Ascendancy

[Kosta]

Feel free to comment and discuss this game here. Also, if you have any useful tips or tricks don't hesitate to share them with the others! Thanks!

Review and Download (if available) (http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/221)

[Tom Henrik]

Good one Kosta :ok:

[NeVeR]

Great one, Kosta and Data!
Haven't played this game for years now.... :ok:

[aaberg]

Hmm, this looks interresting. It will probably take some time to download on my connection (128 Mb/s), but it looks like it's worth it. ;)

[Havell]

Damn, this is a good game! But one thing, how do you build shipyards? I have researched the technology to build them but they are not avaliblr to build in the display when you click on a tile on the planet.

[Eagle of Fire]

If I remember well, you have special slots for your planetary construction.

[Havell]

It's alright, I figured it out in the end, you have to build them on the left hand side of the screen, in space.

[Havell]

OMG, I just played this game for 6 hours straight without realizing it. I only stopped because I was ordered to go to bed. This has to be one of the best games EVER :w00t: .

[Guest_qwisp]

yeah its 2 here now. This game got me sucked in and im rubish at it.

[Eagle of Fire]

In fact, this game is not that great. I played it again, and again I been disapointed.

If only I could build a bigger fleet than only 2 ships... But no! The computer just flood me until I can't do anything about it (even with several missiles at the same planet) and conquer my planets one by one...

And the AI patch is not good either... All it does is make the computer "biased" diplomatically VS you, so they'll all end up at war with you no matter what.

I voted for a 3 on 5 on the site. I would rather play MOO. :not_ok:

[aaberg]

Originally posted by Eagle of Fire@Sep 19 2004, 02:39 AM
And the AI patch is not good either... All it does is make the computer "biased" diplomatically VS you, so they'll all end up at war with you no matter what.

I voted for a 3 on 5 on the site.* I would rather play MOO. :not_ok:
That is why they made an AI patch. You can download it here on this website. Maybe that would help you ;)

[FreeFreddy]

Actualy he seems to meant this patch... <_<

[aaberg]

Maybe I should read the replies I quote a little more carefull, before I reply on them!!! <_<

[Petter1979]

Originally posted by Eagle of Fire@Sep 19 2004, 08:39 AM
In fact, this game is not that great. I played it again, and again I been disapointed.

If only I could build a bigger fleet than only 2 ships... But no! The computer just flood me until I can't do anything about it (even with several missiles at the same planet) and conquer my planets one by one...

And the AI patch is not good either... All it does is make the computer "biased" diplomatically VS you, so they'll all end up at war with you no matter what.

I voted for a 3 on 5 on the site. I would rather play MOO. :not_ok:
You need control of more planets in several systems., then you can build more ships :)

[Hydro]

can anyone tell me how to "Help-click", I've researched loads of stuff
but I don't know what it does. Or if someone had the manual, that would probably be helpful

[Havell]

You hold shift and click on something, it says that in the very first tutorial (The only one I took), you have to click on the item you want to know about in the "build" menu, not on the planet's surface.

[Havell]

OK, I have the manual, and by "have" I mean "stole off the Underdogs".

Ascendancy Manual (.pdf) (http://www.abandonia.com/~rhavell/ascendancy.pdf)

[Eagle of Fire]

Hopefully that manual may help me get a better view on this game. I'll read it.

[Havell]

There's no need to read the manual really, the tutorials are so good and the interface is so well-designed that a manual is not necessary except for extremely complex things and troubleshooting.

[Shaman]

Heeelp!
6 hours to download the game (brazilian free servers...) and now it simply says "can't find file DOS4GE to load"... <_<

[Kosta]

Originally posted by Shaman@Sep 19 2004, 08:05 PM
Heeelp!
6 hours to download the game (brazilian free servers...) and now it simply says "can't find file DOS4GE to load"... <_<
Did you use DosBOX to run it?

[unclefester]

GREAT GAME!

I like it without the patch. I like to develop my planets and reasearching before waging wars...

P.S Can we get stuff from hotu and then send them here. I could use some games ;) . But then again you would lose the sense of contribution :(

[Guest]

I'm trying to send my ship to a different star system but it won't let me. Help plz.

[Havell]

Your ship needs a star lane drive, then you need to double-click on the star lane.

[Eagle of Fire]

You need a Warp Drive to go to another system. You need propultion drive to move around the "planet map".

[C3M]

:rifle:

this game is worth it... cept its VERY paradoxal :)

i find i think ive played the game a long time, but i really dident (thats awsomly marvolus by the way XD)

but i notice people are having problems... so let me help (mind you i am having my own problems)

play a friendly, and very sparce galixy one with only 3 computers :) this way you get a chance to navigate the system... and maby have at some warfare...

another thing, so far the bigest fleet ive goten is 14 enormus ships,

my fav tactic is loading the large type ships with heavy shields and fast engins, then toping them out with point singulatiry weapons (black hole guns. short range brings the pain), also a good size of genorators... you fly in and put your shields on, then let loose 5 blackholes at your target, let him try and bust your shiled (and fail) and repeat

another tactic is to equip a large ship with 5 of thoes handy plasma cannons, this games sniper rifle XD, it gives you a nice platform to lay down fire on ships, plus they can take out orbital instalations in at least 5 days... 25 plasma cannon shots tend to work ^.^

Planitary defense:

very important, nocking out a planet with the right tools is to easy :S, but there are some things you can do... orbital missile batteries are nice, but get the close range satilites, there much better... and as you progress through technology, you may get a Tractor beam instalation, equip this on all your planets and equip all your planets with 2-3 shields and 1-2 close range defense satilites, tractor in your targets and cook them :cheers:

[Eagle of Fire]

The computer is so dumb you can beat it extremely easily without shields. In my first games, I kept installing shields on my ships but I never realised that I actually had to manually turn them on (!) for them to work... But still managed to kill whatever was in my way...

The key to this is the only long range weapon in the game (I don't remember the name). Just load your ships with faster engines than your opponent have access to, those weapons and a lot of energy to spare and voila, you're invincible!

For planetary defense, you don't need much as long as you have at least one ship with long range weapon defending the system. I recommend having two shields on every planet to prevent the computer from taking them over quickly, and one or two planetary defense just in case. The tractor beams are sure a must, but not absolutly needed.

[Guest]

i havent tried patch, not good nuff yet, im trying to get good with my species of choice :)

you know its a shame this game dosent have multiplayer, it smeams it would wok so wel, and besides. playing against a human is so much more fun :)

also i need tip for geting off the planet faster
what do i build first? i factory or a agricaulture building? how do you start?

[Eagle of Fire]

I usually go for agriculture first. The real point tough is never build structure unless you run out of specialised squares. It is really worth to build tube links all over your planet only to get to the last square(s).

When it is done, then you must decide what the planet primary goal is. In the early game you should concentrate on having a lot of research planets so you can get the best tech ASAP, but don't forget to have a "building" planet or two to build ships.

When you got safe control of your first few planetary systems, then it's your call. Whatever floats your boat as they say... :)

[C3M]

Yah... i found that your WHOLE game ends up been based on how well you started... Seriously!, if you start even slightly poorly your empire goes STRAIT to the crapper, (unfortunetly computer dosent deal with this)... anycase ive observed some seriouse changes (if i could graph it i would XD) one run it was 1000 year mark and i only had 1 system

another run it was 1000 year mark and i had plasmatics and a fleet of enormous ships with full out massive tech and i was dominating the galixy (this was in a sparce galixy mind you... i like it better :P)

my recomendation is to practice starting... learn to dominate as soon as possible

another thing i noticed... the shipyard... you start it to early, you lose time (and your empire is burned)... start it to late and your empire is FRIED, anycase 9/10 i get this wrong... any recomendations for when to build the shipyard?


also fav race? (mines the camichiens, the lizard guys... there special is any current topic you are researching will be finished in one day... if you set your research up right you can nock a good 500 years of research off... Also theres the chance of Super Advancing... should you find a xeno archiological site... it may lead to more tech... example... i found momentum conservation... and it lead to hyperwave... the big sweet genorator i use on almose all my big ships... i had it at year 600 XD )

[Havell]

My personal favourite race is the lava people (as they can build on the black squares on planets) and I quite like the lizard people as well.

[Eagle of Fire]

My favorite race is also the Charmathing you said. I beleive they have the only really usefull skill of all the bunch... :blink:

[Q]

I've played this game for a long time, and the best strategy I found was to choose the chamanches, and to start with maybe one science facility, and then build as many factories as possible. Build Agriplots only when necessary to boost population. For research, don't worry too much about what order to go in, but try to get the three special techs: Alien Hospitatlity, Scientist Takeover, and Endless Party. With a massive industrial base you can enact each of these states when necessary (Endless Party, which boosts your population growth, and Scientist Takeover, which boosts research, are usually the most useful). As far as ships go, I usually find it's productive to put up at least one shield and at least one missle platform (/ orbital whooper) around the planet before building a ship. When building ships, I usually put two star lane drives (which doubles your speed through lanespace), about 20% engines, 20% generators, one or two colonization modules, and maybe 10-20% weapons. I have thus far found no use whatsoever for shields. My favorite weapons are the hypersphere driver and the nano-gun, especially when combined with an accutron (which doubles their range). The best colonization strategy I've found is to colonize ( a ) planets alone in a system, ( b ) planets particularly large and filled with red squares, and ( c ) any planet w/ archeological ruins. When colonizing, try to put your colony base on a green square that's pretty close to a red one. When attacking another planet, if you need to move close to it before you can fire, try to move into orbit around a nearby planet. That way they won't get a free shot off at you.

Overall, the heavy-industry based strategy allows you to tailor your overall economy to what you need. If you need more research, start some scientist takeovers. If you need some population growth, instigate endless parties. If you need a ship, a mostly industrialized large planet can churn an enormous-class ship out w/full armament in around 5-10 days, and refits ususally take about 1-2.

[Eagle of Fire]

I have found in my later games that you can build a colony module on a Black square. Building there in the beginning of the game is advisable since the specialised squares is what makes your planet more productive than others, especially on small planets.

On later games it is less important as soon as you get access to the multi use buildings and double use buildings.

[gregor]

anyone knwos how to abandon ship that is in warp? i 've mistakinly sent ships with poor warp engines into red warp drive and they kept on bouncing back and fourth but never came out of it (weird).

also in later time a strange thjing happened - one of my ships coulnd't leave the system. hmm but i wish i could now check if it had those warp drives on (maybe i forgot to install them). ah now i already erased the save files.

one thing i am missing in this game is governors (like in Space empires). i really hated to keep on selecting what and where to build once i had a lot of planets.

also i've started off really bad but after playing a bit, knowing the game.... i realised i am much more advanced then any other computer player. it seem as if the game is setting the difficulty according to player.
:eeeeeh:

[Eagle of Fire]

Not really. In fact the AI is extremely poor.

[PrejudiceSucks]

Wow... a fantastic game. LOL, on one of those multi-coloured, oh-so-useful planets I got 156 research, with 8 long range space whoopers. A handy planet indeed.

