Eufloria – Released!

By: Xander

On: October 23rd, 2009

“It’s bloomin’ great!” – Xander

Sorry for that. Anyway as you should be aware Eufloria, previously ‘Dyson’, has been released on Steam, D2D and through the official site. If you didn’t know this then I’m afraid you’re simply not cool. However in reading this post you now DO know this, and have automatically been saved from an awkward moment of self-doubt and an accusing glare. It’s fine, no need to thank us, we’re just doing our job. If you really do want to show your gratitude then why not pick your favourite digital distributor and play one of the most elegant strategy titles of recent memory.

If you’re still on the edge, you can also play the demo to find out if nothing else just why we needed to tell you that you could.

TIGdb: Entry for Eufloria

Posted in Abstract, Highly Recommended, Strategy, Windows | Tags: AlexMay, RudolfKremers

UDM

Waiting for them to release on Impulse…
Tet

1) Wait
2) Get big army
3) Attack
4) Win
Paul Eres

yeah, usually the optimum strategy is just to make trees as fast as you can, then attack when you can’t make any more trees, but this game really isn’t about strategy so much as ambience
dugan

the newer screenshots i saw on steam look fantastic.
peasantmAN

$20??
reuben

I played Dyson back when it was first released for the Procedural Generation game compo, and even more recently when they did a last public release, but I really don’t know that this is worth $20, even with all the new improvements…
EToaster

There’s not really too much you can do strategically anyway when your only command is “You guys, go over there.”
E-Bomb

no from us thanks, we met Alex awhile back & hes a complete dick.
ohno

oh no another art game
ohno

err that was meant for the Fatale. FUCK

i love dyson.

please delete that post and this one
SFC_MasterChiefCOD4

Yea WTF $20?! I can pay 3X more and get WW2 shooter #436! It’s indie, that’s way too much money.
http://www.dyson-game.com Rudolf Kremers

It has been quite a ride to get this out. Haowan and I had to bootstrap it all (=HARD), and expectations are of course rather different than from a free demo.

It was quite scary when the launch got delayed for a few hours due to a technical glitch, and the Steam forum started to fill up with people who pre-ordered and were getting restless. Talking to them helped though. One thing I have taken from this is massively additional respect for anybody who tries the indie publishing route. It isn’t for the faint of heart!

The game itself is generally received well, although we knew it isn’t for everybody. In fact, I am humbled by all the incredible emails we have received so far. There are some things to solve still, but we have survived the launch itself, which is the main thing. :-)

I am intensely proud that we went from a TIGSource compo entry, to the IGF, and now back on the front page of TIGsource with a full release. Tis like coming home :-D

TIGSource=Yay!
Ezuku

Err… not been keeping in the loop. What is the difference between this and the release for the procedural games comp?
http://www.dyson-game.com Rudolf Kremers

Quite a few things:

33 levels
Story mode
Unlockable Skirmish levels
Third unlockable mode
Lua modding
Improved visuals
New units
2 hour ambient soundtrack
AI improvements
Many interface improvements
Dugan

woo, that sounds like you’ve added quite a lot since the compo last year – looking forward to playing it at the Eurogamer expo next week!
Krumbs

Dyson was a far better name.
http://www.dyson-game.com Rudolf Kremers

Dugan yeah, the expo!

I will be at the Leeds expo for two days, and on Friday in London. Haowan will be there on Saturday.

Who will visit us? A TIGSource presence would be great :-)
Zixinus

Ezuku

Don’t let Kremers fool you: if the demo is anything to go by, there is absolutely no real difference. Oh, sure, there is some more music and some extra levels, and perhaps the code opened up a bit, but from the actual gameplay standpoint, there is absolutely no difference (aside irrelevant interface improvements).

And I mean absolutely no difference. The gameplay can still be broken down to these steps:

1. Wait until you have 10 seedlings.
2. Plant a seedling tree until no more trees can be planted.
3. Send a scout seeding to nearby asteroid. If there is an empty asteroid, send all your seedlings to it to repeat step 1. If there is an enemy asteroid, avoid.
4. If there are no other free asteroids, amass a swarm of seedlings to an asteroid nearest to the enemy’s.
5. Repeat step 4 until you massively outnumber the enemy. Then attack. Once you’ve taken over the asteroid, go back to step 1 until victory.

