[Setre]

I’ve watched a Let’s Play and put about 5 hours into the game. I’m starting to get a hang of things but still kind of overwhelmed/confused.

A mistake I made this last game was putting every upgrade I acquired into every system I owned. I noticed my money was going down pretty rapidly and figured my fleets couldn’t be sucking that much money away. Guess all those - to Dust icons on upgrades are there for a reason. So I’m guessing it’s better to specialize each system instead of packing them all full of shit?

This game is starting to make Crusader Kings 2 learning curve look easy. Granted I've never really played a 4x game before beisdes Civ 5, and I sucked at that too. Starting to wonder if buying both this and Warlock at the same time was a good idea, lol.

[Pylon_Trooper]

Started a new game tonight, a nice big one on normal speed (I really like the slow pace, but I can see how folks might be keen for something a little faster). Had a little fleet in the early game guarding an outpost with a wormhole glowing off into the unknown. Had settled a system in the adjacent quandrant and some pirates rocked up. Took my little fleet off wormhole picket duty to chase the pirates...

...and a Craver fleet, who must have been waiting for the picket to move on, surged into my system. Became a real test so early on, as I was putting a lot of effort in resource tech! Quickly diverted a lot of research and time into getting cruiser tech into the mix and the Hissho - of all races - come to my aid with unstable torp tech. They wanted to get high on my blue mold mushrooms, it seems. Only a single shipment, too!

Speaking of which, that resource has a wry description.

God, this game is so GOOD.

[gotee12]

Only put about two hours into it thus far but man, for an alpha, it's awesome. The tech tree is just amazing to look through. I do hope they add in some kind of notification of unused troop movements for when you end your turn. I've wasted a lot of troop moves due to my forgetfulness. And I'd much rather have movement actions happen at the beginning of a turn rather than at the end.

[dragonelite]

I miss a auto explore option on ships.
But then the galaxy isn't that big compared to some others.

[Moobabe]

Started a new game tonight, a nice big one on normal speed (I really like the slow pace, but I can see how folks might be keen for something a little faster). Had a little fleet in the early game guarding an outpost with a wormhole glowing off into the unknown. Had settled a system in the adjacent quandrant and some pirates rocked up. Took my little fleet off wormhole picket duty to chase the pirates... ...and a Craver fleet, who must have been waiting for the picket to move on, surged into my system. Became a real test so early on, as I was putting a lot of effort in resource tech! Quickly diverted a lot of research and time into getting cruiser tech into the mix and the Hissho - of all races - come to my aid with unstable torp tech. They wanted to get high on my blue mold mushrooms, it seems. Only a single shipment, too! Speaking of which, that resource has a wry description. God, this game is so GOOD.

How good though man? I mean - you're usually right about this kind of thing - post.. 3 screenshots and one sentence to sell me the game.

[Pylon_Trooper]

How good though man? I mean - you're usually right about this kind of thing - post.. 3 screenshots and one sentence to sell me the game.

Alright, but you'll have to forgive the screenshots taken from a week or so ago when I first got the game and was feeling my way around the cosmos.







In a nutshell, Endless Space is looking to be the go-to 4X space game for newbie and veteran alike; the spiritual successor to Master of Orion with lore to evoke the finest of literary space opera, music channelling Bear McCreary, UI to completely rewrite what we expect from the genre and that addictive "one more turn" aspect to keep you playing into the night. If this is what passes as an alpha, then we are in for a treat at full release.

Does that work for you? Granted, there's still races to be added and a lot more work to be done, but meat is indeed on the bone.

Might I add, at 26USDs, the Emperor Edition is a steal - OST, name in the credits etc. And in an age of unknown quantities with these Kickstarter projects flying around, it's good to see an indie developer put their product where their mouth is and you've actually got a chance to read previews/impressions and watch Let's Plays before plonking down your clams.

[gotee12]

In a nutshell, Endless Space is looking to be the go-to 4X space game for newbie and veteran alike; the spiritual successor to Master of Orion with lore to evoke the finest of literary space opera, music channelling Bear McCreary, UI to completely rewrite what we expect from the genre and that addictive "one more turn" aspect to keep you playing into the night. If this is what passes as an alpha, then we are in for a treat at full release.

