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Endless Space |Intel Thread| 4X Space Strategy by ex-Ubi/EA devs
- Thread starter Alex Connolly
- Start date
BigTnaples
Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
Especially for the price, awesome title.
Played something like 80 turns yesterday and had a lot of fun, even though I didn't know what I was doing for much of the game. Some things that bothered/confused me:
-Despite you owning a distinct "territory" based on the systems you control, ships seem to be able to pop up in your space and mess with your planets at will. Perhaps this was due to something on the tech tree I don't have myself--warp drive or cloaking?--but enemy ships would get into my territory without seeming to come from the direction of their own systems. And pirates just seem to spawn in randomly. I tried to strategically place defensive ships, but it didn't do much good.
-Most of the tech tree confuses the shit out of me because even reading the description of something doesn't really translate to what its in-game effect is. I guess this is something you just have to learn, but it made me unsure of how I should be upgrading things.
-I'm not sure how much I'll ultimately like combat. Maybe Sins of a Solar Empire is more my thing. It looks cool, I'm down with the three phases and all that, but having no combat control or the ability to target engines/bridge/life support or whatever makes it feel shallow. I understand the strategy is really in building your ships, but it would be nice if fleet arrangement and tactics played a part. In other words, put missile ships at an extreme distance in combat and bombard, use heavy cruisers to soak up close-range damage, shit like that.
-Despite you owning a distinct "territory" based on the systems you control, ships seem to be able to pop up in your space and mess with your planets at will. Perhaps this was due to something on the tech tree I don't have myself--warp drive or cloaking?--but enemy ships would get into my territory without seeming to come from the direction of their own systems. And pirates just seem to spawn in randomly. I tried to strategically place defensive ships, but it didn't do much good.
-Most of the tech tree confuses the shit out of me because even reading the description of something doesn't really translate to what its in-game effect is. I guess this is something you just have to learn, but it made me unsure of how I should be upgrading things.
-I'm not sure how much I'll ultimately like combat. Maybe Sins of a Solar Empire is more my thing. It looks cool, I'm down with the three phases and all that, but having no combat control or the ability to target engines/bridge/life support or whatever makes it feel shallow. I understand the strategy is really in building your ships, but it would be nice if fleet arrangement and tactics played a part. In other words, put missile ships at an extreme distance in combat and bombard, use heavy cruisers to soak up close-range damage, shit like that.
For Civ 5 and other games, there is a clear winner, which is why if you can't even fend off an enemy force you will lose, no matter what victory condition you are going for. Not entirely sure about ES, but if you want open-ended victory conditions you can try the EU games.
dragonelite
Member
So far my begin strategy for science is get inner ring then go for particle scanner(for the plus influence).Then get some more planet colonize types. By then i get confused and haven't found a good route yet. My First win of my was pure luck.
Okay, can someone help with a Steam question?
I bought the game Friday night and kind of closed the CD-Key/Redemption Code dialogue without noting it down. Now I've created my Amplitude account and assume that code is used in the redemption/account page on the site, but I can't find the code in Steam.
Usually right-clicking on the game shows the CD-Key option but it's not there. Any help?
EDIT: Checked the Steam forums and it's a known issue as of today.
I bought the game Friday night and kind of closed the CD-Key/Redemption Code dialogue without noting it down. Now I've created my Amplitude account and assume that code is used in the redemption/account page on the site, but I can't find the code in Steam.
Usually right-clicking on the game shows the CD-Key option but it's not there. Any help?
EDIT: Checked the Steam forums and it's a known issue as of today.
dragonelite
Member
Did you guys also gotten a pathfinding bug when ship have long travel distance sometimes my ships go like 2 circles instead of going straight to the point.
jaundicejuice
Member
Has anyone had any issues with not being able to save their game? Everytime I start the game I have to re-do the DirextX redist, albeit briefly, and the game doesn't remember my monitor resolution setting but it remembers the graphic setting, such that it is.
There are, I've beaten Civ V's campaign on the hardest difficulty level with one city and a science victory but I admittedly did have to kind of game the A.I. to do that since it is hardwired for aggression, particularly in the higher difficulties (5-8). If you're on the same land mass as a competing Civ, it will declare war with you, regardless of whether or not it's been a thousand years of peaceful partnership. BAM! War! Also never open your borders, to anyone ever. It doesn't matter how many research agreements or declarations of friendship have passed between your two civilisations, opening your border dramatically increases the probability that that Civ will attack you. I always chose am archipelago-type map to offset/counter the A.I.'s monsterous advantages in no happiness penalities, the ability to maintain an absurdly huge standing army as well as the ludicrous money, production and research advantages it received.
