Shadow Empire

[Martok]

I was originally thinking to wait until August when I can use my loyalty coupon to pick this up.  But those two months seem awfully far away right now. 

[jamus34]

I'm not sure why. And hopefully no one gets in trouble however for some reason I was able to use my 2019 loyalty coupon.

No sure if matrix changed the policy or if I fell through the cracks.

[-budd-]

It's really good. You will need to consult the manual, i usually have it open while i play to read up on stuff while playing. It's not that you can't play with out consulting the manual, but the game is very interesting and i want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. I'm on my second restart and just trying things out, started my first war with a minor. I won't be able to really complete the conquest as my logistics network and ammo production aren't up to snuff. It might depend on your settings or your starting position but both my games are pretty slow developing. Right now i'm saddled with quite a few bad leaders, and only two in my reserve pool of which only one is any good. All that made me go early for an interior council when i really didn't want to so maybe i can some good HR stratagems to fire or kill them :)

[devoncop]

It's really good. You will need to consult the manual, i usually have it open while i play to read up on stuff while playing. It's not that you can't play with out consulting the manual, but the game is very interesting and i want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. I'm on my second restart and just trying things out, started my first war with a minor. I won't be able to really complete the conquest as my logistics network and ammo production aren't up to snuff. It might depend on your settings or your starting position but both my games are pretty slow developing. Right now i'm saddled with quite a few bad leaders, and only two in my reserve pool of which only one is any good. All that made me go early for an interior council when i really didn't want to so maybe i can some good HR stratagems to fire or kill them :)

....and there in a nutshell from Budd is an illustration of the beauty of the design. Most folk at first will develop Economic Council, Military Research Council, then maybe Military Design or Interior Ministry. Yet the different situations the game throws at you means a " no Brainer" build order is anything but. I have gone for a Council I otherwise not have because one of the military faction leaders was Class 5 the best) with amazing stats for espionage and got huge benefit as a result mid game.

Infrastructure builds are also completely situational rather than cookie cutter. How many games genuinely can offer this ?

[-budd-]

Another thing, as opposed to most other 4X games this one is wargame 4x. War takes some prep, getting your roads/rail up and running with supply dumps and truck stations, getting replacements in the pipeline, produce enough ammo to fight with, and all this takes away from growth in other areas. I've only met minor regimes, so don't know how foreign diplomacy is, but man if that is good, this is one fine game with just a crap load of replay. All this out of the gate, man Vic

[W8taminute]

I agree with you -budd-

The game is awesome right out of the gate. 

[MetalDog]

You should all really stop saying how awesome this game is.  I don't know if I can wait until it releases on Steam.  I will say I am not super crazy about a Sci-Fi setting as that isn't usually my cup of tea (which I don't drink).  If that sounds like you and you are playing the game and still loving it, I'd like to hear from you.

[Father Ted]

You should all really stop saying how awesome this game is.  I don't know if I can wait until it releases on Steam.  I will say I am not super crazy about a Sci-Fi setting as that isn't usually my cup of tea (which I don't drink).  If that sounds like you and you are playing the game and still loving it, I'd like to hear from you.

Well, if you need a counterpoint, I'm finding it a bit overwhelming at the moment.  There is a lot to consider each turn.  I'm confident I'll get my head round it all at some point (loved ATG), but just now I'm ploughing through (and re-watching) Das Tactics' vids rather than actually playing.

[al_infierno]

I'm also not crazy about sci-fi settings.  I can get behind a good SF novel or film, but in terms of gaming (especially wargames) I tend to prefer things based in historical reality, as I find it hard to get behind "six goog-goggles engaging eleven shoop-dorples" tactical thinking.

That said, I think this game absolutely nails the "wargame set in a Mad Max world" feeling so well that I love the game despite part of me wishing it was WW2.  It still feels grounded in real-life despite the inclusion of futuristic technology like laser guns and sentient fighting robots.  The operational/tactical thinking still feels like classic ATG with a cool coat of Mad Max paint.

[MetalDog]

Thanks for answering!  Never played Advanced Tactics.  Just looked at in on Steam.  Looks about my speed.  Actually looks like a game I would MP.  Then again, so does Dominions 5.  And I own neither.  May have some time on my hands over the next few months to rectify that.

[jomni]

Looks like I'm quitting my game. I captured one minor nation. But rebellion just immobilised my northern forces. The damn rebels just got to my main dirt highway and stifled supplies between provinces. Then I realised the new province needs its own SHQ right?

The biggest challenge for me now is how to keep people happy. Tips appreciated.

[Lotti Fuehrscheim]

Looks like I'm quitting my game. I captured one minor nation. But rebellion just immobilised my northern forces. The damn rebels just got to my main dirt highway and stifled supplies between provinces. Then I realised the new province needs its own SHQ right?

The biggest challenge for me now is how to keep people happy. Tips appreciated.

The game can be harsh in the beginning, and it can regularly just wipe you out.

A second province/zone/city doesn't need it's own SHQ, as long as there is a decent connection. A single SHQ can service a large empire.

And I doubt you can construct a new SHQ when you are cut off from your old one.

[jomni]

And I doubt you can construct a new SHQ when you are cut off from your old one.

I did but they're useless as they can't get supply. My second region's industry hasn't been built yet.

[devoncop]

Looks like I'm quitting my game. I captured one minor nation. But rebellion just immobilised my northern forces. The damn rebels just got to my main dirt highway and stifled supplies between provinces. Then I realised the new province needs its own SHQ right?

The biggest challenge for me now is how to keep people happy. Tips appreciated.

Be a little bit careful with over expansion is the lesson I have learned. My first couple of playthroughs had hordes of Raiders piling through gaps in recently acquired land leaving my military pickets cut off . In effect my military did not have the capability to defend the borders that the politicians had landed them with !

My current play through has my popularity at 92%. Peace deals have been signed with a couple of factions allowing me to build and deploy forces in a more concentrated way. Before I built any regular infantry Divn's I had built an agri dome, metal mine and Industry I as well as a truck station and bureaucratic offices immediately after.

I have increased worker wages, built a zoo to increase happiness from the Strategem card and generally tried to not support draconian and arbitrary measures that my psychotic Governor keeps engaging in  :)

I am not playing on a hard level but the same as my previous ones which failed early and hard !

This may help but such is the variety in the game your circumstances may not have suited the above approach.

It does seem vital to keep the population happy though.

[Yskonyn]

The problem with too much happyness is that your people will become hard to recruit into your army when the time comes you need to expand it rapidly.
The people have become complacent and self indulgent by that time. It'll cost you heaps of money to get an army going because people will not want to quit their great lives.
Its a cool aspect of the game, but a frustrating one for a warmonger lord! 😂