General Strategy & Sim thread

[ZedClampet]

@ZedClampet and other EA folk:

Closed beta free playtest of city builder & [in future] RTS mix Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown

Thrive: Heavy Lies The Crown on Steam

Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown is a complex city builder, where the fate of your kingdom hinges on your every decision. Explore this medieval land alone or with friends, make tough moral choices and conquer your foes in RTS combat. Will you struggle to survive, or find the strength to Thrive?

store.steampowered.com

11m video by Zade:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9uVAvBoNG0

Played some of this, and, excepting the tutorial, they have a very solid and polished demo. The colony building was very strong, pretty intuitive. I would have liked to have seen the combat, but I have too many games to play to put that kind of effort into a demo.

My criticisms are: the tutorial assumed I'd built my food stores and my primitive storage in random locations and that they needed to be connected by road, but I play a lot of colony sims and love organization, so I had built them right next to each other on the same dirt dirt road. I couldn't, therefore, complete this step without making a completely unnecessary road.

Two, it told me how many people I had, but didn't break them down into necessary categories like how many were employed. Without that, you are going to have to either look around and add it up yourself or just guess and see what happens.

Three, I really want to move the map around with my mouse.

 

[ZedClampet]

Still haven't looked at those questions, but I just failed the tutorial of Pioneers of Pagonia, so I think I'll have no problems with a bunch of UK-oriented questions designed to identify British gentlemen (because it sure isn't measuring IQ based on reading what you all have done. It's just asking questions that a certain type of person would be able to answer).

****

But about that PoP tutorial fail. I was actually just following along the steps, building exactly what it told me to build, but for some reason, my little lay-abouts didn't finish the building that supplies the tavern with ingredients. This led to the tavern being unable to produce meals. This led to everyone being unable to work, and a game restart.

Other than the tutorial leading to failure, I'm really enjoying it, and it seems very polished. But I've not experienced combat yet and I'm unclear about what, if anything, I'm going to unlock as I move ahead. Everything was already unlocked during my short tutorial run. If that's actually all there is, then playthroughs are going to be quite short. I've noticed there are a number of campaign maps, so maybe that's the case. Also, it's in early access, so maybe more will be added later.

 

[Brian Boru]

Moved the GCHQ puzzles to their own thread.

GCHQ Puzzle Christmas 2023

Are you smarter than a MI5th grader? https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67707647 My Bond career is going to have to continue to rely on my indefinable insouciance and undoubted charm. I am fairly sure I got ONE of those o_O

forums.pcgamer.com

 

[ZedClampet]

Ozymandias is on sale for $8.24 on Steam right now. I very much like the idea of a more casual 4X that only lasts an hour (despite the Steam Year in Review proving I play games all day, it's actually more complicated than that). I played the demo ages ago and really liked it despite the odd way of acquiring territory (if you have more influence than anyone else in an adjacent territory, you get that territory--at least that's how I remember the demo), but maybe that's better for a fast game than micromanaging armies. Your units do their job just by being in the right spot.

I'm waiting for the winter sale to get a couple of DLC for Stellaris, and then I'm going to play that. I'm also getting Civ 6 and DLC for Guido (Christmas present). That will have the double benefit of getting him something he asked for and getting me to finally sit down and play Civ 6.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I'm still playing Stellaris most days a bit, its one of those games thats really easy to just fire up and do something for 10 minutes which suits me sometimes.

Against the Storm review

Building doomed cities and loving it.

www.pcgamer.com

I noticed @ZedClampet you commented here and said you couldnt get on with it. Did you play Frostpunk? I really liked it because it forced you to play towards goals constantly and make decisions based around story events. Was thinking this might have a similar vibe in that way.

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm still playing Stellaris most days a bit, its one of those games thats really easy to just fire up and do something for 10 minutes which suits me sometimes

You can play for only 10 minutes? Every time I play I get the "I'll stop after X", where X keeps changing because something new comes up that I don't want to postpone until the next time I play.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

You can play for only 10 minutes? Every time I play I get the "I'll stop after X", where X keeps changing because something new comes up that I don't want to postpone until the next time I play.

Yea I just have it on Ironman and it saves whenever I close it. Game boots straight to campaign in about 20 seconds so I pop in build a couple of outposts and choose a couple of techs if I know I only have 15 minutes to play something.

