So far, for me it's Endless Space 2. Which I've just started playing. I'm finding the mechanics to be a little clunky and obtuse though. But I sure do like the eye candy.

What about AI? Do you think it's better than Gladius?

When you build a lot of ships, your empire becomes militaristic, which gives you

• Bonus to building more ships
• Penalty to research

When you build a lot of research centers, your empire becomes economic, which gives

• Bonus to research
• Penalty to building ships / having a lot of ships

Is it a good idea? There is also snowball effect (if you're too militaristic, it's harder to turn back into economic, and vice versa)

For those interested, full details are in pdf here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kPEtb_0jgQVqA8PLulas5MR56eP0Iwob/view?usp=sharing

PS. it's for Android 4x game Gamma Empires 2 (not yet in Play Store)

The graphics in the game is really great. Especially in areas like a forest or swamp where units have lights attached on them.

Also all of the unit animation etcetera. How was everything condensed down to only 2 GB download and 4 GB installed size?

Hello I like the social aspect of games like Evony the King's Return, or Total Battle. I don't want to play a pay to win game with micro transactions but I don't mind a 1 time purchase or subscription. I hope something exists like this or there is a list. I can only find 4x games with in app purchases. Thank you for your help

I started a game at lunch, restarted after work...and I'm lost. I can't figure out what makes a good city? I think the main problem is that I can't find unit costs anywhere, especially support costs, so I have no idea what to plan for long term.

That second game I started in the desert, which meant there was no food anywhere, so I guess I lost?? I'm missing something here.

Have recently installed Distant Worlds 2 and there is one thing that this game does exceptionally well (you know it):
AUTOMATION

No, I dont want to manually build every ship and manually send it to a fleet (looking at you Galactic Civilizations 4 and Endless Space 2).

And no, I dont want to manually upgrade fleets. I literally stopped playing Gal Civ 4 until they add some automation because it's a chore with fleet management and upgrades.

Having defence fleet automatically engaging pirates is a godsend.

Event automatic exploration is great: usually there is little meaning behind it beyond trying to guess where the first habitable planet is.

Obviously the game has it's flaws, but I think they got something right about their philosophy - the player should focus on big decisions: how many fleets do I build, which research to prioritize. Not on "how many transport freighters do I build"

This is the kind of game Id normally love, a scifi version of the old HOMM games would normally be a hit for me. The two key problems despite the many times Ive tried playing, is the overworld just feels slightly lifeless, and you just dont move far enough a single turn to feel that interesting. The biggest grind though is combat, there is SO MUCH SHIT going on, and you have to pay attention to all of it. Whoops, didn't know that guy can auto counter, or snipe you across the map or hit you with some elemental energy you are dead.

If overworld was slighly faster, and combat less complicated/punishing I'd be playing like crazy as it it, havent touched it since the knight dlc.

https://preview.redd.it/ct3jr3gizpzd1.png?width=840&format=png&auto=webp&s=ede8301a19fc79a08456a78c8d5ca43c1912beb4

https://preview.redd.it/0zj5r1hizpzd1.png?width=840&format=png&auto=webp&s=3f6615c6e3f0259a93124fe33ad739a13589802b

https://preview.redd.it/hylpvahizpzd1.png?width=838&format=png&auto=webp&s=a5847434eeef5f0aa205a58bcb6f1a70e0af269d

"Dominion of Darkness” is a strategy/RPG text-based game in which the player takes on the role of a Sauron-style Lord of Darkness with the goal of conquering the world. He will carry out his plans by making various decisions. He will build his army and send it into battles, weave intrigues and deceptions, create secret spy networks and sectarian cults, recruit agents and commanders, corrupt representatives of Free Peoples and sow discord among them, collect magical artifacts and perform sinister plots.  Note – one game takes about 1 hour, but the premise is that the game can be approached several times, each time making different decisions, getting different results and discovering something new.

Note - one game takes about 1 hour, but the assumption is that you can play the game several times, each time making different decisions, getting different results and discovering something new. One "gameplay" shows only a small part of the whole.

I'm still developing the game, adding new plot and mechanics elements. They will probably continue to develop it for a long time. Nevertheless, the current version is very playable. It is available for free here: https://adeptus7.itch.io/dominion

If you are hesitant to play the game, I invite you to watch the reviews:

Indie Sampler (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM6f4UCEgWU

[BOKC] BlancoKix (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgNpSKToOSg

https://simulationdaily.com/news/sega-sells-amplitude-studios/

Seems it is a "management buyout" which means they're back to being independent.

I'm still waiting to hear what they've had Kael working on for the past year.

Why does every Modern 4X game the City takes the entire region within it? I noticed being fairly new to 4x games, that the city being any game from ARA, CIV VI, or Humankind that the region you expand your city with takes up the entire tile. I kind of get it on small quick games or multiplayer games. But, being a huge Grand Strategy Gamer this really bothers me. Does it bother anyone else. Like I want to have cities then regions and have the country territory. I want to have biomes, landmarks, etc.... Then have my actual city. I notice that CIV V might do this, is this correct?

