The-Cat-o-Nine-Tales

6 years ago Feb 21,2019, 15:57:00 PM

The Future of Endless Space 2: A New Faction With Old Friends

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Hey everyone,

We have some exciting news to share! Many of you have been wondering what the future holds for Endless Space 2, and we can finally give you an answer: Another Expansion, and another collaboration. Our friends at NGD have a special message for all of you about this:

Hi everyone!

We are the NGD Team behind the last two Endless Legend expansions, "Inferno" and "Symbiosis".
It's been an incredible experience working with Amplitude on these two installments, and we are very excited to announce we are teaming up once again for an upcoming Endless Space 2 Expansion.
We've learned a lot during our collaboration on Auriga, and we look forward to continue exploring the Endless Universe together!
It is the opportunity of your lifetime! To quote Horatio: Our beauty and genius allied with your, ah, more prosaic attributes.

Love,
The NGD Crew
(Kassapa, CaptainNexus, VadimMelkay, LadyPandora, NochiGao, Stban & Clover85)

Like all Expansions for Endless Space 2, this one will come with a core feature accessible to all factions, and a new major faction to accompany it. While we’re not ready to go into detail about the new feature just yet, we’re eager to share the direction we’re taking the new faction in!

This faction will be a complete departure for Amplitude and the 4X genre. Rather than leading a vigorous young civilization reaching out toward the stars, the player will be fighting to restore an ancient, declining faction; this people is dreaming of their past glory and striving to recapture it. They will start out much stronger than other empires, but will have to struggle to stay ahead — or even keep up. Like Rome after the fall, they are full of potential but are held back by the weight of their own culture.

Those of you who have been part of our community for some time know that we love to involve you in the process, and we want this expansion to be no different! We will have a series of votes on lore aspects of the expansion, and we’re kicking it off with the origin of one of their heroes.

Have you got any questions for the NGD team already? Ask in the comments, and they'll answer if they can without spoiling anything.

Amplitude

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Pseudofighter

Recruit

You're Welcome

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Pseudofighter

Recruit

7 900g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 2, 2019, 11:41:39 PM

very nice idea anyway.

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Shrik3

in Disguise

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Shrik3

in Disguise

22 500g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 5, 2019, 7:37:58 PM

I personally would be happy to see this exciting new faction however I have to echo what others have mentioned regarding narrative improvements and gameplay improvements being the important factor. The Umbral choir has added a level of complexity without being fun and it the game must be virtually impossible for a begginer to play. Best of luck with your new endeavour but please listen to us amplitude has created an incredible universe but remember that adding new things can make games worse. For example the awful Harmony expansion for es1.

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Pazik

Tweaker

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Pazik

Tweaker

19 300g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 8, 2019, 5:48:10 AM

Please no new features for all factions. I would like to see Behemoths limited to the Hisho. There is already too much for every faction.

Also, please make the new race ecologist. Currently the only ecologist race is Horatio and they only care about their genetics, not anything else an ecologist would stand for, so to me, they don't really count.

Also, no humanoids, or at least don't make them stand on 2 legs like every other race.

I would love to see an Arachnid race, or like... a race of Wolves that run on all 4 legs, but stand hunched over their devices, like werewolves.

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nolanbower

Space

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nolanbower

Space

3 000g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 11, 2019, 10:52:12 AM

Mairon wrote:
replayability of the game itself.

you gotta be kidding me. Replayability in this game at the highest level. Snickering

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Koranis

Newcomer

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Koranis

Newcomer

15 100g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 11, 2019, 8:07:21 PM

I know Sega pushed the "Make another expansion" button, but some things need more work before you ask us for more dime. Well, to be honest, more probably, they pushed "Make a new Game" button, since Amplitude will no longer work on this expansion and will subcontract it to another.

At the very least, please, re-balance behemoths so that they are not a common denominator for all the factions as they are now.

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Myol

Nine

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Myol

Nine

19 700g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 11, 2019, 9:07:12 PM

Yay, very exciting.

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raphaelcruger

Pixel Fanatic

"The struggle to free myself of restraints becomes my very shackles" - Meshuggah

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raphaelcruger

Pixel Fanatic

34 600g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 12, 2019, 6:43:33 AM

Koranis wrote:
I know Sega pushed the "Make another expansion" button, but some things need more work before you ask us for more dime. Well, to be honest, more probably, they pushed "Make a new Game" button, since Amplitude will no longer work on this expansion and will subcontract it to another.

