Twilight Imperium 4e

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Isgrimnur
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Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by Isgrimnur »

FFG
For twenty years, the custom space operas created by Twilight Imperium have thrilled gamers like nothing else. Now, Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition builds on the grand space opera found in previous editions while streamlining rules and putting player interaction center stage.

Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition aims to be the most complete version of the game ever printed. Seventeen playable races are included in the game, offering a wide variety of starting faction options. Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition brings a galactic space opera to your table, and no two games will ever be the same.
And because it is the timeline we live in, there's a pre-order bonus:
If you pre-order Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition, you’ll have the opportunity to receive the Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition rulebooks bound together in a single volume hardback book. Not only will you be able to learn and teach the game at the pinnacle of style, but you'll be treated to expanded fiction and content that paints the rich universe of Twilight Imperium in exacting detail. You'll also find extensive gorgeous art that depicts these many disparate peoples coming together in war as they struggle to dominate the galaxy and lay claim to the desiccated throne of Mecatol Rex.

Additionally, you’ll have a chance to receive two beautiful limited edition 11 x 17 art prints with special commemorative branding that showcases twenty years of exacting world building and gorgeous design work that has brought this vibrant universe to life. One print showcases the box art in all its glorious detail, highlighting the varied races that are battling for supremacy of Mecatol Rex. The other print features the construction of one of the most powerful weapons that the races of Twilight Imperium are willing to bring to bear in the name of galactic superiority: the devastating War Sun.
...
For those coming to Gen Con 50, make sure to stop by the Fantasy Flight Games booth to find out more about the game and get your chance to demo it first before anyone else.
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baelthazar
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by baelthazar »

So expensive. I really want it, but - and this is a little creepy - I was just saying to myself that I haven't played TI3e in forever and want to play it.
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by Anonymous Bosch »

baelthazar wrote:So expensive. I really want it, but - and this is a little creepy - I was just saying to myself that I haven't played TI3e in forever and want to play it.
Therein lies the rub. Twilight imperium is a game I've certainly enjoyed playing in the past, and would love to own in theory. But because of its prolonged playtime and complexity, the chances of ever getting the 4e version to the table would be infinitesimally small, and certainly wouldn't justify a $150+ expense.
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Chaz
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by Chaz »

$150 is bonkers for a game that most will only play a few times a year, and most of those will only play once or less a year.
I can't imagine, even at my most inebriated, hearing a bouncer offering me an hour with a stripper for only $1,400 and thinking That sounds like a reasonable idea.-Two Sheds
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by AWS260 »

I'm not going to get this -- no time, no group to play it with -- but I'm glad that it exists.
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Lordnine
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by Lordnine »

Sooo. If I am a game developer now, can I claim my board game purchases as a tax write-off if I say they are used for market research? :D
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by Zarathud »

Yes. But you should document its work use, be able to show the market research leads to profit/development, and cannot have any fun playing.

:)
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baelthazar
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Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by baelthazar »

What I would like to see is that the new edition streamlines the rules, make the book clearer, and cut down on some of the minutiae that made the game take nine hours in our group. But I am not seeing a lot of streamlining. If anything, they added some of the stuff from the expansions into the base game. I am not seeing a lot of reasons to upgrade, owning all the stuff in 3e. This is certainly not the jump that 2e to 3e was.
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baelthazar
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by baelthazar »

Who am I kidding, like a heroin addict, I am sure I will get this... :?
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by Archinerd »

Zarathud wrote:Yes. But you should document its work use, be able to show the market research leads to profit/development, and cannot have any fun playing.

:)
Lordnine wrote:Sooo. If I am a game developer now, can I claim my board game purchases as a tax write-off if I say they are used for market research? :D
Seriously though, he can right?
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Zarathud
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Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by Zarathud »

These factors were tongue in cheek, but also serious.

You need to have records which show the expense was for business and not for entertainment.
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein
"I don't stand by anything." - Trump
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St Andrews, 2/1/1867
“It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
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RMC
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by RMC »

Zarathud wrote:These factors were tongue in cheek, but also serious.

You need to have records which show the expense was for business and not for entertainment.
Like the old Kriminal Supena from back in the old days?

Also, I hate to admit it, but I will purchase this game, so it too can sit on a shelf and not be played..... <sigh>

I have all of 3e, and I think I payed about 150 for it with all the expansions.
Difficulties mastered are opportunities won. - Winston Churchill
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AWS260
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by AWS260 »

Mini-documentary on the making of the fourth edition. It's interesting to hear how close FFG came to using Kickstarter, and how they struggled to balance their desire to include All The Things with the realities of production costs.
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by Holman »

I actually bought TE 3e with all the expansions. I figured it would be a perfect way to get my family into Big Strategy with all the trimmings.

