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Star Chamber -- 4X done Right
Bamelin
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So every so often I feel the need to shill out one of the best games I've ever played on the PC -- Star Chamber. A 4X board/CCG game that really is one of those games that is "one of a kind".
It's definately not for everyone but the community has only gotten better since the game was bought out by SOE. There's an actual team now supporting the game and the community is growing. Best of all you can try the game for free meaning there really is no more exscuse.
What is Star Chamber?
Strife is ascendant in the Republic. The Emperor’s disappearance has sparked a clash between his followers and rival separatist forces, a clash that threatens to pull all the races into full-scale war. As battles rage across the galaxy, opportunistic senators and diplomats bid for power in the Star Chamber, the neutral headquarters of the Republic. In the midst of war, scholars unearth an ancient civilization. All eyes turn to this find, as each race believes this ancient legacy is their destiny.
The Story So Far...
The Origins block (which consisted of Origns, Incursions and Rebellions sets) detailed the rise of the Star Chamber, the political hub of the Galactic Republic where all races meet to broker power and policy. The prime reason for the creation of the Republic was to protect the Gateways, the ancient hyperspace doorwarys that dot the Galaxy, but many have sought to use the Republic's resources for their own agenda.
When the Emperor, the eccentric but influential leader of Star Chamber politics, was replaced by an imposter, the seeds of war were sewn. The Ferrier, once a proud race that ruled a giant empire, used the incident to declare martial law. Their abuse of the Star Chamber was answered by a violent revolt led by Kuldarch Darkmane, a charismatic Clave who drew the support of many races to his side.
The Harbinger Saga opens with The Atok Incident, the event that takes the Republic from rebellion to war. As the Ferrier and Clave wage war in space and in the Star Chamber, the Android allies of the Clave discover something amazing: Minerva, an ancient world that archeologists believe is the homeworld of the Atok, the ancient race that built the Gateways! Soon, all eyes are on this valuable planet and war of ideology becomes a war for the ancient legacy of the Atok. The Ferrier and their allies (calling themselves the 'Coalition') tip the tide of battle and are poised to capture Minerva from the Rebels. Unable to lose such a valuable prize, the Androids resort to a plan of scorched earth... As the Coalition troops overwhelm the Rebels on the surface of Minerva, all eyes turn skyward to see an titanic Android ship in orbit: The Harbinger. In one moment, the legacy of the ancients and the hope for peace vanish into oblivion.
The new cards in The Harbinger Saga take you into the escalating war of the Republic. Each of the ten races has new Leaders, new ships and new armies thirsty for conquest. Hundreds of new zaps and mods add tricks and tactics to combat, construction and voting. Two entirely new game concepts make their debut in the Harbinger Sage: Conquerors and activated abilites.
In Star Chamber, you take the role of one of the major races of the Republic. You must balance the careful planning of a turn-based strategy game with the unexpected twists of a dynamic trading card game. Will you lead your nation to victory through military conquest, cultural achievement, or political domination? The future of the galaxy rests in your hands.
Bob Say's: DOWNLOAD THE DEMO NOW:
The demo allows you to play practice games against other players. Both players will be using pre constructed starter decks so there won't be a card advantage. Most vets are more than happy to show new players the ropes and explain how the game runs as long as you ask them. I played the practice version for about 2 months before I actually bought into the game. If I see anyone of you online I would be more than happy to play practice games with you.
The demo will give you an idea of what the game is like and you will be able to get alot of playtime off it. It is limited to 2 players only.
In Starchamber there are 3 ways to win. 1 is by grinding your opponent's homeworld to dust under the weight of your superior military. 2nd is by achieving a "cultural" victory of 30 pts ... Culture and tech (mana) is gained through artifact planets, 2 culture per artifact. 3rd is by winning 3 "Power Play" votes in the Star Chamber. Votes take place every six turns.
Because of the very different ways to win the game you see very VERY different strategies employed by players. It makes for extremely interesting gameplay. The deckbuilder itself is awesome and extremely versatile:
Once you buy a starter deck you can also play 3 or 4 player mutiplayer games, play the single player campaign, you can participate in draft tournaments, and access the deckbuilder. The game was recently purchased by SOE (Sony OLOL) so there is alot of support going into it now.
Star Chamber Rulebook (PDF): http://starchamber.station.sony.com/download/StarChamberRules.pdf
Read the rulebook. The game is easy to learn but difficult to master.
