Giveaway of the Day - SAGA

Today’s game was a big surprise the first time it was given away. It’s since been given away two more times, but each time there were different offers included. It’s never done particularly well with respect to community acceptance with it getting around 50% thumbs up each time it was given away. Check out the comments from the last time it was given away:

http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/saga-fully-registered-version/#comments

http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/saga/#comments (checkout micro machines comment #61)

or the SAGA thread over in the forums, where I’d post questions and problems as once the weekends past these comments tend to be forgotten. You’re more likely to get a response later in the week if you use the forum thread:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/3067

Today appears to be a combined offer where you get a fully registered game, which the first time we didn’t, and we also get booster packs that include an Ice Drake and troops to the tune of 150, which we didn’t get the second time this was given away.

It’s rather different to your normal game giveaway because it’s an online game as opposed to a stand alone arcade game. For those of you who may be a little dismayed at this news, don’t as it really is like playing a single player game, and if you wish, you can play it as such, though I do think part of the fun of this game is the inconsistency of game play for which human players are renowned. The AI (artificial intelligence) of the game is okay, but nothing spectacular. As you level up, the battles do become harder, but so long as you’re sensible with your troops and ensure your city has adequate growth, you should easily see your city and empire grow.

For those who do ‘categorically’ prefer to play alone you can play solo campaigns with this game, but they are still played online. One of the great advantages of playing this game is that playing with or against other humans you’ll get a totally unpredictable gaming experience every time you play, wheras single player games tend to become fairly predictable after awhile. The client installer is larger than when it was first given away at over 400Mb.

The good news is that this giveaway is again going to be run over a two day period, so those on dial up can still get the chance to download the client. which is nearly 500Mb now. Once you’ve completed the registration form which does entail giving personal information such as your full name, address, age, and an Email you should then be able to register and create your own online persona, which will follow you through the persistent online world. Once you have the client, the game is totally free to play though you can purchase additional booster packs to enhance your gaming experience. These booster packs add new armies and spells which can be traded with other players in game, though they are not necessary to experience the main aspect of the game. (see the link below for some details of these booster packs), and you can earn them by playing the game, but it just takes a lot longer.

The following is the original official press release about the game:

The official press release for SAGA lists off some of the features of the game:

“Saga brings persistency to RTS gaming. You build cities and armies to defend and manage a persistent online kingdom in a persistent fantasy world. When you’re offline, your kingdom continues to function; your guild wars progress as your friends and teammates play, your resources continue collecting, your kingdom continues to defend against enemy assassins and espionage missions…

“Saga’s features include military questing, an auction house for trading troops and spells, guild wars, espionage, and more. Kingdoms and armies gain permanent experience that carries forward perpetually for a more realistic and more exciting RTS experience.

“Additionally, Saga brings the excitement of collectible gaming to the online environment. Rather than pay subscription fees, in Saga you pay as little or as much as you decide. Just as in collectible card or miniatures games, players can buy ‘booster packs’ of random troops and spells, which are traded and customized to create the strategic army of choice for each player.”

Ref: http://pc.gamezone.com/news/06_29_07_12_03PM.htm 5th April 08

After watching several You tube videos, I was impressed, though I’m still struggling to start my own personal rts games such as the Total War series and World in Conflict because they do take up much more time with respect to learning the key bindings and reading the menus. This has continued since we first got SAGA, and I’ve added to my library of RTS games since.

Videos
.
The following links take you to several videos of SAGA:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=p8rdP2RqXk0

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kEF9H4vnCK0

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=H40lEs8ifxk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWrvokWQLdk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw4Ym0dea3Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GDvOs396Mw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFe8ED5au3M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBU9tk8fP3Y

The above videos will give you a much better idea about what the game entails and whether or not you’re going to like it.

It’s not the kind of game you can jump into and start playing straight off. You need to set up your game by choosing a faction, build your kingdom and defend it with armies, some of the features of the game include military questing, an auction house for trading troops and spells, guild wars and espionage. There are several ways you can progress in this game. You’ll also need to familiarize yourself with the key bindings and change those to suit your own preferences before you start the game. It will require some thought, lots of strategy and time to become successful in such a game, but once you get the hang of everything the experience can be very rewarding.

The following article that I’ve linked to is an interview with one of the developers that gives a really good insight into the game and I would highly recommend you read. You’ll find a scattering of in game images as well:

http://pc.gamezone.com/news/06_29_07_12_03PM.htm

You can also read about the various aspects of the game such as the five different factions (The factions include the Machine faction that embraces the Dwarves, the Magic faction, the light faction the War faction and the nature faction). and the army units for each of the factions of which there are over 30 units for each faction, by following the link to the Saga home page and then clicking on the various buttons. You’ll find details of every different unit that’s available in the basic game as well as a description of each faction.

https://www.playsaga.com/saga_index.php

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Conclusions:

I’ve got to give this 7 out of 10 though I doubt that it will appeal to everyone. (I’d give it a higher rating, but I do think it has a limited audience hence a lower than normal score for what I’d personally give a 9 out of 10 for) I used to play r.t.s games a lot several years ago, and have only recently got back into playing them, though the massive online playing still daunts me a lot. (I only hope there aren’t too many cheaters and hackers out there, lol).

