vahouth wrote:

Luring wrote:

Other then that I hope that now with this great population manager we are getting that the Cravers will be able to eat any population for a bonus food buff! =D It could work like the Horatio's DNA splicing - but instead of a splicing screen, you just eat some non-cravers =D

You'd better believe that's coming!

https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/ideas/147-the-easiest-way-to-get-rid-of-minor-factions-as-a-craver

AWESOME! So happy they greenlit your idea! =D

Research goes too fast which makes titanium and hyperium offensive modules totally useless, horatio ships are way too weak compared to other races ships, the horatio also consume too much food after assimilating another race, besides that its great. 

The new tech tree is really frustrating to navigate in. The thumbnails and symbols in the old tech tree were very good for readability and should be brought into the new tree somehow.  

MezzoMax wrote:

I would like to comment on the new tech tree but not on the gameplay side but readability. (The gameplay changes seems interesting, though. Exclusive techs force choices which is good. The Eras didn't make much sense but I was OK with it.)

I know a lot of icons are still placeholders. But the old tech tree had some good pictures/icons and after one game I could easily remember which tech does what based on the pictures alone. With the new tech tree and how it is laid out you had to hide the pictures and replace them with little icons. You can still see the pictures of the correspondant techs as tool tips. 

I was wondering if the tool tips are pin-able.  I  didn't play  around much trying to pin  them, such that i could mouse-over the improvements unlocked by each tech.  If I am not missing a way to pin them, I'm hoping they will be pin-able.

Luckily, I do remember many of the improvements, but it's really hard to plot out a course for research in the current system just by  mousing-over.  And there have been some changes.

FuzzyDunlop wrote:

The new tech tree is really frustrating to navigate in. The thumbnails and symbols in the old tech tree were very good for readability and should be brought into the new tree somehow.  

I agree, it's hard to read!

Small icons are nice but very small circles of colours  around them are... Well, between the yellow for orange for industry, red for war, purple for influence, things gets quite messy.

It could help to have drag and drop in the new research queue, because you have to cancel one research, then navigate to another one, click on it, then click on the previous just to insert one research in front of another one (providing this is a 2-stage queue).

Totally loving Horatio (best race so far) and the other things you guys fixed but totally not getting why the choice was made to revert back to the research wheel as used in ES 1 as in my opinion the one used in EL does a way better job and I totally welcomed the effort of putting this into ES 2 as well. To see it gone really made me sad in a way as it's a total clusterfuck to see where you are going with your research, what you picked and where you want to go. If you do want to keep the wheel in (which I'm no fan of but you guys are the creators and must have your reasoning) I'd do the following:

- Change the icons to what the research affects on zooming out similar to what you guys did with EL. For example if you'd zoom out on a research that affects food income you'd see a little  icon.  on influence,  on colonization and a ship  on a new hull, etc.. Doing this will give the player a way more streamlined experience on zooming out and seeing where to go and where it would end up in one glance. 

- Make the path you take more clear as well as when you can advance to a new era.

- Make it go slower and feel more impactful (picking X amount in era 1 before going to era 2 meant you couldn't pick it all up to stay efficient and choices had to be made which was lovely) It's fine if you do it in a full circle but keep this structure (best of ES and EL combined)

Looking forward to the patch being implemented on live. 

Cheers,

- Strawberry

Hi everyone,

Is there also a plan to give each minor faction cultural type their own hero skill tree, as you did for Scavengers and Eusocial?

There is!

Is it normal that the IA Lumeris won the game (economic victory) at turn 87 (normal game pace) ?

Well it's "normal" in the sense that the AI can win using any of the victory conditions (though it doesn't know how to pursue a specific one - yet). However the threshold for economic victory is too low and will be raised.

It could help to have drag and drop in the new research queue

Yes, this is planned!

The research are currently feels way too fast

We're also aware of this and tweaks are incoming.

Cheers!

I am liking most of the changes, but I have to be honest and say that I miss my era's from the technology tree.

