Oriental Empires -- 4x historical strategy

[Boggit]

Which is fine with me.  The combat system reminds me of a prettied-up version of the combat from the old Legion games from Slitherine

I think that is a very fair description. O0

[JasonPratt]

Which is fine with me.  The combat system reminds me of a prettied-up version of the combat from the old Legion games from Slitherine

I think that is a very fair description. O0

Exactly what I was thinking. (And I'm okay with that, if I know to expect it.)

[Greybriar]

Here's a YouTube video from last month:

[Grim.Reaper]

The factions are unlocked after you play a certain number of turns. I don't remember exactly but it should be around 100 - 120 turns. If you play a full game, you should be able to try another faction.

My number one pet peeve in games......why do you have to unlock factions?  Should always be an option to immediately unlock everything you purchased versus having to do something special....never understood that.  I get they maybe want to reward or provide a goal for someone, but I absolutely hate that concept (at least make optional).

[bbmike]

+1. Not of fan of unlocking stuff.

[Gusington]

Going to buy it this weekend. Only about 100 reviews in in Steam but they are 'very positive' along with what you moogs have been saying.

[jomni]

I'm liking what I see so far.  The game reflects Chinese agrarian society pretty well.  With zero mustering cost and punitive upkeep cost, you are encouraged to only muster the forces you need and disband them after the campaign else it will be a big drain to your coffers.  If you're big enough, you can afford to keep a permanent core army but it wouldn't be large. Not disbanding units make them accumulate more experience as they fight more battles. Would love to have more detailed tool tips to explain things like what influences noble and peasant dissatisfaction instead of just stating a general cause.

The battles are pretty interesting as you need to do a some pre-planing.  You are free to group units into stacks, set their formation, and order them to move around the map.  You are also free to dictate the tactics / ROE of individual units.  It's pretty flexible.  Since it is WEGO, once you resolve the turn, you have no more control which makes it tense.

I don't see any big differences with the tech trees of the factions.  They may be the same.  Only difference are the perks each faction gets in certain areas.

Also the Eras only reach until Warring States, then Imperial period (I assume Qin Dynasty).  Would be cool to make this last until future dynasties where firearms are employed.  But I guess China wouldn't be as fractured in future periods except for some certain instances like the Three Kingdoms period, etc.

There is no calendar.  It only counts turns so it does not anchor itself to a somewhat historical timeline like Civilization.

[Boggit]

Does anyone know what the unit card mouse over values mean? Some like the sword - melee value and arrow - fire value are intuitive, but I'm guessing the balance is morale? Also has anyone had a unit damaged in battle (according to the battle report - if several battles are going on you might not see that actual fight), then at the start of the new turn it has disappeared? I've had it a few times. I'm suppositioning that this is because the unit has broken, or that its Qi has got too low and it deserted/disbanded, but to be honest I have no clear idea why a damaged unit would be gone from my army at the start of a new turn - it's not like I haven't got a decent treasury for example.

[Boggit]

Also the Eras only reach until Warring States, then Imperial period (I assume Qin Dynasty).  Would be cool to make this last until future dynasties where firearms are employed.  But I guess China wouldn't be as fractured in future periods except for some certain instances like the Three Kingdoms period, etc.

There is no calendar.  It only counts turns so it does not anchor itself to a somewhat historical timeline like Civilization.

Apparently - according to the Q&A link on the game website, the game does actually go as far as the early gunpowder period.

As to the calendar - that would be a nice feature to see where you are in history. I find the plain turn count somewhat bland and not really very informative.

[Boggit]

Going to buy it this weekend. Only about 100 reviews in in Steam but they are 'very positive' along with what you moogs have been saying.

Don't forget the 20% discount runs out soon - 27th IIRC.

[jomni]

Also the Eras only reach until Warring States, then Imperial period (I assume Qin Dynasty).  Would be cool to make this last until future dynasties where firearms are employed.  But I guess China wouldn't be as fractured in future periods except for some certain instances like the Three Kingdoms period, etc.

There is no calendar.  It only counts turns so it does not anchor itself to a somewhat historical timeline like Civilization.

Apparently - according to the Q&A link on the game website, the game does actually go as far as the early gunpowder period.

As to the calendar - that would be a nice feature to see where you are in history. I find the plain turn count somewhat bland and not really very informative.

Ok. I checked the tech tree and it does have the three eyed gun, canons and rockets.

[Tpek]

It's actually cheaper on GreenManGaming 36% off ($19.29):
https://www.greenmangaming.com/games/oriental-empires/

[tgb]

It comes up $23.99 for me.  GMG is great as long as you're not on the fence, since refund will not be an option.

[AndyBrown]

I'm playing it and loving it but a word of warning.  In its current, Early Access, state it's poorly documented which is a major handicap for such a complex game.  Read the tool tips and the Help screens carefully before getting too far into the game because bad stuff sneaks up on you unnoticed over many turns and there are few quick fixes.

There's a lot of type on the Steam discussion board about things not working and, in particular, an unrest system which generates overpowering rebellions that undo hours of play in half-a-dozen turns.  That can happen but most of the time it doesn't have to if you've been playing sensibly.  The problem is, without a manual, you have to hunt around a bit to determine what "sensible" means.

This guide:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=764354191

helps.

It's fair to say, IMO, that many of the reports about bugs and broken features are from players who have not yet understood the game's mechanics but it's also true that some of those mechanics are a touch unforgiving !

Cheers,

Andy Brown

[jomni]

Yes. I just lost my capital.  Will restart from a previous state. The unrest mechanic need a lot of study. What factors influence it (shown in the screen) and how to lower it (not explained?).