Ascendancy
Description official descriptions
Ascendancy is similar to, but nevertheless very different from, Master of Orion. You play one of many races, each with a special ability and special character traits, who set off to explore space, erect colonies (which can each have individual purposes, depending on their raw materials) and engage in battles when you clash with others who have the same goals. Weapons on the ships use power, which has to be supplied somehow.
This game introduces many original concepts, such as the Research Tree - a special scientific display in which discoveries are depicted as icons connected by lines to the "parent" technological breakthroughs and "child" ones, similar to the technology advances in Civilization, but presented in a much more visual way.
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Credits (DOS version)
31 People (23 developers, 8 thanks) · View all
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 78% (based on 15 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 71 ratings with 14 reviews)
A Pretty Good turn-based strategy game, but with a few flaws.
The Good
To start out this review, I would like to mention that this game is one of the few strategy games in existence that doesn’t make me want to turn off all of the sound effects and music and throw in one of my favorite CD's. All of the sound effects that are present in the game are perfectly chosen for whatever event they've been assigned to, and they seldom annoy me even if they have been repeated a thousand times. Of particular note, though, is the music. The music has a late 70's-early 80's synth-orchesta space opera theme to it, sort of in the style of the first Star Trek film. The quality of the music, despite being played back at a rather low playback rate, is very good indeed. The music has an epic feel to it and is enjoyable to listen to, and each of the (several) alien races have their own short musical theme that plays during diplomatic engagements, like in Master of Orion 2 (although the soundtrack for that game is inferior compared to the one that this game sports).
Another item of note is the in-game graphics system. While the 256-color palette isn't as sharp as it was back in 1996, it's still quite nice and is capable of producing some very atmospheric in-game graphics (atmosphere being the thing that this game oozes). The style of the user interface is very slick and looks very different in comparison to many other 4X style games. The 3D starmap and system map is easy to operate and it looks very nice to boot.
And on a final note, I also like the system that's used to set up a game session. It has a relatively high amount of options available, and it has a very nice galaxy preview window.
The Bad
There's not much in the way of anything negative I can think of in regards to Ascendancy, except for two non-critical issues, which I will explore presently. First off, it's almost impossible to forge alliances other alien species. You usually have to wait a few thousand turns for them to warm up to the idea, and by then they are usually killed off by one of the more hostile aliens not long after they do decide to sign up with you.
The other problem with Ascendancy is the mediocre combat AI that the computer uses. Instead of employing Incredibly Clever Tactics (tm) to smash your fleet to a pulp, the AI rushes your ships and planets like brain-dead lemmings and open fire as soon as they are in range of a target, regardless if you have (or don't have) superior firepower at your disposal. And the AI will always choose to fight to the death, and it will never make "strategic withdrawals" under any circumstance. Also, the AI has a completely nonsensical method of building structures on the surface of a planet (for example, it will build a factory on a square that enhances research).
The Bottom Line
If you happen to find a copy of Ascendancy available for purchase somewhere, I would recommend that you pick it up. It's quite fun.... just as long as you don't mind the less than strong AI that's present in the game. Besides, the soundtrack that this game sports is worth the price of admission alone.
DOS · by Longwalker (723) · 2002
The Good
There is much to like about Ascendency. Although it is a relatively deep space 4x strategy game, it does not take itself too seriously. The aliens are clever, with interesting drawings for their portraits and creative ship designs. The planet graphics are as well pleasing to the eye, although they don't hold up well to today's textures in games. The music is a joy to listen to, wonderfully put together.
Above all else, Ascendency is just plain fun to play. It is easy to get the hang of, and yet difficult to master (with a patch that updates the AI above the intelligence of a rock). The sheer numbers of technologies to play with throughout the game will keep you busy for hours. How can you hate game that lets you enlarge the sun in a solar system and thus slingshotting your enemies ship way out into deep space? Its one of the those games that makes you say "just one more turn". The interface is so intuitive that you'll find yourself flying back and forth between menus with easy, making the time just fly by. Creating fleets and moving them around the universe is simple, as is colonizing and attacking. Battles are fought in the same game system and interface as the rest of the game, so there is no second learning curce. Sound effects are pretty standard, some of the weapons sounds are pretty cool though.