Other then that I hope that now with this great population manager we are getting that the Cravers will be able to eat any population for a bonus food buff! =D It could work like the Horatio's DNA splicing - but instead of a splicing screen, you just eat some non-cravers =D

Luring wrote:

Other then that I hope that now with this great population manager we are getting that the Cravers will be able to eat any population for a bonus food buff! =D It could work like the Horatio's DNA splicing - but instead of a splicing screen, you just eat some non-cravers =D

You'd better believe that's coming!

https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/ideas/147-the-easiest-way-to-get-rid-of-minor-factions-as-a-craver

I would like to comment on the new tech tree but not on the gameplay side but readability. (The gameplay changes seems interesting, though. Exclusive techs force choices which is good. The Eras didn't make much sense but I was OK with it.)

I know a lot of icons are still placeholders. But the old tech tree had some good pictures/icons and after one game I could easily remember which tech does what based on the pictures alone. With the new tech tree and how it is laid out you had to hide the pictures and replace them with little icons. You can still see the pictures of the correspondant techs as tool tips. At first it seemed worse to read and comprehend. But after a closer look I noticed that these little icons also have color coding. So a specific icon for system improvemnt can be green/food, approval/pink, influence/purple, industry/orange and so on.

I don't know if you will implement the old pictures to be more visible or if this will cluster the tree too much. The color coding is going in the right direction. I guess the whole tree is not final, at least visually.

Oh yes the update I've been waiting for :D

Will the public release of Update 2 be different than the private version?

cha0sunity wrote:

Lets talk about research speed and the tech tree. I was playing as the Vodyani and on a normal speed game I won a scientific victory in less than 100 turns. The new tech tree looks good and I like the lay out. I liked the EL version of it as well, to me both are good ways of doing it. I really like having to choose between the red linked techs. But, things seem to research too fast. Why would I research advanced weapons when I can more quickly and cheaply unlock a higher tier weapon that uses no strategic resources? I'm thinking there may be more techs added later in development that will slow down the rapid advances through the eras. But for now, things seem very fast.

I also have a few questions. 

Will we be seeing faction specific technologies (other than ships hulls) added to the tech tree or will all faction techs be acquired through quest lines?

Will the Horatio preview version automatically switch to the early access version when the patch is officially rolled out? Or do I have to opt out of the beta to get to the main fork of the game?

Figured this out!

Thanks Amplitude!

 Im sure we will get faction specific techs i mean the horatio already have one. 

Faction-specific techs are listed in the update plan. We'll see them in Update 3. 

DevildogFF wrote:

Faction-specific techs are listed in the update plan. We'll see them in Update 3. 

Is update 3 going to include a Major Faction based on the Ecologist ideology? Will the Unfallen still be Pacifists?

Also will we get to see more major factions added after the official release of the game, either through DLCs or Add-ons?

DevildogFF wrote:

Will the public release of Update 2 be different than the private version?

If you compare the release notes, you'll notice we've added / changed a few things, but I believe it was mostly performance improvements / errors fixes and some tweaks for the battle. 

I've noticed some new artworks too, but I could be wrong. 

Awesome update anyway, particularly regarding performance ;)

Steph'nie wrote:

DevildogFF wrote:

Will the public release of Update 2 be different than the private version?

If you compare the release notes, you'll notice we've added / changed a few things, but I believe it was mostly performance improvements / errors fixes and some tweaks for the battle. 

k thx!

• Added Advanced Minor factions (Z’vali & Epistis)

And what does that exactly mean a minor faction is advanced?

So happy with the additions and hope everyone else will agree.

Now excuse me while I splice some genes...

Just a fast question: when the update will be available in final version (not in Betas window, but as a real update)?

Thanks a lot Amplitude !

Will try this asap but the list of changes and additions is so much satisfying !

Thanks a lot for your work, you are the best and keep up the good work <3

Mithrill wrote:

Just a fast question: when the update will be available in final version (not in Betas window, but as a real update)?

During the stream they mentioned maybe in 2 weeks or so. But that was an estimate so take that with a grain of salt

Is the spaceport available in this build? I can't find it :p

XR17 wrote:

Is the spaceport available in this build? I can't find it :p

It needs to be better explained, but you have to make it to the third "era" of the Right part of the Web (Economy and something, I forget) and then you can upgrade your planets using luxury resources. Once it's upgraded, you can send people away from that colony. 

