Gidday hivemind,

Looking for some recommendations for a fairly accessible meaty strat game to play with my brother. I'm looking for something with layers so not just combat orientated. A bit of intrigue, big brain moves etc. we looked at Ck2 but it was a bit too overwhelming.

Cheers!

Not here to gush but wow Old World is insanely good! (I'm late to the party I know). I played Galciv 4 for a while (Supernova) and bounced pretty fast. Something about it just feels half-baked. Old World is the first 4x game to really grab me. Are there any other 4x games out there that you guys enjoy with more complex mechanics? I'm sure some of you will recommend paradox games but I can't play those - they are too bloody boring for me.

I haven't written about the development progress for a long time, but there are a lot of changes to the build version 0.4.8. And in anticipation of the release of a small part of our game under the code name Hidden Pass Skirmishes (follow, wishlist, well, you know the drill). For those who are reading about our game for the first time: Hidden Pass is a Tactical Turn-Based game like Into The Breach, but with an emphasis on using abilities like in Divinity OS 2. In many ways, we were inspired by these two games when working with combat mechanics. We took many elements from Heroes 3 and Songs of Conquest in terms of Base and Global Map.

https://reddit.com/link/1fdhny3/video/ue1nvv15eznd1/player

30% of Hidden Pass is basebuilding, resource management and exploration.

Lets start from Wanderer's Tower. It is your powerful mobile fortress and home-away-from-home. A flying base where you produce fresh units, upgrade their gear and research new technologies. Your tower can also move between clusters of islands, giving it access to ever-shifting resource pools.

https://youtu.be/d3whaqgAILY

Global Map in Hidden Pass is more like lightweight Endless Space 2 (or Fort Triumph, who played). Basic idea is to explore and improve your faction. And the main resource here is Elyrium, which is both worth money and helps your engines plus magic carry on. The economy will drive your expedition. Seek out and battle rivals to claim your share of Elyrium, but don’t neglect other useful materials such as Wood and Metal. Enhance your tower and construct units capable of delving deeper into the Elyrium Belt.

https://youtu.be/tI2-wgT8fT4

Tactical combat takes up about 70% of the game and is extremely variable.

Largely due to several levels of heights - in essence, the player on each map plays in 3 planes at once.

https://i.redd.it/pg8lch4qeznd1.gif

As you can see in the gif above👆 the characters can freely move between levels - and in this example the Dwarf actually took off using the JetPack. Although he could easily climb up as shown below👇

https://youtu.be/f3ubOtpA2tY

This is exactly about the variability of Hidden Pass. You can go up using a jetpack and increase your Elyrium Poisoning (inverted mana, more on that later), or you can just climb, which does not give poisoning, but also does not give bonuses in attack. And the point is the following - when using a jetpack, you are given a bonus for magic attack.

And that’s how it is. The correct positioning of the unit is extremely important - being on a hill, long-range units attack with full damage at a longer distance (by the way, there are no misses in the game, characters can either not see the enemy at all and then there is no attack at all, or hit, but depending on the distance either with full damage or not. Like Heroes 3 style 😁), and being on mini eoliths (floating rocks) you also get a small increase in magic attack. But tactics are tactics - there are no win-win combinations, so being at a height it is extremely likely that your hero will be thrown from this height. Painfully. Perhaps even against a stone, which will add more pain. And if you slam into a crystal, you will also be poisoned.👇

https://i.redd.it/39oxkne3fznd1.gif

We tried to balance the combat with this sacred rule in mind - for every action there is a reaction. And if something seems imbalanced to you - you’re 100% wrong. Let's say, if your hero is a melee fighter, then you will try to get close to the enemy - this is advantageous, because we have attacks of opportunity (it is especially nice against a weak spellslinger). But there is always an opportunity to kick the enemy and throw him away. Maybe even with damage.

https://youtu.be/-uNcLu5C4W4 

In general, moving in Hidden Pass is a separate kind of tactical art. We built each map with maniacal love, trying to make them as diverse as possible, and sometimes even like a labyrinth. So that somewhere you can hide, somewhere you can fence yourself off with traps (if you are a pathfinder), and somewhere you can use astral movement (if you are an astral mage). This way you won't get bored. And the maps will be in different styles. We recently added a new type of map with dark tones (not the final version, we are still finalising it) 👇

https://preview.redd.it/s8v8bk8jfznd1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3eb49e010812d29d4a20bdb30a29f4d661e7cb25

Our combat is ability-oriented. 

Therefore, the second pillar of our game is Elyrium Poisoning (EP). In simple terms, it's inverted mana. That's right - I didn't write about going crazy in the title for the sake of it. In essence, the mechanics are simple - you have an EP scale and it grows as you cast various abilities. That is, you get poisoned more and more. And the trick is that the higher the scale, the more lethal your magic is. But there is a nuance - as soon as you reach the maximum, you fall into a state of Madness and now all your casts will take away your health. Well, as a cherry on the top - your speed decreases with increasing poisoning. In general, the decision here is also up to the player - you can make yourself a lethal killing machine, but slow-moving and extremely vulnerable. Or you can balance on the edge, as shown below 👇

https://youtu.be/6iIlOUdjIJY

Character leveling and game dynamics.

