WHY AVOID SNOWBALLING:

Because players (almost all) like to play games with a rather consistent "one-more-turn" feeling.

PROBLEM:

A trademark which i have been playing for over 30 years, did unfortunately have no control of what they were doing with science in CIV6. A lot of players have experienced games with science numbers ecxeeding the 10000 per turn?! (btw: CIV5 was much better on this aspect).

SOLUTION: AGES_

Getting control of science progress can be done by AGES.

The BIG four (CIV7, HK, MIL & ARA) have (or are still) working on this.

DISCUSSION

What is your opinion on the pros and cons of each of the four (i know that for ARA and CIV7 the direction is not completely clear)?

Please do not shout one-liners. Pleae use intellect and be clear in your statements.

Does it have to be 25/25/25/25 or is it still 4X even if 90% of the gameplay is combat (exterminate) for example?

Any games like that?

Hey all. Star Ruler 2 isn't a very well-known game, nor was it ever THAT amazing (or even in a truly 'polished' state), but it remains in my heart as a game with so much untapped potential. It's such a shame what happened with the developers. If only the game was more popular, maybe then they could have had the money to continue working on it.

Does anyone know of any games that scratch a similar itch? Particularly the way colonization and micro management of planets are done. Unlike Stellaris, which is micro hell (I have over 3k hours in Stellaris despite this), in Star Ruler 2 your colonies simply grow in population so long as they have the correct 'tiers' of planets connected to them. Need a tier 1 planet to get to 3 billion population? Link a single water world and grain world to it. Bam, it has the resources it needs and it starts to grow. It's so simple, allowing you to work on the macro parts of expansion and war that feel unlike anything I've played since or prior. I also love how it makes sort of 'tree' where basic planets connect to higher tier planets. It's a puzzle!

I'm not looking for games that share a similar ship maker, however. If a game has the colony and expansion aspects of Star Ruler 2 AND ship building, that's fine, but if it ONLY has similar ship building aspects but lacks anything like Star Ruler otherwise, I'm afraid I'm not interested. The ship building was my least favorite part of the game. It's really cool, and it could have been amazing with more work to simply it, but you need to spend WAY too much time figuring out how it works, and it goes against the simplicity of the parts of the game I adore.

I know this is likely a tall order, but I've been searching for years. Asking here is kind of my only hope.

Most if not all 4X games experience the problem of snow-balling where players become too strong vis a vis the ai factions and it is clear that you will win. Do you guys continue playing in these cases? What features in games mitigate this problem best? I find that Field of Glory Empires has a great feature (decadence) to deal with this. But is strictly speaking no 4X.

Today was probably the most devastating loss of the entire war for the Allies. Macho tried to sneak his battleships out of Colombo, but thanks to a squall and my bombardments rendering Colombo unusable for air cover, Kido Butai emerged from the rain, and RAINED down some STEEL on the Allied battleships attempting to escape. It was a massacre.

https://youtu.be/Fegfgy1x6jA

I know it is tangentially a 4x game but it really has all of the 4 x-es. As a 4x gamer this is the game I've put the most hours into behind Civ. You start out in a single ship and build up a huge corporation that can take on the biggest empires of the game or focus on the AGI threat of the Xenon encroaching on your space. It has heavy empire building, production chain, logistics elements as well as single combat or fleet battles or piracy. You can capture sectors and apply some policies to them. You have some limited diplomacy (though there are mods that make this significantly more relevant). This is an all around amazing game and you can't beat the hours of game play per dollars at $20 for the base game right now! All the expansions are on sale too. Skip the last expansion, Timelines, it is just a bunch of puzzles which are the worst parts of the game.

Note this is a HUGE game with as big a learning curve as you want to tackle. You can spend endless hours in a single ship but if you want to start building an empire you're going to need to hop on the forums and learn a few tips and tricks or better yet watch any of the Captain Collins videos to skill up!

Hope you enjoy!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/392160/X4_Foundations/

I had a fun interview recently about our Warhammer 40K: Final Liberation computer game. If you want to know what went into making these games, this offers some insights https://youtu.be/CR3h8Jo3hU8?si=je0p2DOlrrNmViO7

I have been trying to getting back into enjoying some 4x games but frequent issue I don't like having with them is not liking having to judge whether my cities/planets should make military units to not get murdered or buildings to not fall behind.

For example Stellaris gets past this by being in irl time and you build starship in yards while buildings on planets , but I am kinda burnt over many changes it had over the years.

Any suggestions?

Heya peeps.

Just like the topic says, ived been playing the hell out of stellaris recently using star trek and star wars total conversions, but are there others out there with a similiar depth to it?

Hello, gang. I'm wondering if any of you have good suggestions for a lower end prebuilt PC (under 800 dollars) to run games like Stellaris and Civ 6. Just tired of my games slowing down towards mid to end game on my laptop. Thanks in advance.

