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- Blind Mind Studios
- Blind Mind Studios
- Blind Mind Studios
- Blind Mind Studios
Star Ruler
Released On: Aug 21, 2010
Metascore
Available after 4 critic reviews
8.2
All Platforms
Despite the steep learning curve, Star Ruler is a very impressive game that will instantly appeal to ardent 4X fans. It is a pain to have so much information unexplained, but once you've let Star Ruler sink its claws into your time, it doesn't let go easily.
Despite the flaws, disappointments, and learning curve, I'd certainly recommend Star Ruler to 4X fans with a warlike bent. If you're prepared to spend a good few hours getting into it and learning via trial and error, if you won't get too upset by the outlined problems, and if you're not scared off by lots of numbers, then you'll find an entertaining, substantial, and surprisingly cheap game of galactic domination.
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 22 User Ratings
8.2
77% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
14% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
9% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 22 User Ratings
8.2
77% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
14% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
9% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
The game is rather great, though a bit boring if you don't like games that take a long period of time.
You can customize your ships in almost infinite ways. You can form alliances and friendships with AI or fellow players, trade resources and even knowledge. Build and control massive fleets of 1000+ ships without any significant decrease to your system performance. Colonize planets and solar systems, mine asteroids and strip mine your own planets even. You can blow up planets, stars, quasars. You can build ringworlds even, the largest normal structure. Given enough time, you can build a ship larger than your own solar system.
The game may seem a little unfinished, it might be slightly unfinished even. It didn't reach it's maximum potential but it did pretty darn good. I'd seriously recommend giving this game a try, and look into Star Ruler 2. The game also supports modding, so if you like that, that is another great feature for you.
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PC
If Blind Mind Studios continues to release new patches and more
content, Star Ruler will one day become a great game in the 4X genre.
But today it's just a $25 preform.
Star Ruler is one of the rare examples of a pleasant surprise in today's gaming world. Back in August 2010 when it was released, I decided to pick this game up on a whim since the advertising text sounded promising enough and the price tag was more than fair.
I have to admit that I was originally taken aback because of the obvious bugs and various shortcomings when I first ran this game. However, I decided to gave Star Ruler a second chance by playing some more, and visiting the official forum. It was there that I discovered how honest and open the developers were about their game, as well as determined to improve it as much as possible. After releasing numerous patches, always listening and replying to user feedback, Blind Mind Studios managed to polish this gem into the jewel it was meant to be. Star Ruler deserves more than just a 'first look', which usually focuses on presentation such as graphics and sound effects. While these are adequate and functional for a game of this scale, it is the underlying gameplay mechanics and mod-friendliness where it shines the brightest. Aside from this, Newtonian physics and free scalability (both of ships and the size of the galaxy you are playing in!) are but two points that really set SR aside from everything else on the market.
While the official content delivered with the base game would net a score of around 8.0, the accessibility to modding of this game is easily among the best (10.0 points). So everyone looking for a great 4X game with a focus on expansion, research, combat and ship design should look no further. Star Ruler is both unique and affordable enough to be a 'must have' for any self-respecting fan of 4X games.
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PC
This game has changed significantly since its release last year, including a slew of improvements to every aspect of the game, drastically improving the fun of gameplay and the performance of the game as well. The ship customisation allows you to create hulking death stars that blow up stars and planets in one shot, or create a hoard of tiny fighters to overwhelm your enemies defences (these inevitably get called "trolols" in the ship design when you play with friends :P) . You can also create squads of ships that all complement each other and form a good team, or simply create a ship bigger than your solar system with a trillion guns that obliterates everything within weapons distance from it. They take a while to build and a huge amount of technology so its still balanced
If you played or read a review of the game when it was released, you should take another look at it because it is much, much better than it was then
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PC
Most strategy games give you units with a preset design. Whatever the developers design and put into the game you have to use.
I personally find this game appealing since you can customize every unit that you have in your fleet. From mobile base stations to mining barges. The game is fully customizable to YOUR liking and may seem incomplete for this very reason.
The game is as fun as YOU make it, however there are a few reasons I marked it down.
-If you don't have a high end computer the game can crash quite easily due to the amount of units and star systems in play. I couldn't finish one game because my computer couldn't handle it.
-Some of the options are rather limited. For instance the scanner you can put onto ships is only used for scanning enemy ships. It would be useful for the scanner to be able to scan planets since you don't know what type a planet is until you colonize it.
Otherwise this game is fun and time munching. I played for the first time and I was soo engrossed that I played for 2 hours straight without realizing it.
It can get boring unless you sandbox it. But if you do, it can vastly increase your fun when you play for real.
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PC
Good, deep, and interesting, but prone to issues. First, to really get the most out of it, you have to play with mods, like galactic armory. Second, it does crash sometimes. Third, playing over a network isn't guaranteed to work. Fourth, it can get a little repetitive once your empire gets to a size where you can't manage it all yourself and you have to rely on AI governors to do most of the grunt work, while you keep to the grand strategic decisions. This also gives it a peculiar kind of fun lacking in most "strategy" games, but also limits it at the same time. I would definitely encourage any strategy fan to try it, just don't spend your last dollar on it, because it isn't a guaranteed thing, and be prepared for a tough learning curve.
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PC
Star Ruler is (as of this review (9/29/10)) a somewhat fun if incomplete game. While we often wonder if developers are releasing incomplete products, Blind Mind Studios is more than willing to admit that they released an incomplete game to start generating a cash flow, and are currently adding substantially to the features and options available in Star Ruler. What they've given us so far proves that Star Ruler could very well be the game that space strategy fans have been looking for, after all, who doesn't the ability to make any custom ship from a tiny fighter to something as big as a star?
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PC
Summary Take command of a vast interstellar empire and safeguard your species from total extinction in a procedurally generated 3D galaxy (with the option to flatten it) from 1 System to 10,000+! Prove your species' ingenuity through a deep and intricate combat system where anything (from individual components on ships to the stars themselves) i...
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Aug 21, 2010
Developer:
- Blind Mind Studios
Publisher: Blind Mind Studios
Genres:
