Ascendancy

aka: Ascendancy: De Galactische Uitdaging, Ascendancy: Macht der Allmacht
Moby ID: 257
DOS Specs
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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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Screenshots

Promos

Credits (DOS version)

31 People (23 developers, 8 thanks) · View all

Created by
Made possible through the efforts of
Additional support and content provided by
Packaging and Manual Art Direction and Design by
Packaging Illustration
Manual Digital Enhancement
AIL and VFX libraries by
Special Thanks to the Brøderbund Team
AIL and VFX libraries by
  • Miles Design Inc.
Design & Artwork Coordinator
Design
  • Bill Smith Studio - London
Photography
Package Design Art Direction
[ full credits ]

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 unique, fascinating game.

The Good
There are lots of space conquest sims on the market, but "Ascendancy" is the most different of the bunch.

It's not much different from most space conquest sims except that this game offers REALLY different races; as opposed to just "this race gets a slight defense bonus, this race gets a slight ground combat bonus," Ascendancy races play very differently and, (the coolest thing about the game), have victory conditions for each race that don't involve conquest. For one race, you win if you can convince everyone to be at peace with everyone else!

The Bad
Planet management is very, very repetitive and boring. It's good stuff but there's just too much repetition.

The game's major drawback, though, is the astoundingly bad AI. Enemies are mind-bogglingly dumb and overly easy to defeat.

The Bottom Line
I know it's bad English, but this is the most unique take on the genre I've ever seen. Worth playing.

DOS · by Rick Jones (96) · 2001

Good game killed by braindead AI.

The Good
The scope and the execution were excellent in general -- this was one of the first space games that really depicted depth in space battles. The graphics were good, as was the sound and music. Gameplay was also good, if not totally revolutionary.

The Bad
Totally incompetent AI kills the game. It has no multiplayer, so you're stuck with the AI. The first 500 days or so of the game are exciting, but after that, it becomes far too easy to kill the computer, who just sits there.

The Bottom Line
It was so close, you might just pick it up if you can find it to see the pretty sights. Don't expect to get the longevity you can out of MOO 2, though.

DOS · by Vincent Valentine (23) · 1999

Quirky, atmospheric, low-stress, a classic!

The Good
This game has more "soul" than almost any other PC game. By that I mean something like the integration of graphics, music, and content to generate a deep sense of the game's personality or atmosphere. The graphics are amazing for 1995. I never get tired of the music, which is very spacey but also a little like an old Morricone soundtrack. It's got a great-looking and easy to use 3D star map, and 21 species with cool pictures and their own musical themes (which you only get to hear for a minute).

As a reviewer wrote elsewhere, this is the most low-stress of all strategy games. You never feel hurried, and apparently you can keep playing indefinitely. Some players won't appreciate this.

The Bad
There's no way to know what a new item DOES before getting it, so no basis for a decision on which technology to research.

The help-click feature is a joke, compared to games where it's done well, like the Heroes of Might & Magic series where you can right-click on practically anything and get useful information.

As everyone has pointed out, all interactions with computer opponents are clunky.

I suppose this is asking too much of the programmers, but after the mind-blowing diversity of the species descriptions, gameplay-wise they're just about identical. Tree people, giant amoebas, and microscopic parasites all build the same industrial-style planet improvements and research the same technologies.

The Bottom Line
Beautiful, compelling, somewhat flawed space-conquest strategy game.

DOS · by Ran Prieur (17) · 2004

[ View all 14 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Colonization vedder (70685) 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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Related Sites +

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

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 257
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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.