Been playing a lot of Stellaris and the game definitively isn't perfect but it always make me wonder the next step of space games which feel so close but is still far in so many aspects.

Star citizen: Feel like it was going to be the one but competitors are closing in fast and we still have no clear game despite the next year announced release.

No man's sky: Quite fun to play, casual for sure, still need more content to enjoy on the long run but it's still nice to make bases in the stars and look for just the right planet to build it upon.

Starfield, Had potential but was lacking in many aspect, exploration vibe was big but exploring everything by foot was a little slow and tedious, Game has potential but feel lacking right now and feels bad to have to pay more dlcs to get an unfinished game imo.

Stellaris: great rpg elements, great strategy mechanics, great variety of playing. Game can be so long though and can be quite an investment of time. I like how the game is based upon imbalances that have different growth curves with different strenght. Larger version of such a game feel interesting but it would also make the game so much longer.

Next step just feel like a combination of a game like stellaris when you are strategizing on the wide maps, controlling your fleets and bases, maybe setting some mission for your bots (scinetist in stellaris) or if you want you can jump in your own ship and it become a game like starfield or NMS and you go dig that archeological site and deal with the giant fleets in your main battleships. Stellaris is basically menu based and has very low graphics involved. Strategy games are quite niche game that are not the most popular but there's still plenty of player to play to have a part og the game industry be dedicated to it. Lots of player would not want to play the big strategy game but you could still just play the shooter rpg part in your small ships, but if you want you can go on the macro scale and literally control stellar empires and be part of giant alliances dealing with space threats. Strategy game would be slower in general but you could still have large battle where controlling your fleet and dealing with the battlefield feel very intensive.

Now i know it's more about the number of assets we can produce rather then concepts. The problem is making large planets with biomes that feel authentic and not repetitive which is hard with strictly procedural methods. but still we also have more ai tools to helps us generate larger amount of realistic materials. There's also the server issues that emerge when large amount of player are logged into a single server.

Hope someone can pull something like that in the not so distant future.

I' ve got some free time and looking for a shiny new 4xer to dig my teeth into. GC4 had very poor reviews on release, was wondering if it's actually a decent game now with patches etc. I've been a big fan of GC 2 & 3 previously.

I guess my side question is, any other potential 4x gems I may have missed that will scratch this itch. I've played stellaris but it's been a few years and to honest the complexity curve of relearning it is putting me off a bit lol (same with crusader kings, another game I love but it's been a while and I'm not sure I have the headspace to do another degree in medieval law)

It would be intresting to see something like "Artifacts" that can substantially change the mechanics that a technology is based on.

Every faction would get this kind of "artifacts" over the course of the game that make their faction more unique and specialized.

There have been games with randomized tech trees but those work by restricting your options, but you still know what you expect from those technologies.

But Artifacts can work more like modifiers on top of that tech tree so the point is to build around that to best synergize with its effects.

The point is you don't get to control what Artifact you get, it's up to find ways to use it or waste it.

Even if you don't use it you would still have to think about your opponents using their artifacts and find ways to counter them, and maybe even plan to steal their artifacts for yourself.

The top priority of 4x games should be to create choices that are as interesting as possible. Of course, some repetition of decisions is inevitable in even the best strategy games. However, there is tons more 4x games could do to create interesting choices each time you play, like lots of choices of significant semi-random advantages and/or disadvantages at the start or throughout a game. Maybe semi-randomizing the stats of certain units or buildings. Maybe being able to design units with semi-random options so you can't just go with the same optimal design every time.

I recently stumbled upon a paradox "mega campaign" video, starting at crusader kings and going through hoi4. I thought it looked super fun, but having 5 different games and transferring saves through mods looked... daunting.

So! I'm looking for a game that can go from ancient times to modern/space age all in one go. Obviously that covers a lot of ground so I'll try and describe specific aspects I'm looking for based on my experience playing other strategy games

I've played hundreds of hours of Stellaris and significantly less hoi4, and I prefer the stellaris gameplay. From my experience stellaris is an economy game with diplomacy and warfare being secondary, while hoi4 is focused on warfare, logistics, and strategy with diplomacy and economy playing a supporting role. I'm definitely more interested in playing with a focus on diplomacy, internal politics, and economy management than warfare tactics.

Obviously I want to conquer as well, but the stellaris combat/unit design/strategy is complicated enough to scratch the itch for me compared to the IMHO convoluted hoi4 stuff. Basically I'd rather play as a politician than a general if that makes sense

One thing I absolutely loved in Hoi4 is the national focus tree system, where you can pick a path to go down and change history. In my mind it's like the origin, civics, ethics, species traits, etc in stellaris but you decide as you go along instead of all at the beginning. So a game with options to go down historical or alt-historical routes would be lovely

Probably not surprising but I only plan on playing single player, so I don't care about multi-player

Finally, I'm used to playing the "real time" start/pause style of those two games so I'm not sure how differently a turn based game plays. If they aren't that different that's fine but I guess I'd prefer to stick with that style if it's feasible

I've seen a lot of different recommendations online, like civ 4, 5, and 6 as well as other games but I'd love to hear any specifics you all recommend based on my preferences

Edit: forgot to mention but I primarily want to play on earth with historical or alt history stuff, so where I can start as the egyptians, vikings, aztecs, mongols or whatever

Some musings about a system from Humankind which more or less worked but didn't quite make sense.

