Author Topic: Other 4x Games I've Tried  (Read 9279 times)

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Offline xeryon

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Re: Other 4x Games I've Tried
« Reply #15 on: September 04, 2013, 11:20:25 AM »
I haven't picked it up in years but I had a good gaming experience with GalCiv2.  I never tried GalCiv1 so I have little to benchmark it against.

This thread is so far dedicated to space variants of 4x games.  Any non-space versions that you guys are fond of?

I've always been a fan of the Civ series.  Civ 4 was an excellent game with the two expansion packs.  I bought Civ V on launch day and I was so disappointed with Civ V that I shelved it after a few hours of play and didn't pick it up again for years.  They just released an expansion witch greatly improves the AI diplomatic aspect of the game and has made it downright enjoyable.  There is still a lot of frivolous fluff but the complexity and depth has returned with the two expansions.
 

Offline Noble713

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Re: Other 4x Games I've Tried
« Reply #16 on: December 20, 2013, 08:36:16 AM »
Quote from: Thundercraft link=topic=5972. msg64546#msg64546 date=1375134145
Also, looking around, I see that prices for Space Empires IV have really dropped.  I'm very tempted to get it now.  Though, I see the reason is because Space Empires V is what people are after.  Maybe I should skip straight to V?

I've been playing since Space Empires II in the early-mid 90's.  Space Empires IV is awesome, especially with some of the mods out there.  The AI is pretty poor overall but if you like sandbox-style gameplay and robust ship design flexibility, it's hard to beat.  Combat does tend to devolve into a combination of either warp point assaults or planetary assaults, and not much else.  But hey. . . . the game let's you build your own ringworlds and Dyson Spheres!

I had high hopes for the modding flexibility of SE5 but the UI and sub-par 3D engine (especially for ground combat) utterly killed it for me.  To this day I still play SE4.  Good 2D icons actually work better than a hideous 3D engine (even if you import sexy, high-poly ship models like I did for Star Wars mod, the engine itself is lacking. . . . it's hard to describe). 

I have 3 mods for SE4: someone's Star Trek: TNG-era mod, a Babylon 5 mod with a bunch of my personal changes, and my own Star Wars mod (where I play both the Clone Wars-era Republic and all the major Separatist factions, in an accurately-mapped Star Wars galaxy).

I highly recommend the Proportions Mod for SE4, probably the most flexible research tree and ship components.  Nothing is as flexible as Aurora but Proportions Mod might be close.
 

Offline GeneJack

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Re: Other 4x Games I've Tried
« Reply #17 on: December 26, 2013, 05:09:38 PM »
Quote
Sadly, I decided to give "Stars!" a chance shortly after the game was abandoned, so I never got to try this one.   Though, I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed it. 

STARS!  was the first space 4x I ever played.   I still enjoy it immensely. 
 

Offline Sematary

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Re: Other 4x Games I've Tried
« Reply #18 on: December 29, 2013, 01:08:04 AM »
I haven't picked it up in years but I had a good gaming experience with GalCiv2.  I never tried GalCiv1 so I have little to benchmark it against.

This thread is so far dedicated to space variants of 4x games.  Any non-space versions that you guys are fond of?

I've always been a fan of the Civ series.  Civ 4 was an excellent game with the two expansion packs.  I bought Civ V on launch day and I was so disappointed with Civ V that I shelved it after a few hours of play and didn't pick it up again for years.  They just released an expansion witch greatly improves the AI diplomatic aspect of the game and has made it downright enjoyable.  There is still a lot of frivolous fluff but the complexity and depth has returned with the two expansions.

I love the concept of Civ but each game lets me down. I am a huge fan of Paradox Interactive games. Primarily Crusader Kings II and Europa Universalis III (IV is good too but I have spent years playing III). With the right converter you can play from 1066 to the early Napoleonic Era.