Shadow Empire’s Future

[FAA]

Any news regarding addition of air forces/navies? The game is amazing but feels quite shallow and a bit artificial without them.

[beldurax]

I wholeheartedly agree

[mroyer]

"shallow" and "artificial" aren't the words I'd use but I get where you're coming from. I'm involved in a campaign right now with three other players. The world has long, thin, north-south running oceans. Between that and long mountain chains on the planet, the global strategies become very limited and channeled along predictable axes.

More than once I wished I could have launched an amphibious assault across the narrow sea, or a bombing run over the hump.

I'm sure those features will come. For now, there's more than I can handle just figuring out how to feed the army, let alone how to supply marine commandos on a remote beachhead or drop troops behind enemy lines.... for now...

-Mark R.

[wodin]

ORIGINAL: mroyer

"shallow" and "artificial" aren't the words I'd use but I get where you're coming from. I'm involved in a campaign right now with three other players. The world has long, thin, north-south running oceans. Between that and long mountain chains on the planet, the global strategies become very limited and channeled along predictable axes.

More than once I wished I could have launched an amphibious assault across the narrow sea, or a bombing run over the hump.

I'm sure those features will come. For now, there's more than I can handle just figuring out how to feed the army, let alone how to supply marine commandos on a remote beachhead or drop troops behind enemy lines.... for now...

-Mark R.

I really don't get "Shallow" at all. One of the deepest games I've played in a very very long time.

[Ekaton]

I understand where that sentiment comes from - this game is a great simulation of a post-apocalyptic state, with so many elements being portrayed so deeply and plausibly. To have a world where the economy is simulated with hundreds of buildings, civilian economy, resources, trade, budgets and more, but completely lack basics like planes and ships, seems very odd.

I'm buying the world of SE. It feels so real, nuanced and plausible that I would find it going back to Civilization series. I would be somewhat fine with it if there was some sort of a lore-based explanation for that - all of these planets can't support planes, or water is too unpredictable for ships. These don't seem as realistic or plausible as the rest of the game, but more so than simply not having them or addressing them in the game.

I would even be fine with a tech and a modifier as a temporary solution, or a card you can play on an enemy unit of choice to weaken it, with the number of cards depending on your industry.

At present, this is the main thing preventing me from getting back to the game. I'd rather wait for the DLC, although I won't buy it if it's just ships or just planes.

[eddieballgame]

Personally, I like that it is all about the ground troops, tanks, & such.
It is all about the terrain, though I would be ok with some mobility on the waters.
I suspect most folks are playing this solo (though missing out on a fantastic experience per 'mp') & unless the AI will be able to handle air assaults...it could ruin the experience.
Thus an option to turn that off would be welcome, if & when it does get implemented.

[ASHBERY76]

I worry about adding more stuff like this will just make the A.I even weaker.I am fine with land only.

[eheiser]

I think it sea units would be a great handicap for the AI (judging by Advanced Tactics Gold), but fantastic in multiplayer. Perhaps it should be an option to turn on or off if/when implemented.

[ASHBERY76]

Well it's not that simple.With a good naval design integrated inot the game with Trade lanes,ect.

[solops]

I like the game as is. Lack of naval and air as discrete elements does not particularly bother me. That said, their inclusion could be in many forms. Also, the variation in atmospheric composition and density would have a profound effect on the type and usefulness of air support and the techs required to have air forces. Wide gravity variations further complicate the tech that effective air force's would require. The same issues apply to a lesser extent to naval equipment and operations.

[GazBot]

Id love to see air and sea forces as well.

My one concern is given the depth of the game as it is - this would be a massive under taking in order not to break the existing game balance....which Im by no means qualified to comment on with my relatively low hours on the game....

I mean do to this justice I'm guessing you'd have to implement aerial and sea logistics and supply systems / networks, new supporting infrastructure etc...AA defenses, shore to Sea weapon systems, naval bombardment I mean the list goes on....

Doing this and keeping the game balanced I m guessing would be a massive task - I suspect it would involve creating and integrating in whole new sub systems to the game....

Id say polishing the existing mechanics and systems currently seen would be a good start - ie Im not sure their is any ballistic missile defense to counter the ICBMs and rockets currently in game??? or is this what shields are for???

