Big, slow, sweeping strategy games expose their rules in a way no other game does. Call of Duty doesn t have floating numbers above enemy heads, telling you their movement speed, for example. But in most 4X and grand strategy games, there is no attempt to hide exactly how everything works: the stats, their interactions, are all laid out and plain to see. Yet these games are utterly dependent on their ability to evoke a sense of place, scale, and history they have to be much more than just a fancy chessboard, they have to feel alive, or they re just not much fun. How can these games survive and thrive under such conflicting pressures? I spoke to three of the world s top strategy game designers, from Firaxis, Paradox and Amplitude, to find out. … [visit site to read more]

I don’t wish to sound callous but: if you find someone imprisoned inside a neutron star, leave them there. They’re probably in there for a very good reason. And apparently they’re powerful enough to survive being inside a neutron star. Leave well enough alone. But a spacefool like you will charge right in, I know, eager to complete the new quest which has arrived in Endless Space 2 [official site] with the launch of its ‘Stellar Prisoner’ update. Yup, Amplitude’s space strategy game left early access in May (it’s great, by the way) but updates are still rolling. … [visit site to read more]

Endless Space 2 s races are a fascinating bunch who wouldn t seem out of place in a Mos Eisley cantina, but maybe you ve had enough of them. Or perhaps you want your next galaxy to be full of new aliens to pal around with. Good news, then, because buried in the game setup menu is an option to create new factions. In an effort to get to grips with the editor and put together this guide, I ve been working on my own: the Oak Blokes. … [visit site to read more]