XCOM 2 isn’t coming out until 2016. Rising Tide didn’t revitalise Civilization: Beyond Earth. Endless Space 2 isn’t out until next year. Master Of Orion isn’t playable yet either and Galactic Civilizations 3 … there’s something not quite there. What on earth is a 4X fan to do?
One option is to hit up Endless Legend, the fantasy-themed 4X from Amplitude Studios. And if you’re looking for something meaty to dive into over the holiday break, the game just got a massive update.
The main addition, as outlined on their slightly clunky website, is support for mods and the Steam Workshop. It’s a free inclusion for all users, as you’d expect. The TILED map making software is now compatible with Endless Legend as well, for those who want to create their own arctic empires or barren wastelands.
Titled Forges of Creation, the update also adds a new hero, unit equipment, custom faction traits and a special unit for the Guardians DLC. Amplitude have also rolled out two pieces of DLC costing a total of $5.19 if you buy them right now.
That DLC is titled The Lost Tales and Echoes of Auriga, which combined fleshes out the game’s soundtrack, adds more reskinned items, and over 20 new quests concentrating on “the minor factions of Auriga”.
Amplitude has also reworked the AI substantially in the latest patch for all players, with the AI now able to contemplate “different attack angles when choosing to launch a battle”. The additions to the AI’s army decisions are intriguing, to say the least:
Tweaks to battle targeting weights
Target distance now plays a bigger role
Improved the evaluation of heal and debuff immunity
Improved the evaluation of higher ground
Improved the targeting of “faster than shadows’ and “chain lightning’ area-of-effect attack
AI will now consider different attack angles when choosing to launch a battle
Improved general military power estimation
The number of available deployment tiles relative to army size is now taken into account
Battlefield terrain is now taken into account
City fortifications is now more accurately taken into account
Available the reinforcements are more accurately taken into account
Fixed an issue where the stealth armies are taken into account when computing military power in battle
AI will retreat from hopeless battles
The AI will avoid retreating when its army is at half health
AI will no longer reinforce hopeless battles
AI should have better army compositions
AI should avoid pillaging neighbours it feels no hostility towards
And that’s not the only thing to be reworked either. The list of changes is bloody massive, and it’s worth a look over if you picked up Endless Legend at any point. I very nearly bought it last year during one of the Steam sales and considering that GalCiv3 and Beyond Earth haven’t scratched that itch for me (and the MoO reboot won’t be out yet) I’ll probably bite the bullet this time around.
Comments
4 responses to “Endless Legend Adds Steam Workshop, Mods, Quests, And Revamps The AI”
Is this the 4X that has the game of thrones mod? Or am I getting that confused with another game?
Either way this one looks super cool, steam workshop support is cool. No doubt some fantastic stuff will come from that.
You’re probably thinking of Crusader Kings II, or maybe even Europa Universalis? Almost certainly not Endless Legend.
It’s great, though; your race really changes your gameplay in this. It’s not just +1 unit +1 building like Civ V. The Drakken can unilaterally force people into peace, the Roving Clans can lock people out of the commodities market, the Necrophages can only gain population by attacking, the Cultists can only have one infinitely-growing city, the Broken Lords don’t gain food and have to use gold for population… that kind of thing.
Yeah, the uniqueness of each faction is really one of the main appeals of the game. That said, I wish there were more factions.
Ah yeah, crusader kings I think it was. So many great games I need to play >.<
Wow, that all sounds super cool actually. I haven’t been into this type of game for years, but I super want to lose myself in one of them. Maybe endless legend is the way to go.