“The other factions in the galaxy are all humans from other seeding expeditions,” says Meier. There are no alien fleets, though, thankfully. You can improve their engines and weapons, which will help you fly further into space and defeat tougher enemies.Īs well as other factions, there are pirates to contend with out in the uncharted depths of the galaxy. There’s a lot of depth here, including the ability to customise your starships. But that doesn’t mean it’s lacking ambition. I get a sense from the look and feel that it’s a pet project for Meier that’s being made on the side. Starships doesn’t have the slick, contemporary, big budget feel of something like XCOM, and reminds me a lot of classic ‘90s PC strategy games. Do you want to share the planet, or fight their fleet and try and drive them out of their territory? Where once you fought over land masses, you’re now battling for the right to rule whole planets. Land on a planet that’s already occupied by another faction and you’ll enter a Civ-style diplomacy screen, and you’ll have to come to an agreement. Complete the mission and you’ll be rewarded, so if you save a colony from some invading pirates, you’ll get tech or money in return. Land at a new planet and a random mission will pop up, which you can choose to accept or ignore. Sometimes it’ll be safer to use a turn to fly through one of these and escape than it would be to stand and fight. Battles take place on a hex grid, and things to consider while you move around include wormholes that zap you instantly to another part of the map. They give players the time and space to always be planning ahead.Īn interesting twist in Starships turn-based combat system lets you detonate torpedos several turns later, to blow up enemy ships or destroy asteroid fields to give you a new route through a battlefield. He doesn’t want players only reacting to what’s happening in the present, which is why he prefers turn-based games. Good strategy games, according to Meier, are the ones that keep your mind on the future. The idea is that when you finish a game, you’ll always have an idea in the back of your head about how you’re going to play differently next time. “These range from the affinity you choose, to your faction, to the starships you build, to the difficulty level you choose.” “There are a lot of different choices you can make,” says Meier. The road to a victory will be different every time you play the game. Take too long to reach your own victory and you’ll lose the game. And finally there’s the Population victory, achieved by having a large amount of people in your empire.” Like Civ, you’ll be alerted when other factions make progress towards these victories. The Science victory is won by unlocking three level six technologies. There’s also the Wonder victory, where you control seven wonders. Here you win by taking out all the other factions. “There’s the traditional Domination victory, which carries over from Civilization. “There are a number of ways to win,” says Meier. You can still play how you want to play, a freedom that’s a crucial part of all of Meier’s games.īut no matter how you decide to play, you’ll always have one thing on your mind: victory. But your choice of affinity won’t restrict you in any way. Then there’s Supremacy, who are leaders in technology and construction, and start the game with a random wonder. Harmony fleets focus on the interrelatedness of all living things, and their bonus is repairing their ships at half the cost. Purity admirals are diplomats, and their emphasis on the heritage of humanity gives them double mission rewards. “The idea is that the affinity you choose is the affinity that led you to victory in a game of Beyond Earth, and now you’re ready to move outside your world, out into the rest of the galaxy.” “We use the affinity system as a way to customise your federation,” says Meier. Affinities, returning from Beyond Earth, will inform your play style. Replayability is something Meier and his team are striving for. That rolls together very nicely and is a lot of fun.” This creates a loop where victories in combat give you more strategic capability, which in turn makes you better at combat. “The strategy systems and what happens outside of combat directly feeds into your fleet and its capability. “Combat is really the heart of the game,” says Meier. Just like in a game of Civ, conflict is often unavoidable, and combat will be a big part of the Starships experience. It may be possible to exist peacefully in this galaxy, but it’ll be difficult.
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