Political Machine beta released

Let the games begin

Published on April 14, 2004 By Draginol In Politics

If you have Drengin.net (www.drengin.net) you can now download the beta of The Political Machine.

The Political Machine is a strategy game in which you run for President of the United States. Its home page is www.politicalmachine.com.

Let us know what you think if you've got it here!

Comments (Page 2)

Jesse3581

on Apr 15, 2004

I found this game while browsing on the net last night. I love political games and I have been playing President Forever for weeks now. I was really excited reading up on this game, and the beta was being released today. So I got my subscription and waited for this release (I'm a nerd, I know).

My first take was reminding myself that this is a beta version, but I also wanted to share my concerns and highlight the positive aspects.

First off, the graphics are great, the cartoony people are fun and you guys are definately on the right track here. The gameplay seems quite easy, although it took me at least 5 minutes before I figured out how to move the canidate. After that, I was crusing. I did find that the game won't let you play two games in a row. You can play one, then about halfway through the second, you'll crash to desktop. I am REALLY looking forward to being able to create canidates and get a better look at the existing ones. Patience has never been one of the strengths.

As far as the reporters, after maybe 4 or 5 games, I only had one interview with Nighttime. I'm sure you're aware and are already working on it.

The Vice President is also something that needs to be brought into focus.

It seems really easy to campaign on "More Jobs" and "Enviornment" which raises your support from all three demographics then having to deal with thornier issues. I'm not sure how this could be fixed, but every canidate should have to address, in some manner, most issues.

Raising money: I agree with the rich state\poor state thing, but it's done in a way that it really only seems to be worth fund raising in about 5-7 states.

There's another post on here about what kind of effects special intrests have. Right now, I couldn't tell any diffrence.

I don't want to seem like I'm knocking the game -- nothing could be further from the truth. You are, I'm sure already aware of what features are missing in the game and require tuning. It looks like it will be a very fun game and I can't wait for each release.

-Jesse

vernmeister2u

on Apr 15, 2004

Will the manual be up for d/l soon? A beta manual anyway?

VES

vernmeister2u

on Apr 15, 2004

deleted

Draginol

on Apr 15, 2004

https://www.politicalmachine.com/game.asp (manual)

ScottTykoski

on Apr 15, 2004

Hey guys! Thanks to everyone for the quick feedback. We appologize to anyone that can't get the game to run...CTD's will be of highest importance as we work on the beta, so keep posting those System Spec's and we'll try and get the problems fixed.

I suspect poor texture management with low-memory video cards may be at fault, but we'll have to do some testing to be certain.

As for gameplay issues...

- The 'Options' screen is not in the game yet...that button is simply to get out of the game. Best advice for those that want to win....don't press it.

- There's been heated debate around the office about how to treat the Running-Mates. Should they be a unit on the screen? If so, should they only come into play half way through the campaign? How powerful should they be? At the moment, they were to serve as a simple 'bonus' to your stats. Let's say you pick a candidate that has high charisma but low integrity. You can counter that by picking a running-mate with high charisma. All other suggestions are more than welcome.

- You should end up seeing 2-4 interviews pop up over the course of a single game. Any games where you get less than this is a bug, and will have to be fixed. Also, we're working on getting the Interviews more polished...they're a bit stagnent at the moment, but should a highlight of the game once the peices come together.

- A beta manual is available at https://www.politicalmachine.com/game.asp, though I'm unsure how up-to-date it is.

- The effects the Special Interests have need to be defined better in the game...also a high priority.

- One thing that may help spice the game up is the future inclusion of a 'random stats' generator that will tweak some of the state statistics in the game. This way players will have to rethink any pre-defined strategies to pull out on top.

- The 'Create Candidate' functionality will be making it's way into the game shortly...we were hoping to get it in before this beta release, but had to push it back for stability reasons.

- I agree that there isn't enough interaction between the player and the opponent. It's like "You do your thing, I'll do my thing, and we'll see who wins". I want to see more muck-raking. trash talking, and finger pointing. Half the fun of elections is to see the candidates butt heads, and we'll need to simulate that as much as possible. The news screen will have alot to do with that, as well as further advancements in the AI.

Anyhow, back to work. We'll keep posting and issues get resolved.

-ScottT

Disciple777

on Apr 15, 2004

When the option for people using Windows ME and Windows 2000 will be available????

Disciple777

on Apr 15, 2004

And also when the Metaverse is going to be up and running for the Political Machine???

Don Bemont

on Apr 15, 2004

OK, what is the trick to moving your candidate. The first I went to move him, it worked, and after that, I could never get it again.
(In any case, this mechanism is counter intuitive.)

Crash0384

on Apr 15, 2004

With exception of it crashing (which is fully expected)

I like it a lot. Very addictive!

I can't wait for our Reviewer to do the Hands-On preview!

Darrell Moring

on Apr 15, 2004

How can you download the beta? I have a new Drengin account but can not find any link that actually allows a download. I'm just redirected in circles.

Thanks.

Don Bemont

on Apr 15, 2004

Darrell, once you have done the Stardock Central download, go to the software tabm and there is a little checkbox at the bottom of the page that you need to ceck to include betas.

ScottTykoski

on Apr 15, 2004

The Renegade:

ScottTykoski

on Apr 15, 2004

How about I write something before posting, eh?

The Renegade:
- The Windows incombatabilities are caused with an error in the 3d Font Manager. It should be fixed within the next two builds.
- Getting the Metaverse to work isn't high on the priority list, unfourtunatly

It'll be in later in the Beta period.

Don Bemont
- Make sure you have enough Stamina to move your candidate. Also, press 'C' to quickly select him, otherwise you have to do alot of clicking if he's surrounded by other icons. We definaly need some SFX to let the player know that they lack stamina points to move...it gets frustrating to be clicking, thinking you can move, only to realize you dont have the stamia to make the trip.

FileFrontCrash
- Glad you're enjoying it! And I hope it only gets better (mostly when it comes to stability)

Don Bemont

on Apr 15, 2004

Make sure you have enough Stamina to move your candidate

When I start a new game, I hit C to highlight my candidate. My stamina is 13 out of 13. I try dragging with either my left or my right mouse to California, and nothing happens. I highlight California and double click and nothing happens. What is the mechanism supposed to be?

mormegil

on Apr 15, 2004

Don Bemont:
To move your candidate, select him, and then right click on the state you want him to move to. You can also Zoom in and out with the mouse weal. As well as pan the camera with the middle mouse button.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!