Distant Worlds: Shadows

Distant Worlds is a vast, pausable real-time, 4X space strategy game which models a "living galaxy" with incredible options for replayability and customizability. Experience the full depth and detail of large turn-based strategy games, but with the simplicity and ease of real-time, and on the scale of a massively-multiplayer online game. Now greatly enhanced with the new Universe release, which includes all four previous releases as well as the new Universe expansion!

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Bingeling
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Bingeling »

ORIGINAL: PS Pita

So, is this expansion still coming out this year? In December? I remember the devs saying it would probably be out
in December before Christmas. Would be nice if it was.
I am pretty sure Erik has said it will miss the Christmas sale in this thread.

As far as I have seen hints of, it has not entered beta yet, but could be close.
Dab42
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Dab42 »

On the pirate issue of bases reappearing - build a mining station in systems where you've just destroyed a base and they can't reappear there.

As a side note. I saw 2 pirate ships fighting each other while attacking a base of mine which was interesting. The destroyer form one faction destroyed an escort form another then destroyed my station.
Bingeling
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Bingeling »

The pirates need a fuel source. As long as you build something in all system with fuel sources, they are kind of lost...
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DevildogFF
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by DevildogFF »

ORIGINAL: Martian

ORIGINAL: Cruis.In

how come DW won't or doesnt have a 3d engine? I don't mean isometric or pan all around like Sins necessarily but more like star drive. In DW you seem to zoom in with the mouse wheel in increments 3-6-9 which makes it stuttery, but with star drive and sins you zoom in and its smooth like a floating point increment. 0.1 > 0.2 etc as you scroll and it's fast. No stutter.

Is there plans to ever go with a different rendering engine? How hard would it be to simply render what we see in a more advanced 3d way while keeping the game as it is? I mean it is just the visuals.

SINS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWJT2rCABKs

Star drive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWV6Ky1xNog

see the view in Star drive is just like DW 2d top down, but its 3d. The ships are actual textured models, as you can see them turn and you see the side etc.

I agree with you so much!!! Although I am completely happy with 2D ships and planets, but smooth "graphics card powered" engine is a must to fully enjoy DW's great features & mechanics. Unfortunately, right now it feels like using car's engine to propel an airplane (DW's gameplay) - enough to move it out of hangar, but not enough to take off and really fly! [;)]

I understand quite well that writing new engine is not a simple thing to do, but I do really hope Elliot & Erik will make it as one of highest priority for a next big release. [&o][&o][&o]

This. A hundred times this.
www.eXplorminate.co - 4X, Strategy, and Tactics
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ASHBERY76
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by ASHBERY76 »

I would love to see a Sins of a Solar Empire in 2D.People would then see what a overated,hollow piece of shit that game is.
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Haree78
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Haree78 »

ORIGINAL: ASHBERY76

I would love to see a Sins of a Solar Empire in 2D.People would then see what a overated,hollow piece of shit that game is.

I <3 Sins
Real Time Strategy without the clicks per minute bullshit of others in the genre.
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ASHBERY76
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by ASHBERY76 »

ORIGINAL: Haree78

ORIGINAL: ASHBERY76

I would love to see a Sins of a Solar Empire in 2D.People would then see what a overated,hollow piece of shit that game is.

I <3 Sins
Real Time Strategy without the clicks per minute bullshit of others in the genre.

The developers like to call it a 4x, so that is the standard it is measured.
Cruis.In
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Cruis.In »

I'd also like to see better ship control. If one of the alternative game modes is to automate everything and pilot your ship around exploring then you should be able to better manage what it targets. Sometimes when I am fighting against multiple ships with one ship I have controlling, I can't get it to focus on the target I want with all weapons, tho the ship is in range of all weapons.
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WoodMan
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by WoodMan »

[:D]

I use a simple workaround for your problems guys, I know its not perfect but set your fleet to move to just outside the system, not the system itself. Then, make a second very small jump into the system all together.
"My body may be confined to this chair, but my mind is free to explore the universe" - Stephen Hawking
Bingeling
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Bingeling »

Much the same that I do. If you want to really perfect the arrival times, it is probably a good idea to have the ships travel to a common point when you give the attack order. Since ships needs to turn before they hyperspace, this will ensure they all turn at the same amount, and should launch at the same time. The best point to travel on engines for is of course the target...

