Downloadable comics.
https://wiki.endless-space.com/comics
Also there's DLC you can claim by joining the site.
Nice!
The more I get into this game the more I discover. It really is one of the best-designed games I've seen.
Quote from: Ian C on July 12, 2018, 06:56:24 AM
The more I get into this game the more I discover. It really is one of the best-designed games I've seen.
But I think the AI cheats. It just always blows me away. I started a new game last night and literally within two or three turns I was nearly in last place in the empire ratings. They always expand faster, further and accomplish objectives long before I can really even try. They blow me away in technology, man power and fleets. There is nothing else I can do. I've tried everything.
The game is a wonder. It is so huge and packed with info that I am too star struck to notice how bad I am getting my ass kicked by the AI.
I started playing a game last night after picking this up on Fanatical.
I've had issues "getting into" the Endless games but I got hooked yesterday to the point of having to pull myself away to get some sleep.
Is the game mod-friendly? If the AI cheats like some are saying be smoothed out a bit?
I guess the issue I see in the time I put in is the AI can do everything as efficiently as possible. For example I colonized a new system fairly early but I had a quest that I needed to upgrade my garrison strength to 800. I didn't realize that once your outpost becomes a colony it slashed your garrison strength so now I'm way behind on that quest.
Quote from: jamus34 on July 12, 2018, 08:26:05 AM
I started playing a game last night after picking this up on Fanatical.
I've had issues "getting into" the Endless games but I got hooked yesterday to the point of having to pull myself away to get some sleep.
Is the game mod-friendly? If the AI cheats like some are saying be smoothed out a bit?
I guess the issue I see in the time I put in is the AI can do everything as efficiently as possible. For example I colonized a new system fairly early but I had a quest that I needed to upgrade my garrison strength to 800. I didn't realize that once your outpost becomes a colony it slashed your garrison strength so now I'm way behind on that quest.
Yeah. I have the same issue. I've never come close really to having 800+ manpower. Just last night, I saw a rival empire reached 3,000 MP!? How the heck did they pull that off? Another empire around the same time was the first to colonize 8 worlds...really? How?
No matter where I prioritize my research, development and expansion, I am always behind. It sometimes takes awhile to even realize how unbalanced things are because it sometimes takes a long time to make contact with a rival empire and then sometimes its even longer before there is a confrontation. I had the same issue with Endless Space 1. Eventually, I just gave up...it didn't matter how slick and cool the game was.
What difficulty level are you using?
Quote from: Gusington on July 12, 2018, 09:10:15 AM
What difficulty level are you using?
I'm not sure. The only difficulty option I've seen in the new game set-up is for pirates. Is there something else I'm missing? The UI and layout of the game's windows is so unique that important things are easy to miss.
I only played it for maybe 4-5 hours and was desperately looking for a difficulty slider - still hoping there is one for when I go back to the game.
The AI might cheat but then it might not. From what I gather each race has different traits and tech aptitudes, powers etc and it does give some a head start.
I'm playing a 600-turn game as the human empire guys and in mid-game onward I've been at third or fourth place. This isn't an easy game but there are strategies within strategies and from what I've seen so far, I've barely mastered any but I'm learning and it's great fun. I like the scope and pace.
Quote from: Gusington on July 12, 2018, 09:36:12 AM
I only played it for maybe 4-5 hours and was desperately looking for a difficulty slider - still hoping there is one for when I go back to the game.
(https://orig00.deviantart.net/a26a/f/2018/193/5/2/tyudtui_by_jack_o_tales-dch086i.jpg)
^Yeah...that's pretty hidden. Not! :2funny:
I'm probably playing on normal. I'll double check. I always hate moving difficulty down to easy, but it might be necessary with this one.
oops. Somebody already posted a screenshot.
P.S. Ian C what resolution is that screenshot. Mine must be huge as they always get shown so small as to be useless.
Thanks Ian! I should probably start my next campaign on easy too, for learning purposes.
You're welcome.
Quote from: Destraex on July 12, 2018, 10:04:05 AM
oops. Somebody already posted a screenshot.
P.S. Ian C what resolution is that screenshot. Mine must be huge as they always get shown so small as to be useless.
It's a reduced shot to 70% size but it was originally 1980 x 1080.
fyi: you can control the size of the picture by adding the width parameter to the img command (e.g. [ img width=400 ] without the space after the [ and before the ]). I usually use a width of 500 or 600.
[ img width=600 ]https://orig00.deviantart.net/a26a/f/2018/193/5/2/tyudtui_by_jack_o_tales-dch086i.jpg[/img] gets you this:
"(https://orig00.deviantart.net/a26a/f/2018/193/5/2/tyudtui_by_jack_o_tales-dch086i.jpg)"
Is it the case that the AI with Endless Space 2 is really really good, or is it the case that the AI has been given loads of unfair advantages to compensate?
Have to admit, all this AI difficulty talk has me wanting to get back into the game.
(https://www.ethic.ninja/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/challenge-accepted-gif-9.gif)
I'm guessing that the difficulty modifiers are similar to the first game.
http://endlessspace.wikia.com/wiki/Game_settings
I feel I am getting drawn back...
Glad I am not the only one trying to figure out how I keep getting so far behind. In my latest game I have managed to crawl into 4th place. But I forgot to turn off the economic victory and the Federation I am in is going to win that soon. Oh well guess it is time to start another one.
Sorry. Messed up and posted in wrong thread.
Quote from: Pete Dero on July 13, 2018, 09:01:48 AM
Trump had said in the interview: "I believe that the people in the UK – Scotland, Ireland ... they like me a lot."
Conservative member of parliament Sarah Wollaston said Trump was "determined to insult" May and added: "The divisive, dog-whistle rhetoric in his Sun interview is repulsive. If signing up to the Trump world view is the price of a deal, it's not worth paying."
