Distant Worlds: Universe

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Thu May 15, 2014 2:14 pm

The new expansion for Distant Worlds is out in about a week now and I just saw this interesting news posted over at Qt3:

Erik Rutins wrote: Hi Everyone,

Some major news today:

Distant Worlds: Universe is the entire Distant Worlds series in one package, including the new Universe expansion which greatly improves moddability (make your own governments, research trees, resources, components, events, etc.) a new Ancient Galaxy storyline that also serves as a reference mod and performance and AI improvements.

It will release on May 23rd through our Online Store as well as, for the first time ever, through Steam. As this includes both the new Universe expansion with greatly expanded modding support and the Ancient Galaxy storyline plus all previous releases, it will give new customers and existing customers a unified installation for future support and modding and a great affordable entry point to the series.

The Steam page is now live along with a brand new Trailer Video:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/261470/

Our own product page is here:

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/515 ... -.Universe

The base price of Distant Worlds: Universe will be $59.99 Download / $69.99 Physical. This represents a significant discount over the previous series bundle. The Physical version is only available through our store and includes an updated and full color printed Distant Worlds series game manual.

For the release, it will be available at a pre-order price of $49.99 Download / $59.99 physical. This will be the pre-order price through Steam. As we don't do pre-orders through our own store, this will be our release price as well, with a post-release promotional period as with past Distant Worlds releases that allows early adopters to get the game for a lower price, after which it will revert to the permanent $59.99 / $69.99 price level.

We will also be offering existing customers a discount based on what parts of the series they own. It's a $10 discount per release, so if you own everything that's been released so far (Distant Worlds + Return of the Shakturi + Legends + Shadows) then during the post-release promotion period, your price to upgrade to Universe would be $9.99 Download or $19.99 Physical ($49.99 or $59.99 - $40 discount for four previous releases). There will be a page on our site where you can get the upgrade discount coupon. This upgrade will be available through our store only, we don't have a way of doing this through Steam. All you will need to get the upgrade coupon is the serial number for each release.

We'll be offering Steam keys to customers who upgrade and purchase through our site.

The release will be on May 23rd.

We plan for there to be one more Shadows update, but all future modding/feature/performance improvements will be based on the Universe level.

Regards,

- Erik

Sounds like a pretty good deal for people wanting to get into the game as well as those upgrading.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Thu May 15, 2014 2:32 pm

I have everything except Shadows and the new one, so $20 to get it all in one package, 2 new expansions and a Steam key is a no-brainer.

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Thu May 15, 2014 2:38 pm

Yeah, I'll be upgrading. I have the base game and 2 of the 3 expansions so it sounds like I'll be able to get the Universe version at a $30 discount (a $20 price tag during their post release promotional pricing period). That's fair.

Butterknife · Post by **Butterknife** » Thu May 15, 2014 10:11 pm

I own all of the expansions, and I have probably put in over 100 hours on this game. Frankly, I would pay $10 just to be able to get it on Steam just because it is such a pain to install, having to enter every different cd key after installing each expansion. Getting a new expansion on top of that is great!

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Fri May 16, 2014 9:51 am

I've been watching Distant Worlds as each DLC comes out but there has always been something else just as interesting and cheaper. It still pains me to pay $50 for a game but you guys have made it sound like an interesting take on a space game. Is anyone willing to give a brief review of the current state of the game compared to something like Sword of the Stars (really old but I love it).

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Fri May 16, 2014 12:02 pm

Not sure what sorts of questions you have when you have some time to spare you might try this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFrGdhms ... iAGlC3fFBA

It's by our very own Veloxi and runs through some of the basics of Distant Worlds: Universe using a preview build.

I will also say I personally think Distant Worlds is far and away the best space 4x game out there right now. It's mechanics are well thought out and very well polished. The interface is excellent. The AI is not only competent, but capable of taking over any tasks that you the player don't want to handle.

If there's any particular thing your curious about feel free to ask away.