Sorry if this has been asked before. I’m a guy with thousands of hours in Civ, but only a miniscule amount in the few other 4X games I’ve played mainly because their mechanics never stuck to me and felt gimmicky. Definitely buying Civ 7, but given the pretty massive changes that it’s going to make not just mechanically but in terms of design philosophy I feel like I’m also going to be craving something more traditional. It feels like every non-civ 4X game I’ve heard of has really tried to stand out by doing something very different from traditional 4X (which I respect even if it usually doesn’t work for me), but right now I kinda feel like the way to stand out is to do a Civ 5 or Civ 6-esque game since even Civ is moving away from that. So I’m asking this community since I’m not really in tune with the wider 4X genre. Basically, here are my requirements although one or two don’t have to be fulfilled for it to work:

1. It has to be a 4X game. It also has to be turn based (saying this because appearently Stellaris counts as 4X to some which I find weird). It should have hexagonal tiles.

2. It has to be historically themed and follow all of human history, not just a part.

3. It should be focused on being a board game and not a simulation game. Not so far though that the mechanics feel like they have no relation to history.

4. You should start with the same faction and leader as you end with. You should play as a leader, and ideally they would all be political leaders although not necessarily heads of state.

5. It should not have a bunch of written events, either random or pre-planned. It should not force a “story” upon the game.

6. Ideally it should not have any magic or other supernatural stuff.

7. Victory should be based on a concrete condition (e.g conquering the world or colonizing an exoplanet) rather than something more confusing (e.g having a bunch of “points”).

8. It should not have a bunch of gimmick mechanics (e.g playing cards, which I vaguely remember a 4X game having).

9. Ideally it would look nice.

Hi. I’m Al and I’ve partnered with Nuno from Strategy and Wargaming to start a new podcast covering all types of strategy videogames. Don’t worry, this isn’t a promo-post, it’s actually a reach out to find suitable candidates to join us in this venture.

If you love all kinds of strategy games and love talking about them, you could be the person (or persons!) we’re looking for. I’m searching for one or two interesting, fun, knowledgeable and passionate people to join our team. You’ll need to be fluent in English, have access to a microphone, a couple of spare hours weekly, and enjoy strategy games. That’s all that’s required.

This isn’t a volunteer role either. If (and I appreciate that’s a big IF) we start to make money, any profits will be shared equally. I’m offering an opportunity to become a partner in this.

We already have a website, Discord, a full suite of social media accounts. We’re in the process of getting all the necessary accounts set up and we already have some exciting game developer guests lined up.

Since we’re at the very start of the process you will be involved from the beginning with determining the creative direction of the show.

Interested? Drop me a message. Let’s chat.

An ancient evil returns to the galaxy, will you be ready? Distant Worlds 2: Returns of the Shakturi comes out October 2024.

Return of the Shakturi preview stream: https://youtu.be/wjz2qhqROnM?si=GoNoWzcTnTiwxCqG

Welcome Back, explorers.

We're thrilled to announce that Distant Worlds 2: Return of the Shakturi, the second expansion for the acclaimed 4X space strategy game Distant Worlds 2, will be launched on the 24th of October. Prepare yourself for an epic new chapter in the Distant Worlds saga, as an ancient and sinister force reawakens to threaten the very fabric of the galaxy.

In this expansion, the galaxy faces the terrifying return of the Shakturi, a powerful alien faction whose last invasion nearly obliterated all life.
Key Features:

• Genetic Engineering in the game introduces a brand-new space creature and allows the Shakturi to manufacture these creatures for scouting and combat. It also grants the Shakturi influence over existing space creatures in the galaxy, enabling them to use these creatures to further their own goals.
• Biowarfare enables the Shakturi to deploy plagues that weaken other factions, making them more susceptible to Psychic influence and control.
• Psychic Abilities enhance the Shakturi's effectiveness in space and ground combat, diplomacy, espionage, and research. Countering these abilities requires innovative strategies that could potentially turn the Shakturi's strengths into weaknesses.
• Planet Destroyers and Mega Ships are powerful tools available to all factions, including those introduced post-release. These formidable assets are crucial in battles against the Shakturi, with Mega Ships offering unique functionalities, such as the Quameno Mobile Robotic Troop Foundry.
• New Space Creature – The Rift Strider introduces fresh challenges and opportunities within the game.
• Outposts allow factions to establish a presence on worlds unsuitable for full colonization, securing valuable territory for future expansion.
• The Multi-Empire Alliance System introduces new ways to coordinate and cooperate with allies, enhancing strategic collaboration across empires.
• New Space-based start with just a single colony ship and a small fleet.
• Ancient Guardian Vaults and Special Artifacts add depth to exploration and gameplay.