Ben Bradshaw, Labour member of parliament, wrote: "Our prime minister is so weak she still rolls out the red carpet for a man who does nothing but insult her. Humiliating."
Former leader of the Labour party Ed Miliband tweeted a link to a news story about Trump's comment, and said: "The theory that if we are nice to Trump he'll be nice to us doesn't seem to be going brilliantly..."
Darren Jones, Labour MP for Bristol North West, echoed those sentiments, writing: "Well this has gone well then. What a humiliating week for Britain"
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/13/mps-voice-outrage-at-repulsive-donald-trump-broadside-against-theresa-may
Now I know liberals have become totally unhinged. Get a grip dude. You don't even know where you are.. :crazy2:
thx
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 12, 2018, 08:54:34 AM
Quote from: jamus34 on July 12, 2018, 08:26:05 AM
I started playing a game last night after picking this up on Fanatical.
I've had issues "getting into" the Endless games but I got hooked yesterday to the point of having to pull myself away to get some sleep.
Is the game mod-friendly? If the AI cheats like some are saying be smoothed out a bit?
I guess the issue I see in the time I put in is the AI can do everything as efficiently as possible. For example I colonized a new system fairly early but I had a quest that I needed to upgrade my garrison strength to 800. I didn't realize that once your outpost becomes a colony it slashed your garrison strength so now I'm way behind on that quest.
Yeah. I have the same issue. I've never come close really to having 800+ manpower. Just last night, I saw a rival empire reached 3,000 MP!? How the heck did they pull that off? Another empire around the same time was the first to colonize 8 worlds...really? How?
No matter where I prioritize my research, development and expansion, I am always behind. It sometimes takes awhile to even realize how unbalanced things are because it sometimes takes a long time to make contact with a rival empire and then sometimes its even longer before there is a confrontation. I had the same issue with Endless Space 1. Eventually, I just gave up...it didn't matter how slick and cool the game was.
I've had the same problem with the first game as well. I ended up playing on easy.... ::)
How is combat in ES2? I disliked ES1 just because of the combat. There was no real control. You picked one of three "cards" and then watched the same boring video clip repeatedly play itself. It was basically rock-scissors-paper auto-combat. I found it trivial and boring. If they fixed that then ES2 might be OK.
There's a little more variety but it is still fundamentally rock-paper-scissors.
The combat is a bit more involved, but it's basically like a sports manager game: choose your fleet composition, pick tactics and watch the result play out (or auto-resolve with no visuals). If you watch, the battle is played out in real-time and accurately modeled. There are several different viewing modes - scan mode, tactics overview, free cam, etc. Clicking on one ship will also latch the cam onto it.
Strategy for fleet battles comprises of four things which determine its outcome: ship design, tactics used, use of flotillas and the fleet commander (hero).
You start with 3 tactics cards but unlock slots for more and gain more cards through research. you can also change the order and use per battle with the 'advanced' option.
More here:
http://endless-space-2.wikia.com/wiki/Combat
Quote from: Ian C on July 14, 2018, 04:53:07 AM
the battle is played out in real-time and accurately modeled.
That ^ and a few more "cards" ( I HATE that term - sounds like a card game not a wargame) might make it palatable, given how well the rest of the game is probably done ( at least as well as ES1, right?). I might grab it the next time it is 80% off. Might not. I already own a lot of good games I've never played.
Playing at normal difficulty and I am doing pretty good. In second place overall currently.
Don't forget having the most manpower and number of systems doesn't necessarily mean you are winning. Just as in my game where the United Empire had a pretty substantial lead in both, but are now getting their asses handed to them by my technologically superior fleet. Having the Sophons and the Riftborn helping me doesn't hurt either.
Pro tip: Do not follow the advice your advisors give you on what tech to research. They will generally recommend techs that take just way too long to research. Study the tech tree, and don't jump too far ahead in the tech levels. You jump too far ahead and you will be spending 16 turns researching a tech. In that same time period you might have been able to research 4-5 other techs.
(https://media1.tenor.com/images/582ab36c45d4bbe39df0bcc55a18c7f9/tenor.gif?itemid=7997361)
Haha - 'the more you know'
Yeah I'm still on the fence on whether the AI cheats but if it is not it is hard to beat with the efficiencies that are in place. It's quite frustrating.
Quote from: bboyer66 on July 12, 2018, 12:37:42 PM
I'm guessing that the difficulty modifiers are similar to the first game.
http://endlessspace.wikia.com/wiki/Game_settings
I believe that Boyer66 is correct that the difficulty modifiers are similar to Endless Space 1.
So NORMAL is not EVEN. I think this was brought up when ES 1 came out. And the devs said that they wanted Normal to be challenging. So the lowest setting I think is an even playing field.
Somehow, I managed to win a war against a statistically, much more powerful opponent. My goals were limited to taking a single star system...for now. It took dozens of turns and a lot of frustration with many failed planetary invasions, but I sensed I was getting close so I rejected two offers of truce from the enemy empire. To my surprise, I had managed to design two very powerful classes of ship that collectively were able to turn everything they sent against me into burning scraps of metal. Eventually, I realized I could upgrade my ground invasion forces and that turned the tide. When I sought peace, I was able to keep the conquered system and extrapolate another. I had a tremendous war pressure advantage. Those vessels of mine really kicked a lot of ass.
Still not sure what to make of the AI, but I am holding my own in this game, which is, in fact on the normal setting.
Just had the arrogant Horatio back-stab me. No worries though, my Nimitz class carriers, and Iowa class battleships are beating the hell out of them. Really enjoy how the different races act so differently from each other. Hell they all play very differently as well, it takes an "intro" game with a race just to figure out what their special abilities, strengths, and weaknesses are.
Anyways, I just started building a BFM, Big F*ckin Monolith. Apparently if I complete it, I will win the game. Had to make a bunch of diplomatic deals in order to get all the resources together to build it.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/2KpdIzz3QHrby/giphy.gif)
Hahaha great gif!! I hope that is the victory screen.
