Prime or Original?

[Towerbooks3192]

I was wondering which one I should play. I don't know if there is a change in the AI between prime or the original one but I seem to have better results at playing prime even with the highest difficulty. Also, does Prime have contents from the red expansion?

[tomatoes.dll]

I am a bit curious. You just noted that you have better results playing prime... how are you having better luck playing it vs. the original if you haven't picked it up yet.

Both games have their own positives and negatives. Frankly, the AI is the least of concerns in either game, considering that both are really best played online in multiplayer. I've been playing the original for many years now and I have never even considered finishing the campaign (not since my first online match--the single player just can't touch it!

Prime does not have contents from the red expansion exactly, however, two mutators from it are built in to the game automatically. The first is that you have focus aim as an option for each unit as a command on any/every turn. You can aim normally, or you can focus aim. The other is double kill--all things being equal, if the shooting starts, both units engaged can die in the battle.

Personally, I like both games, and enjoy having the ability to go back and forth playing them. I could give you in great detail the ups and downs of each should you wish. Just let me know!

[Towerbooks3192]

Hello mate!

Thanks for your reply. I greatly appreciate your insight on this matter. I forgot to mention I got synapse way before but never kinda really got in to it. Then I got prime on vita on release and on PC from the recent bundle then I didnt seem to get in to it too. About 2 weeks ago, I gave it a shot and kinda got some feel on the game flow. I had much better results with prime even when I am a bit reckless even in higher difficulties. My concern was whether there were a lot of differences in terms of AI since I am having better results in prime and not in the original. I am still fairly new to the game and I am not yet confident about most matches but slowly getting there. I am not the multiplayer kind of person though but I might give it a shot.

[shak59]

Original because this version (prime) does not have cloud saving.

[obliviondoll]

I don't care for cloud saves.
I prefer the art style of Prime.
I played a few missions of the original, watched gameplay of both, and bought Prime.
After playing the demo of the original and a few missions in Prime, I'm happy with my purchase.

The control scheme is streamlined a little, and optimised for a gamepad a LOT, but it's still playable with mouse and keyboard (although zooming is AWFUL when I'm using my trackpad, which is a shame). Even though it feels streamlined, I've been able to find ways to do literally everything that can be done in the original game in Prime. I've read that you can't wait in Prime, but you can. I've read that you can't set actions while waiting in Prime, but I've been able to do that too.

Some people are annoyed by the killcams in Prime, but I quite like them. I was worried at first, because most of the footage I found made it look like the turn replay runs up until a kill, then cuts to the killcam, but that's not the case. The whole turn plays out in the tactical top-down view, THEN it replays all the kills with killcam view.

The graphics are objectively better in Prime, but nobody cares, because it's about gameplay. The streamlined access to everything is a bit off-putting if you're used to the original's drop-down menus everywhere, but it doens't take long to get used to.

The lack of cloud saves might be a bigger deal for someone who uses multiple systems, but I don't. The original game also had steam turn notifications to let you know when your in-progress game was updated and your opponent was waiting. Prime is lacking that, which is a shame. If you're not a fan of console-friendly control schemes, this game's UI might annoy you because it's very obvious what it was meant for (but it's perfectly serviceable on my keyboard).

[Astral]

One thing that i haven't fou nd in prime that is missing from the original "hotseat" (the ability to play offline with a friend on the same device).

As of now the only thing I'm slightly annoyed in the UI is the fact I have to "exit" the test replay before I can make the changes in tactics as I'm used to be able to change them after the replay has runned it's course on the previous game. I also wouldn't mind if I didn't have to open the menu everytime I want to give a order other than move.

[Knuti]

I just can't get over the new graphic style. The original had great contrast of colors - all characters, whether enemy or your own, were easily and immediately identifiable but in comparison, in Prime it all looks the same to me. And there is a weird glow over everything.