Endless Space 2 : The Unfallen [ + the other factions of ES2 ]
21 replies, posted
Endless Space 2 is nearly out. The original was really solid, and Endless Space 2 is shaping up nicely too. The best part is the variety in gameplay between all of the races, and the Unfallen look to be no exception:
[video=youtube;fKHLH_e12o0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKHLH_e12o0[/video]
[quote]
A welcome change of pace to the more militaristic factions found within Endless Space 2, The Unfallen abhor war. Shocked into action upon seeing the pain inflicted by other races, these gentle tree-folk took to the stars to usher in a new age of peace. As such, their play-style is much slower than most, with their goal to achieve symbiosis with any race they encounter and expand their reach via cooperation. Much like an actual tree, they grow the branches of their civilization over several generations, forging strong bonds that will last for centuries.
Being attuned with nature, The Unfallen can also awaken long-slumbering Guardians on any planet they settle on. These once dormant creatures will provide protection and bonuses to their allies, while penalising any foes that dare mess with the natural order of things. You definitely want The Unfallen on your side during a campaign as these wise treants will protect you, should you accept their help.
However, The Unfallen will collapse if they lose contact from their homeworld. If the trunk of their galactic tree were to be cut down, its branches and roots will wither and die. If you play The Unfallen, be sure to keep an eye on any other factions that would try to invade your homeworld
[/quote]
The Riftborn were also recently added - their special ability involves changing the flow of time in systems they control. They also have a really cool soundtrack set, involving tons of contemporary piano/electronic pieces like in their prologue video.
[video=youtube;h8H8DedCW_I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8H8DedCW_I[/video]
The last empire that really plays differently is the Vodyani, who harvest planets to grow and live in giant arks that can move from system to system.
[video=youtube;yupbwsSfGsE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yupbwsSfGsE[/video]
Maybe you favor a dystopian human touch, though?
[video=youtube;HTbS8BEa1oI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTbS8BEa1oI[/video]
Or maybe the long-forgotten weapons of the Endless, the Cravers?[video=youtube;-4rgswnjpZg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4rgswnjpZg[/video]
The game is pretty solid, fairly priced, and Amplitude seems interested in continuing to expand the game after release (for free). I haven't seen anything posted about it here, and figured some would enjoy these little videos so figured why not.
I hope combat is better in this one, in the first game I think it felt too much like you were just throwing your numbers at their numbers and hoping you randomly picked the weapon type that countered what your enemy happened to be using at the time. I also felt like the galaxy map could have been a little, err, "mappy" in the sense there was more importance to the overall topography than just what nodes were connected to what. Other than that though, it was great.
es1 was a gem, and endless legend was even more so. amplitude is a relatively unknown studio for the quality of games they put out
I'll have to pick this up eventually. I own all of their games.
I still can't win at Dungeon of the Endless though, that game is hard
Out officially on the 19th.
Good devs. The amount of support they gave Endless Legend waaay after launch was nothing short of stellar.
One thing I love about Amplitude's games is they all have awesome art direction.
[QUOTE=Mingebox;52226493]I hope combat is better in this one, in the first game I think it felt too much like you were just throwing your numbers at their numbers and hoping you randomly picked the weapon type that countered what your enemy happened to be using at the time. I also felt like the galaxy map could have been a little, err, "mappy" in the sense there was more importance to the overall topography than just what nodes were connected to what. Other than that though, it was great.[/QUOTE]
The combat is improved primarily by making it clear what each type of card/move does - there are also really only 3 main choices now, between long-mid-short range mostly. Ship combat feels less spammy and a bit more detailed too.
I also really like the variety in planet types, the little blurbs for each of the various habitable and uninhabitable planet types are super neat.
The quests are a nice addition
[sp]For the cravers if you pick the right options you can bring some of the virtual endless back to the galaxy[/sp]
[QUOTE=kiloy;52230137]The quests are a nice addition
[sp]For the cravers if you pick the right options you can bring some of the virtual endless back to the galaxy[/sp][/QUOTE]
wait no way. I never managed to get far in the quests, but the United Empire one was kinda neat and felt so very apt for that empire
I keep trying to start a new game as the Vodyani, but never really get far since the Vodyani are pretty tough to play right now. I really want the [URL="http://endlessspace.wikia.com/wiki/Factions#Sowers"]Sowers[/URL] to return, because as a concept I [I]loved[/I] that race's background and its totally a concept I'm borrowing for my projects. I'd be interested to see the Sophon quest though, since their thing is all about activating what seems to be a big AI system
A lot of the lore and world-building that goes into Amplitude games is awesome. Like, even the minor factions of Endless Space 2 are just [I]fascinating[/I], and hugely varied. There's not the usual "Cyborg", "Human", "Alien" trifecta that makes up many franchises.
I always adored Endless Space for its great world building, music and interface. It certainly had some flaws but it made up for it big time.
I have played around 30 hours of ES2 so far and the improvement in relation to the original is staggering, the factions feel even more diverse and everything seems to ooze with lore in a very interesting universe. FlyByNo did an amazing job on the soundtrack as well.
Also one thing I really love about Amplitude's games, apart from the stellar support, is how all of their games are somehow entwined in a larger story set in the same universe, and ES2 seems to be expanding greatly upon it.
All the Endless games are top fucking notch, and this one's no different
I've been a fan of the Vodyani and stealing the souls of conquered worlds. If you get naval superiority over a nation you can stay at war and basically make a soul farm out of their worlds. Allowing you to create more arks.
Invasion is so much better in this game too.
I just started playing Endless Legend after buying it a long time ago and I'm loving it. Is this a pretty similar game? I've never played strategy games like this before now.
How is the balancing in this? In ES1, it was a dice roll whether you get stomped at the beginning or not.
[QUOTE=Dr.C;52242490]How is the balancing in this? In ES1, it was a dice roll whether you get stomped at the beginning or not.[/QUOTE]
I haven't played Endless Space nearly as much as I should have, but the only game I played was a 2-player map with an AI, and that AI ended up being extremely xenophilic and friendly.
I haven't finished that game yet, but I'm really curious as to how that will eventually end. :v:
[QUOTE=Dr.C;52242490]How is the balancing in this? In ES1, it was a dice roll whether you get stomped at the beginning or not.[/QUOTE]
Until you realize that you should forego all other weapons and spam long range kinetics. Maybe 2 def of each type.
Everything dies in the first turn.
So far 2 doesn't seem to have this issue though. Just keep an eye out on what your opponent has and change your designs as needed.
My biggest pet peeve with endless legend was the "visual accuracy" of the weapons. There's something about seeing like 200 lasers/ shots firing towards an enemy ship and 80% of them miss by a long shot.
[sp]which you could later fix with mods, so not that big of a deal.[/sp]
[URL="http://steamcommunity.com/games/392110/announcements/detail/1262543171544373193"]Holy (early!) launch day patch, Batman![/URL]
Talk about being awesome, gj amplitude. Early release and a super solid launch day patch.
[QUOTE=paindoc;52248083][URL="http://steamcommunity.com/games/392110/announcements/detail/1262543171544373193"]Holy (early!) launch day patch, Batman![/URL]
Talk about being awesome, gj amplitude. Early release and a super solid launch day patch.[/QUOTE]
Good thing I bought it yesterday. Didn't know they were going to increase the price. :v:
