13 people found this review helpful
1 person found this review funny
Not Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 6.3 hrs on record
Posted: 18 Jun, 2024 @ 10:30pm
Updated: 18 Jun, 2024 @ 10:32pm

Early Access Review
I'm sad about this one. Nebulous does a lot of interesting things with its tactical gameplay that other games haven't, which is cool. The problem is that in order to play this game effectively without a pause function (which you obviously won't have in multiplayer), you need to be a micro *machine.* Couple that with having to keep up and pull your weight for a team of real players and that's a recipe for serious stress among those who struggle with micro. While that's good for a certain type of player, it isn't personally for me.

But that's not what really bothers me about Nebulous. Just recently, the devs announced the cancellation of the game's Conquest mode development. They say they're taking a step back and looking at other options for SP, and it's obvious that they really didn't want to do this, but regardless, this is a massive blow to the game's lifespan. It's clear that the devs misstepped and prioritized the wrong fundamental building blocks of the game, even before release. Conquest should have been *the* focus from the start, *not* the multiplayer skirmishes. Even if it would've extended development time... it would've had more staying power. But now, there's no reason for people to invest in this game outside of doing basic skirmish battles with other people, over and over again.

Hate to say it, but Eridanus messed up. :(
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Developer response:
Hooded Horse  [developer] Posted: 23 Jun, 2024 @ 6:08pm
Thank you for trying the game! A robust singleplayer campaign experience is still an essential part of development plans. What happened is that the original planned design for Conquest mode just didn't lead to the best result for players, so the team has committed to redesign it, rather than rushing out what would be a subpar experience. This will take more time, but it will lead to the best result for the game.

However, in response to community feedback like yours that want to see what the original design was like, we've released that unfinished version in case you want to try it out yourself -- the build is up on beta branch and playable, instructions for accessing are here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/887570/view/4201376568920416876?l=english

The dev team is working on a redesign, and the goal of the new singleplayer campaign experience will be to mesh closely with Nebulous' core gameplay and return to many of the most interesting mechanics from Conquest mode's original design including officer veterancy and intelligence, a persistent fleet with logistical concerns, and a narrative thread and objectives.

We're sorry the original development direction didn't work out, but please rest fully assured that the singleplayer campaign experience is still part of the plans and an essential step in Nebulous's future.

Tim
CEO, Hooded Horse
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