Legends of Pegasus - aka Virtues of a Galactic Hegemony

[Brenil]

It seems this is turning into the summer of the 4X games, as this newest game seems to have flown under the radar until I saw it pop up on Steam and it causing me to go, 'Huh.' Here's a brief description I shamelessly copied from Steam due to laziness:

Legends of Pegasus takes you on an epic journey into space and mixes real-time and turn-based strategy. Expand your civilization by colonizing new planets, building factories, laboratories and shipyards, researching new technologies and designing new spaceships. Command your fleets in tactically challenging, visually astounding real-time battles!

Save mankind in a massive, 40 hour single player campaign! Fight multiplayer battles against up to seven opponents via internet or local area network! The spectacular 3D graphics don’t just bring life to marvelous planets, but also to the stunning spaceships you can freely design thanks to an intuitive ship editor.

Key Features:
4X space strategy: eXplore! eXpand! eXploit! eXterminate!
An unique mix of turn-based and real-time strategy gameplay
Stunning 3D graphics
Three unique races with lots of customization options
Hundreds of technologies to research in dynamic and extensive tech-trees
A living universe, filled with numerous non-player factions
An epic, 40 hour single player campaign
Multiplayer mode for up to 8 players

After looking at the trailer and its shameless references to that other action 4X space game (no, not Sword of the Stars II, the one that actually works), I came away somewhat impressed. The game seems like a mix of Sins of a Solar Empire and Sword of the Stars. As best as I can tell the battles appear to occur on a 2D plane, so that's somewhat unfortunate, but the maps look bigger than Sins and, in theory, the battles look more impressive with less of the static, 'I shoot you, now its your turn to shoot me' feel of Sins. It's probably too early to say that it'll be amazing, but this game might bare watching for those disappointed with Sword of the Stars II, don't see the need to spend 40 bucks on an expansion to Sins, and aren't all that impressed with cutscenes determining your battles in Endless Space.

http://www.legendsofpegasus.com/us/

[Misiok]

FUCK YEAH THAT'S THE GAME WITH THE REAL TIME TERRAFORMING OH MY GOD YES!

[overmind2000]

I spied this a while ago, seems they've come on a LOT since I last saw it and -- it all looks for the better!

A campaign - buildings in space around the planets - those both remind me of the gem that was Conquest Frontier wars! Also whilst I like sand box games I'm glad to see that the desire to craft a story with them isn't fully dead yet I just hope that the 40 hour bit doesn't just mean one big map with a little intro

Terraforming looks great as well - not quite as sparkly showy as on Heagemonia, but very pretty to behold!

As for flying under the radar _ I'm convinced that 4*space games pawn their marketing departments fore more development cash

[Rook]

Been looking for a space game for awhile and this looks pretty cool. From what I understand, while there are space lanes; / nodes once you jump in to a system its pretty big and allows for hiding behind space objects such as asteroids and out manoeuvring the enemy. A nice change from sins.

Also modular design and organic ships sound like fun.

[Shuma]

Looks like "not-sins" but with customization and more depth, looks interesting.

[n0z3k1ll3r]

Going on my "keep an eye on this" list.

[Brenil]

Do. Not. Buy. This. Game.

It's Sword of the Stars 2 all over again at the moment. To say it is a buggy mess would be an understatement. Saves do not even load, the game's AI seems relatively non-existent, the UI actually physically can obstruct your ability to move units, and so much more. There are some good aspects to the game, but so much of the game either doesn't work or isn't in yet that it isn't worth trying to figure out at the moment. When you actually get a game running, you're constantly in danger of CTD.

It's depressing, but this game is half-baked at best. And even if it were complete, I'm not sure it'd be all that great. The research system is pretty uninspired, as is the the overall ship design, and the UI is somewhat cumbersome (although not SoTS 2 bad) to use.

Overall, I regret buying this and am considering attempting to get a refund. To everyone else, do not buy this without doing significant research ahead of time.

[Cortlendt]

Such a disappointment. I'm still waiting for Endless Space to go on sale.

[Afoxi]

I'm torn between instating a "Never preorder a 4X game ever" rule with only "but Endless Space was (and is) rather good" statement stopping that.

[Jonny]

I was interested when it popped up on Steam, then I saw the £34.99 price tag and exclaimed "Thirty five quid?! Fuck that for an indy game that may or may not be shit" and from Brenil's post it looks like it was a good and sensible reaction. Thank you, SotS2, for the wisdom you so painfully imparted.

[Weavern]

Afoxi, I share that rule of yours now. However didnt endless space have a prolonged beta process and squid harping on about how good it is?

Rather dissapointed that LoP is as bad as noted, really thought it would have the right mix :-/

[Mantaray]

i regret every pound i spent on this game. *sigh* there's a large movement on the kalypso forums to arrange refunds via them in an arrangement with steam. im following it and i'll post here so dolts can get their dosh back

[LoneWolf666]

So many hopes for a good space 4x crushed.

The SotS2 disaster, Endless Space turning out simply average, now this...

Well I guess Endless Space has potential for growth, and who knows where patches and possibly DLC/expansions will lead it. Maybe not all hope is lost.

[Nasarog]

Endless Space isn't bad at all. It has at it's core the potential to be great. Think about it, for a small studio and a first release, it's doing great. No SoTS2/LoP failure, so I think if it can have a development cycle like Gal Civ 2 did, this game has some true potential. I am very sad about SotS2/LoP by the way.

[boolybooly]

Yup its gotten so bad I bought MoO 1 & 2 again on GamersGate, you get both for about £5 and they come with DOSbox so you can run them in Win7 providing you remember alt enter is the keycode for fullscreen (and dont try to play in the teeny 600x400 window it pops up in *ahem*) !!