[Shogun]

This was the first game I ever got, it was a Christman present fom my dad back in 1995, 3 days after my first computer - I LOVED IT and played it a lot for a year or so.....

However, I remember 2 things that made the game kind of sick due to being "imbalanced" if used vs the Computer:

1.) Brunswik Dissipator, an equipment for your ships that empties an enemy ship for 1 turn with a single shot - use it as first thing in your turn in a 1 vs 1 situation, afterwards kill it as slowly as you want

2.) Room-Bomb or Spacebomb (I played german version back then), another equipment that can only be used once but deals a lot of damage to each enemy ship in the system - 5 or 6 of these always kill the complete enemy fleet of 25+ ships if you let the game last that long, while you never even lose one yourself

Once I realized that, there was no motivation left :-(

[Hari Seldon]

This was THE BEST computergame EVER in potential.

Sorry for the AI. Imagine this game with a mp-mode and consider this 3d engine even works on a 386 DX 40!!! :kosta:

There are rumours for years that Ascendancy II would be made. But I think after their deserved failure with the Tone Rebellion it is over, sadly enough.

But what a game.. what a game

[Eagle of Fire]

Altough I am often the first to bash down Ascendancy for it's numerous flaws, I just have to agree to the fact it has almost infinite potential. The problem here is that potential is not what makes a game good, it what makes sequels interesting...

Like you said, I don't think we are about to see a sequel quite soon... I am yet to see a successful sequel to Xcom! :(

[goblins]

it would be better if an active open source movement got a hold of this game - it was decent for its time but the sequel never happened i dont think.

[Borodin]

Originally posted by Eagle of Fire@Dec 10 2004, 02:40 AM
Not really. In fact the AI is extremely poor.
I played the game quite a while when it first came out. While the sound breaks up a bit these days, it seems to play on my XP. I'm considering starting a new game, but I'm curious: has anybody tried the patch? Does it in fact make the AI smarter on the neutral setting?

[Eagle of Fire]

The patch doesn't make the AI any smarter, only more agressive. I personally did not notice a change in either trait, especially since the computer always seems to declare war when it less benefit them (when you are winning).

[Borodin]

Originally posted by Eagle of Fire@Jan 3 2005, 04:52 AM
The patch doesn't make the AI any smarter, only more agressive. I personally did not notice a change in either trait, especially since the computer always seems to declare war when it less benefit them (when you are winning).
I'd expect the other players (except your allies) to gang up on you when you're winning. The same kind of "no person allowed to get too far ahead" mentality has been part of the Civ series and Alpha Centauri for quite some time.

But I'm sorry to hear they don't build better, or research more productively. The game had a lot of nice ideas, and the project leader was the same guy who put so much energy and creativity into producing Betrayal at Krondor, one of my RPG faves.

[HaJo]

Hi,

I played the game several years ago, but did not finish it.
The alien races, ships and tech were all nice and original.

But I noticed several annoying things:

* there is no production queue - each turn you have to go thru all your planets,
which gets more and more tedious as you gain more planets

* Auto-building does not work properly - I discovered that it even demolished buildings that I had placed on 'optimal' (red,green,blue) squares for their type.

Even the placement of buildings on conquered planets looked quite random,
so I decided not to trust construction on my planets to this feature...

* the 3d-map of the star-systems looks nice, but is actually harder to use
than a 'good old' 2d-map (e.g. as in MoO2), because you can only see
a small part of the map and need to scroll around like in a maze.

* It takes forever to bring your ships thru the warp-lanes to some target-system.
You also have to be careful to send your ship into the correct star-lane or it can be stranded (one-way warp-connections, limited fuel/engine-lifetime...).
There is no auto-pilot, and you cannot attach notes to the ships,
so you must keep notes for each ship (by hand) - which means even more micro-management :-(

I was doing quite well (about half the galaxy was mine), but I could guess
"to conquer the next planet, I need x big ships, they will take y turns to build +
z turns to travel there", but that means going thru a lot of management-cycles during those turns.

So, basically, the game got too tedious to be fun anymore.


-HaJo

[User42]

Wow ive seen this game before...

I was over at a friends house, and his dad had this superfast computer, and he showwed me a game that hadnt even come out yet, accordning to him, his dad was a game designer and he was workin it, it was playable but not done yet..

:ot:

The day I saw it, I decided not to go home, because (things sucked) and I was kind of running away, I ended up getting almost dragged out of that house by a policeman about 3 hours later.

Funny, I can specificly remember the 3 screens of that game I saw, but I cant even recall what state that was in at the time(moved alot).

:ot:

And this game is allready abandonware.... I feel old now

Anyways, downloading now about to play it :)

[goblins]

LOL ive got the original CD and manual still here in a box somewhere - interesting game but youre right it has been replaced by much more advanced games - good for its time but suffered from the lack of smart AI etc.

And the tedious micromanagement might have been a big thing back then but nowdays it doesnt stack up

[LuckyLlama]

I don't think Ascendancy should be shunned just because of weak AI. I think the gameplay makes up for that. I mean, I never even heard of it before, and know I can't stop playing it. I'm hooked!

[Eagle of Fire]

Well lucky, Ascendency been considered as the best game of it's genre for newbies. So it's great that you have found it first, have fun with it. :ok:

[Borodin]

Originally posted by goblins@Jan 10 2005, 06:48 AM
* ive got the original CD and manual still here in a box somewhere - interesting game but youre right it has been replaced by much more advanced games - good for its time but suffered from the lack of smart AI etc.

This sounds like "decade old game = lousy AI." But there are 10 year old games with great AI, and some very popular modern titles (like the Age of Wonders series) that have truly awful AI. The problem with Ascendency's AI was that it had too many options to consider, and not enough time spent on that aspect of development. According to Sid Meier, a good AI really should take most of the development time on any game, but because it's behind the scenes, game designers focus on graphics, audio, etc. And when you get into features crawl--adding new features as the game progresses in pre-alpha stage--then the AI has to be reconfigured to allow for all that.

[Jman4117]

I'd have to say that Ascendancy had about the most potential for greatness of any such games that I've played. The massive galaxy sphere and competition among alien races comes to mind here. It's brain-dead AI and the micromanagement nightmare later in the game really bring it down a LOT. If only it had multiplayer....... :evil:

[FlyByAl]

This is a fantastic game and I heartily recommend it, just make sure you install the patch as the original AI is hopeless!

Ascendency has some really esoteric moments and some great ideas. The more you play the game the more you uncover its deep idiosyncracies and find yourself losing track of time. I personally believe this just pips the post when stood next to Master of Orion or its sequel, my only gripe with the version on offer here is it can start to chug a bit in DOSBOX although it rarely detracts from an altogether enjoyable game.

There is a sequel (of sorts) to Ascendency called The Tone Rebellion which like the older sibiling boasts some equally strange moments. its an RTS set in an ethereal alien setting and is an excellent title with some really well executed ideas. I've been trying to get another copy of it now for some time but to no avail! If any of you esteemed folk know where I could possibly find it please let me know, as I'm sure it must be Abandoware by now.

Nice one

[fjuk]

Well... This *IS* a great game!

The only thing I find bad is that it is too easy (which partly can be solved by the antag-patch, but still...) and the incredible annoying 'ding'-sound when you click the left mouse button :)
Managing many planets is not the most fun, but when one have developed the Endless Party, Scientist Takeover etc. this becomes a minor problem...

Clicking 'shift' or 'alt' enables a help-function which should help beginners.

If only I could build a bigger fleet than only 2 ships... But no! The computer just flood me until I can't do anything about it (even with several missiles at the same planet) and conquer my planets one by one...

Well... You surely have to learn how to make colonizers, starlane drives etc. More plannets makes you able to support more ships.
If you want to keep the enemy from taking your planets, orbital shields (and eventyally upgraded versions) and surface shields should keep them away.
Missile-defence will have to be launched manually.


That is all for now! I can do nothing but recommend this game, though it is quite slow compared to other computergames.

[eolsunder]

Has anyone found a site that lists what certain benefits certain buildings give?

Does scientific retreat actually give any benefit other than dividing your resources a differnet way

For instance. If you build a factory complex on a red square and a research building on a blue square. Is it worth building a metroplex instead. I need a list of what buildings give what bonus's.

Also, what use is productivity? only for faster replenishing of your working person? Most of my big planets are industry. For super fast ship bulding and placement. If i want research I simply turn all industry over to the scientists (no need for alot of research buildings). So with me, building alot of research and "food" buldings doesn't seem to do much. Industry is where you want.

But I like the game a lot, its a pretty version of Masters of Orion, without the AI.

[Jman4117]

I've found that the mixed versions of building are not as good as having just plain ones. Mainly from the added confusion. If I remember right the advanced versions of the labs, factories, etc give 2 in their field +what color tile they are on. Build a factory on blue you get 2 industry/ 1 science. Build the Engineering thingy on red, same results. Generally best to specialize the colony towards industry until you fill all the red squares with factories (+3) then go for the science structures when you can build them in like 5 days. :P (With enough prosperity in the meantime to grow your pop of course).

[Guest]

In beginning heaven,in end hell.
I really enjoyed this game first 1000round but then it turned into nightmare.I had 15 planets had buitl buildings in 2 turns so i have aproximetly 7 messages pro turn...(I am not counting planets with scientist takeover/endless party or less industious planets.....)It ended up when i realizied that in hour I made just 30 rounds.And i couldnt play after that.Micromanagment in this game just kills it great potential.
And of course its poor AI...I have won the game and i have realized that you must activate shields just now in this forum.And dont agrue about my grammatic i am slovak and i have been learníng english just for three years....

[james]

Yea you definitely want the advanced AI patch, because the normal game is very pretty, but very sucky gameplay. The first time playing I played normal mode (without AI patch) and after controlling like 50-100 planets, I ran into the enemy and saw they had maybe 10. So of course I was like, ok, they kinda suck.

The advanced AI patch is a MUST HAVE for decent gameplay. And beginners should play it on normal, while better players play it on hostile.

Yea we already know the downsides of the game are Micromanagement and sucky AI. The AI patch helps to make up for the latter, but Micromanagement is really a downside. Also, some of the races are kinda weak compared to the powers of others. A few races are extremely good to play, their special abilities really work to help. Other races on the other hand have special abilities that you might use a couple times max, which sucks.

For instance. One race lets you instantly learn scientific areas. Thus you can save a good 100-2000 research days every 85ish days. You will use this every time to your advantage. but another race can make their colonies invulnerable for 1 day every 85ish days. ooooooooooookkk. This is good ONLY if your being attacked, and unless the entire enemy fleet is attacking at the same time, you wont have its benefit except maybe against a couple ships. Big deal. Like I said, some are worth playing, others are pretty much useless.

Lastly in the bad department, you cant move resources from planet to planet. Which SUCKS! How sad is it if you have a huge developed planet, and right next to it, a sucky little barren planet that you cant do much with. It would have been so great to be able to trade resources back and forth.

Playing in Hostile mode (advanced AI patch) really is a big difference than playing in peaceful mode. You cant just run around and capture things to your hearts content. The enemy has the annoying habbit of running around capturing your colonies right back. You really have to emply a totally differnet method, and a much more fun and challenging one than simply capturing planets.

