Interstellar Space Genesis

[Huw the Poo]

The glacial pace is the reason I didn't persist with it, which is a shame because I liked what I saw otherwise. I keep meaning to go back to it but I keep thinking about how long it would take to get a good game going...

[Martok]

Yeah, ISG does a pretty decent job of sticking to the standard 4x game design, whilst mixing things up enough by adding elements (such as Space Culture and the extended exploration mechanics) to keep traditionalists happy, while keeping the game from just being a tired retread of the same old formula.  It's mainly in the pacing and (to a lesser extent) the visual presentation where ISG is lacking. 

[Martok]

Rob & Drexy from Explorminate sit down and interview Adam Solo & Kieth Turner, ISG's two lead/primary developers, to talk about the upcoming expansion, Evolving Empires: 


https://anchor.fm/explorminate/episodes/Episode-41-Praxis-Games-Interview-on-ISG-Evolving-Empires-e1i3fk2




I'm normally not a big podcast guy, but I actually listened to most of this one.  I always like what these guys have to say.  You can tell that Adam & Kieth genuinely put a great deal of thought into the game's design, and 4x design in general. 

[Yskonyn]

Yeah I listened to it in the car on the way back home.
If one thing became clear its that I definitely haven’t given the game the time it deserves at all.
They talked about so many fun little ways things interact with eachother in the game and I’ve always approached it as a relic; a MOO clone that tries to capture the old school gameplay of 4x.
Boy, was I wrong!

Still, the slow pacing of gameplay truely tests my patience. That is fact.

[ojsdad]

Yeah I listened to it in the car on the way back home.
If one thing became clear its that I definitely haven’t given the game the time it deserves at all.
They talked about so many fun little ways things interact with eachother in the game and I’ve always approached it as a relic; a MOO clone that tries to capture the old school gameplay of 4x.
Boy, was I wrong!

Still, the slow pacing of gameplay truely tests my patience. That is fact.

I haven't tried yet either, because I thought it was just an attempt to relive MOO.  But looking again, I may have to give it a try.

[Martok]

For those interested, Praxis has made the 1.4 update (which will be accompanying the release of Evolving Empires) available as a beta: 


https://steamcommunity.com/games/984680/announcements/detail/3194751677684829622

I’ve always approached it as a relic; a MOO clone that tries to capture the old school gameplay of 4x.
Boy, was I wrong!

I haven't tried yet either, because I thought it was just an attempt to relive MOO.  But looking again, I may have to give it a try.

I too had initially made the same (erroneous) assumption, that IS:G was just another MOO clone (in a genre already over-saturated with them).  It wasn't until I started seeing some surprisingly positive feedback and subsequently sitting down to play the game myself, that I realized it only *looks* like a MOO clone -- it actually plays out rather differently. 


Yskonyn is still correct in saying ISG's pacing remains overly slow, especially/at least in the early game.  But it does genuinely try to do things a bit differently, and not simply retread the same old formula. 

[Martok]

This week's dev diary looks at the specific Evolution Perks for each of the main (non-DLC) races: 


https://interstellarspacegame.com/forums/index.php?threads/isg-dev-diary-16-evolving-empires-evolution-perks.1782/

https://steamcommunity.com/games/984680/announcements/detail/4459137986482941797




I will say, I'm pretty impressed by the amount of thought they've put into these.  Each race has a pretty strong & unique "theme" when it comes to their Evolution Perks, with each "branch/fork" offering genuinely interesting choices.  I can already see how will deepen & enrich each play-through. 

[Martok]

Evolving Empires releases May 25.  (Dang, this is going to be an expensive month for me. ) 


https://interstellarspacegame.com/forums/index.php?threads/interstellar-space-genesis-evolving-empires-release-date-announced.1783/

[Anguille]

But well worth it 

[Martok]

^  Preach it, brother! 

[Martok]

Dev Diary #17 talks about the new Minor Civilizations feature in Evolving Empires.  Sounds pretty neat. 


https://www.interstellarspacegame.com/isg-dev-diary-17-evolving-empires-minor-civilizations/




Dev Diary #18 looks at the Evolution perks for the two Natural Law empires.  (Hope you like space monsters! ) 


https://www.interstellarspacegame.com/isg-dev-diary-18-evolving-empires-natural-law-evolutions/

[Martok]

Evolving Empires has been released into the wild!  Now I just gotta find time to play it alongside Old World and Stellaris (first world problems)...   


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1974170/Interstellar_Space_Genesis__Evolving_Empires/




The accompanying free 1.4 update has also dropped as well.  It includes improvements to Leaders, AI, gameplay, UI, and a ton of bug-fixes. 


https://interstellarspacegame.com/forums/index.php?threads/1-4-free-update-patch-notes.1788/

[ojsdad]

And just went on sale.  $9.89 for base game, $13.39 with the first expansion, Natural Law. 

And Evolving Empires is $14.99

[Martok]

And just went on sale.  $9.89 for base game, $13.39 with the first expansion, Natural Law. 

Nice catch; I didn't even notice the bundle package.  Definitely worth getting at that price! 

And Evolving Empires is $14.99

...Or for free, if you were an early/VIP backer of the original game.  (Not that that's why I backed them, but it's admittedly a nice perk.)   

[vyshka]

I'm finally getting around to playing this. Is there a way to refit ships to newer designs?

Edit: It shows up on the colony screen once there is a star base.