Well I wound up winning along with my two alliance members. It was an economic victory.
The monolith did not win the game for me which was unfortunate, however I did have a monolith to call my own.
The other empires tech in spacecraft caught up with mine, and the United Empire had carriers that could carry a lot more fighters and bombers. Not sure what tech they researched to get that advantage, might have been one of the techs specific to them alone.
Not exactly sure what the hell the victory conditions are for this game, might need to look that up.
There are so many things going on in this game, yet it is still playable even if you do not understand everything (like myself). Like how Political pressure works. A quick google search will show you that no one seems to have a very good grasp on what it does. Or how to stop or start peaceful conversion on planets with influence. The game still has some bug issues where fleets in orbit just disappear. A quick save and reload however brings the fleet back. All in all though I enjoyed my play-through. Would love to see some better explanations on how some things are supposed to work, as well as maybe some additions to the combat system for more variety. This game still has a lot of room for growth and polish.
Expansion inbound...
The Hisso are currently in game as a minor race. They are pretty badass...a race of space samurai, pretty much. They will be added as a major playable civilization, with new heroes, fleets and technology.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/806780/Endless_Space_2__Supremacy/ (https://store.steampowered.com/app/806780/Endless_Space_2__Supremacy/)
...other significant features are:
New minor faction
New Class of giant vessels
New specializations giving powerful abilities (i.e., destroy an entire star system, or annihilate an entire fleet)
When I first scratched the surface of Endless Space 2 my first contact in the campaign were the Hisso and I remember thinking 'wow they are so bad ass, I wish they were playable' and VIOLA...here they are.
...part of what I really like about these games and the developers is that the racial differences are well thought out and meaningful. For instance, the Hisso will have a lot of tactical flexibility in combat and will keep opponents on their toes since their ships have modular component slots that apparently can shift in battle between support, offensive and defensive combat roles.
Very cool.
I remember thinking similarly and saying to myself 'I would much rather play as this faction than against them.'
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 27, 2018, 10:03:42 AM
...part of what I really like about these games and the developers is that the racial differences are well thought out and meaningful.
Which is one reason I really like this game. It feels like a living universe with real races. Immersion, I guess.
The Patch is out with free features and the new DLC is out:
QUOTE:
The patch coming along the Hissho expansion packs quite a few changes.
Jhell, backstabber extraordinaire and Lead Game Designer on Endless Space 2, wrote the following:
"We wanted players to have more options after invasions, and how they went about their invasions. The manpower modules will now be much more effective, as they're going to also increase the deployment limit, and there are choices to be made about sieging a system or swarming it with numbers. You will also be prompted on what to do after a successful invasion: occupy the system, pillage the system, or simply raze it. This should allow huge empires to more relentlessly wage war, leaving only a trail of razed and pillaged systems in their wake. We don't want to spoil the surprise, but some empires have unique outcomes replacing regular pillage or raze actions.
The ground battles visual pacing has also been heavily tweaked; no more will you see two blobs of units against each other, now each ground battle tactic has its dedicated visual formation, unit types attack independently, and impacts are focused on units.
Another focus to wage war as comfortably as possible was to rework how diplomacy is handled during Isyander's "metaplot" quest. You will now be able to attack foes AND friends on Lodestone nodes, provided you are on different teams. Your allies will hopefully understand that it's "nothing personal, kid".
On a different note, to acknowledge that the galaxy is a violent place, we've added the "System Relics" feature. Significant events like huge space or ground battles taking place on star systems may now leave permanent traces, and some anomalies or new curiosities may even emerge... All of this visible in scan view.
Lastly, to make them on par with the military victory conditions, the non-military ones have been reworked to last longer so you can enjoy the late-game content longer regardless of the victory type you're pursuing.
Along with numerous fixes and the content of the expansion, you should now be able to utterly lay waste to the whole galaxy."
[HISSHO EXPANSION CONTENT]
New Major Faction: the Hissho
Main gameplay (Affinity, Traits, Population, Technologies) - see enemy pathfinding
New specific resource: Keii
New theme music
New unique planet: Uchi
Hissho main quest
Hissho Fleet
1 leader + 4 new Hissho heroes
New Hissho technologies
New Hissho Empire & Star system improvements
New Minor Faction: the Illo
New Illo Hero
New Feature: Behemoths
New quest introducing Behemoths and unlocking specific technologies
New ship hull: Behemoth (Economic, Scientific, Military)
New ship hull: Obliterator (Can destroy a whole system)
New ship hull: Juggernaut
New Behemoth specific modules (Mining probes, Planet rejuvenation, ...)
New faction specific modules (1 per existing faction)
New Behemoth technologies
New Behemoth Empire & Star system improvements
[FREE UPDATE CONTENT]
Reworked Ground battles
New setup and report screens
New features: Winning a ground battle now gives you the following options
Occupy
Raze
Pillage
Some factions have specific variants of these actions.
Battle simulation changes
Implemented new damage computation (damage bonuses/maluses are now properly computed)
Implemented new bombardments (bombardment damage is shared between unit types)
Implemented new improvements/populations destruction (may destroy more than 1 of each - Blitz can now be quite destructive!)
Academy questline
Alliances no longer matter when orbiting Lodestones: you may now attack an alliance member who is part of the opposing faction without having to fear any diplomatic repercussions.