Where might I find this lore? I've become quite smitten with this game and am looking to really get deep into the fiction to supplement my armchair emperoring...

[Pylon_Trooper]

It's actually on the forums, but I assume it'll be instituted into the game. The actual Endless precursor race/factions story is really cool. I usually skip over such things, but this one stuck.

Here you go, have a goosey at the initial Universe design doc overview.

[Moobabe]

Alright, but you'll have to forgive the screenshots taken from a week or so ago when I first got the game and was feeling my way around the cosmos. In a nutshell, Endless Space is looking to be the go-to 4X space game for newbie and veteran alike; the spiritual successor to Master of Orion with lore to evoke the finest of literary space opera, music channelling Bear McCreary, UI to completely rewrite what we expect from the genre and that addictive "one more turn" aspect to keep you playing into the night. If this is what passes as an alpha, then we are in for a treat at full release. Does that work for you? Granted, there's still races to be added and a lot more work to be done, but meat is indeed on the bone. Might I add, at 26USDs, the Emperor Edition is a steal - OST, name in the credits etc. And in an age of unknown quantities with these Kickstarter projects flying around, it's good to see an indie developer put their product where their mouth is and you've actually got a chance to read previews/impressions and watch Let's Plays before plonking down your clams.

Your word is often enough for me to plonk down clams - on this occasion though can some kind GAFfer gift it to me? The Emperor Edition is £21 here but only $26 you say? I'll Paypal you within seconds.

[Munin]

Are they planning a Mac version?

[Moobabe]

I've put down the "clams" - downloading now - DAMMIT PYLON!

[Pylon_Trooper]

Are they planning a Mac version?

They are, not sure when that version is hitting, but soon is the hope.

I've put down the "clams" - downloading now - DAMMIT PYLON!

Good man! The clams to fun ratio is gloriously in favour of value. Impressions when you have them, a requested order of the day - if you care to do so!

[IamMikeside]

Wow, played for about 4 or 5 hours this morning and I'm stunned. Very easy to get into, lots of depth, I can already see that I'm going to be playing this for a long time.

I'm loving that this alpha (though it eventually just crashed for me) is in a much more finished/polished state than Sword of the Stars II is even now!

[gotee12]

I encountered my first game-breaking bug. I was around turn 90 with the Hissho, pumping out Bloodshed's (my custom class warship!) at a rate of 1.5 per turn (was that supposed to be possible? every other turn it was producing 2 at a time instead of one).

Anyway I had probably 30 or so of these warships floating around, picking off Cravers (they started the war, and I was going to finish it) when suddenly I get a request for a cease fire from the Cravers. I promptly denied it and that's where things went to crap. Lost control of a few of my fleets, I could click on them and highlight them but no submenus would pop up. I even had a course plotted for one of the frozen fleets but it still wouldn't move. I had a terrific hero admiral commanding one of the fleets but his fleet completely disappeared. He still showed as "alive and well" under hero management and that he was still assigned to the fleet, but the fleet itself was nowhere to be found. I was really starting to dominate on that play through too.

Oh well, that's how it goes I guess. And I'm going to stop short of blaming it on an "alpha release". Due to reasons beyond my comprehension, it seems like all games nowadays come with game breaking bugs, regardless of alpha/beta/retail release status...

p.s. - This isn't a dig at the game. It's awesome and I have no qualms with starting up a new play through. As is with all 4X's (for me at least) every play through I learn more and more from my mistakes which make requisite play throughs all the more fun!

[Pylon_Trooper]

Can you believe...in my personal brinkmanship/odd sabre-rattle with the Cravers on the border...that my Rampart torpedo cruiser production was ground to a halt after a fleet of goddamn SPACE RAIDER scumbags, sporting over 15 vessels destroyed the only colony I had which produced Titanium-70?!

A hideous strategic oversight. Had locked down relations with the Sophons and Hissho, so I felt my flank was okay and the Titanium flowed. The blockades I'd set up on the border had their requisite Ramparts and destroyers, but I'd responded by thinning the inner-system fleet presence to skeleton numbers whilst bringing ships to the front.