I agree that the special colony housing are kinda worthless, they really dont give much of a benefit over the basic buildings. After testing them out, I find the Engineer retreats, logic trees, etc to be worthless. Especially considering you don't get them early, and have to research them for a long time.

I also see that different planet "types" seem to benefit one area over another. Like Gaea planets, Mineral planets, etc. Ive seen planets where my productivity buildings were reduced -1, so basic buildings didnt get much benefit. I'll have to test it out and see what gives what.

[TwoHedWlf]

It sounds like most people have the game working with sound, but, I can't get the sound to work. I have a SB live 5.1 sound card and have tried just about every setting I can find to get the sound to work using dosbox. anyone have the same sound card with it working and can tell me what you're doing?

[eolsunder]

I have some basic FAQS made up for the great game, but I don't know if Abandonia takes FAQS, or if they do where they would put it. They are up on another gaming site, GAMEFAQS.com if anyone wants to take a look at some basic stuff in Ascendency.

If the staff at Abandonia does have someplace to put FAQs, they can take them off Gamefaqs and use them. If not, visitors can just download them for their own computer and use them.

Im a big masters of orion fan, and this game is very similiar to that one, better graphics but not as good gameplay. Even then, its still one of my current favorites to play.

[dragonLancer]

:blink: WOW this game looks complex :blink:
hurts my brain LOL :guns:

[Lizard]

Originally posted by dragonLancer@Feb 20 2005, 12:19 AM
:blink: WOW this game looks complex :blink:
hurts my brain LOL :guns:
If you have any questions just ask. :D
Like this game.Without that micromanagment and dumb AI it could be even superior to Master of Orion :whistle: :tomato:

[Warlord Mk. I]

I first played this game when I was ten years old. I loved it from the very beginning.

My favorite species are the Shevar (the evil many-armed power sappers) and the Marmosians (the insect people who can turn their enemies against one another). I have recently been playing as the Marmosians against a really tough opponent who has over 40 colonies and almost as many heavily armed battleships. (I only have two well-protected colonies, and I'm killin' as many of their gigantic starships as I can) :rifle:

Tip: put Orbital Shields around your planets as soon as possible...two or three will insure you against just about anything... and don't forget to build Long Range Orbital Whoppers once they are available...AI players hate that... :karate:

But what do a lot of the weird components you come across when you build ships do? I have some of them figured out, but if anyone knows how to use the special items, can you post instructions here?

This is definitely one of the greatest games ever made...since it didn't get the praise or popularity it should have (see, not all good games make it!), I consider it sort of a sleeper hit.

[Lizard]

Originally posted by Warlord Mk. I@Feb 24 2005, 02:55 AM
I first played this game when I was ten years old. I loved it from the very beginning.

My favorite species are the Shevar (the evil many-armed power sappers) and the Marmosians (the insect people who can turn their enemies against one another). I have recently been playing as the Marmosians against a really tough opponent who has over 40 colonies and almost as many heavily armed battleships. (I only have two well-protected colonies, and I'm killin' as many of their gigantic starships as I can) :rifle:

Tip: put Orbital Shields around your planets as soon as possible...two or three will insure you against just about anything... and don't forget to build Long Range Orbital Whoppers once they are available...AI players hate that... :karate:

But what do a lot of the weird components you come across when you build ships do? I have some of them figured out, but if anyone knows how to use the special items, can you post instructions here?

This is definitely one of the greatest games ever made...since it didn't get the praise or popularity it should have (see, not all good games make it!), I consider it sort of a sleeper hit.
Hold shift button and click on special item.Short description should pop-out.This can be used also on building.
Ascendaci rulez! :Titan:
The best races are Chamachies becouse of their special ability and any race that starts on Gaia planet.

[TwoHedWlf]

Yup, Chamachies are my favorite, I think they have the best looking ships too. Once I've got the enormous hulls I like to put about 8 of the shield that doesn't use any power, I forget the name, on battleships. That means the ship is effectively invincible:) No weapon in the game except for the destructotron? can damage it. Then just fill the rest up with guns, generators and the other required bits. Then you can just have another troop transport follow it around full of invaders, 1-2 generators and engines.:) Have that one stay out of the fight and let your invincible battleship clear away any defenses.

[Lizard]

Originally posted by TwoHedWlf@Feb 24 2005, 01:35 PM
Yup, Chamachies are my favorite, I think they have the best looking ships too. Once I've got the enormous hulls I like to put about 8 of the shield that doesn't use any power, I forget the name, on battleships. That means the ship is effectively invincible:) No weapon in the game except for the destructotron? can damage it. Then just fill the rest up with guns, generators and the other required bits. Then you can just have another troop transport follow it around full of invaders, 1-2 generators and engines.:) Have that one stay out of the fight and let your invincible battleship clear away any defenses.
My favorites are Govoroms.They can transform one of your colonies into gaia planets and start with gaia planet too.This can provide HUGE boost on productivity becouse on late games nearly half all of your colonies are Gaia (no matter what they were before).And they have very pretty ships too.

[TwoHedWlf]

Hmmm, I don't think I've tried the govorom...Ok, starting a new game next chance I get using the govorom.:) be nice if I could get my sound to work though.:(

Another thing I usually do is the first ships I make just put a hyperspace drive, an engine and a generator and fill the rest with colonizers and send them out searching for alien ruins. One game I hit the jackpot and the the first couple technologies I got from them were nanomanipulators, nanotwirlers and whatever the top level engine is. I shoulda bought a lotto ticket too.:)

[Borodin]

Originally posted by Warlord Mk. I@Feb 24 2005, 01:55 AM


I first played this game when I was ten years old. I loved it from the very beginning.

Ugh. I reviewed it for a now-defunct print magazine when I roughly 40. Let me put in my false teeth, and get my cane... ;)

My favorite species are the Shevar (the evil many-armed power sappers) and the Marmosians (the insect people who can turn their enemies against one another). I have recently been playing as the Marmosians against a really tough opponent who has over 40 colonies and almost as many heavily armed battleships. (I only have two well-protected colonies, and I'm killin' as many of their gigantic starships as I can) :rifle:

Out of curiosity, what level of gameplay are you using? Hostile universe? Are you using the patch? How do you find the AI? I've not found it too bad with the patch as others indicate.

This is definitely one of the greatest games ever made...since it didn't get the praise or popularity it should have (see, not all good games make it!), I consider it sort of a sleeper hit.

The helix universe was good in theory, but a lot of people found it a nuisance in reality. And the company never did have the bucks for PR. What they had instead was some very bright designers, including the man who was the brains behind Betrayal at Krondor, one of the all-time best RPGs.

[Lizard]

Originally posted by Borodin+Feb 24 2005, 04:38 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Borodin @ Feb 24 2005, 04:38 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ******QuoteBegin-Warlord Mk. I@Feb 24 2005, 01:55 AM


I first played this game when I was ten years old. I loved it from the very beginning.

Ugh. I reviewed it for a now-defunct print magazine when I roughly 40. Let me put in my false teeth, and get my cane... ;)

My favorite species are the Shevar (the evil many-armed power sappers) and the Marmosians (the insect people who can turn their enemies against one another). I have recently been playing as the Marmosians against a really tough opponent who has over 40 colonies and almost as many heavily armed battleships. (I only have two well-protected colonies, and I'm killin' as many of their gigantic starships as I can) :rifle:

Out of curiosity, what level of gameplay are you using? Hostile universe? Are you using the patch? How do you find the AI? I've not found it too bad with the patch as others indicate.

This is definitely one of the greatest games ever made...since it didn't get the praise or popularity it should have (see, not all good games make it!), I consider it sort of a sleeper hit.

The helix universe was good in theory, but a lot of people found it a nuisance in reality. And the company never did have the bucks for PR. What they had instead was some very bright designers, including the man who was the brains behind Betrayal at Krondor, one of the all-time best RPGs. [/b][/quote]
Yes as I already said this game has many flaws.But I like this game.It had great potential.I respect your opinion but you should know that when gamer like his game NOTHING can force him to change his opinion.(like me :D )

[Warlord Mk. I]

Sure, I have a few nitpicky complaints. First, we need more species to play at a time (there are a lot of different colors that could have been chosen). Second, there's no humor. The game is dead serious. Third, a map editor would be nice.

This game is great. It is NOT a copy of any other game (even modern games like Far Cry and Half-Life 2 fail to interest me) and it can be played repeatedly without me ever getting sick of it. Each new game is different from the previous. :sniper:

I love smilies. :cheers:

[Colorblind]

Originally posted by Hydro@Sep 19 2004, 12:22 PM
can anyone tell me how to "Help-click", I've researched loads of stuff
but I don't know what it does. Or if someone had the manual, that would probably be helpful
Push Shift and then the Help-Arrow will occur!!

[eolsunder]

also like I said before, I made up some lists of items and buildings in the game you can look at and get a little description on what it does. On Gamefaqs.com type in the game name and look at my FAQS.

I have a ship building faq, planet building faq, and a little race description/playing faq. They give general ideas on what to expect when using items/races.

There is one major flaw I have found about the game I really hate, besides the micromanagement and AI. The fact that during a combat round, you can only perform 1 actoin. SUCKS!

Very bad programming there, if you have 10 ships, each with 3 weapons (30 weapons) each round you can only fire 1 weapon. Of course the enemy does it also, but it makes for a really stupid lopsided battle. Especially with someone who has a brain.

How sad? I have sat at the end of a long red stargate, with 1 big ship loaded up with area bombs and a few lane destabilizers. Once a bunch of enemy ships are in the lane, use a destabilizer. Next round, like 6 enemy ships appear, which I proceed to blow up with my 1 ship just because they can only shoot me once a turn. When my turn comes, I unload with a bomb that hits them all. 6 deat ships, I repair, and repeat as needed. 3 bombs usually destroys pretty much anything not supershielded.

[TwoHedWlf]

Yeah, I had something similar once. The chronomysts? would keep sending fleets of 30-40 ships to one of my planets. 2-3 smart bombs, 40 kills.:) Wheeee! :rifle:

[pioki]

Yeah, Ascedancy was one of the best I have ever played. I still launch it from time to time. The logicfactory website even said that they are working on Ascedancy II but their web site was dead for years... untill recently. Check it out www.logicfactory.com
does anybody know whether it is the same team working there that created the original Ascedancy?

[Lizard]

Originally posted by pioki@Mar 2 2005, 07:15 AM
Yeah, Ascedancy was one of the best I have ever played. I still launch it from time to time. The logicfactory website even said that they are working on Ascedancy II but their web site was dead for years... untill recently. Check it out www.logicfactory.com
does anybody know whether it is the same team working there that created the original Ascedancy?
Ascendacy 2 :blink: :w00t: :w00t:
It look like that there is chance that most of my favorite oldie strategies will have a sequel in the end!There is chance for Master of Magic 2,now even Ascendacy...
Cool! :Brain:

[dam ass]

LOL wow!cool game!just 26 more% LOL....i bet someone guna delete this reply :D ...and u can know this:i downloaded 44 games from this site

[TaloN]

i always found that the AI became seriously limiting after a while, this new patch sounds good though, might have to try it later

[BeefontheBone]

It's worth a try - it doesn't make the AI any better, just more agressive. For instance, it still builds too few ships early on, colonises too few planets and lays out its structures in an amazingly stupid way, but it's a BIT more difficult for the player.

