4X Old World—player experiences

[Brian Boru]

Anyone played Old World…

Old World | Download and Buy Today - Epic Games Store

Download and play Old World at the Epic Games Store. Check for platform availability and price!

www.epicgames.com

…released on Epic last May? How is it?

Old World is from Soren Johnson, lead designer of Civilization 4 and Offworld Trading Company, so it's certainly got good pedigree.

With a high score of 82 from both reviewers and players on MetaCritic, it's currently burning a hole in my wishlist

Old World Reviews

Conquer the Old World in this historical, epic strategy game from Soren Johnson, Lead Designer of Civilization IV and Offworld Trading Company. Every year is a turn, and each leader is a mere mortal, so your lasting legacy will be the dynasty you leave behind.

www.metacritic.com

More info:

Old World review

Mohawk Games has made a historical 4X that feels like the future.

www.pcgamer.com

Seal your place in history with this Old World beginners guide

Understand these essential concepts to ensure your kingdom's survival.

www.pcgamer.com

Old World (video game) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Brian Boru]

Anyone played this yet?

 

[Brian Boru]

PC Gamer's Strategy Game of the Year—nice, congrats Soren & team!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T20a_4yvJLQ


If you've played it, please share your experiences.

 

[Brian Boru]

Sorry all, meant to get back to y'all sooner and answer all your Qs. But first—Old World is out of Epic exclusivity and just released elsewhere:

Old World

From city building to RTS, space exploration to ancient history, see more indie strategy

www.gog.com

Save 50% on Old World on Steam

Old World is a revolutionary new historical strategy game where you lead your dynasty over generations of rule against rival kings and queens. Wage massive wars, manage your court, and build a dynasty — or watch your empire crumble to dust. What legacy will you leave behind?

store.steampowered.com

With the seeming universal acclaim it's received since release, I'm surprised no one here has played and commented.

 

[Zloth]

I wish listed it, but I'm not sure when I can get around to playing it. I still want to mess around with Age of Wonders: Planetfall more.

 

[Brian Boru]

not sure when I can get around to playing it

No worries, seems to be the case with everyone else too

Soren Johnson, lead designer of Civilization 4 and Offworld Trading Company

New 1-hour video on his design approach:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXH9_d_pDa4

 

[Zloth]

Those videos are always fascinating. "Infinite City Sprawl" is countered by the limited number of planets in a space 4X - yeah, I guess so. By dividing up a world into sectors (a la Endless Legend or Age of Wonders: Planetfall) and colonizing those instead of single hexes, world 4X games get to use that same method of limiting ICS? Ooooooohhhh!!!

He keeps talking about how automation is a warning sign that your system isn't fun. Every time he does, I think of Distant Worlds, which lets you automate everything! Essentially, you pick the parts of the game that you really enjoy and do those, then let the AI handle the rest of the systems. He's just talking in general, of course, but still...

 

[Brian Boru]

automation is a warning sign that your system isn't fun

He has a point for sure. Take loot gathering in Far Cry 6, it's a complete PITA because there's so much of it around and you have to maneuver just so for the 'E' prompt to appear, then press it, move a foot to the left, repeat…

They automated ammo and money collection from enemies you shoot, just run past them. So what's the deal with the loot—do they think that mechanic is fun?

I would've dropped Civ4 after 1-2 years without the BUG/BAT/BULL mod, which automates so much of the info gathering in the UI. The longer the game goes on, the more info to process, which is a big part of the late game drag he mentioned.

pick the parts of the game that you really enjoy and do those, then let the AI handle the rest of the systems

Yeah, that's the ideal, isn't it? Then your game can have wide appeal for both loot lovers and loot haters. For an easy game in Civ4, pick say France, Noble difficulty, automate Workers, and click on Gunpowder tech like he said—then go stomp with Musketeers and Knights

Infinite City Sprawl

I think maybe he's too close to it on this… or maybe he's right, that devs should design for the fanatics in their customer base, the ones who will figure out how to optimize the game. I figured ICS out pretty early, but chose not to play that way—I feel like I'm being automated then

Whenever I get the game, I'll be very interested to see how the orders system changes gameplay—that's the BIG change as far as I'm concerned. I hope the family politics won't bog things down too much—now that I'd like to automate! Or I guess that would be auto mate…