Thoughts on Kessari Quadrant

from StarControl Forums

I started to play Kessari Quadrant, also known as Star Control 3, here are my thoughts so far:

  • not a fan of the moving star map, glad it can be paused, neither of the fact that it's 3D considering that it is displayed in 2D
  • I dislike that they use the same dialog lines from SC2, I understand it is for the benefit of new players to learn about the returning species, but they could have at least changed it up some more
  • if hyper space travel broke down how can the Crux species travel between stars?
  • from the little that I explored the map feels empty, I think the absence of planet exploration plays a part in this and from the how much fuel is needed to travel I always have to go to a system with a colony
  • I actually like the colony system for the most part, it is a little cumbersome to grasp how it works, I would have liked if the level of the facilities was displayed somewhere and that I would be able to choose what the factory was building
  • I would have liked it if I could place notes for planets to essentially earmark them as colonies for specific species
  • I like it that artifacts have to be researched before they can be used
  • it would have been nice if the absence of the Yehat and Shofixti was explained, I understand why the Druuge weren't invited. And who's bright idea was it to bring along the Mycon, Orz and VUX?
  • a bit sad the flagship can't be modified as in SC2
  • the puppets aren't bothering me that much, sure the Spathi and Syreen are disturbing, the Daktaklakpak and VUX aren't that bad
  • I am really bothered that they use the word sentient in place of sapient
140,497 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from StarControl Forums Top
  • regarding the battles, the ships feel too big and the battle zone too small
  • you don't even get RU from destroying enemy ships, which is a bit sad
  • some sequence breaking as I can talk about the Crux without even meeting them
  • I actually like most of the new species
  • the battle of the second anomaly was intense
  • I think you can get ships a little too easily, it was not that hard to form an armada

I'm still not sure what possessed me, but I started working on a guide for the planets. Which ones are suitable for colonies.

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Reply #2 from StarControl Forums Top

Speaking of which, they're back up on GOG.

Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from StarControl Forums Top

Quoting Frogboy, reply 2

Speaking of which, they're back up on GOG.

That's good to hear.

 

  • The new ships have similar color schemes, this applies mostly to those of the Crux, I wonder if that was by design.
  • In battles the planet's gravity is too strong
  • I actually found enjoyable tearing apart the Hegemony
  • A major weakness of the game is the fact that events are time related, so for long periods there is nothing to do but wait.
  • Seems like an oversight that you can recruit the K'tang but not make colonies with them
  • The same seems to be true for the Ploxis rebels
  • The Owa can't be recruited but have an artifact for ship upgrades
  • There doesn't seem to be a way to get the Spathi back in the League, even if they are the only remaining member of the Crux
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Reply #4 from StarControl Forums Top

There are many... Bugs in SC3.  Minus the puppets for the more human-like races (Humans and Syreen ESPECIALLY), the puppets weren't bad. 

It had a ton of potential.  I hope when/if the source code eventually gets released that much of it can be...  Tweaked.

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Reply #5 from StarControl Forums Top

Quoting Rhonin_the_wizard, reply 3

    • There doesn't seem to be a way to get the Spathi back in the League, even if they are the only remaining member of the Crux

The Spathi should ask to rejoin the League when you defeat Plexor. Maybe the event failed to trigger in your game for some reason due to some bug, just like the Vyro-Ingo and VUX encrustation matrices didn't get found in some of my games.

And there is another unresolved storyline, too - the Kohr-Ah taking over the Ur-Quan colonies.

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Reply #6 from Stardock.net Forums Top

This game is so frustrating, I have played it many times through, purely based on nostalgia because I always wanted to fill an SC void after SC2 playthroughs.
I know how much everyone hates it, but there are some things in it which I like, like the LK, and the Doog (particularly liked saving the Doog from financial enslavement), I actually liked most of the new kessari quadrant races, but the development and use of SC2 races was very uninspired.
Hate the moving star map, hate not being able to explore the planets, hate the hyperspace bubble tech, hate all the convoluted triggers to actions without much explanation on wether you've done something ahead of something else and essentially broken the game.

