No, I tried updating with the client when I first brought the menu and it failed to get a handle. So it was on 1.02. Need to download the 1.05 manually I guess.
Yeah the Matrix client is kind of crap. This should be on Steam though later this year. You get a steam key if you have the Matrix version.
I have 1.05 installed now, and it didn’t crash this time when I clicked one of the units at the bottom of the screen. Yes, it will be nice to move the install to Steam. Now to read the manual, watch some das tactic videos, and figure out what the heck I’m doing.
Good luck, keep us posted! I went for Warhammer 40k Gladius as my “sci fi military 4x”, for the moment. It’s mostly because I am still scared of Shadow Empires… and also telling myself to wait for Steam. But eager to hear your impressions.
Keep in mind that while his tutorial series is great, the three on logistics are out of date, as the dev later changed logistics from push to pull. Or pull to push. Something like that.
I’m about 10 hours in and loving this game. It’s ticking all the right boxes for me - Mad Max/sci-fi setting, factions and personality management, public/private economy mechanics, and most importantly the goosebumps feeling of first learning Distant Worlds.
Hit 2 weird bugs - first I can’t post on their darn forum - I was able to post outside the Shadow Empire board but it fails when I try to post in the Shadow Empire board saying I can’t post pics, etc. after having posted 10 times - and my post doesn’t include a pic/link and I’ve never posted before on their board.
Game bug I’ve encountered is that my research has slowed to a crawl. My Military Research council says I need 11111.11 BP to raise my research by 1% - so that’s not gonna happen since my total BP is about 3.5k.
I haven’t played in a while, but as I recall, while most techs are “binary” and either are learned or not, some techs can’t be researched 100%. These latter techs get prohibitively expensive if you keep your council researching them too long. Have you tried switching to a different tech?
Also, which boards are you posting on? The Matrix boards or the Slitherine ones? A number of us post over at the Matrix forums, and I imagine we could pass along an issue.
@AK_Icebear Yep, it’s a pretty amazing game. Especially considering that it was basically made by one guy.
I’ve been following this thread for ages, I can’t wait for this to come to Steam. Any word on when it will happen? I got a sense that the game is not actually “early access” per se, but the sentiment is that a lot is improving/changing with each update and when the game is more “polished” it will arrive on Steam. But it’s so tempting to bite now. Of course, I have enough on my plate that I don’t need it just yet - but if we are still like a year out from a Steam release or something, I may grab it sooner than later on the Matrix store.
The last batch of changes in the current Beta patch are more subtle. That’s compared to the previous Beta patch (now released) which contained some major changes. It feels like the developer is moving to fix bugs and refine things.
I am torn between waiting for Steam or jumping in after this Beta gets released. That would be the release of 1.06.
Here are the notes:
Aha but here is the Dev at the end of that Beta patch thread:
As you might have noticed the latest patches address bugs and not ease-of-life/UI/AI or other improvements. This is because I am trying to maximize my development time for a big new feature rich update. More about this later :)
That makes me want to wait and see.
Yes I was on a linear tech (I had thought I was on combat armor but was on personal armor optimization) so that’s the issue.
Interface wise there isn’t a distinction between these techs and I’m sure my issue has hit others as well. Seems like it would be helpful if there was a clearer distinction between which techs are linear and those that are binary (on the choice interface vs. the overall tech page)
I agree the linear techs could be highlighted more. I did find that mostly they were grouped in the same area of the tech tree, so that helps some. Other than that, I think hovering the mouse gives you the requisite info – in fact, it may be in all caps. BINARY TECH, e.g.,
But yes, the UI here could be clearer. That’s true of much of the game, but once you get used to it, the game itself is incredible.
In case it helps, you’ll get a Steam key when it releases there if you buy the Matrix version now.
December 3 on Steam
Woo hoo!
Air Forces have been added to the beta version:
Hi all,
Sorry for being slow. I “lost” a week to family obligations and then I caught COVID and lost another week being sick. However I am back in action for the final sprint towards the Steam release. Not all my plans will make it, but there is still time enough after Steam release as well.
In any case… the big news: Shadow Empire now has Air Forces. If you feel like helping beta test and provide feedback then please hop on over to the Open Beta thread: Shadow Empire MATRIX VERSION Open Beta - Matrix Games Forums
Best wishes,
Vic
Open Beta is up to Version 14 now, with added Fauna as well as aircraft:
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4910487
I got a 47% off coupon for being a Slitherine member for 14 years so I may be tempted to pick this out. The 2 min introduction to Shadow Empire makes it sound amazing but at the same time I’m sure it will be too complex for me to really get into. I assume the holiday sale will be starting soon. I wonder if it will go on sale and, if so, will my coupon stack?