Apr 3, 2018

Sid Meier's Civilization® V

Welcome to our round up of the best 4X games on PC. Ever since the term '4X' was coined for the original Master of Orion, we’ve been Exploring, Expanding, Exploiting, and Exterminating our way through fantasy, history, and the depths of space. The genre has seen something of a renaissance in the last half decade, and while it’s great to have options, there’s also a lot to sort through.

Not every 4X game is for everyone, so we’ve taken a look at all the major players to enter the stage in recent years and why you might, or might not, want to play them.

Dominions 5

Let's start with an unusual one. Dominions 5 is a 4X game about warring gods and their fantastical armies. You start by designing your deity, which could be a raging dragon or a mystical inanimate rock. Turn by turn you muster armies, recruit wizards to research apocalyptic magic spells, and fend off the attentions of other pretender gods.

Dominions' visuals are... old school, let's say. You need to dig into the community and get some decent user-made maps but, once you've done that and scanned the manual you'll find a detailed strategy game that generates mad stories. I'm used to controlling spaceships and cavalry in 4X games, only in Dominions can I send an alliance of satyrs, wyverns, elemental spirits and ghosts off to fight some atlanteans. The AI is easily to beat once you have played a few games but the game thrives in multiplayer about other people.

Who's it for: Players happy to get past primitive visuals to unpick a detailed magic system and command dazzling and varied factions.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

A unique blend of 4X and RTS set in space, Rebellion is more fast-paced than most of the games on this list. It’s a standalone expansion, but also the definitive version of Sins currently available—so you don’t need to worry about grabbing the original to have a good time.

Who it’s for: Existing RTS fans who want to branch out into 4X, and players who like to get to the action fast and maintain a challenging pace. This one may be a little chaotic for the turn-based armchair generals of the world.

Fallen Enchantress

This turn-based fantasy 4X revolves heavily around Hero characters and a faction leader called a sovereign who can go on RPG-style quests and be used in many aspects of empire management, not just limited to combat.

Who it’s for: Classic RPG fans will feel right at home with the quest system, and the customizable fantasy armies are likely to appeal to tabletop miniature painters of the Warhammer and Hordes persuasions.

Endless Space

One of the most intriguing aspects of the universe in which Endless Space (and its sequel) are set is the mythology behind it. Much revolves around the ancient empire known as the Endless, and the quasi-magical Dust they left behind.Who it’s for: A good all-around entry level space 4X that will also challenge experienced players, and holds added appeal for anyone who wants to unravel facets of a mysterious, pre-written story while dominating the galaxy. It’s also available for beans now that ES2 is in Early Access.

Sid Meier’s Civilization 5

If we could crown a king of 4X, Sid Meier’s Civilization would have little competition for that throne. Taking one of an armload of civilizations from the ancient to the modern age while competing for various victory conditions, this is the series that has championed the genre for years.

Who it’s for: Even with Civ VI out, Civilization V frequently goes on sale for absurdly low prices, so if you’re not sure you’ll like the series and just want to try it out without dropping the full $60 on the new one, by all means take advantage. It’s certainly an excellent, entertaining game in its own right, particularly with the Brave New World expansion. Plus, the mod scene is excellent.

Europa Universalis IV

While most of the other games on this list put you in a randomly-generated world or galaxy, EU4 is built on an extremely in-depth recreation of Earth between the years of 1444 and 1821. You can lead any nation on the planet, from France to the Comanche, through centuries of colonization, exploration, and technological discovery.

Who it's for: Considering it’s the highest review score I’ve ever given out, it’s almost easier who to ask who it’s not for. The complexity of the simulation and sprawl of interlocking systems for trade, war, and diplomacy might intimidate newcomers to 4X and grand strategy, but EU4’s interface and tooltips do an excellent job of helping you wade into the shallow end and get a feel for the water.

Eador: Masters of the Broken World

Taking the role of a demigod battling others of your ilk for control of the shards (all that’s left of the eponymous broken world), Eador is another 4X game that’s hard to categorize. It features 4X, RPG, and board game-like, tactical turn-based elements.

Who it’s for: Eador’s greatest strength might just be how different its setup is compared to most other 4X games. The breaking of the game world into shards, which each behave like a smaller version of a strategic map in a game like Total War or Crusader Kings, means you’ll enjoy it if you’re looking for something a bit different than the standard map conquest or flipping largely static planets in a vast expanse of space to your color.

Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth

Taking the Civilization formula into space, Beyond Earth casts you as the head of one of the first human colonies on an alien planet. You guide its development and compete with other colonial concerns using mechanics that will feel highly familiar if you’ve played Civ 5.Who it’s for: Beyond Earth is, in my opinion, a bit of a misstep in the Civ series, lacking elements that drive its siblings to success. While it has some cool things going for it, like a nonlinear tech system that allows you to evolve your futuristic technology in a number of distinct directions, it ultimately feels like a high budget Civ 5 mod that didn’t hold my interest for more than a couple dozen hours.

Endless Legend

Similar to its sci-fi counterpart Endless Space, the unfolding fantasy epic of Endless Legend takes place in a richly realized world with character and backstory to spare. Civilizations are highly customizable, and each presents distinct opportunities.

Who it’s for: We awarded Endless Legend a Commendation for Design in 2014. It has its foundation in the time-tested elements that make 4X what it is, but is unafraid to build on and remix them in ways that will especially interest long-time players who might be suffering from genre fatigue. Beyond that, anyone just wanting to explore a rich and interesting new fantasy setting won’t be at all disappointed.

Warlock II: The Exiled

Warlock is pretty close to what I’d imagine a well-done fantasy overhaul of Civilization might look like. It makes good use of neutral factions on the map to be more than just an early-game annoyance.

Who it’s for: Due to its relative simplicity and adherence to genre norms, this is a fairly welcoming first step for those wanting to branch out into fantasy 4X from other subgenres. It also has a sharper sense of humor than its more dour, grandiose counterparts like Endless Legend and Fallen Enchantress.

Distant Worlds: Universe

Allowing you to discover the stars in a pausable, real-time galaxy, Distant Worlds features one of the more robust models of a civilian economy (which can run on auto-pilot while you handle the political stuff) I’ve seen in a 4X game.

Who it’s for: Aside from just being an overall well-designed 4X, Distant Worlds will have a special appeal for those who like to focus on exploration. This is because it really succeeds where so many other sci-fi games have failed: it makes space feel really, really big.

Star Ruler 2

Similar to Sins of a Solar Empire, Star Ruler 2 is a bit of a 4X/RTS hybrid. It boasts quite in-depth systems for diplomacy and planetary development.

Who it’s for: This one skews toward the higher end of the complexity scale, and the sheer amount of fine control you have over its systems might be intimidating to newcomers. If you’re looking for gigantic, animated space battles, however, it may be worth your time to wrap your head around it.

Galactic Civilizations III

Galactic Civilizations has cemented itself as the other 'blockbuster' contender in the 4X space, and GalCiv III is the most polished and extravagant entry to date.Who it’s for: If you’re sick of cookie-cutter victory conditions, one of the most positive changes GalCiv 3 made to the series’ formula was turning victory into a set of objectives you can pick and choose from. So even two different runs going for the same victory condition might look different.

Stellaris

Stellaris takes Paradox’s historical formula and blasts it to the stars where you’ll manage military, political, and economic aspects of your space empire.Who it’s for: Fans of historical grand strategy will feel at home in Stellaris, but for those used to more traditional 4X, it takes some getting used to. There’s a much heavier focus on politics, with elements like your form of government and the will of your citizens playing a large role.

Master of Orion

The most recent in the lauded Master of Orion series doesn’t do much we haven’t seen before, but it plays the old hits well and wraps them in stratospheric production value and some big name sci-fi voice talent.Who it’s for: Despite being so new, MoO is bog standard 4X. Not much has changed here since its 1996 predecessor other than the graphics. That does make it a nice starting point for total newbies, but the real draw is hearing John de Lancie lament the war that's brewing between his empire and yours.

Endless Space 2

Endless Space 2 builds on some of the best ideas of its predecessor, this time crafting more unique story content for each of the distinct interstellar empires.Who it’s for: It shouldn’t surprise you at this point in the list that connoisseurs of interactive storytelling should jump for anything that says 'Endless' on it. Endless Space 2 is also arguably a better starting point for newcomers than the first one, as it’s made lots of improvements to your ability to access important, contextual information.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Civilization VI emerges from its chrysalis to reveal the most transformative and fresh take on the series in its storied history. Also, it has Sean Bean.

