Ive been watching the game progress for a while now. Im wondering how big the community for multiplayer is Iss there a ingame chat with people? Also how developed is the multi player part of the game? How long do matches last in multiplayer? Do I need to learn macro key commands to compete? laslty i missed the steam sale, any way to still get it under 50 usd?
Well, it depends. Right after patches is usually the highest turn up, but finding matches isn't too hard; joining a clan makes it easier though. Yes, team and global. You don't need macro, it helps, but I played for ages without using them and did just fine. I have no idea. Perhaps you should just wait for another sale. It goes on fairly often and was well worth the $60 that I put in for it.
Based on your questions, sound like you might be best off waiting until the actual release or even a little after that to let things settle down a bit. Mike
The multiplayer community is very large, and there is a lot of match variety at the moment. You can find short matches, long matches, team games, and free for alls. Yes, also team chat. I recommend a voice chat service though, as the game can be too fast to type at times. The mp community is very friendly, you will meet either friendly people, or complete ***holes, there is no in-between. Mostly friendly people though Matches are very short, I've taken people down in less than 10 minutes (1v1) and have had games that last nearly two hours ( 5+ player ffa or 2+ team games) Key bindings are in the game, although not a complete necessity. I recommend the mod "hotbuild." Early access retail on amazon is 40 usd. It is in a box and must be shipped though.
Multiplayer is pretty active, but don't expect Starcraft 2 or LoL levels of activity obviously. It's usually pretty easy to find a match. That is, unless you have a crap system. Then you'll be cursing at everyone for making games with 10 size 6 planets.
I'd recommend looking at some games on PAmatches.com Brian keeps these pretty well up to date so it's show you what the game is like now... http://pamatches.com/gameplay/