In some ways the A.I. in Endless Space really does feel like Civ V's, even on normal. Not just because it can be just as aggressive but also because the A.I.'s getting advantages in the tech and production.
Because of my inability to save I've had to play through five different games now. In every one of those games someone has declared war one me. Although if I create a game with The Cravers, I kind of expect that from them.
There are, I've beaten Civ V's campaign on the hardest difficulty level with one city and a science victory but I admittedly did have to kind of game the A.I. to do that since it is hardwired for aggression, particularly in the higher difficulties (5-8). If you're on the same land mass as a competing Civ, it will declare war with you, regardless of whether or not it's been a thousand years of peaceful partnership. BAM! War! Also never open your borders, to anyone ever. It doesn't matter how many research agreements or declarations of friendship have passed between your two civilisations, opening your border dramatically increases the probability that that Civ will attack you. I always chose am archipelago-type map to offset/counter the A.I.'s monsterous advantages in no happiness penalities, the ability to maintain an absurdly huge standing army as well as the ludicrous money, production and research advantages it received.
In some ways the A.I. in Endless Space really does feel like Civ V's, even on normal. Not just because it can be just as aggressive but also because the A.I.'s getting advantages in the tech and production.
Because of my inability to save I've had to play through five different games now. In every one of those games someone has declared war one me. Although if I create a game with The Cravers, I kind of expect that from them.
"Insufficient military power."
-Deadpool-
Member
Haven't had any issues with saving games here. On my fourth play-through now.
Shit getting real in my latest one. Silly Horatio declaring war on my empire.
Shit getting real in my latest one. Silly Horatio declaring war on my empire.
Alex Connolly
Member
Saw this on the Amplitude forums and thought it was apt.
I quote that as someone who, frankly, enjoyed MoO3 on a few levels. Have sunk four hours into it thus far - not nearly as much time over the weekend as I would have liked - but retaining the awe and love incepted upon the first boot-up.
GalCiv2 might have the minutiae, but on the flipside, I love the streamlined nature and deep space ambience of this one.
As an aside, I was musing upon the idea of 3D galactic maps. You've got tragic misfires like SotS2 (I cannot remember disliking the starmap in the original as much as I dislike the sequel's effort - but it also might be due to the awkward, roundabout way delegation works in conjunction with it), but then you've got indie efforts like Star Ruler where it's actually quite well-conceived.
Anyway, neither here nor there.
Endless Space. Good stuff.
I quote that as someone who, frankly, enjoyed MoO3 on a few levels. Have sunk four hours into it thus far - not nearly as much time over the weekend as I would have liked - but retaining the awe and love incepted upon the first boot-up.
GalCiv2 might have the minutiae, but on the flipside, I love the streamlined nature and deep space ambience of this one.
As an aside, I was musing upon the idea of 3D galactic maps. You've got tragic misfires like SotS2 (I cannot remember disliking the starmap in the original as much as I dislike the sequel's effort - but it also might be due to the awkward, roundabout way delegation works in conjunction with it), but then you've got indie efforts like Star Ruler where it's actually quite well-conceived.
Anyway, neither here nor there.
Endless Space. Good stuff.
Does the game itself go beyond the brief descriptions of the races found on the official website, and provide a bit more backstory and detail? For example, from reading the website, the Cravers sound like the Geth or Necron, the Hissho sound like Klingons or Turians, and the United Empire sound very vaguely like the Imperium (due to the religious overtones) -- how well does the game fill in the backstory and make it feel like a living breathing universe with a rich history?
MrCompletely
Member
I think the diplomacy needs some work here. I can gift competing empires dust and tech, but it doesn't seem to be raising their opinion of me. Trying to play peacefully and explore/expand. I'm cranking out dust like it's nothing, so money is not an issue. I'm happy to buy into peace treaties and open borders with the other empires, but my rate of expansion and "weak military" (confusing in game term) always seems to piss them off and they come and declare war.
Also, if I can manage a cease fire, enemies are still able to sieze my colonies! Whats up with that?
Also, if I can manage a cease fire, enemies are still able to sieze my colonies! Whats up with that?
bonesmccoy
Banned
After 3 abortive campaigns, I discovered that you can colonize planets in a system without having to build colony ships.
Sigh!
Sigh!
jaundicejuice
Member
Outposts can be seized at any time as they are not officially part of your empire. It's not an overt act of war. Not until the have a visible border around it.
Expansion always seems to piss off your neighbours. As an aggressive expansionist it's the number one reason every race I've encountered declares war on me. Populate many systems and the moment you grow borders that clash, it's war.