[Lindir The Green]

It didn't work under WinXP. I extracted it, set up the sound, and added the patch. As soon as I added the patch I was taken to a black screen that I had to restart the computer to get out of. Then I kept getting these graphics card errors
(integrated intel graphics).

But it seemed like a fun games!

[Jman4117]

um......use DOSBox?

[Lindir The Green]

No. I couldn't figure it out. And I didn't want to memorize the location and name of the installer, the game, and the patch.

[BeefontheBone]

I can run ascendancy in XP, but it's unplayable because my mouse isn't properly supported by it. In DOSBox though it runs fine.

[dirk]

does anybody know why sometimes your ships when they are nearly through a red star lane 80 days long when their nearly at the end they have to begin all over again? and why you can sometimes can see enemy ships in a starlane and halfway they just disappear?

especcialy the first thing really irritates me

has it something to do with simple starlane drives in red links?

anybody knows?

[Lizard]

It is just an ugly bug...Happens often to me too...Especially when the traveling throught it a longer time (60+)...You must send a LOT faster ship there(Which make it in let, say 10 days...) and it help to fix it...Well sometimes...Sometimes just stuck second one too... :bleh:

[Havell]

Originally posted by dirk@Apr 18 2005, 05:50 PM
does anybody know why sometimes your ships when they are nearly through a red star lane 80 days long when their nearly at the end they have to begin all over again? and why you can sometimes can see enemy ships in a starlane and halfway they just disappear?

especcialy the first thing really irritates me

has it something to do with simple starlane drives in red links?

anybody knows?
The red starlanes are more complex than the normal ones, therefore your ships have problems going through them with simple stardrives.

[BeefontheBone]

It's not a bug, it's the Ungooma special ability which sends ships back to their destinations. They then automatically move back in the next turn if you don't notice and change their orders. It's worth avoiding red links if you can until you get starlane hyperdrives, although putting 2 standard starlane drives on a ship helps a lot. OTOH, it can be really useful to build a small planet on the other end into a weapons platform/advanced warning of invasion device.

See the Ascendancy FAQ (http://www.logicfactory.com/games_ascendancy_faq.htm).

[Lizard]

I must now just figure out who make it when they are no Ungoona in game :ph34r:

[efthimios]

I don't remember if the AI uses it or not, but there are also (apart from that cool special ability of that race) a weapon that makes the same thing. Yea, I am almost certain there is such a weapon. :crazy:

[Lizard]

Originally posted by efthimios@Apr 18 2005, 11:48 PM
I don't remember if the AI uses it or not, but there are also (apart from that cool special ability of that race) a weapon that makes the same thing. Yea, I am almost certain there is such a weapon. :crazy:
Lane Destabilizer? :whistle:

[Jman4117]

Go for a medium hull or larger with around 4-5 starlane drives. Should get you around rather quickly with your early colonization.

After you get the larger hulls, bring a few mega drives on your deep range scouts.

[bahman]

Is it a :ok: game or :not_ok: one?

[Jman4117]

:ok: :ok: :ok: :ok: :ok: for the game itself..... :not_ok: :not_ok: for it's AI

[bahman]

Originally posted by Jman4117@Apr 19 2005, 04:20 AM
:ok: :ok: :ok: :ok: :ok: for the game itself..... :not_ok: :not_ok: for it's AI
I don't understand :blink: . Is AI the famous patch? So how a patch could be :not_ok: when a game is :ok:? And why publisher should make a :not_ok: patch for a :ok: game? Why people should use a :not_ok: patch if the games is :ok:? :crazy: ....

[Jman4117]

the AI is :not_ok: ....not the patch to improve it :P

[BeefontheBone]

The AI is still the same (pretty awful) in the patch, it simply makes the computer players more aggressive to try and compensate. It's a good game, but the poor AI eventually gets on your nerves - before that point it's well worth playing.

[efthimios]

Definately a :ok: . Unless you use the old roman way, in which case it is a :not_ok:
Meaning it is a good game.

[I played this game for hours]

This was one of the best games I've ever played. Period. Bought it when it first came out and spent countless sleepless nights on it. It's awsome! I think I'll break out the CD and play again :P

ps - when is ascendancy 2 coming out haha

[poor bastard]

Help! I can't see anything on screen but randomw colors! does windows xp run dos games???

[BeefontheBone]

Nope, use DOSBox

[TwoHedWlf]

I don't actually like the patch. Yes, it does make the other races more aggressive. But in doing so it basically eliminates the whole diplomacy side of the game. It's not a huge part, but it's still nice to be able to at least make an alliance with the other races.

[Jman4117]

Only race I have played with they ever got me alliances was the Baflids (sps) and that was without the patch. :wall:

[Lizard]

There is one race(that which have spy power) and look like strange mantas with eyes that will make alliance with you almost EVERY time...Hmmm...I dont remember their name... :blink:
They could be even Baflids :blink:

[Jman4117]

Baflids are the three tongued rats :bleh:

[BeefontheBone]

oculons? they're the giant eye guys.

[Jman4117]

Dalriths or something like that...there have like this hair under a manta body.

[Doubler]

The Dubtaks.

[Lizard]

Originally posted by Doubler@Apr 22 2005, 12:13 PM
The Dubtaks.
Yeah Dubtaks...
I love this specie...From the time I saw their greeting:
what can we steal.....ermmm I mean do for you? LOL

[Severinus]

My mouse is too slow in the game. It's hell to move it around. Any way to change the sensitivity?

[Jman4117]

Are you running a slowdown program or DOSBox that might slow the machine itself down or are you just used to an extremely sensitive mouse?

[BeefontheBone]

That happened to me in XP - just run it in DOSBox.

[Jim Badger]

Hi; I DL'd the game but I cannot get it to run in Windows XP. Any advice? Thanks, Jim

[SnowBlind <origional>]

:help: OMG i cant believe you have this game here! I bought it when it was first released and spent days playing it. I've played as almost every race! It is not difficult at all to play but i guess thats because i had the manual <grins>

Anyhow, my favoret two races are the ones that instantly complete a project every so and so days, and the ones that instantly complete the research or have faster research <shrugs>.

I was a technology Fiend and had planets and in every sector I could get to! So my fleet was quite large! My 3 Flagships <over kill> would attack one star system at a time, while those long range Orbital Cannons would defend my planets, a defense fleet outfitted completely with shields and engines solved any troubles the Orbital Cannons couldn't handle. You just drop one into orbit so the enemy cant land, and have another refit for weapons.

This game needed Enhanced AI and Multiplayer Support to have stood a chance against the other overly <hard> space empire simulations in existance at the time of it's release.. hmm that was master of orion 3 at the time i believe..

[efthimios]

2, not 3.

[BeefontheBone]

Originally posted by Jim Badger@May 21 2005, 02:29 AM
Hi; I DL'd the game but I cannot get it to run in Windows XP. Any advice? Thanks, Jim
My advice would be to read the post above yours and run it in DOSBox.

[Seen]

Originally posted by BeefontheBone+May 27 2005, 12:32 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (BeefontheBone @ May 27 2005, 12:32 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ******QuoteBegin-Jim Badger@May 21 2005, 02:29 AM
Hi; I DL'd the game but I cannot get it to run in Windows XP. Any advice? Thanks, Jim
My advice would be to read the post above yours and run it in DOSBox. [/b][/quote]
Ok, i got a new one then for you, how can i make it faster in dosbox :bleh: ?

[samtam90]

Originally posted by Seen+May 27 2005, 06:29 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Seen @ May 27 2005, 06:29 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Originally posted by BeefontheBone@May 27 2005, 12:32 PM
******QuoteBegin-Jim Badger@May 21 2005, 02:29 AM
Hi; I DL'd the game but I cannot get it to run in Windows XP. Any advice? Thanks, Jim
My advice would be to read the post above yours and run it in DOSBox.
Ok, i got a new one then for you, how can i make it faster in dosbox :bleh: ? [/b][/quote]
Add cycles in dosbox.conf.

[BeefontheBone]

or press f12 to increase while it's running.

[Mordred]

I have to step into defence of this game. Although i do agree that the routine for planetar development (e.G. autobuild) is suboptimal its not HORRYBLY off its goal. It leaves you with usable planets. If you prefer to do it all by yourself - hey ok, but issuing every build order manually get this game tendious very fast, if you want to do that i suggest a very small galaxy with lots of computer opponents. Due space limitations there won't be much colonies, in every other case i suggest you hit the 'M' key to activate auto management and concentrate on conquest and research, or automate research as well. As for the AI watching its planets just getting blowed to bits without responding... well, i downloaded the Antag AI patch, but found it somewhat choppy for odd reasons under dos box, so i dug out the Logic Factory site and dowloaded the maintenace patch. All i can say is after my experience, when running 1.6.5 response is swift, entire fleets are sent out to hit your ships and invasion ships are commited to take your colonies. If you really care that much about a preise planetary layout - keep the game small, do it yourself. If you don't skip it and focus on playing the game. Also, someone said it would be a great flaw that regardless how many ships are there turns each side gets one turn in each cycle and how unbalancing that is. Would be true if ships not only had movement but also energy restrictions as well as 'once a turn' weapon systems. Those bombs are one-shot weapons and have even to be refitted after use (if you got repair docks that is). All in all this game is a very good one, with its only flaw being a somwhat unclean auto-build routine. Not that it matters much. It may not be Master of Orion 2 but is damm close...

[enwelz]

HOwdy, It runs great in XP, except I can't get it to find my sound card. Any advice? If you say Dosbox, How the heck do i get it running on that program? :whistle:

[efthimios]

You run it by going to this site and reading through the tutorial there. That is how I did it :-)

You could also try to use VDMS to skip dosbox alltogether.

[Tenno]

Originally posted by enwelz@Jun 1 2005, 09:21 AM
HOwdy, It runs great in XP, except I can't get it to find my sound card. Any advice? If you say Dosbox, How the heck do i get it running on that program? :whistle:
I had the same problem when running the game the first time in XP...

To enable sound you have to run a special file first. I think its name was setsound or so...its in the same folder as the main executive.
There u should select Sound Blaster or 100% Compatible and then run the autodetect and it should work. :D :D

Just give it a few tries. Its worth it.

[Milvom]

NO COMMENT




:tnx:

[Shadowbrother]

Originally posted by R Havell@Sep 18 2004, 07:10 PM
Damn, this is a good game! But one thing, how do you build shipyards? I have researched the technology to build them but they are not avaliblr to build in the display when you click on a tile on the planet.
try to click in the uppe left corner...

[Shadowbrother]

:wall: DOINK!

[laiocfar]

Whitout shipyards, u havent played it!!!

[G]

Hello, I have played Ascendancy on and off since it was released way back. Can anyone recommend a recent or older game that is similar? I have tried a few war type simulators here and there, but I have found none that I became addicted to like Ascendancy. Thanks in advance.

