Info about HighFleet:

Official game description:
_In a world with no memory of its past. The House of Sayadi sends its thousand-ton military ships to the skies. Stirring the peace of nations inhabiting the earth they strive to bring back what they have lost._  
As a commander of the Sayadi Task Force you’ve been sent to regain control of the rebellious Kingdom of Gerat by whatever means necessary. To succeed will require careful exploration, clever resource management, cautious diplomacy and building a fleet capable of ruling the skies unchallenged.  
_But maybe a much greater destiny awaits you in this journey. As this forsaken land still hides the mysterious prophecies of a long forgotten past._
Killer combat
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At the heart of HighFleet is a unique form of combat in which giant ships bristling with weaponry duel above the desert. This is no mindless button mashing, however. Far from it. Battles are won by skilfully moving into positions that allow you to exploit your enemies' weak spots.  
Serious strategy
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Mastering HighFleet requires much more than winning battles. You must explore the mysterious lands of Gerat. You must manage your ships, men, fuel and other resources. You must engage in diplomacy with the various factions. And then there’s the prophecy to be unravelled…  
Freedom to fly
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Thanks to HighFleet’s in-game ship editor, you can build the perfect fleet to suit your style of fighting. The many distinctive ship options and upgrade paths ensure the game will provide plenty of replay value.  
One-of-a-kind world
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The “dieselpunk” visual aesthetic, immersive music and sounds, and underlying mystery of HighFleet combine to create a truly unique and unforgettable atmosphere. This is a world you won’t want to leave until you’ve uncovered every secret and followed your destiny to the very end.

Release date: 27 Jul, 2021

Categories: Exploration, Resource Management, Diplomacy, Ship Customization, Ship Combat, Strategic Combat, Tactical Combat, Roguelike


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Deep, Rewarding, and Unique Gameplay (weight 0.99): Players consistently praise the game's intricate and unique mechanics, highlighting a steep but ultimately rewarding learning curve. The depth of strategy and tactical freedom, combined with a sense of accomplishment after overcoming challenges, makes the gameplay highly addictive and satisfying for those willing to invest time.
- Exceptional Atmosphere and Aesthetics (weight 0.81): The game is lauded for its magnificent and immersive atmosphere, achieved through stunning visuals, unique art direction, and superb sound design. The dieselpunk setting, combined with a distinctive UI and detailed world-building, creates an unparalleled and captivating experience that deeply draws players in.
- Innovative Ship Customization (weight 0.44): The ship builder is a standout feature, offering immense depth and creative freedom. Players can design, test, and customize their fleets, leading to diverse strategies and high replayability. This modular system allows for endless experimentation and a strong sense of ownership over their vessels.
- Engaging and Satisfying Combat (weight 0.27): Combat is frequently described as intense, visceral, and highly satisfying. Players enjoy the tactical depth, the impact of weapons, and the thrill of overcoming difficult odds. The dual combat system, blending strategic planning with arcade-style action, provides a dynamic and rewarding experience.
- Compelling Story and Lore (weight 0.08): Despite the focus on gameplay, the game features a dense, mysterious, and engaging story that provides crucial context and motivation. The rich background lore, developed through dialogues and unique mechanics, enhances the overall immersion and player investment.

Common complaints:
- Excessive Difficulty & Steep Learning Curve (weight 0.78): The game is consistently described as extremely difficult, unforgiving, and having a punishingly steep learning curve. This high barrier to entry, combined with a lack of in-game guidance, forces players to invest dozens of hours or consult external resources to understand basic mechanics, alienating casual players.
- Inadequate Tutorials & Explanations (weight 0.62): The game's tutorials are superficial, only covering obvious basics and failing to explain crucial survival mechanics, complex systems, or UI elements. This forces players to rely heavily on external guides and community resources to learn how to play effectively.
- Unfinished, Buggy, and Unpolished (weight 0.6): Players widely report the game feels like an unfinished early access title, plagued with numerous game-breaking bugs, unpolished mechanics, and a general lack of refinement. This significantly detracts from the overall experience and makes the game difficult to recommend.
- Repetitive & Unbalanced Combat (weight 0.6): Combat is frequently described as repetitive, tedious, and unbalanced, often pitting a single player ship against multiple enemies. The limited practical weapon types and constant missile spam contribute to a monotonous and frustrating experience, especially with the lack of allied ship control.
- Abrupt & Unfinished Story/Lore (weight 0.53): The game's story is criticized for being short, superficial, and ending abruptly without a satisfying conclusion. The lore is underdeveloped, and the campaign lacks the depth and compelling narrative needed for long-term engagement or replayability.
- Lack of Developer Support & Updates (weight 0.53): Many players express concern that the game has been abandoned by the developers, citing a lack of recent updates and unaddressed issues. This leads to a perception that the game will remain in its current unfinished state.
- Unintuitive & Cluttered UI (weight 0.48): The user interface is widely considered a 'mess' and unintuitive, making it difficult for players to find information, navigate menus, or effectively interact with game systems. This adds to the overall frustration and steep learning curve.
- Misleading Roguelike Elements (weight 0.37): The game's roguelike elements are not clearly advertised, leading to player confusion and disappointment. Some feel these mechanics do not enhance the game and can feel disconnected from the strategic map.
- Poor Ship Editor & Design Limitations (weight 0.32): The ship building interface is widely criticized as unintuitive, janky, and lacking essential quality-of-life features like an undo function, copy/paste, or proper saving/deletion options. This severely limits player creativity and makes ship customization a frustrating experience.
- Negative Impact of Recent Patches (weight 0.07): Recent updates have reportedly removed key ship-building capabilities, rebalanced ship speeds negatively, and limited viable combat strategies. These changes have been detrimental to gameplay and player enjoyment.
- Frustrating Fuel & Resource Management (weight 0.06): Players frequently encounter issues with scarce fuel, engines stopping, and frustrating mechanics around refueling. The lack of clear indicators and inability to cancel purchases can lead to being stuck or losing progress.
- Poor Aiming & Weapon Variety (weight 0.05): Combat aiming is difficult due to the lack of a clear crosshair or aiming reticle, compounded by visual clutter. Players also desire a greater variety of effective weaponry to enhance combat depth.

