My 4X version of insanity...

[jack54]

If one definition of insanity is ’doing the same thing over and over; expecting a different result’,
I have a '4x version' because I keep buying 4x games,each time,thinking this is going to be different.

Don’t get me wrong I enjoy them but they never quite live up to my expectations.
Usually I get the bums rush off the map…. Sometimes I enjoy expanding a little, meet a few Friends (A.I.), They give me gifts… then yell at me and declare war. What happened ? I don’t know but after exchanging maps they probably realized I was pathetically weak…it’s my own fault; I’m inept … so sad.



Well I’m treating myself to another 4x this Christmas… and this time it’s going to be different.

[Kuokkanen]

LOL! Sid Meier's Civilization series has some differences with AI between each game and I'm sure someone in this forum can tell all the differences between them and even differences between different versions of the same game. Just out of curiosity, what 4x games have you played lately, what have you found different between them, and what game will you get for Christmas? I myself am leaning towards Aggressors: Ancient Rome. There's this one let's play video where player cuts off supply from some enemy units, those get hungry, then defect for the player. That's different from Sid's Civs, I give it that.

[jack54]

I'm definitely going to buy Aggressors: Ancient Rome. I have watch you-tube after you-tube and this is it! I'm impressed with the apparent depth; like actually taking population from a city to build units... using influence on other cultures cities and try to flip them to your side. I think I read that 40 things influence relationships between factions and that's just the start of what intrigues me about this game.

Lately I've been playing Oriental Empires barely scratched the surface but seems kind of nice, I keep starting over LOL. I also play Polaris Sector, Pandora, and Armada 2526 Supernova. Pandora I usually get blown off the map and they're usually yelling at me. Polaris Sector and Armada the AI usually out produces me. Fun for a while.

I think what I'm looking for is a game where a treaty really matters. Aggressors may have that with Brothers in Arms, Confederation and Federation.

[Kuokkanen]

I gave a go for Pandora and won it in first try. Economical victory as I recall. Then game asked do I want to end it there or continue the game. I continued the game and I was doing pretty well until aliens showed up in my neighborhood. I struggled against them, watched my units dying, then I tossed the towel and went back to (or started with) Civ4.

[JReb]

The diplomacy in most 4x games ranges from barely adequate to downright insane.

I found that to get the most out of 4x games is to play all the factions, try lots of mods and play each campaign with different goals. I pretty much ignore victory conditions and just stomp around the map. Then when I have reached a certain level of power and know I have the game beat, I declare war on everybody other than allies and let it rip.

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: JReb

The diplomacy in most 4x games ranges from barely adequate to downright insane.

I found that to get the most out of 4x games is to play all the factions, try lots of mods and play each campaign with different goals. I pretty much ignore victory conditions and just stomp around the map. Then when I have reached a certain level of power and know I have the game beat, I declare war on everybody other than allies and let it rip.

I play it a little different - I try and get the AI factions to declare war on each other.

[coachi]

Endless legend

[Kuokkanen]

Has anyone played Age of Wonders III lately? I have had the game since it was released but haven't played much of it. Has there been significant changes to the game by updates or significant game changing DLC?

[edit]
By the way, that game runs on my tablet with 1,4 GHz Atom and Win8. It isn't smooth by any means and kinda reminds me about playing Total Annihilation and Quake 2 on 75 MHz Pentium.

[wodin]

Dominions..that's my advice

[budd]

ORIGINAL: Kuokkanen

Has anyone played Age of Wonders III lately? I have had the game since it was released but haven't played much of it. Has there been significant changes to the game by updates or significant game changing DLC?

[edit]
By the way, that game runs on my tablet with 1,4 GHz Atom and Win8. It isn't smooth by any means and kinda reminds me about playing Total Annihilation and Quake 2 on 75 MHz Pentium.

AOW3 always kicks my butt, i probably suck at it.

Jack54, like coachi said "Endless Legend" great game, Endless Space 2 ain't bad either.

Dominions, which one? They all look overwhelming to me.

[balto]

+1 on Endless Space 2.

Planet Fall is coming, successor to AOW 3, check Paradox YouTube for some playthroughs, should be out by April 2020.

-1 on Dominions. I have both of them, they do not make sense to me. If you are interested, check out DasTactic tutorial on it.., again, do NOT recommend this even though it has devoted fan base.

Lastly, and I may get banned for this - I really really like CIV 6 (expansion coming February). When you feel like a casual, but well done, 4x game where you can kick some ass, this is the one.

[Kuokkanen]

1 more 4x game that hasn't been mentioned yet: Fallen Enchantress. Is on Steam at half-price right now and 78% positive reviews. I haven't played it. I mention this because I saw somebody mentioned it in Discord while ago.

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: budd

AOW3 always kicks my butt, i probably suck at it.

In that case, you'd better focus on strategy and use auto resolve for battles.

Age of Wonders series is different because it is good cocktail 4x strategy, tactical combat, and RPG. As are Heroes of Might & Magic, Total War, and Lords of the Realm series, and Knights of Honor (maybe more). In Age of Wonders series, 4x strategy is much closer to Civilization than in other aforementioned games. Like fantasy equivalent of Pandora (I have that too). RPG element is there in form of heroes. Leader character (player's avatar) gets the most detail, but also other heroes can level up, gain skills, spells, and equipment. Unlike in HOMM, heroes take more active part in fighting as movable game pieces while also providing skills and bonuses for the rank & file under their command (like climbing over the walls). Rank & file can also move and fight without the heroes. In AOW3, stack limit is 5 (including hero(es)) per hex. But when fight begins, units from all adjacent hexes take part to it. Yes, it is actually possible to surround a fortress and attack it with several stacks from multiple directions! But if you want to play professional who cares more about logistics than tactics, you can let AI handle the battles (it's calculated rather than played out). AOW3 has much more fine detail, like different races having different preferences in terrain: Elves move faster through forest than other races and have higher morale & happiness in there which grant them bonuses in combat as well as out of it (they're also good with archery, and musketeers are part of the archery club). Single player campaigns have also stories to tell. Definitely worth of checking out (demos available; not on Steam though) if you haven't already.