-Deadpool-
Member
Started another new galaxy last night; this time the dual-galaxy thing (can't remember the name). Played about 80 turns before I realised I'd explored the entire side and there was no connection to the other half LOL..
Guess it's a glitch as the only way I could get to the other side (due to no star map across, the stars wouldn't show up either, despite me being able to see ships of the other races darting about between star systems) was to negotiate alliance with one of the races and buy a system from them in trade so I could expand over there.
I'm loving Terraforming. 6 planet systems with all Jungle, Terran and Ocean planets for the win.
This game is so good.
Guess it's a glitch as the only way I could get to the other side (due to no star map across, the stars wouldn't show up either, despite me being able to see ships of the other races darting about between star systems) was to negotiate alliance with one of the races and buy a system from them in trade so I could expand over there.
I'm loving Terraforming. 6 planet systems with all Jungle, Terran and Ocean planets for the win.
This game is so good.
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
There's no more beyond that. Within the game, what you get more of is the stat-specific differences between the races.
The game has no story. It's very similar to Sins in that way.
MrCompletely
Member
Ah, thanks for clearing that up. How can I rapidly grow a boarder around an outpost, or make it an official colony?
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
I don't think you can expedite the colony creating process, but there are two alternatives that may help:
1) There's an ability in the trade tree that allows you to rapidly expand existing borders. It's a Star System improvement. The growth is crazy, and you can actually have a nearby system's borders cover an outpost system, making an attack on that system an act of war.
2) You really should be leaving fleets in your outpost systems. You're doing it wrong if you're not. The good news is that as long as you have an outpost in that system, you can retrofit cruisers at the cost of Dust when you upgrade weapons and ship designs.
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
I've actually parked destroyer fleets in systems bordering enemy territory, and the opponent has changed from SUSPICIOUS to asking for a peace agreement. I don't think it's nearly as aggressive as Civ V. In Civ V, I had other countries declare war on me, despite the OBVIOUS outcome it would have. At that point, though, there's no love lost. I level their cities, burn them to the ground, and completely decimate them. I don't even want their cities. I just want to watch the world burn.
Playing more eliminated some of my issues with the game (and "issues" sounds harsh, since I was having a lot of fun with it anyway). I made the stupid mistake of not zooming all the way in on the tech tree for awhile, which was why I couldn't figure out the in-game effects of many upgrades. I still think they could do a better job with informing you what some things mean--i.e. command points = bigger fleets.
Travel still seems kind of weird. Even after finishing a long match I have no idea what determines when ships could travel without going on established trade lines and whether that slowed ship movement or not. It also seems like there's a distinction between traveling in your own empire space and outside of it, through an upgrade path, but I don't know exactly.
Travel still seems kind of weird. Even after finishing a long match I have no idea what determines when ships could travel without going on established trade lines and whether that slowed ship movement or not. It also seems like there's a distinction between traveling in your own empire space and outside of it, through an upgrade path, but I don't know exactly.
jaundicejuice
Member
So I found out what the issue is with my inability to save, I had some "strange" characters in my Steam name. With those removed the game both auto-saves and allows me to save. Woo, galactic domination here I come!
jaundicejuice
Member
I can't stop playing this game...one more turn, one more turn.
jaundicejuice
Member
It would be nice if each races starter world had a unique name specific to them, maybe even a unique naming convention for the solar system they find. That way it would make it easier to spot who the militaristic douchebags are. In Civ you can just go patrolling the world and can immediately tell who you have to watch out for by the city names and the the civilization they belong to. The naming convention would be a clear, simple and concise way to convey political landscape of your game.
Even better global warnings would be nice, for example currently all you get is a generic warning when a species is defeated, even if you're the one defeating it.
It would be nice if you could never leave system production or research undone. Sometimes with larger galaxies it can just happen, you quickly skip through one production list on a turn and you can have a system that isn't making any improvements and is becoming dissatisfied or isn't making an ships for a bunch of turns.
The same is true of your fleet, it would be nice if there a notification of inactive ships with movement left, just like system developement/production, it's sometimes easy to forget a fleet or two. The worst is forgetting a colony ship your fired off towards a system. It just sits there in orbit, waiting to be remember. The fact that there's no icon differentiation on the galaxy map does not help. The ship icons work on the highest level of the galaxy map, but it would be nice to have some granularity each level you zoom in. Even the ability to drag select multiple ships would be handy.
It would be nice to have some added behaviours for your fleet. For example the ability to patrol a system grants that fleet an added defensive bonus. Or actively dry dock to speed repairs but lose defensive capabilities while this is occurring.