Star Chamber has been mentioned on the front page of Penny Arcade several times in the past by Tycho:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2004/02/09
In closing some personal words about Star Chamber:
First off I've been playing it for over 3 years so I'm a tad bias.
Do you like war/board games?
Do you like CCG's?
Do you like games that favour deep strategic thinking over fancy graphics?
If yes to the above then StarChamber is the game for you. One thing to keep in mind is that SC has a very strong CCG component. The SC community is very nice and will literally GIVE you ALL the commons from every single set ever released: http://forums.station.sony.com/strategygames/posts/list.m?topic_id=133 (this btw comes out to hundreds of free cards)
Despite this eventually you'll need to buy packs to be able to compete. Unlike games like Magic The Gathering, Sanctm, Chron X and others, Star Chamber is not "rare" heavy. You CAN compete with a common only deck. Board play is just as important as card play ... sometimes even more so.
Again I'd like to reiterate I've been playing Star Chamber for over three years. It's that good.
Try out the demo, give Star Chamber a try, you won't regret it.
It's definately not for everyone but the community has only gotten better since the game was bought out by SOE. There's an actual team now supporting the game and the community is growing. Best of all you can try the game for free meaning there really is no more exscuse.
What is Star Chamber?
Strife is ascendant in the Republic. The Emperor’s disappearance has sparked a clash between his followers and rival separatist forces, a clash that threatens to pull all the races into full-scale war. As battles rage across the galaxy, opportunistic senators and diplomats bid for power in the Star Chamber, the neutral headquarters of the Republic. In the midst of war, scholars unearth an ancient civilization. All eyes turn to this find, as each race believes this ancient legacy is their destiny.
The Story So Far...
The Origins block (which consisted of Origns, Incursions and Rebellions sets) detailed the rise of the Star Chamber, the political hub of the Galactic Republic where all races meet to broker power and policy. The prime reason for the creation of the Republic was to protect the Gateways, the ancient hyperspace doorwarys that dot the Galaxy, but many have sought to use the Republic's resources for their own agenda.
When the Emperor, the eccentric but influential leader of Star Chamber politics, was replaced by an imposter, the seeds of war were sewn. The Ferrier, once a proud race that ruled a giant empire, used the incident to declare martial law. Their abuse of the Star Chamber was answered by a violent revolt led by Kuldarch Darkmane, a charismatic Clave who drew the support of many races to his side.
The Harbinger Saga opens with The Atok Incident, the event that takes the Republic from rebellion to war. As the Ferrier and Clave wage war in space and in the Star Chamber, the Android allies of the Clave discover something amazing: Minerva, an ancient world that archeologists believe is the homeworld of the Atok, the ancient race that built the Gateways! Soon, all eyes are on this valuable planet and war of ideology becomes a war for the ancient legacy of the Atok. The Ferrier and their allies (calling themselves the 'Coalition') tip the tide of battle and are poised to capture Minerva from the Rebels. Unable to lose such a valuable prize, the Androids resort to a plan of scorched earth... As the Coalition troops overwhelm the Rebels on the surface of Minerva, all eyes turn skyward to see an titanic Android ship in orbit: The Harbinger. In one moment, the legacy of the ancients and the hope for peace vanish into oblivion.
The new cards in The Harbinger Saga take you into the escalating war of the Republic. Each of the ten races has new Leaders, new ships and new armies thirsty for conquest. Hundreds of new zaps and mods add tricks and tactics to combat, construction and voting. Two entirely new game concepts make their debut in the Harbinger Sage: Conquerors and activated abilites.
In Star Chamber, you take the role of one of the major races of the Republic. You must balance the careful planning of a turn-based strategy game with the unexpected twists of a dynamic trading card game. Will you lead your nation to victory through military conquest, cultural achievement, or political domination? The future of the galaxy rests in your hands.
Bob Say's: DOWNLOAD THE DEMO NOW:
The demo allows you to play practice games against other players. Both players will be using pre constructed starter decks so there won't be a card advantage. Most vets are more than happy to show new players the ropes and explain how the game runs as long as you ask them. I played the practice version for about 2 months before I actually bought into the game. If I see anyone of you online I would be more than happy to play practice games with you.
The demo will give you an idea of what the game is like and you will be able to get alot of playtime off it. It is limited to 2 players only.
In Starchamber there are 3 ways to win. 1 is by grinding your opponent's homeworld to dust under the weight of your superior military. 2nd is by achieving a "cultural" victory of 30 pts ... Culture and tech (mana) is gained through artifact planets, 2 culture per artifact. 3rd is by winning 3 "Power Play" votes in the Star Chamber. Votes take place every six turns.
