Imperia: New 4X Game I am designing - MOO2 meets Crusader Kings II

[Jorgen_CAB]

Thanks Jorgen_CAB. I knew I couldn't be the only one who wished 4X games were a little more... realistic. I appreciate your kind words!

As far as tactical battles, while I will probably allow your persona to be at a battle, battle in Imperia will be very abstract, ala Paradox games. I want to focus mainly on the grand strategy and politics, and while that might be something added far, far (far) down the road, it's not a priority at present. That said, I do want some sort of control over combat, but every decision the player makes in Imperia I have to ask the overarching question: Would an emperor do this in their day-to-day tasks? If not, it gets streamlined.

-Steve

I was not expecting tactical combat as we know it, perhaps just a way to somehow influence it with your emperor if you want to risk your life doing it.

I still hope that the abstraction at least include some interesting combat mechanics so there are some choices in what ship types you need and in what proportions. Anyway, it probably are some of the less important stuff in a game like this.

[Texashawk (OP)]

FYI I have updated the blog to add an entry on how the economic system works.

[Texashawk (OP)]

FYI, I have updated the imperiagame.wordpress.com blog. Since I will not always update this thread, I recommend following this blog if you want to keep up with Imperia's progress!

[Texashawk (OP)]

Oh yes, there will be lots of opportunity for combat! You will still design ships and create mighty fleets of war, just more abstracted. You will be able to designate a heavy task force, say, and give your war Prime general parameters on how to outfit such. You will also be able to request and require that certain types of ships be researched and designed, depending on how you think a war should be fought. I'm a Honorverse aficionado so trust me when I say that military will be a big part of the package!!  

-Steve

I was not expecting tactical combat as we know it, perhaps just a way to somehow influence it with your emperor if you want to risk your life doing it.

I still hope that the abstraction at least include some interesting combat mechanics so there are some choices in what ship types you need and in what proportions. Anyway, it probably are some of the less important stuff in a game like this.

[Jorgen_CAB]

I must say I'm pretty impressed with all the information you released so far. If you pull this project off as you seem to be doing you will have a gemstone in your hand from what I can tell. I'm also pleased that wars will require some afterthought and planning, not just build X number of ships and release them on the enemy.

[Gyrfalcon]

I've subscribed to the blog to keep up with this game - it sounds like it should be pretty awesome. If you ever need another alpha or beta tester, hit me up - I'd be glad to help.

[Texashawk (OP)]

Jorgen_CAB,

I appreciate your faith! I will do my best to make this a fun and involving experience! By the way, I have updated the blog with the game's roadmap so you can get an idea of what is ahead. Thanks!

Steve

I must say I'm pretty impressed with all the information you released so far. If you pull this project off as you seem to be doing you will have a gemstone in your hand from what I can tell. I'm also pleased that wars will require some afterthought and planning, not just build X number of ships and release them on the enemy.

[Texashawk (OP)]

Gyrfalcon,

Welcome aboard! 

Steve

I've subscribed to the blog to keep up with this game - it sounds like it should be pretty awesome. If you ever need another alpha or beta tester, hit me up - I'd be glad to help.

[deoved]

Interestingly enough MOO3 alpha-version contains similar ADM system, but it was scraped prior to release.

[Nathan_]

This looks interesting, I do definitely recommend abstracting the combat to the degree that you can.

[Texashawk (OP)]

Alpha .225 is now up on SourceForge. Link is at imperiagame.wordpress.com!

[Texashawk (OP)]

Alpha .226 is up. Here is the changelog:

Imperia V.226 Change Log
5.20.14

Fixes
* Fixed bug where deleting a system edict caused crash
* Fixed ‘rounding’ bug when adding Influence to an Edict
* Fixed rare bug where planets had identical populations and the Intel screen was accessed
* Fixed bug where crash occurs if you abandon a planet or system with active Edicts that are not completed that turn
* Fixed bug where viceroy would refuse to expand a sector based on the fact that the planet was losing money when it fact it was not
* Fixed bug where expanding a planet economy could cause the development level to go above the maximum
* Fixed bug where Edict ADM values in selection lists would not always match up with Edict Creation screen ADM values
* Fixed bug where if the system capital was abandoned and no other planet was in the sector, the sector would still remain active, even though there was no population, and the governors would still be assigned to an empty sector/system. Now all governors are removed from office, the sector is made inactive, and any money in the sector treasury goes into the Empire treasury.
* Fixed a few bugs relating to assassinations.

