Stellar Monarch series

[Martok]

Has anyone played this one at all? 

I confess that while the game appeals to me conceptually -- it emphasizes macro-management, combined with a fairly strong Emperor of the Fading Suns vibe -- I was never really able to get into it.  I'm ashamed to admit this is mostly due to its presentation:  I found its art style & graphics unlovely to the point of immersion-breaking, and the UI is rather clunky (though probably not worse than what you have to deal with in Distant Worlds: Universe, if I'm being fair). 



Fortunately, developer Silver Lemur Games has begun working on the sequel, which aims at improving both gameplay and UI functionality (among other things).  They also just posted their first dev diary, which describes in broad terms how the Holy Terran Empire is organized in terms of planet classification.  I think I like the model he's setting up; it matches up closely with how I've often thought an actual interstellar empire might work. 

[Martok]

Dev Diary #3 discusses ships, fleets, etc. 


http://www.silverlemurgames.com/2021/09/30/stellar-monarch-2-dev-diary-3-ships-squadrons-fleets-and-the-imperial-high-command/




As with most aspects of the game, it's all about macro-management:  You order the construction of squadrons, not individuals ships; you don't order around squadrons, you give orders to fleets; and so on. 

Fleets, incidentally, are more of an administrative unit than a military formation, and are tied into the game's political sphere.  Not sure how well that will work in practice, but I love the idea.  Looking forward to seeing how this works out. 

[Martok]

Stellar Monarch 2 has launched into Early-Access! 


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1437750/Stellar_Monarch_2/




(Yes, I've already picked it up and installed it.  Yes, I'm probably nutters.  This is not news. ) 


I've followed the dev on forums and on Discord for a while now, and he seems like the genuine article.  He not only welcomes player feedback on a regular basis, he actively solicits it.  He's sincerely interested in making his games better, and goes straight to the source for recommendations on how to do so.  He's also good about supporting his games: he dropped two patches (including one earlier this summer) for the previous Stellar Monarch -- a game that came out five years ago. 


I also really like his explanations for releasing his games on EA first: 

Why Early Access?
“It's my preferred way of working on a game since it allows early interaction with players. All my previous games went through EA and I found it a very beneficial to the game development process.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?
“If you were participating in EA of my other games you know I love to read players feedback. What I need the most is feedback regarding mechanics, UI, balance. Plus traditional testings (bugs, etc). And confusing parts of the game.
I will be gathering feedback via Steam discussion forums.”

That's the kind of game developer I want to support.   

[Martok]

Man, I wish I had both the time and patience to play more games than I currently do.  This update actually looks pretty interesting: 


https://www.silverlemurgames.com/2022/07/08/stellar-monarch-2-version-0-75/




The dev has put in a bunch of work on noble houses this time around.  Dang near every feature added, removed, or changed in this update is related to them.  I'm really glad to see the kind of detail he's putting into this. 



On a tangential note, I find it interesting that we've seen a slight uptick in "feudal space empire" games as of late -- there's still not many out there, no, but they're not extinct either.  There was the first Stellar Monarch title, then Star Dynasties, Alliance of the Sacred Suns is due out later this year, and I'm guessing Stellar Monarch 2 will release as a full game sometime next year(?).  Honestly, it's nice to see this niche make a bit of a comeback, however tiny. 

It would be especially cool to see a comparison done between/amongst all of these games (once they're released).  Realistically, though, I would almost certainly have to sit down and write that piece myself, and that might require more energy -- and patience -- than I can muster.   

[Martok]

Version 0.79 is out.  Chris said this update focuses on combat, although it looks like he's done a ton of work in other areas as well. 


https://www.silverlemurgames.com/2022/08/04/stellar-monarch-2-version-0-79/

[Martok]

Version 0.80 has dropped: 


https://www.silverlemurgames.com/2022/08/17/stellar-monarch-2-version-0-80/




According to Chris, this version is almost feature complete.  He estimates v1.00 is only around three months away.  Even if he slips past that estimate by a bit -- and so far, he's actually been pretty good in estimating how long he'll take at reaching the next development milestone -- progress on Stellar Monarch 2 is much further along that I would have anticipated.  That the full release version might still come out before year's end is pretty mind-blowing. 

[Martok]

Stellar Monarch 2 is out! 


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1437750/Stellar_Monarch_2/