Achron Review
- Thread starter Slycne
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Good review on a game that I heard about awhile ago and was hoping for better.
There is a logical problem I'm having. Generally, when one goes back in time, how it is handled in most stories is that one embarks on new time-branch, where actions in the new past can re-write the future. So the Terminator goes back in time to kill Sarah Connor so John Connor isn't born and in this re-worked timeline the human resistance is not commanded as successfully.
Whether the original time-line continues or is suddenly erased based on the revised past varies by the story. In Star Trek, alternate timelines have a tendency to co-exist. In most other stories, the new timeline erases the old, like Terminator, or Red Alert 3 when they kill Einstein. Either one could be represented in an RTS but it looks like Achron does something different.
There is a logical problem I'm having. Generally, when one goes back in time, how it is handled in most stories is that one embarks on new time-branch, where actions in the new past can re-write the future. So the Terminator goes back in time to kill Sarah Connor so John Connor isn't born and in this re-worked timeline the human resistance is not commanded as successfully.
Whether the original time-line continues or is suddenly erased based on the revised past varies by the story. In Star Trek, alternate timelines have a tendency to co-exist. In most other stories, the new timeline erases the old, like Terminator, or Red Alert 3 when they kill Einstein. Either one could be represented in an RTS but it looks like Achron does something different.
Don't think about the areas on the timeline as different timelines. That tends to obfuscate understanding. It's the same timeline, but past events will eventually override future events. It's just that your memory (as an Achron) of what could have happened stays intact.Fearzone said:
I was just referring to the review video. I don't actually own the game yet.Shadowfury333 said:
Well, my inner grammar nazi is, I'm afraid, far from perfect, even more if we consider that my native tongue is spanish.Sephychu said:
That and I didn't pay too much attention to the review; that "your/you're" was easy to spot because it was part of that TL;DR-like ending they call "Recommendation".
P.S. What is wrong with "The most unique"? No, I'm serious, I don't know, and I want to.
I'm guessing the idea is that you can be unique or you can't be. It means one-of-a-kind so most unique doesn't make much sense.
Most original would though and to be honest most people would understand that you're quantifying it's unique aspects for a total unique score. Understood properly unique wouldn't be a very useful word
EDIT: On the other hand, the mess of the Justin Clouse line at the end would properly require the most urgent attention
Most original would though and to be honest most people would understand that you're quantifying it's unique aspects for a total unique score. Understood properly unique wouldn't be a very useful word
EDIT: On the other hand, the mess of the Justin Clouse line at the end would properly require the most urgent attention
You're far from the only one, I was reaching for my screen... he's even played the single player where one of the characters talks about becoming an Achron. It's pronounced "Ay-kron".Keltzar said:
Aside from that; I've played though the beta (by preordering, you got access to it). The pathing can be somewhat iffy, but it's good to hear they're working on a patch for it. I know the developer posted sometime that creating a pathfinding routine is quite difficult, particularly with adding additional logic for the game's one melee unit.
The voice acting hasn't bothered me at all, but perhaps I've lowered my expectations slightly. Same story with the cutscenes: this isn't a devloper with access to legions of artists and renderers. Same story with the graphics, and that represents an optimization of system resources. It may look like it's from one generation ago, but it takes a pretty strong computer to keep going. In essence, as each timewave is moving the game is playing itself several times simultaneously. If you want that kind of functionality, you're going to melt computers if you try to get the latest cutting edge in graphics.
Sup, dude? Didn't know you floated around the Escapist forums too.Shadowfury333 said:
This Shadowfury333 gentleman casts Achron games on Youtube if you want to take a look at it in multiplayer action.
Also, TO HELL WITH THESE CAPTCHAS. I have to refresh the fucking things so many times to get one I can read...
Love "time line", because it's designed to look like an audio time line! amazing! the "amp" of damage in battle looking like the "red wave" amp! cool!
but you know... we all had been using this system long ago since the beginning of dune2 ... it's called "save and load"!!~~~ lol but i suppose this "save load, 'next' style" is cooler eh?
that's why when the movie "next" came out, and I watched it... I was like... WOW! it's like FPS game with "F9" (quick load) in real life...
but you know... we all had been using this system long ago since the beginning of dune2 ... it's called "save and load"!!~~~ lol but i suppose this "save load, 'next' style" is cooler eh?
that's why when the movie "next" came out, and I watched it... I was like... WOW! it's like FPS game with "F9" (quick load) in real life...
The graphics look horrible beyond all measure.
