Axing The Campaign; Tutorial Challenges

The campaign is extremely dry and uneven I find. Here are a few ideas.
Here are a few things that could done in a smallish amount of time while the main campaign is being worked on.
If you've played these in other RTS games, these (see title) are a great way to teach new players without being condescending or annoying, and can be fun just to revisit for more experienced players. Without much explicit hand holding basic gameplay aspects can be taught to the player. By crafting certain scenarios, making the game deliberately shallow in certain aspects, omitting certain things the player can and can't do, which can also be refreshing to older players. How about a game of Battleship, or Dox, Halley, or Global Thermonuclear War, Normandy, Breach And Clear? Hopefully these level titles have sparked your imaginations.
These could also extend to game modifiers in multiplayer. Radar sight only
Wargame (no economy, units dropped from landing zones into capturable spawns, limited construction)
Commander construction only
Library (storage must be built to facilitate tech)
I could go on.
This would be pretty cool and would keep people busy and happy, and extend the life of your game for just a little work.

In the long run, I'd like to see the campaign hold meaningful strategic gameplay (think empire at war) and less of this card collecting unevenness. I suppose it's not supposed to be balanced, just some sort of playground for practice and amusement? It doesn't serve this purpose very well. It's pretty dull. Also, multiplayer. In the mean time the campaign is so bad I'd consider axing it because honestly it makes the game as a whole look worse for it.

Galactic war is getting worked on in the near future (@jables might be able to give more details if Uber is ready to)

It's purpose isn't really a campaign, it is a connected metagame that is meant to challenge the player in new ways every time.

I agree it needs some work though.

I'm surprised nobody wants to comment other than you.

So like super smash brothers has that list of items you can turn on and off. So then in that same sense, you could turn off and on all these elements of gameplay (default or extra rules). Less frustrating multiplayer for beginners?

And unique custom built scenarios?

The campaign is god awful. Sub commanders? Having them play the game for you is a "unique challenge?" Either you get screwed something like fighting an AI with orbital tech in a multi planet system, or you more than likely play on uber size to take advantage of all the neutral planets you start out with.

You give the campaign a little too much credit.

As a procedural metagame it's functional, it shows the groundwork has been done but is lacking in execution. I would add in some RPG elements; stats you manage in the metagame, turn-based gameplay where the enemy factions also try to claim territory, and allowing decisions to be made.

The thing you need to keep in mind, pa was never intended to be much of a single player experience, initially there was no 'campaign mode' planned at all. Galactic war was a stretch goal, and even much of that was multi player focused.

I agree as a single player campaign it isn't great, although uber have confirmed they're going to look at it again seriously in March / April so it isn't forgotten. what I would highly recommend anyone to do though is try some team games, even just a 'comp stomp' allied against some ai.

The things pa is capable of are spectacular when you play on hand built maps, with a team of other players

Am I right in saying that the intention is eventually for multiplayer in GW? I seem to remember reading that somewhere.

Yes the original stretch goal included both co-op GW and 'Galactic Clan Wars' so potentially a couple of new modes on the horizon....

since when did the game have a campaign

There have been many "single player needs work" posts made almost every week. There is a clear player base that is interested but for some reason Uber isn't interested in delivering. Also, the majority of the community on these forums play multiplayer only, so dont expect a whole lot of support from them.

I don't expect major changes in march. They will probably be minor balance fixes.