Guys why all the attention to me?



I was always the most peaceful :P Leave me alone

DMT wrote:
Guys why all the attention to me?



I was always the most peaceful :P Leave me alone

Yes yes, your race always seems to be "naive" to its over expansion and territory grabbing into other people's influence! We all know here what happens when you are left to your own devices. *cough science win turn 50 cough*

o0ber wrote:
Yes yes, your race always seems to be "naive" to its over expansion and territory grabbing into other people's influence! We all know here what happens when you are left to your own devices. *cough science win turn 50 cough*

Cant wait to find and create new methods in ES2.0 but this time I will have much better armies!¬! :-)

Hello,



I previously posted this on the Endless Space forum some months back but thought it would be appropriate to restate them here now ES2 is in development, I must say I am so excited to see how it turns out and a pre-order is definitely on the cards!



Suggestions:



Wider range of Galaxy shapes with variation such as perhaps an Ovid with 8 spiral arms in the outer reach.



Go to buttons for all events. This has been partially implemented in ES.



Make it so you can choose AI colours without having to do the annoying swapping thing with your own faction.



Animated solar systems where the planets orbit the star and the moon's orbit them in turn with asteroids in belts at varying distances. The current 2Dish view could be kept as a summery view (from the latest screen shots this looks like it is going to happen) :-D.



Add in freight/trade ships which you can choose what to load u what to trade Food/resources/technology/dust and the profits of a particular kind can be increased through trade agreements. This will also cause these to need to be convoyed making the trading/blockade mechanic more actual and less abstract (trade ships seem to be in but I hope they can be attacked as this will make piracy fun!).



Add in a consular ship to make diplomacy more challenging and less abstract, this could also initiate covert actions such as dropping off agents, gathering intelligence, bribing systems for intelligence/specific trade.



Add in covert agents that can spy, sabotage, assassinate (or injure heroes) and ferment rebellion in marginal systems.



Make the game properly optimised for modding so each update doesn’t break mods needing them to be updated even when they have not produce any new content, ideally also integrated and easy to use modding tools.



Greater custom faction configuration that allows player to add custom portraits, create traits and assign the AI to these. This could potentially create a pool for game lore with the best ones being incorporated in later releases.



Add rebellion and culture so that if a systems approval is too low for a long time it will reverts to another faction which is based on its culture score allowing conquest by non-violent means. If there is no other culture then they can go either pirate or rebel. Rebellions could also occur where culture is weak curbing rapid expansion rather than the hard empire wide disapproval handicap.



Introduce manoeuvre to space battles. In ES ships sailed the same direction in parallel lines at gradually narrowing ranges ending in a melee which is reminiscent of 17th century Anglo Dutch naval battles where the tactics were limited by primitive rigging and signalling. Later naval engagements were a bit more tactically complex which I think could be simply implemented without losing the current feel of the game (The pre battle tactics screen shot looks good and I hope there is a variety of closing, broadside and running battle options).



Add movement tactics to create a bit of variety for example increase distance maintain distance and close. How this would work is that if fleets are of the same speed then one could increase range to keep an engagement long range or prepare to flee or one could maintain distance while the other closed similar to the current battles, then you could have both fleets closing resulting in most of the battle being fought as a melee.



This could lead to certain tactic/ship combinations such as fast long range for standing off and pounding at a distance or fast close range for getting in among the enemy and tearing them apart at close quarters but both of these extreme would have inherent risks if the opponent’s ships are faster or they are ambushed (see below).



Fleet ambush: certain systems and/or warp-lanes have magnetic fields, nebula or the like allowing ships to hide and ambush passing vessels and choose the starting range, great for allowing slow close quarter ships to get at powerful long ranged opponents or long ranged ships to stand off a shorter ranged opponent (say shielded by an asteroid field preventing closing). This will also encourage scouting making the smaller ships still useful later in the game.



Add Strategic stealth ship which is slow and poorly armoured but armed with very short range very powerful weapons (torpedoes?) which can prey on trading ships and threaten unescorted capital ships. It is invisible to all but destroyer/corvettes which can hunt and kill it relatively easily with a specialist area effect weapon if it is detected (maybe it gets 1 round of grace if it is in the same system before detection).



Animated and broadly controllable tactical invasions similar to the space battles with possibly three attack cards Blitzkrieg, Hammer blows, Mobile assault and maybe three opposing defence cards Counter attack, Ambush, Flexible defence.



Invasions could also be planet by planet and allow systems to support fighters and bombers for siege and system defence with possible space station assaults as a prelude to system invasion.



Enable fleet engagement in open space rather than just in systems.



More heroes types with a wider range of skills such as diplomat, smuggler, and explorer to increase diversity.



I know there is a lot here, I hope it can stimulate further ideas and debate to make this game even better than the last.



Cheers,



Laz

A good tutorial is what I look forward to.