Reply #7 from StarControl Forums Top

*fine*

Reply #8 from StarControl Forums Top

^Could we please not turn every thread about the lawsuit, we already have one.

I haven't finished Kessari yet, still have to deal with the Eternal Ones. But one thing I have to add is that the fight against the leader of Hegemonic Crux, Plextor or whatever his name is, was anticlimactic, especially when compared to the other battles in the game.

What I would have done is had him have ships in his fleep from species that are part of the Crux and if you managed to get that species in the Alliance they would abandon him, leading to a nice villainous breakdown and him challenging the player to one-on-one fight, Precursor ship against Precursor ship for leadership of the Alliance. The player would have had several dialog options, to accept, refuse, etc.

Edit:

Well I finished it, some more thoughts

  • it would have been cool if after defeating the Heralds you could make colonies for them and get their ships
  • the Spathi rejoined after defeating the Heralds, but I could not gather any Spathi to make new colonies
  • after getting the "sentient" energy collector I could no longer speak with K'Tang worlds
  • the Vyro-Ingo and Lk have no dialog options to collect "sentient" energy
  • I laughed when the ending narration said the Eternal Ones were not truly malevolent, these beings have exterminated countless species all because they did not want to ascend to a higher plane of existence
Reply #9 from StarControl Forums Top

Quoting Rhonin_the_wizard, reply 8

^Could we please not turn every thread about the lawsuit, we already have one.

I haven't finished Kessari yet, still have to deal with the Eternal Ones. But one thing I have to add is that the fight against the leader of Hegemonic Crux, Plextor or whatever his name is, was anticlimactic, especially when compared to the other battles in the game.

What I would have done is had him have ships in his fleep from species that are part of the Crux and if you managed to get that species in the Alliance they would abandon him, leading to a nice villainous breakdown and him challenging the player to one-on-one fight, Precursor ship against Precursor ship for leadership of the Alliance. The player would have had several dialog options, to accept, refuse, etc.

Edit:

Well I finished it, some more thoughts

    • it would have been cool if after defeating the Heralds you could make colonies for them and get their ships
    • the Spathi rejoined after defeating the Heralds, but I could not gather any Spathi to make new colonies
    • after getting the "sentient" energy collector I could no longer speak with K'Tang worlds
    • the Vyro-Ingo and Lk have no dialog options to collect "sentient" energy
    • I laughed when the ending narration said the Eternal Ones were not truly malevolent, these beings have exterminated countless species all because they did not want to ascend to a higher plane of existence

 

It's been a very long time since I played SC3, but I think my biggest disappointments weren't necessarily in the story/characters, but the colony and fuel game mechanics. Those were both horrible. Not only was it difficult to understand how to get colonies to actually thrive and grow, but it was almost overly simplistic. Ultimately it was just a boring and crappy mechanic. There were also random story threads that were cut-off/unfinished (those stone-like people were supposed to provide you with something to stop the talking pets from mind controlling right?). You could also break the game somewhat by avoiding the Orz at the predetermined time and they wouldn't leave your fleet and stay friends. Could be remembering that wrong, but pretty sure I pulled it off and it was kind of hilarious. Anyways, I think it was a mediocre game on account of the bugs and colony/fuel mechanics that were unfortunately a large part of the game. You hit most of the issues in your initial post. I still enjoyed it for what it was though.

Reply #10 from StarControl Forums Top

Quoting Rhonin_the_wizard, reply 8

after getting the "sentient" energy collector I could no longer speak with K'Tang worlds

You can no longer speak with the K'Tang after you force them to surrender to the League, simply because no dialogue was written for the K'Tang when they are in the League. It has nothing to do with sentience energy collection or the Eternal Ones.