Improved feedback around lodestones and lodestone specific battles
Music
The Surround soundtrack was completely re-encoded in WMA. It is available in the following install folder:
..\Steam\steamapps\common\Endless Space 2\OST\Surround
Vodyani
Added Vodyani "anchored Ark protection" module: an Ark with this module equipped will not be attackable in space battle while attached to a System (it can still be attacked via Invasion)
Vodyanis can now use the pacific conversion feature: it will convert 1 population unit on the target system and grant 500 Essence
[IMPROVEMENTS]
Hissho Minor faction is now called Yuusho
Updated Core cracker quest restrictions
Rearranged technologies in the Technology tree to add the new content
Reworked Victory conditions:
Wonders:
- Wonders can now only be built one at a time
- Wonders can now only be built one at a time
- Wonders base costs increase with each Wonder built
- Wonders cost more to buy out
Economy
- Increased required Dust from 450k to 700k (notifications have been updated accordingly)
Science
- Technology cost reduction impact lowered by 50% on victory technologies
- Moved Science Victory Technologies to an Era 6 placed between quadrants
- You will now need to unlock techs from 2 different quadrants to unlock this Era 6
Academy Quest "Ghosts and Dust" is now deactivated if one of the living Empires uses the Hissho affinity (objective requires a Happiness contest)
Added a feedback when a fleet in guard mode intercepts an opponent's fleet (The fleet will also appear and cycle in the "idle" fleets)
Sleeping fleets no longer wake up when they notice an enemy they were already aware of
The stage unlock notification is now an auto pop-up
Reworked the Empire Information toggle in the empire introduction notification in order to make it more visible/appealing
Temporary effects listed on the side panel of the system management view now only shows icon if there is too many of them (more than 2 lines).
Added info on star system label when a home system is destroyed.
Added different backgrounds for the Victory window
Added technology hints to the fleet action buttons
Fully destroyed home systems no longer count towards required colonized home planets count
If all home systems are destroyed, the victory is no longer attainable, unless the planets are "repaired"
Creating a ship or ship design now takes slightly less time
Starting the game now takes less time and memory
A tutorial is triggered when researching the technology that unlocks Behemoth Hulls when using Advanced or Expert tutorials
Added some distance between flotilla in space battle to make space for the Juggernauts.
Updated Golden Age effect to be more readable
Added message explaining why a law isn't activatable when its upkeep would be too high for the player's stock + net influence
Added dynamic costs for research stages depending on whether DLCs are active or not
[BALANCE]
Custom Factions:
Made corsair and pirates slayer mutually exclusive
Diplomacy:
Increased cooldown of Cold War Attack contextual term from 1 to 3 turns
The contextual diplomatic term "remove tendrils" no longer removes tendrils that are completed, only the ones in progress
Heroes:
Modified Haroshem hero political alignment to fit his description
Factions:
Vodyani Arks: Base HP increased from 10000 to 14000
Ground Battle:
All manpower modules for ships now also increase manpower deployment limit
Added manpower deployment bonus to all defensive improvements (to accompany modules)
Changed manpower upgrades resources so each unit has the same progression in terms of strategic tiers
Linked conscription to ownership: You can now only use it if you have more than 50% Ownership on the system.
The amount of Manpower you get also depends on your current Ownership (multiplication): for example, if you use Conscription on a System with 75% Ownership, you'll gain 175 * 0.75 additional Manpower on the System
Added a bonus to attacker manpower deployment limit in case they have remaining ownership on the system (currently 400 * ownership)- Added effect to "Para-raiders" tactic: it now has 90% health multiplier and 110% damage multiplier
Besieged systems no longer lose manpower the turns they have been invaded
Economy:
Reduced average and abundant strategic deposit value from 3 to 2 and from 5 to 3 respectively
Ship retrofit no longer refills the ship's probes/mining probes stock
Added a "+2 Vision to all systems" effect on the "Ultra-IR Astronomy" unlock
Outposts no longer leech growth from a parent system when they are full
[QUEST]
Due to Ground Battle changes, a large amount of quests have a new way to be failed: if one of their system is razed or captured (but not pillaged in case of invasion)
The third objective (Bullet) of "The Gunfather" quest is now unlockable if the player possesses non-custom Riftborn
The quest fleet for "Flight of Eyder" now roams in order to reach a special node
A large amount of Quests, system improvements, technologies, populations bonuses, ... have been updated to be used by Hissho
Quests will not grant net science bonus as reward anymore.
The Metaplot's planets cannot be destroyed anymore
Isyander's quest: players will not be able to colonize the loadstone, no matter the winning team
Added technology era 6
The second part of the endgame academy quest is now won when a team has secured more than half of the objectives, instead of when all objectives have been secured. Unsecured objectives will be transformed as if they had been secured by the winning team
[FIXES]
Fixed supremacy victory alerts being fired on turn 1 when only 2 players are in the game
Fixed a situation where the game failed to restart after failing to start once
Fixed rare error occuring when the game was quick-saved in the same frame a fleet action concluded
Fixed rare blocking error occuring when a fleet is destroyed while exploring a curiosity
Special nodes and quest nodes are not selected anymore for the "A Fly in the Ointment" quest
Fixed some saves failing to load because of Guardians not having spawned
Fixed military ship cost increase being a reduction
Fixed an issue where the hero ship upkeep costs were still displayed in the Hero Ship Design Screen
Deposits now remain when a planet is destroyed
Fixed an issue where the skip button hitbox in election window was not right
Fixed Minor factions being assimilable while a ground battle outcome was being picked
Fixed trying to remove populations not concerned by growth (like Riftborn) when having a negative growth on a colonized star system
Fixed memory issue when a battle was pending
Fixed Depletion not being shown on uncolonized planets, and not being counted for Hissho Mining probes
Fixed an issue where the tooltip from the Lodestone recovered/destroyed system displayed misleading information about its effect
Eternal improvements are not added twice when a system is captured anymore
Fixed an issue where war momentum in battle notification was not displayed if the value was 0
The second objective of the "To do, or not to do... (Part 2)" quest is now available
Fixed an issue where long technology names overlapped the buyout technology option in the empire banner
Fixed issues related to migration & Riftborn/Guardian populations
Fix the Vodyani base improvement not being built on the first turn
Fixed error when Vodyanis capture Riftborn system with Influence
Fixed an issue where the displayed tooltip effects of a colonizable planet made reference to the Approval mechanic when overcolonization limit had been reached
Fixed a cause of freeze when quitting the game
The technology helper no longer suggests incorrect faction-specific technologies anymore (for instance, Sophon technologies for the Unfallen)
Fixed Vaulters Leader Background visual issue
Fixed critical error on Riftborn outposts which caused the game to get stuck
Fixed critical error on ship repair cost AI synchronization
Fixed an issue where Pirates would not be Cordial with anyone when several players had maximum relation with them
Fixed overlapping module slots on the Leecher hull when using a custom Vaulters faction with the Ship Bound affinity
Fixed ships sold on ht Marketplace not being listed if the maximum number of stocked ships is reached
The "Founders Keepers" quest will not fail anymore if the quest planet was destroyed
Fixed an issue where the Horatio 50 pop collection bonus were incorrect
Fixed an issue where fleet lines would occasionally have bad alignment
Fixed the champion's pod that wouldn't appear on custom faction with the Vaulters visual affinity
Fixed tooltip of diplomatic term "technology exchange" displaying unlocks of the empire which proposes the exchange, instead of the empire which receives the technology.