...so now I'm pumping out a scratch fleet of destroyers to take back what's mine!

A shameful but education experience.

[SteveWinwood]

The spice must flow.

[Rayme]

So I'm trying to fly my 2nd colony ship to this particular system, but it refuses to go there.

I've already explored it with a scout, so what gives? When I right-click I get a beep, but no other feedback. Bug, or something I'm missing? Do ships have ranges?

[Karak]

I know the ship battles aren't for everyone but they really made me feel like they captured the B5 style massive capital ship battles I have always wanted in a game. I also love the combat system and the various little bits to it depending on the mix of ships in your fleet. Deeper than it looks but not TOO deep. Great game.

[DY_nasty]

This is going to sound like the dumbest question ever, but how do you get a better view of the galaxy map?

[BigTnaples]

This is going to sound like the dumbest question ever, but how do you get a better view of the galaxy map?

Zoom out, scroll wheel.

[DY_nasty]

Zoom out, scroll wheel.

Figures. Playing with a touchpad. Thought it was a simple toggle :|

[gotee12]

So I'm trying to fly my 2nd colony ship to this particular system, but it refuses to go there. I've already explored it with a scout, so what gives? When I right-click I get a beep, but no other feedback. Bug, or something I'm missing? Do ships have ranges?

That's somewhat similar to the bug I experienced earlier.

Figures. Playing with a touchpad. Thought it was a simple toggle :|

Yep. My laptop touchpad scroll isn't recognized by the game either. I wound up plugging in my desktop mouse when playing from my laptop.

[Pylon_Trooper]

The spice must flow.

It must indeed. One thing I love is seeking out luxuries and resources and then deciding the research paths. Hitting the titanium jackpot, even a poor vein on some backwater podunk tundra world, is immensely reassuring for putting a little iron in the fleet glove.

I know the ship battles aren't for everyone but they really made me feel like they captured the B5 style massive capital ship battles I have always wanted in a game. I also love the combat system and the various little bits to it depending on the mix of ships in your fleet. Deeper than it looks but not TOO deep. Great game.

I think they're great, too. Once we get a little variety of camera work and perhaps player-interaction (although I'm not fussed in that regard), as well as maybe some realtime GUIs with reload times/shield levels etc., we're set. As it stands, I want even more BSG-esque camera pans and zooms!

[Rayme]

That's somewhat similar to the bug I experienced earlier.

Hahah; it's killing me, because that particular system is amazing. =p

No ships will fly there now. Such a cruel, cruel bug.

[-Deadpool-]

Hahah; it's killing me, because that particular system is amazing. =p No ships will fly there now. Such a cruel, cruel bug.

It may rectify itself later - I had it in my current game last night, it was the home world system on United Empire too, so I couldn't eradicate them. About 6-7 turns later though I tried to move ships in again and it worked perfectly.

EDIT: Think it's path related, probably part of/same reason you sometimes get fleets flying backwards and forwards between the same systems, to suddenly appear elsewhere! That's an hilarious bug too.

[atbigelow]

SPACE?! Bought Emperor Edition and now downloading.

[Moobabe]

OK - played a few hours and have a few questions; it feels like I'm "ending turn" a little too often. I get my hero, all my colonies are building things, selected a research and then... well... nothing? Reading some of you guys descriptions and experiences I feel like I'm missing something pretty important. I've tried to soak in as much of the tutorial as I can but it was late and I really didn't want to sit through another few hundred words. Thankfully the tutorial pops up every game.

Is there a recommended "beginner" race? I keep choosing the sciency guys but considering I don't understand the science or tech tree aspects of the game maybe that's not the best choice?

[jman2050]

OK - played a few hours and have a few questions; it feels like I'm "ending turn" a little too often. I get my hero, all my colonies are building things, selected a research and then... well... nothing? Reading some of you guys descriptions and experiences I feel like I'm missing something pretty important. I've tried to soak in as much of the tutorial as I can but it was late and I really didn't want to sit through another few hundred words. Thankfully the tutorial pops up every game.

