More 4x gaming: Endless Space

[Martok]

I'm not sure how I feel about Endless Space.  Sure it has a pretty easy to use UI.  Some depth to research and colony development.  Ship design is ok, I guess.  Battles are meh imo.  I like the concept card driven battles, but frankly its not very exciting at all.

I'm going to play some more to see if mid-late game changes my mind currently at around turn 90 in my game.

The combat system is receiving a fair bit of criticism in the official forums as well.  The words "boring" and "bland" are appearing frequently in conjunction with the topic, which worries me. 

Of course, battles in Armada 2526 suck too, and I still love that game... 

I really enjoy Distant Worlds.

Ditto that.  It isn't perfect, but it's still easily one of the most fun 4x games I've ever played.  Definitely in my top 5 list. 




@mikeck:  It's still better than a lot of 4x titles I've seen! 

[Bison]

I'm starting to feel that calling them boring or bland is being nice.  Its all a bit silly.  3 phases of like 20 seconds each.  Why?  Its turn based, right?  Sort of unless you don't play a card then the AI just plays one for you.  The animations are the same just a different number of ships based on fleet numbers, but who cares they are essentially a cut screen.  You cannot pan around to see the battle as the computer plays it out.  So battles all come down to playing 3 cards.  Sort of.  Its still he with the greatest number of ships most often wins even though there can be some variation with weapon/shield choices.  The battle mechanics just don't work for me.  I want them too, because the rest of the game has some potential. 

[mikeck]

Yep, that is my complaint about ES. For me, Im less about the first 3 "X's" of a 4X and more about "eXtermination". So for me, the first 3 are merely a shell to get ready for Space battles. When those battles are as anti-climactic as ES's....it kills it for me. I enjoy DW in spite of the combat simply because the rest is so deep, it mitigates the (2d sprite??sheesh) battles.

I really want to like ES but with movie cut screen battles and Magic the gathering card drops, , its just...boring to me. Slick UI and very polished, but boring.

With Gemini sucking....all hope for me is with Pegasus right now. Luckily, between, SoaSE, SoTS 2, DW, ES, and Armada...there is really something for everyone.

[Gusington]

I can see myself playing either Endless Space or Legends of Pegasus depending on my mood.

[Martok]

I'm leaning more toward LoP or StarDrive myself.  However, I suspect I'll end up getting ES eventually. 

Luckily, between, SoaSE, SoTS 2, DW, ES, and Armada...there is really something for everyone.

Very true (happily). 

[Tpek]

Yep, that is my complaint about ES. For me, Im less about the first 3 "X's" of a 4X and more about "eXtermination". So for me, the first 3 are merely a shell to get ready for Space battles. When those battles are as anti-climactic as ES's....it kills it for me. I enjoy DW in spite of the combat simply because the rest is so deep, it mitigates the (2d sprite??sheesh) battles.

I really want to like ES but with movie cut screen battles and Magic the gathering card drops, , its just...boring to me. Slick UI and very polished, but boring.

With Gemini sucking....all hope for me is with Pegasus right now. Luckily, between, SoaSE, SoTS 2, DW, ES, and Armada...there is really something for everyone.

There are no "Card Drops", you get cards by researching them.
And frankly I quite like the combat. It reminds me of the one in Dominions series and the Lost Empire series a bit, just with a twist. :)

[Windigo]

I like the social interactive aspect of PBEM or RT.... so make up your minds what we should all orgy over .... 4X gameplay wise

[mikeck]

I like the social interactive aspect of PBEM or RT.... so make up your minds what we should all orgy over .... 4X gameplay wise

Meh, my social intereaction is limited to steel baton swinging so I'm more of a singel player guy. But I would say Endless Space and Armada  would be the most "orgy freindly" of all of the 4xs...

[Bison]

Legends of Pegasus does look pretty good.  You can see a lot of influence in it from several different games.

[Jarhead0331]

Meh, my social intereaction is limited to steel baton swinging...

You are so my personal hero.

[mikeck]

not so much a hero to grammarians, typists and spell checkers everywhere...as I re-read my post. Holy typos.

[Gusington]

^Nah we still like you.

[Jarhead0331]

not so much a hero to grammarians, typists and spell checkers everywhere...as I re-read my post. Holy typos.

If you could type grammatically correct English, you would probably not be employed as a steel baton swinger.  ;)

[Centurion40]

Or maybe that's the only job an English major can get these days?

[mikeck]

not so much a hero to grammarians, typists and spell checkers everywhere...as I re-read my post. Holy typos.

If you could type grammatically correct English, you would probably not be employed as a steel baton swinger.  ;)

Yeah, I suppose as long as I am able to yell "Quit resisting!", the rest of my English and grammar skills are surplusage.