Yet another upcoming 4X (no micromanagement, audiences, court politics)

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Just got the email :)
 
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congrats archibald. pretty sure i voted for you.
 
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Preparing the first very early access version this Saturday (unplayable & unbalanced). It won't be advertised a lot since, well, this version is quite poor it's main purpose is to gather feedback.

congrats archibald. pretty sure i voted for you.
:)
 
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Update:
- the crowdfunding failed, instead I went for Pre-order & Early Access system
- started a SteamGroup as the main place for discussion (but I'm still visiting this forum, so feel free to post wherever you prefer) http://steamcommunity.com/groups/pocketspaceempire
- I'm doing now regular "progress report" videos (at least monthly) on YT https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCps-DZqxTNj7vrTMvSfml1A
- v0.10 released (EA)

About Early Access
Well, I don't want to advertise it too much... It's a very early version, devs usually don't release a game at that early stage. I decided to do it because it suits my style of working, I love to include the feedback from players as I go, it's much easier than trying to change things when the game is near the final release.

The current version (v0.10) is a prototype, a sophisticated tech demo I would say with barebone mechanics, not for casual players, more for people who love to explore and observe how things are built and maybe provide some feedback (you can also play with the settings, just open balance.ini in your notepad).

Anyway, if you think you are ready to overlook the numerous issues this version has you can buy it here: http://www.PocketSpaceEmpire.com of course it will have the SteamKey included later (which is unavoidable since the game was greenlit :D).
 
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Sorry to see your game failed to get funded on Indiegogo Archibald . So if I pre-order for $50 I get the base game, and all all future expansions? If so that's very reasonable.:thinking:
 
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Sorry to see your game failed to get funded on Indiegogo Archibald . So if I pre-order for $50 I get the base game, and all all future expansions? If so that's very reasonable.:thinking:
Well, yeah, it sux to have a failed crowdfunding. But I gathered a lot of valuable feedback thanks to it and, well, will need to be extra careful with money and that's it :) Anyway, I have enough savings to finish this game, even in case of unexpected delays, and I'm lucky to have an affordable artist so it's not that bad.

Yes, for $50 you get an immediate access to EarlyAccess version (although it's recommended to wait for Beta if you just want to play) and all future expansions/DLCs/etc.
For $25 you get the EarlyAccess without future expansions.
All of these will also include SteamKey once released on Steam (the game was greenlit).

To be honest, I'm quite surprised people wanted the $50 version (I would not buy anything that expensive :D), learned this on crowdfunding, it was quite a popular tier. Oh well, glad to have rich players and the extra cash for development, I'm the last to complain :)
 
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Well I can always just buy the base game for $10 instead.:p Just kidding.:)

Anyway what type of content will the expansions have? Also do you have a date in mind for the final release, or is it still to early at this point in development?
 
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Well I can always just buy the base game for $10 instead.:p Just kidding.:)
No!!! You would not do such outrageous crime! :)

Anyway what type of content will the expansions have? Also do you have a date in mind for the final release, or is it still to early at this point in development?
Expansions will have stuff that adds complexity, at least that's the plan. The base game is intened to be fully playable and complete without any additions. The expansions are intended to "expand" the gameplay, add more mechanics or replace existing mechanics with more complex ones. You always will have an option to disable an expansion (or even a part of it you don't like/find too complex). Overall, I plan for expansions the more controversial and heavier things.
I think casual players would be content with the base game while hardcore players would enjoy expansions more, but that's just my opinion.

As for what will be in expansions, I don't want to make any declarations but I was thinking of "Imperial Senate" (additional government body to supplement the existing Imperial Court) or replacing the Archeology mechanic with a more sophisticated one or a more complex economy model (again, all of these will be easily toggled off if desired, so you are not forced additional mechanic if you don't want to). Overall, everything I hesitate to put in the base game because "it might scare of the new player/be too complex" is considered for an optional expansion.

Anyway, it will be my fist game with expansion/s, so I'm eager to do it :)


Release date is 2015. I planned late september but you know how it is with all those delays, change of plans, additional features, etc. Anyway, definietely we are talking about 2015.

