Endless Space

Endless Space is a 4X turn-based strategy video game, developed and published by Amplitude Studios, released on July 4, 2012, for Microsoft Windows and August 31, 2012 for Mac OS X. In the game, the player takes charge of fictional space age civilizations, expanding their influence by colonization and conquest. Endless Space sold over 1 million units, and earned the Unity Golden Cube award in 2013. The game's sequel, Endless Space 2, released in 2017.

Endless Space
Developer(s)Amplitude Studios
Publisher(s)Iceberg Interactive 
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows[1]
July 4, 2012
Mac OS X[2]
August 31, 2012
Genre(s)Turn-based strategy, 4X
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Overview

In Endless Space the player chooses one of ten unique civilizations, or can choose to create their own, to expand their interstellar empire and conquer the galaxy. To win, the player must be the first to meet the requirements for certain victory conditions, such as Economic, Diplomatic, Expansionary, and Supremacy victories.[3]

The game plays out on a randomly generated galaxy map with room for up to eight players/AI per game. Players colonize different star systems, which in turn contain up to six planets. Star systems are connected via a series of cosmic strings which allow ships to travel rapidly between neighbouring systems. In addition, hero units can be recruited to act as system administrators or fleet admirals, which provide bonuses depending on their traits that can further be leveled up. Battles take place in a quasi-real-time environment, similar to rock-paper-scissors.[4]

The game features full modding and multiplayer compatibility as well.[5]

Setting

The game is set in approximately 3000AD, tens of thousands of years after the extinction of an advanced civilization known as the Endless. The major empires of the galaxy seek to control and exploit the technology of the Endless for their own agendas.

  • The United Empire - A totalitarian human government operating under a combination of corporate rule and feudal monarchy, bent on galactic supremacy.
  • The Pilgrims - A faction of human exiles and rebels from the United Empire, united in their desire for freedom and quasi-religious veneration of the Endless.
  • The Horatio - A species of clones derived from the megalomaniacal human trillionaire Horatio, seeing themselves as a master race and desiring to "beautify" the universe by populating it with more of their kind.
  • The Sophons - A diminutive and highly advanced species of scientists and engineers, seeking to unlock the secrets of the universe.
  • The Cravers - A species of ravenous cyborgs originally created as a bioweapon by the Endless. Their only goal is to expand, consume and destroy.
  • The Amoeba - A peaceful species of highly evolved amoeboid lifeforms, valuing all life and seeking trade and diplomacy.
  • The Hissho - An empire of avian tribal warriors seeking conquest and glory.
  • The Sowers - A network of terraforming robots created by the Endless to make the galaxy suitable for habitation who have never stopped performing their original task.
  • The Sheredyn - The royal bodyguards and special forces of the United Empire, who later split off and became their own faction. (Added in Emperor Edition).
  • The Automatons - A robotic faction created when Dust induced sentience in the abandoned technology of an extinct civilization. (Added in Rise of the Automatons).
  • The Harmony - Crystalline lifeforms that have existed since the beginning of the universe, broken from a single entity into numerous individuals by exposure to Dust. Seeing Dust as a terrifying plague, they seek to eradicate it from the universe no matter the cost. (Added in Disharmony).
  • The Vaulters - A human culture that have recently escaped the dying planet Auriga, from Endless Legend, and now seek a new home among the stars. (Added in Vaulters).

Gameplay

Endless Space is a turn-based strategy game set in 3000 AD, where each player (up to a maximum of eight per game) represents the leader of one of nine unique interstellar empires.[6] A player may also choose to create their own unique civilization by selecting from a number of different traits that correspond to military, science, diplomacy, hero units and so on. Each player is to guide their empire over hundreds, if not thousands, of years to diplomatic, scientific, or military conquest, attempting to meet requirements for several different victory conditions.[3] The game takes place in a randomly generated galaxy, which can change in size and shape, depending on how the host player chooses to generate it. Every player begins with one colonised capital system which is connected to further systems via cosmic links, which act as travel routes for starships. Players can also research new technologies from four different research trees, representing military, science, expansion/exploration and diplomacy. Research unlocks new ship types, planetary improvements, stat modifiers (either for heroes or planets), new travel methods which do not rely on cosmic links and more. As players expand their empire, they will gain access to strategic and luxury resources, which can be used to upgrade ships, build improvements and trade with other players. Strategic resources are primarily used to upgrade components of your empire, while luxury resources are primarily used for trade and maintaining your empire's approval rating.

