Matrix Games Forums

1 year ago today we got a Legends youtube video showing the gameplay elements narrated by the main man Elliot,same the year before with the Shakuri expansion..

I am thinking this expansion will not make an x-mas release this time.

Holy crap. Making already the best sci-fi 4x game even better.

Its fine if its going to be 2013, take your time. More time to squish bugs.

Few more bits of info and maybe preorder. [:D]

Just one question and a request...

Will the the aforementioned new elements of boarding/ground combat/new units be strictly limited to the age of shadows gameplay or will the installation of the latest expansion change (where appropriate, without affecting the game's plot) the Legends as well? Will the player be able to play the usual 'empires' game with some of the new stuff?

As for the request, much better AI/more diplomacy please. All the new elements without a competent AI won't do a thing.

Thanks.

I love how all of our questions have been completely ignored. Carry on Matrix...carry on.

Obviously this is not the time to spam info about the expansion. Erik could be busy, or things are still far enough off that details are not set in stone, and thus better not revealed.

ORIGINAL: Blueberry

Just one question and a request...

Will the the aforementioned new elements of boarding/ground combat/new units be strictly limited to the age of shadows gameplay or will the installation of the latest expansion change (where appropriate, without affecting the game's plot) the Legends as well? Will the player be able to play the usual 'empires' game with some of the new stuff?

As for the request, much better AI/more diplomacy please. All the new elements without a competent AI won't do a thing.
Thanks.

I thought that you could play all of these features without playing the sublight scenario they are putting out.

Well I think it really depends what the 'pre hyperspace' bit in the 'pre hyperspace Age of Shadows' means.
I'm scratching my head trying to work out how you could play a game without moving between systems....surely it doesn't mean that.

You may actually have to research the hyperdrive before you can use one. Basically the game would start off small, with you only able to explore your own system, rid it of the pirates located there, etc.

Haree, Shark -- Yeah I wonder too.
But you know in something like a globular cluster, you probably could not use a hyperdrive. Those are measured in astronomical units and not light years.

Wormholes?

ORIGINAL: Simulation01

I love how all of our questions have been completely ignored. Carry on Matrix...carry on.

I suspect/hope Elliot is eating the elephant - one byte at a time. [:D]

Catching up with some of your questions. I can't answer all yet, but will answer some.

ORIGINAL: Sithuk
1. Can we set global minimum troop levels and alter those on a planet specific basis to stop auto troop transports stripping front line planets?

Yes, there is a new "garrison" feature and the AI knows how to use this as well. You also get to specify your desired loadout (as far as the different troop types go) at the ship and fleet level so you get the mix of troops you want for an invasion.

2. Can we now set filters for the "under attack" warning so we don't get continually spammed by it?
3. Can we upgrade spaceports not based around planets?

These are both in our feature list, thought the second is still a work in progress.

4. Will the AI code be opened up to allow the community to mod it?

Not for this release, but we have plans (which I cannot discuss in detail yet) for a modder-focused expanion after Shadows.

Regards,

- Erik

ORIGINAL: Modest
Now, while changes to the ground combat are great, and I am very happy about it, thing which mostly took my attention are space based factions For a very long time I wanted to be able to build "secret" empire in dead space, far from any solar system (with exeption of mining stations that is). Now maybe I will be able to! Also boarding actions sounds very interesting

Yes, that's the idea. The new "pirates" are not the old pirates and can become quite powerful as well as harder to find and eliminate.

Regards,

- Erik

Well there you go, now we need another thread to discuss the expansion after the expansion were all waiting for [:D]

Not for this release, but we have plans (which I cannot discuss in detail yet) for a modder-focused expanion after Shadows.

Darkspire

ORIGINAL: Shark7
1. How will this affect our current mods? IE will they still work?

To the best of my knowledge right now, all Legends mods should work with Shadows without any changes. Our goal is to make sure that remains that way for release.

4. Will there be new research techs given the new ground forces?

Yes, first there is a new "Level 0" on the tech tree for the pre-hyperspace techs, then there is the new Ground Combat tech tree and the new Gravitic Weapons tech tree, as well as some modifications to others.

5. Will any additional areas of the game be open to modding?

Not in the major areas, the amount of work those require makes opening them up a lot of work. However, all new work keeps modding in mind and we currently plan to make a modder-focused release after Shadows that should make some major strides forward on the modding side rather than incremental ones.

Regards,

- Erik

ORIGINAL: pipewrench
Even if Matrix cannot get the new expansion out in time for the Christmas sale, it would be nice to offer a pre-order sale that discounts the existing game to new players with Shadows included.

Our holiday sale will start very soon and all existing Distant Worlds releases will be included. That means about 33% off until mid-January.

Regards,

- Erik

Will you be adding sort functions to the quick list to the left on the main screen? Its pretty useless mid game onwards.

Darkspire

ORIGINAL: ASHBERY76
I hope to see light micromanagement in building and organising but with complex invasion mechanics with planet and unit types being meaningfull.Groundcombat in most 4x games is pretty crappy so I wait for new details with interest.

I would recommend tweaking bombarding to a much slower rate and longer reputation hit factor.At moment bombard is a very easy tool to use and makes this new high groundcombat investment not worth it.

Day1 buy.

We are indeed trying to make this add more gameplay without requiring a lot of micromanagement. You can manage your troop loadouts at the fleet level, set garrison levels on planets and set build percentages at the policy level for the different unit types.

The unit types have different strength and abilities and specializations. There are bonuses for native planet type, planet types that you can comfortably inhabit, combined arms and some other unique interactions by unit type. Skills for Generals have become more detailed as well, with some specializing in Armor, Infantry, Special Forces, Planetary Defense, etc.

Bombarding is indeed reduced, though we are still balancing and tweaking many areas right now as well as finishing up some last features.

Regards,

- Erik

ORIGINAL: Haree78
What will also be intriguing will be whether we are able to get resources off of the space faring nations. I suggested this quite some time back when there was attempts to make resources more important. If we can get needed resources from what were pirates then maybe we can tone down the amount of resources in the galaxy and make them more of an important gameplay factor without causing unfixable bottle necks like before.

Yes, when playing as an empire you can actually put in a request with these independent traders/smugglers to effectively pay them to bring a particular resource to one of your planets. You pay, they deliver. They'll also interact with your economy normally of course, as there is always some demand your own freighters may not be able to fill. At the same time, in the cases where they are connected to an independent faction, trading with them can give them a bit more influence in your economy, but that's another story.

The messaging and information regarding resource shortages is also greatly improved and planets now consume resources for their own growth needs whether they are building something or not.

Regards,

- Erik