I just sincerley hope that [Not able to load Saves] & The [Infinite End Turn] bugs do not show themselves again.

Change log for Update Preview [0.2.0]

HOW TO ACCESS: Right click on the game in your Steam Library, click on Properties, then on Betas, and select update2.preview in the drop down menu. Click on Close. You’re set!

[DISCLAIMER] OLD SAVES ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THIS VERSION, PLEASE BE CAREFUL IF YOU UPLOAD THE NEW BRANCH

[MAJOR CHANGES]

• Added a new major faction, the Horatio!
• Implemented a new Technology tree
• Updated the free cam of the space battle
• Reworked the game options menu
• Added Advanced Minor factions (Z’vali & Epistis)
• Added the Gnashast minor faction
• Added the Tikanan minor faction
• Added the Eyder, a scavenger minor faction created by the community

[GAMEPLAY]

• Heroes skills don’t stack anymore
• Added Turn, DustInflation and GameSpeedMultiplier on Marketplace
• Automated ships can now drop their content only if the destination isn't blockaded, instead of if it is not orbited by enemy fleets

[BATTLE]

• Deck building
  • Added 16 battle play cards in the game
    • 5 cards by default for a deck of 3
    • Added technologies to increase deck size and unlock cards
    • Cards have more complex effects, useful or not depending on the situation
  • Free deck changes every ten turns, otherwise it will cost influence
• Before battle
  • Added automated defensive fleet merging before battle
  • Added window to select which Empire to attack on a system
• Advanced battle screen
  • Changed the layout to highlight the play card choice
  • It is no longer possible to simulate your opponent’s plays
    • Added the 3 last plays used against you by the opponent
  • Added drag and drop to move the ships between your flotillas
    • Reduced minimum CP to unlock more flotillas
    • Added 3 sorting presets to sort the ships
    • Added locking state on ships to force them in a flotilla
    • Saved the fleet configurations from battle to battle
    • Added new Ship icons to show the roles
  • Added 3 stats buttons to compare the 2 fleets:
    • Military power (as currently)
    • Energy / Projectile power (takes into account the weapon and defense)
    • Range compatibility
• During battle
  • Firing ranges are now fixed by phase
  • Improved Scan view
    • Improved ship labels: the left-side gauge shows damage taken (with misses, shield damage reduction and hull plating), the right-side gauge shows damage inflicted (same details), shield gage is now around the HP gage
    • Added flotilla label when the camera is far away
    • Added trajectories and targeting on the galaxy floor (feedback still WIP)
    • Added damage taken numbers above the ships
  • Added Flotillas HUD: see a list of ships per flotilla (with HP state), more feedback will be added in the next update
  • Improved free cam:
    • Use shift to accelerate the camera move
    • Left click to lock the camera on a ship then use arrows or left click to rotate and mouse wheel to zoom
• Data
  • Reduced the energy / projectile “hard counter” effect (e.g. shields also slightly stop projectile weapons and never completely stop energy weapons)
  • Increased defense module efficiency

[DIPLO]

• Cravers can now close borders when the Militarists have a majority.
• The following terms are no longer blocked by the "Eternal War" trait: open/close borders, vision sharing, map sharing, trade agreement, science agreement. Note that most of these are already gated by the peace relation state, so it is redundant to block them directly.
• Eternal War no longer prevents empires from sending Dust to reduce pressure (the description of the trait only talks about peace).
• Map sharing is no longer possible in Cold War.

[UI]

• You can now rename planets that you colonize, except unique ones
• Changed enemy plays display on Advanced battle setup screen
• Improved diplomacy screen and truce notifications
• Added a notification for rebellion
• Added a modal panel for the system political event (accessible with a button in the system management)
• Scan view economy has been modified (last stage added (system rank))
• Changed position of the open political overview system button in the colony side panels
• Changed how enemy plays are displayed

[VFX]

• Shield Fx has been improved
• Added transition between ground battle notification and ground battle visual
• Modified special nodes
  • BlackHole
  • SolarNebular
  • SpaceCloud

[AI]

• Fleet behaviour tweaks
  • more reactive fleet mission
  • mothership attack
  • invaders wait to have manpower to quit system
• Add buyout by influence of system
• First Spaceport use (only when system is over populated and unhappy).
• Migration v1.0
• A lot of improvements for the general stability of the IA
• AI's desire for more systems increases as its planets are depleted (whether they are Cravers or not). AI will raze its worst depleted planets when over its over-colonization threshold.
• Added Open Borders proposition.
• AI now evaluates map exchange in diplomacy.
• Reinforced buying luxury when a rebellion is on the way.
• Forced root priority of Buying resource to 1 instead of 0.2
• AI now declare war before moving if the player closes its borders to the AI.

