That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons bring us some web forums whereupon we can gather
http://www.octopusoverlords.com/forum/
Is that a good thing or a bad thing or ?Sepiche wrote:Word on the street is it's Crusader Kings 2 in space, but hopefully we'll know more tomorrow.
In my book a good thing. The character/RPG aspects of CK2 is what makes it shine, and if they can successfully incorporate that into a sci fi setting it could be pretty amazing. I'm really hoping the sci fi setting might let Paradox be a little more focused on good game play instead of always trying to shoehorn their games into a historical setting.GreenGoo wrote:Is that a good thing or a bad thing or ?Sepiche wrote:Word on the street is it's Crusader Kings 2 in space, but hopefully we'll know more tomorrow.
Succession Wars! I always wonder who else out in the world played that game.LordMortis wrote:The Interstellar map looks succession wars-ish <3
Emperor of the Fading Suns - even better!LordMortis wrote:Yes, please. Interstallar dynasties with political turmoil a la Dune sounds fantastic.
Love it!Mr. Fed wrote:It'll be all "Darth Vader married Leia but got stabbed as a result of a conspiracy by JarJar."
YOu can tell this from half a dozen screenshots and nothing else?El Guapo wrote:This looks like a game that will make me wish that I had the spare time that I had back in high school.
I can tell this from Paradox and from "Crusader Kings 2 in space"Grifman wrote:YOu can tell this from half a dozen screenshots and nothing else?El Guapo wrote:This looks like a game that will make me wish that I had the spare time that I had back in high school.
Well, we don't know that it's CK2 in space, everyone is just guessing at this pointEl Guapo wrote:I can tell this from Paradox and from "Crusader Kings 2 in space"Grifman wrote:YOu can tell this from half a dozen screenshots and nothing else?El Guapo wrote:This looks like a game that will make me wish that I had the spare time that I had back in high school.
I never really played with Mods. Do history adding mods enhance the game that much?Holman wrote:I really hope it *is* CK2 in space and not just another 4X clone. I wonder if it might play out on a scale where individual starships fill the roles that individual family members and advisers played in CK.
The Paradox fanboys at the forum (where discussion has raged around cryptic hints and teasers this month) seem generally underwhelmed. Many of them were apparently hoping for something set in the ancient world.
For me the problem with an SF setting is that it doesn't play to Paradox's great strength, which is its modding community. The CK and EU series have inspired massive modding projects designed to get 10x more history into the games. With SF, there's no basis for that.
Anyway, I guess we'll get the scoop today, since the announcement is expected this afternoon (US).
I could create Star Wars or a Star Trek border skirmish game or make up my own universe. That sounds awesome.IMHO, oh yes. The mod "MEIOU and Taxes" (which is an awful name) for EUIV reworks and rebalances almost all of the systems in the game, usually in the service of making the sandbox feel more historic and less gamey and often in ways that fix flaws Paradox has ignored. Some changes are purely aesthetic (new maps, new music, flavor text and etc) but some really help to deepen the course of events, so that e.g. the whole course of the Reformation involves more choices and more effects than in the vanilla game. For CK2, the "Historical Immersion Project" does something similar.LordMortis wrote: I never really played with Mods. Do history adding mods enhance the game that much?
If it's event, trait, and choice-driven like CK2, perhaps this would be possible. If it's more plain-4X, probably not.If I were modder (and I wish I was. Maybe I'll retire one day and learn...) then CK2 in space would give me the freedom to create my RPG, wouldn't it? I could actually have Succession Wars
We know that it's a Paradox strategy game, which is usually good, and always long. I like that it's sci-fi themed, and if it winds up being CK2 that will be gravy.Grifman wrote:Well, we don't know that it's CK2 in space, everyone is just guessing at this pointEl Guapo wrote:I can tell this from Paradox and from "Crusader Kings 2 in space"Grifman wrote:YOu can tell this from half a dozen screenshots and nothing else?El Guapo wrote:This looks like a game that will make me wish that I had the spare time that I had back in high school.
Me too. If the emergent story telling works half as well as they portray, then the hype will be twice as much as the game.Chaz wrote:After reading the RPS preview, I'm now interested. The way they want to handle research and tie that into possible late-game events sounds fantastic if they can pull it off.
The original leaked screenshot from yesterday that Sepiche posted has a February 16, 2016 release date on it. But maybe they are planning for EA before that? Hopefully. Looks like a dream come true if they pull it off. Ambitious is an understatement. Also, I note that combat will be completely hands off like Dominions 4. I'm fine with that as long as they allow you to give your ships orders before combat begins.jztemple2 wrote:It's on Steam right now as "Coming Soon", so I added it to my Wishlist and am Following. Interestingly two people are already playing it. Lucky bastards...
Sepiche wrote:
Have a little faith.Grifman wrote:Well, we don't know that it's CK2 in space, everyone is just guessing at this pointEl Guapo wrote:I can tell this from Paradox and from "Crusader Kings 2 in space"Grifman wrote:YOu can tell this from half a dozen screenshots and nothing else?El Guapo wrote:This looks like a game that will make me wish that I had the spare time that I had back in high school.
General
Built in the Clausewitz engine, the engine that powers EU4 and CKII
Pausable real-time with speed control, like other Clausewitz games
Will be released simultaneously for Windows, Mac, and Linux
Supposed to be a marriage between GSG and 4x games
In the early stages you will concentrate on exploration and colonization
Mid-game is concerned with imperial governance and diplomacy
There are two known victory conditions (conquest and technology) but there is no end date
Seamless zooming from viewing individual planetary bodies up to viewing the entire galaxy
Influenced by a huge number of different sci-fi franchises and stories
Influenced by a variety of games: other Paradox games, Distant Worlds, Sword of the Stars, Civilization, etc.
