Really enjoying it but it had an awkward launch. Seems like it became so popular so quickly that the servers overloaded. Devs worked hard, pushed out patches and fixes very quickly.
Controls feel like a mix between Sir Meier's Pirates and STo/Starfleet Command. Pacing is good with most of my matches complete within around 30 minutes (15 minutes minimum and Armageddon Missiles start destroying each bases at a certain point to stop them going on forever. Haven't had a match over 1 hour yet)
Matchmaking can be a bit slow but considering it's launch and difficult start I can only see this getting better. It's already improved so far.
Balance isn't perfect between ships but it's solid. In the smaller matches like 2v2's, you might find yourself with a good partner but the ships the enemy have are quite effective against your pairing. Good thing is matches are fast enough to make this only a minor annoyance and good teamwork can sometimes offset this issue.
Ships have Marks, 1 to 5. For each Mark you earn (via experience), you are given 1 extra skillpoint to spend in-game. The pace at which you can buff your ship (with skillpoints or CP, a currency you earn in matches as you play) is set by tech levels which progress as the match goes on.
Winning a match earns you a selection of two items, losing gifts you one item with which to boost your ship. As your ships Mark increases, the chances of getting a higher quality item increases (though a Mk I ship cannot get the better % boosts). These boosts are usually 3% at the lowest level and 6% at the top level. So after a few matches you'll fill your 3 ammo slots with 3 x 3% Rate of Fire increases and if you face a maxed out Mk V ship, that guy might pack 3 x 6% Rate of Fire modules as a *worst case scenario*.
These items provide a minor edge in combat and serve nicely to simply accentuate your ship classes strength or to help cover a weakness. I like it but you can in theory bump into someone with a maxed out Mk V ship in your naked Mk I ship in your very first match. That would give them quite the advantage but that situation would be very extremely rare (I've met 3 Mk V's in 40 matches).
Medals are an item type you can pick up at the end of a match. These are used on your 4 crew members to unlock 1-3 buffs from a possible 5 per crew member. Once you apply a medal to a crew member it can be freely moved around your crew and you are free to change the skills at any time from the Ship Customisation menu.
All of the ships have access to the same skill pool (except the Carrier, Support and Artillery have that access but also have their own line of unique skills) and you pick 4 from that group. There are some limits imposed on the numbers of types of skill set by the ship type and the same skill on one ship might upgrade sooner than it does on another, indicated by rank chevrons or stars.
Like other MOBA's, you have creeps (upgradable via CP) and you have defensive turrets which you can whittle down until you get to the enemy base and smash it. You also have capturable points such as planets (increased CP rates), Tech Labs (increased tech level porgression), Portals (ability to teleport to base and back to the portal) and Crystals (increases the HP of your creeps).
Madmaxx (nice bloke and ranked #6 in the game) has created some Tutorials. I highly recommend viewing them if you pick it up, they help. They're available
here in a playlist.
I've probably prattled on about this too much but I enjoy it. At the moment it's casual, the community will help you in General Chat or the official Teamspeak server (see MOTD) and no-one will go bananas at you if you're new.
Pacing is slower than LoL which is my only other MOBA experience and it really suits the setting. Matches have a good length to them and I've even had cases where I've felt like I wanted to surrender by the 5 minute mark but actually pulled it back with a well timed, well executed teamwork manuever and ended up winning.
If a slower paced MOBA with a space setting, firing arcs, upgradability and a wide range of customisation choices, 2v2 - 6v6 gameplay and a nice community are for you... then I'd urge you to back the Devs, buy the game but don't be too annoyed if it isn't perfect. They're a new Indie developer who have had a bad start because of their instant Steam success but they've worked hard to make improvements and that has already showed.
Devs who produce a good game and are working to improve it are definitely something we should support. This game could be *really*, *really* good if it picks up.
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