[KingHalford]

I'm still trying to get my head round why navies would even be a thing in the future? Or how airforces work with varying atmospheres... I think they'd be fun additions but, particularly with navies, how would that be justified, lore wise? They're a thing on earth because we've not developed air/space tech enough that it's outdated, but I don't really see why Shadow Empire would really bother with boats at all... I guess if the argument is that each planet is rediscovering technologies, there'll be a brief, earth-like period where air power isn't quite good enough to project itself across the planet, and maybe carriers might be necessary there for a short while, but after that?

[mroyer]

ORIGINAL: KingHalford

I'm still trying to get my head round why navies would even be a thing in the future? Or how airforces work with varying atmospheres... I think they'd be fun additions but, particularly with navies, how would that be justified, lore wise? They're a thing on earth because we've not developed air/space tech enough that it's outdated, but I don't really see why Shadow Empire would really bother with boats at all... I guess if the argument is that each planet is rediscovering technologies, there'll be a brief, earth-like period where air power isn't quite good enough to project itself across the planet, and maybe carriers might be necessary there for a short while, but after that?

There's a lot of latitude for story-development on that; "a short while" could be 500 years, for example, if the author puzzles it in that way. Air forces, and other analogs that remain aloft without atmosphere, might exist but not be capable (for centuries) to mount or supply a D-Day sized invasion, for example.

Or, the relative relevance of navies vs air forces vs ground forces might vary widely depending on planetary conditions and the happenstance of discovery in a particular game. This is the way I hope it ends up - one game, navies might be critical, and the next anti-grav barges are discovered early and ocean-going ships are never built. That could make for some great variability in play.

-Mark R.

-Mark R.

[Vic]

I think we'll make an announcement within 2 weeks approx about what the big extra feature will be.

Seen that the Steam release date is set on december 3.

[KingHalford]

ORIGINAL: mroyer

ORIGINAL: KingHalford

I'm still trying to get my head round why navies would even be a thing in the future? Or how airforces work with varying atmospheres... I think they'd be fun additions but, particularly with navies, how would that be justified, lore wise? They're a thing on earth because we've not developed air/space tech enough that it's outdated, but I don't really see why Shadow Empire would really bother with boats at all... I guess if the argument is that each planet is rediscovering technologies, there'll be a brief, earth-like period where air power isn't quite good enough to project itself across the planet, and maybe carriers might be necessary there for a short while, but after that?

There's a lot of latitude for story-development on that; "a short while" could be 500 years, for example, if the author puzzles it in that way. Air forces, and other analogs that remain aloft without atmosphere, might exist but not be capable (for centuries) to mount or supply a D-Day sized invasion, for example.

Or, the relative relevance of navies vs air forces vs ground forces might vary widely depending on planetary conditions and the happenstance of discovery in a particular game. This is the way I hope it ends up - one game, navies might be critical, and the next anti-grav barges are discovered early and ocean-going ships are never built. That could make for some great variability in play.

-Mark R.

-Mark R.

That's a good point. I think the setting justifies all sorts of "unusual" situations

[Dampfnudel]

I do not need air and naval units.

I want in that order:

1. Modding support.
2. Balance Patches
3. Deeper Economy
4. Deeper Internal Politics
5. Deeper Diplomacy

[Daza99]

ORIGINAL: Vic

I think we'll make an announcement within 2 weeks approx about what the big extra feature will be.

Seen that the Steam release date is set on december 3.

Is it suppose to say this on the Steam page? because it still has Planned Release Date: Later this (Earth-like) year.

And is the announcement you mention going to appear soon?

[Quilargo]

i am waiting for planes and ships,cant play a strategic game without all three branches- in this current status of the game i am just watching a few lets plays.

But great work from the developer, hope you get support for implementing ships/planes

[jpwrunyan]

ORIGINAL: ASHBERY76

I worry about adding more stuff like this will just make the A.I even weaker.I am fine with land only.

Exactly. Let's make the game good at what it already has instead of adding more crap to junk up the works.

I'm still miffed about all the crap that got added to Distant Worlds when what it really needed was some serious QoL improvements (that game was a hot mess that just conflagrated more with each new content addition). Alas, QoL doesn't make for profitable DLC/expansions... and the prevailing attitude of consumers like the OP contribute to this problem.

No offense, OP, but your desire for something better I firmly believe would result in something worse.

[nukkxx5058]

My wishes so far:
- Naval and air units are a must.
- More political
- More dipomatic options
- More economics
- Terraforming / land development
- Open to mods