I am a fan of Stellar Monarch. I usually go for far more detail in my space 4x, but when I feel the need for a high-level, top-down strategic romp, it scratches the itch. Now the dev is working on Stellar Monarch II and I want to throw this out there for consideration.
http://www.silverlemurgames.com/2020/12/10/im-making-a-sequel-to-stellar-monarch/
It looks more to my liking, for a high level game, than some of the others that have come up recently. Most of the time I am going to stick with Polaris Sector and RFTS 1 or even Interstellar Space Genesis. Stellar Monarch is the exact opposite of Aurora, a good game for diving down into the weeds.
I supported Stellar Monarch very early on...even before it was called Stellar Monarch, but each patch that the developer released during the early access period stripped mechanics from the game and eventually this watered it down too much. I think the final straw was when he removed armies and generals.
I've read about SMII and it really didn't strike me as being very different from SMI. Actually, just more watered-down! More abstraction, less mechanics. I mean, eventually, it will barely be a game...just an intro screen and menu. That is my initial impression, at least. Still...I'll follow it closely and most likely give it a shot.
JH, you are not wrong, in a broad sense. But, I found that when I really played it, the game was far more engaging than I expected, particularly with fleet ops. I am not excited by more naval abstraction, but the dev is dangling ship design before us. In any event, this game offers more control than Star Dynasties. SM1 may be better than SM2.
I've tried to get into SM I a few times but it never really clicked with me. Will take a wait and see approach on II and hope for an improvement that is more to my liking.
Quote from: solops on March 23, 2021, 01:36:16 PM
I am a fan of Stellar Monarch. I usually go for far more detail in my space 4x, but when I feel the need for a high-level, top-down strategic romp, it scratches the itch. Now the dev is working on Stellar Monarch II and I want to throw this out there for consideration.
http://www.silverlemurgames.com/2020/12/10/im-making-a-sequel-to-stellar-monarch/
It looks more to my liking, for a high level game, than some of the others that have come up recently. Most of the time I am going to stick with Polaris Sector and RFTS 1 or even Interstellar Space Genesis. Stellar Monarch is the exact opposite of Aurora, a good game for diving down into the weeds.
I find that SM I is very interesting and unique, so waiting with guarded optimism to see what comes out of SM II.
Released today
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1437750/Stellar_Monarch_2/?fbclid=IwAR0ttZR4E9nzPYhQBUCoq7v3muxKz-bPTLI6rBlwodIbTF2Ml2nESOTH6JI
I was going to say, "Wow and he held off early access--!", but the (mostly stellar) reviews do indicate there was an EA period (with some reviews dating from that time, so it was apparently a very open beta).
Wishlisted. I would like to get into it, but I played and sent back the original due to having too many other shiny things to play with at the time and it just didn't grab my attention sufficiently. Spoiled for choice, waaaaaaah. :buck2:
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 03, 2022, 09:45:39 PM
I was going to say, "Wow and he held off early access--!", but the (mostly stellar) reviews do indicate there was an EA period (with some reviews dating from that time, so it was apparently a very open beta).
Wishlisted. I would like to get into it, but I played and sent back the original due to having too many other shiny things to play with at the time and it just didn't grab my attention sufficiently. Spoiled for choice, waaaaaaah. :buck2:
Yeah. I've had this for over a year. It was a long EA period.
I also bought SM, and played it a bit but it never really clicked with me. Going to pass on SMII now that I just bought Terra Invicta.
Bought the first as well, but I didn't give it much time so May try version 2 at some point. How the game is described about just worrying about the high level stuff is exactly what I want but if I remember correctly, still something didn't click. We will see, holiday sales just around the corner:)
I have downloaded Terra invicta, but likely will wait until the weekend to dive in and see if it is a keeper....I fully expect to be overwhelmed but still intrigued.