Little to no automation of features; they don't want to create systems the player doesn't actually interact with
Variation is key; they want to avoid the game being predictable and devolving into an optimization problem
Map
Each Map will be randomly created and covers a galaxy. Maps can vary in size
Starts are largely symmetrical unlike previous PDS games
Currently 1000 star systems is the cap. Each star system also has its own amount of planets.
The map is generated with both a number of single-system empires capable of FTL (starting with a science ship, construction ship, and a military fleet), and other species in various earlier stages of development
Pre-defined maps can be modded in
The map includes nebulas, voids, and other features that get in the way of FTL travel
Details of other empires are unknown at game start
Technology and construction
Technology functions more like a deck of cards than a traditional tech tree, making it more varied from campaign to campaign
Each faction chooses 1 of 3 faster than light technologies near the beginning of the game:
Hyperlane travel is fast, but is limited to an existing layout of connections between star systems
Warp travel is slower but provides freedom of movement
Wormhole travel requires stations to be constructed at the edge of star systems, but allow for longer jumps
Technology divided into three categories: Physics, Social and Engineering
Science ships behave similarly to hero units
These scientists can gain traits that may hinder or help future experiments
Science ships can scan and analyze debris left behind by battles
Science ships will attempt to conduct missions (Fail a mission and the technology will be lost forever)
Some traits may seem terrible but will be the key to unlocking some of the more dangerous and esoteric technologies in the game
Technology is gained semi-randomly and is influenced by the ethics of your empire as well as the traits and demographics of the scientists in charge of each department.
Space bases and minefields can be built outside systems to protect common travel paths
Exploring the local star systems with a scientist leading the team
Option to scan planets for resources
Early discoveries leading to different ends depending on choices made
Option to influence the development of planetbound races by either watching from afar or getting involved
Fallen empires which are technologically advanced but unable/unwilling to rebuild or repair are a high risk/ high reward target for technologies
Technology unlocks can include both improvements to existing capabilities, and things like political edicts
Events
Events differ in range from a single planet to your entire empire
There are very few hardcoded events
Late-Game catastrophes are possible (Examples are AI revolts or Warp Tears)
Possible for more than one catastrophe to occur in a single campaign, but each subsequent catastrophe is less likely
Some events include branching storylines
Events recorded in Quest log
No comet sighted event yet
Diplomacy and Warfare
Galactic federations can be formed or joined
Start out as simple alliances that are upgraded to a federation
Led by president elected at regular intervals
President controls foreign policy of entire federation
President can also build ships using modules of all races in federation (Leading to combinations found no where else)
Federation has a shared fleet, but members do keep their own fleets as well
Similar to in Europa Universalis 4. Has things like alliances, non-aggression pacts, civilian access, military access, etc.
Peace agreement system similar to Europa Universalis 4 and Victoria II
Need claims in order to conquer planets
Military
Ships are customizable; they can be equipped with weapons, reactors, engines, etc.
Obsolete ships can be updated at the cost of time and money
Each unit will be able to be seen in combat
No direct control of tactical situation
Like in other Paradox games, combat cannot be controlled directly and there are no separate maps for the combat itself
Fleets can be commanded by admirals who can have a variety of traits
Ground forces can be led by generals who can have a variety of traits
Planets
Each planet consists of a number of tiles
These tiles can be individually developed by workers or robots. The numbers of workers available is based on population
Manage the building location and resource extraction on planets
Certain parts of a planet may be blocked by dangerous wildlife or sinkholes that have to be dealt with if one wishes to build upon them
Adjacent similar buildings will provide bonuses to each other
Different tiles have different bonuses and penalties
You can appoint a governor for each planet
Affect what goes on on the planet, sometimes autotonomously
Specialization of planets is necessary to do well
For some planets it may make more sense to mine them from orbit rather than colonize them
Species
The player can choose from 7 pre-made species, or design their own within 6 species groups
Created from 6 species types for a race to be grouped into: molluscoid, mammalian (which includes humans), fungoid, avian, insectoid, and reptilian
Every alien species that you encounter will be unique to your game, concocted from a long list of physical traits and social behaviors. The AI will never use the pre-made species
Species traits include bonuses to various aspects (E.G., production or research), and more specific traits such as "xenophobic", "religious", "isolationist", or "pacifist"
During creation, species' technology and ethics are defined
Governing ethics are chosen from one of eight. Currently known are "individualist", "xenophile", "xenophobic", and "spiritualist"
These choices affect what actions are available. A xenophilic empire for example don't get the option to capture and enslave aliens
At least thousands of possible combinations
There are around a hundred animated portraits to represent each race in game
Every species has a backstory
There will be planet bound species to monitor as well. You can passively watch or add in abductions and surgeries
These planet bound species can be genetically modified and controlled or you can commit genocide against them
Population
Uses a POP system similar to Victoria II
Population units (POPs) can have their own species, ethics, and grievances
Population units each have an ethos or ideology
Unhappy populations will attempt to change government or splinter into factions
Factions can be negotiated with, treated harshly, or destroyed when they rebel
Factions can take actions short of outright rebellion, such as sabotaging the nation's religion
There are no religions in the game, but ethics and traits that reflect a catch-all set of religious values
There's no culture in the game
Demographics has effects on other areas of the game such as scientific discoveries
Multiplayer
The game will have multiplayer
The game will have hotjoin (joining in-progress multiplayer games)
Probably no player limit
Characters
Named characters play a big part in the game
A middle ground between Crusader Kings II and Europa Universalis 4 characters
No dynasties or marriage
Each character has traits, as well as other advantages and disadvantages, similar to Crusader Kings II
Types of characters includes colony leaders, admirals, generals, and scientists
Characters don't interact with one another in any significant way
Characters can lead factions