Tampa_Gamer · Post by **Tampa_Gamer** » Fri May 16, 2014 12:53 pm

I would also agree with the above statements. Currently, I only have two "go-to" space 4x games to cure my itch. Distant Worlds and Sword of the Stars I (I own but have never been able to get into playing II). While I would consider them both in the same genre, they have different strengths/weaknesses. Distant Worlds is extremely complex and while you can allow the AI to take over all or any portion of your management duties it is daunting to begin with. For that reason, my games typically last me weeks if not months of small gaming time slots. However, this complexity is due to the absolute sand-box approach you have to running your empire and amount of detail (if desired you can design and place every mining station, satellite, defense base, star port, etc. in your empire). I think compared to Sword of the Stars the AI is better in Sword of the Stars because it is less complex of a game and therefore the AI has been programmed with known counters to various strategies, etc. Another strength of Sword of the Stars is the tactical battles - nothing compares to them still. In Distant Worlds favor is the current (and future) modding scene, a much more robust ship design model (similar to the Space Empires series), RPG character system for scientists, leaders, admirals, spies, ground generals, etc.) and my all-time favorite since the time of Star General - inclusion of good system for use of ground units in battles over planets that gain experience over time.

My days of modding AI are long in the past due to kids, real life, etc. but I am really hoping that someone is able to bring some life to the races of Distant World so that I when I encounter them in the game I react the way I did in Masters of Orion or GalCiv when I encountered a particular race. Currently there are so many races, that they all seem rather generic.

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Fri May 16, 2014 3:21 pm

Thanks for the replies.

$50 is still a lot but school is ending for the summer so I have more free time; I think I'm in for a pre-order.

Weird question from a tablet PC owner. Can the game be played without a keyboard (all right and left mouse clicks)?

Buatha · Post by **Buatha** » Sat May 17, 2014 7:43 pm

Everything that Tampa Gamer said.

These are the only two 4X games that I've ever been able to stick with for some time...the others became too much of a micro-management nightmare that killed my interest.

I've never felt more like a true Ruler when playing DW. I like I can make the major decisions and let the A.I. handle the feet-on-the-ground stuff fairly well. I'm far from proficient at the game, but the automation really helps as you can explore what the alerts/advice given are doing for you at your own learning pace. I highly recommend starting pre-Warp as it lets you get familiar with your own system...setting up some factories, exploring factories, and watching the A.I. on the micro-scale.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Fri May 23, 2014 6:47 am

Okay I bought all of these games, but in my last crash I lost my serial numbers. I went to Matrix and they say I have bought nothing from them. I went to Slitherine, and they say the same.

Where else would I have bought this game from. I am not sure when I bought it, but I have all the downloads in my back-up folder, just none of the keys. <sigh>

Sometimes buying stuff online screws me over big time.

Cortilian · Post by **Cortilian** » Fri May 23, 2014 7:33 am

Check your email for a link from plimus.com. I had to get my keys from there.

This link may help.

http://www.bluesnap.com/ecommerce/suppo ... your-order

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Fri May 23, 2014 8:31 am

Cortilian wrote:Check your email for a link from plimus.com. I had to get my keys from there.

This link may help.

http://www.bluesnap.com/ecommerce/suppo ... your-order

That was it. Thanks for the help. Have all my keys now.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Fri May 23, 2014 8:58 am

It's up now over at the Matrix store, if you don't want to wait for Steam to unlock it. Saved games should be compatible from one version to the other.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Fri May 23, 2014 9:33 am

tgb wrote:It's up now over at the Matrix store, if you don't want to wait for Steam to unlock it. Saved games should be compatible from one version to the other.

How do I register this on Steam? The code I got for buying universe says it is invalid...

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Fri May 23, 2014 9:35 am

Just a heads up that getting the Steam key for this game if you buy through Matrix is a bit of a PITA.

I bought the game on the Matrix site after applying my $30 off coupon code there. It showed up as registered under 'My Games". So far so good. I got the game serial in my email from them but no Steam key and no info or apparent way to get it. So I check the Matrix DW forums and there's a sticky FAQ there on how to get your Steam key. It's got a link in it. So, I click the link and it takes me to a Slitherine site login page. I plug in my Matrix login info but that doesn't work. I have to create a new account there and then register the game AGAIN on that site and then I can finally click on the "generate steam key" button there and get my key.

