4X Endless Space 2

[rvm1975]

I guess at least 3 months to go.

When they are planing to release that new dlc?

https://www.games2gether.com/endles...-space-2-expansion-closed-beta-sign-up?page=1

signup for next dlc beta, it scheduled for Jun, 14

and they released vaulters in 6 weeks after previous beta start

 

[Arnust]

Maybe it's gonna have a teaser for E3 in the SEGA or PC Gaming shows? Signed up for the bete the first day, I'm really curious about what they've got cooking under the hood.

 

[covr]

I guess at least 3 months to go.

When they are planing to release that new dlc?

https://www.games2gether.com/endles...-space-2-expansion-closed-beta-sign-up?page=1

signup for next dlc beta, it scheduled for Jun, 14

and they released vaulters in 6 weeks after previous beta start

It seems that they are going to be release 2 DLCs quite soon. For the first one (not the new faction DLC, probably some megastructure/trading DLC) beta starts on 14th Jun, so mid July is possible release date.
It gives at least 3 months for another, espionage faction DLC. Maybe more.

 

[lightbane]

Soo, how good is this game for a 4X style game newbie? It looks prettier than Stellaris and the game company isn't fond of scummy practices unlike Paradox. Is that right?

 

[Hellraiser]

Soo, how good is this game for a 4X style game newbie? It looks prettier than Stellaris and the game company isn't fond of scummy practices unlike Paradox. Is that right?

The colony (system really) management is very simplistic, the only thing you can in theory fuck up is colonizing planets from the system in the wrong order or building improvements from which the system doesn't really benefit. The combat seems to be rather brain dead and on normal it was just a matter of spamming ships with the best DPS weapons that have 100% effectiveness at all ranges. Practically it might as well be baby's first space 4X.

The main reasons why despite that the game is at all enjoyable is due to the quests, random anomalies and decent hero mechanics. Well that and the art. Also minor races and the law/political system is nice but a bit too shallow.

Overall I think I prefer endless legend, the combat there is less shit with some resemblance of (very bare-bones) tactics and it just seemed harder on normal.

 

[Arnust]

 

[CaffeineConquistador]

Black Hole Flatulence, more like. Seems like all these composers were cloned then forced to interbreed with same creative source. Not being edgy; this sounds like a group of people ripping a long nacho fart.

 

[lophiaspis]

Soo, how good is this game for a 4X style game newbie? It looks prettier than Stellaris and the game company isn't fond of scummy practices unlike Paradox. Is that right?

It's the only Master of Orion clone that's not shit. Instead, it's adequate to decent. For a 4X newbie, I think it's a good choice.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Soo, how good is this game for a 4X style game newbie? It looks prettier than Stellaris and the game company isn't fond of scummy practices unlike Paradox. Is that right?

When put against the reality of modern 4X genre it's very good. Compared to Stellaris it's an actual game, but what sort of baseline is that.

If you played EL (you should) then this is a very similar case. The mechanics are interesting, quite a few of the available factions are cool, the presentation and atmosphere is p amazing. However, the enjoyment is severely crippled by AI's inability to play most factions well or, in some cases, at all. It also runs on some very primitive scripting like "share border with anyone and they will hate you even if you are super friendly". On higher difficulty levels this really hurts the experience of playing some of the factions, example: outside of tedious metagaming playing diplo/trading peoples as diplo/trading peoples is just a huge pain.

The game also really needs some decent pop management mechanics. You get swarmed with dozen kinds of unwanted space niggers in every fucking game and outside of being space molly the sheep, space locust or space vampires can't do shit about it without, you guessed it, tedious metagaming.

 

[Arnust]

I think you can get that reusable production that disintegrates a pop dor aome dust, but it's a completely random anomaly yield.

 

[aris]

Fuck, I really enjoy playing this game a lot more than I had thought. It might not be as complex as a game like stellaris, but for me who have only a couple of hours each weeks to play, it strikes just the right balance between accessibility and complexity. And what it lacks in complexity, it more than makes up for in style, character and soul. I love how every faction has some radical different gameplay elements, and whoever designed the UI is a fucking genius. I have never played a game where the UI is such a pleasure to use before.

It has even made me go back to and really enjoy endless legend, which I bought many years ago, but didnt like back then.