Who it’s for: Just about anyone who enjoys turn-based strategy. It presents lots of new challenges and opportunities even for the most weathered series veterans, but also remains among the most inviting 4X games for first-timers.

Feb 8, 2018

Stronger, smarter, faster - v2.8 for Galactic Civilizations III brings major AI improvements

Galactic Civilizations III - IslandDog

AI for the massive-scale space strategy game now more human-like thanks to v2.8's "supreme commander" system update

For a complete list of changes, see the changelog at the bottom of the post!

What’s New in v2.8:

v2.8 leverages one of the greatest advantages of Galactic Civilizations III: its new, 64-bit, core-neutral game engine. Since most PC gamers have at least 4 CPU cores, we took the opportunity to develop a semi-genetic algorithm based AI that allows the computer to play much more like a human would.

GalCiv III is already known for its good computer opponents. To continue creating new depth of experience for our playerbase, the new asynchronous “supreme commander” AI will observe and send priorities for computer empires, which will feel much more like playing against another human.

We want players to have lots of viable strategic choices. To that end, we have been making lots of balance updates over the past year. v2.8 will help players play as a “tall” empire as well as a “wide” empire by giving them the potential to tilt the balance of the galaxy through smaller empires and well-run nation states.

The final focus of the new update has been in the ongoing drive to make the game more approachable without sacrificing its celebrated depth. A number of new UI elements to streamline gameplay, additional in-game descriptions, and more. Some changes are minor improvements, like moving rarely-used features to a different place, but other changes like defense modifications for ships will make the game even more intuitive and satisfying.

http://www.galciv3.com

http://store.steampowered.com/app/226860/Galactic_Civilizations_III/

v2.8 Changelog

Required starbase spacing reduced from 4 to 3.
Balance pass on defenses based on new combat update that makes defenses a lot more worthwhile.
Updated AI ship blueprints to reflect the changes to the battle system.
Pacing improvements for the Crusade tech tree.
Fixed typo. Near bay ships...to Nearby ships.
Industrial Sector maint reduced from 2 to 1
Recruit Celebrity requires an Aurorus Arbortetum instead of Helios Ore because, uh, why would any celebrity be interested in raw ore? How does that even work? Hey, famous movie star, here's some metallic ore for you. Please do a USO tour. Because... you know, you'll get some ore! As the famous saying goes, you will attract more celebrities with flowers than...ore.
Fixed shipyard window to always show the military production generated by the sponsors regardless of if there's a ship in the build queue or not
Fixed issue in influence system where it was displaying "Foreign ship in your ZOC" alerts for ships owned by allied players
Torians can once again increase their population cap (opt-in bug)
Restored missing improvement and tech text that was missing from the opt-in.
Commander ships are no longer stackable in a fleet
Mega Resort -- changed the bonus from +25% bonus to a flat +4.
Financial buildings now provide +1 to influence growth
Major boost to defenses: Defenses are now reduced by the squareroot of damage rather than full damage making defenses much better.
Base Research Lab returned to base game
Cultural Festival now requires Cultural Influence
Peacekeeper event won't trigger until at least turn 200 (instead of 100)
Defenses on Peacekeepers reduced so that they can be worn down faster.
"Go to" renamed to Auto Pilot.
More AI research focus attention
AI improvements to planetary improvement choosing.
Cosmetic change to the FOW color.
Cosmetic change to the size of ships on the main map.
Cosmetic change to the starbox visuals.
When receiving messages from a Civ, it names the Civ in the title bar.
Added tooltips to the various "idle" button states.
Added tooltip support for notifications.
Clarified message for insufficient population to eject a colony ship.
Crash fix in the event that the AI can't negotiate with another AI for a tech trade.
Fixed AI related multiplayer desync bug
AI better at early game administration resource and late game invasion legions
Upgrading to a ship to a colony ship class penalty increased.
You can no longer colonize planets with empty colony ships. This also addresses a problem where the Yor AI could quickly colonize the entire galaxy.
You can no longer launch colony ships from a starbase without population

