Galactic Ruler

Jarhead0331 · January 16, 2021, 09:41:06 AM

I had heard that BattleGoat Studios was going to be working on a space 4x game a long time ago, but this early access release somehow slipped under my radar.

I have my concerns about it though since the Supreme Ruler titles never really sunk their hooks into me due to the vast scope, steep learning curve and difficult UI, although the general concept of the games in the series had tremendous appeal for me. I was probably fighting against the UI, but I never really felt like I had control of what my units were doing.

It looks like they're just taking that existing system and making it bigger...all still in real time. I love the idea and concept and I'm always talking about someone making a game like this, but my vision is turn-based. In real time, I don't see how it won't get overwhelming, but hopefully they can pull it off. I'm definitely rooting for them.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1138440/Galactic_Ruler/

Developer Vlog
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTs7_kYahA0hCyVDAMwKYqT9nldJwTZlo

bobarossa · January 16, 2021, 10:14:05 AM

Own one of the titles and my memory is great idea, bad implementation. I recall one of the biggest complaints was that you couldn't group units into formations. Fighting a war at battalion scale couild be overwhelming. I expect this title to have the same problems.

Geezer · January 16, 2021, 10:15:31 AM

If you can pause it then it could work like Distant Worlds. Then again I wouldn't pay $40 for early access, especially with Distant Worlds 2 on the horizon.

Jarhead0331 · January 16, 2021, 10:33:07 AM

Quote from: Geezer on January 16, 2021, 10:15:31 AM
If you can pause it then it could work like Distant Worlds. Then again I wouldn't pay $40 for early access, especially with Distant Worlds 2 on the horizon.

The difference is, here, there is full planet scale combat and development. Distant Worlds does not have this.

Grim.Reaper · January 16, 2021, 10:46:18 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 16, 2021, 10:33:07 AM
Quote from: Geezer on January 16, 2021, 10:15:31 AM
If you can pause it then it could work like Distant Worlds. Then again I wouldn't pay $40 for early access, especially with Distant Worlds 2 on the horizon.

The difference is, here, there is full planet scale combat and development. Distant Worlds does not have this.

Sadly, none of their other games have ever connected with me so I don't expect this will either.....I pass for me unless I hear a lot of good things from the group.

Geezer · January 16, 2021, 11:15:26 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 16, 2021, 10:33:07 AM

The difference is, here, there is full planet scale combat and development. Distant Worlds does not have this.

Yeah I don't know how a detailed planetary war mechanic would play out whether the game is real time or turn based. Either everything else would have to be paused while you fight a war that could take years, or the fighting would be constantly interrupted with other events.

Myrmidon · January 17, 2021, 03:04:12 PM

The Supreme Ruler series had so much potential in my opinion.

If I recall, one of the games had you being able to pick a former US State out in a post collapse US, with each state with it's own military vying for power in a given region. The depth in military units available, readiness and supply levels was pretty awesome. In setting up a government, the personnel that was available to appoint to different cabinet positions, each with their dossiers consisting of their own ideology and agendas was equally cool. I would load up a scenario, and just stare at and end up reading everything possible for a long time before being able to do anything.

Once I hit the unpause button though, things seemed to kind of just happen, either with very little input from me, or in spite of input from me. There was no way to see that what I was doing was having any tangible effect on things. The engine needed a concrete way of giving that kind of feedback to a player. Without it, it was hard to maintain interest for very long, since I had no idea what was even worth trying.

If they could have just overcome that, it would have been an amazing and singular strategy game. I'm not aware of them ever being able to do that though. Hopefully, they've got that ironed out...?

Myrmidon · January 17, 2021, 04:37:49 PM

Quote from: Myrmidon on January 17, 2021, 03:04:12 PM
The Supreme Ruler series had so much potential in my opinion.

If I recall, one of the games had you being able to pick a former US State out in a post collapse US, with each state with it's own military vying for power in a given region. The depth in military units available, readiness and supply levels was pretty awesome. In setting up a government, the personnel that was available to appoint to different cabinet positions, each with their dossiers consisting of their own ideology and agendas was equally cool. I would load up a scenario, and just stare at and end up reading everything possible for a long time before being able to do anything.

Once I hit the unpause button though, things seemed to kind of just happen, either with very little input from me, or in spite of input from me. There was no way to see that what I was doing was having any tangible effect on things. The engine needed a concrete way of giving that kind of feedback to a player. Without it, it was hard to maintain interest for very long, since I had no idea what was even worth trying.

If they could have just overcome that, it would have been an amazing and singular strategy game. I'm not aware of them ever being able to do that though. Hopefully, they've got that ironed out...?

Edit: Looking at the latest version on Steam, there are some negative reviews somewhat echoing my thoughts, but the majority of reviews are positive, with some guys having hundreds and even over a thousand hours playing. The dev's response to some of the negative reviews was basically "Have you played the latest version? We've made an effort to address that" I wonder if this would be worth giving a go with the latest version?