This tactic will win you every single level in the game. Needless to say, after a while it will become boring.

Nothing has changed since Dyson. Nothing. The game mechanics are the same. There is no change, I repeat, THERE IS NO CHANGE TO GAMEPLAY.

There is not even a visible graphics upgrade. Everything still looks the same. You would expect a significant retouch, like a star-scape background and randomly-generated rocky asteroids. But there isn’t.

If you want to play Eufloria, just go and download the original Dyson. There is simply and absolutely no reason to buy Eufloria.

I would like to hear Kremers’s defence to this, because I can’t think of any justification as to why I would buy the game for less than 5 bucks, never mind 20. The demo shows you a glorified, interactive screensaver, nothing else.
Danman

I downloaded the demo but it’s unplayable, at least for me. There’s lots of empty white rectangles that I assume are text boxes giving me some sort of in-game tutorial, but there’s no text that I can see. Is anyone else getting this bug? Is there a font I’m missing or something?

(playing on a laptop with a 2Ghz processor, 2 Gig ram, Win XP)
http://www.pieceofpiestudios.com Yacine

Ezuku, Ignore the FUD and judge for yourself.

There is a free demo released just a couple days ago showing off all the improvements to the game (both graphically and gameplay wise).

Compare it that to the original demo, and make your own decision of whether the game is worth your money.

All I can add is that both developers have worked incredibly hard for the last 18 months since the procedural competition. And while that shouldn’t factor in your decision, just know that they have spent all that time improving the gameplay and creating a complete game.
http://www.dyson-game.com Rudolf Kremers

Danman, It is a bug that is being looked into. We hope to have a fix for it soon!

Zixinus, what a strange post. Your argument seems to be that 33 levels, three gameplay modes, updated graphics yes they are) a much improved interface, new units and suporting gameplay mechanics, 2 hours of lovely ambient mussic, Lua based modding capability, etc. are irrelevant, becasue we haven’t changed some of the core gameplay? (Which you really don’t describe accurately in that weird summary). Why would we want to change the core gameplay principles of conquest when that is what people like the game for? (It is ok if you don’t like it btw, the game isn’t for everybody.)

Anyway, obviously I don’t agree with your stance, but then I am biassed.

I think the game’s reviews so far, player’s feedback, and the demo itself paint a radically different picture than what you have written in your post.

Try Jim Rossignol’s review up on Rock Paper shotgun or the Eufloria review on Charge Shott!! or even better, do a search on twitter, and see what other opinions are out there.

You can call me Rudolf btw, no need to use my last name. :-)

Thanks!
Allen

Indeed, there was no need to be so hostile Zixinus.

This is all dyson has to offer:
http://imgur.com/8TdNQ.png

and this is eufloria:
http://imgur.com/IRLbI.png

you say no reason to buy it over Dyson? Here are my reasons:
33 campaign levels
custom levels

eufloria, I think, fully realizes the potential that dyson originally had.
http://www.dyson-game.com Rudolf Kremers

I have added some press quotes to our site actually, they give you a better idea :-)
Paul Eres

i’m not sure Zixinus should even be replied to, but here are a few points:

– i think the gameplay wasn’t changed because it was already good as is. if they had messed around with it they’d have risked ruining the beauty and simplicity of it. i’m glad they didn’t significantly change the gameplay (by adding extra units or by adding bosses or whatever)

– of course there’s a reason to buy this game even though it isn’t any different than the original dyson in terms of gameplay: to support the developers; if you like dyson and aren’t anti-social, you’d want to support the people who made the game, regardless of whether you can get mostly the same experience playing the original

– also, the two hours of ambient music is worth the $20 alone; 2 hours of music for $20 is a pretty good deal even if you were just buying music on cd or on itunes or something.
Dr. J

Dyson is great, but this is not worth $20. I’d pay $5.
Paul Eres

yeah and if it were $5 you or others would be like ‘it’s not worth $5, i’ll pay $1’
Zixinus

Kremers

I’m sure that you find my post strange because I am not gushing over your game. Just because it’s indie, doesn’t mean that it will get a free pass from me.

-are irrelevant, because we havenâ€™t changed some of the core gameplay?