Gameplay

AI now will adjust how big its fleets need to be based on the assignment of the fleet. Thus, scouts and survey ships don't need escorts while mega fleets now need larger fleets.
AI smarter at picking quality ship designs.
AI much better at going after key technologies based on the conditions of the game
Streamlined the base game tech tree.
Tweaked the AI fleet governor to use defenders.
Adjusted the culture tree to be more in line with the planetary improvements
Set default colony ship population to 1.0
Minimum population for colony ships increased from 0.5 to 1.
Decreased the spacing between civilization starting positions and pirates
Base game laser weapon now comes with Militarization tech.
Nerfed several of the crazy Lost Treasures DLC rewards
Navigation Center is now a Galactic Wonder
Eliminated ship moves going up based on the level of certain planetary improvements
Galactic Navigation Center global moves decreased from 3 to 1 (yeeesh!) ...and it now longer provides an additional 0.5 points per level! (double yeesh!)
Galactic Navigator's Guild benefit reduced from providing 4 moves per turn to 1! ...and it no longer provides an additional 0.5 points per level in moves!
Galactic Mainframe research bonus increased from 0.3 to 0.5
Starport level benefit increased from 0.5 to 1
Synthetic Race population increase Promethion cost reduced from 10 to 1
Synthetic Race population increase Duranitum cost reduced from 5 to 1
Synthetic Race population increase improvement increases by 0.5 instead of 1
Changed default invasion from 1 legions to 2.

Bugs

Base Game: Custom factions with the "Raider Ship Style" will now get the proper ships awarded by events and anomalies.
Fixed crash in battle tooltip if privateer is stationed by itself in a starbase or shipyard
Fixed several improvements tooltips that were saying they were both "one per player" and "one per galaxy"
Fixed typos and sTough
Added dialog if the game fails to start because the graphics driver fails to initialize. This is usually caused by out-of-date drivers.

Feb 8, 2018

Stronger, smarter, faster - v2.8 for Galactic Civilizations III brings major AI improvements

Galactic Civilizations III - IslandDog

AI for the massive-scale space strategy game now more human-like thanks to v2.8's "supreme commander" system update

For a complete list of changes, see the changelog at the bottom of the post!

What’s New in v2.8:

http://www.galciv3.com

http://store.steampowered.com/app/226860/Galactic_Civilizations_III/

v2.8 Changelog

Required starbase spacing reduced from 4 to 3.
Balance pass on defenses based on new combat update that makes defenses a lot more worthwhile.
Updated AI ship blueprints to reflect the changes to the battle system.
Pacing improvements for the Crusade tech tree.
Fixed typo. Near bay ships...to Nearby ships.
Industrial Sector maint reduced from 2 to 1
Recruit Celebrity requires an Aurorus Arbortetum instead of Helios Ore because, uh, why would any celebrity be interested in raw ore? How does that even work? Hey, famous movie star, here's some metallic ore for you. Please do a USO tour. Because... you know, you'll get some ore! As the famous saying goes, you will attract more celebrities with flowers than...ore.
Fixed shipyard window to always show the military production generated by the sponsors regardless of if there's a ship in the build queue or not
Fixed issue in influence system where it was displaying "Foreign ship in your ZOC" alerts for ships owned by allied players
Torians can once again increase their population cap (opt-in bug)
Restored missing improvement and tech text that was missing from the opt-in.
Commander ships are no longer stackable in a fleet
Mega Resort -- changed the bonus from +25% bonus to a flat +4.
Financial buildings now provide +1 to influence growth
Major boost to defenses: Defenses are now reduced by the squareroot of damage rather than full damage making defenses much better.
Base Research Lab returned to base game
Cultural Festival now requires Cultural Influence
Peacekeeper event won't trigger until at least turn 200 (instead of 100)
Defenses on Peacekeepers reduced so that they can be worn down faster.
"Go to" renamed to Auto Pilot.
More AI research focus attention
AI improvements to planetary improvement choosing.
Cosmetic change to the FOW color.
Cosmetic change to the size of ships on the main map.
Cosmetic change to the starbox visuals.
When receiving messages from a Civ, it names the Civ in the title bar.
Added tooltips to the various "idle" button states.
Added tooltip support for notifications.
Clarified message for insufficient population to eject a colony ship.
Crash fix in the event that the AI can't negotiate with another AI for a tech trade.
Fixed AI related multiplayer desync bug
AI better at early game administration resource and late game invasion legions
Upgrading to a ship to a colony ship class penalty increased.
You can no longer colonize planets with empty colony ships. This also addresses a problem where the Yor AI could quickly colonize the entire galaxy.
You can no longer launch colony ships from a starbase without population