[Bobbin Threadbare]

Command & Conquer
Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Tiberiun Sun
Red Alert 2
Warcraft: Orcs And Humans
Warcraft II: Tides Of Darkness
Warcraft III: Reign Of Chaos*
World Of Warcraft*

Your welcome in advance! :ok:

*new

[Guest]

Originally posted by Eagle of Fire@Sep 19 2004, 02:39 AM
In fact, this game is not that great. I played it again, and again I been disapointed.

If only I could build a bigger fleet than only 2 ships... But no! The computer just flood me until I can't do anything about it (even with several missiles at the same planet) and conquer my planets one by one...

And the AI patch is not good either... All it does is make the computer "biased" diplomatically VS you, so they'll all end up at war with you no matter what.

I voted for a 3 on 5 on the site. I would rather play MOO. :not_ok:
you have to create other colonies for more ships

[Guest]

i know a cheat if you create a new game and then want to build ships with real good engines or something all you have to do is after you have a shipyard and shipbuilding technology you can save game then load a beter gamae in the better game either refit or create a ship choose the item you want in the other game and then cancel construction go into the other game and then order construction of a ship and the item will be there at the top of screen PS if u click on another item if you still needed it you will need to start again, it only works with 1 item per construction but who can keep go back wards and forwards between the games after a refit, you can get really good ships like i did by adding a disarmer to one and in the early stages and neutralizing and weapons that entered my systems
b4 :sniper: :help: after :sniper: :tai:

[Shrek]

Originally posted by G@Jul 10 2005, 06:45 AM
Hello, I have played Ascendancy on and off since it was released way back.* Can anyone recommend a recent or older game that is similar?* I have tried a few war type simulators here and there, but I have found none that I became addicted to like Ascendancy.* Thanks in advance.
You should try:

Pax Imperia
Imperium Galactica
Imperium Galactica II
and maybe Galactic Civilizations

[Doubler]

Or Master of Orion (http://www.abandonia.com/games/101/MasterofOrion.htm) off course. But I guess you'd already tried that one.
Stars! might suit you too, if you aren't too fond of graphical representations.

I can really recommend Imperium Galactica :w00t:
(IMHO the first is better then the second :max: )

[red_avatar]

Originally posted by Shrek+Jul 13 2005, 01:34 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Shrek @ Jul 13 2005, 01:34 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ******QuoteBegin-G@Jul 10 2005, 06:45 AM
Hello, I have played Ascendancy on and off since it was released way back.* Can anyone recommend a recent or older game that is similar?* I have tried a few war type simulators here and there, but I have found none that I became addicted to like Ascendancy.* Thanks in advance.
You should try:

Pax Imperia
Imperium Galactica
Imperium Galactica II
and maybe Galactic Civilizations [/b][/quote]
You forgot Fragile Allegiance ;) it's one of the best games in that genre.

[Shrek]

yes, i forgot Fragile... it is pretty cool, but the inexistence of "research" is one big fault. besides that, its great to kick some aliens butts. :Titan:

[krono]

Hey there, you guys seem to know a bit.

I am encountering a problem in XP pro where my mouse moves extremely slow in game. Any idea on how to get rid of that so it goes fast.

It is a cordless microsoft intelimouse explorer

[Haderach]

Sorry for repeat info. I posted this in the Technical help section also. But it's hidden under SimCity200 post, but this solution works 100% for ALL DOS games iwth mouse problems (okay, maybe not 100%, btu 100% with games I've tried and I've tried a ton.)

Here is the repeat post:


First, thanks for your site. I love it as an alternative for faster downloads. And your tech support is outstanding. So here's one to add to your files.

Many DOS games have serious problems with slowdown of mice in Windows XP, even you if you use an slowdown/DOS emulator program like DoSBoX or VDMS.

Here is the complete solution to making games run smooth with your mouse in DOS games that have trouble. I had trouble with SimCity2000 and Ascendancy and decided to findout how to solve it.

Steps to take:

1. Download mousectl.com from the net...use a search engine so that I'm not responsible for getting people to leech off of private sites. Put mousectl.com in your C:\ directory.
2. Find autoexec.nt in your c:\\windows\system32 directory. Open it up with Notepad.
3. Add these two lines to the very end:

REM Ramps up mouse acceleration in Windows XP "fake" DOS mode
loadhigh c:\local\dos\mousectl 5,6,10,15,15,15,15,15

Notes:
a. The values 5,6,10, etc. are speeds of the mouse. Multiply by 10 and you get the % of speed increase. You can change the numbers to your own taste. This setup has the aceleration ramp up to 150% very quickly and then stay there.
b. Works with DosBox and VDMS. Don't worry about this changing how your mouse behaves in your normal XP environment because autoexec.nt only loads when you run XP's fake DOS mode (yes, I call it fake...since it is).

Haderach

[Haderach]

Edit:

Where it said:
"loadhigh c:\local\dos\mousectl 5,6,10,15,15,15,15,15"

Change that to:

"loadhigh c:\mousectl 5,6,10,15,15,15,15,15"

I apologize for that error.

Haderach

[Eagle of Fire]

I moved the posts you made in the troubleshooting section here (http://www.abandonia.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6626). Thanks for the new thread. :)

[krono]

Thanks for the info. Right after this post i started doin some research and found that information to get it working. It seems you guys went to the same place as me :)

[Guest]

I thought it was pretty good, but like all expansion games like this and Space Empires and Civilisation, tends to get a bit dull as your empire expands and gets hard to run.

[Dines Petersen]

Interesting game..

But i am i the only one experiencing that shields make ships invulnerable ?
The thing is, that if you turn them on and on every turn, they are renewed, and unless the enemy has enough power to get throught your shields in one shot, he cant hurt you..

Im running the game with the ai patch

Dines

[Eagle of Fire]

I would not know, I never used shield for my ships. Full power I say and you will easily be able to blast your ennemy first without a problem.

[Doubler]

I never use shields either. I guess few people do.
Maybe you are the first to notice ;)

[eolsunder]

Well the problem with shields is not that they make you invulnerable, but that the computer AI isn't strong enough to have the brains to configure their ships to bypass your shields.

mmm i guess basically that makes you invulnerable <grin>

Having powerful shields is great, but if you were playing a computer opponent that had even a tenth of the brains you do, they would be able to do ok against you. Sadly the way the game works.

enemy ship enters area, you turn on shields, enemy ship fires a couple times, doing no damage. You turn off shields when they stop firing, and return fire yourself. Since the computer AI is basic, they always do the same thing. They don't try and "fake" you out, nor do they try and take advantage of weapon setups and stuff. They also never have good ship layouts themselves, so if they do have shields, they usually have weak ones, or not enough power to both defend and attack.

Its all about the computer AI in this game. It performs badly, so what ever YOU do seems very smart. There are weapons and techniques to get through your shields, but sadly the computer will NEVER have the brains to use them. Thats why I always play without shields, its more fun.

[Borodin]

Eoulsunder, have you tried the game with the patch, to see if this affects the way the AI deals with shields? My suspicion is that the patch wouldn't actually help matters, but still...

[Eagle of Fire]

The patch only make the AI more agressive, not brighter.

Somehow, I find this even worse.

[Borodin]

You sure of this? I've heard and read conflicting opinions about this, stated with all the decisiveness of a great general facing a huge battle--from both sides. I know the patch increases aggression, but one of the game's developers told me once at E3 that it also made the AI better. I'm sure you can see where this would leave the matter somewhat up in the air. ;)

[Eagle of Fire]

It's a matter of perception. Yes, the AI is better because it is more agressive, meaning that you will have a harder time winning because they always turn evil and declare war on your after a while for no good reason.

However, I always felt like it removed to the game because then diplomacy was going down the well big time. I never found a point in diplomacy in Ascendancy, except in the first few turns so you may build your empire. After that, you just build bigger and bigger ships, expand on your neighbors (very easily because the AI is so dumb), build some planet defense and do it again and again until you win.

I never entered a "big climatic battle" in Ascendancy ever. Perhaps it's only because the player, in that example, just waited way too long to attack. I usually can whipe out a system with only one ship, it only take a lot of time. I usually get very upset if I lose a single ship in mid game. It's always because of a stupid mistake of mine, never because of the AI intelligence.

[Borodin]

Let me ask you this: have you tried installing the patch, and then chosen to play the game on its normal (non-aggressive) setting? Just to see if the AI is any better, without the boost to anger?

[Eagle of Fire]

I never noticed a change. Either there is no change at all or the "upgrade" is so small it doesn't make a difference and doesn't really change a thing.

[Borodin]

Bah: too bad. I really liked the races, the planetary building strategies, research, dialog--just about everything, except the AI. Unfortunately, that's often the way in "soft" strategy games.

[Eagle of Fire]

I can but agree. A strategy game without a good AI it not really worth playing... :(

[efthimios]

Well, try Stars! Not the best graphics or sound but heck of a game!

[Eagle of Fire]

Try? I played it to no end a long time ago. And I would still do if I had a working copy of the game.

[efthimios]

Well, I have the game.....(CD serial number and all, just not the box anymore)...

Is it abandoned?

[Eagle of Fire]

No.

[Borodin]

Originally posted by efthimios@Aug 28 2005, 08:32 PM
Well, try Stars! Not the best graphics or sound but heck of a game!
Dull as can be. I like building up worlds and engaging in diplomacy, as well as combat and trade.

[efthimios]

Well, there is always Supremacy and the original Reach For The Stars and Emperor of the fading suns and well, a few more that are not abandonware.

[Borodin]

Originally posted by efthimios@Aug 29 2005, 02:14 AM
Well, there is always Supremacy and the original Reach For The Stars and Emperor of the fading suns and well, a few more that are not abandonware.
Supremacy? Like I said, I like building worlds and diplomacy. There's nothing of either in that. Emperor of the Fading Suns isn't a 4x game, really, but more of an RPG: and I remember it being a very interesting and complex game with even less effective AI than Ascendency.

The original Reach for the Stars: now, there you're onto something. I remember how dreary the remake was, but I've just downloaded the older title, and it has possibilities. Thanks!

[gregor]

Space empires 4. Diplomacy, Building, combat (tactical, strategic), and trade (via trading alliances ...)

3rd part didnt' have too good diplomacy, but it was easier handling of units than in 4th part in my opinion.

5 is going to have 3d combat, beta testing version was already sent out.

[efthimios]

Originally posted by Borodin+Aug 29 2005, 04:30 AM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Borodin @ Aug 29 2005, 04:30 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ******QuoteBegin-efthimios@Aug 29 2005, 02:14 AM
Well, there is always Supremacy and the original Reach For The Stars and Emperor of the fading suns and well, a few more that are not abandonware.
Supremacy? Like I said, I like building worlds and diplomacy. There's nothing of either in that. Emperor of the Fading Suns isn't a 4x game, really, but more of an RPG: and I remember it being a very interesting and complex game with even less effective AI than Ascendency.

The original Reach for the Stars: now, there you're onto something. I remember how dreary the remake was, but I've just downloaded the older title, and it has possibilities. Thanks! [/b][/quote]
There is no real diplomacy in Supremacy but there is building of worlds. Plus the graphics are much better that other games of its type of the time.