Fixed Gnashast strategy pre-battle damage
Fixed an issue where the game did not remember the "Tactics" set if a card was swapped with a newly added card
Fixed errors in tech helper data
Custom factions using the Metafolding affinity will no longer have a duplicated technology in Empire & Development quadrant stage 4
Custom factions with United Empire visual affinity and Involuntary Nomad trait will no longer have access to a Colonizer hull
Fixed rip singularity not working properly in some cases.
The "Zelevas Incarnate" unique improvement will now properly display all of its effect in the star system management view
Fixed Trade Companies requiring 0 XP for their first 3 levels
Fixed "Coordinated Bunkers" not applying the siege damage reduction in all cases
Fixed ground battle being replayable only once instead of once per turn as long as the bubble is present
Fixed any empire being able to replay a space battle instead of the one who owns the singularity.
Fixed Vineships being scrapped in higher priority than colonizers
Planetary colonization industry cost inside a star system is now correctly linked to game speed
Fixed memory leak in planet rendering process.
Fixed Supremacy victory not working well with planet/system destructions
Fixed an issue where a team's legend in the diplomacy screen during the metaplot was inaccurate
Fixed Lumeris ship design (small defender lacked an engine on base design)
Fixed an issue where the user was not informed if a Contextual Diplomacy exchange was occurring between other players when hovering over the End Turn button
Fixed bug colonizer affinity visual Vodyani & Lumeris (had attack slot but couldn't fill it)
Fixed salvo pooling being completely broken
Fixed an issue where hero ship upkeep cost were still displayed in the Hero Ship Design Screen
Fixed an issue where war momentum in battle notification were not displayed currently if value is 0
Fixed an issue where Long technology names overlapped the buyout technology option in the empire banner
Fixed the Vodyani's base improvement not being built on the first turn.
Fixed an issue where whispered messages were not received by players who joined ongoing sessions
The technology helper does not suggest incorrect faction-specific technologies anymore (for instance, Sophon technologies for the Unfallen)
Fixed infantry bonus damage on planes going over 100
Galaxy Age will now have an impact on galaxy generation
Removed Horatio specific tag from the "Neural Robotics" tech as the unlocks were similar to the regular one
[MULTIPLAYER FIXES]
Fixed desync happening when Unfallen factions vine a minor faction's system
Fixed an issue where whispered messages were not received by players who joined ongoing sessions
[SOUND FIX]
The Vaulters Leaders no longer plays her voice line when selecting her in the Faction Choice screen, even with sound deactivated
[AI]
Massive performance update.
AIs now understand more improvements and gains from previous content and are capable of using them in the right context. eg:
Multiple FIDS and FIDSI gains are now properly understood as such
Overcolonization is now considered as a usable / needed resource
Ground battle understanding has been reworked.
AIs now better understand their chances of winning
AIs are more inclined to invade winnable systems
AIs will chose their tactics in a more sensible way (e.g. based on incoming reinforcements)
AIs will now act properly on Metaplot nodes: they will attack the other team members and will not attack the same team members, regardless of their diplomatic status.
Vodyani AIs will now use Anchored Arks modules when possible.
Various improvements:
Better production of colonizers, war fleets and explorers
Diplomacy contract balancing offers more constant results
Avoid being stuck in a war state with an AI
Proper law activation and deactivation
AIs no better avoid empty modules in ship designs and can a wider variety of modules
Hero ship are now properly retrofitted
Fixed a bug when AI attacked a system
Fixed a bug when achieving elimination victory
Fixed a bug when AI could get stuck upon dealing with a new ground battle
Try before you buy......Free to play weekend on Steam!
Am thrilled to see planetary invasion getting some love!
Quote from: MC on August 02, 2018, 10:55:25 AM
Try before you buy......Free to play weekend on Steam!
And not just Endless Space 2, The Entire Endless series too! :o
I must download Endless Space 2 or Endless Legend?
Both!
Both. Very different experiences. Both are very unique.
Quote from: Barthheart on August 02, 2018, 01:35:24 PM
Both. Very different experiences. Both are very unique.
Very true. I have played both during their free weekends.
Endless Space 2 is on sale for $13.59. That's 66% off.
Just watched the YouTube video for Supremecy and it looks excellent. If I can only buy one of the new DLCs it's going to be this one.
Quote from: CJReich46 on August 02, 2018, 01:13:40 PM
Quote from: MC on August 02, 2018, 10:55:25 AM
Try before you buy......Free to play weekend on Steam!
And not just Endless Space 2, The Entire Endless series too! :o
I must download Endless Space 2 or Endless Legend?
Endless Legend is one of the best, if not THE best, of its genre. Get it. Endless Space 2...I don't know. Endless Space 1 was slick, pretty and unsatisfying, mainly due to a dull, repetitive auto-combat (the ONLY combat resolution available). I have been told in this thread that although Endless Space 2 follows the same model, combat has been improved. Based on that, I am buying ES2 during this sale, as I already have Endless Legend (and ES1).
