the outcome ran he died. I cancel aim and ignore enemies, I'm not sure what could be happening differently in the real run to cause this. Any ideas? I'm wondering if the full range of the explosion doesn't get simulated because it ends too quickly or something...
Exact same thing happened to me. Was my 2nd match ever vs my friend, and I basically suicided my own unit and GG ^^
On June 01 2011 01:11 3Form wrote: As for the "luck" that you guess correctly what your opponent will do... I don't think that's luck. I think that's the skill of anticipation. This game is ALL about anticipating what your enemy is doing.
That doesn't make any sense, you cannot anticipate the unknown. What if there are no one move that is best against anything the enemy could possibly do? Then you have to guess what he'll do to choose what's best against it. There's luck because you have to take a guess.
Rock, paper, scissors has zero dice rolls in it. Just a human vs another human. You can perfectly simulate and anticipate all your enemy's possible moves and pick the ideal strategy against it. Do you think there is no luck in that game?
Rubbish, you cannot pick the ideal strategy in RPS. There is no ideal strategy. You can anticipate their moves, but it is a game of absolutes. There are no compromises. You are correct, it is purely random (unless your opponent has a tendency to favour one choice, in which case you can weight each choice when formulating your "strategy")
That's like saying that winning in Brood War is all luck, whether you pick the right build or not. That's nonsense. You scout your opponent, and you make assumptions about what they will do when you cannot scout them, based on your prior knowledge. That is rubbish too, RPS and SC are not analogous. In Frozen Synapse you can see the starting position of enemy units. You can deduce all their possible moves. You can then formulate a response that is best suited to the situation.
Saying that it is all down to luck and "probability" is correct only if the enemy makes their decision by randomly selecting their moves, and that you randomly select your moves. You don't decide your moves by rolling a dice, in just the same way that you don't pick your SC build out of a hat. You use reason and logic to select your SC build. You do not randomly select it. In RPS you do randomly select your moves. You have no prior information. There is no scenario or premise.
The most skilled player will anticipate the most outcomes and thus be more likely to win. I don't see where the luck comes in.
On June 01 2011 01:11 3Form wrote: As for the "luck" that you guess correctly what your opponent will do... I don't think that's luck. I think that's the skill of anticipation. This game is ALL about anticipating what your enemy is doing.
That doesn't make any sense, you cannot anticipate the unknown. What if there are no one move that is best against anything the enemy could possibly do? Then you have to guess what he'll do to choose what's best against it. There's luck because you have to take a guess.
Rock, paper, scissors has zero dice rolls in it. Just a human vs another human. You can perfectly simulate and anticipate all your enemy's possible moves and pick the ideal strategy against it. Do you think there is no luck in that game?
I'm 124-12 and yes... there is luck, but it's not by luck that I win most of my games it's because i play a safe style that doesn't put me in a situation where I will always kill as many guys as i lose +1.
You're just saying there's both luck + skill. I agree. I was only saying that this is the kind of game that I would grow bored of quick because there seems to big of a ratio of luck vs skill.
If you're winning 10x more than losing, like you are, it just means you're fighting much worse players than you. Then luck will mean little. Suppose the game is 90% skill and 10% luck. So if you're only playing players in that 90% range you'll win by skill. And you'll come here thinking "there's very little luck in this game". But when you start playing guys inside that 10% range (who have similar skill to you). Then either two things will happen: - Most games will be resolved by luck: it will be like playing rock,paper,scissors over and over - Both skilled players agree the optimum perfect play results in a draw. All games will draw.
Either way, it's not fun. Which is why I'm afraid this is the kind of game where I would have a lot of fun on the first month or so where I'm just running over worse players using better strategy. But then I get to play similar skilled players and now it's only the one who gets lucky who wins. Not the one with better strategy. So I would go bored.
Anyway. It all comes down to how long it takes to get to the "skill cap" or whatever you call it. Since all of you guys are playing it and saying it's awesome and luck is very tiny. Then I guess there's actually a lot of room for fun and strategy before it gets boring. So I will eventually buy this game. You guys convinced me
On June 01 2011 04:27 3Form wrote: Saying that it is all down to luck and "probability"
I never said it's all down to luck. I'm saying there's both luck and skill. I only replied to people who were saying "there is zero luck at all". Which is mathematically impossible. There has to be *some* luck on a game of imperfect information. The only problem is how big of a role luck plays.
