Distant Worlds : Shadows . . . (4x Space Game) - Released

[wanderer27]

I was going to hold off on this a bit longer, but Previews are starting to show up.


Distant Worlds : Shadows is the third Expansion for Distant Worlds

I've posted in the past about the original and other Expansions, I'll dig them up and link them later if there's interest.


Distant Worlds : Shadows supports the existing storylines (Distant Worlds, Distant Worlds : Return of the Shakturi, and Distant Worlds : Legends)

The game now adds options to play the game from four different perspectives.
You can now play:

- As a Pirate in the Age of Shadows
- As a normal Empire in the Age of Shadows
- As a Pirate in the normal Age
- As a normal Empire in the normal Age (basically the regular game mode for vanilla and the other expansions).


In "The Age of Shadows" mode, Empires start out Pre-Warp . . . Pirates do not.

There have been lots of little tweaks, and since the game is still under test, they haven't all been finalized yet.



Here's one of the first Previews:

http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2013/05/distant-worlds-shadows-preview/


Part one of a Video Preview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-1fKmz4MdY

Part two of the Video Preview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yioscyOI5xo


The current Gold target for the game is May 21, and Beta testing is still in progress.



Game info:

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/466/details/Distant.Worlds-.Shadows

Distant Worlds Forum (more info/discussion):

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=782



Additional:

New Graphics Engine - XNA based
.Net 4.0/4.5 foundation
Multi-Core support
DRM: Serial Number (that's it, no StarForce, no SecuROM, no Internet Connection, unlimited reinstalls) .






.

 

[wanderer27]

Part 3 of video preview is up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSR3BdBTAmA

And part 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gELzMJs9-Wk&list=UUHJM-Vd74Egk1xvGp4BHWBA&index=1


Thread about original Distant Worlds:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2063215&highlight=distant+worlds

Thread on Return of the Shakturi expansion:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2121587&highlight=distant+worlds




.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Good lord, another expansion? What's the total price on this game now then, like $120?

I actually really liked this game but didn't play it that much. I think it suffers a bit from Moo3 over-automation syndrome but actually does a really good job mitigating this by allowing you a lot of choice in what you actually want to control. This is probably my favorite space empire management game and it provides a lot of depth to what you can do which I appreciate. My only real complaint is obviously there's no tactical combat, but I think the game offers enough otherwise to make up for that.

So what does this expansion actually change/enhance to game mechanics? The story arc / different timeline / whatever aspect of it doesn't really sound that interesting.

 

[wanderer27]

From the boards/previews some things added this version:

Pre-Warp Tech/start
Tractor Beams
Gravity Weapons
Expanded Ground Combat Tech/Options
Ship Boarding/Capture Tech

Additional AI / UI tweaks


Upon release there's supposed to some kind of promotional pricing, but I don't know much about that at this point.

Won't deny it could be a steep entry for newer player, but I believe there were a few other DW'er's on here that have most of the others taken care of.


.

 

[you2]

I watched the video; and the game sure looks a bit complicatd. It also wasn't clear to me (didn't pay enough attention to details) if combat was simulated or real time. With a game this complicated it seems very difficult to determine what it actually works correctly

 

[Anteaus]

I wish they would allow for a single planet start. One of my biggest annoyances since I purchased DW about 8 months ago is that I can't start a game with a single system with minimal ships and build out accordingly. Also, part of the steep learning curve is that the game literally starts with a giant snowball of ships, many of which are automated, a bunch of preset marching orders for resource construction, and a series of systems designed to help maintain balance in the early game. It's not hard to get information as to what role all the pieces play individually, but in practice it leads to a ton of confusion that is made worse by automation. Everytime I start a new game it feels like I'm walking into a game that has already been going for 30 minutes and I hate that feeling. I want the option to have more control in the beginning in getting my system started, even if it means spending 30 minutues working to get to the exact same place I would have been with how a game currently begins. These games should be about building something from nothing. DW is all about building something more from something else.

That aside, I don't want people to think I don't like the game. I think it is really good overall but it can be complex and a bit much for people who just want Master of Orion. Graphically it is quite clunky and I wish they would put some serious effort into upgrading the graphics. The framerate of the ship animations sucks and the game really stutters when transitioning between map scales. On the flipside, I think they have done a great job with the interface overall.

