Endless Legend

[Seek]

Endless Legend is an upcoming 4X from Amplitude Studios, the developers behind Endless Space and Dungeon of the Endless.

I'm not usually one to go for fantasy 4X, but I am super excited about this game - unique mechanics for economy and combat, map elevation (!), beautiful graphics, Amplitude's patented ultra-clean UI, etc.

GAME OVERVIEW

• Randomly generated 3D hexagonal worlds
• Custom factions
• 8 pre-set factions
• 16 minor factions
• Multiplayer with up to 8 players
• Battles happen in 3D in the same world as where you colonize and explore
• Custom heroes and units
• A rich technology tree
• A deep economic system that will make colonizing and expanding your cities a real strategic challenge
• Strong seasons, that will force you to plan ahead and adapting your empire policy for the next season
• Heroes and quests. quests will not just encourage you to explore the world but also will pit you against enemy heroes or will force you to cooperate with them
• A real market place where everything and anything can be bought and sold: troops, items, food, science... etc
• A diplomacy focusing on coordination and agreements

and much much more...

Complete overview
Other design documents
Official Website
Some other (rather large) screenshots:

Spoiler :

 

[Sonereal]

Screenshot looks clean enough. Three-quarters of modern fantasy games think that clutter=quality.

 

[civvver]

oh god between this and age of wonders 3, I'm be fantasy 4x'd out!

 

[tesb]

don't forget warlock 2

 

[Seek]

I forgot to mention in the OP that according to this PCGamer article Endless Legend will be available for early access on Steam "in a month"!

Screenshot looks clean enough. Three-quarters of modern fantasy games think that clutter=quality.

Too true! Considering these screenshots are from pre-alpha builds, I expect the UI to be even cleaner on release.

oh god between this and age of wonders 3, I'm be fantasy 4x'd out!

Yes, AoW III is looking great too!

don't forget warlock 2

Eh, not really my cup of tea.. A lot of folks seem very exited about it though, true - seems it will be the year of the fantasy 4X.

 

[PhilBowles]

The screenshot looks nice, but Endless Space was terrible - bland, overly simplified, with characterless factions and combat-obsessed with a Facebook-style card game for the combat system. I'm not going to be going for another 4x from that developer based on past experience alone - they'll have to have done a lot to up their game, literally.

 

[Maniacal]

I hope its not as shallow and actually has combat that doesn't ruin the game like their previous title.

 

[Seek]

This is the first video with gameplay footage released, and I have to say I am anticipating this game more than CivBE right now!

Link to video.

@PhilBowles, Maniacal - I have been worrying about the unengaging combat and general sterility of Endless Space infecting this game as well. As we draw nearer to release, I am coming around to think that these will not be issues for this game - and the devs have said in interviews that they have listened to the criticisms of ES when designing this game.

From what I understand, the combat is going to work something like this:

There are limited stacks (which can grow via techs) on which a leader can be assigned, and when you initiate combat you deploy your troops on the existent map terrain (which includes terrain elevation with advantages!) and give them tactical orders, after which the combat plays out following units' initiative values in AI control. Each unit has separate values for attack, defense, critical, and initiative. I think there are three rounds of combat, but this might be inaccurate. Oh and yes, you can autoresolve if desired.

So:

• battles move a good clip
• there are tactical decisions
• where you battle on the world map is important
• there isn't too much of an advantage for humans vs AI (one of Civ 5's biggest downfalls)

Empire management looks like it will have a great deal more depth than ES as well.

 

[Maniacal]

I really, really hope the combat works out well, this game is looking really cool.

So if I understand this correctly, your armies are stacks as they move around the map and then enter a "combat zone" of some sort where they spread out into individual units when they actually engage in battle? Personally I'd like to see a separate battle map of the local area come up as a different screen (like it does in Imperialism II or sort of like Total War) but there does seem to be plenty of room for the units to spread out and fight over. I found Civ5 could get a bit crowded as armies inched their way across the land and it ruined any immersion that was left.

I'm not sure I like the sound of having the AI control your units in combat, I'd rather have more direct control. Especially since I don't really trust game AIs to make good decisions.

 

[cybrxkhan]

I couldn't get into Endless Space that much, but this looks interesting. The UI looks a tad bit too modern for a fantasy game, but then again a lot of fantasy UIs are just trying too hard to be fantasy-ish, so that's alright.

 

[Quintillus]

So it sounds like the consensus is that Endless Space is a skip? I saw that for the first time the other day, and it sounded kind of interesting, but I decided to wait till I heard some reviews. Perhaps it was a good thing I did. I'd been hoping it might be a good alternative to GalCiv2.

I'm not a fantasy fan, so this isn't as up my ally. Although I am a bit curious if it's using the Civ5 engine - it looks rather similar.

 

[cybrxkhan]

So it sounds like the consensus is that Endless Space is a skip? I saw that for the first time the other day, and it sounded kind of interesting, but I decided to wait till I heard some reviews. Perhaps it was a good thing I did. I'd been hoping it might be a good alternative to GalCiv2.