I haven't played much beyond the initial turns, but if this is like other 4X games like Civ, then there are going to be periods, especially early in the game, where nothing really happens because you're trying to build you own empire and economy. The idea is that you maintain a position of strength in years where there's a lull so that when you ARE forced to fight, you won't be dead in the water. Finding the most efficient way of building your empire, and ensuring you always stay a step ahead of your peers is crucial.

[Moobabe]

I haven't played much beyond the initial turns, but if this is like other 4X games like Civ, then there are going to be periods, especially early in the game, where nothing really happens because you're trying to build you own empire and economy. The idea is that you maintain a position of strength in years where there's a lull so that when you ARE forced to fight, you won't be dead in the water. Finding the most efficient way of building your empire, and ensuring you always stay a step ahead of your peers is crucial.

I've ended a couple of games prematurely just to have a look at other map types, speeds, difficulty etc and even on easy I'm like 2000 points behind the AI after 100 turns or something. I'm probably just bad; but it feels like I'm missing something altogether.

[dragonelite]

Cool just saw the enemy for the first time adept it ships to what i have.
Or atleast it is the first time i saw it and start playing with ship design but it cost a lot of dust to be that flexibel.

[Sir Fragula]

I've ended a couple of games prematurely just to have a look at other map types, speeds, difficulty etc and even on easy I'm like 2000 points behind the AI after 100 turns or something. I'm probably just bad; but it feels like I'm missing something altogether.

Playing as Sophon? My first five games were as them and utter disasters. Tried the Terran race on my 6th go and blitzed it.

Not sure how effective the balancing is yet.

[gabbo]

Just came across this thread for the first time and it's the same reaction to the few 4x games I've played in the past: Looks incredible, but daunting enough to keep me away.
The only recent experience I have is with Sins of a Solar Empire and I was no good at that.
It sounds like I might be able to ease myself into Endless Space a bit more gently before pirates start destroying my home planet?

[Karak]

I think they're great, too. Once we get a little variety of camera work and perhaps player-interaction (although I'm not fussed in that regard), as well as maybe some realtime GUIs with reload times/shield levels etc., we're set. As it stands, I want even more BSG-esque camera pans and zooms!

Agreed the quick zooms and minimal but effective use of some shaky cam added to the excellent angles used really grabbed me. I would LOVE to see more of it, see a bit better damage modeling on the ships and a bit more work on the sounds of battle. But as it stands its still better than some released games.

[Karak]

Just came across this thread for the first time and it's the same reaction to the few 4x games I've played in the past: Looks incredible, but daunting enough to keep me away. The only recent experience I have is with Sins of a Solar Empire and I was no good at that. It sounds like I might be able to ease myself into Endless Space a bit more gently before pirates start destroying my home planet?

This is WAY easier to grasp. Try it out. I mean orders of magnitude easier. And only gets better from there.

[Sarcasm]

Never played a game like this before. Still lost after two hours.

[Mr Nash]

Still trying to decide which species I want to use. Only futzed around with the United Empire so far, and it was alright. Might try those science guys for a bit though, since I like trying to win these sorts of games by research.

[jakershaker]

This is WAY easier to grasp. Try it out. I mean orders of magnitude easier. And only gets better from there.

Easier then sins? That was pretty much a rts.

[jaundicejuice]

Never played a game like this before. Still lost after two hours.

It took me about four or five to figure things out and two or three bad games, don't give up! I just looked at Endless Space through the lense of Civ V and found that helped out a lot, dunno if you've played any Civ tho.

You'll want to spread your research out around the four branches initially, focus on researching purple (strategic) and white (empire bonuses) resources, different planet-types to colonise and unlocking different ship types (even if you're not bent on war you'll need defensive capabilities from the other races and pirates). Also pay attention to the orange techs, those are specific needs for whatever race you're playing as and should provide you with an idea of what your research goals should be.

The United Empire is a pretty good starter civ/species, they're focused on commerce and/or war.

[bonesmccoy]

I second/third/fourth the sticking with it recommendation. I've had about 4-5 failed campaigns, and each time I've learned something really really important. Like the how to efficiently colonize, when to spec up my ship designs et cetera.

I found that adding 1 torpedo card to my 'Defender' ships keeps me from having to spec them up that frequently.