Geezer · January 17, 2021, 06:20:42 PM

Quote from: Myrmidon on January 17, 2021, 04:37:49 PM
... I wonder if this would be worth giving a go with the latest version?

Take one for the team and let us know what you think of it. ;)

Myrmidon · January 17, 2021, 08:01:39 PM

Quote from: Geezer on January 17, 2021, 06:20:42 PM
Quote from: Myrmidon on January 17, 2021, 04:37:49 PM
... I wonder if this would be worth giving a go with the latest version?

Take one for the team and let us know what you think of it. ;)

No, No, No No No..... (Wishlists game, checks out more reviews)

The reviewers with literally thousands of hours of playtime on there are saying it's a true grog game. The learning curve is really high, but those who push through are evidently able to take advantage of the AI to help manage the fighting that takes place at different Theaters of War.

Subpar graphics, huge learning curve, wildly deep gameplay. The latest version just may be my cup of tea. Dominions 5, Wizards and Warlords, Dwarf Fortress... this would fit the pattern, I just don't have the time...

There's a Great War DLC that evidently takes the engine back to WW1 to allow gameplay at that era.
There's even a Trump Rising DLC that starts off with Inauguration day of 2017... LOL we've got some guys in the R&P forum who would just eat that up ;D

ArizonaTank · January 18, 2021, 01:16:30 PM

Quote from: Geezer on January 16, 2021, 10:15:31 AM
If you can pause it then it could work like Distant Worlds. Then again I wouldn't pay $40 for early access, especially with Distant Worlds 2 on the horizon.

+1

I know this makes me a wet blanket, but for me, $40 is just too much for a game still in development.

I have owned a few games that went bust in early access, and many more who went on extreme life support (you know, a miniscule update every six months) where they never seem to make progress.

I'll risk $20, but not $40.

However, I wish the devs luck, it looks like it could be a good one.

Jarhead0331 · January 20, 2021, 02:53:08 PM

Chris from BattleGoat was nice enough to hook me up with early access press code. I'm told it is still in a very early, but active state of development. I'm going to jump in over the next few days and see how it is coming along. I really like the ability to change the map from planet surface - to system - to galaxy. It's the kind of scale I dream of in sci-fi 4x.

Myrmidon · January 20, 2021, 03:24:30 PM

Please share your observations! I've got my eye on this one if the stars align correctly.

Jarhead0331 · April 06, 2022, 04:11:31 PM

So...after my initial foray into this title, I felt it was still too early to dedicate a lot of time and focus. it's now been more than a year and I have been following the development closely. Seemed like enough progress had been made to warrant a closer look, and although I think that this title may still fail miserably, I am cautiously optimistic and liking much of what I am seeing.

GR attempts seamless integration between galaxy, system and planetary interfaces and the ability to build and fight in space and then take the struggle down to the ground level. This is a concept that I long for in a sci-fi 4x. A game that is just as complex on the ground, as it is in space, on both the strategic and tactical levels. Only a handful of games have attempted this, much less actually pulled it off. The developers are still working out the kinks, but so far, building and moving units in space, on the surface of planets and moving in between seems to be working well. On top of the ability to play in space and on planets, Battlegoat has implemented some cool and unique concepts here, like FTL travel and the use of beacons to predict where a ship or fleet will arrive in a system. The colony development system and how colonies integrate at the empire level is very unique, as well. Colonies, once founded, have a great deal of independence and are not initially considered a direct part of the parent empire. Their production and manufacturing is not automatically contributed into the empire stockpile. These resources and materials must actually be transported to and fro with a merchant AI, similar to the commercial fleet of vessels in a game like Distant Worlds. I feel like this is an interesting way of modeling in a credible way the challenges of the vast distances in space and time between worlds and systems.

There is still a long way to go and a lot of the colony, economic and diplomatic systems are still being worked on heavily and fleshed out so Galactic Ruler has tremendous potential to both be great and to fail...whether the game will succeed remains to be seen, but as someone who could never get into other Battlegoat titles in the Supreme Ruler series, this one is starting to really grab my interest.

The pace of development is reasonable and updates from the Battlegoat are frequent, detailed and involved. Streams, video updates and change logs are all put out regularly.

I'll certainly add more details and opinions to this post as development progresses and we also have a developer interview in the works.

Sparhawk · April 06, 2022, 07:18:10 PM

You've got my attention. As it seems along with everyone else I just couldn't connect with Supreme Ruler. I had Hearts of Iron though which is hard to compete with. I am drawn to complexity in a game but must have a UI that is not overly complex. In other words I'd rather invest more time in understanding game concepts than how to play. The way that colonies interact with the parent empire adds depth that is exciting to me. If this is an example of depth across the game it's up my worm hole.