That sounds awesome... star-bases are def on my wish-list

This slightly concerns me though: 'And while the expansion will include a campaign--a feature sought by a large number of fans--Wardell was a bit less enthused. "I never play campaigns; they're just such a checkbox feature."'

I'm very, very, very keen on a campaign... Although, as I've posted before, not the usual C&C linear campaign. I'd like to see an event-driven campaign on one big map... or a collection of scenarios (like HOMM or Disciples) IN ANY CASE... the point is... I'd rather not see a campaign at all, if they don't have a passion for making a good one. I'd rather stick to sand-box games and see the game content being improved...

However, now that we know how FrogBoy feels... I'd love to hear the Frasers' attitude towards a campaign... Are you guys keen on it, or has the whining on the forums finally irritated you enough to throw something together? *bump* *bump*

From post #2 :





I agree 100% with "Frogboy".

I never, ever, play campaigns.

I don't enjoy being instructed to « do this, do that, better do it the right way or else you'll have to restart » ... and being tediously annoyed by pre-scripted comps with armies of unfair sizes.

I think the appeal of the campaign is that it's a vehicle for providing more information about the lore of the game...

I imagine starbases will be pretty far down the tech tree and very expensive. I wouldn't want them to be common, rather something where you attack an enemy planet and then go, "Oh ****, they have a starbase". I want these things to be able to fend off fleets of 20+ ships. Anything more might be a little OP.

To me a campaign is a must. Take that as an opinion of mine

I really like sitting down relaxed and playing a campaign where i can drik my coffee and enjoy a great story. Which is something i cannot do in multiplayer as i get so stressed, since i just gotta do so many things in a short period of time ive never truly liked skirmish games as they had nothing for me since it just felt like an empty shell with no story and became repetitive.

Take Starcraft, blizzard claims that the success to the game was a mix of both multiplayer and a good campaign. Was said in one of the newer videos of theres talking about upcomming Starcraft 2.

I for sure looks forward to this expansion alot

I myself never touch the campaigns, as it turns out I love good stories in my games, RPGs make up a good 80% of my all time favorites. Campaigns in RTS/4X games just don't mesh well. It sounds like people don't actually want a campaign, they want more backstory.

There's other methods to telling a story other than the use of strict campaigns. Content within the game (in this case skirmishes) should be able to tell a story in itself without the watered down use a campaign. Addition of artifact descriptions, where it came from, time period, and what kind of technology it is could all be driving tools in giving some backstory. Even short little bios on capital ships for when the ship was created and why. Make units within each race unique, in the Advent's case say the disciple vessels get a small stat boost for having 10+ of them in a single fleet as they're suppose to be about unity and one conscious mind.

Premade single player maps (that they already have) could be utilized further and have some set up where say TEC has places like Earth, Mars, and other nearby planets already colonized with tooltip hover overs that say how it plays a role in that races civilization would be a neat way to add some backstory. Premade maps like this could still be playable online just that you'd essentially only be able to pick which of the races that exist on the map you'll be (unless someone else already claimed it).

Give an epilogue to loading premade maps. Say the map has to be played by the Vasari, in the epilogue just tell us more about the way they fleed from this force that was after them and that they settled down at the star system they're in now in hopes of recuperating losses only to find there was other hostile forces that had shown up to compete for the system and they either need to drive out these forces or be destroyed. If they added what a lot of people had mentioned about random events happening, this force that's chasing them might happen to have a few of their ships roaming into the map. Again, could still be used online, one person would just be set to having to play the Vasari.

Using different things like this I think they could effectively give a good backstory without having to bog down the game with finish task 1, then task 2, etc. The maps could still remain freeform this way. The ideas may be a little rough and there would be a lot of balancing issues but I'd much rather see things like this than a prescripted campaign.

I'm with Pickle3 on this one. The campaign would help to support the lore. The main reason, why I think, that people want a campaign to this game, is that there is to little inforamtion to support the lore. I mean the campaign is only there to be a
"vehicle for providing more information about the lore of the game". If the lore had more support, like telling me who each factions culture, military, economy, and technolgy worked like they did in Mass Effect, I don't think that many people would be asking for a campaign in a RT4X. I just hope that the campiagn story, help to support more elements of the lore.

Also I would like it, if it was the Siege Frigates, that where the massive planetary defense structures ships, as right now as it stands, they are useless. We should not add more ships, if there are all ready useless ones, that need fixing.

Other good point on why we want a campaign, as it show us not only game units, but functions, that we would only find after playing the sandboxs, thre or four times.

yea i don't like campains in strategy games as much either. If this energy could be used in other aspects of gameplay it would be beneficial.

I think it would be cool if you could actualy control planets a little more instead of them simply being big spheres that look cool but cannot be manipulated. It would be awsome if there was an abuility to see your capital city or somthing and actualy build it up and try to siege other cities ect... just throwing it out there...

The Defensive base is a great idea

I would like a little more abuility to place objects without a restraint so i can actualy build defences and creat the thing that realy makes a strategy game appealing.

If my seige units can encounter starbases, I hope I get starbase destroyers to accompany them. No supercapitals please. these just make the game about whoever can build one first. Or, at least make it possible to destroy one without having one yourself.