Yes. The core gameplay is virtually unchanged. The music, the barely if-at-all noticeable graphics change, 33 more levels (in a procedurly generated game? right), barely improved interface did not change Dyson to Eufloria. It’s just fluff. I played trough the demo and found neither new units nor new gameplay mechanics (except the unit-type selector, which is irrelevant: you want to attack with everything you have).

So yeah, unless the actual new stuff is absent from the demo, I don’t see a reason why I should just fire up Dyson if I wanted to play Eufloria.

-Why would we want to change the core gameplay principles of conquest when that is what people like the game for?

Perhaps because people expect different things from a game they can download for free than for a game they have to pay 20 bucks for?

And not necessarily change: build upon, expand, explore.

-It is ok if you donâ€™t like it btw, the game isnâ€™t for everybody.)

I liked Dyson. It was interesting to play. I don’t like Eufloria because, if the demo is anything to go buy, its just a fluffed-up version of Dyson with little new change.

Besides, whether I like it or not does not change the fact that the game has a flaw.

-I think the gameâ€™s reviews so far, playerâ€™s feedback, and the demo itself paint a radically different picture than what you have written in your post.

You believe in what you want.

I do not see any true improvements or significant change to Eufloria compared to Dyson.

As for reviews, I don’t follow reviews simply because there is a good 95% chance that the writer is full of it. It’s easy to notice that many indie-gamers can be just as shallow as mainstream gamers, giving their selected favourites just as many free passes as mainstream gamers do.

Eres

1. Dyson was made for a contest, as a demonstration piece. It did not need to be a complete game, it just needed to make a point, it had to be a prototype. Eufloria is a different story. It is a full-fledged, priced Indie game that should be held at higher standards.

The game markets itself as a strategy game yet it does not require strategic thinking at all: once you realise the aforementioned five steps, every single level could be won. This is OK if your game is only a demonstration piece, but its ridiculous for a full-fledged game.

2. So just because I liked a demonstration game I MUST buy a slightly upgraded version of the same game or I’m anti-social?

Unlike you I’m not rich, I don’t have 20$ burning in my pocket that I can’t figure out better uses for. In fact, I’m relatively poor and I must weight my gaming decisions heavily.
So I’m not going to buy a fluffed-up prototype just to show support. Games are not political agendas, they’re games.

3. If I wanted to buy ambient music, I buy ambient music. If I buy a game, I expect to buy a game.
I don’t buy a game just to get ambient music or vice versa.
Besides, what if I don’t like ambient music or just Dyson’s ambient music but wanted to play a good strategy game?

I’m sure you find that because I’m not gushing over an indie game just because its indie “unworthy” of a reply. If anything, I see Eufloria as a good business move: you have a fanbase, exploit it. It’s just that I expected further exploration of the concept behind Dyson rather than just a repackaging.

Either way, I urge any undecided viewers: get the original Dyson and then try the Eufloria demo. See for yourself if I am wrong.
kongming

Those sure are a lot of words you typed.
Haha

Don’t worry BRO, you can get Modern Warfare 2 soon for only $60. I heard it has a new gun so the gameplay is all new, fuck this game.
Paul Eres

well, i’m not rich either, i make around $200-$300 a month; i also bought it with a discount, i only paid $15, i may not have bought it at the full price, at least not as immediately.

i agree that it doesn’t have strategic depth but you also have to consider this: the full version of the game is not really intended for the people who played the free version. it’s intended for a larger audience.

so don’t think of it as them trying to sell the game to people who played the free one, it’s them trying to sell it to a larger group of people who don’t visit tigsource, people who aren’t into the freeware scene. so that’s why they didn’t expand on the basic idea too much: they weren’t trying to make it for the people who enjoyed dyson, they were trying to make it polished enough for people who never played dyson.

regardless, it’s just in bad taste to attack people after they spent all this time and effort polishing a game, or to argue over whether it’s really “worth” $20 as if that were something you could figure out through arithmetic. if you don’t enjoy the game, that’s one thing, but trying to convince others that they shouldn’t enjoy a game is perverse.
http://www.dyson-game.com Rudolf Kremers

Thanks Paul, you are spot on in your comments.
ZeppMan217

The problem is so that you can buy WoG at any price now =)
I kinda enjoyed Dyson, but the game is way too primitive in my opinion. Even for casuals.
CT

I understand something like this is ur baby, and u want ppl to appreciate it. And to that end I quite liked ambience and style.