It's about as convoluted and obscure a process as you can get. I wonder how they stay in business.

Cortilian · Post by **Cortilian** » Fri May 23, 2014 9:38 am

Yup that process sucked. Stolen from GWJ

1) Make sure all your DW things are registered on the Matrix site.
2) Click 'My Discount Codes' to generate a discount code for DWU.
3) Buy it on Matrix. Apply the discount code.
4) Get the license key from Matrix after paying.
5) Register the license key on the Slitherine site. (different account from Matrix)
6) Go to My Steam Keys, click Redeem for DW.
7) Get the Steam key
8) Register it with Steam.

Butterknife · Post by **Butterknife** » Fri May 23, 2014 10:16 am

Cortilian wrote:Yup that process sucked. Stolen from GWJ

1) Make sure all your DW things are registered on the Matrix site.
2) Click 'My Discount Codes' to generate a discount code for DWU.
3) Buy it on Matrix. Apply the discount code.
4) Get the license key from Matrix after paying.
5) Register the license key on the Slitherine site. (different account from Matrix)
6) Go to My Steam Keys, click Redeem for DW.
7) Get the Steam key
8) Register it with Steam.

Thank you so much for copying that over! I would never have been able to figure all of that out, and that is without a doubt one of the worst processes I've seen to get my key. Looking forward to playing this today! Hooray 4-day weekend!

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Fri May 23, 2014 10:20 am

ColdSteel wrote:Just a heads up that getting the Steam key for this game if you buy through Matrix is a bit of a PITA.

I bought the game on the Matrix site after applying my $30 off coupon code there. It showed up as registered under 'My Games". So far so good. I got the game serial in my email from them but no Steam key and no info or apparent way to get it. So I check the Matrix DW forums and there's a sticky FAQ there on how to get your Steam key. It's got a link in it. So, I click the link and it takes me to a Slitherine site login page. I plug in my Matrix login info but that doesn't work. I have to create a new account there and then register the game AGAIN on that site and then I can finally click on the "generate steam key" button there and get my key.

It's about as convoluted and obscure a process as you can get. I wonder how they stay in business.

Yeah, that was a pain in the butt. But thanks for letting me know, I would never have found that quickly.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Fri May 23, 2014 11:30 am

FWIW I had no problem logging into the Slitherine site or getting my key. Yes, it's a couple of extra steps, but if I hadn't have done it I would never have known that I had Steam keys for Battle Academy and Panzer Corps:Africa, both of which I bought a long time ago and never actually played much of.

So it was like getting 2 new games for free. Woo hoo!

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Fri May 23, 2014 11:43 am

So why does Matrix have 2 sites you have to register the game you buy on? And what does Matrix have to do with Slitherine, which I thought was a game developer?

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Fri May 23, 2014 11:49 am

Man, I already forgot this was also out this weekend! I was preparing myself for a long weekend of Tropico 5, but now I don't know what I'll do. (First world problem

)

And thanks for the heads up on all the hoops I had to jump through to get a Steam key.

ColdSteel wrote:So why does Matrix have 2 sites you have to register the game you buy on? And what does Matrix have to do with Slitherine, which I thought was a game developer?

IIRC they kind of merged or formed a partnership or something not too long ago. Slitherine used to be only a developer, but they started getting into the download service business a bit before that.

SlapBone · Post by **SlapBone** » Fri May 23, 2014 12:03 pm

ColdSteel wrote:So why does Matrix have 2 sites you have to register the game you buy on? And what does Matrix have to do with Slitherine, which I thought was a game developer?

I'm guessing here... I think the plan is to eventually merge the two sites. The original key system and related member's area are all products of Matrix, while the multiplayer system is a product of Slitherine. Because the multiplayer authentication all resides at Slitherine, they decided to install the Steam key generator there as well.

