Posted on: November 18, 2010
BurningWolf
Zweryfikowany użytkownikGry: Opinie: 3
MAX is a solid strategy game before RTSs 'streamlined' the concept
In general, MAX is more complex tactically than MAX2 (and modern RTSs in general) primarily because it does not use a magical, global pool for resources. You must link suppliers and users of resources together or specifically transfer resources via truck. That means that your logistics chain is explicit and can therefore be attacked and broken, crippling those forces or factories that depend upon those supplies. It also means that new outposts must be supplied locally or resources brought to them, implying that much more thought must be put into their selection, their creation and their development. Unlike modern RTSs, MAX and MAX2 allow the research of improved abilities and the upgrading of existing units and facilities. Research requires gold and you must mine it as you must mine metal and fuel, and like all other resources, gold must be explicitly stored and brought to the research centers. You do not research new unit but you can improve just about all aspects of any existing unit: hit points, armor, attack, range, shots per turn, speed, etc. These upgrades can dramatically affect success during combat and how quickly you mine gold and research these abilities is crucial to victory. In MAX, resources must first be found through explicit surveying of the land. In addition, the richness of the resource at any location varies. This is in contrast to MAX2 and modern RTSs where resources are visible to all units and have a common richness. In MAX, mulitple mine sites are often in close enough proximity to allow a single mine to collect multiple resources, whereas in MAX2 specific gold and metal mines must be used. In this regard too, then, MAX is more complex and requires more explicit resource management than MAX2 and modern RTSs. While MAX is strictly turn-based, (with an option for simultaneous turn for combat), MAX2 can also be played in real-time mode. This real-time mode and the global pool of resources collected through the aether is what makes MAX2 the predecessor of modern RTSs rather than the successor of MAX. The gameplay in MAX2 is much faster than that in MAX as there is little logistics management. The emphasis in MAX2 is on amassing large forces and attacking the enemy whereas MAX requires detailed base-building and logistics management before engagement can begin. That being said, MAX2 does improves upon MAX from a tactical point of view in two ways. First, MAX2 introduces Line of Sight as a constraint, so terrain has to be taken into account. Second, MAX2 does not allow units to be upgraded until the upgrade has been researched. In MAX, research advances one attribute for all units, but specific units can be upgraded ad infinitum if you have the gold, regardless of what you have researched. That means that very strong units can be created very early if you find and mine the gold, so the race becomes to upgrade as quickly as possible, which can overwhelm the tactical aspects of the game. The reseach requirement in MAX2 dramatically slows this upgrade process down. In sum, MAX is a solid, turn-based, tactical game before frenetic development became the hallmark of strategy games, and it is highly recommended. MAX2 is also a solid game but it is steeped in the modern RTS mentality of streamlining the gameplay to focus on forces-building and attack. It is a good game but modern development of the genre has outstripped it. Modern development has *not* outstripped MAX.
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