At the very least, please, re-balance behemoths so that they are not a common denominator for all the factions as they are now.

I do understand your feelings about SEGA, I've always supported them but they've kind of fallen off in the creative department and feel more like a regular greedy corporation(that sometimes tries?) nowadays. However with that said, its important to note that all the expansions Amplitude have given us so far are pretty dope, of course including all the EL ones.

Its also mentioned its a "Collaboration" so Amplitude will most definitely be working on this expansion, and I'm sure they were heavily involved in the recent EL ones as well. There's a lot to do!

And for Behemoths while they are nice and stuff, and I use em a lot, don't you think you can win(in a variety of situations/difficulties) without them on any faction but Hissho? (Hissho can probably win without them too, but those auras!). So, for me, it feels like a viable option strategy-wise, you're not forced in to it and infact its quite a huge investment throughout the course of your game. I love Obliterating home systems with 3 volleys of galaxy-spanning cannons of doom, and I'd be mad if every faction couldn't. Same goes for hacking really, stuck on 1 hack all game is still nice, you can boost a minor faction or annoy major ones, if you invest more in the tech it gets more powerful, but you don't really need it, unless you're umbral choir, they have to use it.

I wouldn't mind having to build something in addition to the tech to unlock those extra hacking slots though.

More small personalization of the factions is always nice, cosmetic(names of stuff and descriptions) or otherwise!

Looking forward to it!

( Space Beasts? =O )

Updated 6 years ago.

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DEVThe-Cat-o-Nine-Tales

Shifter

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DEVThe-Cat-o-Nine-Tales

Shifter

53 100g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 12, 2019, 9:55:02 AM

Koranis wrote:
I know Sega pushed the "Make another expansion" button, but some things need more work before you ask us for more dime. Well, to be honest, more probably, they pushed "Make a new Game" button, since Amplitude will no longer work on this expansion and will subcontract it to another.

At the very least, please, re-balance behemoths so that they are not a common denominator for all the factions as they are now.

Working with NGD on the next expansion was our decision. We're thrilled with the work they've done on Endless Legend, so we knew we could trust them with Endless Space 2. :)

And as Raphaelcruger points out: This is a collaboration.

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Koranis

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Koranis

Newcomer

15 100g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 12, 2019, 11:33:57 PM

The-Cat-o-Nine-Tales wrote:
Koranis wrote:
I know Sega pushed the "Make another expansion" button, but some things need more work before you ask us for more dime. Well, to be honest, more probably, they pushed "Make a new Game" button, since Amplitude will no longer work on this expansion and will subcontract it to another.

At the very least, please, re-balance behemoths so that they are not a common denominator for all the factions as they are now.
Working with NGD on the next expansion was our decision. We're thrilled with the work they've done on Endless Legend, so we knew we could trust them with Endless Space 2. :)

And as Raphaelcruger points out: This is a collaboration.

I appreciate the NGD's stellar work on Endless Legend and their involvement is not the reason of my worries.

Let us refocus it and ask more directly: do you intend to work on the behemoths or do you consider them a well working feature that needs no further changes/refinements?

thanks in advance for letting me know.

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Celeir

Core

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Celeir

Core

40 400g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 13, 2019, 12:09:00 PM

Koranis wrote:
Let us refocus it and ask more directly

You'll never get an answer in that form. It's common and totally understandable practice for (sort of) mass media / politics to answer "We're working hard to provide best experience" instead of "We're (not) ok with how it works now". Game design is iterative thing. Changes may appear anytime.

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MeatPopsicle

Heretic

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MeatPopsicle

Heretic

27 700g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 20, 2019, 6:41:58 AM

aerothgow wrote:
"Like all Expansions for Endless Space 2, this one will come with a core feature accessible to all factions, and a new major faction to accompany it. "

NO! no more hacking and behemots for everyone. faction specific but no more mechanics that make all the faction identical.
.
.
.
just sowers and harmony it's all i want. no more mechanics for everybody. they just make the game sluggish and identical for all factions.

FFS, just bring back the Harmony as a playable race! Pretty please? And yes, please consider making new mechanics be faction specific, otherwise everything just becomes the same faction wearing different skins. Giving behemoths and hacking to everyone really diminishes the "coolness" of both. It would make more sense to me to give the Hissho full versions of behemoths (they discovered behemoths, right?), and everyone else lesser versions. Same with hacking, considering how the UC are supposed to be the best and use it for everything from colonization to attack/defense/subterfuge, but everyone gets all the same features and bonuses as them (save some minor bandwidth/speed buffs).

