Shadow Empire

[jomni]

Ok. I've been out of action playing only one game (Warthunder) for months. No new purchases. I'm thinking of buying the new Command. But this came up and really tempts me. Looking forward to the commends from our Grog community.

[W8taminute]

Just a quick post on my experience so far. 

I've played the game now for maybe 3 hours or so.  Started a game on normal difficulty (the one that is one step above beginner) and got smoked when a minor faction that I did not destroy but made peace with broke that peace 10 turns later. 

Thankfully since I'm still learning the game I didn't consider save scumming to be dishonorable and reloaded the game from before the first war broke out with said minor faction.  This time I conquered him but then was immediately invaded by his minor nation neighbor to the south.  At that point I almost rage quit but careful study of the attacking forces revealed that although they had numerical superiority I had a tech advantage over him.  My riflemen are armed with carbines whilst his slave soldiers are still using slugthrowers.  So far that new war is going well. 

I like this game so much better than Advanced Tactics Gold (and I really like Advanced Tactics Gold).  Shadow Empires has depth to it without being a brain busting exercise.  If you've never played Advanced Tactics then this game might be a bit quirky to learn at first but like I said before, learn the menu and the ui and you're all set.  This game definitely has that one more turn feel to it that should last even when the honeymoon phase is over.

[al_infierno]

I like this game so much better than Advanced Tactics Gold (and I really like Advanced Tactics Gold).  Shadow Empires has depth to it without being a brain busting exercise.  If you've never played Advanced Tactics then this game might be a bit quirky to learn at first but like I said before, learn the menu and the ai and you're all set.  T

Agreed with this 100%.  I also think the sci fi theme works really well, but I'd still love to see an Advanced Tactics 2 that incorporates some of the QOL features like easier movement, formation types, the troop replacement mechanic, etc.

Also, adding to my previous comment - it took about 15 turns for me to encounter a 2,000 strong horde of 3-meter "dilobsters" who swarmed in from the non-aligned zones and ripped my army to shreds shortly after I finished conquest of my 2 neighboring minor factions.  This was a Tech Level 3 (lowest) world so we didn't have much more than rifles and ragtag bikes and buggies to fight them with, but I swear those bastards were a scarier threat than any human nation on the map... and according to the planet info, they're not even the biggest creatures out there. :hide:

[Jarhead0331]

My one wish would be for this game to permit space travel, exploration and fleets so you can have ship combat, planetary invasion, conquest and colonization. The mission being to reunite the scattered human empire. How awesome would that be???

[al_infierno]

My one wish would be for this game to permit space travel, exploration and fleets so you can have ship combat, planetary invasion, conquest and colonization. The mission being to reunite the scattered human empire. How awesome would that be???

Gary Grigsby's War in Space   8)

[W8taminute]

My one wish would be for this game to permit space travel, exploration and fleets so you can have ship combat, planetary invasion, conquest and colonization. The mission being to reunite the scattered human empire. How awesome would that be???

Gary Grigsby's War in Space   8)

Awesome!!!

[Jarhead0331]

My one wish would be for this game to permit space travel, exploration and fleets so you can have ship combat, planetary invasion, conquest and colonization. The mission being to reunite the scattered human empire. How awesome would that be???

Gary Grigsby's War in Space   8)

Yes! 

[bobarossa]

Sounds more like barely disguised lusting for Emperor of the Fading Suns.

[JasonPratt]

Do you want to bring about a Horus Heresy?

Because this is how you bring about a Horus Heresy. 

[Gusington]

Emperor of the Fading Suns II FTW!!

[ArizonaTank]

Just a quick post on my experience so far. 

I've played the game now for maybe 3 hours or so.  Started a game on normal difficulty (the one that is one step above beginner) and got smoked when a minor faction that I did not destroy but made peace with broke that peace 10 turns later. 