I send them to some nearby-ish system, though. And as long as they are in the same system, the arrival coordination is good enough for me. I have seen requests for fleet formations, my main annoyance is the lack of furball in arrival from hyperspace. They should practice tighter hyperspace exit :)
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MartialDoctor
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by MartialDoctor »

Yes, there are easy ways to manually make your fleets arrive at the same time. However, that requires extra management. Also, the AI doesn't do this. So, the AI easily sets itself up to get it's faster, usually more powerful, ships slaughtered before the rest of the cavalry arrives...
Bingeling
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Bingeling »

The AI is not all bad at this, though, and I believe that in the latest patch, much of the issues of different hyper speeds are gone.

It happens, though, that the AI arrive a bit one and one. It should not be too hard to reprogram fleet behavior of the "prepare and attack" order to be more "everyone fueled? All here? All set course to target? All done? Jump". General exit control would be bad in other situations, where getting out of trouble is more important than getting into trouble.
Raap
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Raap »

Well, that logic might be simple, sensible and easily doable programming-wise, but it doesn't take into account any of the number of things that could happen in the actual game.

For instance, what if some of the ships get really low on fuel just waiting for the rest of the ships that are off refueling? So maybe then it sends those ships to refuel, only to have the ones you were initially waiting for jump in and having to wait themselves. Could quickly turn into a 'never-finished-preparing' situation, if the distance to the nearest refueling point was long enough. Same if some of the ships happened to come upon combat and be damaged, and probably other things as well.

Anyway, I'm not saying it's impossible to solve, just pointing out that things are rarely as easy as they seem. I'm quite sure they must have spent a few frustrating hours trying different approaches with varying amounts of luck. I've played quite a few 4x games, and frankly, all of the ones using a 'limited ship resource' system like fuel/energy/whatever tend to have either this or some variation of this problem, especially as it concerns the AI.
Bingeling
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Bingeling »

True, there are some issues. But I think the main problem is some arriving early, not some arriving late. A percentage could work, and a fleet waiting in a system does not burn fuel after energy collectors became rather standard a lot of patches ago.
Cruis.In
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Cruis.In »

ammo should be limited. You should have to make ammo :)
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Antiscamp
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Antiscamp »

I am so impressed by this game. I just got the base game as it's on sale right now, and am getting the two expansions for my Christmas holidays. I am really glad to now hear about this new upcoming expansion as well and I'm really impressed at how much work and dedication goes into this game.

I am having loads of fun with the base game already! really impressive. More people need to know about this!
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Fishers of Men
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Fishers of Men »

Welcome, Anticamp! Glad you are joining us here on the forum and enjoying Distant Worlds. The addition of the expansions will make your games more fun and challenging.
Old............but very fast
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Antiscamp
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Antiscamp »

Thanks, Fishers of Men. :) This game will stay with me for a long time. I've been looking for a good space 4x, bought many and been disappointed. This one was love at first sight though. I hope to fully enjoy it with the expansions this Christmas.
Satosky
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by Satosky »

I think some small dwarf planets inhabited by major pirate factions would be slightly interesting(if not chaotic) or major pirate bases/stations that hold many different factions or one giant faction.(I know they have the in Legends already but they are quite underwhelming) Still hoping that they increase the depth of immigration by letting us select which races we want/don't want in our colonies. I want to be able to enslave those pesky Boskara while welcoming the others heh.
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tjhkkr
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RE: Distant Worlds: Shadows

Post by tjhkkr »

ORIGINAL: WoodMan [:D]

I use a simple workaround for your problems guys, I know its not perfect but set your fleet to move to just outside the system, not the system itself. Then, make a second very small jump into the system all together.

That is exactly what I do...
If I had the brains to do that all the time, the many crystaline entities would not have zapped my AWACs frigate...

[crystaline entities replaced my giant Kaltors]
Remember that the evil which is now in the world will become yet more powerful, and that it is not evil which conquers evil, but only love -- Olga Romanov.
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