I see ES2 is turn based and multiplayer. Does it offer good multi player game paly.
I picked up ES2. Its a great sale and it had been on my wishlist for quite a while now.
Haven't played yet, though.
Been playing a lot of this over the weekend. I love the complex elegance and style of the game systems and I love the diversity of the major and minor races with truly meaningful differences among them.
After playing several different games over a period of many hours, though, the one thing that keeps hurting the experience is the same old side story events that ultimately add little to gameplay and distract from the focus of the game which is building and managing an empire. I've found that in the mid to late game, the choices that these side events force you to make are meaningless since it's irrelevant whether you take a -20 hit in dust or science for a brief period of 10 turns.
This is one of the few drawbacks to what is otherwise a fantastic and unique 4x.
Is there a way to play without story enabled?
Quote from: Yskonyn on August 05, 2018, 01:16:16 PM
Is there a way to play without story enabled?
I don't think so. It's not just the story events though...there are also frequent random events that occur, which force you to make a choice. Each option usually offers a bonus and a penalty of some sort. Eventually when you are producing tremendous amounts of dust, resources and science, the choice you make is largely irrelevant.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on August 05, 2018, 05:57:09 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on August 05, 2018, 01:16:16 PM
Is there a way to play without story enabled?
I don't think so. It's not just the story events though...there are also frequent random events that occur, which force you to make a choice. Each option usually offers a bonus and a penalty of some sort. Eventually when you are producing tremendous amounts of dust, resources and science, the choice you make is largely irrelevant.
When creating a new game you select a difficulty level....besides the usual easy-normal-hard-etc. there is one called "sandbox". Not sure what that does and the Steam forums weren't much help figuring it out. I wonder if it disables the story/choices? Anyone know?
Quote from: Rayfer on August 05, 2018, 08:38:40 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on August 05, 2018, 05:57:09 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on August 05, 2018, 01:16:16 PM
Is there a way to play without story enabled?
I don't think so. It's not just the story events though...there are also frequent random events that occur, which force you to make a choice. Each option usually offers a bonus and a penalty of some sort. Eventually when you are producing tremendous amounts of dust, resources and science, the choice you make is largely irrelevant.
When creating a new game you select a difficulty level....besides the usual easy-normal-hard-etc. there is one called "sandbox". Not sure what that does and the Steam forums weren't much help figuring it out. I wonder if it disables the story/choices? Anyone know?
(https://i.imgflip.com/1dj89o.jpg)
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on August 05, 2018, 05:57:09 PM
When creating a new game you select a difficulty level....besides the usual easy-normal-hard-etc. there is one called "sandbox". Not sure what that does and the Steam forums weren't much help figuring it out. I wonder if it disables the story/choices? Anyone know?
According to Reddit it's a mode where the AI is passive and you can just explore and conquer with little resistance.
As far as in-game events, you can turn off random events in the settings. I don't think these are story-related though, just the standard random events.
Go to New Game/Gameplay and click the plus sign (advanced settings). The settings under 'Narration' turns them off. Note that there are advanced settings for 'Galaxy' as well...
Yeah...makes sense. I've never looked at the advanced settings when creating a new game.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on August 06, 2018, 06:06:12 AM
I've never looked at the advanced settings when creating a new game.
More fun.
(https://img00.deviantart.net/f62f/i/2018/218/a/b/20180806121909_1_by_jack_o_tales-dcjct6e.jpg)
(https://img00.deviantart.net/bc76/i/2018/218/1/6/20180806121922_1_by_jack_o_tales-dcjct69.jpg)
Also worth mentioning, Galaxies appear very differently depending on your choice of shape and change the atmosphere quite a bit:
(https://img00.deviantart.net/5594/i/2018/218/a/4/20180717151538_1_by_jack_o_tales-dcjct77.jpg)
(https://img00.deviantart.net/df42/i/2018/218/e/3/20180717151718_1_by_jack_o_tales-dcjct70.jpg)
(https://img00.deviantart.net/943f/i/2018/218/1/8/20180717151846_1_by_jack_o_tales-dcjct6w.jpg)
(https://img00.deviantart.net/f5e3/i/2018/218/3/1/20180717152019_1_by_jack_o_tales-dcjct6u.jpg)
(https://img00.deviantart.net/990f/i/2018/218/b/8/20180717152156_1_by_jack_o_tales-dcjct6q.jpg)
(https://img00.deviantart.net/be5a/i/2018/218/5/0/20180717152339_1_by_jack_o_tales-dcjct6j.jpg)
Why am I not surprised these options exist....once again, elegant complexity. Great stuff.
Loin moistening screenshots.
Cool stuff!
What strikes me immediately is how elegant the UI is. At first glance it seems complicated, but it turns out its actually very efficient and straight forward!
Lots of handy little things are here. Like dragging and dropping population to a 'spaceport' (in the form of a box in the lower left of the screen) in order to send them off to new worlds.
The indicators in a ring around a planet to get a sense of (over)population quickly. Neat stuff!
Quote from: Yskonyn on August 06, 2018, 01:18:48 PM
Cool stuff!
What strikes me immediately is how elegant the UI is. At first glance it seems complicated, but it turns out its actually very efficient and straight forward!
Lots of handy little things are here. Like dragging and dropping population to a 'spaceport' (in the form of a box in the lower left of the screen) in order to send them off to new worlds.
The indicators in a ring around a planet to get a sense of (over)population quickly. Neat stuff!
Funny, but my main problem with the UI the first time though was that I overlooked the many simple ways this game does things simply because it didn't expect them.
^I agree. A lot of the more complex or intricate features are easy to overlook because the UI is so streamlined.
For instance, management of armies is hidden behind a rather small graphic within the Military Management menu. Likewise, advanced battlefleet tactics are hidden behind a relatively obscure plus sign on the battle screen, etc.