And to add that Matrix and Slitherine merged back 4 or 5 years ago. (May 10,2010)

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Fri May 23, 2014 12:03 pm

The back end of the slitherine site is not working. Awesome.

SlapBone · Post by **SlapBone** » Fri May 23, 2014 12:16 pm

tgb wrote: So it was like getting 2 new games for free. Woo hoo!

I went through the process the other day, so I have Panzer Corps and 6 expansions on Steam now. If you bought Pandora, make sure to register that key over there as well. I think that one is due on Steam in a month or so.

Stuie · Post by **Stuie** » Fri May 23, 2014 12:22 pm

SlapBone wrote:
tgb wrote: So it was like getting 2 new games for free. Woo hoo!
I went through the process the other day, so I have Panzer Corps and 6 expansions on Steam now. If you bought Pandora, make sure to register that key over there as well. I think that one is due on Steam in a month or so.

Actually Pandora is due a week from today.

I'm still undecided about Distant Worlds. Something about the ship icons just bugs me. I know it's just the graphics, but if that's what I'm going to be staring at, then I want it to look good. I think my issue is that the ships are so incredibly disproportionate to the size of the planets. I don't mind the size being exaggerated to some extent, but they've really gone over the top with them. Petty? Maybe.

I know you can mod the ship images, I'm just wondering if anyone has seen a mod that reduces the ship sizes to something more reasonable, or if that's even possible.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Fri May 23, 2014 12:31 pm

Stuie wrote:
SlapBone wrote:
tgb wrote: So it was like getting 2 new games for free. Woo hoo!
I went through the process the other day, so I have Panzer Corps and 6 expansions on Steam now. If you bought Pandora, make sure to register that key over there as well. I think that one is due on Steam in a month or so.
Actually Pandora is due a week from today.

I'm still undecided about Distant Worlds. Something about the ship icons just bugs me. I know it's just the graphics, but if that's what I'm going to be staring at, then I want it to look good. I think my issue is that the ships are so incredibly disproportionate to the size of the planets. I don't mind the size being exaggerated to some extent, but they've really gone over the top with them. Petty? Maybe.

I know you can mod the ship images, I'm just wondering if anyone has seen a mod that reduces the ship sizes to something more reasonable, or if that's even possible.

For 10 bucks I upgraded to it. But if I had had to shell out any more, I most likely would not have.

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Fri May 23, 2014 12:45 pm

Lorini wrote:The back end of the slitherine site is not working. Awesome.

There is an issue when you create your account. It will tell you your password is invalid when you try to register your code. I had to reset my password and then it worked okay. Eric from Matrix posted about it on the Qto3 forums:

The process to get the Steam key was a little painful. I had issues creating my account and staying logged into Slitherine.com, and I had to reset my password as my first password was "corrupted" during the initial account creation process.

Our web guys are investigating this right now as we've had a few other reports. Apparently reseting the password resolves this, but hopefully we'll have whatever is causing this fixed today.

Tampa_Gamer · Post by **Tampa_Gamer** » Fri May 23, 2014 1:00 pm

Stuie wrote:I'm still undecided about Distant Worlds. Something about the ship icons just bugs me. I know it's just the graphics, but if that's what I'm going to be staring at, then I want it to look good. I think my issue is that the ships are so incredibly disproportionate to the size of the planets. I don't mind the size being exaggerated to some extent, but they've really gone over the top with them. Petty? Maybe.

I know you can mod the ship images, I'm just wondering if anyone has seen a mod that reduces the ship sizes to something more reasonable, or if that's even possible.

I don't know of any reduced ship size mods, but I will say that you typically spend 75-80% of your time (if not more) zoomed out to where you don't see the actual ship graphics - just the icons representing that type of ship or object (e.g. civilian, military, fleets, stations, etc.). When I do zoom in, its typically because I want to micro and need to grab/click on the ships I want to control, so it helps to have them larger in my opinion if nothing else to save the frustration of trying to chase a small hit zone with your mouse.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Fri May 23, 2014 1:51 pm

SlapBone wrote:
tgb wrote: So it was like getting 2 new games for free. Woo hoo!
I went through the process the other day, so I have Panzer Corps and 6 expansions on Steam now. If you bought Pandora, make sure to register that key over there as well. I think that one is due on Steam in a month or so.