Changes/Additions
* Added full resolution support across all screens, including the planet screen
* Improved look of most resolutions by scaling all viewports and graphics more precisely – continued work on this will be ongoing
* Added some of Nadia’s awesome planets, especially gas giants
* Dimmed out buttons on button bar which don’t function yet to minimize confusion
* Changed economic model to now take planetary subsidies if needed from sector treasuries first before the Imperial treasury. This will promote developing stronger sectors while penalizing weak economic sectors in assisting their system’s projects, since if they go broke the sector will now receive a subsidy from the Empire with a small efficiency penalty depending on distance
* With this change, added AI for sector governors to adjust the sector tax as needed, depending on their intelligence, greed, and other traits
* Added right-click on system will center functionality on the quadrant map. This is experimental and may be removed or optioned depending on feedback.
* Added assigning system to new sector edict, and added UI functionality to allow other edicts with secondary choices (such as designations)
* Added new planetary edict – change primary designation
* Added 2 new designations – government nexus and material production world
* Added more system and planet names, and eliminated duplicate planet/system names - may have fixed a bug related to duplicate names
* Added basic designation effects – i.e. heavy production worlds now have negative terraforming modifiers, but greater wages, etc.
* Added attempt to assassinate character action – must have active informer network and costs 5 Tyrannical Influence. More informers improves chance; a high character Power and Intelligence lowers it. May take several turns to resolve.
* Some small calculating efficiency gains, especially between turns
* Added check to potentially add ADM for emperor every year
* Added more reactions to events and emperor Edicts that affect governors and viceroys, especially changing system assignments
* Some small graphics improvements/changes

Balance
* Some cost/edict balances; some items cost less ADM, some more (a few were 1 ADM for testing, those have been changed)
* Material production is now considerably more profitable per mTon (to counterbalance increased costs for setting up and maintaining manufacturing) ($10 vs. $4)
* Science production is more costly due to impending Science system addition, prepare for costs!
* Planet ADM has been tweaked upward for sectors and the Imperial capital
* ADM efficiency has been increased from 6:1 to 5:1 for Empire ADM used for planetary Edicts
* Increased empire possible minimum Base Engine Range so that missions are easier (will probably change once science is available, as this will be available to improve)
* Significantly increased effect of Loyalty on Edict completion. Now you will absolutely have to get your leaders into line somehow if you want your more advanced Edicts to be completed this decade. ?
* Lowered cost of surveying and exploring to encourage it.

[Lamandier]

I love CK2(and Paradox games in general), and I love vaguely-medieval-empires-in-SPAAAAACE settings like Dune or Battletech, so this sounds like a great concept to me. Definitely going to try it out.

[PSI]

So...I tried out the game for a little bit. I get the mechanics of the game, but I'm honestly not sure where to start within the game. My best guess is that I need to set up trade networks? But building starbases takes a really long time, and the planets eventually run out of materials.

On another note, the game crashed when I abandoned a planet. I guess I won't be doing that for the time being.

Edit: While nobody's posting, I had better use this post for my complaints about the game.

If a planet has a "terraforming advised" bio rating, population support drops rapidly. What does the bio rating even mean, and why would a low one cause enough unrest for the populace to start revolting? It feels a little unfair because I always start out with several planets with a bad bio rating AND unrealistically high unemployment (An 80% unemployment rate?!).

There seems to be no way to reduce sector taxes, which end up accounting for the majority of my expenses. I've seen sector taxes of 33% or higher, with my population getting pissy because of it. Wait a second, how come income taxes raise money, but system and sector taxes reduce it? It would make more sense if all three taxes gave you (and the viceroys/governors) income, while expenses paid to keep the planet's facilities running reduced it. There's also no option to tell viceroys to raise taxes...

Planet populations are very small. Even New Terra seems to always be below 10,000,000 people. I suggest that you ramp up starting populations by, say, 10x the normal amount. If that would cause too many pops (which are 5,000 people each) to be in the game, then increase the pop size to 50,000.

If a planet runs out of materials, Edicts for construction can still be passed and go into effect.

I don't have the option to add secondary designations to any planet, even when it has room to add one. Also, sometimes there's a green arrow pointing down next to the Edict selection, but clicking it does nothing. Is it supposed to do something?

I guess my problem with the game is that whenever I try to improve one planet, the rest of the other planets end up deteriorating.

[Texashawk (OP)]

Psi - good feedback. I responded to you on the Imperia forums.

-Steve