Ascendancy

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Description

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.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "Ascendancy: Macht der Allmacht" -- German title
• "Ascendancy: De Galactische Uitdaging" -- Dutch title

User Reviews

Terribly addictive!	DOS	Icarus Lytton (23)
A good, addictive space sim	DOS	lucian (40)
Quirky, atmospheric, low-stress, a classic!	DOS	Ran Prieur (19)
Good ideas... but an idea is not enough.	DOS	Technocrat (201)
Both better and worse than MOO	DOS	somebody (6)
Not as bad as its detractors claim.	DOS	Afterburner (496)
A wonderful game, a classic	DOS	MojoHelperMonkey (42)
A Pretty Good turn-based strategy game, but with a few flaws.	DOS	Jeremy Johnson (769)
Fun at first, but ultimately unsatisfying.	DOS	PCGamer77 (3233)
A unique, fascinating game.	DOS	Rick Jones (111)

Critic Reviews

PC Gamer	DOS	Nov, 1995	93 out of 100	93
PC Games (Germany)	DOS	Sep, 1995	92 out of 100	92
Coming Soon Magazine	DOS	Jan 13, 1996	91 out of 100	91
PC Joker	DOS	Sep, 1995	83 out of 100	83
Score	DOS	Oct, 1995	8 out of 10	80
Power Play	DOS	Sep, 1995	80 out of 100	80
PC Attack	DOS	Oct, 1995	76 out of 100	76
Gameplay (Benelux)	DOS	Dec, 1995	76 out of 100	76
World Village (Gamer's Zone)	DOS	1995		60
Computer Gaming World (CGW)	DOS	Jan, 1996		50

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
Colonization	2	vedder (40651) Feb 21, 2009
Ascendancy 2	1	john smith (1) Sep 02, 2008

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

Related Web Sites

• Ascendancy (official game page at Logic Factory's website, archived copy from 1997 by the Wayback Machine)