The game uses four basic resources to manage its economy: Food, Industry, Dust and Science, or FIDS. Dust is a substance that was left over from the Endless civilization, used as currency. Players must balance FIDS in order to rapidly expand their empire, build ships and research advanced technologies. In addition, a lower or imbalanced FIDS across your empire results in a low approval rating.[3] A high approval rating provides bonuses to production efficiency, while a low approval rating can drastically lower efficiency making it incredibly difficult to advance. A tax rate slider can also be adjusted to change approval rating, but lower taxes result in a lower revenue stream of Dust.

Hero units can be recruited using Dust, to act as either fleet commanders or system administrators. Each hero unit is unique and provides two unique bonuses, which can be further leveled up. Three hero units are randomly selected from a pool unique to each empire and new hero units are available for purchase every fifty turns.

Space combat

Interstellar fleet battles take place in a quasi-real-time environment, similar to a complex game of rock-paper-scissors. Each battle scene takes place in three engagement stages: long-range, medium-range, and melee-range engagements, with different types of weapons and ship systems performing better or worse as the fleets increase in physical proximity over time. Fleets are issued up to three different 'cards', one for each stage of combat, which represent fleet-wide general orders, from categories such as attack, defend, tactics, sabotage, and engineering. Each card has a certain function, such as increasing the fleet's weapons damage by a certain amount (an 'attack' card), however some cards can counter opposing cards, as in the case of an 'attack' card played against an enemy's 'tactics' card during long-range engagement, where the attack card gives a straight damage improvement while the tactics card provides a damage improvement but weakens the fleet's defences correspondingly - the attack card's increased damage counters the tactics card's weakened defences, and the attacking fleet thus gains a sizable additional bonus to damage during long-range engagement. No traditional combat micromanagement takes place during these battles, though the player instead is engaged in terms of understanding fleet composition and attempting to predict and counter likely 'card' plays by the enemy fleet based on how the engagement has unfolded so far. More advanced or specialised cards may also be unlocked through research or through advanced training available to experienced commanders. Fleet size and composition play a very important role, such as determining combat effectiveness (when, per se, the attack card is played) and ability to maneuver. Fleets with hero units assigned to them may also experience bonuses. During battles, the camera is by default placed in a cinematic mode, but a free camera mode is also available.[3]

Victory conditions

A player wins the game when they reach the requirements[7] for a number of victory conditions, listed below:

  • Expansion: conquer 75% or more of the colonized universe
  • Scientific: research Pan-Galactic Society, the final, extremely expensive tech node at the end of the Scientific tech tree.
  • Economic: reach a certain level of cumulative Dust revenue.
  • Diplomatic: acquire enough Diplomatic Points (by diplomatically interacting with other factions).
  • Supremacy: capture every other player's homeworld.
  • Wonder: reconstruct at least five 'Endless Worder' structures.
  • Score: achieve the highest total score by the end of the turn limit.

Release

Endless Space was made available for pre-purchase on May 2, 2012, on Steam. Customers who pre-ordered the game would receive access to the current alpha build and later beta builds prior to launch.[8] In addition, customers who pre-ordered would be allowed to provide input on the game's development, through a feature called Games2Gether.[9] The game was released on July 4, 2012[10] on two digital distribution platforms: Steam[11] and GamersGate.[12] It came in two special editions: an 'Admiral' edition containing the original soundtrack and a forum badge and an 'Emperor' Special Edition containing the Admiral edition content, as well as a ship skin pack and an Endless hero.[13]