Expansions around 2016. Definitely first I want to release a playable, balanced base game first and polish it for a few months before I attempt the expansions.
 
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Version 0.12 of EarlyAccess (prototype branch) released.

I'm preparing for an Alpha, so, I was trying in this version to finish all the technical things and smaller stuff.

Improvements:
  • new reporting system
  • interface improvements (more tooltips, etc)
  • invention level mechanic finished
  • max industry level mechanic
  • governors have names, age, can die, competence penalty to new governors
  • performance boost
  • load/save
  • ground combat bonus simplified
  • most technologies work now (not all)
  • a bit of balancing
  • and many other

New features:
  • "Reorganize" fleet button (super usefull)

Here is the "progress report" video: https://youtu.be/svQsWkxu828

At the moment you can buy the EA edition or preorder the game here: http://www.PocketSpaceEmpire.com expected release late 2015.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It's still a prototype, don't expect gameplay yet, if you hesitate or are not a huge fan I recommend to WAIT for Alpha/Beta release.
 
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Version 0.13 (EarlyAccess, prototype branch) released.

I know I was saying it will be an Alpha, but just before release I played it and… not yet, that's not an alpha yet. So, it's another Prototype branch build.

This time I focused mostly on economy & balance. It's probably the most boring version :)

Changes/rebalance:
  • Industry redone (IC removed, instead there are industry ratings A-F)
  • Edict to control industrial investements Empire wide
  • Usable size of the planet (affects max industrial facilities)
  • Finances rebalanced & adjusted (Imperial tax, bureaucracy penalty, etc)
  • Old edicts renamed to Reforms and new ones done
  • Icons for technologies also technologies simplified (more consistent now)
  • Starvation, proper population growth, etc
  • Better summary of ships in the flet (average per squadron)
  • A lot of smaller improvements

New features:
  • Fleet modernization option


Progress report video:
https://youtu.be/AMktDqza6lQ
 
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Version 0.14 (PROTOTYPE).

A lot of smaller changes and polish.

Changes:
- ground combat redone (invasion progress)
- intelligence screen (description of races & special traits)
- civilized races take into account threat level
- interface improvements & many other small improvements, balance

Progress report video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vay6Ptm2a0
 
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Version 0.15 (EarlyAccess, prototype branch) released.

It's an important version, this time I focused on redesign. I found out the game was getting more and more complex without introducing interesting decision to make or fun things to do. So, I stepped back and redesigned a few things also I have mercilessly cut out the weak parts. Now it's a bit more simple but more deep, fun and interesting. It's funny how removing some complex things (economy) can actually result in things becoming less trivial (available choices).

Changes/rebalance:
  • Old economy system was thrown out, a simpler but more fun was introduced
  • To build ships you need minerals (also a bit of money but that's not the bottleneck)
  • Since money is not used primarily to build new ships anymore the player is encouraged to use it for other purposes (I love that part, it unlocks so many possibilities)
  • Changed the planetary installations mechanic (now it's more predictable and overall makes more sense)
  • Removed the budget feature (it will be partially back via audiences later, but in a more interesting way)
  • Claims to planets introduced
  • Pirates are highly resistant to planetary defences
  • Diplomatic options (Embargo, Give Weapons to minor race)
  • Balance, a lot of it was done
  • A lot of small improvements and fixes

Progress report video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKmNy9ArEGA

Steam Group:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/pocketspaceempire/discussions/1/523897653306395964/
 
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ALPHA stage reached (v0.20, v0.21).

I have decided to cut down on posting, so I can finally finish the game :) Plus, the list of things I changed might be not so thrilling to majority of people here.

List of changes on the homepage: http://www.pocketspaceempire.com/
 
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Your game looks interesting. Do you have a release date set yet, since you mentioned in your first post you were aiming for late 2015?

Is there a campaign of sorts, or it more like a 4x like sandbox?
 
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Your game looks interesting. Do you have a release date set yet, since you mentioned in your first post you were aiming for late 2015?
Yes, I have, but the chances of me delivering at that planned date are slim :) So for now Alpha (EarlyAccess available). But I hope maybe I could reach Beta by the end of this year (far from being guaranteed).
At the moment I'm redoing some gameplay, because after tests I found some features to bot be too great (things that sound great on paper sometimes work in reality and sometimes not).

