Sovereignty: Crown of Kings enters Early Access

[tgb]

Having played a ton of the closed beta, I can say for a fact that the factions were all different from each other.  I liked it because it wasn't trying to be another MoM or AoW.  The game it came closest to was the old SSI game Fantasy Empires.  I stopped playing around the time of the general early access release on Steam because 1) I was a little burnt out on it and wanted to wait for the final version, and 2)I felt I had already done my part in terms of feedback to the developers.

Unfortunately the Steam Masses jumped on it and demanded it be turned into a traditional 4X.  Why isn't there a tech tree? Why can't I build things in my provinces?  Why aren't there cities? Why why why? And rather than standing strong, the developers started to buckle and this has become a game designed by committee.

I hope it turns out well in the end, but I kind of doubt that's going to happen.

[Nefaro]

I think it had room to grow. 

Not sure how that will pan out if they're switching it all over to a new engine.  Could be superb, though!

[MetalDog]

Steam says I have 18 hours in on this game.  And the last time I played was the end of September.  I liked that the factions had different goals, victory conditions and units.  I liked that there were good and evil races and that provinces could contain resources or bonuses for various things.  The research and magic systems seemed thin, but, none of it was game breaking.  And the thought of some good mp made me look forward to this.

[Boggit]

I played it a lot last year, but started to lose interest for the same reasons as MD. Maybe it has been improved? It seemed to have so much potential when it first released.

[W8taminute]

I like this game as is or was during it's early release on Steam.  Definitely a good game but I've lost interest as well.  This game will still stay on my hard drive for when I have the itch again.   O0

[Nefaro]

I'm sure they'll retain the faction individuality & all such stuff that made the beta good.  I won't complain if they expanded upon them, add more spells/research, and improve the UI.

I do hope they retain the 2D setup & art.  My concern is that they'll try to redo everything in some mediocre 3D way, in an attempt to make it look "better".  Creating something in 3D doesn't necessarily make it better IMO, and sometimes worse if the 2D art was nice, as was the case here.  That said, I think the UI could've used some extra improvements in it's look.  Maybe that's the reason for the change?

[Martok]

I agree that while I find the UI aesthetically pleasing, it isn't always the most intuitive.  I also admit I wouldn't mind seeing the magic and research/building systems fleshed out; however, I don't think doing so is necessary to making Sovereignty a good game, as I thought it was already pretty enjoyable in those areas. 

Porting it to a new engine makes me nervous, but I'll wait to see what the end result is before making any judgments. 

[FarAway Sooner]

So, I know this game has been in Early Access for something like a year, but I wanted any recommendations from folks here on whether I should invest in it now?  I've got a 38% off coupon from Matrix and nothing else I see that I want to spend it on (DC: Barbarossa is too much for me, even at 38% off).

The developer seems to be releasing regular updates, and the Steam reviews are positive.  What say you all to the progress of this game since v2.0 came out?

[Nefaro]

So, I know this game has been in Early Access for something like a year, but I wanted any recommendations from folks here on whether I should invest in it now?  I've got a 38% off coupon from Matrix and nothing else I see that I want to spend it on (DC: Barbarossa is too much for me, even at 38% off).

The developer seems to be releasing regular updates, and the Steam reviews are positive.  What say you all to the progress of this game since v2.0 came out?

If there's nothing else that interests you, and you've been considering it, then why not?

The devs have proven that they're willing to spend a lot of extra time modifying and updating the game over time.  I think that's a great sign.

The game's strength is in it's asymmetrical factions, and it's fantasy grand strategy theme.  Many such games proclaim it's factions are asymmetrical, but they're often just modified versions of a similar template, and/or use very similar "tech" upgrades.  Many of Sovereignty's nations are different in a few ways.  Not just troop types, abilities, and spell research, but in the size, income, and ultimate victory goals of each state.  The widely varying victory conditions are of special note, since it can vary so much for each.

