3) More superficial, it's a shame it's gone and I really wish they'd let us revert to the fun old one, but ultimately it's a very minor complaint, and you can easily get past it - just skip the battle sequences when they come up

2) I haven't tried at suicidal yet so presumably they would be much harder. It could also be linked to 1). In (some of) the games I've played they have failed to get any military for an entire war, right up until their last planet is taken, though.

1) This one is the real game-breaker. It seems to occur in every game (unless you complete the game really fast I guess), and totally changes the dynamics of gameplay. You can still play with this on, you just have to adjust your strategies. So it's not a total killer, but it sure is annoying.

Ultimately the game is still fun despite the research bug. I'd certainly recommend getting it once the research bug is fixed (meant to be some point in June, my guess is late June since political machine isn't released till mid-june), and so if you're going to be spending the money on it then, unless you have pressing cash flow issues I'd get it now since you can still get a decent amount of enjoyment from it now compared to say DA.

I greatly enjoy TA whereas I barely played DL. Research bug is the only major thing. AI for some races is broken. But there are plenty others who are able to field floods of warships.

It is an amazing game, dont hesitate, go for it. There is one game breaker at present - the infamous "Tech Bug" (which turned out to be a balancing issue with a configuration algorithm after some changes they made to change a particular behavior) - but I have no doubt they will nail it in the next update due next week, Frogboy has already said as much. Meanwhile purchasing now and getting into it will get the "orientation" phase done prior to the update.

The "Tech Bug" (in truth not a bug) can be a nasty one, but does not occur to everyone on every game. Whatever it is, its probably style related, and you may not come across it. However, dont be put off by the noise on it, get the game, fix will be in next week.

As always different people look for different things, and get upset by different things. If someones particular favorite activity or style has been affected by the update the yelling begins and the world is at an end, and thats understandable. Meanwhile, overall it is stable, and the usual raft of minor bugs will be zapped next week.

Regards
Zy

Very disappointed that #1 hasn't been addressed already and holding off on purchasing until it's taken care of. I could care less about the political machine and would prefer to see them addressing release issues with TA (that apparently didn't exist in beta so wtf happened).

You might not care, but lots of other people do. As to what happened, it was added to address the complaints of some that even the slowest research was too fast. It was added after the beta, possibly after gamma, so it didn't get play-tested very much.

If nothing else, you could play small maps, which can be finished before the issue even comes up. Get used to the new tech trees and racial differences, plan beginning colony rush and econ strategies, that sort of thing.

Agreed, there are some minor bugs and things to balance, the research one is a medium size.

Am I still having fun all the same? Ya, you betcha. The races really do feel really different now, which provides enormous replayability. It's not just a slap of paint on each time I play a different race.

Overall I'm liking ToA. The new tech trees sound like a mediocre-selling point, but actually force quite different play styles. I'd say fire up DA and see if you feel like wanting more. If no, then skip ToA.

I agree - its the one aspect of TA that many have commented on as being "different" after seeing the description, but its not until you actually play a couple of games as non Terran in TA that you really do get the full impact. Whether or not you agree with the impact is of course a personal preference. I found it refreshing and it really does change the thought process on playing tactics.

Horses for Courses - but its a very worthy addition to a quality Stable.

Regards
Zy