Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Lovely 4X space-fancying game Endless Space has an expansion pack in the (space) oven. It’s going to introduce a new faction and new AI. Amplitude explain: “A new faction with a unique play style, “The Harmony”, will make its appearance. Battles will be even more intense with the addition of fighters and bombers, battle formations, a new targeting system, a redesigned weapon system and enhanced invasion mechanics. The AI opponents will be significantly more unpredictable with the implementation of the new ‘Adaptive Multi-Agent Artificial Intelligence System’.” Sounds intelligent. And adaptive.

Trailer in the depths.
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Amplitude have consistently done things the right way, as far as I’m aware. They began well by making a superb space strategy game, Endless Space, which is a fundamental part of the development process. When they finished the game, they allowed the people who bought it to play, although those people did have to register the game on Steam which caused some grumbling. You’re probably thinking they slipped up by charging outrageous amounts for inconsequential DLC but you’d be wrong. The fourth expansion has just landed and it’s as free as the last three. This one adds new random events, anomalies and heroes, and allows further tinkering with gas giants. The game will be discounted by 50% until March 18th.

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Endless Space is free to download and play on Steam until 9pm GMT this Sunday and its strategic turn-based space-conquering is fantastic, so you’re going to have to cancel your plans to do some Christmas shopping, hunt sharks or play with your new Nintendo-Box. There are so many space games in the crowd-funding mixer at present but it would be very foolish to forget that this year has already seen such a stellar release. To sonically celebrate the free weekend, the ace soundtrack is also available on a ‘name your price’ basis.

Endless Space, the 4X spacy strategy is now out on Steam, and has a launch trailer with lots of pretty explosions. It also explains that in the end, it’s a game about dust. I am bemused by the role that dust appears to play in fiction. From Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, to CCP’s EVE spin-off, it’s hard to think of a more innocuous object to take such an important role. Where are the stories about fluff? And lint? Where are my games about loose bits of thread? I have been sidetracked. You can see the launch trailer below.

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The amount of developers that seem happy to revive our favourite things from times gone by is something recently discussed in the breezy parapets of Castle Shotgun. A few days later a game appeared on Steam, taking preorders that gave access to its alpha. That game is Endless Space and if it were a farmyard animal it would be plodding around a field saying ‘MOO’ quite a lot. It’s a space-based 4X game and although I need to spend more time with it before I say too many more words, it’s already caused me to miss one night’s sleep and that just doesn’t happen enough anymore. Trailer and brief excited key-tapping below.

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