On August 26th Erik Rutins, producer and co-designer of Distant Worlds 2, gave a sneak peak of the new DLC Return of the Shakturi. In case you missed the stream, you can watch it here:

Hey everybody

So, DW2 is on sale right now on Steam and I wonder whether, finally, I should just get it.

Played the s**t out of DWU and enjoyed it very much. Still enjoying it, actually. I understand there are many differences between the two games, such as celestial bodies no longer moving or ship design being more limited.

However, it's still Distant Worlds ... right? So what do you think? Is DW2 in a good state right now? Should I just get it?

Many thanks for any input!

Hello dear 4x Starfarers,

Do you remember Master of Orion? I played it as a Kid. Now I want to do a kind of art project: creating videos Animated Colonies with fitting music for each Species.

For now I made a Gnolam Colony. Someone interested? Just google "Gnolam Colony" and the video will certainly show up because it is the only video of it's kind right now 😉

I would be happy to do more of this stuff, get Feedback and build a Community. Please write me if you are still interested in this masterpiece game and come along for a little Journey of "What If"

I started out tonight and of course I have ZERO Subscribers and ONE View (my own😂) So when you read how I reach out hete, you are likely to be the first among the first.

Despite the fact that no one is asking and no one is wachting I just feel like I have to dig out some kind of forgotten treasure. I wonder how a Psilon or Elerian or Bulrathi Colony could look like. Somehow I know I have to start this.

Robert A huge Fan of MoO, Alpha Centauri, Ascendancy and other games

I've enjoyed strategy games since I was a kid but the last few Civ games have rubbed me the wrong way and I have realised recently why that is.

The AI doesn't role play anymore, a Civ game has gone from emulating nation states exploring, and vying for dominance, to a series of opponents gaming their way to victory akin to a shorter game of say, Age of Empires.

The drive to achieve a victory is now the main goal for the AI, and it will utilise the games systems to do so, rather than act in what may be it's best interest.

Compare this to Paradox titles such as Europa Universalis in which every nation has semi realistic goals and ideals which can shift with time.

I don't know if anyone else has felt the same in the last few years, and I don't hold out hope of Civ VII changing this. I guess it is just the MOBAification of Grand Strategy.

Looking for another 4X game to play with my wife that isn't Civ. How's Old World + all DLCs? I was thinking of messing with Stellaris again but I haven't played it in 4 years and I'm sure it's been reworked a bunch with all of the new DLC/expansion stuff... Anyway.

My main complaints with Civ VI are:

• Civs don't really feel all that different from each other, besides a few units and minor bonuses (and art of course)
• Managing a ton of units, especially during a war, becomes very tedious
• Not really able to play tall, gotta expand as much as possible and managing 5+ cities in the endgame gets tedious
• I usually know I've won well before the game ends and endgame becomes a slog to get through
• I feel like it's not all that hard and the AI never really gives me a challenge by making smart moves, they just put pressure on me by having more bonuses at higher difficulty levels

Things I LIKE about Civ:

• Co-op & turn-based
• Early game is pretty fun
• I like progressively unlocking new technology or gaining bonuses to get advantages over my rivals
• The art is generally decent

First of all, I've never played a 4X game in my entire life, I just ignored the entire genre for DECADES. So take into consideration that I'm a complete newbie to the genre. The only games semewhat similar in some points I've played for hundres of hours (maybe a around a thousand combined) are Total War games.

Recently and for any particular reason I'm being curious about the genre and I want to play a game set in the space. I've been searching for info about more or less recent 4X space games and the most interesting for me are Stellaris and Endless Space 2. I also looked for info about Sins of a Solar Empire 2, but I've read people saying that it is really a RTS disguised as a 4X game, so I didn't take that game into consideration.

I've been watching youtube videos about Stellaris and Endless Space 2 but I'm not clear at all. So I'm here looking for advide.

Thanks in advance.

I'm an amateur developer and have recently started developing my own TradeWars style text-based game in Python and JSON. Im using TW and EVE Oline mainly as inspiration. Anybody else ever gone this route of working on their own text-based hobby project like this? Curious to connect with other developers who may be on this track as well.

Hi guys, just wanted to share you what i'm working on.
A long time ago there was a game called empire universe 2 and then empire universe 3.
It was a web based spatial game, awesome but it was shutdown long years ago.

Now it has been years that i'm a developer, so i decided, step by step to build my own "v4" of this game.

I'm trying to rebuild all the features i can remember, also i'm trying to add my own vision to a few things. Also chatgpt4 is helping me a lot with images and lore^^

If you guys want to follow it, i'll try to regularly post news on my discord :
https://discord.gg/QARj9Z9h

For now everything is in french but i'll try to do it in english if needed.

Ground planet

3D solar system

ShipBuilder