EFS is very much a 4X game. I don't know why you (anyone) would not see it as such. You start with a planet you do not have under your control, you must fight for it then build fleets and expand to other planets, destroying and capturing enemy. At the same time you have to be careful with diplomacy or get your behind kicked. You already know this so I just can't figure out how it isn't a 4X game. :blink:
Have you tried it with the patches, including perhaps the unsupported ones? (Hyperion and Nova patches)

Anyway, I am glad I told you about RFTS . :-)



Gregor I didn't mention SEIV for other reasons, including that we focus more on abandoware games.

[Borodin]

Originally posted by efthimios+Aug 29 2005, 09:45 AM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (efthimios @ Aug 29 2005, 09:45 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Originally posted by Borodin@Aug 29 2005, 04:30 AM
******QuoteBegin-efthimios@Aug 29 2005, 02:14 AM
Well, there is always Supremacy and the original Reach For The Stars and Emperor of the fading suns and well, a few more that are not abandonware.
Supremacy? Like I said, I like building worlds and diplomacy. There's nothing of either in that. Emperor of the Fading Suns isn't a 4x game, really, but more of an RPG: and I remember it being a very interesting and complex game with even less effective AI than Ascendency.

The original Reach for the Stars: now, there you're onto something. I remember how dreary the remake was, but I've just downloaded the older title, and it has possibilities. Thanks!
There is no real diplomacy in Supremacy but there is building of worlds. Plus the graphics are much better that other games of its type of the time.

EFS is very much a 4X game. I don't know why you (anyone) would not see it as such.


[/b][/quote]
Because one major part of the fun I find in such games is the making and breaking (or maintaining, if I can win that way) of alliances. It's a reason I enjoy Europa Universalis II so much. If anyone I find is going to automatically be my enemy, then it's a game of exploration, building and conquering, and even in turn-based mode, reminds me all-too-well of those annoying RTS clones I can't stand. :)

[efthimios]

Originally posted by Borodin+Aug 29 2005, 01:04 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Borodin @ Aug 29 2005, 01:04 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Originally posted by efthimios@Aug 29 2005, 09:45 AM
Originally posted by Borodin@Aug 29 2005, 04:30 AM
******QuoteBegin-efthimios@Aug 29 2005, 02:14 AM
Well, there is always Supremacy and the original Reach For The Stars and Emperor of the fading suns and well, a few more that are not abandonware.
Supremacy? Like I said, I like building worlds and diplomacy. There's nothing of either in that. Emperor of the Fading Suns isn't a 4x game, really, but more of an RPG: and I remember it being a very interesting and complex game with even less effective AI than Ascendency.

The original Reach for the Stars: now, there you're onto something. I remember how dreary the remake was, but I've just downloaded the older title, and it has possibilities. Thanks!
There is no real diplomacy in Supremacy but there is building of worlds. Plus the graphics are much better that other games of its type of the time.

EFS is very much a 4X game. I don't know why you (anyone) would not see it as such.



Because one major part of the fun I find in such games is the making and breaking (or maintaining, if I can win that way) of alliances. It's a reason I enjoy Europa Universalis II so much. If anyone I find is going to automatically be my enemy, then it's a game of exploration, building and conquering, and even in turn-based mode, reminds me all-too-well of those annoying RTS clones I can't stand. :) [/b][/quote]
Fair enough, it is just that I always considered EFS a game with heavy elements of diplomacy. I have no idea why someone would consider EFS not having diplomacy, but hey, it's a free world! :bleh:

[Borodin]

Originally posted by efthimios+Aug 29 2005, 01:51 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (efthimios @ Aug 29 2005, 01:51 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Originally posted by Borodin@Aug 29 2005, 01:04 PM
Originally posted by efthimios@Aug 29 2005, 09:45 AM
Originally posted by Borodin@Aug 29 2005, 04:30 AM
******QuoteBegin-efthimios@Aug 29 2005, 02:14 AM
Well, there is always Supremacy and the original Reach For The Stars and Emperor of the fading suns and well, a few more that are not abandonware.
Supremacy? Like I said, I like building worlds and diplomacy. There's nothing of either in that. Emperor of the Fading Suns isn't a 4x game, really, but more of an RPG: and I remember it being a very interesting and complex game with even less effective AI than Ascendency.

The original Reach for the Stars: now, there you're onto something. I remember how dreary the remake was, but I've just downloaded the older title, and it has possibilities. Thanks!
There is no real diplomacy in Supremacy but there is building of worlds. Plus the graphics are much better that other games of its type of the time.

EFS is very much a 4X game. I don't know why you (anyone) would not see it as such.



Because one major part of the fun I find in such games is the making and breaking (or maintaining, if I can win that way) of alliances. It's a reason I enjoy Europa Universalis II so much. If anyone I find is going to automatically be my enemy, then it's a game of exploration, building and conquering, and even in turn-based mode, reminds me all-too-well of those annoying RTS clones I can't stand. :)
Fair enough, it is just that I always considered EFS a game with heavy elements of diplomacy. I have no idea why someone would consider EFS not having diplomacy, but hey, it's a free world! :bleh: [/b][/quote]
Reread what I wrote. ;) EFS I think of as more of an RPG than a 4x space strategy game. That, plus the poor AI were my only problems when I'm looking specifically for 4x space strategy games. :D

[efthimios]

Originally posted by Borodin+Aug 29 2005, 10:22 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Borodin @ Aug 29 2005, 10:22 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Originally posted by efthimios@Aug 29 2005, 01:51 PM
Originally posted by Borodin@Aug 29 2005, 01:04 PM
Originally posted by efthimios@Aug 29 2005, 09:45 AM
Originally posted by Borodin@Aug 29 2005, 04:30 AM
******QuoteBegin-efthimios@Aug 29 2005, 02:14 AM
Well, there is always Supremacy and the original Reach For The Stars and Emperor of the fading suns and well, a few more that are not abandonware.
Supremacy? Like I said, I like building worlds and diplomacy. There's nothing of either in that. Emperor of the Fading Suns isn't a 4x game, really, but more of an RPG: and I remember it being a very interesting and complex game with even less effective AI than Ascendency.

The original Reach for the Stars: now, there you're onto something. I remember how dreary the remake was, but I've just downloaded the older title, and it has possibilities. Thanks!
There is no real diplomacy in Supremacy but there is building of worlds. Plus the graphics are much better that other games of its type of the time.

EFS is very much a 4X game. I don't know why you (anyone) would not see it as such.



Because one major part of the fun I find in such games is the making and breaking (or maintaining, if I can win that way) of alliances. It's a reason I enjoy Europa Universalis II so much. If anyone I find is going to automatically be my enemy, then it's a game of exploration, building and conquering, and even in turn-based mode, reminds me all-too-well of those annoying RTS clones I can't stand. :)
Fair enough, it is just that I always considered EFS a game with heavy elements of diplomacy. I have no idea why someone would consider EFS not having diplomacy, but hey, it's a free world! :bleh:
Reread what I wrote. ;) EFS I think of as more of an RPG than a 4x space strategy game. That, plus the poor AI were my only problems when I'm looking specifically for 4x space strategy games. :D [/b][/quote]
I am not sure how re reading it changes anything? :blink:
EFS has strategy, is in space, has diplomacy, never mind, this is going nowhere. :D

[efthimios]

Just noticed one thing, in the downloads section of the game you do not have the patch for the game. Not the english language or the french language patch. I don't know exactly what they fix (lingering bugs says the readme) and you can't run them at the same time as the antag patch but it might help?

[Borodin]

Originally posted by efthimios@Aug 31 2005, 03:56 AM
Just noticed one thing, in the downloads section of the game you do not have the patch for the game. Not the english language or the french language patch. I don't know exactly what they fix (lingering bugs says the readme) and you can't run them at the same time as the antag patch but it might help?
That's what I was wondering. I've run the bug-fixing patch without running the aggression-increasing one, and it seemed to me to make the AI somewhat better at building and conquering.

[efthimios]

Originally posted by Borodin+Aug 31 2005, 01:21 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Borodin @ Aug 31 2005, 01:21 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ******QuoteBegin-efthimios@Aug 31 2005, 03:56 AM
Just noticed one thing, in the downloads section of the game you do not have the patch for the game.* Not the english language or the french language patch.* I don't know exactly what they fix (lingering bugs says the readme) and you can't run them at the same time as the antag patch but it might help?
That's what I was wondering. I've run the bug-fixing patch without running the aggression-increasing one, and it seemed to me to make the AI somewhat better at building and conquering. [/b][/quote]
I hereby proclaim I will start a new game and see how it goes. I haven't played it for a long time but will see. I will play under normal conditions (with the patch, not the Antag) and hopefuly not getting kicked very quickly.
Hmm, shall I start a AAR for it in the 3blah section?

[efthimios]

Update. Something has happened and I am not in the mood to do this, or play anything else for that matter. When I have something new I will post it, hopefuly not too long.

[Borodin]

Good luck, Efthimos. A shame that reallife requires so much constant attention, isn't it? ;)

[DSmidgy]

You are always talking of a patch. There are two patches of Ascendancy: 1.8.5 and Antagonizer.

Both can be downloaded here (http://chtserv.dlh.net/cgi-bin/pat.cgi?lang=eng&ref=&sys=∩=a).


EDIT: Looking closely at the post efthimios I guess that is already known.

[Borodin]

Yes, it is. We already discussed the pair of patches and what they do in the first few pages of this lengthy thread. ;)

[bakterius]

This game is a my top strategic game + warcraft 2
logic factory making Ascendancy 2 ...... i am impatient

[ShadowXIX]

Originally posted by bakterius@Sep 8 2005, 07:30 PM
This game is a my top strategic game + warcraft 2
logic factory making Ascendancy 2 ...... i am impatient
They have been saying the are making ASC2 for a long time now. They havent released a update on the production of it in very long. The logic factory seemed to have banked alot in its new Hydra development engine which hasnt produced a game yet. Thats a big investment for a little company.

Though it appears they are taking beta testers for their new game Seeker, so there might be hope still

[Eagle of Fire]

I am still amazed from time to time to see that some people consider this game one of the best... :blink:

[ShadowXIX]

I think its a really fun game in some ways more so then Master of Orion. The best though? I dont think so but it did easliy have the potential to be one of the best.

Some small tweaks to the A.I and late game planet micromangement and it could have been one of the all time best 4x strategy games

[Blood-Pigggy]

Nah, I don't think it's better than MOO.
It's not as polished.

[ShadowXIX]

I find Ascendancy's space combat , ship and planet building to be much more fun then MOO's. Though I addmit planet building becomes a pain later on. Plus ascendancy was a much prettier game :D

MOO has a much better A.I and things like its diplomacy feature trade,non-aggresion packs etc.. is just way cooler.

If I could combine the best of both those games :sneaky: throw in a dash of multi-player and I would have the ultimate 4x Strategy game :evil: mwhaaa!!!