[Pylon_Trooper]

Friends, these are the preliminary updates for ALPHA 2, coming hopefully within the next day or so!

Moved the save directory from ‘Documents\Endless Space\Users\[Steam Alias]\Save\’ to ‘Documents\Endless Space\Save\’. Added a new Fleet action: guard. The fleets with guard status will block fleet movements of all opponents in cold war or war. Added a drag and drop function for the items of the construction queue. Fixed an issue where AI fleets can initiate a fight during the “End turn” phase. Fixed an issue where the battle actions “Beam Surge” and “Illusion” are not properly unlocked by the corresponding Adventurer hero abilities. Fixed an issue preventing the apparition of heroes in the academy after 5 games without restarting the client. Fixed an error preventing the victory conditions to be deactivated in the settings of a new game. Added a warning message if you don’t have a research in queue when you click on end turn. Added a warning message if your bank account become negative at the next turn. After validating the end turn, if next turn's Dust should still become negative, elements will be scrapped automatically (before next turn's dust calculation). The order used to scrap elements is : if player's tax rate is lower than 50%, force it to 50%. the oldest player's system (if that rule is not possible : the one with the less dust) >>> scrap buildings 1 by 1 except those giving immediate dust (system improvement dust 1 to 6), starting each time with the building having the highest upkeep. the oldest player's ship (if that rule is not possible : the one having the less MP) Repeat (2) system by system and (3) ship by ship until there is no more ship and all targeted buildings have been scrapped from all systems force player tax rate to 75%. Expel heroes, starting with the one having less XP, until there is no hero left Scrap all remaining buildings system by system (highest system improvement upkeep first) force player tax rate to 100%. Added the ‘Lock End Turn’ option in the game options panel. When this option is selected, you will not be able to end your turn until all critical warnings have been dismissed or resolved. Modified the population growth formula. Modified the hero upkeep formula. Increased the upkeep value of the system improvements. Modified the negative anomalies effects in order to increase the interest of “Anomaly Reduction”. Modified the values of weapon mods. All accuracies have been changed. Modified the values of defense mods. Weapon X against Defense X has still a chance to deal damage. Fixed the values for the following kinetic modules: Hissho, 7 and 9. Decreased the effects of the trade route bonuses. Modified the effects of the tax rate. Added 2 battle cards at game start. Exchanges can no longer be made in cold war or war. Now diplomacy victory can be achieved with all galaxy sizes and all number of factions, though the more cravers there will be, the harder it will become (it can also become impossible with more than 40% cravers) Improved the AI which no longer tries to build system improvements that will never be of use depending on star system contents. Added a colored symbol to most of the icons of the tech tree. Color indications are the following: industry (orange), food (light green), exploration/colonization (dark green), dust (yellow), military/command (red), hero/academy/experience (light blue), science (dark blue), approval (pink), diplomacy/influence (light grey), strategic resources (purple), FIDS (rainbow). Shape determines an empire unlock (star), a system building (triangle) or a ship module (square). Added a confirmation message after a modification of resolution. Fixed an issue preventing to change the resolution if the new height or width is the same as the previous selection. Fixed an issue where AI fleets can overcome the command points limitation. Added the locust points value in the system view. Extended the size of the filename for the save files to 80 characters. Added a Vsync option in the Game Options Panel. Modified the end game screen. The “+1 max pop on explored moon” bonus effect of ‘Psychological Insulation’ should work properly now. Fixed an error occurring when an empire is eliminated and causing a crash. Fixed an issue where the player can’t pass a turn (without an error message). Modified the galaxy generation, including the following points: shape topology is now appropriately implemented, resulting in: colored regions in shapes correctly followed better connections between regions/constellations more logical associations of regions/stars in constellations spawning was greatly improved, and will explicitly look for well-connected places connectivity was greatly improved "Star Connectivity" and "Constellation Connectivity" parameters are much better accounted for No anomaly should be found on starting planets, except from faction traits. Improved the 3D viewport in the Military and Ship Design screens: you can rotate the 3D ship with holding the left click. Fixed an error where the user can retrofit ships for which he does not have the required strategic resources. Fixed an issue where the pirate ship explosion is too small. Added scroll bars in the random event panel. Improved the skyboxes in the Galaxy and System screens. Lava planets are rotated around a vertical axis. Added background elements in the Battle view (asteroids, wrecks). Added a zoom level slider in the Galaxy View (available in the game option panel). Fixed an issue where the slider values in the audio options display the wrong information. Added a slider for the GUI SFX in the audio options. Modified the trade panel to display more than 6 trade routes. Improved the faction selection in the new game screen. Fixed an error where hovering over the command point number displays the wrong tool tip. Fixed an error where disband a fleet or scrap a ship can be performed in the military view while the fleet is on a cosmic string. Fixed an issue where the slider for Ambience, Master and Music volume disappears if the user presses left-click on it. Fixed a display issue where Xeno-Pharmaceuticals, Artifact Analysis and Animalia exploitation unlocks are exiting the designated area. Fixed a display issue where all artifacts resources are exiting the designated area when the user is in planet view. Fixed an error where some module texts do not fit the designated space box in the ship design view. Fixed an error where the trade panel in the system view has no scroll bar. Fixed an error occurring after expelling all heroes from the academy. Fixed an error preventing the loading of some game saves. Fixed a text issue where the title of the battle cards panel in the galaxy view is wrong. Fixed some display errors in the diplomatic negotiations view. Fixed an improper tooltip when trying to assign a hero to a fleet engaged into a fight. Fixed a resolution issue on the moon/temple large icons. Fixed a text issue in the battle card successful tooltip if the AI hasn’t used a battle card. Fixed a text issue in the title tooltip of the advanced galaxy settings panel. Fixed text issues in the description of some heroes. Fixed text issue in the tooltip of a lava planet colonization without having the required technology. Fixed an issue on the left arrow used to change deal values in the diplomatic negotiations view. Fixed a text issue in the attack fleet action tooltip. Fixed text issues in the tutorials. Fixed an error where the 7th tip is missing in the military view tutorial. Fixed text issue in the opponent played battle action tooltip.

