#Ancient space patch manual
#Ancient space patch upgrade

My resource counters ticked up at such a generous rate that I rarely needed to build a structure to keep my fleet at the population cap. There are resource-generating nodes on each map that can be tapped with space stations and upgraded with static defenses, but in most missions, they were simply unnecessary. The strategic side is relatively shallow in comparison. Control groups can alleviate this problem somewhat, but those with an allergy to intense micromanagement shouldn’t even enter the kitchen where Ancient Space has been cooking. The really cool clickable abilities (like cloaking and EMP missiles) that differentiate each ship type qualitatively take a back seat to this constant target management.

#Ancient space patch manual

Even on the lowest difficulty, manual target selection seemed mandatory. I spent most of the larger battles with the action paused, calling out individual targets for each ship, since the unit AI isn’t smart enough to prioritize foes its guns can actually make a dent in. While this encouraged fleet diversity, it also had the unpleasant side-effect of forcing me to micromanage every single one of my units almost constantly. I could have 12 ships with no damage bonus against Medium targets, and they would take far longer to kill a single Medium enemy than one friendly ship that did have such a bonus. There are no generalists, and upgrades only play to bolstering the strengths of a given ship type-never shoring up its weaknesses. Most ships’ weapons can only damage two or three of these, and plink almost entirely harmlessly off of all others. Combat uses a rigid rock-paper-scissors formula based on the type of a ship’s hull-Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, and Buildings. Unfortunately, these choices didn’t have much of an impact in the inconsistently paced real-time battles ahead of me.

#Ancient space patch upgrade

Each ship type has three upgrade slots for damage, armor, and speed, and my primary carrier was eventually able to earn several tiers of progressively powerful perks, adding up to a satisfying supply of fleet customization. Joining them along the way were just over a dozen gradually-unlocked constructible ships, ranging from small, scrappy fighter squadrons to impressive, photon cannon-equipped bruisers that stood as near equals with my heroes. The fleet I was to command through this narrative was anchored by persistent hero-unit capital ships, complete with voice-acted captains (including those mentioned above) and a host of potent special abilities. Plot details were mostly delivered Captain’s Log-style, with disconnected monologues between missions, stymying chances for character interaction and making the story feel less alive and personal. Starship Troopers alum Dina Meyer gave a respectable, grounded performance as the expedition’s de facto leader, but most of the rest of the cast (including Firefly’s Ron Glass and Battlestar’s Aaron Douglas) sounded like they just came out of hypersleep and weren’t entirely aware of what was going on. Across 15 missions, I was treated to a moderately engaging story with some cool twists, but no especially outstanding or memorable characters. The 20-hour campaign launched me into orbit around an Event Horizon-esque expedition exploring a mysterious area of space called The Black Zone, on the trail of a supercarrier that went missing while investigating a possible alien threat.