Luck implies you have no control over the outcome, which I think is incorrect. In some game modes, spawn points are random and in others the units you get are different for each player. So in this case, luck comes into it. Same goes for unfair maps, these are things outside your control. I think player skill can overcome these difficulties, unless of course in a hypothetical situation you have two equally *skilled* players when I suppose luck does come into it. Otherwise, if you encounter a situation to which there is no solution, then it's because of a previous error of judgment, not because of luck.
Okay, I'm glad you will buy the game, please feel free to get the last word in
i've seen quite a few draws on some videos i've watched. is there a turn/time limit or something? seems sorta lame that in the video a few posts above becomes one on one and then it ends a draw.
On June 01 2011 05:04 Urnhardt wrote: i've seen quite a few draws on some videos i've watched. is there a turn/time limit or something? seems sorta lame that in the video a few posts above becomes one on one and then it ends a draw.
The game usually ends after the 8th turn has finished. If both players have the same number of units in the end of a termination game then the game is a draw, otherwise the player with more units left wins. I'm not sure how drawing works in other game modes.
On May 31 2011 22:16 DrainX wrote: I just realised one of the Steam Achievements in the game alludes to a quote by Artosis
"SO MANY LEVELINGS!!"
Mode7 guys are SC2 fans. The mode7 twitter routinely comments on SC2, mostly the GSL.
The winner of a particular match is often luck, but your rating is not luck based. If I remember correctly each map you get is played by numerous people and how the results of the map affect your rating are determined by how the population at large does on the map. You can read about it here: http://www.mode7games.com/blog/2010/04/27/feature-announcement-duplicate/
Given that FS is not likely to be hyper competitive I think this is a good idea as it makes the experience overall more enjoyable and varied.
For an actual competition you can use planned custom maps that are symmetrical with equal units anyways.
OS Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, 7 Ram: 512meg Processor/Gfx card: will run on low-end modern hardware (e.g. netbooks)
Mac OS Requirements: OSX Leopard or later Ram: 512meg Processor/Gfx card: 1GHZ PowerPC (or Intel) If you're unsure about whether your system will run the game, please contact us!
I'm so confused. I click on it in steam, it doesnt work. It just says a few minutes later it stopped working. I tried launching from folder, doesn't work. I tried installing from their website and launching, it doesnt work. It just doesn't respond and a few minutes later it says it crashed.
Loving this game, annoyed at how many people spam me with games though. I get that is how the system works but cmon, noone is good enough to play 15 games at once. Versing my freinds only atm and i have only dropped 2 games in 15.
i feel that the hostage mode could use a rework, some of the generated maps favour the defenders way to much.
Admitedly i do not know how the "units" for each side are chosen but it seems a bit ro random and unfair in some circumstances. I had an open map where i had 2/4 as shotguns against my mate who had 2/4 as snipers. I somehow managed to win but that was not because of good play, just luck and bad play on his part.
Another problem that i have with this game is the entire concept of aiming direction while standing still. It is unbelievably pointless considering that if i have enough time i can set up a timer that will make my guy do a 360degree every .5seconds and shoot at whoever he sees. Obviously i do not do this as it is really lame for my mates but it means that it is almost impossible to sneak up on my guys.
Saying that though this is one of the games that makes me think thus i enjoy to play it. My mechanics are not good enough for starcraft to involve complex descions and HoN is to teambased for me to enjoy planning anything. I would STRONGLY recommmend buying it to anyone who is sitting on the fence.
Anyways, seems like a really nice game. A lot of TF2 buddies of mine are getting into it. Chess with guns. The randomly generated levels seem like a nice touch too.
Anyone know if there is a way to brute force waypoints? For example if I want a soldier to move straight through a wall that will be destroyed during the same turn.
Looks interesting...does anyone have a spare copy left? Seems to be like a game that rewards patience. Would like to give it a try but as it is it's too expensive to just try the game.