 

[ZedClampet]

I'm still playing Stellaris most days a bit, its one of those games thats really easy to just fire up and do something for 10 minutes which suits me sometimes.

Against the Storm review

Building doomed cities and loving it.

www.pcgamer.com

I noticed @ZedClampet you commented here and said you couldnt get on with it. Did you play Frostpunk? I really liked it because it forced you to play towards goals constantly and make decisions based around story events. Was thinking this might have a similar vibe in that way.

I haven't played Frostpunk yet. This game does give you missions from the queen, but I can't say whether it's similar to what Frostpunk does. You kind of have to balance what actually needs to be done versus what the queen wants, which is kind of interesting. I believe that if the queen gets mad enough at you that it's game over.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I haven't played Frostpunk yet. This game does give you missions from the queen, but I can't say whether it's similar to what Frostpunk does. You kind of have to balance what actually needs to be done versus what the queen wants, which is kind of interesting. I believe that if the queen gets mad enough at you that it's game over.

Nevermind, I'll give it a try sometime when I have time. I dont much care for sandboxes without any defined goals in strategy/builder type games, but I do really like a good campaign or scenario in one. Frostpunk did that well, this sounded like it might be along similar lines..

 

[Brian Boru]

Ozymandias

Looks like a good choice!

You can play for only 10 minutes?

I'm with you! Whenever I contemplate a 4X, it's 'Do I have anything else to do this month?'

I believe that if the queen gets mad enough at you that it's game over

Yeah, that's how I read it in the article. So do well, so everyone else can get mad at you

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Whenever I contemplate a 4X, it's 'Do I have anything else to do this month?'

I might have 2-4 hours to play games on a day if I'm really lucky, even when I'm on holiday or at weekends. Often that 2-4 hours is split up into several different chunks so if I want to play anything at all I have to be flexible.

 

[Pifanjr]

I might have 2-4 hours to play games on a day if I'm really lucky, even when I'm on holiday or at weekends. Often that 2-4 hours is split up into several different chunks so if I want to play anything at all I have to be flexible.

I typically have about an hour to play each day, broken up in two 30-minute segments, one before I start work and one during lunch time when working from home.

I've been starting late and having long lunches...

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I typically have about an hour to play each day, broken up in two 30-minute segments, one before I start work and one during lunch time when working from home.

I've been starting late and having long lunches...

It works both ways, I can play for 15 minutes if thats really all I have and put it down with no problems, or 2 hours if theres time to get to some milestone. Its also not stressful but still really enagaging. I think I prefer the Paradox style of slow real time to turn based these days for large scale strategy, it does drag you onwards as events happen but its easy to dip in and out of at the same time, at least for me.

 

[Brian Boru]

Nice 20m video from Zach:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4j90PIG1MM


Grand Strategy including RTS and/or City Builder elements, some of them will take real dedication. There are a couple of scaled back ones I might be interested in, but usually GS is too much work for me

 

[ZedClampet]

Grand Strategy including RTS and/or City Builder elements, some of them will take real dedication. There are a couple of scaled back ones I might be interested in, but usually GS is too much work for me

WOW!​

That may be, to me, the most exciting "coming soon" list of games I've ever seen.

Great video. I've started watching that channel now and then. Here are the games highlighted in the video:

Gilded Destiny on Steam

Gilded Destiny is a grand strategy game depicting the transformative era of the Industrial Revolution. You will take the helm of the country of your choice and transform it from a backward agrarian society to an industrial powerhouse.

store.steampowered.com

King's Orders on Steam

King's Orders is a simplified historical strategy game with an important innovation. You command your armies by sending letters with orders. Messengers with these letters travel the land and can be lost or intercepted. Generals execute orders upon receipt and send you reports the same dangerous way.

store.steampowered.com

Espiocracy on Steam

Espiocracy is an espionage grand strategy game where you lead the intelligence agency of one of 74 playable countries. Rewrite history from the shadows as you influence ideologies, stage coups, and wage proxy wars. Subterfuge takes center stage as you establish a new world order.

store.steampowered.com

Fragile Existence on Steam

Save humanity from the brink of extinction in this sci-fi strategy game of survival. Travel among the stars to seek out resources, establish and develop colonies to sustain civilization, and grow your military might to push back against an overwhelming threat.

store.steampowered.com

Ultimate General: American Revolution on Steam

American Revolution is a sandbox strategy game featuring the epic historical period during the rebellion of the American colonies against the British Empire.