Gameplay feedback:
- Deep Strategic & Tactical Combat (weight 0.7): The game offers a rich blend of strategic fleet management and real-time, physics-driven aerial combat. Players engage in complex tactical decisions, resource management, intelligence gathering, and intense dogfights, often controlling a single ship against multiple enemies.
- Radar & Electronic Warfare Focus (weight 0.28): The game heavily emphasizes radar, ELINT, and electronic warfare. Players must manage radar usage carefully, as it can reveal their position, while also utilizing jammers and anti-radiation missiles in strategic cat-and-mouse engagements.
- Nuclear Warfare Mechanics (weight 0.07): Nuclear weapons are a significant, albeit risky, element of the game. Players can launch or endure nuclear attacks, adding another layer of strategic depth and danger to combat scenarios.

Performance notes:
- Frequent crashes and poor performance (weight 0.08): Many players report that the game frequently crashes, often on launch or when exiting specific menus like the ship editor. Performance is generally poor, with issues on Linux and Steam Deck, and the game appears to struggle due to single-core utilization.
- Persistent resolution and display issues (weight 0.04): Players continue to experience resolution problems and glitches, even on lower settings. While some initial resolution options were added in a patch, these issues persist for a segment of the player base.
- Outdated and unaddressed bugs (weight 0.04): Despite some critical bugs being infrequent, the game suffers from several long-standing issues, including a persistent bug where the main interface cannot be controlled by gamepad or mouse, indicating a lack of consistent bug fixing.
- Framerate capped at 50 FPS (weight 0.03): The game is locked at a 50 frames per second cap, which players believe is a limitation of the game engine. This restriction impacts the overall smoothness of the gameplay experience.
- Improved Steam Deck and Win7 support (weight 0.02): Initial concerns about Steam Deck compatibility have been addressed, with the game now working normally with specific Proton settings. Additionally, Windows 7 support, which was initially uncertain, appears to have been fixed in a recent update.
- Money-related bugs mostly fixed (weight 0.01): Some bugs related to in-game currency and finances have largely been resolved. This indicates an effort to address economic imbalances or issues within the game.