Gameplay

AI now will adjust how big its fleets need to be based on the assignment of the fleet. Thus, scouts and survey ships don't need escorts while mega fleets now need larger fleets.
AI smarter at picking quality ship designs.
AI much better at going after key technologies based on the conditions of the game
Streamlined the base game tech tree.
Tweaked the AI fleet governor to use defenders.
Adjusted the culture tree to be more in line with the planetary improvements
Set default colony ship population to 1.0
Minimum population for colony ships increased from 0.5 to 1.
Decreased the spacing between civilization starting positions and pirates
Base game laser weapon now comes with Militarization tech.
Nerfed several of the crazy Lost Treasures DLC rewards
Navigation Center is now a Galactic Wonder
Eliminated ship moves going up based on the level of certain planetary improvements
Galactic Navigation Center global moves decreased from 3 to 1 (yeeesh!) ...and it now longer provides an additional 0.5 points per level! (double yeesh!)
Galactic Navigator's Guild benefit reduced from providing 4 moves per turn to 1! ...and it no longer provides an additional 0.5 points per level in moves!
Galactic Mainframe research bonus increased from 0.3 to 0.5
Starport level benefit increased from 0.5 to 1
Synthetic Race population increase Promethion cost reduced from 10 to 1
Synthetic Race population increase Duranitum cost reduced from 5 to 1
Synthetic Race population increase improvement increases by 0.5 instead of 1
Changed default invasion from 1 legions to 2.

Bugs

Base Game: Custom factions with the "Raider Ship Style" will now get the proper ships awarded by events and anomalies.
Fixed crash in battle tooltip if privateer is stationed by itself in a starbase or shipyard
Fixed several improvements tooltips that were saying they were both "one per player" and "one per galaxy"
Fixed typos and sTough
Added dialog if the game fails to start because the graphics driver fails to initialize. This is usually caused by out-of-date drivers.

Jan 23, 2018

Galactic Civilizations III: Intrigue Expansion Delivers Politics on a Galactic Scale

Galactic Civilizations III - IslandDog

Now Announcing Galactic Civilizations III: Intrigue!

Establish a reign that starts on a single homeworld and expands across the galaxy.
Billions of citizens. Thousands of light years. One strong leader: you.

Assemble your cabinet of advisors, choose a form of government, and
earn the trust and faith of your people in Intrigue!

KEY FEATURES

Form your own government.
Bet you wish you'd paid more attention in your high school government classes!
Each style of governing has its own advantages and disadvantages and affect the way you'll run your civilization. Your technology, species, and cultural ideology will determine what types of governments are available to choose from. You'll also have the opportunity to appoint a cabinet comprised of your citizens to help customize your civilization and how it will operate. Some forms of government require elections, which means that you'll need to keep your populations happy in order to gain all the benefits and bonuses.

Establish a commonwealth.
Put your colonies on auto-pilot!
As your empire grows, worlds on the outskirts will want to become independent. By granting these worlds a status of commonwealth, they will be converted into an ally with a favorable disposition and will be inclined to implement your requests on the galactic scene. Thanks to the established AI, these civilizations will operate effectively without too much micromanagement or oversight required.

Buy, trade, and sell in the Galactic Market.
There's always a good deal at the Bazaar!
Well, maybe not always, but that’s what they’ll tell you, anyway. Previously, resources could only be obtained by trading with other civilizations, some of which might have been unwilling to make a deal. Now, you'll be able to purchase resources from a galactic market where the prices are determined completely by supply and demand.

New technologies, planetary improvements, weapons, and more!
Newer isn't always better, but in this case...it is.
Awesome new ship modules and devastating weapons, unique planetary improvements, and technologies designed to improve your government are packed in Intrigue. All of these new additions will require galactic resources, which is what makes the Galactic Market so important!

Keep up with current events using the Galactic News Network.
In space, there is no biased reporting - that's because we've hired a robot to handle it!
Check the news to monitor who's allying with who, who's declared war on each other, and many other activities that are going on across the galaxy.

Galactic Civilizations III: Intrigue coming Spring 2018!
Add it to your Steam Wishlist today. For more information, check out www.galciv3.com/intrigue.

Galactic Civilizations III is one of the largest strategy sandboxes ever made. Start with a single world and expand across the galaxy through diplomacy, trade, cultural hegemony, or military conquest in this single-player or multiplayer 4X strategy game. How will you rule your galaxy?