Shadow Empire - planetary conquest from Advanced Tactics/Decisive Campaigns dev

[Cologno]

I haven't kept up with this one for awhile, but did the dev get burned out? It's still getting updates, no real DLC expansions aside from fluff like Oceania. Shame, because the dev's got a very solid, finished platform to build on.

 

[Jonathan "Zee Nekomimi]

the guy also develops another game at the same time, game still being worked on and we getting more content mid year.

 

[Cologno]

Oh, "the guy"? Jeez, didn't realize it was one developer. Never mind. The same guy also made Decisive Campaigns, and Barbarosa had a neat twist of throwing in balancing political decisions with conducting the campaign. Didn't know these were solo jobs, puts them in a different perspective.

 

[Humppaleka]

Thanks for the answers, I do have a quite strong background in strategy games, so I might give it a whirl. Good comment by Malakal and DR, I think I should be familiar with enough systems to be able to jump in on paper at least.

 

[thesecret1]

I'm having quite a bit of fun with this, albeit a lot of the difficulty is from me not reading the manual and instead jumping right in (thus finding out about some of the mechanics too late), but even that's fun in its own way. Love the private/public economy aspect especially – more games should feature this. Currently battling an army of tanks with my light infantry in my current playthrough – the enemy is wreaking terrible havoc across my forces, but I'm going to bury him in corpses if need by, at least until I manage to get my economy back in order (fighting a three-front war kinda set me back on the economy and research) and make some tanks myself.

I started my playthrough on a small-ish map with just 4 other majors, so I expect to finish it soon. Got some recommendations for fun planets? My current one has alien life (ridiculously OP in the early game), low pop (1m across the entire planet) and moderate resources, with non-breathable atmosphere (so envirosuits on everyone and agricultural domes for food)

 

[Old One]

Got some recommendations for fun planets?

Almost any kind of planet can be fun. I'd stick to relative Earth-likes for the first few games until you learn the mechanics, but planets that are toxic or waterless or have other limitations can certainly be entertaining as well.

Alien life can differ radically depending on luck and what kind of planet it is. It depends on a lot of factors. Sometimes you get cute cuddly littler herbivores. Someone posted an image a few pages back from a game where the player managed to generate a planet with giant hostile predators.

The only thing I'd recommend is turning off the naval rules if you've got the expansion. They're strange and don't work very well, unless they've been changed since the last time I played.

 

[thesecret1]

Got some recommendations for fun planets?

Almost any kind of planet can be fun. I'd stick to relative Earth-likes for the first few games until you learn the mechanics, but planets that are toxic or waterless or have other limitations can certainly be entertaining as well.

Alien life can differ radically depending on luck and what kind of planet it is. It depends on a lot of factors. Sometimes you get cute cuddly littler herbivores. Someone posted an image a few pages back from a game where the player managed to generate a planet with giant hostile predators.

The only thing I'd recommend is turning off the naval rules if you've got the expansion. They're strange and don't work very well, unless they've been changed since the last time I played.

My planet has molluscoid rhinos (or whatever the fuck) that are herbivores... but also aggressive, and can take more beating than a tank. Each time a herd of those niggers comes, I pretty much have to accept my logistics are gonna get fucked until they piss off again.

Is a planet being toxic different from not having breathable atmosphere?

 

[Old One]

Is a planet being toxic different from not having breathable atmosphere?

The atmosphere has levels of toxicity, the plant life has levels of edibility, and the animal life has levels of hostility (you can see these during planet generation).

It's possible to have a very Earth-like planet with a breathable atmosphere, forests, liquid water, and mostly passive animal life, but the native plants might be poisonous. Or maybe the atmosphere is toxic so your people have to wear suits, but the plants are edible so you can farm them. Or maybe the planet is a paradise second Earth, but the animal life is extremely vicious and hostile. There are many possibilities.

If you spend enough time playing around with planet generation, you'll see the differences. Just remember, the gravity of the planet changes with the map size you select, so if you want near Earth gravity, you're probably going to have to go with a large map.