store.steampowered.com

World Warfare & Economics on Steam

Control any country in the world. Have their politics, economy, and military in your hands. Shape your own version of WW3, a global pandemic, or create a custom scenario. Explore up to 66 planets and conquer through war or diplomacy. Become the ultimate strategist in the universe!

store.steampowered.com

Renaissance Kingdom Wars on Steam

The year is 1510. As wars rage across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, it is the age of gunpowder and mercenaries - that changed the course of history. You can do it as well, going from a leader of men to the ruler of an empire in this unique mix of RTS and grand strategy.

store.steampowered.com

Small Kingdoms on Steam

Small Kingdoms is a streamlined grand strategy and RTS game with procedurally generated campaigns. Build up your cities and armies on the world map and command your troops on the battlefield. Rule a medieval fantasy kingdom and conquer your rivals.

store.steampowered.com

Terra Invicta on Steam

From the creators of Long War, an alien invasion has fractured humanity into seven ideological factions each with a unique vision for the future. Lead your chosen faction to take control of Earth’s nations, expand across the Solar System, and battle enemy fleets in tactical combat.

store.steampowered.com

Kaiserpunk on Steam

Build and conquer in Kaiserpunk, the ultimate city builder and grand strategy combo set in an alternative 20th century world. Engage in epic battles on land, sea, and air, or use your economic power to emerge as the ultimate victor.

store.steampowered.com

I want all of them except for the two that are already in early access (and maybe one of those if it develops well)

The zoomed in battle map in Ultimate General is gorgeous. Many of these maps are. Creative Assembly is going to have to start innovating in the Total War series. A lot of these games have similar battle styles, but would appear to blow the Total War games out of the water in the strategy layer.

After watching the Kaiserpunk video and looking through the game page on Steam, I've decided to abandon the 4x/city builder I was attempting to make. On to something else...

 

[Pifanjr]

WOW!​

That may be, to me, the most exciting "coming soon" list of games I've ever seen.

Great video. I've started watching that channel now and then. Here are the games highlighted in the video:

Gilded Destiny on Steam

Gilded Destiny is a grand strategy game depicting the transformative era of the Industrial Revolution. You will take the helm of the country of your choice and transform it from a backward agrarian society to an industrial powerhouse.

store.steampowered.com

King's Orders on Steam

King's Orders is a simplified historical strategy game with an important innovation. You command your armies by sending letters with orders. Messengers with these letters travel the land and can be lost or intercepted. Generals execute orders upon receipt and send you reports the same dangerous way.

store.steampowered.com

Espiocracy on Steam

Espiocracy is an espionage grand strategy game where you lead the intelligence agency of one of 74 playable countries. Rewrite history from the shadows as you influence ideologies, stage coups, and wage proxy wars. Subterfuge takes center stage as you establish a new world order.

store.steampowered.com

Fragile Existence on Steam

Save humanity from the brink of extinction in this sci-fi strategy game of survival. Travel among the stars to seek out resources, establish and develop colonies to sustain civilization, and grow your military might to push back against an overwhelming threat.

store.steampowered.com

Ultimate General: American Revolution on Steam

American Revolution is a sandbox strategy game featuring the epic historical period during the rebellion of the American colonies against the British Empire.

store.steampowered.com

World Warfare & Economics on Steam

Control any country in the world. Have their politics, economy, and military in your hands. Shape your own version of WW3, a global pandemic, or create a custom scenario. Explore up to 66 planets and conquer through war or diplomacy. Become the ultimate strategist in the universe!

store.steampowered.com

Renaissance Kingdom Wars on Steam

The year is 1510. As wars rage across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, it is the age of gunpowder and mercenaries - that changed the course of history. You can do it as well, going from a leader of men to the ruler of an empire in this unique mix of RTS and grand strategy.

store.steampowered.com

Small Kingdoms on Steam

Small Kingdoms is a streamlined grand strategy and RTS game with procedurally generated campaigns. Build up your cities and armies on the world map and command your troops on the battlefield. Rule a medieval fantasy kingdom and conquer your rivals.

store.steampowered.com

Terra Invicta on Steam

From the creators of Long War, an alien invasion has fractured humanity into seven ideological factions each with a unique vision for the future. Lead your chosen faction to take control of Earth’s nations, expand across the Solar System, and battle enemy fleets in tactical combat.

store.steampowered.com

Kaiserpunk on Steam

Build and conquer in Kaiserpunk, the ultimate city builder and grand strategy combo set in an alternative 20th century world. Engage in epic battles on land, sea, and air, or use your economic power to emerge as the ultimate victor.

store.steampowered.com

I want all of them except for the two that are already in early access (and maybe one of those if it develops well)

The zoomed in battle map in Ultimate General is gorgeous. Many of these maps are. Creative Assembly is going to have to start innovating in the Total War series. A lot of these games have similar battle styles, but would appear to blow the Total War games out of the water in the strategy layer.