IIRC, their engine update, and a chunk of the extra development time, was for improving the UI.  Which needed it.  I've not played it much yet, since then, as I'm waiting for the updates to get close to finished.  But I liked what I've seen in the past and I keep it installed & ready on my laptop.  If it passes the 'remains installed' test for me, then it's a good sign.





It has an indie look & feel, so don't expect much eye candy.  However, it's 2D artwork is good enough for me since it's all about the gameplay.  Kinda reminds me of big strategy tabletop game.  Each faction has it's own distinctive strategic personality & goals, more so than most grand strategy games, and this is it's big strength.  Having both a strategic and battle layer is a plus, and they're both turn-based. 

They're still working on it, being in Early Access, but it's certainly playable last I looked.  I've not been slavishly following the progress & plans, but only because it makes patience easier.  There were a few odd mechanics, awhile back, but they've changed them for the better since then, AFAIK.

The question should be.. would it be worth the asking price?  At $24.99, plus a 38% discount, it would be for me!

[Martok]

I'm gonna be lazy and simply second what Nefaro said.  While Sovereignty remains a work-in-progress, there's already a lot to like about it. 

[Nefaro]

I'm gonna be lazy and simply second what Nefaro said.  While Sovereignty remains a work-in-progress, there's already a lot to like about it.

Not everyone has to be as dull and long-winded as myself.   O0

[Martok]

I'm pretty sure you meant "eloquent".  Stop confusing me with you!  :P 

[FarAway Sooner]

Your long-winded detailed commentary was really useful, Nefaro.  Thanks!

Think I'm going to go ahead and pull the trigger.

:)

[Lord Zimoa]

Sovereignty 2.1.3 patch is here!

Hi everyone! Sovereignty's path continues, and this time we're hitting 2.1.3 version.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/312430

Full changelog:

Fixed mod editor not correctly identifying existing mods on the workshop
Fixed crash when sending trade offers with no available Agent
Fixed possible crash when game tries to access prisoners which no longer exist
Fixed possible crash when adjusting UI scaling
Fixed possible crash when disposing of texture which has already been disposed
Fixed crash at battle end when units are still packed into wagons (requires testing to confirm)
Fixed crash caused by battle checking for winner multiple times
Fixed crash caused by trying to promote units which have maxed out their medals
Fixed crash caused by Overrun unit ability
Fixed crash when disposing units at game end
Fixed battle sounds not working after reloading saved games (only fixed in newly started games)
Fixed AI ending up in negative goold due to incorrect unit cost calculation
Fixed crash if counter-offering without ever having opened Foreign Affairs screen
Fixed missing tooltips in the Diplomacy section of Foreign Affairs
Fixed incorrect total on finance panel when there are are active trades
Fixed global spells not being possible to cast
Fixed prisoners panel display of costs when Arena of Bolgara is in effect
Fixed heroes not being able to move to an adjacent stack unless a unit also moves
Fixed switch left/right buttons setting not working on campaign map
Fixed Charge bonus being shown incorrectly in combat casualty estimates
Fixed issue causing units to sometimes not follow the arrow when attacking in battle
Fixed Tax Collector not having any effect
Added new checks for naval units ending up on land (swan ships in particular)
Gambler's Hall can now be built in the Capitol
Missing texture files no longer crash the game
Battle map artwork updated


And more good news,

The end is near, we will upload a Gold Master (a release version) version to be tested within two weeks and Slitherine found a release spot we all agreed on!

Of course we will keep on continuing fixing and updating anything you guys still find and polish as long as we are allowed to do so.

So a final release date is to be announced soon and EA has almost come to an end, and an official release PR campaign is being prepared by Slitherine.

More official news will come via Slitherine.


Cheers,

Tim aka LZ

[Martok]

The end is near, we will upload a Gold Master (a release version) version to be tested within two weeks and Slitherine found a release spot we all agreed on!

Of course we will keep on continuing fixing and updating anything you guys still find and polish as long as we are allowed to do so.

So a final release date is to be announced soon and EA has almost come to an end, and an official release PR campaign is being prepared by Slitherine.

Thanks for the heads-up, Tim.  This makes me excited.  8)