[Omega333]

wow, started playing this yesterday...very addicting...

i started out in a neutral very dense galaxy with 7 peoples....and now, after about 1200 days i'm regretting it a bit. i've only found a few colonies of theirs, they're likely on the other side of the galaxy...

though i'm currently playing without the patch (wanted to get a feel for the game first), noone should be a real threat. i did make the mistake of underequiping my ships with just one weapon (it was the black hole generator thing...i learned its not too good), after getting in a fight and loosing a ship (which i could have avoided easily if i knew what i was doing....it was 3 meduim ships vs my underequiped 2 large) , i backed off to my nearest dockyard and upgraded to a nano thingy that seems to be much better...

i'm loving the customization of ships, most of my ships are colonizers (i named them 'gaia', though with the advent of war (and the fun large type), i developed an invasion type and assult type. i've shot ahead of everyone in colonies, and easily have more tech (i'm the lizard people....and i've found lots of ruins)

the game's quite fun...i expect my next game will go much more smoothly...i think i'll make it just a dense universe with max people and hostile mode...

[dima]

Wow!!! Great game. :ok:
But I have some trouble while playing - game crashes with message:
(blah-blah-blah) can not find ..\cosmos.cpp

[Omega333]

nvm.....figured out soon after that you could attack the planet....heh, the damn people i'm fighting are nearly defeated....i've taken most of their colonies and obliterated their fleet (they made a last stand of 4 mediums vs. 2 of my lesser larges meant to guard their path to my worlds....) they did some damage, but nothing major. soon, i'll be getting my first wave of gigantic ships, then the galaxy will be mine!

[KoraxDC]

As I remeber U have to hold Shift (or Ctrl or smthng) key and click on invention or building to get help. :ph34r:

[coldwinter44]

ascendancy rule :D :ok: a must for a space/simulation fan like me yeah :D

[laiocfar]

Truly a great game but too bad the ai in wars their ships just blow off when get in my sight and no speak when u organize your fleet in battle packs...

[Guest]

Game won't detect my sound card, what do I do?

[Guest]

My aplogizies as I did not read this long thread, but I wanted to mention that there was an upgrade ot this game designed to make it more difficult. The original is pretty stupid. You can use the "disarming" guns (whatever they are called) to remove all the weapons form enemy ships and they don't declare war!

Anyway, just tossing that out. Great game otherwise!

[laiocfar]

The pacth is like the civ difficult level, just cheats for the AI, if this game got a better ai i t could THE GREAT ONE, anyway it ´s a great game :kosta:

[Borodin]

Originally posted by laiocfar@Oct 23 2005, 08:36 AM
The pacth is like the civ difficult level, just cheats for the AI, if this game got a better ai i t could THE GREAT ONE, anyway it ´s a great game :kosta:
There are two patches. One makes AI opponents more aggressive, but the other does improve the way the AI "thinks."

[laiocfar]

There are two patches. One makes AI opponents more aggressive, but the other does improve the way the AI "thinks."

Are u sure? i was playing with a pacth that force the AI opponents to ally against you and that boost their production and science

[Borodin]

Originally posted by laiocfar@Oct 24 2005, 12:55 AM
There are two patches. One makes AI opponents more aggressive, but the other does improve the way the AI "thinks."

Are u sure? i was playing with a pacth that force the AI opponents to ally against you and that boost their production and science
I've tried both. I won't say that the one intended to improve the AI turned it into a rocket scientist, but it's certainly better.

[Hey]

I am in a war with the minions. I have the bafiflids helping me and my ally the dubtaks are sitting on thier lazy but not helping me anyways the minoins send me a message every turn asking me to call of the war and have peace. This gets so annyoing as I want to defeat the minoins but am tired of clicking out that box ever year. Any help would be nice. It is like a pop up on the net that just keeps coming back :( Peace.

[hey]

I am the kumbachka by the way. (Like to see where everyone starts out at)

Night. :Titan: :Titan: :Titan: :Titan: :Titan: :Titan:

[laiocfar]

This game got multiplay option?

[BeefontheBone]

Nope, SP only.

[coldwinter44]

ok trick for the noob take the lizard race(i don't remember the name LOL) with it you can have new technology very fast !!

[hey]

I am in a war with the minions. I have the bafiflids helping me and my ally the dubtaks are sitting on thier lazy but not helping me anyways the minoins send me a message every turn asking me to call of the war and have peace. This gets so annyoing as I want to defeat the minoins but am tired of clicking out that box ever year. Any help would be nice. It is like a pop up on the net that just keeps coming back Peace.

[Petter1979]

^^^^^^Use the Ignore command? at the diplomacy screen?

[Guest]

How? And Thanks.

[Petter1979]

^^^^ Oops, i may have been thinking of master of orion 2, when i suggested the ignore command :blink:


I have just loaded ascendancy, and i see that the ignore command isnt there

[Eagle of Fire]

The only game on this site I know which need to hit the ignore button is Settlers 2 Gold Edition.

[hey]

so when you get a message every turn asking you to end the war and have peace what do you do? Do you keep closing out of it like pop ups? or can you fix this? I aint using any patches btw.

Ascenadancy! :Brain: :Brain: :Brain: :Brain:

[Eagle of Fire]

I have absolutly no idea of what you are talking about.

[laiocfar]

so when you get a message every turn asking you to end the war and have peace what do you do? Do you keep closing out of it like pop ups? or can you fix this? I aint using any patches btw.

Well, as i see you have to make a peace teatry, they found your weak point :D

[Guest]

I installed the game and it works fine, but Ihave no sound. How do I get it to detect my sound card?

[ALan_the_abandoned]

I've already patched my game and i still can't build more than two missserable shipssssssssssssssssssssss???? :help: :help:

[BeefontheBone]

You need to settle more systems with them - the number of ships you can build is 2x the number of systems you control IIRC. Make sure they've got a starlane drive, engine, generator and colony modules or they won't be much use.

[Petter1979]

To get sound to work in Win XP with this game, use VDM Sound, get it here:
http://www.abandonia.com/main.php?nav=programs


install the program, when done do this:


Go to the directory where you have installed Ascendancy, then rightclick on the file Setsound.exe, you get a small popup and then chose: "Run With VDMS" > chose standart settings for VDMS.
With setsound.exe you are starting the soundcard setup program for ascendancy, choose this soundcard in the setup:
Creative Labs Sound Blaster or 100% compatible
When done exit.

Now you start the game, rightclick on the file Ascend.exe , and chose "Run with VDMS" > chose standart settings, and you should be ok, the sound should now work in Win XP.

[ALan_the_abandoned]

:kosta: soooo much thanks?????????????????????????????????

[hey]

Will the patch fix the diplomacy pop up problem?

Example: I declare war on the minions.

Next Turn: They ask me to accept peace and stop the war.

My Allys are getting beat up why should I? What would you do?

I said NO!

So Next turn: Do you want to end the war and have peace? I TOLD YOU THE FIRST TIME NO! THE AWNSER IS NO!

The Next Turn: THE SAME THING! IT HAPPENS EVERY SINGLE TURN.

Turn 500: Do you want to end the war and have peace?

Turn 1000: Do You want to end the war and have peace?

SEE MY POINT NOW? It takes like what 1 SECOND TO END A TURN! I HAVE TO GO THROUGH 5BILION POP UPS JUST TO PLAY THE GAME!

Sorry for S P E L L I N G it out for you but no one understood. I cannot get the AI patch to work. I am deleting ascendancy due to I cannot play it. Thanks for the help everyone and by this is my last post. :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall:

[efthimios]

I don't think the problem is that people don't understand your problem. To solve the problem either accept peace or destroy them.

[laiocfar]

I don't think the problem is that people don't understand your problem. To solve the problem either accept peace or destroy them.
But the problem of part of the problem it´s that the problem...

Come on, there isn´t any solution or there isn´t any problem :tomato:

[Taskmaster]

Did I see an Ascendancy II in the works according to the web site? Man, there's nothing better than an whole new galaxy to explore, with loads of solar systems and planet's to inhabit and some but to kick.

Maybe I like Ascendancy because I could win. Spaceward Ho! for Windows is another really fun game, but my copy crashes on Windows XP about the 10th turn in. :ranting:

[laiocfar]

:help: Going back to patches, the patch "antag" is only for make an more hostile AI?
Where i can get the other one?

[Petter1979]

Yes antagonizer is the hostile AI patch, Maintenance patch should be the bit more improved AI(but i havent tested this much yet)


Maintenance patch:

http://www.logicfactory.com/support_ascendancy.htm

[laiocfar]

Thanks petter, i will check it :ok:

[Guest]

Originally posted by Petter1979@Oct 26 2005, 06:16 PM
To get sound to work in Win XP with this game, use VDM Sound, get it here:
http://www.abandonia.com/main.php?nav=programs


install the program, when done do this:


Go to the directory where you have installed Ascendancy, then rightclick on the file Setsound.exe, you get a small popup and then chose: "Run With VDMS" > chose standart settings for VDMS.
With setsound.exe you are starting the soundcard setup program for ascendancy, choose this soundcard in the setup:
Creative Labs Sound Blaster or 100% compatible
When done exit.

Now you start the game, rightclick on the file Ascend.exe , and chose "Run with VDMS" > chose standart settings, and you should be ok, the sound should now work in Win XP.
Thank you

[Petter1979]

I have another good suggestion, this is about mouse speed in dosgames, if the mouse speed in ascendancy for example is slow you can use a program mousectl.com to speed it up.

you need to create a bat file in the ascendancy directory, called ex: ascend.bat

then you copy this following text into it:


@echo off
mousectl.com 5,6,7,8,10,10,10,10
ascend.exe


Mousectl.com program needs 8 values seperated by a comma.
Some suggestions for speeds:
5,6,10,15,15,15,15,15
5,6,7,8,10,10,10,10


If you have the game without any of the 2 patches, you have ascend.exe after mousectl.com in the .bat file.
If you have the antagonizer patch, you replace ascend.exe
with antag.exe or if you have the maintenance patch, you replace ascend.exe with
patch.exe
If you are using VDMSound, you just rightclick on the .bat file you have created, and chose:
"Run with VDMS"


you can get the program mousectl.com from here: http://www.ufo-x.com/file/mousectl.zip
unzip the file into the ascendancy directory.

[Blank_box]

This is one of the great turn base game ever made (for the date it was made). :ok:

There are several problems in this game which very annoying. One of those is the micro-management that always draws my back from advancing in later years... :yawn: and makes me headache every turn.

I've to solve this by set all less important colonies to build only some orbit shields and use only large battle ship to protect the system then set all of them to Scientist take over or else. I usualy use only 1-2 ships to guard entire systems by post the ship at the lane that connect to enemy system (this would be easier if you can drive all of them out of your systems then manage them to enter your systems only throught red link only) :sniper:

And have only Gaia or any high industry planet to be your ship yard and others medium planet to be scientific planet. I'm sure that you can servive by your core industry planet and your mighty ship. :Titan:

This can reduce a little bit troble with annoying micro management.

[laiocfar]

U are very right Blank_box, very right.
Anyway best defense is a good ofense, ocuppy only enemy systems and don´t let nothing like shields, bases, yards, ships, etc. Anyway do this all turns is A REAL BIG problem of micro-management

[Blank_box]

Another one problem is the politic...

