Welcome. Welcome to the beginning of endless endlessness. Well, OK, I suppose the endless nature of this endlessness technically started with Endless Space, Amplitude’s rock-solid, ox-strong 4X space strategy. Now, however, the developer with Xs for eyes (they’re not unconscious; their eyes are literally the letter X) is headed in a markedly different direction with Endless Legend, a 4X fantasy about magic, discovery, and an impending, inexplicable apocalypse. It takes place in the “Endless universe,” so I guess that makes it a prequel? Or maybe a bunch of space ships will crash into your bustling metropolis at the last possible second, revealing that the two games were coexisting the entire time>.

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Space is ever-expanding. It is, for all intents and purposes, endless. Thus, when Amplitude asserted as much with much-loved 4x strategy Endless Space, I was totally on board. “Space? Endlessness?” I said. “Yep, all checks out. Looks like I won’t have to get the Title Police involved after all. You folks behave yourselves now, ya hear?” And then I strolled off into the hungry hills, ever vigilant for a new entry in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. But dungeons? Those can’t just go on forever. I mean, it’d defeat the purpose. Why lock some doer of grievous wrongs up in a never-ending expanse? “You are hereby confined to infinity. There are no limits on what you can accomplish. Good luck, sucker.” I might just have to let Dungeon of the Endless off the hook, though, because of reasons>. Mainly, it looks pretty great – even if we don’t know a whole lot about it yet.

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Step one to making a nice space game: make space. Step 2.: make things that fight in space. Step 3: decide on the genre. Step 4: DLC! Lovely 4X Space strategy series Endless Space has already gone through the first three steps of that plan, but as everyone knows nowadays games aren’t complete without a scab of DLC forming on their flawless skin, and Endless Space is particularly pretty so it’d be highly noticeable. It’s characterful to have scars, and today is the day that Amplitude Studios launch the Disharmony DLC to scrape up its good looks. A trailer explaining what and why is below. (more…)

Lovely 4X space-fancying game Endless Space has an expansion pack in the (space) oven. It’s going to introduce a new faction and new AI. Amplitude explain: “A new faction with a unique play style, “The Harmony”, will make its appearance. Battles will be even more intense with the addition of fighters and bombers, battle formations, a new targeting system, a redesigned weapon system and enhanced invasion mechanics. The AI opponents will be significantly more unpredictable with the implementation of the new ‘Adaptive Multi-Agent Artificial Intelligence System’.” Sounds intelligent. And adaptive.

Trailer in the depths. (more…)

Amplitude have consistently done things the right way, as far as I’m aware. They began well by making a superb space strategy game, Endless Space, which is a fundamental part of the development process. When they finished the game, they allowed the people who bought it to play, although those people did have to register the game on Steam which caused some grumbling. You’re probably thinking they slipped up by charging outrageous amounts for inconsequential DLC but you’d be wrong. The fourth expansion has just landed and it’s as free as the last three. This one adds new random events, anomalies and heroes, and allows further tinkering with gas giants. The game will be discounted by 50% until March 18th.

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Endless Space is free to download and play on Steam until 9pm GMT this Sunday and its strategic turn-based space-conquering is fantastic, so you’re going to have to cancel your plans to do some Christmas shopping, hunt sharks or play with your new Nintendo-Box. There are so many space games in the crowd-funding mixer at present but it would be very foolish to forget that this year has already seen such a stellar release. To sonically celebrate the free weekend, the ace soundtrack is also available on a ‘name your price’ basis.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Endless Space pre-release and I’ve been dabbling and preparing to tell you wot I think of the launch version. In the meantime, I fired up my interstellar communicator and beamed some messages to the development team, specifically Mathieu Girard CEO of Amplitude Studios. Across the infinite void I fired these queries and across the infinite void, answers came. Peruse them below.>

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Endless Space, the 4X spacy strategy is now out on Steam, and has a launch trailer with lots of pretty explosions. It also explains that in the end, it’s a game about dust. I am bemused by the role that dust appears to play in fiction. From Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, to CCP’s EVE spin-off, it’s hard to think of a more innocuous object to take such an important role. Where are the stories about fluff? And lint? Where are my games about loose bits of thread? I have been sidetracked. You can see the launch trailer below.

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My plan is to release a 7X game. eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate, eXasperation, eXboyfriend, eXit ab urso actus. But until my great day reaches us, you’ll have to put up with just the four Xs, and as soon as the 4th July. That’s the date that’s just been put on Endless Space, Amplitude’s scifi strategy that’s looking rather good.

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Maybe the joy isn’t quite infinite and maybe the space isn’t endless in the sense that might be imagined on first exposure to the title, but turn-based space conquest game Endless Space is already the second great entry in my 2012 feast of strategy gaming. If Crusader Kings II was a roasted hog with a side order of roasted hog, washed down with a keg of mead containing roasted hogs as booze-croutons, Endless Space is a vacuum-packed futurepill of a meal: nutritious, filled with flavour, perfectly formed. And it’s only just reached beta.>

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