Because of the very different ways to win the game you see very VERY different strategies employed by players. It makes for extremely interesting gameplay. The deckbuilder itself is awesome and extremely versatile:
Once you buy a starter deck you can also play 3 or 4 player mutiplayer games, play the single player campaign, you can participate in draft tournaments, and access the deckbuilder. The game was recently purchased by SOE (Sony OLOL) so there is alot of support going into it now.
Star Chamber Rulebook (PDF): http://starchamber.station.sony.com/download/StarChamberRules.pdf
Read the rulebook. The game is easy to learn but difficult to master.
Star Chamber has been mentioned on the front page of Penny Arcade several times in the past by Tycho:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2004/02/09
In closing some personal words about Star Chamber:
First off I've been playing it for over 3 years so I'm a tad bias.
Do you like war/board games?
Do you like CCG's?
Do you like games that favour deep strategic thinking over fancy graphics?
If yes to the above then StarChamber is the game for you. One thing to keep in mind is that SC has a very strong CCG component. The SC community is very nice and will literally GIVE you ALL the commons from every single set ever released: http://forums.station.sony.com/strategygames/posts/list.m?topic_id=133 (this btw comes out to hundreds of free cards)
Despite this eventually you'll need to buy packs to be able to compete. Unlike games like Magic The Gathering, Sanctm, Chron X and others, Star Chamber is not "rare" heavy. You CAN compete with a common only deck. Board play is just as important as card play ... sometimes even more so.
Again I'd like to reiterate I've been playing Star Chamber for over three years. It's that good.
Try out the demo, give Star Chamber a try, you won't regret it.
Bamelin on
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Sins of a Solar Empire is multiplayer with up to eight players in an entire galaxy, with bounties and full diplomacy and trade. But I'm sorry to throw your thread off topic. I just have this massive hard-on for that game, since it's being worked on by one of the Homeworld teams. Forgive me?
This game does look pretty neat, though. Card based, hmm? I may have to give it a try.
Actually it's no problem. Could I get a link to the Sins of Solar Empire website? edit: NEver mind I found it: http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/ -- looks like a beta has started for it.
I should also take this opportunity to mention that Star Chamber can be played in under an hour ... 1 versus 1 games take about 10 - 20 minutes, 4 player games can run up to an hour. The game is perfect for people that don't have the time to play games that take multiple hours at a time.
Another victim infected! Here's the website: http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/ The beta is open if you pre-ordered the game, too. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have many screenshots on their website, but other game sites seem to have a whole ton.
It's still a pretty tight nit community, meaning there is a lack of idiots that plague most online games. The community is still small but I have no problem getting a game going.
If you're in the lobby with the demo, just tell people you're new and you'd like to try a game. The demo is set up so both players use 1 of 5 starter decks ... this means your opponent won't crush you with a vet made deck.
You'll still probaly get crushed board play wise, but if you ask questions you can learn pretty quickly how to play. Vets of the game are friendly and eager to help grow the playerbase.
Star Chamber is spiffy.
I'd play more but I never have time. He hates me because of it.
Hates.
Hates
But yeah, complex, interesting, fun. And with SOE support, hopefully the ccommunity will expand beyond 12. I can already see that there is some much cooler art.
Edit: Honestly, my only problem is the fact that it is a CCG game. On the one hand, that's addicting as hell, and fun. On the other hand, I can't buy fucking digital cards every week.
Full instructions on how to convert your old account to the Station right here: http://forums.station.sony.com/strategygames/posts/list.m?topic_id=3
There are alot more "draft" format games happening nowadays. This is one way to play competitively without having to own every card in the game.
Again I want to stress as well that the game is not rare heavy -- you can build a competitive deck out of common cards, and every common in the game is available free to new players. They even have a bot in the TRADE section of the starchamber client that will give these commons to you. This is literally hundreds of cards, more than enough to make competitive decks.
If you really think about it though it's the same as most games out there ... you're basically buying a liscense. I look at boosters as basically mini expansion packs that enrich my gaming experience. I agree that the CCG part can be intimidating but it's also what gives Star Chamber such long legs in terms of replayability. 3 years is really a long time to be playing a game but with each new set of cards the game is freshened up with more to look forward to.
I don't see why. It's not like a hugely anticipated 4X games has ever turned out to be, in reality more valuable as a coaster than as a game before.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)