New players shouldn't even consider it unless they can afford to get as far as the Legends expansion. There is too much internally that was updated. DW vanilla isn't worth the trouble.

 

[wanderer27]

I watched the video; and the game sure looks a bit complicatd. It also wasn't clear to me (didn't pay enough attention to details) if combat was simulated or real time. With a game this complicated it seems very difficult to determine what it actually works correctly

The game (and combat) is real time, but you can pause it, and run it at various speeds ( 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2x, 4x).

You can actually set the game up to run everything by itself, and if you wish you can jump in an overide something, then turn it back over to the automation.
As you start to understand things, you can turn off that particular area of automation and control it yourself.

Automation settings for each area (Fully automate, Suggest, Full manual control).
- Fully automate the AI will control that area, but you can still jump in and override if you wish.
- Suggest will have the AI suggest a course of action which you can accept, decline, or even ignore.
- Manual leaves the control/decisions to you.


Without the game in front of me right now I don't remember all the areas of Automation, but a few of the major areas are:

- Intelligence Missions (Spys)
- Research
- Colonization
- Diplomacy
- several more I can't remember right now, might be 10 or so major areas.

There are also minor/sub areas of automation:

- Taxes
- Population Policy (Racial relations)
- Ship Design
- Fleet creation
- Troop recruitment
- couple more here as well


On top of this, there is a "Empire Policy", where you can further tweak how the automation handles each area.


It can be a very deep game, but much of it can be handed off to the AI if you don't want to deal with it, or until you understand it well enough.


.

 

[wanderer27]

I wish they would allow for a single planet start. One of my biggest annoyances since I purchased DW about 8 months ago is that I can't start a game with a single system with minimal ships and build out accordingly. Also, part of the steep learning curve is that the game literally starts with a giant snowball of ships, many of which are automated, a bunch of preset marching orders for resource construction, and a series of systems designed to help maintain balance in the early game. It's not hard to get information as to what role all the pieces play individually, but in practice it leads to a ton of confusion that is made worse by automation. Everytime I start a new game it feels like I'm walking into a game that has already been going for 30 minutes and I hate that feeling. I want the option to have more control in the beginning in getting my system started, even if it means spending 30 minutues working to get to the exact same place I would have been with how a game currently begins. These games should be about building something from nothing. DW is all about building something more from something else.

That aside, I don't want people to think I don't like the game. I think it is really good overall but it can be complex and a bit much for people who just want Master of Orion. Graphically it is quite clunky and I wish they would put some serious effort into upgrading the graphics. The framerate of the ship animations sucks and the game really stutters when transitioning between map scales. On the flipside, I think they have done a great job with the interface overall.

New players shouldn't even consider it unless they can afford to get as far as the Legends expansion. There is too much internally that was updated. DW vanilla isn't worth the trouble.

I'm a bit confused by the highlighted statement, as that is generally how the game starts out.

Some game setup options that I can recall off the top (Start a New Game):

- Galaxy type (Spiral, Elliptical, Ring, etc.)
- General starting location
- Map size (four or five options, I always go 15 x 15 which is max)
- Tech Research speed
- Space Monsters prevalence
- Racial restlessness
- Difficulty
- Prevalence of habitable planets
- Prevalence of Independent life (and yes/no they can become an Empire)
- Zone of control/Influence range
- Colonization range limits (yes/no, and how far)
- Your Race
- Your starting Government type
- Your Empire name, Flag, Colors, so forth
- Home system quality (can determine if there are extra habitable planets in your home system).
- Your Empire age (Starting should be only one planet)
- Your starting Tech level (Starting should be few/no ships)
- Alien Races :
- - Empire name (you can name it or let it be assigned)
- - Race (you can define or let it be random)
- - Government (you can define or let it be random)
- - Age (you can define or let it be random)
- - Tech level (you can define or let it be random)
- - Home system quality (you can define or let it be random)
- - Proximity to you (you can define or let it be random)

- Victory Conditions (multiple)
- Story lines enable/disable
- Disasters/Events enable/disable

Some others I'm not remembering right now as well.


But back to you first line, in Shadows you have the option to start without Warp technology, so you're pretty much going to be left to set up your own space program.


For some of your other comments, there is an option to have newly built ships either automated or non-automated, this might fix one of your issues.