The effectiveness of air power is also going to depend a lot on gravity and the density of the atmosphere. One planets with no atmosphere you'll be limited to rocket powered flight.

Personally I like to try generating planets that have near Earth gravity, but that are otherwise very strange and yet still have not just alien life, but intelligent alien life.

 

[Demo.Graph]

Got some recommendations for fun planets?

Almost any kind of planet can be fun. I'd stick to relative Earth-likes for the first few games until you learn the mechanics, but planets that are toxic or waterless or have other limitations can certainly be entertaining as well.

Alien life can differ radically depending on luck and what kind of planet it is. It depends on a lot of factors. Sometimes you get cute cuddly littler herbivores. Someone posted an image a few pages back from a game where the player managed to generate a planet with giant hostile predators.

The only thing I'd recommend is turning off the naval rules if you've got the expansion. They're strange and don't work very well, unless they've been changed since the last time I played.

My planet has molluscoid rhinos (or whatever the fuck) that are herbivores... but also aggressive, and can take more beating than a tank. Each time a herd of those niggers comes, I pretty much have to accept my logistics are gonna get fucked until they piss off again.

Is a planet being toxic different from not having breathable atmosphere?

IIRC no. The only real difference is the need to provide water for farms in biodomes (via ice melting or lake/river access).
Also, the only difference between eatable and uneatable organics is whether you use farm building or biodome. There's no difference between planets in sanitary casualties, no need to warm up shit on cold planets or w/e.
Also IIRC it doesn't matter whether atmo is breathable or not, basic infantry still uses enviro suits.
I think that planets significantly differ only in two regards:
- more plains - more OP tanks.
- more mountains and forests - harder logistics, but better infantry spam.
That's it.

BTW, if you spam infantry, get better armor ASAP.
Your first priorities should be

Spoiler

human resources ministry to generate better leaders and capitol (bunker?) upgrade to upgrade power points (or whatever they're called, money that you spend on cards and political actions).
Air is the most useless ministry, build it last.

Also, don't sell ALL your rare earths, leave some for solar panels. They give cheap iron-free boost for power production at a time when you throw all your metal at military and/or basic industry.
And don't upgrade mines and/or trash collectors unless you're really, really short on people, it's net resource negative.

 

[Old One]

Your first priorities should be

I agree 100% with everything you said there.

 

[Damned Registrations]

There's no difference between planets in sanitary casualties

Not sure what 'sanitary' casualties mean, but toxic atmosphere does influence the ratio of retreat vs kills in combat for infantry. The details are buried in the manual somewhere. Not a huge impact, but the detail of 'fuck my suit ruptured I'm gonna suffocate' is there, and some techs influence the effect it has iirc.

Biggest difference in planet generation imo are what sorts of resources are abundant. Fighting on a planet with no water makes infantry a premium so you'll want tanks and such, as opposed to a planet with little metal makes you worry about ammo efficiency, and low oil supplies can make sending a horde of foot soldiers out the most viable option. Jungles and mountains can make tanks basically worthless and aircraft extremely useful. I personally like going into the planet pretty much blind and trying to figure out the optimal strategy on the fly as I realize what resources are scarce and what terrain is prevalent.

 

[thesecret1]

This game may turn into my fav 4X. Ended first playthrough because the mistakes I made at the beginning made me fall back technologically far too much. Second playthrough then ended because I expanded too fast and got hit by an unrest epoch that basically threw me into a negative feedback loop of revolutions. Now trying a third playthrough and it seems pretty cool – frozen wasteland with orange seas and a massive army of slavers right on my doorstep.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Yeah I love this game. I think Civ 3 might still beat it for me with mods (Fall from Heaven in particular), but this is damned close. Developer really took a wild shot at shaking things up and came up with pure gold.

 

[Demo.Graph]

Not sure what 'sanitary' casualties mean

I've meant that planets don't have varying life support requirements for civvies or out of combat troops based on their conditions.
Like, you'd expect that troops without supplies on an airless/toxic planet would suffocate pretty much immediately and all they do is starve for months.

