Distant Worlds: Shadows

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Kayoz
My position is this: reality in the gaming industry as seen through the lens of the marketing department is less reliable than the sexual attractiveness of a potential mate as seen through the lens of the bottom of a beer glass.

Certainly true in some cases. Fortunately for you, I am not the marketing department and in any case our marketing folks are good guys too. [8D]

In all seriousness though, this seems like a good opportunity to get up on my soapbox a bit. I try to tell you guys about the game the same way I see it. I may get a bit too excited sometimes and I may also see things a bit differently due to my involvement in the design and development, but it goes against our grain here to try to make the game something it isn't. With that said, it's almost impossible to see and understand the entirety of a game through bits and pieces at the preview stage the way you would when you are actually playing it.

That's where I can only say that the same folks who made DW, Return of the Shakturi and Legends are working on Shadows. It's been our most challenging expansion release so far, because of how far we went from the "default" gameplay with some of the new options. Creating each DW release has been an iterative process. We keep working at it and polishing it until we're sure it's finally ready. Sometimes we get that more right than others, but I think overall, with the exception of some of the big bugs that got past us in the very first release and which we addressed soon after the release, we've done pretty well.

At this point DW has become a fairly mature game and with each release we're tightening, balancing and tuning it more in many areas and breaking the mold in a few others. Shadows is shaping up well though and I'm confident it will let you all play DW in whole new ways as well as refreshing the existing gameplay and challenge level.

As always, I'll keep talking about it before release as time allows (until the Marketing Department takes over [;)]) and we'll be listening to your feedback post-release to make sure we address any issues and incorporate your feedback into updates and future releases.

Regards,

- Erik

[Simulation01]

<-- Sullen Child. I wanted more news.

[Kayoz]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins
... in Shadows each colony consumes strategic resources based on its size and development. If it doesn't get enough, it won't grow and it will keep demanding those resources even if nothing is being built there.

I really hope a rule-rapist is testing this. As it stands, a single escort can enforce a blockade - and do it all the while he's puttering from across the galaxy with zero fuel. Do this to all an opponent's planets and you shut him down economically.

This makes blockade FAR too powerful as an escalation to war.

[Tanaka]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

ORIGINAL: Kayoz
My position is this: reality in the gaming industry as seen through the lens of the marketing department is less reliable than the sexual attractiveness of a potential mate as seen through the lens of the bottom of a beer glass.

Certainly true in some cases. Fortunately for you, I am not the marketing department and in any case our marketing folks are good guys too. [8D]

In all seriousness though, this seems like a good opportunity to get up on my soapbox a bit. I try to tell you guys about the game the same way I see it. I may get a bit too excited sometimes and I may also see things a bit differently due to my involvement in the design and development, but it goes against our grain here to try to make the game something it isn't. With that said, it's almost impossible to see and understand the entirety of a game through bits and pieces at the preview stage the way you would when you are actually playing it.

That's where I can only say that the same folks who made DW, Return of the Shakturi and Legends are working on Shadows. It's been our most challenging expansion release so far, because of how far we went from the "default" gameplay with some of the new options. Creating each DW release has been an iterative process. We keep working at it and polishing it until we're sure it's finally ready. Sometimes we get that more right than others, but I think overall, with the exception of some of the big bugs that got past us in the very first release and which we addressed soon after the release, we've done pretty well.

At this point DW has become a fairly mature game and with each release we're tightening, balancing and tuning it more in many areas and breaking the mold in a few others. Shadows is shaping up well though and I'm confident it will let you all play DW in whole new ways as well as refreshing the existing gameplay and challenge level.

As always, I'll keep talking about it before release as time allows (until the Marketing Department takes over [;)]) and we'll be listening to your feedback post-release to make sure we address any issues and incorporate your feedback into updates and future releases.

Regards,

- Erik

Erik and Devs can these two huge bugs please be fixed in Shadows?

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[unclean]

ORIGINAL: jpwrunyan

ORIGINAL: Kayoz

ORIGINAL: jpwrunyan

In other news, Pandora looks cool.

Based on ....?

... the press release.

You realize I am talking about Pandora: First Contact, right?

