Peoples thoughts?

[wodin]

OK now people have had abit of time to delve what are your thoughts.

I think it's another work of the mad genius Vic, and evolution of his games so far. God knows what will come next!

Very rarely does a game like this come along, so thanks Vic for adding beautiful colour to gamings rich tapestry.

PS. A game like this will being so deep and complex will need time to bed down, when it does I can't wait to see how it will expand, if it does, I hope so.

[WeaverofBrokenThreads]

ORIGINAL: wodin

God knows what will come next!

The blessed cult of Holy LIS disapproves of this phrase. May your supplies be low, and your truck points wasted on roads to nowhere.

This is probably the best 4x game in existence right now. Alongside, Aurora. Aurora is getting some big updates now, but I look forward to seeing where the two will stand in relation to each other in a few years.

[GodwinW]

Love it! Must protect it.

[diamondspider]

Instant top 10 game for me... really love it. If it keeps getting polished could crack my top 5 easily.

[Tssha]

This game has consumed so much of my time that it's getting kind of ridiculous. I wonder when this infatuation will end, but doubtless at the end of it I'll think fondly of this game, and revisit it from time to time, especially when new content has been added.

I come more from the direction of Stellaris and Civ-esque games, and this has definitely scratched that itch. The atmosphere is intense and palpable, and I know that's at least partially the music, but also the aesthetic of the game is well chosen. The graphics could be better, but they have their charms. I ultimately can't complain.

The atmosphere and the feel of the setting ultimately keep me coming back. I very much feel the harshness of the setting in everything from the aesthetics to the mechanics of the game. You can choose to be harsh, gentle, or ruthlessly pragmatic, but ultimately, cannot choose not to engage with the world, because sooner or later, someone will bring the fight to your door.

[Culthrasa]

It's been a week now since release and I have played about 12hours a day (even took a week of work!). I love it! Instant favorite (as i knew it would be!)
Great work Vic!

[Frostwave]

I think this game is amazing and I still have yet to discover all of the game mechanics. I see this one going down in game history as a top strategy game of all time along with other greats like X-com, master of magic, etc.

[JWW]

Crusader Kings + War in the East + Civilization Beyond Earth

[hellcat23]

I would agree not seen anything like this since Xcom original I would say. It kinda reminds me and gives a sense of wonder that is rare in games these days of things like the terribly flawed Twilight 2000 and SSI road warrior games, even UMS which I know got a lot of criticism but you could do amazing things with the editor. I think this will be as big as something like Rimworld.

Yes the atmosphere is amazing and feels like old pen and paper Traveller RPG to me in many aspects.

As for directions to expand into with DLC or modding it seems really broad. Player and AI factions (psionics, eco, aliens etc). Story driven, Exploration, Ancient tech, Sci-Fi Horror (imagine trying to figure out which leaders are 'The Thing' or 'Pod People'?). Alien life nests instead of cities.

Even the rogue-like nature of the more difficult parts of the game has some appeal despite some frustrating experiences. Iron Man mode?

The exploration and civ building aspects are just as awesome as the full on wargame it can turn into.

[Vic]

ORIGINAL: hellcat23

I would agree not seen anything like this since Xcom original I would say. It kinda reminds me and gives a sense of wonder that is rare in games these days of things like the terribly flawed Twilight 2000 and SSI road warrior games, even UMS which I know got a lot of criticism but you could do amazing things with the editor. I think this will be as big as something like Rimworld.

Yes the atmosphere is amazing and feels like old pen and paper Traveller RPG to me in many aspects.

As for directions to expand into with DLC or modding it seems really broad. Player and AI factions (psionics, eco, aliens etc). Story driven, Exploration, Ancient tech, Sci-Fi Horror (imagine trying to figure out which leaders are 'The Thing' or 'Pod People'?). Alien life nests instead of cities.

Even the rogue-like nature of the more difficult parts of the game has some appeal despite some frustrating experiences. Iron Man mode?

The exploration and civ building aspects are just as awesome as the full on wargame it can turn into.

I think i'll need still about 7 days to fix all the childhood diseases.

After that i hope to switch time from repairs to either polish or new features. I will probably do some polls to also give the community a chance to tell me the direction they'd like to see me take.

