Shadow Empire

[Syt]

New game from the guy who made the Decisive Campaign games.

Currently watching DasTactic doing a preview stream. Looks quite good.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1154840/Shadow_Empire/

Shadow Empire puts you in the seat of the supreme ruler of a small nation destined for greatness and reconquering a devastated Planet.

You have Leaders to help you govern your Zones, administer your Organisations and lead your armies. You'll also have Stratagems available that you can play on various targets.

You will be engaged in a great military conquest, in diplomacy, budgets, organizational management, in building your economy, infrastructures and many more details.

The game has a very procedural design that will ensure re-playability and experimentation. Not only are the Planets procedurally generated, also the equipment with you are fighting is.

A separate system for discovery of Techs, Formation Types and Model Types and their research/development also ensures that you'll have to work with different playing pieces each game.

The game universe is designed to evoke the feeling of being on another planet in some dark future, but at the same time to stay familiar. It is a game that does not deny it is a game, but it has a strong thematic focus on keeping things relatively realistic.

For a strategy game there is a relatively strong roleplaying angle where you'll need to keep your leaders happy in order for them to do their jobs well and not get any ideas of rebellion.

There is a lot of potential micro management to engage in and to offset this the game has Stratagems that allow sweeping actions by just clicking the 'play stratagem' button. This allows a mental break from the micro stuff, for helping the player get out of a fix and enforcing the thematics as well.

This game is one of the most ambitious games VR Designs ever made.

It is a very rich experience and a truly unique game that is no cookie-cutter of something you have already seen before

With a big game, comes a big Features List
- Most turns you'll have to make Decisions on events occuring in your Zones, with your Leaders or with third parties (for example: cults, crime syndicates)
- Procedurally generated Planets according to the rules of Astrobiology that include Climates, Rainfall, Deserts, Snow, Glaciers, Lava streams, Deep Forests, Alien Evolution, Mountain chains, - Resources, Rivers, Biohazard Level and Respiratory Hazard Level, etc.
- Detailed Combat Resolution taking into account factors as Readiness, Morale, Supplies, Experience, Entrenchment, Landscapes, Recon, Rivers, Weapon and Armor Technologies, Concentric Attacks, Leader Skills and Posture Stratagems.
- Discover and Operationalize over a 100 different Formation Types, each in 3 different sizes (like Infantry Armor, Heavy Assault Brigade, etc)
- Discover and Design 30+ different Model Types (like Light Tank, Walkers, Missile Launchers, etc...)
- The game starts at a Low Tech Level, but at the end of the Tech Tree you'll find knowledge that allows you to build (for example): Laser Guns, Atomic Missile Launchers, Walkers, Shield-Generators and even ICBMs.
- Discover and Research over a 100 different Tech Fields (like Assault Rifle, Algae Vats)
- Units can pick up supplies from a road hex inside the Logistical Network in a certain operational supply range.
- You can extend your Logistics Network capabilities by building Roads or Rails as well as constructing Truck Stations, Maglev Station and Supply Base Assets.
- Leaders can be recruited and appointed to become Zone Governors, Council Directors, Army Commanders or Advisors.
- Leaders can have over 40 different Skills and can receive Leader Feats to augment their Stats
- You can play Stratagems (cards) on other Regimes, Leaders or Zones. Over 150+ available.
- Unsatisfied Leaders could leave you, rebel or turn corrupt.
- Leaders tend to band together in Factions.
- Factions will put forward Demands on you, like asking you to conquer a neighbour or raise your Tech Level.
- You either have a Parliament, Senate or Politburo in your nation, you will be able to change system during a game
- On the Diplomacy front: Minor Regimes can be coerced to become a vassal or even join you. Major Regimes can be tied into a number of pact and deals to ensure a peaceful coexistence.
- Realistic supply model where running out stuff always has consequences. Lack of Oil will immobilize your troops, lack of Ammo will for sure stop any offensive operations and a lack of Food might just starve and kill your Troops and Populace.
- Different kinds of Mining operations possible: Water, Metal, Rare Metals, Oil and Radioactives.
- Prospecting is often necessary for discovering Resources that could be mined
- Scavenge Ruins and discover rare Artifacts.
- Supports multi-player

[PDH]

The planet part (at least) reminds me of Emperor of the Fading Suns from way back when...