Good call. Thanks for the reminder.

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Fri May 23, 2014 5:20 pm

What time is this supposed to release on Steam? I thought it was supposed to release today but I don't see it.

I've decided to initially use Steam to play this because the dev tends to patch DW a lot after a new expansion and it's kind of a pain to get the patches through Matrix. Plus they use beta patches a lot, which are easier to do on Steam and easier to back out of if something goes wrong. The modding also lends itself better to Steam use.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Fri May 23, 2014 5:21 pm

ColdSteel wrote:What time is this supposed to release on Steam? I thought it was supposed to release today but I don't see it.

I've decided to initially use Steam to play this because the dev tends to patch DW a lot after a new expansion and it's kind of a pain to get the patches through Matrix. Plus they use beta patches a lot, which are easier to do on Steam and easier to back out of if something goes wrong. The modding also lends itself better to Steam use.

Not sure, but it is not released on steam for me either.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Fri May 23, 2014 5:23 pm

Countdown on the store page indicates it should be available around 7 eastern time.

Butterknife · Post by **Butterknife** » Fri May 23, 2014 8:48 pm

It is out now on Steam. I played a warm-up game this morning (never intended to finish it) but tonight I start my serious game!

SlapBone · Post by **SlapBone** » Fri May 23, 2014 10:15 pm

Man I know it's extra work, but it is nice having the game and expansions consolidated on Steam.

Buatha · Post by **Buatha** » Fri May 23, 2014 11:20 pm

A little overview of DW:U. Actually, it's a Let's Play with little chance of survival, but he does a good job of explaining screens and he has links to many of his other LP videos:

Distant Worlds Universe - Extreme Survival LP

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri May 23, 2014 11:48 pm

Ugh Matrix..aren't they the ones who overprice the games and never lower prices? Any chance this will be $10 soon?

Game looks great. If this came out in 94 it would have been the best game ever.,.but these days my ADHD is horrible and I cant bother learning stuff...I have Endless Space and StarDrive and haven't done anything with them because Im not the same person who sat for 2 weeks playing Master of Orion and smiling the whole way.

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Sat May 24, 2014 7:02 am

At times a game will catch me and drag me back to being that Type of gamer and DWU looks like it could. I'm on vacation and away from my computer but its downloading now.

Butterknife · Post by **Butterknife** » Sat May 24, 2014 8:44 am

This game can take quite a bit to get in to, but it is one of those rare games that is actually worth spending the time. If any of you who are just getting in to this game now have questions, please ask them here. I'd be surprised if I have spent less than 150 hours playing this game, and I'm only now getting in to designing my own ships and handling my own leaders. You can automate the entire game if you want, but I would recommend not doing that to start out because it isn't much fun to just watch the game. Automate most of it when you start, though. I would set everything on "suggest" (the default option) when you first start playing, and then just accepting it when your advisers ask you something. You'll learn what the AI is doing pretty quickly, and then after a while you will want to do some things differently.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Sat May 24, 2014 9:43 am

What works for me is to role-play as Head of State, which means concerning myself with the economy and foreign affairs. The President doesn't place lasers in a new design for a ship. I leave all things military to my admirals.

MonkeyFinger · Post by **MonkeyFinger** » Sat May 24, 2014 10:17 am

tgb wrote:FWIW I had no problem logging into the Slitherine site or getting my key. Yes, it's a couple of extra steps, but if I hadn't have done it I would never have known that I had Steam keys for Battle Academy and Panzer Corps:Africa, both of which I bought a long time ago and never actually played much of.

So it was like getting 2 new games for free. Woo hoo!

LOL... in the same boat. Found out I had Steam keys for Battle Academy (plus two campaigns) and the base Panzer Corp Wehrmacht. And I pulled the trigger on Universe with a $40 discount.