.

 

[JD50]

Looks interesting, too bad it's not on Steam.

 

[Anteaus]

Whenever I start a game I have one home planet but with a handful of systems already explored and mining stations, etc built or cued for building. Basically what I mean is I want to start a game with a planet and maybe a colony or construction ship and thats it. I don't want any prebuilt resources off planet. I want a virgin system to start working on with no other systems explored or owned, i.e. MOO, GC, Stardrive, and Endless Space. I don't want the game to have prebuilt anything off planet.

I'll take another look at the starting conditions perhaps I missed something.

I'm a bit confused by the highlighted statement, as that is generally how the game starts out.

Some game setup options that I can recall off the top (Start a New Game):

- Galaxy type (Spiral, Elliptical, Ring, etc.)
- General starting location
- Map size (four or five options, I always go 15 x 15 which is max)
- Tech Research speed
- Space Monsters prevalence
- Racial restlessness
- Difficulty
- Prevalence of habitable planets
- Prevalence of Independent life (and yes/no they can become an Empire)
- Zone of control/Influence range
- Colonization range limits (yes/no, and how far)
- Your Race
- Your starting Government type
- Your Empire name, Flag, Colors, so forth
- Home system quality (can determine if there are extra habitable planets in your home system).
- Your Empire age (Starting should be only one planet)
- Your starting Tech level (Starting should be few/no ships)
- Alien Races :
- - Empire name (you can name it or let it be assigned)
- - Race (you can define or let it be random)
- - Government (you can define or let it be random)
- - Age (you can define or let it be random)
- - Tech level (you can define or let it be random)
- - Home system quality (you can define or let it be random)
- - Proximity to you (you can define or let it be random)

- Victory Conditions (multiple)
- Story lines enable/disable
- Disasters/Events enable/disable

Some others I'm not remembering right now as well.


But back to you first line, in Shadows you have the option to start without Warp technology, so you're pretty much going to be left to set up your own space program.


For some of your other comments, there is an option to have newly built ships either automated or non-automated, this might fix one of your issues.


.

 

[wanderer27]

Whenever I start a game I have one home planet but with a handful of systems already explored and mining stations, etc built or cued for building. Basically what I mean is I want to start a game with a planet and maybe a colony or construction ship and thats it. I don't want any prebuilt resources off planet. I want a virgin system to start working on with no other systems explored or owned, i.e. MOO, GC, Stardrive, and Endless Space. I don't want the game to have prebuilt anything off planet.

I'll take another look at the starting conditions perhaps I missed something.

Here's a thread with some info/pics about the new expansion.

Just what the Dr ordered on lone planet start:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3327138

 

[greenhawk]

Looks interesting, too bad it's not on Steam.

same. I went looking for it abd did not find it on any of the more common delivery playforms I am currently using, but then I am not that interested in adding another just for another game I have no interest in but for one game (ie: origin and battlefield).

interestingly, some other shops and placed I find have the same problem in that it just does not seem to be around.

Game released back in 2010 originally? sounds like star wolves. I could get the demo, but it was limited to Europe as a place of release.

 

[Anteaus]

Here's a thread with some info/pics about the new expansion.

Just what the Dr ordered on lone planet start:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3327138

Wow thanks for the info. Prewarp FTW. It sucks that it took them three expansions to finally let me do it but I'm glad they acknowledged that some people wanted it. Looks like I need to start watching for an official release date.

 

[wanderer27]

Wow thanks for the info. Prewarp FTW. It sucks that it took them three expansions to finally let me do it but I'm glad they acknowledged that some people wanted it. Looks like I need to start watching for an official release date.

A little more info from a pre-strategy discussion in "The War Room":

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3327129

Here's a little info to add as food for thought.

Starting out Techs:

You have no Armor
You have no Shields
You have no Fighters
You have no Proximity Sensors
You have no Target Tracking
You have no Countermeasures
You have no Warp Drive
You have no Collectors
You have no Colonization
You have no Troop Transport Pods
You have no Medical Center
You have no Recreation Center

You do have Pulse Blasters (4 damage @ 150 range)
You do have Missiles (5 damage @ 400 range)
You do have Long Range Guns (5 damage @ 100 range)

These last three are basically precursor type weapons, in that they don't upgrade, just like the initial Fuel Cells you start with.
This of course means you're going to be doing early Retrofits or new Designs, or a combination there of.