Alpha Centauri with new graphics? Sign me up. I just wish they'd gone with a hexagonal grid instead of an orthagonal one.

They changed to hexes last month, oddly enough.

I wouldn't expect AC though, I think they've been pretty wise in not mentioning that game in their press releases at all.

[sveint]

Please release a complete version with all the expansions.

[Tanaka]

Will the diplomacy be fixed so that the AI is not constantly making trade sanctions on and off repetitively against you?

[Pawsy]

No trade sanctions in my game I found they rarely impose them?

[tjhkkr]

I have been thinking about all the possibilities with these mercenaries...
This would really fit in well with Star Wars universe.

I can see all sorts of neat things. In TOR, mercenaries play a role, and they certainly are present in Ep 1 - 3, CW, and Ep 4 - 6.

[tjhkkr]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins
The suits are designed to not be specific to any single species, so while they are not customized to a species like the Dhayut, you can imagine most of the other species potentially inside there. The final versions of these will show up in-game when you are communicating with the space-based factions, for example.
Regards,
- Erik

Will these be modifyable... IE: can you make your own mercenaries just like you would a race? Set parameters for boarding parties like we do for battalions right now?
I am thinking this will really be fun.

[ehsumrell1]

Take a DEEP breath TJ......Now BREATHE....you're going to be okay!

[Antiscamp]

I am really looking forward to seeing what land troops and unit types will do for modding. My humans have needs for all sorts of new troops.

[Bingeling]

ORIGINAL: starbuck310

No trade sanctions in my game I found they rarely impose them?

It seems that the AI relies on the relation score, and each AI got a trade sanction limit.

If this limit is, say -30, you can end with relations bouncing between -31 and -29 as their covetion goes up and down, you bust a pirate base... And the trade sanction are on and off in short intervals. It is quite annoying when that happens. Some "cooldown" between changes would not hurt.

[ASHBERY76]

The A.I diplomacy spamming is set at a 3 month interval for santions.The games needs longer enforced yearly time limits to treaties in the game like you get in real time strategy systems ala EU3..The diplomacy system is pretty useless for alliances too because of this.You or the A.I empire can and does sue for peace straight away when getting inlvolved in the alliance war so what is the point.There needs to be long coldown times for peace too so war weariness has some meaning in gameplay.The diplomacy system needs tightening up in general to stop the host of exploits it allows.

Subjugation treaties are also useless as other empires can declare war and get subjugation on that same empire too,which makes the 10% and war effort involved in getting them useless.You might as well annex the whole empire.

Not beign able to ask for military and mining rights in diplomacy is also bizzare.Why would you offer it for free when one should get nice stuff for it?

[Tyrador]

ORIGINAL: ASHBERY76

The A.I diplomacy spamming is set at a 3 month interval for santions.The games needs longer enforced yearly time limits to treaties in the game like you get in real time strategy systems ala EU3..The diplomacy system is pretty useless for alliances too because of this.You or the A.I empire can and does sue for peace straight away when getting inlvolved in the alliance war so what is the point.There needs to be long coldown times for peace too so war weariness has some meaning in gameplay.The diplomacy system needs tightening up in general to stop the host of exploits it allows.

Subjugation treaties are also useless as other empires can declare war and get subjugation on that same empire too,which makes the 10% and war effort involved in getting them useless.You might as well annex the whole empire.

Not beign able to ask for military and mining rights in diplomacy is also bizzare.Why would you offer it for free when one should get nice stuff for it?

It would be great if DW would have something similar to EU3 like: policies, ideas, core system, 5 year truce, casus belli, vassalisation, alliances, local decisions, missions and etc. Probably it is not so hard to implements some of those[;)]

[Kalthaniell]

ORIGINAL: Tyrador

ORIGINAL: ASHBERY76

The A.I diplomacy spamming is set at a 3 month interval for santions.The games needs longer enforced yearly time limits to treaties in the game like you get in real time strategy systems ala EU3..The diplomacy system is pretty useless for alliances too because of this.You or the A.I empire can and does sue for peace straight away when getting inlvolved in the alliance war so what is the point.There needs to be long coldown times for peace too so war weariness has some meaning in gameplay.The diplomacy system needs tightening up in general to stop the host of exploits it allows.