I think I have had enough of hype and BS, I dont believe a word of it any more. The difference between Endless Space or Star Ruler or Kerbal SP come to that and LoP and SotS2 is honesty. The former were honest about the beta/alpha state of the games and priced accordingly which is all good and a bonafide development model. What is bad about the latter is that they lied about the state of the game and bluffed the community in order to charge top dollar, which is just plain wrong.

[Brenil]

There is a difference between SoTS 2 and LoP, thus far. Kerberos and/or Paradox did eventually refund some people their money. Thus far, Kalypso have declined any refunds and only third party sellers are offering refunds (Amazon apparently being one). I already attempted to get a refund via Steam and received a very impersonal reply that directed me toward Kalypso's customer service department... which I already said, are declining all refunds. Needless to say, I'm rather miffed at the whole thing.

Ultimately, it is my fault for pre-ordering a game, especially a 4X game, when there's been plenty of evidence in the past that this is usually a bad idea. But the attitude that Kalypso has taken really has left a sour taste in my mouth. As of now, there have been six patches for LoP and it's still a steaming pile of dog shit. Also, take into account that these six patches have all been 6.2-6.6mb in size. So they're not exactly tackling major issues, but mainly picking small things, throwing out a patch everyday, and hoping for the best. Maybe this is the best practice for patching, I don't know. I just know with little patches like this, it's going to be a long time before this game is even playable, let alone fun.

[Mantaray]

sent your steam recipet to support@kalypsomedia.com witht he subject "Legends of Pegasus Loyalty Bonus" and you'll get a free patrician 4 key and a free dungeons key.
its not a propper refund, but its a fairly good amends

[Brenil]

Yeah, I saw that announcement. We can now receive two mediocre games for free* to make up for a game that might as well not exist. Hu--fuckin-zzah. I also like the part where we have to send them an e-mail, even though in order to play Legends of Pegasus, you have to register your e-mail with Kalypso. Why can't they send us the free keys to these 'awesome' games we get instead of a functioning version of the one we paid for? Furthermore, why can't they give away free copies of their few actual good games, like Tropico? Or better yet, give people who want it, their fuckin' money back.

What am I going to do with Dungeons and Patrician IV? If I wanted to play them, I would of sprung the money to buy them.

It may sound ungrateful to more or less spit on their 'gift', but quite frankly, how is giving me two free* games I don't want make up for not being able to get money back I spent on this turd?

Bad games are nothing new and sometimes you get burned, that's no big deal. But the amount of deception and customer disservice involved in this game has lead me to attempt to get a refund on a game which I've only done twice before. So that tells you how bad and incomplete it is and how drastically they mislead their customers. To deny refunds and give us this 'gift' instead seems like another kick in the balls to their customers to me. So pardon me if I don't get excited over this news.

*Incidently, the price of both games together doesn't equal the full price for Legends of Pegasus.

[Mantaray]

i've been lead to believe its patrician gold. actually adds up to 150% LoP retail price.

[Brenil]

I don't know what lead you to believe that, but even if it is true, that doesn't make it a fair trade.

Although, I suppose if you compare Gamespot reviews of each game, you have a net gain of... some kind:

http://www.gamespot.com/legends-of-p...eview-6392217/

vs.

http://www.gamespot.com/patrician-iv...eview-6280912/

http://www.gamespot.com/dungeons/rev...eview-6297349/

A bad (if not horrible) game that is terribly broken 'made up' for with two slightly better games that are less broken, but no more apparent fun isn't my idea of compensation.

[Afoxi]

http://penny-arcade.com/2012/08/20/l...sus-ads-pulled

[Cortlendt]

The developing studio went bankrupt.

[Brenil]

One could, and probably some always do, say that it is a shame when a start-up game developing company goes under. I don't. Not in this case.

Novacore deserved everything they got. Was this disaster entirely their fault? Probably not. But they did very little to fix it and their pre and post release deception of its costumers was far worse than even Sword of the Stars II. Mainly, they failed to even acknowledge the game was severely flawed and were "surprised" at the number of problems people were having with the game. Furthermore, they only released a few very small patches before closing up shop and going quiet for 2-3 weeks before this 'announcement', surprising the diehards who thought this was another Sword of the Stars II and that it would eventually at least be put into a playable state. Nope.

Also, a big fuck you, to Kalypso for their refusal to honor refunds on a game they knew was broken and possibly even suspected never would be fixed. Instead they give people two mediocre games as some sort of compensation that was more like a trap so you could never receive a refund, be it from them at a later date, or the retailer you bought it from.

The game was bad, some people, like myself, were able to get refunds from retailers if they were really persistent, but I think many just got hung out to dry on this one and it is a sorry state of affairs when 4X games start to have this sort of story attached to them.

[[Vertigo]]

I am glad Brenil told me not to buy this game or I would have the same buyer's remorse as him. Thanks for being a bro, Brenil!

[Trizzdog]

Well, I had plenty of fun listening to Brenil talk about how bad it was on Mumble. Justifiably so, if the development company is now effectively kaput. Yet I can still buy this piece of crap on steam for 40 bucks. Heh.

[Mantaray]

guys. go get a refund through steam. seriously. tell them the company is bankrupt and the game will never be fixed. also. make sure you type in big bold letters to forgo the usual automated tech support reply, and tell them if they do you'll just send the exact same message back, and they -should- issue a refund to your steam wallet.
tell them all your friends got refunds too.
if it doesn't work, just keep trying.
i got my £30 back

[Brenil]

I got my refund a few weeks ago and used it on Torchlight II and partly on X-Com. That was a far better trade for Legends of Pegasus than what Kalypso provided.

Mantaray is correct, Steam will refund you if you're persistent. They'll try to blow you off the first time, but if you keep at it they'll give in. More so now that the company is bankrupt.