Endless Space preview

**Martok** · 06-13-2012, 13:44

From everything I've read & heard, apparently the combat is very "meh". In addition to the questionable mechanics, the limited camera views has also been a consistent complaint.

That being said, Endless Space otherwise appears quite promising. And I already know from my experience with Armada 2526 that I can hate the combat system but still love the game.

**frogbeastegg** · 06-15-2012, 20:07

Originally Posted by Martok

From everything I've read & heard, apparently the combat is very "meh".

Yes. I don't exactly like it and IMO it's the weakest part of the package. Aside from the irritations already mentioned my Psychonaut and myelf, the battles themselves don't quite feel like they offer anything to me. I barely get to influence anything, making it like auto-resolve, yet I have to watch it play out, making it like a standard RTS-style battle. Once the "Oooh! Pretty!" wears off there isn't much point to playing them as far as I can see.

Fortunately the rest of the package is more than good enough to compensate. Skipping battles also helps to make it one of the pacier 4X games I've played, and that's no bad thing.

It's kind of a shame we can't mix Endless Space's 4X section with a hybrid Sins/SotS1 combat model. :drools:

EDIT: Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a nice piece about the beta version.

**Voigtkampf** · 07-05-2012, 06:33

Endless Space has been released.

**Kekvit Irae** · 07-05-2012, 09:56

I'm actually getting kinda tired of playing MoO2 ripoffs lately, especially since I didn't like Gal Civ II. This one seems a bit more faithful, so I'll take a look at youtube videos of the gameplay more before deciding.

**frogbeastegg** · 07-05-2012, 21:15

The release makes me a little uneasy. It's been pushed forward by an entire month. The game was in good shape for an alpha and then beta, but for a gold edition? I don't know. I realise that it was financially motivated but I kind of wonder if it might be counter-productive in the long run. The developers said they wanted proper reviews and a metacritic score to help boost sales as they need the game to be profitable now; a month more work would have meant more likelihood of glowing reviews. Do 4X gamers care about metacritic anyway?

I need to spend some time with the current version. :looks at her schedule and list of other games she's trying to play in Not Enough Time each week, weeps:

**Kekvit Irae** · 07-05-2012, 21:53

Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

Do 4X gamers care about metacritic anyway?

They shouldn't unless they want to contribute to the downfall of honest journalism and publishing.

**Monk** · 07-05-2012, 22:29

Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae

They shouldn't unless they want to contribute to the downfall of honest journalism and publishing.

The unfortunate reality is that many gamers still cling to metacritic as if it means something.. and so do publishers.

Endless Space was fantastic for what I played in the Alpha and Beta. The only hang up i had about it back then was how easy it was to stalemate with another faction. It was quite easy to expand and become powerful, only for a faction to do so at the other end of the map leading you both into a huge intergalactic war in the end game. A war that had no end as you were both perfectly matched. Balance was a little off too, but then again that was pre-release. It also had the misfortune of being not quite what I was looking for, but that's a subjective hang up.

Honestly, the game ran better in alpha than most games do when they are launched. I was surprised it wasn't released months ago.