Here are a few of the features I would like to see:

• A fully integrated, detailed encyclopedia, with all relevant gameplay information and lore.
• A proper tutorial for new players and those with experience in 4x games.
• A visual representation of systems on the map. It seems we'll be getting that, and it will help a lot against claims of lifelessness.
• Trade routes visible on the strategic map as small ships, with an option to raid trade routes while at (cold) war.
• More balanced ship combat and modules. In vanilla ES, it was all about cheap missile glasscannons, and in disharmony, long range kinetics usually ruled supreme.
• A combat system that relies less on hard counters. I've always prefered having multiple different soft counters of varying effectiveness to a single hard counter.
• More unique heroes. The stat differences were often not really enough to set one Commander/Pilot apart from another, as with increasing level the initial relative difference shrunk.
• More traits (or with the internal politics system, laws) that open up new options and play styles instead of just offering stat bonuses and penalties.
• Unique Random Factions option during game setup
• Preset-teams and victories shared across alliances (or perhaps a new, stronger diplomatic bond, the Federation)
• Drastic Improvements to the siege and blockade systems.
• A marketplace that is properly functional, with frequent transactions by the AI, and prices that are more thoroughly based on supply and demand instead of rising steadily through the game and then being adjusted a bit.
  
  

The-Cat-o-Nine-Tales wrote:
Here are a few of the features I would like to see:

• A fully integrated, detailed encyclopedia, with all relevant gameplay information and lore.
• A proper tutorial for new players and those with experience in 4x games.
• A visual representation of systems on the map. It seems we'll be getting that, and it will help a lot against claims of lifelessness.
• Trade routes visible on the strategic map as small ships, with an option to raid trade routes while at (cold) war.
• More balanced ship combat and modules. In vanilla ES, it was all about cheap missile glasscannons, and in disharmony, long range kinetics usually ruled supreme.
• A combat system that relies less on hard counters. I've always prefered having multiple different soft counters of varying effectiveness to a single hard counter.
• More unique heroes. The stat differences were often not really enough to set one Commander/Pilot apart from another, as with increasing level the initial relative difference shrunk.
• More traits (or with the internal politics system, laws) that open up new options and play styles instead of just offering stat bonuses and penalties.
• Unique Random Factions option during game setup
• Preset-teams and victories shared across alliances (or perhaps a new, stronger diplomatic bond, the Federation)
• Drastic Improvements to the siege and blockade systems.
• A marketplace that is properly functional, with frequent transactions by the AI, and prices that are more thoroughly based on supply and demand instead of rising steadily through the game and then being adjusted a bit.
  
  

I like all the suggestions, hope the devs see this!

Hi Guys,



Terrific news about ES2 being in the works, i'm excited! Will kick DMT's ass there as well



Anyhow,



What I really loved about ES was the way you could costumize your race, the point system was ingenious and although some elements of it were imbalanced the combination with affinities was amazing.



The first thing I would like to ask - for MP/SP players like myself who like to tweak builds endlessly, is an extended pool of abilities/skills that exceeds the pre-existing races. What do I mean? In ES all abilities appear on one or another race as part of its scheme, what I would like is to have more skills, some of which don't appear on the vanilla races, to allow further customization.



Now, affinities are probably the most impressive element of ES, since they introduce a unique kind of mechanic around which you can build your race, or for the vanilla race, a core playstyle. But what I always found annoying was that you couldn't pick graphics that weren't those of the vanilla races - I would like to ask for more flexibility here - to be able to choose the race skin separately from the affinity, and to have some additional graphics around - possible open to modding.



As for the affinities themselves, it would be very good if these could - to some degree - be themselves customizable. This is tricky and difficult because of the balance issues that will arise, I understand this, but after several hundred hours it becomes rather boring to repeat the same kind of affinities.



OK, some other stuff.



ES is a game in which clear optimal strategies appear and can be used, top players usually have a certain rate of progression, and the combat system favors certain combinations that can be spammed. I'd like to ask for more random elements and more luck introduced into the game, also some maluses and constraints would be good.



The game I enjoy the most at present is AoW3, OFC it has very little to do with ES and is very different in scope, but the sheer amount of optimal paths and strategies you can pursue makes it into a very versatile and inexhaustible game.



And... Modding tools support for MP, this was very very missing IMO.



Final thing,



The main issue with ES was the entire time the aweful stability of MP- games would DC, crash and couldn't be restored. This was resolved only after the MP community pretty much died out, and that is a great shame. What ever happens, I think MP stability should be a top priority from the onset.

- Visual representation of planetary specializations.



- Different music sets for each race.



- Government types, rather than just a senate system, and every empire has a preset government type (that can be changed as the game goes on), the Sophons, for example, would be some sort of technocratic triumvirate, the United Empire an autocracy, the Cravers a hive mind etc.



- More in depth planetary invasions that take more than a single turn, possibly with a way of showing the player what is happening on the surface, such as a map of the planet with icons representing your troops and borders representing the areas that have already been occupied by the invaders.