How long is the campaign? I'm at like the 10th mission or something (just beat that one that they have lots of rocket launchers in this closed bunker to the left, and you have to get to this area on the right to blow him up), and it's getting boring because everything is soooo slow ><
I spend more time watching the game load each turn than actually playing (well ok, I'm exaggerating, but those huge load times do add up)
There seems to be a lot of luck involved in which seed of the mission you get. Often times when the mission loads up I just laugh as I press the restart button because the mission goes from retarded (my grenade/rocket spawning next to the enemy shotgun) to something that none of my units are going to die guaranteed first turn and then I can easily roll through the mission. Maybe I'll go back and try those silly versions again after I beat the campaign.
On June 08 2011 04:42 VIB wrote: What exactly does the "Check" command do?
How long is the campaign? I'm at like the 10th mission or something (just beat that one that they have lots of rocket launchers in this closed bunker to the left, and you have to get to this area on the right to blow him up), and it's getting boring because everything is soooo slow ><
I spend more time watching the game load each turn than actually playing (well ok, I'm exaggerating, but those huge load times do add up)
I just got the game, but my understanding is the check command lets your unit look in a different direction then how your moving and aiming. In the dark modes, you don't know where your opponent's units are unless you can see them. So check let's you see if there is an opponent unit in the area, but won't fire on them or stop moving. I don't think it has any use for the "light" modes. I believe there are 55 levels in the campaign.
Also, there is a small wiki for the game, FS wiki and a community on reddit for the game FS reddit if anyone wants more info on the game.
Had to vouch for this game, it's stealing SC2 time, but it's great cause if I get over my apathy I could just leave my Frozen Synapse games till later. Simply love this game!
this game looks so cool. does anyone know if there is a large multiplayer community? thinking about getting it but don't want to if the multiplayer is dead or near dead
Well i have not played multiplyer yet (lol) but I can say that even playing single player your usually logged into the "online lobby" and im constantly getting challenged to games - you get a little pop-up notifying you, and the lobby automaticaly tracks your games. Since its turn based the game will tell you when the other person has moved and will send you a hotlink to play your turn. So its easy to have a bunch of games going at once.
I'd say the community is only getting bigger at this point, the game just came out.
Frozen Synapse is FREE! Everyone who hasnt tried this game out yet should do so now at http://www.humblebundle.com/
This game is very well made and is a blast to play with friends, so tell your friends about picking it up for FREE!
Checked the site, its not free for me.... :o Its 4.52$
It's not free, it's pay what you want. Which could be a cent if you hate small indie developers or have absolutely no money. If you pay more than the average payment of 4.25 you get some other games with it.
Frozen Synapse is FREE! Everyone who hasnt tried this game out yet should do so now at http://www.humblebundle.com/
This game is very well made and is a blast to play with friends, so tell your friends about picking it up for FREE!
Checked the site, its not free for me.... :o Its 4.52$
It's not free, it's pay what you want. Which could be a cent if you hate small indie developers or have absolutely no money. If you pay more than the average payment of 4.25 you get some other games with it.
pay what you want to me = free. Trine seems pretty cool though actually, I may put in five bucks for it.
Frozen Synapse is FREE! Everyone who hasnt tried this game out yet should do so now at http://www.humblebundle.com/
This game is very well made and is a blast to play with friends, so tell your friends about picking it up for FREE!
Checked the site, its not free for me.... :o Its 4.52$
It's not free, it's pay what you want. Which could be a cent if you hate small indie developers or have absolutely no money. If you pay more than the average payment of 4.25 you get some other games with it.
pay what you want to me = free. Trine seems pretty cool though actually, I may put in five bucks for it.
Pay what you feel it is worth to you. Remember, the money goes directly to the developers here. No publisher taking 90%. These are also small developers whos ability to make a next game at all rests on their low number of sales. A few hundred dollars can mean a lot to these guys. You have more reason to pay some extra cash here than you have when buying larger titles at the store.
Frozen Synapse is FREE! Everyone who hasnt tried this game out yet should do so now at http://www.humblebundle.com/
This game is very well made and is a blast to play with friends, so tell your friends about picking it up for FREE!
Checked the site, its not free for me.... :o Its 4.52$
It's not free, it's pay what you want. Which could be a cent if you hate small indie developers or have absolutely no money. If you pay more than the average payment of 4.25 you get some other games with it.
pay what you want to me = free. Trine seems pretty cool though actually, I may put in five bucks for it.