Recommendations:
- Highly Recommended, Niche Masterpiece (weight 0.58): Many players enthusiastically recommend the game, often calling it a masterpiece or one of the best they've played. However, they frequently emphasize its niche appeal, suggesting it's best suited for players who enjoy deep mechanics, strategic challenges, and are willing to invest time in learning.
- Not for Casual Players (weight 0.45): The game is consistently described as difficult, hardcore, and not suitable for casual players. It demands significant time investment, a willingness to learn complex systems, and an acceptance of being punished for mistakes.
- Price Sensitivity & Sales (weight 0.45): While many recommend the game, some suggest waiting for a sale due to its specific nature and perceived value. There's a sentiment that it might not be worth full price for everyone, especially those unsure if it fits their preferences.
- Specific Player Preferences (weight 0.39): The game is recommended for players who enjoy military-styled RTS, tactical wargames, ship customization, electronic warfare, dystopian settings, and intense aerial combat. Conversely, it's not recommended for those seeking relaxation or disliking information overload.
- Technical & Design Issues (weight 0.34): Some players report issues such as save file bugs and suggest specific ship-building practices to avoid problems. There are also mentions of the game being 'raw' or having 'awful combat' by a minority of reviewers.
- Future Content Desired (weight 0.32): Players express a desire for more content, continued developer support, and even a sequel, indicating strong engagement and hope for the game's future.
- Learning Curve & Resources (weight 0.09): New players are strongly advised to prepare for a steep learning curve. Recommendations include watching gameplay, reading guides/manuals, starting on easy difficulty, and joining community groups for assistance.
- Localization Needed (weight 0.07): There is a clear demand for Chinese and Japanese localization. Some players have even refunded the game due to the lack of Chinese language support, indicating a significant barrier for these communities.
- Review Bombing Suspected (weight 0.04): A few negative reviews, particularly those demanding refunds or stating 'do not buy' without substantial reasoning, appear to be part of a review-bombing campaign, possibly related to localization issues.
- Specific Gameplay Advice (weight 0.02): Players offer specific tactical advice, such as redoing fights to minimize losses, trying air combat first, and avoiding excessive ship editing.
- Caution for Health Conditions (weight 0.01): A specific warning is given for players who suffer from epileptic seizures, advising against purchase due to rapid flashes in the game.
- Version Recommendation (weight 0.01): One reviewer suggests that beginners play the game version before 1.16 for a better hardcore experience, indicating potential changes in difficulty or mechanics in newer updates.