Got some time?
Build a ship in DW without Warp Drives (if it's even possible) and see how long it takes to move to another planet.

This will give some idea of what you're going to be facing


Oh, something else to add to your planning . . . did I mention that it may take 10 to 20 years before you even have Warp Drive?

See, you start out on a planet with 4B or 5B people. Your Economy is not going gangbusters (Economy has been tuned), and since you start out with no Space presence, the only Research production you have is what your planetary output is . . .

There are a couple of AAR's by Testers going on too:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3327097


This one's by the guy with the videos (previously posted):

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3322448

I've already posted the links to parts 1 - 4, in the above thread you can get the links for parts 5 - 10.


Current release sounds like Thursday (23rd), and supposedly there's going to be good promo pricing:

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Can't share the promotion details yet, but I think just about everyone will be happy with it.[8D]

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3328614


.

 

[Anteaus]

Anyone have any direct experience with the new expansion...i.e. beta? They claim to be using a newer graphics engine and I'm curious how it compares with the old one. I never minded the quality of the graphics but the performance could be very inconsistant.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Just to be clear, there's no preorder deal or something right (can't even preorder right now)? They're indicating that there will be some launch promo pricing?

 

[wanderer27]

Anyone have any direct experience with the new expansion...i.e. beta? They claim to be using a newer graphics engine and I'm curious how it compares with the old one. I never minded the quality of the graphics but the performance could be very inconsistant.

Looking into this, but word so is it's much improved over previous versions of DW.


.

 

[wanderer27]

Just to be clear, there's no preorder deal or something right (can't even preorder right now)? They're indicating that there will be some launch promo pricing?

No preorder, as they haven't announced any pricing yet.

I'm hoping the promo's a pretty good deal, as there's a thread on their Forums about pricing keeping some people off (I can understand that).

Today's supposed to be Gold Master day unless something nasty pops up, other than that Thursday's the day.


.

 

[Anteaus]

My guess is that any promo pricing will primarily benefit people who don't own the game at all yet. The price of one expansion isn't what pushes people off...its the price of the base game plus expansions combined with the well known fact that the game is only worth playing if you buy the entire set. There are simply too many game tweaks included in earlier expansions that improve gameplay dramatically.

If I were them I would combine everything up to Legends and sell it as one game at around $40 as a promo and then sell Shadow at 30 to 40 dollars seperately. Otherwise the regular price creeps over $100 for everything and thats just nutty. That's expensive, even for Matrix Games. I don't mind paying a bit more for niche titles, but once you get over $80 there needs to be some serious love there.

My two cents.

 

[wanderer27]

Anyone have any direct experience with the new expansion...i.e. beta? They claim to be using a newer graphics engine and I'm curious how it compares with the old one. I never minded the quality of the graphics but the performance could be very inconsistant.

Okay, the overall opinion from some Testers is that the performance is much better.

One has run it on a Dual Core and XP 32 bit, and another has had it effectively running on a four year old Laptop.

That's about the best I can info give at this point.


Meanwhile, the game has just launched.

Distant Worlds promo package deal (Distant Worlds + Return of the Shakturi + Legends + Shadows) for $69.96:

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/379/details/Distant.Worlds


Distant Worlds: Shadows $19.99 ($29.99 for Box Edition + Download):

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/466/details/Distant.Worlds-.Shadows



EDIT:

Fixed Bundle contents - added Shadows


.

 

[wanderer27]

Okay, the overall opinion from some Testers is that the performance is much better.

One has run it on a Dual Core and XP 32 bit, and another has had it effectively running on a four year old Laptop.

That's about the best I can info give at this point.


Meanwhile, the game has just launched.

Distant Worlds promo package deal (Distant Worlds + Return of the Shakturi + Legends + Shadows) for $69.96:

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/379/details/Distant.Worlds


Distant Worlds: Shadows $19.99 ($29.99 for Box Edition + Download):

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/466/details/Distant.Worlds-.Shadows


.

Seems I made a mistake on the promo bundle pricing . . . it's $69.96 for all of them (including DW: Shadows, so that's a pretty decent deal.


.

