Hello all, my name is Davor. I tried using my name but it said it was already taken. :P



So I just found this game in a review when browsing Gamespot. I am surprised I never herd of it before. I have been burnt many times buying crapy or non functioning games, as I am sure many of you have. So I am doing my research now. I love 4X space games. The MOO series is my favorite. While I love Distant Worlds and Star Ruler, I want a turn based game where I click "next turn".



I believe Endless Space is a TBS game. So my question is, how is it? Is it fun? Do you guys like it, love it, hate it? How stable or buggy is the game? I don't play multiplayer so I would like to know how the single player aspect of the game is. Also is it Steam only? I like to bug my games with Impulse.



I tried reading the reviews, and don't trust them after they gave Civ V a 9.0 on release day. No way in hell that could have been correct so I don't trust them no more and want to see what the actual players and fans think.



Also where is the spy game or Espionage? I can't seem to find anything that releates to this. This is part of my favorite part of the game. I love the Darlocks. :P How is desgining the ships? Is it fun like in MOO? Also how is the combat? Is it turn based as well?



So I would love to hear what you guys think of the game.



*edit* I see it is on Impulse, Yeah! So now my other question is, Emperors editon? Admirals editon? What to get if I choose to buy this tommorrow? (tomorrow is pay day)

Well I like it and im not a huge fan of other TBS games out there. The gameplay is great with little or no things wrong with it. Now some of the people who strictly play RTS games might have some complaints but for me its an awesome game that I got gifted to me on steam.

The game operates on a simultaneous turn based style - meaning everyone moves at the same time, and then the turn ends when everyone is done with their turn. This means the AI will be moving most of its ships at the beginning of "your" turn.



Espionage isn't in the game, but the developers have said they'd love to bring it to the game - but they want to do it properly so it doesn't come off as something tacked on as a half assed attempt at pleasing the massses.



Designing is a bit more limited in choice compared with MOO. Basically you have 3 types of weapons and defenses for each - think of it as a space scissors paper rock game. No "looks" design at the moment either.

You definitely click Next Turn, so that won't be a problem for you. There's not even an auto-turn like in the modern Civ games.



No spying, I'm afraid. The tech tree is ... different than what you're probably used to.



There's occasional bugs but not that much for a week-old game.



So far it's been engaging. My biggest complaint is probably the annoying habit of the AI to make a bunch of small worthless fleets. I kid you not, the Amoeba did that to me once. Attacked my Dreadnaughts with 53 different fleets ... one at a time, all on the same turn.



The game might be a touch easy at the lower difficulties, but I suppose that's what the higher levels are for. The learning curve looks brutal at first, but my second game was a cakewalk, so it can't be as harsh as it seems when you're starting.

Well ES is far from being perfect, but it is a blast to play and worth every cent (and it's not that expensive to begin with, so it's even better). The AI had a somewhat bad reputation at first, but it gets better and the new patch promises to make it even better.



So from my point of view, being a TBS-game fan, ES is a must right now. If you loved MOO and Galactic Civilization, you'll probably love ES.

Thanks for the answers.

ES is not a real turn based game, as Mansen already said it's simultaneous turn based which sometimes leads to odd situation were the AI seems to cheat on you (rearranging fleets while your fleets are on the move, moving their ships away just right before yours arrive, starting multiple battles and thereby forcing you to just fight one manually, ...). In my book, this is a bad design decision, but somehow understandable if you want a smoother multiplayer.



The game is also not as complex as MoO or some other, real turn based 4X games. The exploration part lacks a little due to the rather small tech tree and galaxies, which also leads to rather short games (even those on huge maps normally end before turn 300). At the end of a game your empire always looks quite the same, you have very similar techs and improvements on your systems and your main fleet consist of ships with high level beams and missiles. Depending on the race you play you might have some unique techs, but it doesn't feel that different.



The ship design is also limited, they look always the same and due to the action card based but automated combat system you don't really feel the difference between your designs. Of course, some are more powerful than others, but they don't allow different tactics.



The biggest downside - at least in my book - is the diplomatic system. Your options are limited, there is no espionage, you can't issue an ultimatum, demand something, negotiate terms for other empires (e.g. "I give you some Titanium if you don't attack the Sophons I have a Cooperation Agreement with.") or change terms on an offer. Additionally the otherwise well done interface doesn't always provide all the information you need, e.g. if you want to know what a tech you are offered does you need to switch to tech screen.



The game is not perfect, but still quite fun and has a lot of potential, give it a few more weeks and it might be great. On the other hand, I don't think it's the next MoO. I would buy and enjoy it. And if it doesn't improve, Legends of Pegasus is released on August 9.

Yeah, sometime the simultaneous kinda turn me off

I mean, I can't level up my hero before the next battle and I must see my fleet decimated in second before I can reload

They should at least pause the game when the hero screen pops up

Thank you very much guys. So what is this Admerials and Emperors edition? I am not exactly sure why I would want these instead of just the basic edition. I just don't get it. this is something I never saw before so it's all new to me. You mean I have to pay extra to participate on the forums or something like that?

Both the Admirals and the Emperors Edition add additional features to the forum (such es avatars and awards) and the game (alternative skin for the United Empire ships). You also get G2G points, which means that your voice counts more then others if the devs start a poll on what they should do next or how certain features should be implemented or not.

Thank God (or the Endless?) no, you don't need to pay to participate on the forums. You can already do everything you wish without having to buy the game!

I'll try and sum things up:



Admiral Edition

- Base game

- Adds 500 G2G points to your account

- Gives a bonus forum award (pretty useless, but still)

- A soundtrack hidden somewhere in the game folder



Emperor Edition

Everything that comes with the Admiral edition is there, plus:

- Unique ship skin under the form of a bonus faction, the Sheredyn

- A unique hero that you may get in-game, if lucky (heroes are random)

- Another 500 G2G points

- Another forum award



G2G points... What?

Every now and then the devs will ask their fanbase for advice about what should implemented in the game next or what to change. When you vote, your points are added to the total number of points your choice get. So if you have 100 points, you'll make less of a difference than if you have 1100.

For example, right now one of the vote is pretty undecided: the leading option has 1716700 points, the runner-up 1684500 and the last one 757100 points. So really, sometimes your vote do make a difference.



The best reason to buy the Emperor Edition, though, is to help an indie game studio and... well, the Sheredyn skin is pretty nice!

I am pretty new as well and I am learning that there is one hell of a learning curve. I really, really want to love this game but I must be doing something wrong because I can't win a game for the life of me lol.

iRelapse wrote:
I am pretty new as well and I am learning that there is one hell of a learning curve. I really, really want to love this game but I must be doing something wrong because I can't win a game for the life of me lol.

Take a look at the guide section of this board, especially the 30 turn challange threads are good for starters.