I'm hard on HK but it had some great ideas for cutting down micromanagement. One of these was that trade was basically on-rails. You negotiated a blanket trade agreement with a player, and then went into a different screen and bought up all their resources for a trivial cost. Or rather, you bought access to their resources, with both you and the owner getting full output. This was great but didn't make a ton of sense (one tile of Horses could supply 5 people, but didn't enough to build something that needed 2 Horses). That's inconsistent no matter how creatively you explain it. So I got to thinking about a system that achieved the same thing while making some sense.

The goal: explain why a single tile of a resource can be shared by the whole planet, while also having it make sense to want more tiles of that resource.

Let's assume that resources are produced in massive quantity, but their quality is inconsistent. Assume that many production cycles happen each turn, so that the output is equal to the average quality. For example, Copper may have the spread:

Tier 1: 90%

Tier 2: 10%

And where Tier 1 is worth 10 gold, and Tier 2 is worth 30 gold.

So your output per turn would be 0.9*10 + 0.1*30 = 12 gold.

What does this mean? Suppose there are 100 production cycles that can either be Tier 1 or Tier 2. These are averaged out to determine the total profit. Now, let's add a second copper tile. This doesn't double the output, rather in each cycle we take the higher tier and discard the lower. In other words, each tile rolls individually and both must land in the 90% Tier 1, or the result will be Tier 2. This changes the spread to:

Tier 1: 81%

Tier 2: 19%

So your output per turn would be 0.81*10 + 0.19*30 = 13.8 gold.

Add a third tile and you get:

Tier 1: 72.9%

Tier 2: 27.1%

So your output per turn would be 0.729*10 + 0.271*30 = 15.42 gold.

This is relatively meager scaling, but it can be the base for techs that enable a playstyle built around pushing these numbers (increase the yield of higher tiers, add more tiers, produce elite units using only high-tier resources, etc). A small flat value would also be present on the tiles to make finding duplicates not feel bad in the earlygame.

This solves the inherent contradiction in the HK system, as you explicitly collect tiles searching for quality rather than quantity and have no in-universe reason not to automatically ship your output off to the other 10 players. Sort of. If we're averaging many production cycles, why not keep all the high-quality yields for yourself instead of using the low-quality yields? It makes the most sense with perishable resources like fruit, but it's also possible to imagine an industry that's running on some not-fully-aligned-to-the-player profit-seeking logic and sticks to a fixed yield (per buyer) regardless of quality to keep demand consistent.

Fun to think about, at any rate.

Hi, since Stellaris is on sale on Steam, which is better to get, the base game or the starter edition pack?

So Ive always played historical 4x games, but recently old world and ara have truly interested me in this genre again but im really torn between the three

Ara’s bonus is it’s sheer scale large games with 12 players up to 36? Damn…now the con here is the culling system it’s how they attain the gargantuan player count. But of course Ive heard the game has had mixed feelings between AI and city management the patches are going to adress that but it’s the game i know the least about yet see as the only true “rival” to civ 7 in terms of capturing what civ does. But it’s a hard sell. Ara truly has a lot of drawbacks that can be ironed out but underneath that rough exterior is it worth 70 dollars

Old world however? 70 dollars with the dlc. Highly recommended and overcomes ara/civs “one unit one tile” in its own unique form ara does as well but ara still is limited like civ by an extremely small movement range. That movement range is of course negated somewhat by old world and it’s unique approach to having gameplay be a mix of CK3 and civ can lead to more interesting game to game experiences. Part of why CK3 i feel succeeds is that sheer amount of variation with 5-10 years of starting out. And old world has some presets for a more “wargame” or “role play” campaign and im curious on the opinions of those presets. Now…the con is the rather limited focus on historical time but this can be a huge benefit too. And there’s not really any negative press on YouTube for the game

Civ 7…now is haven’t seen a lot of gameplay but late game in civilization 6 it devolves into a cluster of units and junk between the bloat of limited movement rages and all. But the new features do look interesting. However I have civ 6 only with the first dlc and it’s fun but Ive never finished a campaign. Civ 7 yes it’s improving ai and changing the formula but is this enough to set it apart for old world and ara? Now i understand it’s too early to judge. But it’s place im this debate is valid

TLDR each game has a lot going for it but im more looking for what everyone’s personal experience is how these points flaws and other aspects are compared and contrasted. Ultimately i feel its gonna be old world vs ara but i still wonder how people feel about ai and the single player experience in each game and what the games offer in ai aid if any. Now granted i know that it’s not optimal to use it but I am curious nonetheless.