Subjugation treaties are also useless as other empires can declare war and get subjugation on that same empire too,which makes the 10% and war effort involved in getting them useless.You might as well annex the whole empire.

Not beign able to ask for military and mining rights in diplomacy is also bizzare.Why would you offer it for free when one should get nice stuff for it?

It would be great if DW would have something similar to EU3 like: policies, ideas, core system, 5 year truce, casus belli, vassalisation, alliances, local decisions, missions and etc. Probably it is not so hard to implements some of those[;)]

It already has alliances, protectorates, policies, missions and different government styles Tyrador ;P
I agree however, that an enforced peace time after a truce has been signed would be a good improvement. Due to the war weariness mechanic one can find himself 'cheating the system' by negotiating peace with an enemy just to get rid of war weariness and than declare war immediately afterwards.
But my personal opinion is that political interaction in DW shouldn't get too complex. It might make guiding an empire way too challenging, especially for the new players. Not to mention it would probably make the game's AI go crazy And remaking game AI is always a lot of work.

[Tyrador]

ORIGINAL: Kalthaniell

ORIGINAL: Tyrador

ORIGINAL: ASHBERY76

The A.I diplomacy spamming is set at a 3 month interval for santions.The games needs longer enforced yearly time limits to treaties in the game like you get in real time strategy systems ala EU3..The diplomacy system is pretty useless for alliances too because of this.You or the A.I empire can and does sue for peace straight away when getting inlvolved in the alliance war so what is the point.There needs to be long coldown times for peace too so war weariness has some meaning in gameplay.The diplomacy system needs tightening up in general to stop the host of exploits it allows.

Subjugation treaties are also useless as other empires can declare war and get subjugation on that same empire too,which makes the 10% and war effort involved in getting them useless.You might as well annex the whole empire.

Not beign able to ask for military and mining rights in diplomacy is also bizzare.Why would you offer it for free when one should get nice stuff for it?

It would be great if DW would have something similar to EU3 like: policies, ideas, core system, 5 year truce, casus belli, vassalisation, alliances, local decisions, missions and etc. Probably it is not so hard to implements some of those[;)]

It already has alliances, protectorates, policies, missions and different government styles Tyrador ;P
I agree however, that an enforced peace time after a truce has been signed would be a good improvement. Due to the war weariness mechanic one can find himself 'cheating the system' by negotiating peace with an enemy just to get rid of war weariness and than declare war immediately afterwards.
But my personal opinion is that political interaction in DW shouldn't get too complex. It might make guiding an empire way too challenging, especially for the new players. Not to mention it would probably make the game's AI go crazy And remaking game AI is always a lot of work.

Alliances, protectorates, policies, missions and different government styles mechanic is totally different there from DW's. Especially policies, like centralization vs federalism, innovative vs narrowminded, quality vs quantity, serfdom/slavery vs free subjects and ect. And I was suggesting to make DW's features more similar to EU3's features, which may improve DW.
BUT! I agree that it is totally not worthwhile to do that![:D]

[Bingeling]

I never paid much attention to it, but enforced peace should not be the fix for war weariness, war weariness should take some time to disappear. Quite significant time after a gradual reduction.

One could imagine that what happens to it on a new war depends on how it was started. Being stabbed should maybe lower it a tad, declaring war could give it a boost.

Lots of the more annoying things (in my mind) are related to diplomacy too. Blockades and the way pirates works. It will be interesting to see if Shadows improves the pirate stuff a whole lot. Being a good guy just because you don't like pirates is silly.

[tjhkkr]

ORIGINAL: ehsumrell1
Take a DEEP breath TJ......Now BREATHE....you're going to be okay!

[:'(]

Deep breath; breathe; let go. Deep breath; breathe; let go. I sound like Darth Vader now...

Yeah, but this could like be really close to the SW universe... Deep breath; breathe; let go.

[Tanaka]

Hi Erik any chance for mine laying and mine sweeper ships in this last expansion? Would add another great strategy layer to defenses! Was a lot of fun in space empires 4. Actually there are a lot of great ideas from that game that would be a great addition!