 

[lightbane]

Alright, I guess I'll start with Endless Legend and see how it goes. By the way, has anyone tried these AI mods?

 

[Monkeyfinger]

Fuck, I really enjoy playing this game a lot more than I had thought. It might not be as complex as a game like stellaris, but for me who have only a couple of hours each weeks to play, it strikes just the right balance between accessibility and complexity. And what it lacks in complexity, it more than makes up for in style, character and soul. I love how every faction has some radical different gameplay elements, and whoever designed the UI is a fucking genius. I have never played a game where the UI is such a pleasure to use before.

It has even made me go back to and really enjoy endless legend, which I bought many years ago, but didnt like back then.

I agree that ES2 is great 4x for people with limited gaming time.

One of the biggest differences between ES2 and most 4x of any era is average time per winning game on high difficulties. Average for the genre is probably 10-15 hours. Endless space 2 is very close to 3 hours (I measured it when I played a bunch of games on endless diff.)

Turn count is short, there's very little animation bloat, combat is autoresolve that passes in 5 seconds if you turn off battle cutscenes, the choke pointy nature of maps means you don't have to have a ton of little skirmish groups, and most importantly, click-end-turn-and-wait-for-next-turn times are very fast.

EL was much slower due to the combat system and the heavy need to fight little trash skirmishes all over the map.

I like EL better for those reasons but I don't play 4x games unless I've got lots of free time to get sucked in.

 

[aris]

I think also the UI has a lot to do with ES2 being quicker. Since everything is presented so neatly, you spend a lot less time searching for stuff each turn. Take for example the technology tree. As far as I can see, ES2 has a larger and more complex tech tree than EL, but it is easier to use, because each technology is ingeniously colored have recognizable icons and you can filter on pretty much anything. Now EL had all of these things too, but they werent nearly as well presented, and the filtering in EL felt very clunky and also didnt work on some pretty obvious keywords.

 

[Arnust]

Now after the summer break:

INTRODUCING ENDLESS SPACE 2 SUPREMACY


We both know why we're here, so let's dive right into it: Endless Space 2's next expansion is coming soon, and is called Supremacy. Endless Space's samurai chicken badasses have come home to roost, and they bring along some hard-hitting new stuff. Buckle up, we're going in.

NEW FACTION: THE HISSHO

The Hissho are back, ready to kick ass and take names!

Tempered by steel and battle, the Hissho evolved from avian ancestors on their Home Planet of Uchi. Focused on the constant wars between their own tribes, they lived ignorant of the different species roaming the galaxy until they were picked up by the Endless, augmented and then quickly put to the test as gladiators fighting in the decadent arenas of their new masters. How long this period of mindless slaughter for the pleasure of their overlords lasted, none of them could say, and of this bygone age only memories of slavery and exploitation remain, along with those of glory and adulation.

The Hissho are a military-oriented faction whose main gameplay feature is Keii (which translates to respect or deference). This new resource that can only be replenished through combat is used to power special abilities applied on Hissho fleets. It also drives their empire Obedience which replaces happiness and supersedes the Obedience of their star systems. Crushingly strong on the offensive, the Hissho will only fall if you cannot sustain your war economy and let your Keii wither away.

Powerful and versatile, Hissho fleets can easily switch between straightforward and devious loadouts thanks to numerous polyvalent slot modules capable of hosting both support and defense or attack modules. Loadout notwithstanding, they are a force to be reckoned with. It is said that Hissho fleets sometimes sacrifice their ships in suicide attacks when the odds are stacked against them and the stakes are high. Face them at your own peril...

BEHEMOTHS

The origin of the gigantic module platforms known as the Behemoth is shrouded in mystery: some say the ships themselves were built using Endless technology, others that they were found drifting in the depths of space, empty and silent. Whatever their true provenance, they are a boon to any faction building them, after completing a quest. Their versatility gives them plenty of uses, from mining to defense platforms to system-annihilating Obliterators, they start out strong, and additional research only makes them stronger!

FREE UPDATE FEATURE: GROUND BATTLE REVAMP & BATTLE RELICS

GROUND BATTLE REVAMP

In keeping with the Amplitude tradition, new stuff that you can buy comes with new free stuff! This time around, we've reworked the Ground Battle to make it more legible as far as player choices are concerned, and give players more choices to manage systems they conquer. This includes the visualization during the battle as well as the pre- and post-battle screens, shown below:

Settling here was a mistake, Riftborn scum...