Updated 6 years ago.

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HBumblebee

Wannabe Scout

Stay curious!

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HBumblebee

Wannabe Scout

42 100g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 20, 2019, 7:11:59 AM

That is not entirely true. UC has great advantages when it comes to hacking. And Hissho got buffs for the big Bs. Their storylines give additional benefits. I don t see your point.

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Celeir

Core

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Celeir

Core

40 400g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 20, 2019, 3:06:08 PM

HBumblebee wrote:
UC has great advantages when it comes to hacking

+10% hacking speed, population bonus to bandwidth and benefits from quests?

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HBumblebee

Wannabe Scout

Stay curious!

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HBumblebee

Wannabe Scout

42 100g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 21, 2019, 8:04:43 AM

Celeir wrote:
HBumblebee wrote:
UC has great advantages when it comes to hacking
+10% hacking speed, population bonus to bandwidth and benefits from quests?

Don t forget +1 operation from the beginning. In my experience they are nearly unstoppable and use hacking in a very unique way if played right.

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Celeir

Core

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Celeir

Core

40 400g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 21, 2019, 7:16:43 PM

HBumblebee wrote:
In my experience they are nearly unstoppable and use hacking in a very unique way if played right.

Depends. During my last 2 tries I was completely blocked by another empire. While I'm hacking to set up 2nd sleeper (to create sanctuary), AI just 100% kills 1st one, again and again :)

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Cernunan

Tweaker Survivor

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Cernunan

Tweaker Survivor

35 200g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 22, 2019, 3:55:47 AM

So some of the DOOMM!!! posters in this thread are all over steam saying this colaberation means Amplitude has abanndoned ES2 to NGD and is no longer supporting the game. Could a dev please respond to this so I have an awsner to such claims one way or the other

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Bull111

Newcomer

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Bull111

Newcomer

10 400g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 22, 2019, 5:25:43 AM

I really like the Endless Space universe so i'd love some more narrative or lore focused elements, but from what i've seen most people are asking for gameplay improvements and unique faction mechanics so that's probably the way to go. Keep up the good work :)

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Shin

Newcomer

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Shin

Newcomer

25 700g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 27, 2019, 4:54:20 PM

NGD did very well with the Endless Legend DLCs. So I'm looking forward to it! :)

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Phantus

Oddity Addict

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Phantus

Oddity Addict

22 100g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 27, 2019, 5:27:46 PM

I'm with everyone else in saying that the game itself needs a real go over in terms of mechanics, events and gameplay. Supremacy was a mistake and it would seem Penumbra is a continuation down the path of faulty and unwanted mechanics. I genuinely hope you right the ship. We don't need more, we need better.

New DLC blurb, "but will have to struggle to stay ahead — or even keep up. Like Rome after the fall, they are full of potential but are held back by the weight of their own culture."

Easily the least polished and unfun mechanics in the current game are overpopulation, overcolinization, diplomacy and approval. After striking out with the last two DLC's, if the next DLC is based on what people like least in the game ("struggle to stay ahead - weight of their own culture") it's going to be a tough ride for you. I get that Sega is pushing you to throw DLC out the door on a regualr basis but I want you guys to do well so I hope you revert back to a quality over quantity approach. Good luck.

Updated 6 years ago.

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Iarainn

Harmonic Wave

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Iarainn

Harmonic Wave

42 600g2g pts

6 years ago

Mar 27, 2019, 6:08:30 PM

Opinions are nice.

I don't feel either Supremacy or Penumbra were strike-outs; in fact, I've gotten basically everything I wanted and expected from them. Penumbra's hacking system has a lot of utility, and it has been an enjoyable challenge to figure out how to effectively use it. The Umbral Choir are basically everything I wanted in a faction, and they've been immensely enjoyable to play. With Supremacy, I'll grant that Behemoths are one of the bigger issues that could use some work, but they're hardly broken enough to call Supremacy in its entirety a mistake. Plus, the Hissho are too much fun to play with.

Honestly, that sums up my opinion of ES2 as a whole; some things could be tweaked, but overall I'm pretty happy with where things are now. I'm looking forward to the new expansion, and hey, if some issues get fixed along the way I'll be even happier. I certainly haven't seen anything to justify the accusation that Amplitude is pushing low-quality expansions at Sega's behest.

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