[FIX]

• Prevent the Garrisons button from being displayed uninitialized in some situations.
• Fixed Lumeris being able to colonize planets they haven't discovered yet
• Fixed game speed multiplier being applied to Emperor's Will state
• Fixed Benthys not using second assimilation trait. Improved tooltip for the trait
• Image and description of unique planet are now related to the unique planet instead of its type
• Fixed Outpost buyout button appearing on colonized systems
• Updated Planet tooltip to display origin of effects, instead of grouping everything.
• Fixed camera not zooming on fleets when the player does not own a system
• Numerous minor fixes!

Let us know what you think! 

It just means these specific Minors belong in the larger "Advanced" minor faction family (4 Minor families are planned).

Zalmoksis wrote:

jhell wrote:

It just means these specific Minors belong in the larger "Advanced" minor faction family (4 Minor families are planned).

But the Z'vali and epistis were already there for some time, right? So is the fact they are now labelled as "advanced", is it meaningful from the gameplay perspective?

The Family changes the kind of ships the minor factions use. You won't face the same challenges if you're against Scavenger or Advanced ships :)

Kynrael wrote:

Zalmoksis wrote:

jhell wrote:

It just means these specific Minors belong in the larger "Advanced" minor faction family (4 Minor families are planned).

But the Z'vali and epistis were already there for some time, right? So is the fact they are now labelled as "advanced", is it meaningful from the gameplay perspective?

The Family changes the kind of ships the minor factions use. You won't face the same challenges if you're against Scavenger or Advanced ships :)

Is there also a plan to give each minor faction cultural type their own hero skill tree, as you did for Scavengers and Eusocial?

Is it normal that the IA Lumeris won the game (economic victory) at turn 87 (normal game pace) ?

Greedis wrote:

Is it normal that the IA Lumeris won the game (economic victory) at turn 87 (normal game pace) ?

Seems so. I managed to win it by Turn 91 as Horatio despite fumbling a lot with the new tech tree and race mechanics (along with losing my hero for 14 turns near the start of the game ). Oh and it was achieved on a non-unique constellation galaxy, so trade routes were much shorter until wormholes. 

Final income was 19k per turn and achieved without a single +dust law. This doesn't make you rich though. It costs 13k to buyout the newest battleship I have thanks to the new dust inflation (you can assume it would be around 10k for races uglier than Horatio).

Not a fan of the pick one or the other approach you've taken with the new tech tree. It really ruins the shipbuilding gameplay for me. I hope you change it back. 

Blitzer wrote:

Not a fan of the pick one or the other approach you've taken with the new tech tree. It really ruins the shipbuilding gameplay for me. I hope you change it back. Personally I  think it's an improvement.

First there's real choices now.  You still get all your hulls, but you do need to choose which you'll upgrade (although it does mean they'll need to try to balance them so there's actually a reason to pick one over the other).  Likewise weapons being tied to resources and exclusion choices seems good for the game, as it stops the RPS "refit everything" games, although it is kinda weird that you can basically ignore combat for awhile, get to era 2+ weaponry, and then be forced to research the lower tier stuff.

Still its a massive improvement over "oh they're using missle boats, refit to kinetics and armor until they refit to lasers and armor at which point i'll refit to..." and so on.

Second putting the hulls with the left side of the tech tree was smart.  In ES 1 they were on the bottom with the colony optins, but I think they fit better for gameflow reasons here.  Having them be in their own little section of the era system was meh, especially since it was so easy to grab them it felt required.

Still I do think that hyperium and titanium need to be WAY harder to find.  I've been playing all my maps on lowest resources and its still so so easy to find.  I'd like to see someone actually using the market to get the material to get the tech they need to counter their opponent rather than just "meh".