They had a prototype a year back and then I thought it was just prototype placeholder graphics, but now?
I understand it`s a indie developer but for fuck sake Starcraft looked better than this.
They had a prototype a year back and then I thought it was just prototype placeholder graphics, but now?
I understand it`s a indie developer but for fuck sake Starcraft looked better than this.
This is exactly it, it seems you transfer not your units but the entire game backwards, meaning you just restore the game back, nothing is changed, you simply have information about enemy placement.fi6eka said:
Now what really would be interesting is you with a few units go against a bigger force, where the timeline stays present and only your units go back in time, repairing getting out of danger, so basically just like a chronosphere.
I don't know if the reviewer even listens to his own words, he complains about games like sands of time..when you got the very same mechanic right here, it just rewinds time, giving you another shot, its not like you can send your enemy's units back in time so you can walk past them or something.
For me its rather pretentiousness to claim that this is new and innovative, if this is, as another commenter said, simply a way to skip over saves.
You can transfer units back (or forward) in time. It's a more advanced tech (usually 8-12 minutes into an MP game), but you can do it. You can also attack in ways to mess up your opponent's knowledge. For example, attacking with a bunch of units, then undoing it once a timewave has passed by the attack, meaning the opponent thinks they are under attack when it has been cancelled.
As well, for production, you can jump across the timeline to set production orders every half-minute or so on the timeline (i.e. set production, jump forward 30-60 seconds, repeat).
Unfortunately, these are things you only really see come to form in multiplayer. If you want to play multiplayer and have the game, then come to #achron on irc.coldfront.net, and there will be people who will play.
As well, for production, you can jump across the timeline to set production orders every half-minute or so on the timeline (i.e. set production, jump forward 30-60 seconds, repeat).
Unfortunately, these are things you only really see come to form in multiplayer. If you want to play multiplayer and have the game, then come to #achron on irc.coldfront.net, and there will be people who will play.
It's not it. If you look back in time, it doesn't change anything by itself.Avaloner said:
Let's say you issue an order. One minute later you look two minutes in time. Now you're one minute before you issued the order. However, if you don't do anything, that order will be issued one minute later.
Things will only change if you look back in time (or better, send an unit back in time) and then issue a different order to a unit (there's a limit to how often you can do that). However, your units will respond to all other you already have given. This does not happen if you reload a game.
It gets even better. Imagine you look back in time and order an army to attack. Well, the game will calculate that with the orders you have given, the enemy will be attacked in X seconds. Guess what, the enemy will be able to see it. Let's say it takes half a minute for your army to reach the enemies. If your opponent happens to be looking half a minute later in time, he will see your army attacking him. Actually, the attack will show up in some sort of diagram even if you don't happen to be looking at the time it takes place.
It's nothing like reloading or using the sands of time. You don't rewind time, you only look back in time unless you choose to change something. Even if (when) you do something, it doesn't undo everything else that has happened.
fi6eka said:
You're both missing the bigger picture and focusing on one use that's enabled through the mechanic. The difference is, for instance, in Prince of Persia the time mechanic is static. The prince rewinds time and that effectively becomes the present, akin to simply avoiding a quick save as you mentioned.Avaloner said:
In Achron if I go back in time to change orders, both in singleplayer and multiplayer, the present doesn't simply stop or cease to be though, and going back and simply changing an order to a favorable outcome is just scratching the surface. Achron handles issues like chronoporting your units into the past and using your cloned army of both past and future selves to destory your opponents factories which means his tanks in the present cease to exist as they were never able to be created.
In my defense I thought Video was the same as the text, now reading the text you explain more functions.Slycne said:
So I could basically amass a huge amount of chrono energy roll to my enemy, transport back my army in time, kill my now far more defenseless enemy base with my units, that I just will build in a minute?Slycne said:
Maybe I need to play the game, but If I can transport back my units and they are copied what stops me from transporting my armys several times and rolling over my enemy with cloned armies, I would just need to take care of the original tank, because if that one dies every other copy would vanish aswell right?
In theory, yes. A single unit in late game can still potentially be a game changer, provided your chronoporter is till functioning. Though like I said in the review, the systems in place like chronoenergy and permanently expending resources to chronoport units does tend to keep games in a slightly more normalized condition. You can certainly make big plays like this, but not every game is going to be won by such upsets. Your opponent is also not going to sit simply ideally by either, so maybe they might try to wipe you out in the future before the time waves from the past have a chance to carry your destruction forward.Avaloner said: