It's worth saying that in the original Carrier Command, even though it was a single player game, the enemy carrier still took islands way faster than you. This was mainly because its speed wasn't hindered by proximity to islands which your carrier was, but also the enemy carrier was amphibious, so it just drove up onto an island, captured it and drove off and on to the next island. Your advantage was that your carrier had a big laser cannon on the top which the enemy lacked, the enemy basically had nothing but planes and cruise missiles, it didn't have any tanks.
The Original game was amazing, I played it till the late 90's as a kid. Thanks to that game I have a real sweat spot for that style of graphics. Super fun DOS game and works in DOSBOX.
Always fun to see others that played this game during the 80s. Even remember the advertising for it in a computer magazine before it even was released.
@@Yuushiboy personally I didn't know about it until I was bought my first computer, an Atari ST, back in 1990ish. It came with a pack of 100 games, all on 3.5" floppy disks, Carrier Command was one of them and honestly I didn't look at it for ages as I worked through the other games. When I eventually found it it basically kept me busy for a whole summer, my Mum was really annoyed with me because I never went outside in the sun! I also blame that game for spoiling my eyesight because I had to play it on an old CRT TV in the living room which was really blurry! LOL.
I still have the original Atari floppy disk of CC1. Fighting the enemy carrier was not that interesting but capturing islands was. Setting waypoints / managing assets was also easier. Stockpile / resupply was more intuitive. There are some aspects where CC1 is better than CC2 (though I did not have much time spent yet with CC2). See buildings being built on islands was really giving the impression that there was an AI doing its stuff. Well, there was an AI inside those 64k RAM. Even more amazing looking back what programmers did with that limited hardware.
I make a point of taking-off the rose-tinted glasses regarding those. Developers have figured-out how to effectively teach game mechanics while we play now, and the internet means a manual doesn't need to come with. The best "manuals" were and still are the ones packed with lore. I most fondly remember the one that came with Homeworld. Hot damn did that thing come with backstory. I remember so much of it to this day.
I remember F-29 Retaliator's one was so big it was spiral-bound rather than stapled, and Gunship 2000 came with an honest-to-god _book_ about helicopters.
I bought it yesterday against my own rule of never buying at launch but I was just so excited. I really love old school simulators, especially with an atmospheric 80's look like Carrier Command II. So far, I'm loving it but the price is way too steep. This should be a 20 dollar game. Apart from that, it's pretty cool. Not perfect, but cool!
Toward the end of the video I was going to say I’d buy it to play it with you and others… but I’d only pay that price for the game if 1) they patched it 2) I knew there’d be people to play it with. Really wasn’t expecting that price.
How bizarre that I’ve been playing the original Carrier Command, as I did in the 90’s, but I had no idea a sequel has been made! Except for Gaiea Mission which I’ve heard of but haven’t played. Nice to see some love going to good old CC!!
Really loving this game my biggest hope is actual AI crewmen and vehicle operators and pilots let us use manned vehicles with X-COM style levelling of characters who can also die. I would also love if we were able to have players pilot the helicopters and aircraft in the cockpit rather than a drone. But overall loving the game solo is a problem though.
It sounds cool but it kinda defeats the whole premise of the game. It would have to be a separate game for that stuff, as it doesn't fit this one at all. Maybe mods will add that, to an extent.
@@magiceel123 yeah but more taking about jumping into an aircraft with a cockpit as a physical pilot with a cockpit view rather than a drone. Just adds to the deadly feeling once I get hit I may die along feeling attached to the pilots you send our like XCOM. It’s not a problem just more of a personal taste
@@SecretOfMonkeyIsland784 i think the game runs on the same engine as Unturned, i forgot which engine it was, but i recall seeing similar water graphics and clouds in Unturned
It's been on my wishlist for a few months and ... I think it's gonna stay there for a while. I could have gone with the messy single player experience and I could have gone with the inflated pricetag, but I can't justify buying the game with both these problems combined.
@@MrBribon31 When your a 80's kid most of your friends are late 30's early 40's so they have families so doing a multiplayer session with friends isnt viable anyway. So unless you can pair with strangers, its a unviable option.
Game looks great, love the premise, but honestly I'd wait until they add more content and make it a bit easier to play solo, perhaps by adding AI crewmen. Can't always have friends available and it's always nice to have the ability to play alone when needed. I think the price is very steep for what the game offers at the moment.
Even the original Carrier Command of the eighties was horrible to play as solo but was playable once you figured out what to do when invading enemy islands, what would be the best course of action when you knew enemy carrier was likely nearby and you wanted to assassinate that son of a b**ch etc etc etc...
@@dennisrichards2540 The VR was part of the early starter package. and even then ppl were complaining it's too expensive. *sigh* There are already some CC2 mods out there. Since most controls are scripted/use python3 in the background you can tweak A LOT there.
@@Cybernaut76 The easiest way was to wait till the enemy carrier attacked Fulcrum - and take the single island in the network behind it. You could not leave Fulcrum without refueling. Good times. :D
@@mrwho30 WOW! That was a really clever and crafty tactic! However, in the late eighties, I was just an Asperger case (and still am, I am afraid) in my early teens who had to concentrate on school a lot so my brains were not nearly as smart back then as they are today. Therefore, I could not figure out immediately which expectably realistic features of that game were there and which ones were not. However, now my brains figure out that if, in the original game, the enemy carrier is LOGISTICALLY SURROUNDED just in the manner you said, then it can not hope to escape all that far. Actually, there is nothing it can do maneuverwise except tactically change its speed and course to avoid your laser pulses from carrier and missiles/bombs from Mantas until it totally runs out of gas. Then you can destroy it with any weapons you have the most in your supply stock (as a replacement to ones you intend to spend). If it was not logistically surrounded, then your only hope was that the enemy carrier, once being grievously damaged, did not turn to its heading in time before bolting. If it was fast enough to bolt in time, then it escaped. If not, then it blew up to lots of small smithereens and you got a choice whether to continue the game or not. I chose to continue....all the way until my Walrus shot the virus to enemy main islands command centre so I had two base islands: My original own AND the enemys own that the virus forced to change side for me. (Yes, I was a perfectionist who wanted *ABSOLUTE* victory...which I got). Once all islands were taken, I either no longer had the choice to continue or then, I did not see any reason to continue. In the very north, there was the island you had to be careful with: It was so far out that going to it emptied you of all gas so you had to immediately succeed in taking it. Departing it also took out all your gas. I found it outright RIDICULOUS that the enemy carrier was AT LEAST as fast as the air-to-air missiles fired by my Manta....even close to the shore of an island. Those were what I remember from the original game. Soon we will see what does this new version have to offer us...
Love your review. I remember playing the original when I was a kid. While I do enjoy it, it was a tedious experience. When I came accross the enemy carrier the first time, it was such an amazing experience even when I was blown to bits. Then I run away from the carrier to capture more island and once all island was capture (I think enemy carrier capture neutral island faster than us but capturing our island back took longer. You will eventually capture all island in this game), i started hunting the carrier. Once I intercepted it, it was such an amazing experience. Again, I was blown to bits. But after few tries, I beat the enemy carrier. At that moment, Carrier Command was one of the greatest game of all time i have ever play. Even until today. Point is, you have to beat the enemy carrier to properly review this game. Despite all the bugs you encounter in this game, it was was worse 30 years ago. What you shown me in your review, is an amazing Carrier Command game that have few annoying bugs. Looking forward to buy the game and watching your other reviews. Hopefully, you have beaten the game that you are reviewing.
Loved the original. May have noticed a lot of the UI is an homage to the original. Stylized graphics, believe it or not, are a huge PLUS for the game. Anyone who played Carrier Command:Gaea Mission knows how confusing it gets on an island covered with simulated realistic vegetation. CC2's style helps playability and frame rate. Unfortunately, this UI places emphasis first on VR, and second on multiplayer, then a trialing third gameplay. This UI places unnecessary hurdles to jump over while also contending with a quick AI (Yes, the original also had an enemy carrier that was quicker and took islands faster). Ideally there would have been an option to run all ship and vehicle functions from the center command screen eliminating the dizzying need to move from one station to another, a nauseating experience for those who contend with motion sickness. Good review video - thanks
i bought it too, but i asap hope the start and improve the singleplayer mode so its easier to command and select units firve comabt oders and many other stuff in so mode. So its still immersive but more fun and easier to command your units. I whait bevor i play more maybe a refund i whait a bit and see if they care and start improve the singleplayer mode. And the overall units oders system need improvements so you can select multiple units give combat orders or patrol oders easier so they attack enmies on sight in patrols and many other a recall to carrier order that you can give quick and i can go on and on so hopefully the start asap with improvements. And many other thing you hear in this video like your air units take adges to start firing on ground targets and so on. The game play is fun and very immersive but the orders system and the singleplayer need improvements asap.
Great video, I was going purchase but am hesitant now as I'd only play solo. Are there difficulty levels, or the option of setting say 2 vs 2 with you and an AI playing 2 AI?
You can do a sandbox where you determine the amount of islands, how many you start with and how many teams there are. The most is 1 v 1 v 1 v 1 You can't actually team together, you would have to agree in MP not to attack your buddy if you wanted to 2v2. So when it comes to AI you can only do free for alls against them.
Vehicles stuck most of the time and i had to manual control them. Aircraft somehow will decrease altitude until they crash. You cant upgrade your carrier like have second flight deck so you can deploy 2 aricraft at once because waiting them to take off or landing is so painfully slow. This game has so much potential but i cant recommend it with current state and price
i think the biggest problem with carrier command 2 is the price, for a game that needs at least 3 or 4 copies to actually enjoy (you and your pals) it's prohibitively expensive
Very nice review. I hope they take all your feedback into account. Including the price point. I bought it regardless, but I think it is important for them to hit the good price point to get market traction and thus be incentivized to continue working on the game. I think sound could be better and would both help immersion and battlefield awareness. And I hope that the game plays into its genre in that you gradually reveal intel and grind at the enemy island in a risk/reward proposition with a large range of legitimate approaches with pros and cons.
Changing the engine noise of the carrier so it doesn't sound like an unsilenced Vietnamese fishing boat would be a nice plus if you at the start of the campaign click escape and then you can teleport to the carrier bridge all you have to do is open the bridge door and shut it and then you're fine.
Just found your channel looking for a review of this (and HighFleet) - going to buy this even though I'll only play it solo. Thanks for the honest review!
The originals was AWESOME by the way. I used to play it on the Amiga 500 back in the late 80's. I've been looking for an emulator for years. I've been looking forward to this "sequel" for a while now...
The original version of the game that I played on a Commodore Amiga. In that version the enemy carrier did not have a mast mounted gun turret, but did possess missiles and vehicles. The one time I totally beat the game early on was when I ran into the enemy carrier and destroyed it with ship to ship gun fire without the enemy carrier being able to respond. You could nominate your logistics base to a different island as needed, the risk being is that you could be cut off from your logistics and force your carrier to run of out fuel, vehicles or other supplies. The enemy carrier was also at risk at being cut of from resupply making it possible to strand the opposing carrier at an island allowing you to eventually hunt it down and destroy it. The original game had a slow learn, long burn characteristic that was fun once you had mastered it. Very involved but rarely matched by other titles. The game's concept is something that seemingly has gone out of fashion. Multiple versions of open world games and Battlefied Call of Duty Fortnight shooters have taken over the gaming landscape. Every genre has its place, but original or new concepts don't come from the large publishers any more.
they actually released Carrier command 1 Gaia mission which was a much better singleplayer experience and now the game has progressed some with new features but i wish they would port over some of the Gaia mission games island builds and more automated tracking and tagging system as options
I played CC1 back on the Amiga, the pathfinding as expected for back then was exactly the same. If you autopiloted a Walrus it'd get stuck on a tree and just sit there. I'm not sure how it works in the sequel but you could change your 'warehouse' island to another island closer. My usual method of quickly disposing of an enemy island in the original was mostly missiles from the manta on the base and then rebuilt with a waiting walrus nearby or i'd fire missiles into the enemy aircraft building and then suicide a manta into it then using a virus bomb with the walrus to capture. The enemy carrier was easy to dispose of, again... two or three kamikaze mantas would make short work of it but... doing so would effectively end the game and only leave capturing islands left to do. ....for this game? It looks good but the price seems a little steep.
@@P2873 Horrendous counter. A game shouldn't need a third party software to cover for it. Saying, "you can just download skype/discord/teamspeak" makes it very much a reasonable complaint.
I remember back in the 80s when I first saw an advert in a computer magazine on Carrier Command going to be released and I was so hyped. I enjoyed the game back then and was so looking forward to this, I mean Microprose was the main company to go for when it came to simulation back then so I had almost everything they released. I dont know about this though. Seems like your more or less forced to play with others to enjoy it. I dont think Microprose will ever live up to what they once was though.
Was excited seeing Microprose back on the scene, you're totally right about their history of being the main software house for simulations, I must have burned 1000's of hours on my Spectrum / Amiga on games like Airborne Ranger, Gunship, M1 Tank Platoon. I hope they live up to expectations!
On the Amiga the main point of this game was that it broke new ground and was absolutely huge. Looks like the controls are still a bit rough around the edges, not quite innovative. Is there an online lobby to form teams and for matchmaking?
There is multiplayer. However it used an archaic code system. You get a lobby code. You give it to friends. You can directly invite steam friends. There is no support for public lobbys or a server browser. IMO very disappointing. Especially given the price point
If they improve SP experience and fix the AI and control issues I will buy it. Otherwise pass. It is a shame since I like the concept and the retro looks.
Given the age of gaming with live in, im sure most of if not all of this can easily be patched. Maybe add a controls or Tutorial section for the more complicated stuff.
So the waypoint thing isnt needed you can just drag a unit straight to where you want it to go and it will make a path for itself,you must've had a glitch because I have never had the problem of having to set a waypoint to then be able to dock or airlift, and the air units do need space to do a gun run,not a glitch, its realistic. You dont see pilots irl doing a 90 degree turn downwards to hit a target all the time, they need space, the units will do it eventually. You just need to give them time and have patience. And you can get resources straight from the island as long as you are next to it. Also you dont need four people to be effective, you only need a minimum of two, going over 4 is useless as people will just be stuck in seats th at you aren't using like logistics in a battle or the turrets/ main weapons of your carrier when you are just moving to another island.
Personally game is most fun with 4-6 players, SP is easy to learn, hard to master. certainly a fun game both in SP and MP. Built in VC is good quality, once you get a player who can help teach you the intricacies you learn rapidly.
My issue is the ground vehicles just spin in the back instead of getting in the garage. I guess I was giving the follow order and not get inside command lol
I played the original. It was groundbreaking when it came out. This new Carrier Command still needs a few things. But it's not a bad game. It'd be nice to have a way to manually increase the defensive level of the conquered islands, and it could have the base building as it was on the original Carrier Command, where you could build defense, resource, or factory islands. Where NPC planes and land vehicles would spawn. This one it's just conquer the island, and it's done. :-\ I've flew over conquered islands and I do not see defenses.
This seems like the sort of game that I'd love to watch someone else play rather than play it myself - it just looks stressful. Cool concept, but I just know I'd get a mean headache after playing for a while and I don't need that aggravation.
Very fair review, It's a great game but has tons of bugs, lacks many features and doesn't have much depth. The price tag doesn't help it at all. That said, I've got 35 hours in so far and can't put it down. The learning curve is steep, and much harder to do on your own. A lack of server browser makes finding people to play with a hassle. Yet asking (without discount) a triple A games price tag. lol.
I used to play the first game on my Atari 520 ST, i dont think i ever knew how to play it properly as never read the instructions (Like most 10 year olds). Excited to try this but not sure i like the 90's style graphics on the reticules and text and the cell shaded look ... this is supposed to be Carrier Command 2 (A 2021 game) if i wanted old graphics id play the original game.
Didnt forget it, this is a sequel to the 1988 game not the 2012 game - didnt really seem that relevant to bring up here seeing as people dont like it and I also didnt play it anyways :P
Yeah this game is frustrating. I'm frustrated with how long everything takes. Aircraft take a long time to takeoff and land. You can very easily outpace your own supply lines since the carrier is so much faster than barges. Plane carried missiles feel useless since it takes 2 to take out a land vehicle target. Seeing how quickly a helicopter can takeoff and land makes it apparent to me that you really shouldn't bother with planes or the like since a heli with guns can clear an entire island. Meanwhile I have to wait for some plane to do its entire loop in the pattern before it even decides to make an attempt at landing, during which time several helicopters could have taken off, but are just stuck waiting below deck for that one plane to land. This game is frustrating. It takes a long time to do anything. I play this game with other people while while simultaneously playing another game with them.
I grew up on F-117A Nighthawk. Love Microprose. This is an awesome looking game that sadly I may not have the right group to ever play. Would love to know how active the community will be .
this game mostly suffers from bad tutorial. for example, your problem with the barges is easily solved. make the order first, and then produce the product on the island.
Don't understand your take on the control scheme whilst in helicopter. Is it mouse you are using? What is the difficulty with it? Is it Joystick? Joystick controller? Is it a configuration that cannot be reconfigured? What difficulty were you having with what ever controller or control scheme you had to use? Can I have little bit more info on this please, before purchase.
learned about the new Microprose today. Awesome that they try to revive some long lost games and concepts. I liked it back then when games couldn't be put into a single genre by the stereotype thinking that's going on today.
As a solo player, I have no issues outpacing the AI carrier on standard difficulty after about 6 hours of gameplay. How much did you play this game before the review?
@@RepublicOfPlay Maybe it's a planning and luck thing then. My current campaign had like four 1 star islands to begin, so I had 5 islands and the enemy carrier had 3. I've maintained this lead so far. Starting up another save, its a different story. I have only a single 1 start island, and I fell behind at first but caught up, but the luck definitely didnt help lol The thing also is, is it really that much of a disadvantage if the enemy carrier has 15 islands and you have like 12? It doesn't seem like a major disadvantage in the grand scheme of things, unless you get unlucky with your islands.
This game looks sick to me and I want to buy it, but from what I get is that it can't really be played solo. And it's a little repetitive at the moment. I guess I'll pass.
Yeah but the game is 50 bucks... Maybe if it was 30? And even then only if it became popular and I could get some proper idea on if it was fun or not, like what happened with "Sea of Thieves". But that game had significantly better graphics and is still 10 dollars cheaper. Loved Gaea Mission and I think with a better-writen story (or just no story), Some better AI, More updated mechanics, and with the multiplayer addition, that game could be a hit.
So do you still stand by everything you said in this video? I skimmed the update history and it seems like there has been a bunch of reworks and fixes since this was posted
You need monitors showing vehicle views on your carrier. Many early 90s games did this. Check out the game Terra Nova: Task Force Centauri. Or System Shock, etc.
I totally dig the immersion and interactivivity, but it's just so frustrating in SP, especially the controlls (as you mentioned) and that pretty much nothing is explained! Which wouldn't be a problem, if things weren's so friggin unintuitive and overly complex. What I'd like to mention is the unofficial(?) successor to the original Carrier Command, which was made by Bohemia Interactive (ArmA3 anyone?^^) This had the subtitle "Gaea Mission" (and is on Steam too), and it was SO GOOD! I don't get the "mixed" rating, I really don't! Was it perfect? No, but it had great graphics (still kinda does imho) and gameplay wise it was very good. Not even close to as interactive as CC2 from MicroProse (love that this company is back!), but it was accessible and fun and the controlls were great! So, if you like CC, but not this kinda-early-access CC2? Give it a try!
@@florineot It was a long time ago that I've played it, but I enjoyed it immensely; I probably got around that issue by a) driving/flying 1 unit myself (which is a joy to do, unlike in CC2, where it's a pain in the ass) and b) by setting nice nav points Can't remember any details though...
This is definitely a successor to the original, but there was also Carrier Command: Gaea Mission in 2012. IMO the no. 2 refers to that one. store.steampowered.com/app/65740/Carrier_Command_Gaea_Mission/
Whats with the obsession with multiplayer these days? there are a few games that are hugely succesful and are basically made for multiplayer (like CS, COD, LOL, DOTA and the likes) but i doubt most other games will be played in multiplayer a lot. especially slow games for adults, like this. it's hard enough to find time to play alone, let alone find anyone to join.
This is the type of game that makes me wish I had friends that finished high school.
The game is bare bones, gameplay loop is a bore. Even a 5 IQ person can play this.
@@stingiestmoth27 Finish high school
Kidding I wouldn't know, but it seems like a slow burn, yet satisfying
Bahaha
I never finished highschool and this game is very easy for me
It's worth saying that in the original Carrier Command, even though it was a single player game, the enemy carrier still took islands way faster than you. This was mainly because its speed wasn't hindered by proximity to islands which your carrier was, but also the enemy carrier was amphibious, so it just drove up onto an island, captured it and drove off and on to the next island. Your advantage was that your carrier had a big laser cannon on the top which the enemy lacked, the enemy basically had nothing but planes and cruise missiles, it didn't have any tanks.
The Original game was amazing, I played it till the late 90's as a kid.
Thanks to that game I have a real sweat spot for that style of graphics.
Super fun DOS game and works in DOSBOX.
Always fun to see others that played this game during the 80s. Even remember the advertising for it in a computer magazine before it even was released.
@@Yuushiboy personally I didn't know about it until I was bought my first computer, an Atari ST, back in 1990ish. It came with a pack of 100 games, all on 3.5" floppy disks, Carrier Command was one of them and honestly I didn't look at it for ages as I worked through the other games. When I eventually found it it basically kept me busy for a whole summer, my Mum was really annoyed with me because I never went outside in the sun! I also blame that game for spoiling my eyesight because I had to play it on an old CRT TV in the living room which was really blurry! LOL.
I still have the original Atari floppy disk of CC1. Fighting the enemy carrier was not that interesting but capturing islands was. Setting waypoints / managing assets was also easier.
Stockpile / resupply was more intuitive. There are some aspects where CC1 is better than CC2 (though I did not have much time spent yet with CC2).
See buildings being built on islands was really giving the impression that there was an AI doing its stuff. Well, there was an AI inside those 64k RAM. Even more amazing looking back what programmers did with that limited hardware.
@@Yuushiboy i remember too !
The original Micropose games always had massive manuals 300 page plus.... ah the old days. Thanks for the review think I will wait.
That phonebook lvls of INFO.
I make a point of taking-off the rose-tinted glasses regarding those. Developers have figured-out how to effectively teach game mechanics while we play now, and the internet means a manual doesn't need to come with.
The best "manuals" were and still are the ones packed with lore. I most fondly remember the one that came with Homeworld. Hot damn did that thing come with backstory. I remember so much of it to this day.
@@liesdamnlies3372 Ultima 4, for Apple IIc, came with several done-up lore books, a cloth map, and a silver Ankh coin. Was pretty impressive.
I remember F-29 Retaliator's one was so big it was spiral-bound rather than stapled, and Gunship 2000 came with an honest-to-god _book_ about helicopters.
I bought it yesterday against my own rule of never buying at launch but I was just so excited. I really love old school simulators, especially with an atmospheric 80's look like Carrier Command II. So far, I'm loving it but the price is way too steep. This should be a 20 dollar game. Apart from that, it's pretty cool. Not perfect, but cool!
How much was it listed for when you purchased it? In curious if they took the feedback on board and adjusted the price since
Toward the end of the video I was going to say I’d buy it to play it with you and others… but I’d only pay that price for the game if 1) they patched it 2) I knew there’d be people to play it with.
Really wasn’t expecting that price.
Yeah it makes it rather doubtful to be able to convince a few friends to take a chance on the game.
@@MikaelKKarlsson that’s a good point too!
How bizarre that I’ve been playing the original Carrier Command, as I did in the 90’s, but I had no idea a sequel has been made! Except for Gaiea Mission which I’ve heard of but haven’t played. Nice to see some love going to good old CC!!
Really loving this game my biggest hope is actual AI crewmen and vehicle operators and pilots let us use manned vehicles with X-COM style levelling of characters who can also die. I would also love if we were able to have players pilot the helicopters and aircraft in the cockpit rather than a drone. But overall loving the game solo is a problem though.
It sounds cool but it kinda defeats the whole premise of the game. It would have to be a separate game for that stuff, as it doesn't fit this one at all. Maybe mods will add that, to an extent.
You can take manual control of the vehicles. It's definitely easier though to have the ai do it
@@magiceel123 yeah but more taking about jumping into an aircraft with a cockpit as a physical pilot with a cockpit view rather than a drone. Just adds to the deadly feeling once I get hit I may die along feeling attached to the pilots you send our like XCOM. It’s not a problem just more of a personal taste
@@CaptainAmercia Sure, I like this approach as well, but they'd have to build around this concept from the very beginning.
@@IAtarenI sure but a DLC like this would be pretty interesting hopefully the games does well enough.
The water or... the waves look so weird. Its like I cant even tell its water.
The graphics on this game look bad, its supposed to appeal to a new generation and it looks dated on day of release.
@@SecretOfMonkeyIsland784 i think the game runs on the same engine as Unturned, i forgot which engine it was, but i recall seeing similar water graphics and clouds in Unturned
It's been on my wishlist for a few months and ... I think it's gonna stay there for a while. I could have gone with the messy single player experience and I could have gone with the inflated pricetag, but I can't justify buying the game with both these problems combined.
Breaks my heart that such a fantastic very detailed game right up my alley needs minimum 4 people to really shine
Thank you for this
Just hone your skills on the single player. I'm sure they will be discord servers etc for finding play buddies.
it only needs 4 if you dont know how to play.
Yep, most of us old farts born in the 80's / early 90's dont want multiplayer, we are used to single player games
My lack of social skills avoids me playing anything multiplayer, hence this was a big letdown for me.
@@MrBribon31 When your a 80's kid most of your friends are late 30's early 40's so they have families so doing a multiplayer session with friends isnt viable anyway. So unless you can pair with strangers, its a unviable option.
Thanks for your review, the game was on my radar. I will wait and see if the developers fix the problems.
Game looks great, love the premise, but honestly I'd wait until they add more content and make it a bit easier to play solo, perhaps by adding AI crewmen. Can't always have friends available and it's always nice to have the ability to play alone when needed. I think the price is very steep for what the game offers at the moment.
I was looking for this comment. AI crewmen are definitly the most obvious solution. Also the VR version should come bundled for that price too.
Even the original Carrier Command of the eighties was horrible to play as solo but was playable once you figured out what to do when invading enemy islands, what would be the best course of action when you knew enemy carrier was likely nearby and you wanted to assassinate that son of a b**ch etc etc etc...
@@dennisrichards2540 The VR was part of the early starter package. and even then ppl were complaining it's too expensive. *sigh*
There are already some CC2 mods out there. Since most controls are scripted/use python3 in the background you can tweak A LOT there.
@@Cybernaut76 The easiest way was to wait till the enemy carrier attacked Fulcrum - and take the single island in the network behind it. You could not leave Fulcrum without refueling. Good times. :D
@@mrwho30 WOW! That was a really clever and crafty tactic! However, in the late eighties, I was just an Asperger case (and still am, I am afraid) in my early teens who had to concentrate on school a lot so my brains were not nearly as smart back then as they are today. Therefore, I could not figure out immediately which expectably realistic features of that game were there and which ones were not. However, now my brains figure out that if, in the original game, the enemy carrier is LOGISTICALLY SURROUNDED just in the manner you said, then it can not hope to escape all that far. Actually, there is nothing it can do maneuverwise except tactically change its speed and course to avoid your laser pulses from carrier and missiles/bombs from Mantas until it totally runs out of gas. Then you can destroy it with any weapons you have the most in your supply stock (as a replacement to ones you intend to spend). If it was not logistically surrounded, then your only hope was that the enemy carrier, once being grievously damaged, did not turn to its heading in time before bolting. If it was fast enough to bolt in time, then it escaped. If not, then it blew up to lots of small smithereens and you got a choice whether to continue the game or not. I chose to continue....all the way until my Walrus shot the virus to enemy main islands command centre so I had two base islands: My original own AND the enemys own that the virus forced to change side for me. (Yes, I was a perfectionist who wanted *ABSOLUTE* victory...which I got). Once all islands were taken, I either no longer had the choice to continue or then, I did not see any reason to continue. In the very north, there was the island you had to be careful with: It was so far out that going to it emptied you of all gas so you had to immediately succeed in taking it. Departing it also took out all your gas. I found it outright RIDICULOUS that the enemy carrier was AT LEAST as fast as the air-to-air missiles fired by my Manta....even close to the shore of an island. Those were what I remember from the original game. Soon we will see what does this new version have to offer us...
from the description of the game, it sounds amazing, now I wanna see multiplayer gameplay
Multiplayer is amazing but yeah playing on your own is hard as hell wish they added AI crew members.
Love your review. I remember playing the original when I was a kid. While I do enjoy it, it was a tedious experience. When I came accross the enemy carrier the first time, it was such an amazing experience even when I was blown to bits. Then I run away from the carrier to capture more island and once all island was capture (I think enemy carrier capture neutral island faster than us but capturing our island back took longer. You will eventually capture all island in this game), i started hunting the carrier. Once I intercepted it, it was such an amazing experience. Again, I was blown to bits. But after few tries, I beat the enemy carrier. At that moment, Carrier Command was one of the greatest game of all time i have ever play. Even until today.
Point is, you have to beat the enemy carrier to properly review this game. Despite all the bugs you encounter in this game, it was was worse 30 years ago. What you shown me in your review, is an amazing Carrier Command game that have few annoying bugs.
Looking forward to buy the game and watching your other reviews. Hopefully, you have beaten the game that you are reviewing.
Loved the original. May have noticed a lot of the UI is an homage to the original. Stylized graphics, believe it or not, are a huge PLUS for the game. Anyone who played Carrier Command:Gaea Mission knows how confusing it gets on an island covered with simulated realistic vegetation. CC2's style helps playability and frame rate. Unfortunately, this UI places emphasis first on VR, and second on multiplayer, then a trialing third gameplay. This UI places unnecessary hurdles to jump over while also contending with a quick AI (Yes, the original also had an enemy carrier that was quicker and took islands faster). Ideally there would have been an option to run all ship and vehicle functions from the center command screen eliminating the dizzying need to move from one station to another, a nauseating experience for those who contend with motion sickness. Good review video - thanks
Looks really interesting. Sadly I'll never be able to convince my friends to play something like this though
same haha
I’ve convinced my friends to play pulsar lost colony once, they liked it lol, so chance they’ll try it too
i bought it too, but i asap hope the start and improve the singleplayer mode so its easier to command and select units firve comabt oders and many other stuff in so mode. So its still immersive but more fun and easier to command your units. I whait bevor i play more maybe a refund i whait a bit and see if they care and start improve the singleplayer mode. And the overall units oders system need improvements so you can select multiple units give combat orders or patrol oders easier so they attack enmies on sight in patrols and many other a recall to carrier order that you can give quick and i can go on and on so hopefully the start asap with improvements. And many other thing you hear in this video like your air units take adges to start firing on ground targets and so on. The game play is fun and very immersive but the orders system and the singleplayer need improvements asap.
Great video, I was going purchase but am hesitant now as I'd only play solo. Are there difficulty levels, or the option of setting say 2 vs 2 with you and an AI playing 2 AI?
You can do a sandbox where you determine the amount of islands, how many you start with and how many teams there are.
The most is 1 v 1 v 1 v 1
You can't actually team together, you would have to agree in MP not to attack your buddy if you wanted to 2v2.
So when it comes to AI you can only do free for alls against them.
@@RepublicOfPlay Thanks, useful to know
Yes there are difficulty options
If I’m not misaken you can do up to a 4v4v4v4. You can have up to 16 people in a game
Vehicles stuck most of the time and i had to manual control them. Aircraft somehow will decrease altitude until they crash. You cant upgrade your carrier like have second flight deck so you can deploy 2 aricraft at once because waiting them to take off or landing is so painfully slow. This game has so much potential but i cant recommend it with current state and price
They get some decent AI for solo play and I am in. Until then, I will hold off as I don't need ANOTHER Multiplayer game that I will never play.
They will patch it. They DO listen, so I am confident. Give it 6 months.
@@gamingtonight1526 Why Not 3 years. Or 6. Same Thing anyway.
i think the biggest problem with carrier command 2 is the price, for a game that needs at least 3 or 4 copies to actually enjoy (you and your pals) it's prohibitively expensive
Very nice review. I hope they take all your feedback into account. Including the price point. I bought it regardless, but I think it is important for them to hit the good price point to get market traction and thus be incentivized to continue working on the game.
I think sound could be better and would both help immersion and battlefield awareness.
And I hope that the game plays into its genre in that you gradually reveal intel and grind at the enemy island in a risk/reward proposition with a large range of legitimate approaches with pros and cons.
Changing the engine noise of the carrier so it doesn't sound like an unsilenced Vietnamese fishing boat would be a nice plus if you at the start of the campaign click escape and then you can teleport to the carrier bridge all you have to do is open the bridge door and shut it and then you're fine.
Just found your channel looking for a review of this (and HighFleet) - going to buy this even though I'll only play it solo. Thanks for the honest review!
pro tip: the game has severe consolitis, use a controller for aircraft and it will be 1000x easier.
The originals was AWESOME by the way.
I used to play it on the Amiga 500 back in the late 80's. I've been looking for an emulator for years. I've been looking forward to this "sequel" for a while now...
Me too, loved it, would play it for absolutely ages and ages. I loved the strategic element of it and being able to take control of all those assets.
The original version of the game that I played on a Commodore Amiga. In that version the enemy carrier did not have a mast mounted gun turret, but did possess missiles and vehicles. The one time I totally beat the game early on was when I ran into the enemy carrier and destroyed it with ship to ship gun fire without the enemy carrier being able to respond.
You could nominate your logistics base to a different island as needed, the risk being is that you could be cut off from your logistics and force your carrier to run of out fuel, vehicles or other supplies. The enemy carrier was also at risk at being cut of from resupply making it possible to strand the opposing carrier at an island allowing you to eventually hunt it down and destroy it.
The original game had a slow learn, long burn characteristic that was fun once you had mastered it. Very involved but rarely matched by other titles.
The game's concept is something that seemingly has gone out of fashion. Multiple versions of open world games and Battlefied Call of Duty Fortnight shooters have taken over the gaming landscape. Every genre has its place, but original or new concepts don't come from the large publishers any more.
much much more than a revies. thanks for all the tips&tricks you shared
they actually released Carrier command 1 Gaia mission which was a much better singleplayer experience and now the game has progressed some with new features but i wish they would port over some of the Gaia mission games island builds and more automated tracking and tagging system as options
I played CC1 back on the Amiga, the pathfinding as expected for back then was exactly the same. If you autopiloted a Walrus it'd get stuck on a tree and just sit there.
I'm not sure how it works in the sequel but you could change your 'warehouse' island to another island closer.
My usual method of quickly disposing of an enemy island in the original was mostly missiles from the manta on the base and then rebuilt with a waiting walrus nearby or i'd fire missiles into the enemy aircraft building and then suicide a manta into it then using a virus bomb with the walrus to capture.
The enemy carrier was easy to dispose of, again... two or three kamikaze mantas would make short work of it but... doing so would effectively end the game and only leave capturing islands left to do.
....for this game? It looks good but the price seems a little steep.
the enemy carrier is faster because it's a better model, it's said in the intro
Theres also a problem with multiplayer accessibility since there is no text chat, so if you don't have/want to use a mic you're fucked...
there is a full discord with voice chat rooms for multiplayer games. this should not be a complaint tbh
@@P2873 Horrendous counter. A game shouldn't need a third party software to cover for it. Saying, "you can just download skype/discord/teamspeak" makes it very much a reasonable complaint.
Remembering same problem with land units (Walrus) pathing in Bohemia Interactive Carrier Command.
I remember back in the 80s when I first saw an advert in a computer magazine on Carrier Command going to be released and I was so hyped. I enjoyed the game back then and was so looking forward to this, I mean Microprose was the main company to go for when it came to simulation back then so I had almost everything they released. I dont know about this though. Seems like your more or less forced to play with others to enjoy it. I dont think Microprose will ever live up to what they once was though.
Was excited seeing Microprose back on the scene, you're totally right about their history of being the main software house for simulations, I must have burned 1000's of hours on my Spectrum / Amiga on games like Airborne Ranger, Gunship, M1 Tank Platoon. I hope they live up to expectations!
i too played this in the 80's, great game! Bought this today and shoved 10 hours into it, solo. Enjoying the pace, its good!
its 20% off till august 17 which brings it to 33,59 euros but i do agree with you that it needs more polish before asking for this price
On the Amiga the main point of this game was that it broke new ground and was absolutely huge. Looks like the controls are still a bit rough around the edges, not quite innovative. Is there an online lobby to form teams and for matchmaking?
There is multiplayer. However it used an archaic code system. You get a lobby code. You give it to friends. You can directly invite steam friends. There is no support for public lobbys or a server browser. IMO very disappointing. Especially given the price point
No matchmaking, you join games via friend codes or steam invites.
@@RepublicOfPlay out dated and cringe
@@RepublicOfPlay I was gonna ask if it would be possible for us to play in LAN?
Unless you hit the subscribe button, you miss out on a lot of great content. Lesson learned.
If they improve SP experience and fix the AI and control issues I will buy it. Otherwise pass. It is a shame since I like the concept and the retro looks.
Given the age of gaming with live in, im sure most of if not all of this can easily be patched. Maybe add a controls or Tutorial section for the more complicated stuff.
I love the design of this game. Really cool. Playing solo tho.
I played the old one, had no idea what to do
So the waypoint thing isnt needed you can just drag a unit straight to where you want it to go and it will make a path for itself,you must've had a glitch because I have never had the problem of having to set a waypoint to then be able to dock or airlift, and the air units do need space to do a gun run,not a glitch, its realistic. You dont see pilots irl doing a 90 degree turn downwards to hit a target all the time, they need space, the units will do it eventually. You just need to give them time and have patience. And you can get resources straight from the island as long as you are next to it. Also you dont need four people to be effective, you only need a minimum of two, going over 4 is useless as people will just be stuck in seats th at you aren't using like logistics in a battle or the turrets/ main weapons of your carrier when you are just moving to another island.
A helicopter shouldn't need that much room it can hover and shoot in a 240 degree arc.
Personally game is most fun with 4-6 players, SP is easy to learn, hard to master. certainly a fun game both in SP and MP. Built in VC is good quality, once you get a player who can help teach you the intricacies you learn rapidly.
My issue is the ground vehicles just spin in the back instead of getting in the garage. I guess I was giving the follow order and not get inside command lol
I played the original. It was groundbreaking when it came out. This new Carrier Command still needs a few things. But it's not a bad game.
It'd be nice to have a way to manually increase the defensive level of the conquered islands, and it could have the base building as it was on the original Carrier Command, where you could build defense, resource, or factory islands. Where NPC planes and land vehicles would spawn. This one it's just conquer the island, and it's done. :-\ I've flew over conquered islands and I do not see defenses.
This seems like the sort of game that I'd love to watch someone else play rather than play it myself - it just looks stressful. Cool concept, but I just know I'd get a mean headache after playing for a while and I don't need that aggravation.
Awesome review man, really in-depth and easy to understand.
Very fair review, It's a great game but has tons of bugs, lacks many features and doesn't have much depth. The price tag doesn't help it at all. That said, I've got 35 hours in so far and can't put it down. The learning curve is steep, and much harder to do on your own. A lack of server browser makes finding people to play with a hassle. Yet asking (without discount) a triple A games price tag. lol.
Thanks for the descriptive review.
Great Video, first time saw one of your Channel. Subbed.
new drinking game: Take a shot everytime he says lesson learned
I agree with all that he says, the price is crazy high.
I used to play the first game on my Atari 520 ST, i dont think i ever knew how to play it properly as never read the instructions (Like most 10 year olds). Excited to try this but not sure i like the 90's style graphics on the reticules and text and the cell shaded look ... this is supposed to be Carrier Command 2 (A 2021 game) if i wanted old graphics id play the original game.
Well structured preview thank you!
well this is some next level indie gaminn tbh - didnt even know microprose still exists
The Gaea Missions was a fun game, just too many bugs and dumb AI. I wish a game like this could get bigger support.
The first Carrier Command I played was Gaia Mission so I find the graphics lackluster personally
great review thanks !
You forgot the other carrier command game in 2012
we don't talk about that game...
Haha.
Didnt forget it, this is a sequel to the 1988 game not the 2012 game - didnt really seem that relevant to bring up here seeing as people dont like it and I also didnt play it anyways :P
I played it. And it was. Well it was.
@@MrGeneralPB What game? I don't remember a game.
Yeah this game is frustrating. I'm frustrated with how long everything takes. Aircraft take a long time to takeoff and land. You can very easily outpace your own supply lines since the carrier is so much faster than barges. Plane carried missiles feel useless since it takes 2 to take out a land vehicle target. Seeing how quickly a helicopter can takeoff and land makes it apparent to me that you really shouldn't bother with planes or the like since a heli with guns can clear an entire island. Meanwhile I have to wait for some plane to do its entire loop in the pattern before it even decides to make an attempt at landing, during which time several helicopters could have taken off, but are just stuck waiting below deck for that one plane to land.
This game is frustrating. It takes a long time to do anything. I play this game with other people while while simultaneously playing another game with them.
I hope they let you play in space in the future!
I grew up on F-117A Nighthawk. Love Microprose. This is an awesome looking game that sadly I may not have the right group to ever play. Would love to know how active the community will be .
this game mostly suffers from bad tutorial. for example, your problem with the barges is easily solved. make the order first, and then produce the product on the island.
Isn't there an "Carrier Command" game on PS3/XBOX360, but it's sci-fi, on a different planet, with lasers, against robots & stuff like that?
Don't understand your take on the control scheme whilst in helicopter. Is it mouse you are using? What is the difficulty with it? Is it Joystick? Joystick controller? Is it a configuration that cannot be reconfigured? What difficulty were you having with what ever controller or control scheme you had to use?
Can I have little bit more info on this please, before purchase.
I just got the game but if you want, we could do coop together
I need a modern sub game like this
Very Helpfull Thank You Can you make an Video when they Patched these Problems then i will consider to try it :)
learned about the new Microprose today. Awesome that they try to revive some long lost games and concepts. I liked it back then when games couldn't be put into a single genre by the stereotype thinking that's going on today.
As a solo player, I have no issues outpacing the AI carrier on standard difficulty after about 6 hours of gameplay. How much did you play this game before the review?
So there is hope 😊
Obviously NOT that many
About 20hrs
@@RepublicOfPlay Maybe it's a planning and luck thing then. My current campaign had like four 1 star islands to begin, so I had 5 islands and the enemy carrier had 3. I've maintained this lead so far. Starting up another save, its a different story. I have only a single 1 start island, and I fell behind at first but caught up, but the luck definitely didnt help lol
The thing also is, is it really that much of a disadvantage if the enemy carrier has 15 islands and you have like 12? It doesn't seem like a major disadvantage in the grand scheme of things, unless you get unlucky with your islands.
That seems really nice.
i can see this being awesome 4v4v4v4 like you mentioned
The price should definitely be a little lower
"Lesson learned" Thumbs up!
i played the warez atari ST version of the game ! ^^ 😁
does any one else wish you can see targets while trying to bomb with the drone. If someone knows please tell me
I remember the original - at the time the graphics seemed incredible.
This game looks sick to me and I want to buy it, but from what I get is that it can't really be played solo. And it's a little repetitive at the moment. I guess I'll pass.
I love this game, but it really needs better documentation.
Bro you should play Starbase
Yeah but the game is 50 bucks... Maybe if it was 30? And even then only if it became popular and I could get some proper idea on if it was fun or not, like what happened with "Sea of Thieves". But that game had significantly better graphics and is still 10 dollars cheaper. Loved Gaea Mission and I think with a better-writen story (or just no story), Some better AI, More updated mechanics, and with the multiplayer addition, that game could be a hit.
is it not the sequel to 'Carrier Command: Gaea Mission'?
Nope!
You sure learned a lot of lessons
So do you still stand by everything you said in this video? I skimmed the update history and it seems like there has been a bunch of reworks and fixes since this was posted
So it sounds like its good, but not worth buying and its better to wait for the third version that has better stuff.
You need monitors showing vehicle views on your carrier. Many early 90s games did this. Check out the game Terra Nova: Task Force Centauri. Or System Shock, etc.
I hope the b 17 game is going to be on a different engine
I totally dig the immersion and interactivivity, but it's just so frustrating in SP, especially the controlls (as you mentioned) and that pretty much nothing is explained! Which wouldn't be a problem, if things weren's so friggin unintuitive and overly complex.
What I'd like to mention is the unofficial(?) successor to the original Carrier Command, which was made by Bohemia Interactive (ArmA3 anyone?^^)
This had the subtitle "Gaea Mission" (and is on Steam too), and it was SO GOOD! I don't get the "mixed" rating, I really don't! Was it perfect? No, but it had great graphics (still kinda does imho) and gameplay wise it was very good.
Not even close to as interactive as CC2 from MicroProse (love that this company is back!), but it was accessible and fun and the controlls were great!
So, if you like CC, but not this kinda-early-access CC2? Give it a try!
Many reviews say terrible pathfinding make it impossible to enjoy
@@florineot It was a long time ago that I've played it, but I enjoyed it immensely; I probably got around that issue by a) driving/flying 1 unit myself (which is a joy to do, unlike in CC2, where it's a pain in the ass) and b) by setting nice nav points
Can't remember any details though...
It also received a few patches including a community patch that fixed the broken pathfinding.
@@sundiver100 It did? That's good to hear!! (but: community patch? They usually come out, AFTER the Dev-Support ended^^)
@@ytdlder I was years late coming to it and after my first playthrough realized the community had patched it. Its a really good game .
This is definitely a successor to the original, but there was also Carrier Command: Gaea Mission in 2012. IMO the no. 2 refers to that one. store.steampowered.com/app/65740/Carrier_Command_Gaea_Mission/
Whats with the obsession with multiplayer these days? there are a few games that are hugely succesful and are basically made for multiplayer (like CS, COD, LOL, DOTA and the likes) but i doubt most other games will be played in multiplayer a lot. especially slow games for adults, like this.
it's hard enough to find time to play alone, let alone find anyone to join.
If only you had some friends!
lol when you realise you can do all of this in Stormworks
Stormworks has optimization issues, a ton of bugs and you still need to buy weapons DLC. However stormworks was made as a SAR not a combat game
yaaa I love the idea of this game, but ill pass until they have streamlined the gameplay and controls better
this game is fantastic
Bro, just change your name to 'lesson-learned'. Your welcome.
Great review, are the lessons learned your fault or the games fault? lol
Imo the games fault as there’s no way of knowing these things until you try them.
@@RepublicOfPlay thought so! Are there fighter jets or only spy drones to fly with?? I googled for a complete list of units with no results.
I'm lucky for being in a third world country, the game only cost 15USD after currency change
you heard it right
15 USD
Sounds exactly like Carrier Command gea Mission. Bullshity frustrating. It was Unplayable
*B* *O* *A* *T*
Great game.