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Starfleet Command 2
By James SterrettI’m Getting Strange Readings, Captain . . .
Unfortunately, other aspects are just plain bad. The interface is clunky and cramped, making it hard to see much of the map at once in any detail. Worse, before players learn how it works, it is very prone to expensive errors, such as accidentally selling your ship. For reasons unclear, moving between hexes can sometimes take an enormous amount of time. This problem gets worse the longer you play a given campaign, eventually rendering it unplayable for the insufficiently patient (I'm not willing to wait ten minutes for the user interface to catch up with one mouse-click.) Even in v 2.0.0.4, the game sometimes will decide not to check victory conditions in a scenario, making it unwinnable, or, also occasionally, will crash in the Dynaverse screen. These aspects of the Dynaverse are a step backwards from SFC1.
You can zoom the map out
Despite Taldren’s best efforts, you still occasionally wind up fighting against enemies who ought to be on the other side of the galaxy. The plot missions are often interesting, but they still can get frustratingly hard at times (note that you can turn them off using a batch file found in the /assets/scripts/campaigns/conquestbonus subdirectory of SFC2). While most of the campaigns have a theoretical overstory, usually involving the ISC’s invasion of the area, you can largely ignore the plot and invade the neighbor of your choice. In my longest-running campaign (played as a Gorn), the campaign map information tells me I'm friendly with the ISC despite the plot revolving around their massive invasion. Moreover, the Romulans are remarkably passive in the face of my campaign of conquest into their territory, and my theoretical Mirak allies are invading. If you expect a strategic wargame, this is disconcerting. If you expect a mission generator, then it’s less of a problem.
At max zoom in, you can see ships that might be nearby
Many complaints have been raised about the cost of ships and equipment in SFC2. Fast, heavy missiles are very expensive – though this is balanced out by the slowest, lighter missiles being free. Equally, incautious use of marines or fighters can easily cause a battle to cost you more prestige than you can earn in it. (In my various campaigns, I've found that I don't have much trouble keeping these costs under control, even playing as the missile-happy Miraki. Then again, I don't insist on having the maximum number of reloads for the fastest, heaviest missiles, either. In my opinion, those who argue that the points act to force players to think about their equipment purchases and expenditures are correct; your mileage may vary.) Prestige awards seem not to be keyed to any sort of balance considerations, instead being pegged to 300 points for a normal mission win, 420 if you capture a ship, 220 for a few missions, zero points if you run away, and 3000 bonus points if you manage to capture an enemy starbase. These will generally suffice to keep a single ship operating, but having more than one ship in your squadron can get ruinously expensive, especially since the AI is profligate in its use of marines, shuttles, mines, and missiles. [Those who wish to can edit the Assets\MetaAssets\ServerProfiles\SinglePlayer\Economy.gf file with Notepad and change the cost of all expendable equipment along with a host of other settings.]
You can buy a starbase, but can only put it where one was previously destroyed
All of this may combine to make the online Dynaverse less than many have hoped. I expect it will eventually serve as a good means of providing an online matchup service with some semblance of a broader strategic context to the action. I have doubts that it will wind up being the kind of large scale ongoing wargame that many may be expecting. Other issues surrounding it are unclear. How will the prestige points for a victory be split up? Is there any advantage to frigate captains in ganging together so they can tackle a cruiser, even if one of them loses their ship? Is there any advantage to escort captains in protecting some other player’s carrier? At the moment, we don’t know, but the single-player Dynaverse does not seem to support such interactions. If the online Dynaverse is structured such that players are encouraged to cooperate, it will likely weather all its current difficulties. If it turns into a glorified battle-matching service, it will fall far short of its potential.
Fed Carrier and fighters attack
On the bright side, one aspect of multiplayer does work well. Linking up with a friend via TCP/IP worked in SFC1 and it works even better in SFC2. As before, you can arrange a battle flavored as you like, with up to 3 ships on each of up to 6 sides, in any combination of alliances or balance you desire.
Customizing a skirmish
Unrealized Potential
Is SFC2 a good game? Yes. While terribly buggy on release, the 2.0.0.4 patch seems to have cured the worst of the insectiousness. SFC1 was excellent, and the tactical game in SFC2 has improved on SFC1 in nearly every aspect: prettier, better sounding, more ships, and, above all, better AI. Unfortunately, the Dynaverse is an ambitious project that hasn’t lived up to its potential.
Is SFC2 a fun game? Yes. I’ve played more of it than was strictly necessary to complete this review, and I expect to be playing it long after the review is finished.
If the idea of a tactical starship combat simulator with a great deal of depth is appealing, you’ll probably like SFC2. If you liked SFC1, you’ll probably like SFC2, but SFC1 owners are likely to ask themselves if they will like it enough to make it worth the price, and not everyone is happy to shell out money in hopes that a sequel will provide more.
Ultimately, SFC2 has to fight an aura of unrealized potential. The tactical engine is better, but feels like an add-on pack instead of a brand-new game. The strategic overgame doesn’t accomplish all that it ought to, and the persistent online campaign doesn’t exist yet. Thus SFC2’s problem, ironically, is the success of SFC1: it has trouble managing to be as groundbreaking as its predecessor.
Newly Constructed Starbase
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