This game may turn into my fav 4X.

Yeah I love this game.

Ah, to be young and unafraid!..

 

[index.php]

Shadow Empire: Republica DLC is coming soon

It’s official! Two years after the release of the Oceania DLC, a new chapter is coming to the award-winning 4X wargame Shadow Empire.

Republica DLC: A New Political Era in Shadow Empire​

The Republica DLC expands Shadow Empire’s political systems, adding new layers of realism, challenge, and replayability. Manage societal decay, pass laws, confront a paranoid computer, and navigate evolving forms of government.

A major addition is Virtus, a system that represents the collective will of society. Under its influence, democracies can decay into dysfunctional states, meritocracies into oligarchies, and autocracies into tyrannies. Players must confront this instability with careful strategy, political maneuvering, or even radical actions like revolutions or adopting extreme governments—such as aristocracy or fanatical autocracy.

The DLC also introduces political bodies that vote on laws, creating unpredictable shifts in power. While laws can offer powerful benefits, they also come at a cost, forcing players to either adapt or resort to authoritarian control.

Want to learn more? Wishlist the DLC now and stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks.

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

I keep having to resist sales for this game, as I can't buy games for now.

What's the KKK on its current state?

A major addition is Virtus, a system that represents the collective will of society. Under its influence, democracies can decay into dysfunctional states, meritocracies into oligarchies, and autocracies into tyrannies. Players must confront this instability with careful strategy, political maneuvering, or even radical actions like revolutions or adopting extreme governments—such as aristocracy or fanatical autocracy.

Reminds me of the Decadence mechanic from Field of Glory: Empires, which worked quite similarly.

 

[Galdred]

I keep having to resist sales for this game, as I can't buy games for now.

What's the KKK on its current state?

A major addition is Virtus, a system that represents the collective will of society. Under its influence, democracies can decay into dysfunctional states, meritocracies into oligarchies, and autocracies into tyrannies. Players must confront this instability with careful strategy, political maneuvering, or even radical actions like revolutions or adopting extreme governments—such as aristocracy or fanatical autocracy.

Reminds me of the Decadence mechanic from Field of Glory: Empires, which worked quite similarly.

I really loved the game: It is amazingly fresh. It has a cool supply system that let's you perform encirclements and all, and does exploration right. But it also has a ton of subsystems supported by a poor UI, so it really depends on your UI tolerance.
In a way, it answers the question: how would a game be like if the designer was only concerned about implementing layers of turbo autistic mechanisms upon each other instead of spending time on the UI(in a good and a bad way, because it also made me realize what we lose with the modern UI requirements).

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

What's the KKK on its current state?

good game, terrible execution.

 

[Alpharius]

Other then AI's being too hostile and tending to mobilize their entire population for war i have no major complaints. The game could have used some work on diplomacy. (Or some free cloning facilities for AI on hard difficulty).

 

[oscar]

Awesome game, but tricky to learn. The DLC aren't really necessary at all, more of an 'extra for experts' type thing (though the dev is a bro so I wouldn't mind chucking him money).

Watch a few Let's Plays and see if it's up your alley. It's based on a WW2 wargame engine what shows up a lot in its DNA- using envelopments, protecting your own supply while cutting the enemies, tanks kick ass on plains but will struggle in cities or mountains. An entrenched defender will pretty much always win a fair fight so you need to be careful in how you attack (on the flip side, pulling off a big encirclement is satisfying and puts your enemy in a desperate spot as they only have a few turns to break out before food and ammunition shortages cripple them). It's quite fun starting with a Mad Max army of bums with rusty hunting rifles and recycled motorbikes into power armoured jet infantry backed by nuclear ICBMs, heavy walkers and fighter jets.

 

[havelock]

I haven't played it in a few years. The only games I won were due to playing annexation cards on a lot of minors. Does the AI majors still aggressively annex minors from the jump and expand before you've even gotten your bearings every game? Especially since they can cheat with no resource use to resupply