Awesome.

[Mindlog]

The Emporer is pleased. Keep up the excellent work Amplitude.

[Deraldin]

Excellent. Can't wait for the update to roll out. Finally get my blockades!

[Pylon_Trooper]

It's a magnificent list, to be sure.

[-Deadpool-]

Superb list of fixes/updates.

Added a colored symbol to most of the icons of the tech tree. Color indications are the following: industry (orange), food (light green), exploration/colonization (dark green), dust (yellow), military/command (red), hero/academy/experience (light blue), science (dark blue), approval (pink), diplomacy/influence (light grey), strategic resources (purple), FIDS (rainbow). Shape determines an empire unlock (star), a system building (triangle) or a ship module (square).

Great addition, though I'm playing the crap out of it and know the keys now - but nevertheless, it'll be a huge help.

[HBroward]

If that is a sign of things to come, I think this game will be around for a good while. At least with Diablo 3 going down every other hour I can still play this.

[Keasar]

What I hope they will add sometime later is a little more meat to the diplomacy. I kinda liked for instance in the Civilization games how I could threaten or appeal to the other civilizations. For instance, I dont wanna fight in a silly war anymore, opening up the diplomacy screen and tell them "Cease fire or I will cease your life." would be nice, just to underline, I will destroy them if they dont give up. :P

[Pylon_Trooper]

What I hope they will add sometime later is a little more meat to the diplomacy. I kinda liked for instance in the Civilization games how I could threaten or appeal to the other civilizations. For instance, I dont wanna fight in a silly war anymore, opening up the diplomacy screen and tell them "Cease fire or I will cease your life." would be nice, just to underline, I will destroy them if they dont give up. :P

I'm really excited at the thought of what human diplomacy will look like when the multiplayer is introduced. Looking forward to very slow and ruminative experiences in that regard.

[GungHo]

I've pre-ordered based on my 4X geekery, but will probably wait to dig in until they have the saleable product.

[-Deadpool-]

Played a bit post-patch this evening, new star system generation and tech tree colour-coding is brilliant.

[Pylon_Trooper]

Dat map. Dat starmap.

Incredible work by the team on all fronts.