 

[wanderer27]

Their site seems to be getting hammered a bit, but a few comments from long time users:

:

ORIGINAL: xxxxxxxxx
Wow she is running smooth with Shadows installed.
Runs like a different game.

Yeah, performance seems great (although it's just from early in my game).

(in reply to xxxxxxxxx)

Here's a better summary on the promo:

Matrix Games and Slitherine (www.slitherine.com) are proud to announce the release of the highly anticipated third expansion to the critically acclaimed 4X space strategy game series Distant Worlds: Shadows. To celebrate this release we have a great promotion running for the next six weeks, until July 5th, for both newcomers and existing fans.

For newcomers we have an amazing bundle offer. Get the entire Distant Worlds series and all its expansions for just $69.96! To get the bundle just add Distant Worlds to your cart and the bundle will be offered to you. That’s a saving of nearly 40% off the base price!

If that’s just too much content for you, we’re also dropping the base game to just $19.99 and all expansion will be sold separately for just $19.99! if you purchase Return of the Shakturi or Legends as part of the bundle, they are available for only $14.99! That’s a savings of up to 50% off the base price!

As an added bonus to existing Distant Worlds fans, through the duration of the sale Distant Worlds – Shadows will be priced at $19,99, $5 off the regular price, or the same discount given to newcomers to the series who take advantage of our bundle discount.


Distant Worlds: Shadows adds new gameplay to the Distant Worlds universe and is set in a new era in the Distant Worlds timeline, called the Age of Shadows.
In this time, when the planetary civilizations have not yet rediscovered hyperspace travel, factions of space-based pirates with remnants of ancient technologies battle each other to succeed in survival and expansion. They struggle to hold back the rebirth of the space empires from the ashes of the first war against the Shakturi while establishing themselves as the new power in the galaxy. It is up to the player to choose a side.

New gameplay includes the ability to play as a pirate faction or a pre-hyperspace planetary empire, expanded ground combat, with a full new ground combat tech tree, a ground combat resolution screen and multiple different troop types as well as ship and base boarding and capture. The expanded tech tree also includes Gravitic Weapons and Tractor Beams as well as additional planetary facilities that allow you more customization on character recruitment.

Distant Worlds: Shadows also includes an updated and improved graphical engine, a much enhanced AI and comprehensive difficulty settings that will be challenging even for the veterans of the series and as usual many new modding possibilities.


Get more information on Distant Worlds: Shadows from its official product page.

Please note: Distant Worlds – Shadows REQUIRES ownership of Distant Worlds, Distant Worlds: Return of the Shakturi and Distant Worlds: Legends.

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3330796


Off to Shadow lands . . . .


.

 

[Anteaus]

I picked it up earlier and got about an hour in. Unfortunately I've already seen two crashes, which is two crashes more than I had ever seen before this expansion. I have no idea what caused them. One second the game is fine then it just stops responding. Hopefully its something that will be fixed quickly because both occasions caused me to lose progress.

I noticed the game load time is a noticeable longer than Legends. It doesn't affect game play but I was surprised. Graphics defintely feel smoother.

 

[wanderer27]

I picked it up earlier and got about an hour in. Unfortunately I've already seen two crashes, which is two crashes more than I had ever seen before this expansion. I have no idea what caused them. One second the game is fine then it just stops responding. Hopefully its something that will be fixed quickly because both occasions caused me to lose progress.

I noticed the game load time is a noticeable longer than Legends. It doesn't affect game play but I was surprised. Graphics defintely feel smoother.

Did you send your crash logs?

/AppData/Roaming/Code Force Limited/Distant Worlds/1.9.0.0

This version should be very stable, so the fact you're having crashes is surprising.

Most issues I've seen is installation type issues, and only a couple of them are still pending (ATOM Processor based it seems).


.

 

[Anteaus]

Did you send your crash logs?

/AppData/Roaming/Code Force Limited/Distant Worlds/1.9.0.0

This version should be very stable, so the fact you're having crashes is surprising.

Most issues I've seen is installation type issues, and only a couple of them are still pending (ATOM Processor based it seems).


.

Yes I don't know. Everything installed fine and the game loads and plays fine. Just crashes randomly for whatever reason. My Legends install never crashed so I wonder if it's related to the new graphics engine.

i7-2600k
8GB ram
Nvidia 570 GTX
Windows 7 64-bit Pro