Other player notes:
- Desire for more content and modes (weight 0.17): Players express a strong desire for additional game content, including new weapons, DLC, and different gameplay modes like quick fights, free exploration, or RTS/turn-based combat. There's also a wish for mod tools and workshop integration to expand the game's longevity.
- Solo/small team development (weight 0.1): The game's development by a single person or a very small team over several years is frequently noted. This is seen as a titanic effort, contributing to the game's unique character.
- Community-driven guides and localization (weight 0.1): The community actively creates and shares guides, data analysis, and unofficial localizations (e.g., Chinese, Korean) to help players navigate the game's complexity and language barriers. This indicates a dedicated player base filling gaps.
- Manual essential for understanding (weight 0.05): Players emphasize the necessity of reading the extensive instruction manual (40-60 pages) to grasp the game's complex mechanics. This is highlighted as a rare but crucial aspect for modern games.
- Concerns about game abandonment (weight 0.03): Several players express concern that the game appears to be abandonware, with no further updates or development roadmap disclosed. This sentiment is based on the perceived lack of ongoing developer engagement.
- In-game alerts as memes (weight 0.02): Specific in-game alerts like 'ATTENTION NEW THERMAL CONTACT DETECTED' and 'VISUAL CONTACT' have become recognizable phrases or memes within the player community, indicating their impact on the gameplay experience.
- Code deciphering mechanic (weight 0.02): The game incorporates a mechanic where players are expected to decipher codes themselves, often by noting frequently appearing words. This adds another layer of engagement for dedicated players.
- Modding potential (weight 0.02): The game is noted as being easy to mod, allowing players to adjust various parameters like gunfights, magazine capacity, and reload times. This suggests a pathway for community-driven improvements.
- Comparisons to other games (weight 0.01): Players often compare the game to titles like Homeworld, LUFTRAUSERS, FTL, Airships: Conquer the Skies, and Cosmoteer, helping to contextualize its gameplay and appeal for potential new players.
- MicroProse's involvement (weight 0.01): The game is seen as a strong title for MicroProse's revival, showcasing their choice of 'modern but lacking' content, and some players hope for future games in this universe from the publisher.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.24): Players feel satisfied by mastering the game's deep and complex mechanics, particularly in shipbuilding, combat, and strategic campaigns. Overcoming the steep learning curve and achieving tactical victories, often against difficult odds, provides a strong sense of accomplishment. The game's unique atmosphere, immersive setting, and engaging visuals also contribute to a rewarding and entertaining experience.
- Frustration (weight 0.16): Frustration stems primarily from the game's extreme difficulty, punishing mechanics, and lack of clear explanations or tutorials, forcing players into brute-force learning. Technical issues like bugs, performance problems, save system flaws, and poor UI design significantly detract from the experience. Unfair combat scenarios, resource scarcity (especially fuel), and repetitive tasks also contribute to player annoyance.
- Excitement (weight 0.12): Excitement is generated by the game's magnificent atmosphere, immersive dieselpunk world, and the thrill of unpredictable, intense combat. Players are captivated by the deep emergent gameplay, strategic possibilities, and the unique rush of successfully building and deploying custom ships. The powerful sound design and dramatic tactical battles further amplify the exhilarating experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): Disappointment arises from the game feeling unfinished, with numerous bugs, underdeveloped mechanics, and a perceived lack of polish. Players are let down by the short, repetitive plot, abrupt endings, and the game's status as 'abandonware' with no further updates or content. Unfulfilled expectations regarding genre (e.g., expecting a story-driven game instead of a roguelike) and poor implementation of good ideas also contribute to this emotion.
- Admiration (weight 0.04): Admiration is directed towards the game's unique and grimly beautiful atmosphere, exceptional art style, and advanced concept. Players praise the deep mechanics, stylish visuals, and the overall quality, often considering it a masterpiece. The fact that it was developed by a solo creator further enhances the sense of awe and respect for the game's originality and design.
- Challenge (weight 0.03): The game is consistently described as brutally difficult, featuring a steep learning curve and complex, unforgiving mechanics. Players face significant challenges in resource management, strategic decision-making, and mastering intricate ship building and combat systems. The demanding campaign and the game's tendency to punish mistakes contribute to a hardcore gameplay experience.
- Appreciation (weight 0.03): Players appreciate the game's high quality, unique aesthetic, and deep, immersive atmosphere. The stylish presentation, engaging combat, and well-crafted story are highly valued. There is also significant appreciation for the developers' attention to detail and the game's originality, especially given its indie status.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): Enjoyment comes from the game's core fun aspects, including engaging combat, extensive ship customization, and the freedom in fleet operations. Players find the game addictive and enjoyable despite its difficulty, appreciating its unique look, feel, and layered mechanics. The overall gameplay experience, including the soundtrack and aesthetic, contributes to a positive sentiment.
- Engagement (weight 0.02): Players are deeply engaged by the game's catchy campaign plot, dense atmosphere, and strategic depth. The complex mechanics of ship design, strategic combat, and resource management pull players in, encouraging them to learn and master the systems. The immersive story, unique UI, and challenging, unforgiving nature also contribute to a highly captivating experience.
- Amusement (weight 0.02): Amusement often arises from the game's dark humor, catastrophic failures, and the dramatic or exaggerated outcomes of gameplay. Players find humor in self-inflicted errors, the paradoxical nature of graphics, and the ability to create absurdly large ships. The game's association with memes and humorous descriptions of challenges also contribute to this emotion.
- Desire (weight 0.02): Players express a strong desire for more content, including new game modes, weapons, and defense systems. There is a significant demand for official Chinese language support and a workshop feature for mods. Many also hope for a sequel or continued updates to expand the game's world and features.
- Immersion (weight 0.02): Immersion is achieved through the game's distinctive atmosphere, detailed design, and captivating world-building. Players feel deeply drawn into the game, experiencing a strong sense of commanding a spaceship and engaging with its strategic maps. The thick story, highly tuned interactions, and vivid sound design contribute to a profound and lasting immersive experience.
- Confusion (weight 0.02): Confusion stems from the game's unintuitive nature, lack of proper tutorials, and the vast array of complex mechanics introduced without clear explanation. Players struggle to understand illogical combat rules, hidden game knowledge, and how to effectively use various systems. This often leads to not knowing how to progress or why certain events occur.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise is often triggered by the game's unexpected depth, complexity, and overall quality, especially for an indie title. Players are surprised by the game's true genre (e.g., a 40-hour roguelike or a stealth game) and the intensity of certain gameplay moments, such as quick enemy responses or the difficulty of seemingly simple tasks like landing.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is primarily directed at perceived poor game design, balance issues, and developer incompetence. Players are frustrated by game-breaking bugs, losing progress due to save problems, and the belief that an unfinished or poorly optimized game should not be sold. Overwhelming enemy encounters and unresolved issues like enemy visibility also provoke anger.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy is experienced through the game's fun factor, unique gameplay, and overall high quality. Players express joy in discovering the game, enjoying its challenges despite frequent losses, and finding immense satisfaction in the experience. The willingness to repeat difficult scenarios highlights the profound enjoyment derived from the game.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope is centered on the game's future development, with players wishing for Quality of Life updates, new content, and additional game modes. There is a strong desire for a more polished sequel or mod tools to expand the game's potential. Players remain hopeful for continued support and evolution of the game and its universe.
- Love (weight 0.01): Love for the game is expressed through deep personal affection, often despite its challenges. Players adore the game's atmosphere, unique setting, engaging gameplay, and exceptional sound design. The overall experience, including its themes and storytelling, resonates strongly, leading to profound appreciation.
- Stress (weight 0.01): Stress is caused by the game's intense combat, constant alerts, and unexpected threats. Players experience high tension from constantly jumping at sensor contacts and unexpected sounds, leading to chaotic and demanding gameplay scenarios.
- Caution (weight 0.01): Caution is advised regarding the game's purchase decision and its dual nature, warning potential players about its difficulty and potential frustrations. Reviewers also highlight the consequences of poor ship design and important game mechanics that require careful consideration.}