To finish the outline of the Hidden Pass mechanics, I also want to talk about our main weapon - diversity. The game currently has: 4 races, 7 classes, 21 specialisations and quite a lot of expertise. That is, you can collect a HUGE number of variations, even despite some restrictions (for example, Ogres cannot be engineers, sorry🤣). At the same time, levelling up is most similar to the Heroes of Might and Magic series. Getting a lvl up - you can pump up one of the expertises (either a new one or pump up an already taken one) and increase the characteristic.

https://preview.redd.it/cntjbw3kfznd1.png?width=850&format=png&auto=webp&s=7c4d86333239bab43c698bd51196f37bd4045577

Each class has unique abilities, giving the opportunity to play differently. Do you like to play through DD - here is a rogue assassin with strong damage to 1 enemy and invisibility to boot. Do you prefer to keep the enemy at a distance and control the map? Astral Mage of Space is your choice - a bunch of forced movements, debuffs and stuns. Do you like to trick and lure the enemy - take a ranger-pathfinder. You can take a look here👇

https://youtu.be/FSa4bggbJpU 

Summoner classes, that's a whole separate element and world. Like a Necromancer and a Chaos Adept. And Engineers are guys who work through replaceable automaton units. Automatons are also a huge part of the game. Not only is it not a pity to lose them - they can be built in a factory, but engineers also know how to repair them in battle and apply all sorts of buffs. At the same time, they cause very real damage.

https://youtu.be/3IsWrcwgJxc

GG

In a few words, I tried to explain what the Hidden Pass game is - I hope you found it interesting. In mid-September, we plan to release a small part of the game, namely a new game mode - Skirmishes. They will be free and we invite you to play and share your impressions. As soon as everything is ready, I will make a separate article, and it is best to follow the updates on Steam. I will be grateful for your wishlists, they motivate us a lot.

https://preview.redd.it/2m9em2xofznd1.png?width=920&format=png&auto=webp&s=87d12b873a061acdf23df6a81cc0bfd4c40b8424

If you have questions or want to share your thoughts with us - we are waiting for your comments here. We are always available on Discord or Twitter. Our website and page on Steam.

So just thinking about this at 3AM in the morning and was wondering about a 4X game that has the best infographics? Obviously, this is subjective to an extent, so I welcome any open-ended answers!

I love a good visual feedback mechanism for my data and/or stats. I'm not too overt into statistics/data, but I still love it when it is digestible for a dummy like me. Whether it be seeing it on a map format with a timeline of events or a graph line of my economy going through the shits from wars or heck even just the visual representation of my trade networks that indicate strong routes versus weaker routes. Anything really that conveys a great deal of revolving & complicated information into a digestible infographic manner.

Now unfortunately, I don't play games as much as I used to, especially within the 4X genre. Not to mention I don't even have a diverse portfolio of 4X games to boast. So, feel free to shed some light on what y'all might offer up, very much interested Maybe there is something unique or a game that is very infographic-centric, or perhaps it's innovative in UI readabilities, etc.

^(Especially since I'm developing my own 4X game, useful enlightenment opportunity for myself to learn and incorporate from the community! (Especially from older 4X games which I feel might yield a lot of infographics compared to modern 4X games))

Also, just for those who don't know; An infographic is basically just a way to show information or data visually, like with charts, timelines, graphs, icons, maps, etc..., just an easier format to understand quickly instead of reading it in a pure text/numbers format.

I am looking for a new 4x game that has recently come out. I am looking into age of empire mobile that is coming out on oct 17th. I really like the game Land of Empires Immortal, but I need something newer and not yet explored as much. I would also love to play it on pc using google play beta pc, but there isn't a feature to search for new titles, and going through and researching is a hassle.

Hey y'all - I find myself wanting for a 4X game with a more detailed trade system or where it's possible to make the trading much more a focus of game play.

As an example, when I play Civ VI the thing that's often most fun to me is to discover new resources/great places to found cities, establish a colony there and then make a lot of money via trade. I like the trade route system where you build trading posts, which extend your trade range and through that you can make even more money. I'm looking for something like this, but perhaps deeper and in a way where it could be more of a focus. In Civ VI mostly trading seems a means to an end of having more money/some information to win in other ways (it's been some years since I last did a Civ VI run).

So yeah, I enjoy both exploring, expanding my territory and then exploiting it. I've done too much exterminating everywhere so - 3X maybe?

Some overview of games I've played/know of that don't quite fit the bill:

* Civ VI - has the basis, I'll probably start a run if I don't get recommended anything better :)

* Stellaris - usually devolves into full on exterminate while keeping the economy running

* CK3 - grand strategy/not 4x and I don't think the economy is deep (lack of resources etc)

* Victoria 2/3 - never played, has more in depth economy but misses the real exploration part from what I know (aka discovering new resources etc)

* Age of Wonders 4 - love it, but economy and trading really isn't its strong suit

Thanks for any tips and recommendations! I haven't really looked into any of the many new/upcoming Civ competitors yet so info on them would be helpful (Humankind, Millenia, Old World, Ara).

I mostly play Stellaris and Civilizations VI, but Stellaris is probably the game for me as it makes me feel like I'm leading an empire instead of blindly aiming for an arbitrary victory condition.

I'll try to explain. For example, in Civilizations VI you solely make decisions based on what will help you achieve your victory condition. If you want a Science Victory, you pivot for campus, plan Industrial Zone adjacencies in advance, and the like – its fun as a strategy game, but it definitely is illogical as a narrative game.

I'm looking for a non-space 4X where you still lead an empire – where you can still explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate – but the emphasis is on the immersion of watching your empire grow naturally and organically (and maybe some competent diplomacy too). Immersion through emerging narratives, not by following the optimal, unfailing strategy.

Simply put, I'm looking for a space opera but.. not in space. Preferably historical, but it can even be fantasy if you want to. I'm open to mods as well, if there's a total overhaul mod that does these then I'm in for it!

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?