I'm not a fantasy fan, so this isn't as up my ally. Although I am a bit curious if it's using the Civ5 engine - it looks rather similar.

I didn't really get into it, but then again I'm not too much of a sci-fi guy as I used to be so don't take my word for it.

 

[Maniacal]

Endless Space is definitely a skip, aside from the combat it isn't a bad game but it doesn't really do anything better than other 4X games. Just get Sword of the Stars instead.

Endless Legend is definitely not using the Civ5 engine.

 

[tesb]

endless legend uses the unity engine afaik

 

[Quintillus]

Endless Space is definitely a skip, aside from the combat it isn't a bad game but it doesn't really do anything better than other 4X games. Just get Sword of the Stars instead.

Endless Legend is definitely not using the Civ5 engine.

Will skip in that case. I hadn't heard of Sword of the Stars. Is it the original game you're recommending, or the second one? Reading a bit about it, it sounds like the first one is generally preferred?

 

[Maniacal]

Either one, they're both good games. The second one had a rough launch though but has been continually updated and patched up, although they decided to make quite a few changes for the sake of change rather than being actual improvements so some features are a bit clunky.

They both go cheaply on sale, SotS: Complete might be easier to get into (it doesn't have very good tutorials though).

 

[Seek]

I really, really hope the combat works out well, this game is looking really cool.

So if I understand this correctly, your armies are stacks as they move around the map and then enter a "combat zone" of some sort where they spread out into individual units when they actually engage in battle? Personally I'd like to see a separate battle map of the local area come up as a different screen (like it does in Imperialism II or sort of like Total War) but there does seem to be plenty of room for the units to spread out and fight over. I found Civ5 could get a bit crowded as armies inched their way across the land and it ruined any immersion that was left.

I'm not sure I like the sound of having the AI control your units in combat, I'd rather have more direct control. Especially since I don't really trust game AIs to make good decisions.

The units spread out on the actual world map, which is fantastic imo, the way Civ 5 made terrain as important for combat as for city-building was the best thing about the 1UPT system. EL will keep that but avoid some of the worst aspects of Civ 5's 1UPT:
- Pathfinding and moving armies will be less arduous and irritating because they stack
- The maps won't be as cramped as in Civ, because there is only one city per region allowed

Here's how combat was described in a preview article:

Spoiler :

Elevation plays a major role on the map—if one hex is a few levels higher than surrounding hexes, its sides will be blocked off by impassable cliff faces. A height advantage also gives units like archers an expected combat bonus.

[Creative director Romain] de Waubert says that intelligently using those elevation differences is key in combat, since there's no micromanagement. You give each unit a simple order—where to move and then who to attack—and then end your turn and watch combat play out. Each unit in the battle takes its turn in a sequence that's displayed at the top of the screen.

"Now the battle is happening in real time, but it's turn after turn based on [unit] initiatives," de Waubert explains after giving his units orders and ending his turn. "The faster initiatives play first. The whole trick is to make sure the other guy's units with fast initiatives are being killed first or stopped first. So in a way you can combo and only have your guys play."

By paying attention to that sequence, you can target the enemy units that are moving first and potentially wipe them out before they get to attack. Dominoes.

Long battles can play out over three phases, with multiple turns in each.

I couldn't get into Endless Space that much, but this looks interesting. The UI looks a tad bit too modern for a fantasy game, but then again a lot of fantasy UIs are just trying too hard to be fantasy-ish, so that's alright.

Amplitude seems to be using the same UI for all their games, for better or worse (it's very clean and easy to read while not taking up too much screen real estate). Since the game is supposed to have approximately the same breadth as civ, hopefully it will get less jarring in the more modern eras. (There is also a very small chance that it is placeholder UI.)

endless legend uses the unity engine afaik

Yup!

 

[Maniacal]

You give each unit a simple order—where to move and then who to attack—and then end your turn and watch combat play out. Each unit in the battle takes its turn in a sequence that's displayed at the top of the screen.

That doesn't sound too bad.

 

[Seek]

So the NDA for the beta pre-alpha testers is now gone, I think we can expect Endless Legend to be released on Steam's Early Access sometime this week! If you check their forums you can find the manual and a ton of new information about the game.

Here is an excellent video introduction/overview if anyone's interested:


Link to video.

Enjoy!

 

[Rub'Rum]

I played about 20 hours of Endless Space (2-3 games) and I bought it for a few dollars on sale. I'd say it was worth it for me. I've been meaning to play it again. I enjoy exploring systems and trying to make the best out of them. The soundtrack is also great. I'm actually glad that not all games feel the need to go full chess or Real-Time Strategy when combat occurs, which is why I like Civ over Total War. There are games where I like combat screens somehow, those usually have quickly resolved combat (Heroes of Might and Magic) or some quirky units (Age of Wonders). I like RTS combat or turn-based chess-like combats when I boot up a game where they're the point of it... Like Age of Empire, or Company of Heroes.