Even better global warnings would be nice, for example currently all you get is a generic warning when a species is defeated, even if you're the one defeating it.
It would be nice if you could never leave system production or research undone. Sometimes with larger galaxies it can just happen, you quickly skip through one production list on a turn and you can have a system that isn't making any improvements and is becoming dissatisfied or isn't making an ships for a bunch of turns.
The same is true of your fleet, it would be nice if there a notification of inactive ships with movement left, just like system developement/production, it's sometimes easy to forget a fleet or two. The worst is forgetting a colony ship your fired off towards a system. It just sits there in orbit, waiting to be remember. The fact that there's no icon differentiation on the galaxy map does not help. The ship icons work on the highest level of the galaxy map, but it would be nice to have some granularity each level you zoom in. Even the ability to drag select multiple ships would be handy.
It would be nice to have some added behaviours for your fleet. For example the ability to patrol a system grants that fleet an added defensive bonus. Or actively dry dock to speed repairs but lose defensive capabilities while this is occurring.
You can quickly see a list of all ships with unused movement points in the fleet menu, and a list of all galactic productions in the solar system/production menu, too. But I did find myself often checking each ship/galaxy manually. I didn't notice till near the end of my game that you can set AI to govern planetary systems and focus on specific resources.
Alex Connolly
Member
Yes, gotta love that. And Empire view...the only way to govern!
jaundicejuice
Member
You can set the A.I. to manage a given system? I'll have to try that in a new game.
Just "Summer 2012" on the Steam page, no clue if comments have been made that narrow it down at all.
Edit: Actually, I found this thread on the steam forums, where this individual claims it will be released on August 24th. Not sure how reliable that date is, as he didn't post a source.
Edit: Actually, I found this thread on the steam forums, where this individual claims it will be released on August 24th. Not sure how reliable that date is, as he didn't post a source.
It comes from http://www.iceberg-interactive.com/news-mainmenu-33.html
Publisher confirmed on the Ampliude forums, but I didn't see the date confirmed from the devs themselves. http://forums.amplitude-studios.com/showthread.php?1607-AMPLITUDE-and-ICEBERG
Bubble Metropolis
Member
-Edit-
Nevermind, got it working!
Nevermind, got it working!
Setre
Member
Just bought this today after reading some of the posts in this thread. Kind of overwhelmed by the tech tree, not sure what I should be researching. Any tips?
Also whats a good beginner faction? Cravers seem pretty good beyond once you get into a war you cant get out of it. Im kind of partial to the Hissho, I like their culture and that theyre basically dinosaurs in space. Their negative to science seems like a big problem though.
Also whats a good beginner faction? Cravers seem pretty good beyond once you get into a war you cant get out of it. Im kind of partial to the Hissho, I like their culture and that theyre basically dinosaurs in space. Their negative to science seems like a big problem though.
For a beginner faction, pick whichever race you like that isn't named Horatio. As long as you play to the races strengths, you should be fine. Cravers and Hissho will want to be at war constantly for their bonuses. Sophons will prefer peace. UE doesn't care either way, they'll just buy everything.
jaundicejuice
Member
In the tech tree research the species you're playing as needs will be in orange.
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
This is definitely a far more advanced game than I would label as an alpha, don't let its classification confuse you.
Outside of no multiplayer, its basically a feature complete release candidate, with a few bugs.
If you mostly play 4X games singleplayer, it's definitely in enough of a feature complete and polished state to be worth playing.
I usually emphasise being able to fully utilise my systems first, then worry about improving my military and economy, so usually go in this order;
- techs that let me colonise uncolonisable planets / asteroid belts etc
- techs that improve happiness (so overcrowded systems stop bitching)
- techs to increase CP and fleet sizes (which IMO is the biggest differentiator in combat as long as your weapons and shields are mostly on par with the enemy)
- weapons / shields upgrades
- new resource availability techs (focussing on the ones I have in my empire)
Put some hero with +## approval(I think) or don't colonize planets that give negative approval or colonize them BUT they better have some anomaly or flora/fauna that will add +## to approval
Alex Connolly
Member
Cannot be stated enough, that one. Coupled with trade developments, once you get luxuries flowing, it really helps with population morale. As an aside, I used to love seeing trader ships autonomously going to and fro around my empire in Imperium Galactica 2. Hope they institute little things like that down the line.
Yeah, that's always good. And move them around once they've gone up a few levels with certain governance perks to keep populations happy.
Hmmm, ok you convinced me, will buy it tonight.
Way too many games at the moment though, Warlock, Diablo III on Tuesday and this.
But oh well, a week vacation coming up!