Recent reviews by G13M

DW2 is a niche 4x space game with its own personality and a distinct interpretation of management mechanics. You can really tell this is true if you played the original because they both overlap in these ways. Many of the ideas carry over from one to the other. If you're not familiar with them, it can be frustrating/overwhelming.

Also if you're familiar with the dev/pub, you'll know they have a long standing tradition of making deeply technical wargames that aren't designed for the player looking for a simpler but flashier experience (and there is nothing wrong with flashier).

A simple analogy that some might relate to is the difference between HOI3 and HOI4 (especially in its earlier states). There are many ideas and mechanics in HOI3 that are abstracted into simpler equivalents in HOI4, like exact cabinet choices in HOI3 vs focuses in HOI4 for political changes, or a precise OOB in HOI3 vs the frontline mechanic in HOI4. Not to say one abstraction is better than the other, but they have different styles of gameplay, and differing goals in their development like deeper mechanics vs more 'playable' aesthetics. To summarize the analogy, I like both HOI3 and HOI4, but for different reasons, and that is ok.


My favorite features of this game:

-- A living civilian economy that reflects demand pressure on resources and technology that aren't just numbers on the top of the screen.

-- Automation when you want it. It takes time and or looking at tutorials, but because it is a living realtime galaxy there is a lot going on that you may want to automate. Automation on such a grand scale isn't simple, but it does follow some rules. When you figure the rules out, you can tune the game to some levels of autonomy and micromanagement where it is most fun to you. There is some irony that to make the game fun to suit you, you have to learn one deep mechanic, but once you do that the game opens up to you.

-- Timeless political mechanics on a galactic scale. Often an enemy might take light raids on your assets if they really hate you, without declaring war. They might blockade an independent colony of interest in 'neutral' territory if they have aims on it, whether militarily or diplomatically. Your borders matter because of the disposition on the other side of it, and you have to take military readiness in consideration for that disposition. And there are no 'spacelanes'. Every situation is different. And especially when you see their fleets start violating your border without conflict. Every flaw in your economy can be solved the easy way with diplomacy or the the hard way by choice decision in force, but that is something to decide given what you're up against.

-- Ship/Fleet roles are diverse. You can make any idea you have of a space ship/fleet for any role you want. Whether it's a basic defined role or specialized for a special situation with a special composition of either parts or ships. You can branch a custom ship design while still letting a default design be managed by the game.

-- Technology is king but it's complicated. Technology is incremental enough but with so many different fields that you can decide what aspects are important. In many games this is the same but this is on an individual ship/fleet level, over the time it takes for each individual ship to retrofit (in a place that can, that has the exact resources available for a retrofit). You can define how your technology works for you in a living galaxy.

To conclude, if this kind of detail (with the ability to automate because of its scale) is what you're looking for, then you'll love this game. If you're looking for a simpler space 4x experience, this game isn't bad but it's just not that.

Armageddon difficulty hard but satisfying. Great dystopian game!

Big dashes of Superpower (the good one), Realpolitiks, and Supreme Ruler, all set in the XCOM scenario on a solar system scale like Kerbal Space Program.

So good, can't get enough.

Civil War Generals 2 with no hexes.

How to play Byzcan'tine Empire:

Attempt 1: Get Poland as ally but Lithuania PU never fires. Check Austria diplo and it's a minor in a PU with Aragon 2 years into the game.

Attempt 2: Ottomans ignore you for 15 years and blob literally everything in Asia Minor and all minors in Balkans. Poland then dishonors call to defensive war against Ottomans for no obvious reason (not already in a war etc.).

Attempt 3: Ottomans declare war before you can get any allies.

Attempt 4: Hungary white peaces out while Ottomans are also majorly losing a war with Mamluks on the other end. Ottomans then wreck you.

Attempt 5: Game starts out good. Within three years of game start your ruler dies and a rebel pretender much stronger than you stack wipes your army and takes Constantinople.

Attempt 6: Game starts out good. Within four years of game start your ruler dies and a rebel pretender much stronger than you stack wipes your army and takes Constantinople.

Attempt 7: Game starts out good. Within two years of game start your ruler dies and a rebel pretender much stronger than you stack wipes your army and takes Constantinople.

Attempt 8: Everything set up nice with Polish/Lithuania ally. Wardec Ottomans and Poland/Lithuania get completely destroyed due to generals literally rolling eternal 0's and 1's. Ottomans stack wipes everything they look at with fewer troops, worse generals and with crossing penalties.

Attempt 9: Poland and Hungary are rivals. You decide to try again game hasn't even started yet.

Attempt 10: Poland and Hungary are rivals. You decide to try again game hasn't even started yet.

Attempt 11: Poland and Hungary are rivals. You decide to try again game hasn't even started yet.

Attempt 12: You decide the fourth rivalry in a row may not be a bad thing if you try an Austria alliance again. Improve relations with all 3 anyway. Can't get diplo high enough to ally Austria (stops at -13 with no other options). Ottomans wardec before you can ally Poland.


10/10 would play Groundhog's Day Simulator 2016 again

Updated: Since they've patch this game (a few times apparently) it's now playable after the first few weeks. I retract my thumbs down!

OH HELL YES