That said the gameplay was far too simplistic for a strategy game. For example,Defense grid (another indy strategy game I bought) had me engrossed for hours, sometimes replaying the same level I had just beat over and over to try new strats.

It really needed more depth. Maybe more tree types. More of a reason to explore as opposed to building another tree (each subsequent tree produces less on each planet for example). More differentiation between planets, perhaps more unit types.

Also a few basic things seemed left out. No mass selection (ie. select 3 planets at the same time), no rally points.

Sorry, maybe I was expecting more, and I hope this doesn’t put u guys off of making more great games.
Ryunosuke

@zixinus:

You know, it really bugs me when someone says a game is given a “free pass” just because it’s indie. It implies that we couldn’t possibly like the game for real, and are just pretending to, for some reason.

Now, you’re entitled to your own opinion on the game. But it’s simply rude to imply that those who disagree with you are somehow being dishonest in their opinions. It just ends up looking like an immature attempt to boost your own credibility.
http://www.dyson-game.com Rudolf Kremers

The game is not for everybody, and I have no problem whatsoever with some people not liking it. Saying that there are no significant changes to the game is bizarre though.

Anyway, zixinus clearly didn’t play the demo very attentively, there are for example several new units in it. There are many other significant changes in it as well, like the ability to select units based on their ability, totally different (improved) sending rules and lots more, but I guess it isn’t significant to Zixinus. Which is fine, of course.

Anyway, the demo is meant to give a representative slice of gameplay from the full game, not to show every single thing yet to encounter. That would rather spoil the experience for new players.
AmnEn

It’s ambient and serene and just as much fun as the Dyson Prototype with a little bit more polish to it.
Maybe the Demo doesn’t give the right representative slice to draw in those that already enjoyed the Prototype? It really does seem like there is little new content in it. Doesn’t mean its a bad game and its a fine way to finally reward the developers for their game. However it just seems to fail to draw in those that aren’t hyped about it already.

P.S.:
> if you donâ€™t enjoy the game, thatâ€™s one thing, but trying to convince others that they shouldnâ€™t enjoy a game is perverse.

____

Vice versa applies as well.
kongming

“Vice versa applies as well.”

Not really? Unless you think positive feelings and negative feelings are exactly the same.
http://www.dyson-game.com Rudolf Kremers

Amnen ” Maybe the Demo doesnâ€™t give the right representative slice to draw in those that already enjoyed the Prototype?”

It is possible! Really hard to jduge these things though… Nonetheless I am perfectly happy for people to make up their own mind based on the demo, the reviews, screenshots etc.. I think we should do some gameplay videos as well.

Either way, some people will think meh, and others (currrently a lot of others) think yay.

Horses, courses etc. :-)
AmnEn

@kongming:
You missed what I wanted to say with it. Forcing the “everyone rejoice” attitude onto others is just as perverse. The “perverse” act lies in forcing your point of view onto others, be it pro or contra.

@Rudolf Kremers
> I think we should do some gameplay videos as well.

That would be a great complement to the Demo.
Paul Eres

kongming is as right as he was with the stars in ancient china: since it’s a preferable state to enjoy a game than to hate it, working to make people enjoy a game is a nicer thing to do than working to make people hate a game
kongming

Nobody is forcing anybody to do anything, dude. This is not a Stalinist reeducation camp. We are having a conversation.

So yeah, I think it’s (in Paul’s words) perverse to try to convince people that they should take less joy and entertainment from the world.
Anthony Flack

Eufloria has this great feature whereby people who don’t think it’s worth $20 have the option to pay nothing, and receive nothing. Everybody wins.

I do understand that there is a resistance towards paying $20 for something so minimalist, though. Perhaps they should have tried $1000…
Paul Eres

yeah, you can’t exactly force views on others on a comments section on a blog, all you can do are things like encouraging people to look at the best parts of a game and have fun with it, or encouraging people to look at the worst parts of a game and trash-talk it — i really do think doing the first of those is a better idea than the second, even when the game is really hard to enjoy.

think of it this way: the worse a game is, the greater of an accomplishment it is to find a way to enjoy the game despite that. it doesn’t take much skill to not have fun with a game or find its flaws.
Alex May

This game is a total Dyson rip-off.

(Thanks Paul et al for your nice comments!)
contra

“Alex May said:
This game is a total Dyson rip-off.”