Best wishes,
Vic

[eddieballgame]

Brilliant & addictive gameplay.
Steam is flooded with activity per this gem & it is not even available there, yet.

[Johnners]

ORIGINAL: hellcat23

Sci-Fi Horror (imagine trying to figure out which leaders are 'The Thing' or 'Pod People'?)

Isn't this in the game already with The Shadow? Or did I read that wrong

[Frostwave]

I like your thinking hellcat23. Love to see more interactive story elements and even interpersonal rpg choices ala crusader kings. Love to see how personal events would affect our leaders. ex raid on one of your cities results in a leaders family being wiped out and the resulting affects would be interesting. Could contribute to mental illness, bias against certain factions etc. Very excited to see where this game goes.

[GodwinW]

Please add this option to the list:

Galaxy Mode:
You start as normal, on a planet (or maybe you start on a tiny moon).
But after your win, you can launch one spaceship to another planet. Maybe you can choose between 3 closeby ones (this doesn't need an overview of the galaxy, you just pick 1 of 3 next planets to start on).
Then you play that planet, and if you win, you can do it again.
Very slowly you can spread through the galaxy. Well, galaxy. I'd say at maximum 10-ish planets?
Every win gives you some extra bonuses, as you piece together more and more of your Shadow, unlocking old designs/memories/capabilities.
As you get further (Planet 4 onwards?) you encounter other Shadow Lords. In a type of 'There can be only 1 (Highlander)' the winner of the planet absorbs the other Lord and keeps its identity. If you win, you will ultimately face off on the last planet (no more choice: it's a Large Unclassified) against the other one, who has about 50% of the Shadow (you having the other half) and the winner takes the Galaxy!

[Grotius]

I am absolutely loving this game. The ambience, the detailed logistical and command-and-control systems, the Strategem cards, the leaders, the way research unfolds gradually (discover, research, develop a model, make a prototype) -- it's all innovative and fun.

[Frostwave]

Air and naval units are top on my wishlist for added features. then space travel would be good as a dlc since that would be pretty huge.

[MC456]

Pretty much been playing non-stop. The fact that I haven't touched Advanced Tactics Gold since I've installed Shadow Empire says a lot. The future of wargaming is in good hands with devs like VR Designs.
I am curious what the next project will be though.

I agree with Frostwave above. Another idea for DLC: take control of alien life on the planet and guide its evolution through a hivemind (like Klendathu from Starship Troopers or Zerg from StarCraft). Evolution would replace standard human tech tree, and the new features/mechanics alone would warrant the cost for DLC. Would also change the dynamics of military strategy with a very different unit composition.

[ramnblam]

The game is fucking awesome. Vic, thanks for making it.

It's been so long since I've had a game just consume the hours.

[ozmono2005]

I've been playing non-stop for a few days. I by no means think I have a great understanding of the game but I understand most mechanics now thanks to trial and error and the manual. It was a bit confusing and overwhelming at first but it's intuitive now that I've got used to it. I still have huge amounts of room to improve my strategies understand the game better and that is fantastic in a strategy game. Having mastered the game in a couple of days would have been terrible but not an issue at all here.

The replay ability is immense. I can't even think of a game of it's ilk that offers more replayability. This is mainly down to how cool the procedural generation, the effects of that on the economy and even military. It's a masterstroke.

I have very little time testing major factions AI so far but in my last game on beginner (still) the AI was still in an advantageous position when we finally met and made good use of it. So the AI seems good but I can't comment much on it.

The economic mechanics seem good in general and great for a game of this ilk.

The climax is the military aspects and it doesn't dispoint. Better than advanced tactics although I do wish for an airforce and navy albeit they should be expensive. I love the logistics system, development and recruitment of armies and the combat seems balanced so far.

The only thing I've come across that really lets the game down is the turn times on the largest planets which is a shame because I'd prefer to be playing largest planets on long development time, epic mode or whatever but hopefully there is some room to improve there.

The interface and command inputs are also very unexpected but I don't think they are a major problem because they are intuitive enough once familar.

All in all, the game really is a stroke of genius.

[KingHalford]

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