Do we even want to take over?

SYSTEM RELICS

The relics system allows you to leave your mark on the galaxy, to acknowledge the actions of players and AI. Several game actions will be tracked and logged by the game when they happen, and will be displayed in scan view of different entities:

• Big Space battles will generate "Debris fields" on Systems, indicating who took part, who won, and the scale of forces
• Assimilating a minor faction will generate a "Pre-galactic civilization" marker on the planet where the assimilation took place
• Destroyed Pirate lairs will generate a "Crashed Pirate Lair" marker on the planet on which they were destroyed
• Big Ground battles will generate "Devastated No-man's Land" on a planet on which they took place

All of these have a chance to trigger anomalies or explorable curiosities on the concerned planets...

And of course, the usual fixes and improvements! The full changelog will be posted once the update is live.

WHEN CAN I GET THIS?

• This will be available next week on August 2nd.

• Endless Space 2 Supremacy with the discount is available HERE for pre-order for 11.69 € /$ 11.69 / £ 9.89 (-10%)

• A bundle of both Endless Space 2 Supremacy & Endless Legend Inferno (HERE) is available for pre-order for 20.78 € /$ 20.78 / £ 17.58

There's also the new Endless Space 2 expansion made by NGD Studios, known for making Masters Of Orion, Inferno: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-legend/blogs/624-introducing-endless-legend-inferno.

Aside of this, the third expansion, the one suggested by commitee on the forums, allegedly the Spionage faction, is still in the making but unannounced.

 

[aris]

motherfuckers!

 

[covr]

In a week I am going to rape both EL and ES2 to the death.

 

[Life of the Party]

 

[Sranchammer]

These boys don't play around with DLCs

 

[lightbane]

IT seems they're copying the DLC release system they did for Endless Legend: A DLC or two for exotic races, one for spionage, later one for sea battles mechanics and a mind-control race (only the latter will apply here I guess) and so on.

Still, weaboo-samurais, really? I mean, I know they were a thing already, but still... On the plus side, they look cool, as usual in their games.

 

[ArchAngel]

So have they implemented space combat finally? My playing ES2 depends on that feature. I refuse to play space excel calculators like Gal Civ and similar shit.

 

[Riso]

There will be no fucking space combat. Play a different game.

 

[lightbane]

So, Endless Legend Inferno and the expansion for ES2 with the weaboo aliens are out. There's also this:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/289130/announcements/detail/1697180487048481915

Endless Free Weekend [ALL GAMES!]
2 AUGUST - NATCO

Visit the free weekend website[amplitude-freeweekend.com]to see collective hours played and which stretch goals have been unlocked!

Let’s face it, it’s just too hot to go outside. So why bother melting in record high temps when you have the perfect excuse to stay inside and kick ice on some super cool Amplitude games?

That’s right, we’re offering up ALL of our games to play for FREE on Steam this weekend :

• Start: Thursday at 8:00 PST / 16:00 BST / 17:00 CEST
  
• End: Monday at 10 AM PST / 18:00 BST / 17:00 CEST

Whether you’re a returning player eager to try another of our games, or an adventurer completely new to the Endless universe, we’ve got something for you...

FREE WEEKEND STRETCH GOALS

What’s that you’re saying? You already have everything? Well, first off, high five! Such a discerning customer... However, we’ve got something special there for you too. On our free weekend website[amplitude-freeweekend.com], we’ll be putting up Stretch Goals that will be unlocked based on the total number of hours played by our community, across all of our games.

Last year, 240,000 participated in the Endless Space 2 free weekend, unlocking all six reward tiers in the process. This year, we're back with another Community Challenge!

Also discounts for most games.

 

[Arnust]

Renegade Fleets update is live!
FROGSQUADRON

Hey folks,

Last month, you had a whole Amplitude Free Week-end to play any of our games and unlock cool fleet skins for Endless Space 2. Today, these skins have arrived! Here's a quick look at the Renegade Fleets update.

Cravers "Prime"
The Cravers Prime are an offshoot of the hive closely tied to the Virtual Endless. Whether they are a threat or a boon to the nest, only time will tell...
(previously only accessible to early access players: now available to all!)