Thankfully since I'm still learning the game I didn't consider save scumming to be dishonorable and reloaded the game from before the first war broke out with said minor faction.  This time I conquered him but then was immediately invaded by his minor nation neighbor to the south.  At that point I almost rage quit but careful study of the attacking forces revealed that although they had numerical superiority I had a tech advantage over him.  My riflemen are armed with carbines whilst his slave soldiers are still using slugthrowers.  So far that new war is going well. 

I like this game so much better than Advanced Tactics Gold (and I really like Advanced Tactics Gold).  Shadow Empires has depth to it without being a brain busting exercise.  If you've never played Advanced Tactics then this game might be a bit quirky to learn at first but like I said before, learn the menu and the ui and you're all set.  This game definitely has that one more turn feel to it that should last even when the honeymoon phase is over.

+1 I'm about 3 hours in as well. I always liked the concepts in ATGold but thought the UI too clicky and never got very far with it.

SE has a better UI, but still, I can't really say it is intuitive. Some functions just seem out of place. But I am starting to get used to it.

SE is not the kind of game you can just pick up and learn with brute force.

I had to spend about an hour with the manual, and another hour watching youtube videos before I had enough understanding to make progress. 

I would say the complexity is right up there with GG's War in the West or War in the Pacific AE. But unit density is much lower, so turns go faster (at least in the early stages of the game)

Strangely, there is no tutorial. A section of the manual is "tutorialish" but that doesn't really substitute for a good old fashioned walk-through. The manual does a great job in telling you what you can do...but is not as generous in telling you why. That is OK, since it means you must experiment a bit. But I have done about five re-starts already

Gameplay is like...well take ATGold as the base, add in a layer of Crusader Kings II with a touch of Europa Universalis V, and that is the game.

As an old Army logistician, I love a good logistics game, and SE has a good logistics under game. Your armies won't get far in the world without a good supply system behind them.

I have found one irritating "feature" or "bug" that has cooled my jets a bit (I keep getting an error when trying to build roads...and roads are critical to your expansion plans). The error only seems to happen when I do a bare bones start. If I start a game that has some pre-existing roads, I don't see the error.  Hopefully I will shortly find out what I am doing wrong...or maybe a patch will fix it.

I suspect I will like the game a great deal, but right now learning the game is stretching my brain cells too much.

[jomni]

If it had art like in Decisive campaigns, then it would be really sweet. The art here I guess is similar to AT. Though art can be modded.
Gameplay looks really promising.

[Yskonyn]

Art can be modded indeed! So no worries there.

Meanwhile I found a very useful video with beginner tips:
https://youtu.be/FLn0ReF7s4Y

Also check out DasTactic's tutorials for focussed topics:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGB6RkFB7ZmPoXDAaR8FbM3xujwMsDgEv

[jomni]

Anybody else get this error message when trying to use the coupon code? Don't know why as I have not purchased anything?

"Order creation failure due to problematic input.. Coupon has exceeded maximum use limit ."

The anniversary coupon is only valid for a limited amount of time. Any chance it ran out?

Ok I just bought the game together with Command Modern Ops with 47% loyalty discount. If you ignored the email without redeeming the code, it can last a long time. My email came in April. But once you redeem, the code lasts only for 30 days.

By the way, there's no Steam key if you buy directly from Slitnerine?

[devoncop]

Anybody else get this error message when trying to use the coupon code? Don't know why as I have not purchased anything?

"Order creation failure due to problematic input.. Coupon has exceeded maximum use limit ."

The anniversary coupon is only valid for a limited amount of time. Any chance it ran out?

Ok I just bought the game together with Command Modern Ops with 47% loyalty discount. If you ignored the email without redeeming the code, it can last a long time. My email came in April. But once you redeem, the code lasts only for 30 days.

By the way, there's no Steam key if you buy directly from Slitnerine?

The only reason there is no steam code for now is because it has not yet been released on Steam.

Matrix/Slitherine have confirmed that keys will be provided once it is launched on Steam....advisable to register your game with Matrix.