[The Brain]

Will Space Thatcher close the water mines?

[The Brain]

The planet part (at least) reminds me of Emperor of the Fading Suns from way back when...

I loved that game. Then my save game was corrupted.

[Habbaku]

Will Space Thatcher close the water mines?

DraftWaterMiners.

[Syt]

The planet part (at least) reminds me of Emperor of the Fading Suns from way back when...

Just watched planet generation. First you select a base type. Then how close/far it is from the sun, axis tilt, etc. The game will then create basic geography. Then it creates a history of the planet - first settlement, main industries, cities, farming communities with cleared forests around it, and so on. Afterwards things go to shit because of apocalyptic war - cities become ruins, people leave/die, and the remaining ones fall into farmers, raiders, scavengers etc.

The game starts with your "resettlement" effort.

[FunkMonk]

The wargame podcast Single Malt Strategy (with the Historical Gamer and TortugaPower YouTube guys) has an interesting interview with the designer of Shadow Empire (and the Decisive Campaigns series)

[celedhring]

There's a Spanish youtube channel that has been running a let's play of this and it got me in full "take my money" mode for this*. It looks really cool, the kind of ridiculously expansive sandboxy 4X that I love.

*Once it's on sale 

[Syt]

I've been watching DasTactic play it a fair bit, and it looks really cool.

[FunkMonk]

Yeah, it looks great so far. Really deep 4X game with a wargame layer on top.

It is supposed to go on sale June 4.

[Syt]

https://www.matrixgames.com/news/the-apocalypse-is-nigh-shadow-empire-out-on-june-4th

It's hard to call this forgotten planet Home, with its endless deserts and its monsters of unfathomable terror beneath its surface. But it is indeed Home, not only for you but also for your people and it has been since the War. It is your duty now to act as the leader your people deserve, to protect them and to repel any enemy trying to crush you. You are not alone on this journey to bring back civilization after all. Will you have what to take to resist and survive?

Shadow Empire is coming out on Matrix Store on June, 4th! Brace yourself for the most innovative and deep sci-fi wargame ever designed.

Shadow Empire puts you in the seat of the supreme ruler of a small nation destined for greatness and reconquering a devastated Planet. You have Leaders to help you govern your Zones, administer your Organisations and lead your armies. You'll also have Stratagems available that you can play on various targets. Can you make your people climb the ladder of civilization and technology once again? Can you conquer and reunite the planet?

Summary of the Features

Turn-based Strategy
Planetary Exploration and Conquest
Hardcore Military Simulation
Deep management of your Empire and Economy
Many Stratagems, Stories and Decisions combined with a roleplaying angle
A Sandbox and Procedural experience that invites to play the game as you want

[Berkut]

https://www.wargamer.com/reviews/shadow-empire/?fbclid=IwAR0FgV6d790zLevodJS48QKVBahba9PHwktzae0JIVsnZhXJ7nNCrLMzq1c

Well, that is a rather glowing review, to say the least.

It has everything you've ever seen and read in sci-fi. Your dewy child eyes shine wider and wider. You have just found the thing you will obsess over for the next year. Twenty years from now, a game company will try to reboot 'Shadow Empire' and they will get close, but it won't be the same. You'll still fondly think of the time you spent trying to figure out where bureaucratic points came from and why the Freemen never performed as well in combat as they seemed to in Dune. Shadow Empire could have been made in 1996, but instead we get it now, in 2020, when games of its calibre and this vision are few and far between.

Shadow Empire is the Alpha Centauri of today, only better. Yeah, I said it.

[Syt]

Wargamer does tend o be quite lenient with their reviews, though.

[Berkut]

I pulled the trigger. Used the 20% off code from Wargamer.

[The Brain]

Take your time up on the mountain, but then come back down and present us The Truth.