WELL. I just finished Awakening campaign. And now I playing Conquest.
Firstly - the game is a very well-made politics simulator. You takes weaknesses of your enemies and playing with them all the way you need to. And it is the only way to stand alone at the end. Whole strategy is completely about it. That's unusual, that's great for me. It needs mastering and some ways aren't evident, and at the same time
I'd wish to see the next part of this with new races (Random-doers, Alliance-ruiners, maybe?) and a bit of new actions (like Spy or Stole or...). Maybe a bit of unique perks for each fraction? Still, the game itself is good as it is. And this one is balanced, well-thought sometimes.
But, here comes second. A start of a level. Any level. There is only one way to start one unspecific mission: (SPOILER) you explore, then explore, then build new ships. And if you hasn't found any planets, you start over. Because of - sometimes thing you found kills you or grabs an empty planet, lefts you with nothing. (/SPOILER)
I had some thoughts about this "explore". Like, add a decreasing chance of founding empty planets instead of static number. Or at least to show the total number of planets in the sector. But then I played, fought and won just using this starting combo so... it's not really necessary. Only when you found yourself trapped with the Bear when he attacks you next turn.
And then here comes the third one. Random. It's good sometimes, especially when it plays on your side... still, it's too big here sometimes. What shall I think about that?
"@fraction_name@ win a victory against all odds (4 vs 22)!"
It's like - hey, are you playing a strategy? No, you are rolling a roulette's wheel! First time I faced it I had my head exploding, because of - rules, where did you go just right now?! Then I played, and played again... I understand that the random thing is a necessary one because of, well... Because of the very process of the game becoming very predictable. I truly know who will aid me, who will not, why my enemy will not receive any help - I got a full control. It's starting being boring, and here comes The Random. Still, I'd wanted a little lower level of it.
A Good Game. And I don't vote 5 only because of a massive amount of attempts that have failed because of Random Exploration. 4.5.