I know that was meant to be funny but tbh it really is just a Galcon rip-off.
Seth

I’ve been looking forward to buying this and I feel pretty disappointed.

Right now I’m at a level that I can’t beat. All the asteroids I have access to are high in speed and low in everything else. And all the enemy asteroids are covered in 2 or more defense trees per asteroid. So what strategy should I take?

Wait.

Sorry guys that isn’t fun. I realize they are trying to make calm, ambient gameplay, but requiring the player to sit and do absolutely nothing for upwards of ten minutes in order to progress the game is frustrating, unfun, and decidedly not calm or ambient.

I’m playing a game, I want to click on things and watch stuff happen, I don’t like to sit and wait. The game is fun at first but when it eventually dawns on you that the enemy is so docile that doing nothing until you get bored is the best strategy in all cases – not just a cheap strategy or a lazy strategy, but the only strategy that ultimately works – Eufloria quickly loses much of its charm.

I will give it another shot but I doubt this game is getting finished.
Seth

Oh and just want to say that yes I bought it for $20. Because I thought it would be good, because its been in development forever, because it looked beautiful and fun. I don’t believe that just because a game is indie it should get a free pass. This game is not worth $20 to me, I regret buying it, and I hope the developers can see where they made their mistakes and improve on them in their next game.
SirNiko

I like seeing people make positive and negative comments about games.

Zix’s post came off harshly, but he wrote it well. He pointed out what he considered to be a fatal flaw: repetition in the strategy, and that’s a reasonable objection.

People who bought the game and like it should write an equally detailed post about what features they enjoy. Describe your experience. Then potential buyers can read both and decide which one fits their needs or fears the most closely.

I’m not into RTS much, so I’m not going to pick it up positive or negatives comments aside.

-SirNiko
Zixinus

Eres

So, you yourself who has brought the game at a discount (thus the developers receive less money) say that we should buy the game at full-price, just to support the developers? Because doing the opposite would be anti-social, wouldn’t it not? Or how does it work?

And from what I get from your message: they didn’t make an evolution of the original game/prototype, they just made an extension that they can cash in.

Which is what I think happened, and as a business practise, I can’t object to. I certainly find it distasteful, as I find that there is a lot of potential to be explored in Dyson’s concept, but Kremers and company run whatever business they want.

I’m not attacking Kremers. I’m attacking his product, or rather, his decision about his product. I don’t know Kremers and I don’t care to make a vendetta against him: that would be rather pointless. I actually applaud him and his partner for making Dyson. I do not applaud his decision with Eufloria. However, if he does something that I deem worthy of criticism, I see no reason why I shouldn’t criticise it.

If you feel that my criticism is unjustified, than go ahead and say it, as well as why it is so. We live in a world of conflicts.

I’m not suggesting people that they shouldn’t enjoy the games they’ve brought: that would be pointless.

My point, is something I shall repeat: Get the original Dyson and then play the demo. Then decide whether to buy the full version.

If you find that I am wrong, in which case I am just another internet blowhard, go ahead and buy it. I’m quite incapable and unwilling to stop you.

But if I am right, I just saved you 20 bucks.

If you brought the game, first believing that I am wrong and then finding that I am right, than you only have yourself to blame.

Ryunosuke

Under “free pass” I mean people that are willing to ignore all flaws, whatever size, of their selected game and lift it up to a pedestal that others may not find it deserving. This happens quite clearly to mainstream gamers, but also to more niche gamers (Arma’s fanbase ignoring that their favourite is just an upgraded version of OP1, only unplayable on release) as well as indie games. Look at the comments section on one of the more experiment game projects on this very site. You have people flipping to insanity quite quickly.

I’m not saying that everyone that brought Eufloria is just an indie fan that is making a free pass. If people want to give 20 bucks to what is essentially a minor upgrade of a freeware title, that is their choice and I am willing to believe that they are doing so for honest reasons. Perhaps they have more money to spare. Perhaps they don’t claim to have a rational reason and just impulse-brought, in which case a rational argument would be pointless. Perhaps some people just wanted a slightly-upgraded Dyson.

But answer me this: When EA releases yet another NFL or Fifa game, with relatively minor improvements, people call it out as a cash-in. Why should we treat indie developers differently?
Guy

This game looks nice, though I have already played a game like it.
Its called galacon. If I remember correctly.