The fully registered game (which normally costs $19.99) plus the additional booster packs will be available for the next two days. That said, hopefully those on dial up will be able to download the full client

Booster packs normally cost $3 for a pack of 10 cards (though you can’t buy single booster packs because the minimum purchase is $5) Booster packs are bought with saga credits. 50 credits costs $5. Though it is possible to buy individual units in game using the gold you’ve earned through developing your gold mines and winning battles. Read comment #61 from the second link I’ve linked to above. The community member has got himself a right little buisness set up using the exchange facilities online.

Finally, if you do miss the giveaway, there is a free version that can be downloaded following the giveaway period, though you only get a basic army included in the package, and, as mentioned above, there are certain features of the game locked. I think the main difference between the one we get and the free one is that the free one won’t allow you to play PvP matches (player versus player matches) as well as some other aspects of the game. Also you won’t have the booster packs that were getting today and tomorrow.

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Minimum system requirements:

OS: Windows XP; CPU: 1.6 GHz; RAM: 512 Mb (1-player) or 1 Gb (multiplayer)

Video: 128 Mb, pixel-shader 2.0 (or will not render trees and grass), the card must support OpenGL 1.4

Disk Space: 1.5 Gb

DirectX: 9.0c

Broadband internet connection required.

Recommended system requirements:

OS: Windows XP; CPU: 2.8 GHz; RAM: 2 Gb

Video: 512Mb, pixel shader 4.0 support, must support OpenGL 1.4

Disk Space: 1.5 Gb

DirectX: 9.0c;

Broadband internet connection required

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Further Information

With respect to those who downloaded the original freeware version of SAGA (that included some free booster packs), limited you to certain game play strategies (that is you couldn’t play pvp plus some other restrictions) has been upgraded.

I received an Email five days ago informing me that the account I created has been upgraded to the full version for free. Also they were offering an additional card called The Ice Drake, which is part of what’s been offered today; I think you may find the original offer is probably better if you can remember your account details., though the offer of the Ice Drake card was limited to in that you had to redeem it within five days of receiving the Email, which I think has just expired. The SAGA that was given away just before Christmas last year was a full version and included 17 cards (as opposed to 10 when it was first given away, so was also a good deal. If you’ve already got two accounts you cannot create another one without compromising one of the other accounts. (Someone has mentioned elsewere that trying to create a third account may result in you losing all of your accounts). On the face of it; it looks like the previous offers were about the same as this one, though there are differences in the number of units that have been given away.

The following is a copy of the Email that will have been sent out to all account holders from the first giveaway, (minus my account details).

Dear Commander,

A while ago, you signed up for SAGA Online. Your previously created trial account has been upgraded to a FULLY Registered account completely FREE. In case you forgot your information, here it is again:

In case you have forgotten your information, here it is again:

LOGIN: ******
PASSWORD: ******

We have set up a high speed download that you can use to download SAGA Online Client. You can get the full game here.

We were excited to hear that a general of your caliber was joining the war. We have been anxiously awaiting your arrival on the field of battle, but realize that someone of your ability requires greater enticement before lending your skills to the fray.

Some time ago, you picked your side and created a nation. In the absence of their great leader, the people of your land have become lonely. Your peasants have been eagerly anticipating your homecoming, and have realized that perhaps they can provide you with some incentive to return. They’ve pooled their pennies and bought you an ICE DRAKE– …well, actually, they sacrificed a virgin to get one, but don’t hold it against them. They’re a little bit impulsive.

The powerful ICE DRAKE spreads terror on the field and is completely impervious to ground troops without range weapons. Infantry-flavored popsicles, anyone?

You must claim your Ice Drake within 5 days.

You can login to your account and re download the client from the following address:

https://www.playsaga.com/downloads.php

Thank you to the Giveaway Project team and Jason Faller the developer of Saga.

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For those who are adamant that they won’t play an online game, there’s an excellent alternative that I posted in the Free Games for the Weekday Project several months ago. It’s a game called Rise & Fall of Civilizations at War, which you can check out via the following link:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/4359

It’s got most of the elements of SAGA, though it does have some minor adverts placed discreetly within the games start menu. (I’m not happy about advert supported games, but to be honest, this one is one of the exceptions to the rule for me). If you’re happy to pay for your games then I highly recommend games like the Total War series, Universe at War, World in Conflict, The Cossacks series, American Conquest, Hard to be a God, The Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2 series as well as some of the World War II r.t.s. games such as the Company of Heroes series. You can get a three game package that includes Mockba to Berlin, D-Day and Desert Rats v Afrika Korps for less than £5, that’s about $7 from Game.UK (my favorite online shop many years ) If you fancy a space strategy game then try Sins of a Solar Empire (I bought it from Walmart while on vacation in the US or Light of Altair.

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holiday’s over??