The Bad
I gues there are a few things wrong with Ascendency, but its hard to hold them against it. For one, there is really no difference between aliens besides one special power unique to each race. All technology and buildings look the same. Now you may think this is a terrible flaw, but it really isn't. Each special power comes in handy often, and every game plays out differently. There is little in the way of ship modification. You select a size, then fill it with stuff, then its off, not much to it. As I mentioned earlier, you need to download the "Antagonizer Patch" for the game to update the AI. It shipped with dumb as nails AI, but this patch fixes that up quite nicely.
The Bottom Line
Ascendency is a game that should not be missed by an strategy lover. Some are put off by the lack of diversity between races, but those people are missing out on quite a gem. The game was never made to offer completely different play styles with every race, it was made to offer a completely different gameplay experience, while keeping the basics the same. So find the game, buy it, and lose yourself in the universe that is Ascendency
DOS · by MojoHelperMonkey (39) · 2005
Not as bad as its detractors claim.
The Good
The best thing Ascendancy has going for it is the "feel" of the game. This may sound silly, but after having played the two games put out by The Logic Factory ( Ascendancy and The Tone Rebellion), it's clear that the folks at The Logic Factory are trying to make games with a very "new age" feel to them. (Yes, "new age" is a trite and overused phrase. But that's really the best way to describe it.)
The music is new age. The descriptions of the alien races are kinda new agey. The manual is kinda new agey (it doesn't tell you how to win the game, for example).
The graphics were fantastic for the time the game was released, and the ship models were simply incredible. Made me want to play the game to the end for each individual race just so I could see all the ship models. And the galactic map was three-dimensional, which (for me) added an element of immersiveness that has never been present with the two-dimensional starmaps of MOO and MOO2.
The Bad
The AI, which is legendary in its awfulness.
The tedium of endgame micromanagement, especially if you have a large empire.
The utterly bizarre combat sequence, in which only one ship per side moves each turn. If it's a battle of one ship vs. eight ships, the single ship moves, then one of the eight ships moves, then the single ship moves again, then one of the eight ships moves, etc. This combat sequence makes it impossible for a swarm of smaller ships to gang up on a single larger ship, and dramatically tilts combat in favor of large ships and powerful tech.
The Bottom Line
If you can get past the tedium of the end-game micromanagement and the bizarre combat sequence, this is actually a great little space strategy game for the casual strategy gamer (i.e. the kind of person who, like me, has trouble playing MOO or MOO2 on medium difficulty).
DOS · by Afterburner (486) · 2001
Discussion
Subject | By | Date |
---|---|---|
Colonization | vedder (70796) | Feb 21, 2009 |
Trivia
PC Gamer controversy
A minor scandal surrounded the PC Gamer review of Ascendancy. PC Gamer gave the game high marks, and made it an Editor's Choice game. However, the individual who reviewed the game for PC Gamer also turned out to be the author of the game's Strategy Guide, leading many to wonder if the review had been padded in order to boost sales of the Strategy Guide.
In Computer Gaming World #151 (February 1997), a letter by William Trotter was published in which he shared his view on the matter. Summarized, he needed money to pay off repairs on his house and therefore gladly agreed to write the strategy guide. However, the developers failed to give him any information on the game, not even technology trees, and a one-month deadline. So he had no other choice but to play the game non-stop for two weeks, becoming eventually obsessed with it. So when PC Gamer hired him for the review, he really thought Ascendancy was a great game, and he failed to see the conflict of interest. In hindsight, he agrees with the bad review in Computer Gaming World (see MobyRanks), the strategy guide turned out to be pathetic and he didn't receive any royalties from it at all.
Awards
- CODiE Awards
- 1996 - Best Strategy Software
Information also contributed by Afterburner
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Ascendancy
official game page at Logic Factory's website, archived copy from 1997 by the Wayback Machine
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Tomer Gabel.
iPad, iPhone added by Techademus.
Additional contributors: Rebound Boy, formercontrib, Patrick Bregger, MrFlibble.
Game added August 29, 1999. Last modified January 23, 2024.