So, I decided to grab this and am patched up to 1.04. There’s a beta out there to fix a logistics nightmare or something, right? Can I get to it from the launcher or do I need to hit up the forums? I can’t wait for this to move to Steam.
I typically learn games best by diving in and trying to figure out how to swim rather than lengthy Let’s Plays or other videos. Is that going to be pretty hopeless in this case without RTFM up front?
Instructions and beta patch here:
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4824133
These beta patches move pretty quick.
Glad to hear you’ve taken the plunge! You’ve got enough experience with 4X games that you can probably dive in without RTFM. Maybe at least skim chapter 3 of the manual? When I was starting, I wished I had a suggested “things to do each turn” checklist. Now that I’ve played a few hundred turns, I’d say in general that you should gather information before making decisions.
I particular, to gather info:: 1. review the “vid” messages; 2. click on Report and skim the topmost report in the leftmost tab (“empire dashboard”); 3. move down the same menu to the second-from-top report, “urgent issues,” and pay careful attention to any issues flagged there; 4. look at the units on the map; 5. hide your units and use the logistics-overlay buttons to look for any obvious shortages or bottlenecks; 6. maybe check assets-in-progress to see whether they had enough material to build last turn. (This is a bit overwhelming at first but gets easier as you learn the various UI ways to filter assets.)
To make decisions: 1. Click the “decisions” button (it will probably have a red marker on it drawing attention to itself); 2. gather any info you need to make any of the decisions; 3. consider whether to build or pause any assets; 4 move and attack; 5. after moving/attacking, at a minimum build roads/rail to reach within 2 or at most 3 hexes from your units, so they get supply next turn.
That’s my basic gameplay loop. Good luck! And feel free to ask questions.
I’ll take a gander at Chapter 3 at the least. Thanks!
I lied – chapter 4 is useful to skim too. Chapter 3 is about the UI; chapter 4 is about “how to play.” If you could spend a few minutes on each chapter, it might help a lot. :)
Perfect, sounds like a plan. I’m not adverse to reading documentation at all, it’s just I have the brain of a tinker so I typically learn best just by diving in and playing around. For some games, though, the complexity is too high or the UI is too poor where it makes difficult. In those cases it’s usually best for me to kind of go back and forth: get some basics from a manual, play the game and fail to figure some things out, then return to the manual with the benefit of having context. That helps things stick with me a lot more.
That’s my long way of saying this is all helpful info for me, thanks! Chapter 4 sounds like I should dive into and then maybe skim some others before jumping back into the game and getting lost. I tried playing blind a little last night but was having some difficulty making headway on the learning curve. :)
I swear, the best thing about that game is the first hint: “Move your guys around. Don’t worry too much about what is happening. Click on some buttons to find out more.” I’m paraphrasing but that’s the gist. That advice may have helped me relax and just play. Brilliant move.
@KevinC, one thing I would add to @Spock’s thorough advice is to keep your eye open for the discovery of resources within your zone(s), particularly early on. Even if they are not resources that you are in need of, they can provide income that will allow you to purchase, through trading, resources that you are short on.
For example, if you starting zone has a hex with rare metals, I found that building a mine there quickly pays off. Every few turns I would sell the rare metals for tidy sums, which then bankrolled my purchases of essential resources that I was lacking.
And start in beginner!
It’s not particularly easier, but it plays a bit more gentle and you start with a metal source from the start.
I believe that that is all that you get when you are attacked. Not sure why.
This has nothing to do with the question that was asked.
There is no way currently to get the same detail level for battles the AI initiates. All you get is the bare bones info showing total troops and losses in the fights that occur during AI turn processing.
Apparently, in my zeal, I misread the question. But you have a wonderful lack of tact.
I don’t think he intended any lack of tact. Because he does, in fact, have quite a bit of tact. You can’t talk while you play through that much Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead without developing the ability to carefully word your criticism. :)
And it was an easy question to misread! “How can I see more battle stats?” is exactly the sort of thing that would commonly be asked about this game. It’s been great having you in the Shadow Empire threads and any attempt to help someone else out is much appreciated.
-Tom
You also get an artillery unit on beginner. And extra fate points.
In words, baby mode. :)
-Tom
The starting artillery is trash though. One of the first things I build after an MG brigade is an independent artillery regiment.
One should never be afraid of embracing one’s inner child 😉
TBH, I’m still playing on regular, and doubt I’ll ever choose to go higher than that!
A friend shared this from his games:
I’ve played 2 serious games as I’ve been learning how to play. In one, we struggled to survive on a jungle-hell world where the trees were full of 3m-tall squid-analog carnivores that ambushed my garrisons in roving packs constantly. When I finally beat them back, my nearest human neighbors were both religious fanatics who teamed up against me. In my second game, my autocratic society occupied a small scrap of land on an airless, frozen desert world until a gang of slaver-nomads from the wastes rolled through on motorcycles and buggies took me by surprise and ended that campaign while my army was out of position.
The level of detail is insane - almost nothing is abstracted, everything exists as a number or calculation somewhere that you have more or less power to impact. Why are my people starving? Oh because I nationalized part of private economy and they all lost their jobs and can’t afford to buy food anymore. What’s the best way to explore the desert? I could do it on foot, but look, the sandy parts are hard to move through for vehicles but these rocky plateaus form a sort of natural road for buggies and bikes, let’s use them. Why is my governor unhappy and acting out? Oh because I keep getting forced to violently quash peaceful protests because I can’t afford to have any disruptions while my troops fight for our survival nearby and he’s a bleeding heart who started life as a farmer and feels sympathy for the common man, great.
What? So you nationalize some industry and…who does the jobs in it now? Soldiers?
One key aspect of the game is the leader pool.
I restarted one of my game, and reassigned the best leaders at the most important place (I placed a Cap 5 leader at SHQ, and a cap 4 at military research).
Capacity is by far the most important stat.
It totally changed the game for me :instead of being dragged down in an endless fight against a minor regime, then being backstabbed by my major neighbour, I ended up steamrolling the neutral in 8 turn, then when the major attacked, I had all my army ready and took his cities over in no time.
That is why meritocracy is an awesome profile, because it makes your leaders much better, and help you get better leaders.
The problem is that autocracy makes it much easier to enforce peace, unless your governors have an awesome oratory skill (I suppose having a good advisor to attach to each governor before his test would work well).
Btw, the 3 key aspects of your regime require some specialization:
Meritocracy, democracy, Autocracy
Mind, heart, fist
commerce, enforcement, government
if the total of 2 stats in one aspect reach 100 or more, one of them will get lower over time, so you need to choose one (or choose to have each balanced out).
The perils of command!
This seems like an absolutely perfect game for a Warhammer 40k total conversion, too.