Maybe its actually too streamlined? I know the UI is something that receives a fair amount of criticism from some.
Looks great
I think the simplicity of the UI accounts for any complaints about a lack of depth. I HAVE seen several comments about lack of control of ground fights, Control of Naval battles, etc. Same complaints as the first.
I just think that some players don't bother to allow themselves to Actually play the game and let it unfold. They don't allow the tech and hero's to advance to unlock different actions. They don't bother to read the events and explore the various options. In their mind because you can't directly control ships in battle and only have a few building options to start, it's shallow
This is a game where thumbing through the manual is actually very beneficial to the player. It really shows off the "hidden complexity" and will make players aware of some of those systems that are not obvious during the first few play-throughs.
Quote from: mikeck on August 08, 2018, 08:13:43 AMIn their mind because you can't directly control ships in battle and only have a few building options to start, it's shallow
In my understanding, the game is a 'Galactic Ruler Simulator'. You give your orders to fleets and your AI 'admirals'/heroes do the rest. For me, the key to fleet strategy is choice of hero leader, fleet composition, load-out, technology, choosing the right fleet capabilities to match with specific enemies and positioning of the fleets at critical points, where they can either defend locally or respond in due time. Once I got into how it works I forgot about not being able to be a fleet admiral as there is plenty to keep you busy.
I don't disagree. But there are a lot of players out there who feel that the lack of control over ships (like in stellaris) means that the combat is "shallow" or "dumbed down". I disagree. But my point is that because of the excellent UI, the options and actions you have available in this game are extensive and deep...it just doesn't look like it. That, plus the slow pace with which tactical options, building options, etc become available, means people play it for only a few hours and declare it to be "shallow"
So yes, in some cases, a great UI can actually make the game appear shallow Instead or simply streamlined
I fond this YouTube video to be quite helpful in understanding the game mechanics at a deeper level. It covers 15 functions but is only 20 minutes long. I understand the game much better having watched it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsXsPxvqK7k
Patch out:
Patch notes 1.3.9
[OPTIMIZATION]
General performance optimizations
[AI]
General bugfixes
Fixed an issue when AI would not properly seek to unlock a technological stage
Fixed an issue where pathfinding would use an invalid node
Fixed an issue where Behemoths would not be able to restore planets properly
Fixed AI Hissho being able to interact with pirates
Fixed an issue where debug text was displayed when the United Empire AI proposed contracts or sent mood messages
Fixed an issue where AIs would not send diplomatic contracts when they *totally* should
[BALANCE]
Vodyani "Hunt" and "Raze" actions will no longer have an Approval penalty
Changed Hissho population trait to +1 Manpower per turn
Obliterator cooldown reduction exclusive tech is now at -25% on all game speeds
[IMPROVEMENTS]
Added a scroll view to the Side Panels Area to avoid side panels exiting through the bottom of the screen in the System Management View in some rare cases
Added a tooltip to inform players about unlocking population slots when upgrading their Arks
Added a new Empire Improvement to unlock more Singularity slots for Riftborn empires on stages 3, 4 and 5 of the Science and Exploration quadrant
[FIXES]
[BEHEMOTHS]
Fixed health discrepancy issue between ship designer and ship design for Behemoths when technologies increasing Behemoths health were researched
Fixed an issue where the Behemoth bonuses system label icon was not visible when playing as a custom faction with the Extreme Foremen Population Bonus
Fixed an error when a Behemoth terraformation was cancelled due to fleets having moved
Vodyani Behemoth-specific technologies in the Science and Exploration quadrant now have the correct Vodyani-specific icon
Unfallen will no longer obtain an automatic Citadel shield on captured enemy Home Systems
Fixed an inconsistency between the "Launch Mining Probe" tooltip and the tooltip of empire resources regarding mined resource income rounding
Fixed Citadels having no upkeep (it is now feedbacked in the System Dust)
C3 Centers will also affect Citadel upkeep
Added a cap to C3 Center upkeep multiplier
Technology stage cost reductions from Behemoths will now cap at 75% even if you stack Behemoths on a node
Made starting with a juggernaut a faction trait instead of a specific of the Hissho affinity
[ECONOMY]
Having low Approval while having a negative Dust upkeep will not generate Dust anymore
[POLITICS]
The Z'vali unique law will now bypass blockades and sieges
Fixed an assert upon accessing the Senate screen with an empty political assembly
Added Keii cost to changing government for Hissho empires
[RELICS]
Slightly increased probability for curiosities to spawn for pirate lairs and minor faction assimilation system relics
The System Relics: Pre-Galactic Markers notification no longer lists the names of custom factions as debug text
Fixed an issue where the anomaly spawned from Remains that are generated after ground battles did not have an image
[ACHIEVEMENTS]
Fixed "Are you not entertained" achievement unlocking at the end of the turn it was actually unlocked
[FACTIONS]
Fixed Illo assimilation trait
Added missing tooltips for minor factions in the Custom Faction Screen
Fixed minor relations bonuses and quests not being lost when the minor faction's system is razed
Extracted unfallen specific empire improvement from coordination pact unlock (caused confusion)
Fixed an issue where a misleading message was displayed on a system for pirate marks when the player plays as the Hissho faction
The "Meditation" module for the Vodyani will no longer be displayed for custom factions with the Vodyani visual affinity
Corrected the Sisters of Mercy Citizen trait not being grayed out when Illo Citizen was selected
[TECHNOLOGIES]
Fixed an issue where debug text was displayed when hovering over technology unlocks from the "Research completed" notification
Fixed issue with Hissho being unable to colonize Steppe and Tundra planets with Hardship ready
Fixed Description of Fealty Fundation level 2 & 3 (used the same title and description as level 1)
[QUESTS]
Fixed an issue where the reward for the Take Arms objective of the "To do or not to do" Sower population quest was not fully visible when playing as Hissho