Updates
  • The Rise of the Automatons: Released October 26, 2012, this free add-on added a new community-voted faction "The Automatons," a machine-like race. The add-on also brought in a new trade route and empire management system as well as improvements to the hero system, diplomacy and AI.[14]
  • Echoes of the Endless: Released December 1, 2012, this second free add-on introduces new exploration rewards, interactive random events, natural and 'endless' wonders, and more life on the galaxy map (e.g. black holes, comets, pulsars). The add-on also included new heroes and multiplayer improvements.[15]
  • Lights of Polaris: Released December 19, 2012, the third free add-on for Endless Space added a new Christmas-themed Natural Wonder called "The Polaris Factory", a new hero based on Ebeneezer Scrooge, as well as several combat enhancements, fixes, and new Steam Achievements.[16]
  • Virtual Awakening: Released March 11, 2013, the fourth add-on adds new heroes, technology, star system improvements, exploration events, random events, new anomalies, victory warnings and auto scrap features, among other gameplay fixes.[17]
  • Disharmony: Released on June 26, 2013, the first piece of paid downloadable content, Disharmony introduces a brand new faction - the Harmony. The DLC also includes new ship types, including bombers and fighters, an overhauled ship interface design, battle formations, a new targeting system, redesigned weapon systems and new invasion mechanics.[18]
  • The Search for Auriga: Released on November 14, 2013, this is the first free add-on for Disharmony. It adds two new Heroes, one new Wonder, a unique Planet, and other gameplay enhancements and fixes. This is the last additional content produced by Amplitude for Endless Space.[19]

Reception

Endless Space was met positively by critics, with an aggregate score of 77/100 on Metacritic.[20] IGN praised the game for its accessibility and replay value, while criticizing the sound assets and unclear tool-tips for newer players.[22] GameSpy gave Endless Space a rating of 3.5/5 stars, praising the game's user interface, but criticizing the game for lacking personality.[21]

The game was also nominated for 5 awards by Unity Technologies.[24] Endless Space won the Golden Cube and Community Choice awards at the Unite 2013 ceremony.[23]

Sequel

The second installment in the series, Endless Space 2 was announced on July 30, 2015 and was released on May 18, 2017.

References
  1. Sliwinski, Alexander. "Endless Space warps onto Mac". Joystiq. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  2. "4X Strategy Endless Space blasts off next week". ShackNews. June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  3. Dean, Paul. "Endless Space Preview". IGN. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  4. Chow, Kevin. "Endless Space Beta Impressions". GoozerNation.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  5. "Endless Space Interview". Strategy Informer. June 25, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  6. Young, Rory. "Endless Space launch trailer prompts you to exterminate all resistance". Neoseeker. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  7. "Endless Space User Manual" (PDF). Amplitude Studios. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  8. Solo, Adam (May 2, 2012). "Endless Space Pre-Orders Open On Steam". Space Sector. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  9. Husemann, Charles. "Endless Space Games2Gether Interview". Gaming Nexus. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  10. "Endless Space gets a 4th July release date". Strategy Informer. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  11. Purchese, Robert (May 9, 2012). "PC strategy game Endless Space given release date". EuroGamer.net. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  12. Mudgal, Kartik. "Endless Space now available on Steam and other platforms, trailer inside". GamingBolt.com. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  13. Gonzalez, Christina. "Endless Space is Officially Released". RTSGuru.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  14. Sharkey, Mike (October 3, 2012). "First Endless Space Free Add-on, Rise of the Automatons, Hits Steam Today". GameSpy. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  15. Gonzalez, Christina. "Endless Space Gets New Content, Free to Play Weekend Coming". RTS Guru. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  16. Senior, Tom. "Endless Space free update adds Christmas wonder, optional pirates, new hero". PC Gamer. PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  17. Smith, Adam. "Starface: Endless Space – Free DLC & Sale". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  18. Gonzalez, Christina. "Endless Space: Disharmony Expansion Launches". RTS Guru. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  19. Farokhmanesh, Megan. "Endless Space: The Search for Auriga update now available". Polygon. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  20. "Metacritic Endless Space". Metacritic. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  21. Zacny, Rob (July 6, 2012). "Endless Space Review". GameSpy. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  22. Dean, Paul (July 6, 2012). "Endless Space Review". IGN. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  23. "Endless Space wins best game at Unity awards". Gameindustry.biz. 2013-08-30. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  24. "Endless Space leads nominations at Unity Awards". Gameindustry.biz. 2013-08-08. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
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