After watching the Kaiserpunk video and looking through the game page on Steam, I've decided to abandon the 4x/city builder I was attempting to make. On to something else...

One of my friends has played Terra Invicta and was very positive about it.

 

[Brian Boru]

gorgeous. Many of these maps are

That struck me too, quite an advance in a short time—probably leveraging AI.

Small Kingdoms and King's Orders were the 2 that caught my eye as being possibly playable without a year's training course.

 

[Brian Boru]

Zach, same guy as previous video—this time 2½ hours on 92 games!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrC4YLQl01Q


Intro | 0:00
TURN-BASED 4X | 0:28
1. Dominions 6 - Rise of the Pantokrator | 0:382. Songs of Silence | 2:353. Stellaris Nexus | 4:184. Alliance of the Sacred Suns | 6:145. ZEPHON | 8:006. Revival: Recolonization | 9:477. Songs of Conquest | 11:448. Yield! | 13:579. Rising Lords | 15:3410. Ara: History Untold | 17:0211. Solium Infernum | 19:2412. Millennia | 22:3013. Civilization 7 | 25:1314. Elaborate Lands | 28:02

RTS | 29:33
15. Rogue Command | 29:4316. Ablight | 31:1417. Annihilate The Spance | 32:4218. From Glory To Goo | 34:1919. Nuke Them All | 36:0820. Collapsed Galaxy 2 | 37:4021. ZeroSpace | 39:1622. Industrial Annihilation | 41:3023. Godsworn | 43:0024. Dinolords | 44:2525. Age of Mythology: Retold | 45:5026. Global Conflagration | 47:2827. Red Chaos - The Strict Order | 48:5228. Dying Breed | 50:2529. DORF RTS | 52:2230. Barkhan | 53:4231. Liquidation | 54:4332. Space Tales | 56:1833. Heart Of Muriet | 57:3734. TFC: The Fertile Crescent | 59:1435. Empire of the Ants | 1:00:3936. 9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far | 1:02:1637. Manor Lords | 1:04:0038. BAR: Beyond All Reason | 1:05:5539. Sanctuary: Shattered Sun | 1:07:2440. Tempest Rising | 1:08:5941. Homeworld 3 | 1:10:5942. Stormgate | 1:12:2543. Stronghold Unreal | 1:14:4044. Battle Realms: Zen Edition | 1:15:57

REAL-TIME GRAND STRATEGY | 1:17:49
45. Gilded Destiny | 1:17:5946. King's Orders | 1:19:3747. Espiocracy | 1:21:2248. Fragile Existence | 1:23:1949. Ultimate General: American Revolution | 1:25:1850. World Warfare & Economics | 1:27:1951. Renaissance Kingdom Wars | 1:29:1052. Small Kingdoms | 1:31:0753. Terra Invicta | 1:32:5554. Kaiserpunk | 1:35:37

TACTICAL TACTICS | 1:37:42
55. Capes | 1:37:5256. Commandos: Origins | 1:38:4557. Cyber Knights: Flashpoint | 1:40:2858. Plague Lords | 1:41:3959. Red Glare | 1:42:4160. Arc Seed | 1:43:5561. Crown Wars: The Black Prince | 1:45:1162. Every Day We Fight | 1:46:1463. Forgotten but Unbroken | 1:47:1464. Ratten Reich | 1:48:1065. End State | 1:49:0366. HeatWave | 1:50:1967. Classified: France '44 | 1:51:2068. NEBULOUS: Fleet Command | 1:52:5869. TANKOCRACY | 1:54:1670. Broken Arrow | 1:55:3371. WARNO | 1:57:0872. Headquarters World War II | 1:58:4473. Corsairs - Battle of the Caribbean | 2:00:2374. Task Force Admiral | 2:01:5975. Trident: Naval Doctrine | 2:03:4276. Stargate: Timekeepers | 2:05:0577. White Sands | 2:06:5278. Mars Tactics | 2:08:0679. XO | 2:10:0680. Project Haven | 2:11:2481. Neverdark | 2:12:4082. Survive the Fall | 2:13:5083. The Stone of Madness | 2:15:1184. Inkulinati | 2:16:5185. Hexxen: Hunters | 2:18:2686. Anvil Empires | 2:20:0987. Moonbreaker | 2:21:4988. Space Gears | 2:23:1989. MENACE | 2:24:4690. Mechabellum | 2:26:4191. Xenonauts 2 | 2:28:0892. Men of War II | 2:29:38