The "Words in Private" Behemoth quest is not triggered anymore when the Supremacy DLC is disabled
Fixed an issue where the tooltip of the Academy Quest special Attack Fleet Action displayed an incorrect battle icon
Changed the objective of Cultural Appropriation in order to add Dust-related buildings (like trading Companies" or "Buyout"
Population quests are no longer triggered for custom factions
The Pilgrims "Muddled Mystics" minor faction quest objective made reference to the Approval mechanic when playing with an Honor Bound faction, now it's over
In Galvran "The Good Old Days" minor faction: "House" quest option made reference to the Approval mechanic when playing with an Honor Bound faction
"Ghosts and Dust" Academy quest: if there is no Trade route: the quest is failed. There is no specific failure message (waiting for a proper translation)
The "Reclaim" objective of the "Veneration or Vilification" Hissho population quest can be completed via invasion if Sykagoja is colonized by another faction
[SYSTEM MANAGEMENT]
Fixed an issue where the Fealty Foundation Hissho specific planetary specialization displayed a placeholder icon in the system scan view
Fixed an issue where the Fealty Foundation specialization was not grayed out when the user did not have enough Keii
Fixed two issues with Hissho's ancestral reverence (couldn't be queued on Major Home System that belonged to other Major factions and had no effect if used on minor faction home system)
Corrected the effect description tooltip of the "Resilience" trait
Modified inner working of Ancestral Deference to solve a tooltip issue
Fixed an issue where the Spaceport section of the System Command Banner exits through the base of the screen when a wrecked ark is present in the system
Added a tooltip to warn players you can't reconstruct unique planets
[FLEET]
Fixed an issue where the "Merge" fleet action button was available when selecting a non-specialized Behemoth and a Hero only fleet
Fixed wrong base loadout of the Hissho medium coordinator
Removed Kamikaze fleet action on Argosy of custom faction with Hissho gameplay + involuntary nomad
Removed exception when healing the fighter bombers at the end of a battle
Fixed vision sharing not working properly when a fleet is created
Fixed mining probe (stacked even though they shouldn't)
Fixed hissho specific mining module "Gouge of the Tonatsi" which didn't have a FIDS mining effect
Fixed honor zone being displayed in scan view (MAC)
Basic Entropy Missiles are now going straight to avoid missing
Ground Battle: Fixed defender damage multiplier being multiplied by 1000 when applying the Amianthoid system upgrade recipe
[HEROES]
Fixed an issue where the "Select a Hero" button in the Military screen fleet list was enabled for non-specialized Behemoths
Hero Management Screen tutorial doesn't display a flat amount of turns before the next assignment in order to avoid confusion
[NOTIFICATIONS]
Added a notification toggle option for the post ground battle decision notification in the Options screen
Players are no longer falsely informed at the end of the ground battle cinematic when claiming a decisive victory against a pirate lair that they can choose the fate of the system
Reduced the appearance parameters for the Remains notification in order to have them pop only for involved empires
The Mining Probe tutorial does trigger when conditions are met: right after the Behemoth tutorial
Several parts of the tutorial mentioned Approval when playing as Hissho
The player is no longer falsely informed that the ground invasion may continue next turn when he is defeated during a failed ground invasion attempt
Fixed an issue where the "Outpost alert" notification displayed the same image as the Hissho specific "Outpost maxed out" notification
Added option to enable/disable notification about minor introduced in rev#40801
Fixed Hissho outpost actions tutorial not showing up when the "Enable colonization cutscenes" option is set to true
[MULTIPLAYER]
Fixed desync on hot join related to Special node control effects
Fixed desync on unfallen colonization
Fixed desync on visibility caused by guard/blockade combo
Fixed desync on hot join caused by alliance & vision sharing
Fixed desync on hot join related to relation with pirates
So, I've found myself kind of bored with the mid-game in Stellaris, and based on recommendations here, I thought I'd try this game. It's on sale on Steam for 66% off, so I thought I'd give it a try. They're offering me a bunch of options:
- Basic game for $14
- ES 2 Collection for $17 (includes a couple new heroes and the expanded soundtrack--meh--plus the Vaulters faction (yeah!), 2 Minor Factions, and a bunch of new quests
I'll skip the "Universe Collection" and the Endless DLC Churn for $120. Any recommendations? I'm leaning towards spending the extra $3, but the micro-transaction DLC stuff pisses me off so I thought I'd ask for second opinions here!
Get the edition with the Vaulters for the extra $3 for sure.
This may be the best version of the game. I'm not too thrilled with the Behemoths that got introduced with the Hissho expansion. They seem hugely unbalancing to me. But probably I just haven't adapted to the new demands of the game.
I really can't sing the praises of ES2 enough. I bought it on sale not too long ago, more or less on a whim, as I liked but definitely did not love ES1. I really think it's stupendous. The best Space 4x I've played since Distant Worlds.
I booted up Stellaris the other night, as I was thinking about picking up some DLC during the Steam sale. The game just leaves me cold. Hard to put my finger on why. But as far as I'm concerned, ES2 >>> Stellaris, hands down.
This game is great with amazing stories, music and artwork (also love the cartoons)...too bad the game bores me to death.... :-\
There is new free DLC of extra fleet skins:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/921010/Endless_Space_2__Renegade_Fleets/
I'm finding the mid game to bog down something fierce.
I also agree that I don't understand the concept of behemoths. Given that you can't put them in a fleet they seem quite limited as true attack vehicles.
Again maybe I'm just missing something.
Just a reminder that there are several types of behemoths.....one is for helping the economy and one is for increasing your science production and one is for Military use. I use the military one for dealing with pirates and for holding locations early game. It takes a sizable enemy force to take them down.
Gotcha trooper. I started playing this game pretty late so I was just getting the hang of the basics when the expansion dropped. So it's all me.
Still love it. Ranks up there as one of my favorite 4x games.