- Economic warfare, or anything to give some power to empires that are extravagantly wealthy but that don't have a strong military.

A narrative.



I've played only 2 4x games that can be said to have a narrative, with the setting, factions, themes, and ambiance of the game progressing and evolving as you play. These games are Alpha Centauri and Endless Legend.

I strongly hope that Endless Space 2 will also focus on that, not just through faction quests, but through a dynamic and reactive setting, galactic events, side quests and exploration.



I am in fact quite relieved that the Endless Space 2 reveal trailer was exclusively story driven, and I am eager to see how they proceed from now on.

Zenicetus wrote:
In addition to random factions = non-repeating factions (up to the number of available factions), as mentioned in the other thread, I'd like to see two things regarding Heroes:



* A check box in the Options screen for "Heroes From Your Faction Only." Maybe it's just me, but it never made sense in the Endless games that you'd have Heroes available for hire from a faction you were at odds with, even to the extent of genocide. Why would someone from that faction offer to help destroy their own species? It would help immersion for warlike expansion if we could choose to limit Heroes only to our own faction. If we're playing a more peace-loving faction and going for a diplomacy or science win, we might choose to leave that box unchecked.



* Heroes from other factions shouldn't be available for hire before we have met their faction in space. As a classic 4X space game design, the idea here is that we're expanding into the unknown for the first time. Having an alien show up on our doorstep for hire in the early game, before ever meeting their faction, just doesn't make any sense. It also telegraphs too much information if we've chose "random factions" in the setup options.

You're definitely not alone in this. It at least made some sense in Endless Legend (I still would have prefered more options within your chosen race) since the Heroes were drastically different in function but, it served no purpose and felt really out of place in ES. It would take a lot to convince me that as an example the Cravers would allow an Ameoba to lead their fleets especially while they're destroying an Ameoba system. So yeah, I fully support at least having the ability to restrict them be an option.



I'd also like to add that I would enjoy seeing more diplomat options along with reworking the diplomatic victory. It just feels very uninspired in ES and EL. A galactic UN would be an interesting addition and would feel oddly left out with the addition of the internal politics.

Baywatch wrote:
A galactic UN would be an interesting addition and would feel oddly left out with the addition of the internal politics.

This was/is one of my favourite gimmicks of the Galactic Civ Series. Sadly in those games those events and elections are not game changing and very repetitive. One could easly pick up that concept and do it the right way.



It would fit ES 2 imho cause it seems that we will get one of the most advanced 4X games in terms of democratic mechanics.

I'd like to see if something can only be built once and it's already being built it DOES NOT SHOW UP IN YOUR QUEUE IN OTHER SYSTEMS.



It DOES NOT TAKE RESOURCES AND PRODUCTION AND THEN ONLY AT THE LAST TURN SAYS 'CAN'T BE BUILT'.

As long as there's an easy way to monitor victory progress I'll be happy. Larger galaxies with more factions and new types of planet would be awesome too though. Also more lore for the races that didn't get a lot in the first game (particularly the initial eight).

Sovereign wrote:
This was/is one of my favourite gimmicks of the Galactic Civ Series. Sadly in those games those events and elections are not game changing and very repetitive. One could easly pick up that concept and do it the right way.



It would fit ES 2 imho cause it seems that we will get one of the most advanced 4X games in terms of democratic mechanics.

Yeah, it was presented well but it ended up being really shallow and pointless in Gal Civ. I thought Civ V did it fairly well. Acquiring votes was something you needed to commit to instead of just getting votes for having more population and you could severely cripple someone with politics. But, I do like that you can defy a vote in Gal Civ. I think you could also do that in older Civ games if I remember right? Anyway, if they're going to do it I'd prefer more Civ and less Gal Civ as an inspiration.

Baywatch wrote:
Yeah, it was presented well but it ended up being really shallow and pointless in Gal Civ. I thought Civ V did it fairly well. Acquiring votes was something you needed to commit to instead of just getting votes for having more population and you could severely cripple someone with politics. But, I do like that you can defy a vote in Gal Civ. I think you could also do that in older Civ games if I remember right? Anyway, if they're going to do it I'd prefer more Civ and less Gal Civ as an inspiration.

Actually, your voting power in Galactic Civ 2 was not based entirely on population. It was a big component, yes, but you could get "IP" (influence points) diplomatically, from both major and minor factions. In doing so, you increase your voting power. Many times did I have a comparatively small empire that still dominated the council because I got influence points from diplomatic arrangements.



The weakness of its United Planet system was that you could not discuss with factions regarding a specific vote and try to persuade them to vote in your favor, something which you could do in Alpha Centauri.



I do hope that if such a united council mechanic would feature in Endless Space 2, that it would serve some narrative point. To have the issues and subjects it discusses be actually related to the state of the galaxy, if it's peaceful or violent, or in response to some galactic calamities (which I hope will be there).