Is there a campaign of sorts, or it more like a 4x like sandbox?
Hmmm, I'm not sure what you exactly mean by that. Overall, it's a 4X (so I would not call it either campaign or sandbox), but there will be some game modes/scenarios (like "crush the rebels") where some of these will be quite short, so in a sense, you could treat it as a sort of campaign, but I would not call it like that myself :)

Anyway, I would not call it sandbox (since you can win it and the game ends at some point).
 
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Several versions were released in the meantime :)


Version 0.29.1 released

This version was aimed to polish all the new stuff from v0.29, tons of fixes were made as well. Introduced subsidies mechanic. Admirals can now be summoned before the Emperor (and then they can be told that they failed you :D)

- [feature] Subsidies introduced. You can use credits to subsidy a planet in one of areas (defence, economy, population, claims). Susbsidies expire at the end of era.
- [feature] Finished all electricity effects and budget effects, also altered those
- [feature] Generals replaced with Vice Admirals
- [feature] Admirals can be summoned to the audience (instead of "fire admiral" button, now you can fire the admiral via the audience mechanic). You can summon only one admiral per turn, if you summon no one an admiral that was there the furthest will attend.

- [removed] Fort removed (replaced with defensive subsidy)

- [fix] Resources properly update at the first turn
- [fix] Fixed tonnage of fleets calculations
- [fix] Fixed a bug allowing enacting an already active edict
- [fix] Several other smaller fixes

- [interface] Planet interface has military tab removed and all military info moved to planet's overview, added subsidies tab
- [interface] Industry level renamed to development level
- [interface] Fleet screen has average competence/loyalty/corruption of officers displayed
- [interface] Exploration report shows planet graphics and statistics
- [interface] More and better tooltips in various places



Version 0.29 released

It's an interesting and somewhat painful stage of development. I revise various mechanics and... chop features that were not so great :) It's usually a stage when I realize something can be done much simplier without losing any depth (after the overly complex feature is already implemented :(). So what exactly was done? The whole army tab was slated, several mechanics changed/redone. Introduced a nice budget mechanic (I like it). Also rebalanced economy.

- [removed] Army tab removed, army officers merged with fleet, most of army officers removed
- [removed] Powerplants removed (not worthy of attention of the mighty Emperor :))
- [removed] Forts removed (will be replaced with defensive subsidies in the next version), planetary defensive priorities removed

- [feature] Budget mechanic (finances tab), it allows investing in various areas, also it's a nearly infinite money sink if one so desire :)
- [feature] Electricity mechanic introduced, it reused gas (which no longer is a fuel for ships, but a source of electricity). Planets and cities require electricity, if you have a shortage grasdually worse and worse effects come into play (those are listed on the electricity tooltip). Not all electricity shortage effects work in this version.
- [feature] Political officers added to fleets (in future they will be optional), also generals assigned to fleets.
- [feature] Changed army model to local, no more a global pool for defensive infantry (only stormtroopers have such a pool), it's all more simple and intuitive now.
- [feature] Happiness mechanic adjusted.

- [balance] Adjusted starting planetary infrastructure, starting population, resources production rate, etc. Overall you start with more at the beginning but it becomes harder later.
- [balance] Adjusted food & population growth

- [interface] Reforms renamed to edicts (more logical and intuitive)
- [interface] Better tooltips, some beautifications, etc



Version 0.28.2 released

In this version I attempted to explain better some confusing mechanics (like security rating) and in the process I changed those too because I found a better and a simplier way how those should work :) Also finished some features like creation perks and reforms.

- [feature] All create Emperor perks work now.
- [feature] Finished reforms and tied them nicely to eras (number of reforms per era).
- [feature] Planetary loyalty and security explained much better (tooltips). Happiness now affect planet's loyalty only.
- [feature] Rebel points generation (from planetary security, from loyalty of imperial officials) also all this explained better on the empire/summary screen. Note that rebellion is not implemented yet so these have no effect at the moment.
- [feature] Planetary quality of life simplified and explained better, now it affects population growth and efficiency of all industries.
- [feature] Court replacement rules adjusted (old ones get auto promoted if there is a vacancy for any reason and the new ones come into the lowest rank slots).