 

[Pifanjr]

I've been meaning to try out Dominions 5 for a while, I just keep forgetting about it because I only have access to it through Steam family sharing and those games don't show up on GOG Galaxy, which I've been using to decide which game to play. Maybe I should switch to a spreadsheet as well.

I wonder if my friend is planning on buying Dominions 6...

 

[Brian Boru]

I'd like to think this C&C Generals 2 concept might happen in 2026, but currently sounds like a cash suck.

9m video

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTGr_-BlMVc

 

[sarmad149761]

For posts probably not worth their own thread, but we don't want to get lost in the weekly random threads either. Fyi there's a useful "in this thread" function in the forum search at the top, if you think some obscure Strat-Sim game or topic might be in this thread.

It sounds like you're looking for a solution to manage and organize posts that may not warrant individual threads but are still valuable and shouldn't get lost in weekly random threads. Here's a suggestion:

Create a Weekly "Miscellaneous Discussion" Thread:​

1. Schedule a Regular Thread:
   • Set up a weekly "Miscellaneous Discussion" thread where users can contribute small or less significant topics that may not merit separate threads.
2. Encourage Participation:
   • In the opening post of the weekly thread, encourage users to share any interesting or offbeat topics they come across during the week.
3. Use Clear Titles:
   • Ask users to use clear and concise titles for their posts within the thread. This will make it easier for others to navigate and find specific discussions.
4. Highlight Useful Information:
   • Regularly check the thread and, if you come across particularly useful or interesting information, consider summarizing it in a separate post within the thread. This could serve as a quick reference for users.
5. Moderation and Housekeeping:
   • Moderate the thread to ensure that discussions stay on-topic and that there's no spam or irrelevant content. Periodically, clean up the thread by removing outdated or irrelevant posts.
6. Utilize "In This Thread" Function:
   • Encourage users to use the "in this thread" function in the forum search to quickly find specific topics within the weekly discussion thread.
7. Community Guidelines:
   • Remind users of community guidelines within the thread. Encourage positive and respectful discussions, even if they are on less significant topics.
8. Feedback and Adjustments:
   • Regularly seek feedback from the community on the effectiveness of the weekly thread. Adjust the format or rules if necessary based on user input.

This approach provides a designated space for a variety of topics without cluttering the main forum. It also allows for easy navigation using the "in this thread" function for those looking for specific discussions.

 

[Brian Boru]

Welcome to the forum

It sounds like

I got a very different post suggestion from Copilot. Which AI are you using?

Always good to have alternatives which we can highlight in a special weekly thread.

 

[Brian Boru]

New 4X from Paradox has a free week Feb 5th-12th.

Millennia - Paradox Interactive

Paradox Interactive is a world leading PC games publisher known for games such as Cities: Skylines, Europa Universalis and Crusader Kings.

www.paradoxinteractive.com

Spud has a 55m video on it:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oadqip-YTU

 

[Zloth]

New 4X from Paradox has a free week Feb 5th-12th.

I'm having trouble seeing why I should play this instead of Civ 4 or 5. Guess I could find out for myself next week.

 

[Zloth]

I'm having trouble seeing why I should play this instead of Civ 4 or 5. Guess I could find out for myself next week.

Which I did. I don't want to repeat my post from the demo topic, but there are very significant differences.

From said thread, I should probably respond to Brian over here.

They've all jumped on that now—Civ 6 was releasing DLCs after I bought it, ~6 years after release. As long as the game is decently moddable, all should be well.

Gathering Storm was 5 years ago (exactly 5 years on Tuesday). All the rest are just... wait, are they just adding extra civs? I checked the Ethiopia DLC and it says something about 'secret societies' but you need the 'expansion bundle' to access them!? What are they doing in there!?!?