AI in this game act like a child... They plan every thing too straight. This make Ascedency too simple to me because I don't want to make war only. They don't have anything in there mind but to make war, however, not challenge enough too.

In my view, the best politic in turn base games I've played is Alpha Centuries, AI in that game was born for politic. :ok: I betray one another one betray me... I remember that I have been surprised by my ally's atomic bomb at my capital city then the. :blink:

I just think that if AI in this game are verry cunning in both combat and politic will make this game challenge enough to play all the time, not like now that if you can survive long enough to gain more powerful fleet you can end this game. :(

[laiocfar]

The thing that i hate of Alpha Centari was the graphic of the guy who carry a cart with a laser over it. I can´t explain why but i hate the guy with the cart. :angry:

Anyway Alpha Centauri, is a level more than Ascendancy. The last one lacks of decent AI so the game becomes boring when u are ruling the galaxy, even the alliance of all AIs with cheaper tecno and cheaper construction can´t set up some struggle to remind you that they are still a life. U can´t fail and lose only by getting the war against every opponents too early. :tomato:

[Taskmaster]

The thing I disliked in Ascendancy, beside the poor AI, is the 2/3 of the galaxy rule, or whatever it is. You are kicking behind and taking names, and then because you colonize one too many planets, suddenly the game is over and you've won. I want to be able to make use of that new planet and go on to anhiliate the rest!

:Titan:

[laiocfar]

Well, if u manage it to rule 2/3 of galaxy, it is better to end the game, simply cuz they didn´t got any chance

[Blank_box]

Originally posted by laiocfar@Nov 9 2005, 05:13 PM
The thing that i hate of Alpha Centari was the graphic of the guy who carry a cart with a laser over it. I can´t explain why but i hate the guy with the cart. :angry:

Yes, I agree... Beside the harmful graphic of Alpha Cen (I usualy confused when looking at the terrain of the planet) is the music... both can kill all your nerve!! :sick: espacialy the sound in that game. I always turn it off when play it... (If not, I can only play it for 2-3 hours NO MORE)

Ascendary has good graphic and good sound that encourages me to play long time enough (though, just advance only 10-20 years)

The thing I disliked in Ascendancy, beside the poor AI, is the 2/3 of the galaxy rule, or whatever it is. You are kicking behind and taking names, and then because you colonize one too many planets, suddenly the game is over and you've won. I want to be able to make use of that new planet and go on to anhiliate the rest!

Unlike SID's Mier's game that has configuration to modify the rule fo the game make this left no option fo victory to player. That why I can't play it agian again........ :yawn: (Imagine what you have to face with every time you play it)

[Guest]

Originally posted by Petter1979@Oct 30 2005, 10:40 AM
I have another good suggestion, this is about mouse speed in dosgames, if the mouse speed in ascendancy for example is slow you can use a program mousectl.com to speed it up.

you need to create a bat file in the ascendancy directory, called ex: ascend.bat

then you copy this following text into it:


@echo off
mousectl.com 5,6,7,8,10,10,10,10
ascend.exe


Mousectl.com program needs 8 values seperated by a comma.
Some suggestions for speeds:
5,6,10,15,15,15,15,15
5,6,7,8,10,10,10,10


If you have the game without any of the 2 patches, you have ascend.exe after mousectl.com in the .bat file.
If you have the antagonizer patch, you replace ascend.exe
with antag.exe or if you have the maintenance patch, you replace ascend.exe with
patch.exe
If you are using VDMSound, you just rightclick on the .bat file you have created, and chose:
"Run with VDMS"


you can get the program mousectl.com from here: http://www.ufo-x.com/file/mousectl.zip
unzip the file into the ascendancy directory.
How do I create a .bat file?

[efthimios]

Create a text file with notepad, then rename it to bat.

[Guest]

Is this still available for download? The link doesn't appear to work. I bought this years ago, but can't find the software anymore. I'd love to play it again.

[Guest]

Aah..disregard. The site just apparently doesn't like the firefox browser. Worked fine with IE ;)

[A. J. Raffles]

Originally posted by Guest@Nov 14 2005, 12:03 PM
Aah..disregard. The site just apparently doesn't like the firefox browser. Worked fine with IE ;)
It works fine with Firefox, actually, but we were having server problems earlier today. Maybe that's why the download wasn't working for you.

[Guest]

Could be. I was able to download it without issue. Do I actually have to go and hunt for the Dos drivers for the audio setup, or is there a workaround for XP?

[Borodin]

Originally posted by Guest@Nov 14 2005, 12:56 PM
Could be. I was able to download it without issue. Do I actually have to go and hunt for the Dos drivers for the audio setup, or is there a workaround for XP?
As I recall, DOSbox simulates old AdLib sound on its own. I'm using WinXP, and though its scratchy, the sound is still pretty good.

[BeefontheBone]

The game will run on XP, at least for me, but it doesn't like my USB mouse - running it in DOSBox works perfectly though.

[Guest]

Hm..Mine runs fine in XP, although I did set it for Windows 95 compatability. I don't get any sound though.

[Taskmaster]

Man... all this talk of Ascendancy "forced" me to install it and start a new game. I guess I had cross some MOO in mind my as I thought you could customize your own civilization, but apparently not. From the minimal description of each race that appears before you chose them it is hard to tell what bonus to research, industry or prosperity they may have.

I'll have to search for some detailed information on the races and such.

I managed to have a nice secure location with about three single star lane systems between my home planet and the outside world. Plenty of opportunity for defense.

:Titan:

[Guest]

It's weird. I send a ship to another species's planet with some invasion modules. Then it takes forever for it to go into orbit, and then they declare war on me and my ship is said to have been destroyed. I didn,t even get a chance to fight what's up with that? I was never told that my ship was in orbit.

[Taskmaster]

There are orbital cloakers that may prohibit you from seeing that they have shields up and/or orbital missle bases. You have to make sure you take those out. It has been a long time since I have played, and the new game I just started has not gotten me far enough down the tech tree to speak intelligently, but you need to use phase bombs, at the least, to soften up the planet!

I'm really looking forward to Ascendancy II!

:D

EDIT: Sorry Phase Bombs only cause damage to planet-based facilities and not orbital items.

[laiocfar]

EDIT: Sorry Phase Bombs only cause damage to planet-based facilities and not orbital items.

Sure, so use any normal weapon to destroy orbital cloaking.



ASCENDANCY II,WOW :Brain:

[Blank_box]

It will be easier if you are "Minion". Their ability help your invasion 100% sucessful. :ok:

I've tried even they have any planet defence (except, you must destroy orbitng shield) just only enter the planet's orbit you can conquer that world. :w00t:

The only disadventage is that they don't have any other effect to help you boost up your game... so you have to wait looooooong :yawn: time enough to delcear war (or long enough to survive war then counter them).

[efthimios]

Ascendancy II? For me the project is as good as dead. Logic Factory seems to be in grave financial problems, in fact I doubt they are even there any more. I know that their site is, but that is not what I am talking about.
Ascendancy II was going to be an online only multiplayer 4X game. Which was a dissapointment for me, but anyway it doesn't look that it is going to be done anytime.

At least the story behind it, is not as tragic as behind Stars! Supernova where the game is actually finished but they do not have a publisher for years now.

[Taskmaster]

Ascendancy II? For me the project is as good as dead. Logic Factory seems to be in grave financial problems, in fact I doubt they are even there any more. I know that their site is, but that is not what I am talking about.

Great... now you tell me, and after I sent an e-mail asking to be a beta tester! :D


This is :ot:, sort of, but does anyone play Spaceward Ho! (for Windows) at all? I loved that game, but it GPFs (crashes) on Win XP about the 10th turn in. I don't know if I have a "bad" version of it or if it is just not compatable with XP. I'll have to do a search on it.


EDIT: Removed a misplaced comma

[Guest]

As far as I know, I can't actually target the orbital structures. SO shouls I assume that my ship auto targets shields first?

[Taskmaster]

I'm too dumb to know I shouldn't post since I don't have a definitive answer. I think you have to select your weapon and target the planet. It is probably random as to what you will damage. Have enough weapons available to take the oribtal stuff out. Just my best recollection.

If I'm wrong... sorry in advance.

:Titan:

[Guest]

I guess I'll just have to use more than one ship though. I had a gigantic ship loaded with weapons and couldn't get rid of that measly normal orbital shield.

[laiocfar]

Maybe u cleaned the orbit and they still got surface cloaking shields. Try to get into orbit, only if u are sure of have used enough firepower. the big pain of cloaking for attacker it´s the didn´t know. Once i move four ships, the half of my fleet, to take over a cloaked planet :rifle: :Titan:, it was only a minimal colony mostly wasteland!!!! :wall: :ranting:

[Guest]

hey guys - is anyone cleverer than me able to tell me how I can extract the awesome music from this game from the game files? i know this is usually possible with games, but no idea how to do it...

cheers

strangedays

[Eagle of Fire]

If you can't hear the music from this site version, it is most probably ripped already and you won't be able to extract it.

[Guest]

I'm not sure about the site version as I have the original on CD - and can certainly here the music. I'm sure the music is stored somewhere in the game files in some format, just no idea how to find it and extract it. Any clues anyone?

strangedays

[Taskmaster]

Since the game can be played with out the CD by movoing the "COB" files, the music is obviously within the COB file. If it is extracted at play time it maybe dropped locally while the game is played, or more likely it is loaded into memory and played that way.

I have not looked in the COB file to see if it is "readable" in some fashion. If you look at the header for a MID, MOD, etc, so that you know the leading identifiers, you can search for that and possibly see where the music starts at in the COB. Then it is a matter of determining the length of the data and "ripping" it out. That's my weak understanding of it at least.

[MrFoxTalbot]

Originally posted by Hydro@Sep 19 2004, 12:22 PM
can anyone tell me how to "Help-click", I've researched loads of stuff
but I don't know what it does. Or if someone had the manual, that would probably be helpful
You have to Shift - Click on an item to get info about it.
EnjoY!

[SirPeter]

The only thing I dislike about this game are the medals. I never seem to get the highest medal (frustrating). Also When you visited almost all systems and/or many planets the game ends bah :/

[red_avatar]

Originally posted by SirPeter@Dec 23 2005, 07:19 PM
The only thing I dislike about this game are the medals. I never seem to get the highest medal (frustrating). Also When you visited almost all systems and/or many planets the game ends bah :/
It depends on how you design the game from the start and victory conditions.

[SirPeter]

Originally posted by red_avatar+Dec 24 2005, 08:10 AM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (red_avatar @ Dec 24 2005, 08:10 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ******QuoteBegin-SirPeter@Dec 23 2005, 07:19 PM
The only thing I dislike about this game are the medals. I never seem to get the highest medal (frustrating). Also When you visited almost all systems and/or many planets the game ends bah :/
It depends on how you design the game from the start and victory conditions. [/b][/quote]
:blink:
Are there settings that can alter that? The only settings I see is load, save, new game etc and the player selection screen. No other screens present.