Shadow Empire - Fallout Faction Warfare Simulator

[Decline]

We continue in our series of 'terrible graphics - complex gameplay - excellent design' with Shadow Empire.


https://www.gog.com/en/game/shadow_empire
https://www.matrixgames.com/bundle/shad ... e-complete

Manual: https://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/ShadowE ... EBOOK.pdf

The gist of the game is this:
You are the Supreme Commander of one of many factions fighting for complete domination of a procedural generated planet after apocalypse hit.
You got Leaders to help you manage your planetary zones, administer your organizations and lead your armies.
You also have 'Stratagems' (Cards) at your disposal that you can play on various targets.

In essence this is a wargame but you will also have to engage in diplomacy, budgets, organizational management, economy, infrastructure and logistics , unit design, to name just a few.

Because the game map (the planet) and your military equipment (the units) are procedurally generated there's lot of replayability.

There's also separate system each for discovering techs, formation and model types and R&D.

Style-wise the game tries to impress the feeling that your are on grim-dark planet in the even grimmer-darker future and it feels a bit like playing a Fallout faction simulator.

Here's DasTactic's tutorial video:


A word of advice: This game features one of the most ugly render art I have seen in decades of gaming.
Fortunately modders have already taken care of most of it: https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... hp?f=10623

[Acrux]

Kinda cool that you can add Jeffrey Epstein to your team.

[Irenaeus]

It's great! I have played it many times in different planets with different rules and different strats.
It's near the top of my list of recommended strategy games.

[Decline]

Kinda cool that you can add Jeffrey Epstein to your team.

I recommend using Plymouth's various graphic mods to replace the ugly 3D renders.

[Rand]

I tried to play this game but it explains nothing well and I couldn't even understand what was going on in combat.
I would attack many times and very little seemed to happen with few deaths.

[asf]

maybe the game isnt for you

[Rand]

maybe the game isn't for you

Why are you channeling stereotypically worthless Reddit comments?

[Element]

I tried it at one point, found it too complex to get started quickly. The portraits and the card art was really bad, and I mean really bad. AI art would be a massive improvement.

Edit: It's good to hear that there are graphics mods. They'll be the first thing I install when I return to this.

[Irenaeus]

I tried it at one point, found it too complex to get started quickly.

You're not wrong. It took me a long time to learn how to play even at a basic level, much less thinking in strategies. But after many, many starts and ends, I got the hang of it at least at an intermediate level.

[Decline]

I tried it at one point, found it too complex to get started quickly.

You're not wrong. It took me a long time to learn how to play even at a basic level, much less thinking in strategies. But after many, many starts and ends, I got the hang of it at least at an intermediate level.

The most important thing is to start on tech level 4 and with at least 1 army.
With a TL3 start you can (and will) get trashed even by minors.

[Irenaeus]

I tried it at one point, found it too complex to get started quickly.

You're not wrong. It took me a long time to learn how to play even at a basic level, much less thinking in strategies. But after many, many starts and ends, I got the hang of it at least at an intermediate level.

The most important thing is to start on tech level 4 and with at least 1 army.
With a TL3 start you can (and will) get trashed even by minors.

Sure, that makes it easier and faster, but I've won maps with TL1 and no starting army, just the starting militia, through hard work, luck and a long game. I'd suggest starting with at least 1 army, though. I usually play on random planets but I have varied a lot. Last few games I did the new water world maps.

[DemoGraph]

I went from 1 city, 1 army, lowest TL to planetary domination, high(est?) difficulty.

The game is unoptimised meh, cards are ********, the dev is lazy ***.

[Irenaeus]

The game is unoptimised meh, cards are ********, the dev is lazy ***.

This is simply false. You can not like the game, ok, but the cards are fun and the dev puts in hard work year after year.

[DemoGraph]

the cards are fun

About 25% of them. Do you use Motherlode much? Or those super elite officer cards that are like x3 cost of the cheapest intern and still can give you a ******** character? Diplo cards? Embargo?
OTOH you can explore all planet with spying cards, so that scouting units are there for LARPing.

the dev puts in hard work year after year

AI turn time.
Half the character skills do nothing.
Half the social engineering choices are useless.
Water DLC without ships.

[asf]

I have to agree with the cards being ********. Hiding crucial stuff like diplomacy behind ****** cards was truly a braindead decision. I haven't played in over an year now, but last I tried the game had lots of fun stuff with some ******** systems spread around, like advisors having 'opinions' and crap migration. Of course it might have improved since.

Game is easy overall you have half a brain, since AI is ******** as usual.

[Decline]

Water DLC without ships.

Have you ever seen any 4x/wargame with good naval combat?

[DemoGraph]

Have you ever seen any 4x/wargame with good naval combat?

Maybe Rule the waves? I haven't played it myself, but it looks promising.
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/let ... es.108492/

[Decline]

Have you ever seen any 4x/wargame with good naval combat?

Maybe Rule the waves? I haven't played it myself, but it looks promising.
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/let ... es.108492/

Point is that Naval Combat sucks and it is a waste of time.

But the developer has already said he wants naval units in the game so meh, you get what you're asking for.

[Irenaeus]

But the developer has already said he wants naval units in the game so meh, you get what you're asking for.

Awesome, nice to hear.

[asf]

This game was intended to have eofs like scope, I suppose it might get there eventually, in a few decades or so.

[Decline]

This game was intended to have eofs like scope, I suppose it might get there eventually, in a few decades or so.

Depends on how many kids the Dev keeps pumping out.

[Irenaeus]

This game was intended to have eofs like scope, I suppose it might get there eventually, in a few decades or so.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical ... _functions

?

[asf]

emperor of fading suns

[Galdred]

Have you ever seen any 4x/wargame with good naval combat?

Maybe Rule the waves? I haven't played it myself, but it looks promising.
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/let ... es.108492/

Point is that Naval Combat sucks and it is a waste of time.

But the developer has already said he wants naval units in the game so meh, you get what you're asking for.

Sadly; I don't think there is any games that have both good gound and naval combat. Maybe World in Flames and the highly abstracted Gary Grigsby's World at War? One key reasone being probably that naval units should have a much longer range than your typical ground range, so the scale becomes inconsistant.

[asf]

well face it, water ships are boring

[Decline]

Maybe Rule the waves? I haven't played it myself, but it looks promising.
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/let ... es.108492/

Point is that Naval Combat sucks and it is a waste of time.

But the developer has already said he wants naval units in the game so meh, you get what you're asking for.

Sadly; I don't think there is any games that have both good gound and naval combat. Maybe World in Flames and the highly abstracted Gary Grigsby's World at War? One key reasone being probably that naval units should have a much longer range than your typical ground range, so the scale becomes inconsistant.

If there's someone who can pull it off it's Vic. Let's wait and see.