OFFICIAL Strategy Gaming Thread

[Frick]

Also not sure if any of you noticed, but Star Wars: Empire at War just got a new patch (well actually 2) for the Steam version that allows for multiplayer (has been down since 2014) and Steamworks mod support. That's pretty damn amazing and exactly what the game needed. For an RTS 4X in Star Wars theme, and a still very active mod scene this is damn well worth picking up.

That's pretty cool. It was well recieved but few people played it. I didn't like it at all, for some reason, which is weird because I really liked Petroglyphs Universe at War (even if the campaign was very lacking), an objectively worse game.

 

[Kursah]

I've enjoyed it on and off, my kids enjoy EaW far more than me. Though you start throwing mods into the mix and it really brings things up a few notches. I'm excited to see Steamworks take off and make adding mods to the game easier...and now that it already has the 4GB switch, that's one less thing to do.

 

[Kursah]

Galactic Civilization 3's 2.5 patch is officially released, click here to read more about it! If you put this game down after a while or even after Crusade, it might be a good time to pick it back up. I've been playing the opt-in beta for 2.5 and it has been the best, most polished, most stable, and most fun GC3 experience I've had yet. I enjoy this more than Stellaris overall at this point, and I also really like and enjoy Stardock's games. Ashes of the Singularity and Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion being two others they keep updating, improving and supporting. Helluva developer here and some damn good games.

There are major updates that affect the base game and Crusade. Anyone that knows about Crusade, it is kind of like SupCom FA to SupCom in a sense. But they keep migrating features and changes back to the base game, which is good for everyone. There are some major gameplay changes that however stay unique to Crusade, primarily the Citizens feature now as UI and other changes filter down to the base game. I happen to prefer GC3 + Crusade over GC3 vanilla. There's many that prefer vanilla though.

I should mention I bought GC3 gold on sale earlier this year, and then bought Crusade on a discount as well. Even so, finally getting traction with a game I wasn't sure about...mostly because of it being Turn-Based. But I'm realizing in my progressing age, that taking turns isn't such a bad deal! LOL.

 

[Ahhzz]

Anyone jumping on this ?
http://www.toothandtailgame.com/

 

[Kursah]

Honestly no I haven't, but I've read there's a lotta hype around it. You gonna pick it up?

 

[Ahhzz]

Honestly no I haven't, but I've read there's a lotta hype around it. You gonna pick it up?

\edit Crossed wires

 

[Kursah]

Ya it does seem to be more about a few core mechanics and less micro or tactical management than many other RTS's. It seems to review well, and quite a few folks have said it is a good RTS for new and experienced strategy gamers alike. I did kind of wonder how true that could possibly be though. I haven't had any chance to watch any LP's on it yet, and don't have a spare $20 to pick it up.

I appreciate your feedback though, it does look interesting but sounds like it might not be something I'd have great interest in. Might be one worth picking up on sale or when I feel the need for something more casual.

 

[Vayra86]

http://www.pcgamer.com/total-war-warhammer-2-review/

ITS ON BOIS

Pre-ordered yesterday lol


EDIT: holy crap this day at work seems to get longer by the minute right now... and its my last day here at this employer too, but all can think of is firing up TW tonight I'm a lost case surely

 

[Ahhzz]

http://store.steampowered.com/app/700480/Microsoft_Allegiance/

Allegiance is Free on Steam.

 

[Kursah]

I saw that it was released...I never did get into it back in the day. Seems like a you work through the hate to love it, or can't handle it and hate it kinda game. Challenge accepted.

 

[Ahhzz]

http://www.paradoxplaza.com/europa-universalis-iv/EUEU04GSK-MASTER.html

Europa Universalis IV
10.0 USD39.99 USD

• Base Game

• Europa Universalis IV: The Stars and Crescent Pack
• Europa Universalis IV: The Horsemen of the Crescent Unit Pack
• Europa Universalis IV: The Conquest of Constantinople Music Pack
• All Expansions & DLCs up until May 2017

Europa Universalis IV Extreme Edition
11.25 USD44.99 USD

• Base Game
• Europa Universalis IV: The Stars and Crescent Pack
• Europa Universalis IV: The Horsemen of the Crescent Unit Pack
• Europa Universalis IV: The Conquest of Constantinople Music Pack

• All Expansions & DLCs up until May 2017

Europa Universalis IV Collection
96.07 USD282.57 USD

• Base Game
• Europa Universalis IV: The Stars and Crescent Pack
• Europa Universalis IV: The Horsemen of the Crescent Unit Pack
• Europa Universalis IV: The Conquest of Constantinople Music Pack
• All Expansions & DLCs up until May 2017

 

[Vayra86]

Still invested in TW.

Did you guys know this was a thing ?

Yes, you can look around in this vid. I had a little wow effect going on here

 

[Ahhzz]

Still invested in TW.

Did you guys know this was a thing ?

Yes, you can look around in this vid. I had a little wow effect going on here

and in full screen, you can zoom in on an area

 

[Ahhzz]

Anyone given RotTK 13 a swing? I always loved playing that and Nobunga's on NES & SNES. Wondering if it's worth the trouble to look at this one. It's in english, which most of the ones on steam aren't.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Yes I have ROTK 13 + Nobunaga Ambition Sphere of INfluence and the newer Risshiden (same game essentially Rissiden focuses more on officer play and development of friendships etc. While SOI focuses more directly on warfare only. Risshiden is the better version)

ROTK 13 got an English release on steam back in Sept of last year.