Pay what you feel it is worth to you. Remember, the money goes directly to the developers here. No publisher taking 90%. These are also small developers whos ability to make a next game at all rests on their low number of sales. A few hundred dollars can mean a lot to these guys. You have more reason to pay some extra cash here than you have when buying larger titles at the store.
Absolutely. No one needs to feel obligated to pay 20 or 30 bucks if they can't afford it, but even chipping a few bucks towards the developers DOES make a difference, since they get actually get all the money (or most of it at least).
Please, please consider paying whatever you can when it comes to great indie developers like these.
On September 30 2011 19:11 DarKcS wrote: Why can't I beat the first level? How is it fair all you get are shotguns and they had rifles that 2 shot you across the map??? ZZZZZZZZZZ
I've been meaning to pick this game up when it went on sale, it's on my steam wish list, but this is sort of like a sale. Thanks for the heads up guys..
On September 30 2011 19:11 DarKcS wrote: Why can't I beat the first level? How is it fair all you get are shotguns and they had rifles that 2 shot you across the map??? ZZZZZZZZZZ
You need to sneak up behind them
If you get in close enough, shotguns will take out machine gun guys, whetever they're waiting for you, behind cover, ducking, whatnot. Your units on the first level is also ridiculously fast. Just run around take them out in tight corridors.
I've gotten really hooked on this game. Multiplayer is so incredibly fun.
Its incredibly annoying though that a lot of players tend to ragequit on the last turn when you basically have 4 guys aiming at their last one, and leaves the game instead of just playing it out. 1/3 of my games for today are still in the list. Hopefully theres some kind of mechanic in place that sorts stuff like that out eventually.
I just found this game and it's AWESOME! I hope by bumping this thread, more people will notice this game and give it a try I play on UK-1 Server, since there's where most ppl are. Feel free to challenge me on any dark mode map: zPnkr
Wow i'm surprised not more people have posted after the steam sale. This is really the type of game I was looking for. Strategic, tactical, with a twist of luck. Reminds me a lot of poker/chess. I've been going through the single player for a whole day with a few breaks in between and sleep- I don't remember being this hooked into a game for years.
After watching X-COM: Terror from the Deep stream last night I remembered Frozen Synapse and the brilliant music it has.
Well, today I learned that apparantly Paul Taylor AKA nervous_testpilot AKA _ensnare_ (designer/composer of FS) is SC2 fan (TL profile) and a musician (with 8-bit albums named "No Carrier Rush" and "Impeccable Micro"). Also, his song "Top Five Control" is used TL documentary teaser.
Yes, it is awesome. You might also want to check out Uplink. Similar in design but completely different (instead of being a tactical AI you take on the role of a hacker).
FS is giving me quite a rush right now though. It's been years since any game hooked me so.
I'm failing to google this somehow or maybe it's just too obvious for rest of the world.
Anyway, how long planning time do you have for turns in online matches? Basically is the multiplayer played actively in one go with a couple minutes of planning or can you have multiple matches running at once with several hours/day time to execute your actions?
On July 18 2012 16:26 Vaelone wrote: I'm failing to google this somehow or maybe it's just too obvious for rest of the world.
Anyway, how long planning time do you have for turns in online matches? Basically is the multiplayer played actively in one go with a couple minutes of planning or can you have multiple matches running at once with several hours/day time to execute your actions?
I'll clarify this in case someone finds this thread:
- You have no time limit to take your turns, the entire game has to be concluded within 2 weeks though (it's a bit like playing chess via mail) - You can play as many multiplayer games simultaneously as you wish
FS: Red (the new expansion) introduced a couple of new features too: - hotseat (co-op and vs) - time limit to take your turns (you can set it to 30 sec for example)
Speaking of which, I guess it's actually worth bumping this thread to get people excited about new stuff:
Not much of the playerbase but you can still get your games going. I've just started refreshing my memory of this game, am doing sp campaign and all the time people will challenge me to a game.
EPT
. The rocket launcher is very good if your target is close to a wall, if he's out in the open you won't be able to hit him at all.