Sophon "Mavros"
Though the Sophons are occasionally jealous of the swaggering, alpha-being image of the Mavros, in fact they believe that the Mavros are too erratic to do anything of value (i.e. serious research). However, every once in a while, the Sophons like to remind other civilizations that they are entirely capable of blowing up other people’s moons as well…

Unfallen "Firekeepers"
The Firekeepers have the critical role of tending the brush fires that support the Unfallen life cycle. The fires both remove scrub to prepare the fields to receive a new generation of Firsts, but also melt the resin that covers and protects the incredibly hardy Unfallen seeds. These ceremonial hulls commemorate the dedication of this organization.

Vodyani "Heretic"
When Isyander St. Shaiad decided to throw away his lifetime of beliefs in the Church of the Virtual Saints and become Isyander Shumèd, he changed more than just his name. He rebuilt his own Cloth and the armor of his ships in crimson and white, the colors that he believed were initially used on the Endless altars to the Lost.

Lumeris "Buccaneer"
A little piracy between friends was common before the relations between the Four Families became structured and formalized. While this hull cladding is a nod to those earlier times, there are also rumors that some fleets bearing these colors did not originate from Lancellum dockyards, but a rogue operation run by a shadowy figure known as Captain Roth.

Riftborn "Redshifted"
Particles in zones inhabited by Riftborn are occasionally redshifted as a temporary adaptation to slow the local effects of corruption. This is an aftereffect of their time manipulation technologies, but has become an important tool in itself to offset some of the problems that their equipment—and ships—encounter in the Endless galaxy.

Horatio "Emerald"
Horatio liked emerald green this weekend. That is all.


To celebrate the release of these skins, Endless Space 2 is discounted at 66% off, and the Vaulters expansion as well as Untold Tales & Lost Symphony content packs are 50% off for the next 48 hours. Now's a great time to complete your collection, or gift them to a friend!


NEW CONTENT - Renegade Fleets Skins

NEW CONTENT - Hissho Comic
The new Hissho comic, Blood & Blade, is available in your install folder, by default: C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Endless Space 2\Stories

NEW CONTENT - AI Modding
After a lengthy beta period, the AI modding is now available. More info in this thread:
https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/forums/75-modding/threads/27061-01-how-to-create-an-ai-mod?

[FIXES]
[AI]
Fixed a bug where the diplomatic anti-spam feature would work all to well: AIs can once again send contracts to players

[FLEETS]
Fixed Behemoth VFX lasting after destruction
Fixed Mining probe rate label being too large for the panel it was in
Fixed Core Cracker module tooltip saying it can be equipped on Arks although it no longer can

[HEROES]
Corrected the Senator skill for United Empire heroes
Hissho Clerical correction Overseer Hero skill now has an influence boost at level 2
Fixed some glitches in the armor of the starting Hissho Hero Kogewa Brightblade

[FACTIONS]
Corrected the formula of the "Aggressive" population trait for more consistency amongst the population traits
Honor Bound affinity no longer displays misleading information regarding starting with a Behemoth

[QUESTS]
Fixed various small errors & placeholders in quest text & rewards
The militarist objective of the Hissho main quest: "Chapter 1: The Blade and the Eagle - Part 2" no longer mentions Pirate lairs as a possible target for invasion

[DIPLOMACY]
Due to an issue, diplomatic counter-offers between players are disabled. Offers that are refused are still fully refunded
The "Accept" choice from "Remove Tendrils" contextual term notification no longer suggests that Tendrils will also be removed from Entwined planets
The tooltip of the Attitude Status no longer displays debug text when receiving a notification regarding an obliterated system

[SYSTEM MANAGEMENT]
Fixed debug text appearing in system growth tooltip when using Ancestral Reverence
Added a missing signal seeker Cravers system improvement visual
The Tooltip of the Virtual Dustylizer via Expedition Successful notification no longer displays debug text

[TECHNOLOGIES]
Placeholder description is no longer displayed for the tooltip effect of the System Development Level 4 Upgrade
Fixed Effects wording from level 4 system upgrade unlock which was inconsistent with the one from level 2 and 3 unlocks

[PERFORMANCES]
Fixed an infinite turn issue. The source of the problem is still being investigated, but the provided game saves should now be usable

Enjoy!

As well as a Quality Time video:

 

[Eyestabber]

Anyone else played supremacy? Thoughts?