Nobunagas Ambition also has had English versions for quite some time. Got 300-600 hours in all three.

ROTK 13 with expansion pack allows for spouses and in game children to be born and raised. Sadly city development / and total bases are lacking. IE very few places to actually capture.

Nobunagas Ambition Risshiden allows for the creation of new castles / fortresses. also can form marriages and have children that join your force etc.

Of the two series Nobunaga's Ambition is more enjoyable. ROTK 13 is just WAY to easy. even for created characters / armies. where as NAR well.. for created clans its VERY difficult to get started. But they do have nice options ie become a vassal clan and if you grow to equal size as the overlord clan they grant your freedom etc. So they give you options but overall NAR feels like a more fleshed out version of ROTK 13 with WAY better combat. NAR allows for knock off total war style battles essentially with units comprised of 4 troops ie Bow / Infantry / Cavalry / Musket. Less focus on ridiculouse gamey things like heres a random camp or heres a pitfall trap location. Instead combat relies on Officer skills + troop numbers + troop type + Officer stats etc.

NAR playing as an officer gives you your own small fief and troop count to join battles with. Along with various troop formations and extra skills for that game mode alone. Even as a ruler you can use some of this but only when your character is in combat.

Having played every game in both series. NAR is the most enjoyable overall thus far.

 

[SaltyFish]

http://store.steampowered.com/app/722060/Dominions_5__Warriors_of_the_Faith/

Dominions 5 is out now.

 

[Ahhzz]

http://store.steampowered.com/app/722060/Dominions_5__Warriors_of_the_Faith/

Dominions 5 is out now.

Interesting...

 

[droopyRO]

If you have TW: Warhammer 2 and a GTX 1080/1080Ti or Vega56/64, when you have the time, could you please share a battle and/or campaign benchmark at 1080p or 1440p, just the average FPS. I currently have a 980Ti and i want to upgrade it but i`m not sure that the 1080 is an upgrade for this game. Thanks.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

If you have TW: Warhammer 2 and a GTX 1080/1080Ti or Vega56/64, when you have the time, could you please share a battle and/or campaign benchmark at 1080p or 1440p, just the average FPS. I currently have a 980Ti and i want to upgrade it but i`m not sure that the 1080 is an upgrade for this game. Thanks.

http://www.game-debate.com/news/238...breakdown-and-most-important-graphics-options

This may prove useful to you. That said Creative Assembly did improve a lot of graphical options under the hood however the end result is a minor bump in visual fidelity. However performance is nearly half of what you will get Warhammer Total War 1.

That said the game is currently a mess. WH 1 = DX12 had better performance where as in WH2 DX11 has better performance now for the majority of users. Usually takes CA about 6 months to a year to get things running properly.

 

[droopyRO]

I enjoy it very much have over 300 hours in it and about 200 in TWW 1. The graphics are way better in TWW2 and with some tweaking i can run it at about 45-50 fps high with ssao at 1440p with my system. In some battles i get as high as 70 or as low as 40, so completely playable, but i cant makeup my mind as to upgrade my GPU to a 1080/1080Ti or if to do it.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Higher resolutions GPU will scale up your at a res where CPU / GPU are relatively equal. In some situations you will be CPU limited in others GPU limited.

Easy way to find out is to drop to 1080P run a custom battle then use a replay to verify 1080p results vs 1440p. If you see little change your CPU limited if you see fps tank hard your GPU limited. Its really that simple as TWW 1 was entirely CPU limited at 1080p on the majority of mid to high end GPUs

 

[denixius]

New Stellaris DLC, Apocalypse, coming in early 2018.

Stellaris: Apocalypse redefines stellar warfare for all players with a host of new offensive and defensive options, alongside a few non-violent new features for those poor, unsuspecting empires not currently at war. Alongside a host of free updates coming to Stellaris, the new Apocalypse DLC will include:

That’s No Moon, neither is That One, That One Might be a Moon, Wait, No: Keep the local systems in line with fear of the new “Colossus” planet-killer weapon – a technological terror that eliminates entire worlds from the universe.
All Your Base Are Belong to You: New enormous “Titan” capital ships can lead your fleets to conquest, offering tremendous bonuses to the vessels under their command. Meanwhile, fortify key systems with massive orbital installations and secure your homeworld as an impenetrable bastion among the stars.
Pirates of the Constellation: Watch out for Marauders – space nomads who raid settled empires and carve out their lives on the fringe of civilization. Hire them as mercenaries in your own conflicts, but take care that they don’t unify and trigger a new late-game crisis!
Some Non-Violent Features: New Ascension Perks and Civics are added in the expansion, along with new Unity Ambitions that provide new ways to spend Unity and customize your development.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Three Kingdoms Total War announced coming Fall / Winter 2018

 

[Ahhzz]

yeah, we mentioned that in another thread, and I meant to drop here and post up, got distracted heheh

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

I love the time period but I am anxious to see how CA handles the aspect of all the generals which is what makes the time period awesome.