- [balance] Difficulty levels now differ much more, so players of all skill levels could play it (difficulty 9 should be impossible now). Note that the game is balanced for difficulty 4 (default one).

- [interface] New map mode "specialization" (shows specialization and resource deposits).
- [interface] Numerous beautifications.



Version 0.28.1 released (post Pyrkon version)

This version is the result of the Pyrkon expo and the feedback I gathered there. Thanks all people who visited me there!

- [feature] New court movement rules (also renamed move pts to political pts). The same depth but much less confusing.
- [feature] Department of Protocol is special now, it has no effect at all :) So, it's a great place to store all those incompetent courtiers that are loyal to you or those you need to keep for political reasons.
- [feature] Modified max industry level mechanic.
- [feature] Context help greatly expanded (it's still lacking and unfinished).

- [removed] Innovation mechanic (no one understood it anyway, plus it was redundant with the field bonus mechanic).

- [interface] Improved industry page (edicts less confusing).
- [interface] Research screen improved (list of queued technologies on the fields screen).
- [interface] Find planet/squadron makes zoom in.
- [interface] Numerous beautifications and improvements.

- [fix] Various small fixes.



Version 0.28 released!

The goal of this update was to finish some unfinished things (court related) and streamline the game and interface a bit (removal of test functions, no summon everyone option, default fleet composition).

- [feature] court faction bonuses rednoe and fully implemented (now only the top most influential faction provides a bonus)
- [feature] departments got a separate subpage and there are working bonuses/penalties based on courtiers competence (some are bland and repetitive, will be adjusted in future versions)
- [feature] default fleet composition (hull types requested for squadrons)

- [removed] test/dev functions are hidden (unless you activate tester mode)
- [removed] audience chancellor button summoning all officials (it was too micro like one)

Saves compatibility note: compatible with v0.27 with a possible minor first turn glitch (tax bonus might be wrong during the first turn after you use old saves)



Version 0.27.3 released!

- [fix] tax system
- [fix] incorrect corruption of new characters

- [feature] icon on the planet screen to identify a frontier planet
- [feature] various smaller improvements
- [balance] characters live significantly longer, less minerals from mines (which means lower ships production)



Version 0.27.2 released

Fix of the fix :) Also removed/redid a bunch of useless features in order to make it simplier & more streamlined.

- [fix] The rare Win 8.1 screen bug

- [removed] fire governor button on planet screen (it was too micromanagish and overall lame, now you can fire governors via audience system only)
- [removed] squadron size button (it's not needed in practice and was only confusing, just create multiple squadrons and you get the same effect)
- [feature] changed planetary defence priority adjustment, instead of adjusting it by -3/+3 now you can set a planet as a fort, you can do it with maximum 3 planets. Fort planets are also marked on the map and overall it's better and more cool.



Version 0.27.1 (Alpha) released.

The first update after Steam Early Access.

- [fix] Added "safe mode" launch option which you can use if you have problems (Steam option, or you can run the game via "gamename.exe -safemode")
- [fix] Probably fixed the rare Win 8.1 screen bug (but it needs confirmation, anyway, you can use the safemode if you still have problems)

- [feature] Characters have names displayed prominently above their stats (except planetary governors, because they are not worthy of your magnificent attention :))
- [feature] improved context help and overall improved help
- [balance] Pirates a bit weaker



Version 0.27 (Alpha) released.

The eight Alpha. Victory conditions redesigned and ingame manual.

Changes:
- How To Play (ingame manual)
- New victory conditions system (glorious achievements and coronation ceremony).

https://youtu.be/gDxjnk6RTdk



Version 0.26 (Alpha) released.

The seventh Alpha. A small update, purely polish.

Changes:
- More audience events (court related)
- Audiences polished & improved
- Other convenience & clarity features (like priority of research being choosen on startup, notice if no research is queued)
 
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