Eventually other things took precedence, and I knew I would never get it on the table. My kids were more into D&D, and I don't have local friends who could invest the time.

I paid Miniature Market prices for the game (meaning a decent discount), and I was able to sell it all at probably no more than a 15% loss.

I got to see it, at least.
Much prefer my Nazis Nuremberged.
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baelthazar
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by baelthazar »

I got my 4e copy yesterday. First off, it is nice to see they went with a taller, yet shorter box rather than the "I can't fit on a shelf" coffin box of the old edition. The insert also seems usable, although I am still dubious that the sleeved cards will fit back into the insert (which is so weird from a place that sells card sleeves).

Most everything about the 4e seems improved from the 3e. All of the races are present from the base game and the two expansion (at least I did not detect any missing). The race sheets are customized, meaning that they included racial abilities that effect units in the unit description on each sheet (rather than each race having the same units listed and then a separate rule that modified the listing on another card or section of the sheet). For example, the Saar's space dock has a movement point listed (which means they did not need to have a lengthy "Space docks can move" explanation in the racial powers section).

The tech tree is another place where there is dramatic improvement. Instead of having an overly complicated pre-req tree, techs now just need a certain number of previous techs of the same type (unless they are ship upgrades, which require mixed types) be research before. So, for example, Assault Cannons require you to have three red techs research before it. This is so much easier and has the same effect as that crazy tree from before.

The unit upgrades are also great. They now are cards that you can overlay on top of your race sheet. So when you get, for example, automated defense turrets, you just pop the Destroyer II upgrade card on the sheet and it shows you the new stats. So much better than trying to keep track of all the random ship modifiers from tech!

Lastly, they did away with the insane transfer action of the previous iteration. Nobody knew how to use it correctly and it ended up being way too much of a bizarre distraction from relatively simple movement rules.

The rules seems familiar, but so much better presented and streamlined. While I am not seeing a lot of examples of major changes, it all just seems very clear (whereas the old rulebook was a morass of exceptions and modifiers). My big disappointment is that my carefully created 3e "cheat sheet" that often got me BGG gold and thumbs seems no longer needed - these rules are much better and come with their own compendium.

The strategy cards have some major changes, most of which will lead to a faster experience and quicker initial expansion and conflict.

For fun, they also included a lore book, which was cool (more art than lore, but that is neat).

There are only a few let-downs. One, the game is not dramatically changed. I think that an upgrade pack for the cards could have accomplished much of what the new edition is doing. That may be unrealistic, but the game did have a premium price. The tiles for the hexes seems a little thinner than the older tiles, but I may be crazy. Obviously there are way fewer that the 3e with all the expansions, so I suspect we will have to wait until they produce more expansions to rival the options we had there (they seem to want to have a tighter board for a better experience).

Obviously, the big one is that a lot of the expansion optional content is now gone (no Distant Worlds exploraiton tokens, no orbital platforms, no shock troopers, no mines). Now I never used those optional things, as it made a cumbersome game even more cumbersome, but I could see how some people will be miffed. These are, of course, things that will be added in upcoming expansions, which I assume will be announced in around 6 months.

I think this is a good enough change to sell my 3e. While it has sentimental value for me, I do not see any reason (when the game is played like once a year) that my group would say "hey, lets get the older version out instead."
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by RMC »

So I picked up my copy on Monday, I had some store credit, so got it for a decent price.

I plan to have my first game on Sunday. Have a full six person game planned, but I am sure at least one person will not be able to attend at the last minute.

But we shall see how it goes, and I will report back.
Difficulties mastered are opportunities won. - Winston Churchill
Sheesh, this is one small box. Thankfully, everything's packed in nicely this time. Not too tight nor too loose (someone's sig in 3, 2, ...). - Hepcat
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by hepcat »

RMC wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2017 1:45 pm So I picked up my copy on Monday, I had some store credit, so got it for a decent price.

I plan to have my first game on Sunday. Have a full six person game planned, but I am sure at least one person will not be able to attend at the last minute.

But we shall see how it goes, and I will report back.
Let us know how the game went when you finish in March of 2018!
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RMC
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Re: Twilight Imperium 4e

Post by RMC »

hepcat wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2017 2:01 pm
RMC wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2017 1:45 pm So I picked up my copy on Monday, I had some store credit, so got it for a decent price.

I plan to have my first game on Sunday. Have a full six person game planned, but I am sure at least one person will not be able to attend at the last minute.

But we shall see how it goes, and I will report back.
Let us know how the game went when you finish in March of 2018!
I live in Ohio, it only takes 2 months to play a game here..... :horse:
Difficulties mastered are opportunities won. - Winston Churchill
Sheesh, this is one small box. Thankfully, everything's packed in nicely this time. Not too tight nor too loose (someone's sig in 3, 2, ...). - Hepcat
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