Spellforce Universe
by Dreamcatcher Interactive
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List Price: Our Price: $27.99 You Save: $2.00 (7%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Video Games See more product details |
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Video Game Reviews of Spellforce Universe
Customer Review: Technical Problems were fixed.
Summary: 3 Stars
My copy of the game seems to have finally fixed the errors that should not have been there in the first place. Spellforce 2 plays without a Torrent or hex editing. It starts up fine in Vista. However, I don't know how to gaurantee you get a good copy, so remember there is a risk.
The game is a great mix of RPG & RTS. The RTS isn't quite Warcraft III, and the RPG isn't even close to Diablo 2, but both elements are enjoyable and work well.
Customer Review: Spellforce Universe
Summary: 4 Stars
I had played spellforce befor and never found a down loaded dragon storm that seamed to work right as these need keys that are 3 time usage & i stay away from any thing that limits installs(computer rebuilds would use 3 in 1 yr) and this has every thing on 2 disks. 1 problem i have had is spellforce 1 needs to have the cd key installed every time i start it(no 1 is there to verify the code as this game is not supported any more), i know there is a fix that cracks this but havnt looked for it yet. Beyond that this is a perfect way to get every thing spellforce in 1 box. On a side note the forums still are active to look up problems if they do come up. I am running vista64 and havent had any problems as some have said they ran into, it was 1 worry i had befor i got it.Customer Review: Solveable issues
Summary: 4 Stars
Both Spellforce and Spellforce 2 are wonderful RTS games in a fantasty setting (e.g., elven archers and dwarven catapults instead of traditional soldiers and cannons), with enough quest dialog, scenario sequencing, character skill advancement, and magic weapon/armor bonuses to qualify as an RPG. The units you control are your avatar (main character), a few companion heroes (high-level characters whose advancement and equipment you also choose), and on most levels the typical RTS units and buildings to gather resources and produce fighting forces. Playing single-player through the main story line brings out all of these elements and is worth playing multiple times as different character classes. There's also a "Free Mode" which is pretty much a whole new story line, with a main quest to complete and many optional side quests. Then the multi-player mode (only up to 3 players) is one of the best cooperative games available at any price.
As advertised, Spellforce Universe is a package containing the original Spellforce game, the Spellforce 2 game, and all the expansions for both. It's a much better value than buying the pieces separately. Because the expansions are included, the two games install as "Spellforce Platinum" and "Spellforce 2 Gold" to follow the names of the two separate bundles. Conveniently, the Universe package also includes all the patches you otherwise would have to download. All of the software runs under both Windows XP and Windows Vista, and it works equally well on nVidea and ATI video cards (I personally tested multiple environments).
Installation Issues:
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The Universe package is obviously a hasty release of previously published software, but without appropriate quality control. The little things don't prevent gameplay, but lack of quality is apparent immediately. Upon opening the box, you'll find that the two disks have their pictures backwards. One disk contains original Spellforce and its expansions, while the other contains Spellforce 2 plus expansions. However, the picture from Spellforce 2 is on the first disk, while the picture from original Spellforce is on the econd disk. Installing the first disk is normal, but at the end it does not prompt to insert the second disk. When you do insert the second disk, nothing runs or installs. You have to explore the disk to find an installation executable and then run it manually. Again, just a quality issue that doesn't affect the game.
Startup Issues:
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I can't say enough good things about the support community, without whom I would never have got the software working. If you have any problems, checkout spellforce.jowood.com and search the forums. My testing on multiple platforms ran into two serious errors getting the game going. I've included forum links for both so everyone else can get the same solutions.
1. Most Vista users will run into a "C++ Runtime" error messaage every time the try to launch Spellforce 2. The only Vista users who won't get this error are the ones who have disbled User Acconut Controls, the annoying security feature that prompts you before performing most system functions. Spellforce 2 doesn't cause the prompt - it just crashes with a "C++ Runtime" error. There are three simple ways to get around this issue:
(A) Disable User Account Controls under Vista, but be aware this is a security feature;
(B) Right-click the Spellforce 2 shortcut and select "Run as administrator" to launch; or
(C) Modify the Spellforce 2 shortcut properties and click the "Advanced" button to select the option that always runs as administrator.
See http://spellforce.jowood.de/forum/showthread.php?t=50564 for a more in-depth discussion of this issue.
2. Another quality control issue is that the Spellforce 2 disk ships with a corrupted buildings file. This causes the game to crash either when loading a map or when constructing a building. The best solution for most users is to download a huge 500+ MB replacement file. You'll also need a utility (like the free "winrar") to uncompress the downloaded file. The alternative solution for advanced users only is to use a hex editor on the corrupted file.
See http://spellforce.jowood.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50534 for the discussion on both methods to fix the corrupt building file, including a link to the correct file for download.
Gameplay Issue:
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The discussion forum identifies a common issue known as the "camera bug", but I never ran into the problem on any platform. Saving often is a good precaution for this and any other isses, and the forum provides a permanent solution should you need it.
There is one multi-player issue we can't seem to work around. Some friends and I own Spellforce 2 software purchased before any bundling with the expansion known as "Dragon Storm" (included with Spellforce Gold and Spellforce Universe bundles). Fully patched, our games show as "Spellforce 2 v1.02". We can play multi-player mode between us just fine since we all have the same version. However, Spellforce Universe includes the bundled expansion and, like Spellforce 2 Gold, shows up as "Spellforce 2 v2.01". The Spellforce 2 game from the Gold and Universe bundles play fine with each other, but not with the unbundled Spellforce 2 we already owned. I'm told there is no technical incompatibility between the v1.02 and v2.01. It's just that the multi-player mode will ony "see" other PCs running the identical version number. If the programming team was still together, they could fix this in a single day. However, there is no such patch available nor any solution on the discussion forum.
Conclusions:
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In the end, the game is so good it's worth all the trouble to work around the issues above. Once the workarounds are in place, you never have to worry about them again. I suppose it's a bit like childbirth, where eventually you forget the initial pain and just enjoy the result.
My only warning is not to buy Spellforce Universe if you are just looking to add to an existing LAN party already running the unbundled Spellforce 2. Because you can't find unbundled Spellforce 2 anymore, you'll instead have to throw away your existing software and buy new bundled versions for everybody.
Customer Review: spell force universe
Summary: 4 Stars
I love the game .order of dawn got me started breath of winter real good played about half of phoenix stone. the game froze could not get it to start again. So decided to play shadow wars could not get it to load so Isen t itto dream catchers, along with a check for $8.00 as of today Ihave not heard from them.Iunstalled all spell force games.looks like Iwill not be able to finish rune warrers or try shadow wars and dragon
storm .
Customer Review: Colossal Waste of Time and Money
Summary: 1 Stars
I've played these games and they were so much fun I decided to purchase copies for my home computer.
This is my third purchase of various iterations of this game. I purchased it as "Spellforce 2" & "Spellforce 2 Dragon Wars" by the original distributors, and now "Spellforce Universe" by DreamCatchers.
I have yet to find a version that installs and works. I'm not inexperienced at these kinds of problems and tried various workarounds and fixes from the internet forums and publishing companies.
Nada.
At this point, my disappointment has turned into disgust. If you wish to spend a lot of money on an excellent game that doesn't work, then this is the game for you.
Good Luck. You'll need it. (Review of Spellforce Universe)