Some background first...

I'm 50 yo graphic designer, living with my wife in Venice, FL.

I am a longtime gamer since Pong. And an RPG addict since Atari Adventure. The first modern game I really fell in love with (and one of the few games I actually finished) was Final Fantasy II (US). Since then I've been playing all sorts of games. Over the last decade, mostly WoW or an Elder Scrolls game.

I bought Endless Legend a few months ago, kinda by accident. I was looking for a turn-based RPG like Might and Magic. I found Endless Legend and assumed it was similar after looking at the screenshots. Plus, it was on sale. So I bought it. I downloaded it overnight and launched it in the morning.

Well, I was disappointed. I realized it was a Civ-type strategy game. (I didn't know of the term 4X.) Strategy games seemed a little bit too intimidating to me. Plus, I assumed all strategy games of this type were all RTS like Warcraft. And though I enjoyed some RTS', I shied away from them as I got older. I hate having the pressure of real-time.

Then a few weeks ago I returned to Hearthstone. And I started watching a lot of HS streamers. And one night I signed in to watch the streamer Trump, but unlike other nights, this night he was playing Civ 6. And it looked intriguing to me. And I thought, maybe I may want to try it. HOWEVER, I didn't want to spend the $60.

Then I remembered...I do have a Civ-like game. And it looked more fantasy-based, which was more attractive than the anachronism of Civ. So I logged into a Endless Legend on Twitch. I watched a bit. Liked what I saw. Asked some questions in chat. Everybody raved about it. And I learned that it was TURN-BASED. Not Real-Time.

So I bought it. And loved it. And have lost lots of sleep. Some nights losing track of time till my wife snapped me out of my spell.

Well, I've added 4X to the list of videogame genres I enjoy. And consuming everything 4X, including podcasts, I could't help but be intrigued by other 4X games, including ES2. I knew I was going to buy it...or Stellaris soon. But the nature of early access intrigued me. (Plus, I don't know if its true or not, I read in a forum that Stellaris is real time.)

So hear I am. Bought it after dinner. Watched a movie as it downloaded. And now I'm ready to play.

[LAUNCHES GAME]

Well, as expected, the main menu is beautiful. I love how the surface of the globe spins in a 3D way. I also love the logo, monochrome look of the UI...and most importantly, a lot of "white" SPACE. And I love the attention to detail. But all these aesthetics are no surprise, coming from the same company that made EL.

[CLICKS ON NEW GAME]

The setup screen UI is quite unique. This UI veteran is impressed. It didn't need to be this unique. EL's setup UI is very tradtional. But its beautiful and it works. This UI is not only simple and attractive, but does something a bit different. Kudos to the team.

[CLICKS ON THE FACTION THUMBNAIL]

I really like this. Maybe EL has this functionality. But I didn't discover it. I reviewed my faction options in EL by watching a YouTube video somebody made that collected all the faction cinematics. That's neat that the 5 thumbnails are animated.

[READS THE SOPHONS DESCRIPTION]

All about exploration and knowledge. And generally peaceful. My type of faction.

[LOOKS AT THE CRAVERS]

Not my type of faction. But I like the design of the species. It reminds me of the robot in the 70s sci-fi film Saturn 3. And the head looks like a galapagos turtle made from an Erector set.

[LOOKS AT THE VODYANI]

The character design is gorgeous here as well. The race I'm sure all goths and vampire-lovers will choose.

[LUMERIS]

Reminds me of the freestyle singer Lisa Lisa for some reason. The Ferengis of this universe.

A note about the UI. Becuase I've been playing so much EL and its tiny UI, ES2s AI looked a little big and sparse to me. But I'm growing to appreciate it. It's more novice-friendly. Less options. But very clear options.

OK. First bug. Two of the Sophon ship hulls use the same thumbnail art. Deci and Kilo. Unless that is intentional.

And maybe a typo. The Feeble Warrior 2 description says "-20% Defending troops health on system." Shouldn't that be either "defending troop health" or "defending troops' health"?

[HITS SELECT]

Leaving everything as is...except speed. Choosing "Fast."

[HITS START]

Cutscene looked great. And kinda funny. I guess the Sophons are the Warcfaft Gnomes of this universe.

Zooming into the Galaxy and looking at the Lors system. Now zooming back. At first, I'm taken back by how the system is not to scale with the Galaxy. But I guess it really can't be. Will get used to it I'm sure.

And I'm appreciative of the similarity of the upper left menu to ELs menu. And I'm guessing they are twice as fast at research as other factions. That's nice. But they obviouisly pay in other ways, such as the -20% damage trait.

[CLICKS ON THE TECHNOLOGY BUTTON]

Okay. Compared to EL, the UI is a bit big. The designer in me wished it was small. BUT, my aging eyes love that it's big. But maybe there is a setting that switches between high and low rez screens. Or that feature may be planned, but isn't present in early access. Let me look.

Yes there was. Now that's better. Funny that the default in EL was a small UI where in this one it is big.

I do like that my tutor is pointing out the key techs. None of that in EL. (Lots of trial and error.)

Also odd that Level 2 is available right way. Maybe it won't be that way in the launch version.

Like the guy recommends, I choose "Rare Earth Foams." (This is so exciting!)

[CLOSES TECH MENU]

Okay. Back to the Galaxy view. ....and my helper is gone. No tutorial? Maybe not for early access. No worry. Sure there are a bunch of made video tutorials. So I'll just fiddle around.

I like that when you click into a system, it lines up all the planets. Prioritzing user experience and ease over the reality of how far apart planets really are. And nice that you can zoom in and out with the mouse wheel.

Guess I need to build an exploring ship. And add a governor. But what is he governor of? I don't see any cities. And I didn't select any planet. But the rollover text seems to imply that he is governor of the whole system?

So what is that wire-frame thing? A warp portal. But I click on it. I guess it is a "fleet." How do I move it. Let's try right-clicking on one of those lines. I was correct?

Now something is happening. I arrive at a system and get brief descriptions of each planet.

Okay. It's getting late. Going to turn in. And I'll maybe watch a turoial in bed and pick this up tomorrow.

But little I've seen so far looks great. Super job, team!

if you like card games, check out infinity wars on steam. cheers!

Really cool to read how you stumbled on EL, I hope you have as much fun on ES2!

Thanks for sharing.

Nice story!