Space Empires IV: Where is a good place to start?

[Eaglesfan27]

I just received Space Empires IV Gold in the mail today. This appears to be a very deep game and I've just finished the manual and tried the tutorial and I still find myself having a steep learning curve to overcome. Anyone know of any good sites that might offer a newbie to the series some pointers? By the way, I just read through the SE IV dynasty which was great.

[sachmo71]

I just received Space Empires IV Gold in the mail today. This appears to be a very deep game and I've just finished the manual and tried the tutorial and I still find myself having a steep learning curve to overcome. Anyone know of any good sites that might offer a newbie to the series some pointers? By the way, I just read through the SE IV dynasty which was great.

I have found the most useful information on the official site at shrapnelgames.com, especially the Newbie FAQ. Those guys should be able to help you out with any questions that you may have.

[Peregrine]

It's a really great game. I second Sachmo, the place to go is the forum for the game at shrapnelgames.com. I used to be a regular there back when I was playing the game all the time, now it's kind of gathering dust. Only thing to keep in mind is that their forums are kind of weird, the most recent post appears at the top, not the bottom.

[Eaglesfan27]

Thanks for the advice guys.

[hukarez]

Will this ever be downloadable after purchase, or is it solely a CD release? :confused:

[StormcloudCreations]

Shrapnel has moved away from downloadable stuff after purchase in general, due mostly to bandwidth issues I believe. My Thunder Pack Platinum 4-game pack might be the last I think, for them (and its 24 MB, so maybe I see why).

[Eaglesfan27]

The newbie FAQ was very helpful, I'm really enjoying my first "real game" of SE IV, even though I'll probably get my butt kicked.

[Peregrine]

Trust me, it takes a few games just to get a feel for the tech trees, there are so many options, even veterans can always find new things and combos.

[Primal]

The game looks sweet.... where did you buy it from?

[Peregrine]

http://www.shrapnelgames.com/malfador/SEIVGold/1.htm

The Shrapnel store is linked off that page, which also has features, forums, etc.

[Eaglesfan27]

Yep, I bought it directly from the Shrapnel store. Nice speedy service.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola - I'm on call tonight (and just got back about 45 minutes ago from seeing a patient) which is responsible in large part for me being up this late... but the game is also responsible. My first "real game" I got my butt kicked by a supposedly peace loving empire. However, I foolishly left my border with them weakly defended, and they didn't have much area to expand except through me. It was a great learning game and a lot of fun. I'm doing better this game, but I have a feeling this is going to be a game I spend a LOT of time to master, and that I will have fun in the process.

[WSUCougar]

FYI Guys

GoGamer.com now carries this game (discounted from Shrapnel's price).

[sachmo71]

Eaglesfan,

When you get board with stock SEIV, download the TDM Mod. Much more of a challenge.

[Peregrine]

EaglesFan, one important thing to keep in mind is:

Don't trust any of the AI races!

They will be peaceloving, ally with you etc, but will turn on you in a second. Do some alliances, you need them for the trade and research bonuses, but be ready in case your allies decide to jump you.

[Calis]

For anyone that's played both, can someone give me the benefits of SEIV over GalCiv?

Just curious because GalCiv lost my interest rather quickly, but this does sound interesting. I'm wondering if this game might do a better job of keeping my interest.

[WSUCougar]

I don't have the time to spend on a big comparison, but based on what I know of your gaming interests, Calis, I think you'd really enjoy SEIV.

I, too, found GalCiv a disappointment. SEIV is a keeper.

[RendeR]

I find the whole genre of starhip/empire type games enjoyable, but SEIV completely turned me oof. I don't want to have to take a class just to enjoy the game. Even readng through the manual left me really annoyed at how many things I had to keep track of to get into the enjoyment part of it. maybe I'm just expecting the interface to be much more intuitive, I dunno.

[sachmo71]

SEIV=Spreadsheet in Space. You have been warned.

[RendeR]

SEIV=Spreadsheet in Space. You have been warned.


spreadsheets are simpler to understand ;)

[sachmo71]

New patch for the game for anyone interested:

http://www.shrapnelgames.com/malfador/SEIVGold/6.htm

[Peregrine]

It is complicated, but for me it really only took a few games to get used to things. The only trick for me is being able to keep track of what is going on across your empire, but this is the same problem you face with the endgame of Civ or other strategy games. This game is worth playing for the tech tree alone, and the open-ended ship building model where you get to decide exactly how to build each class of ship is really fun to mess with. Calis, I think you'd definitely like this game.

[Eaglesfan27]

Somehow, I lost track of this thread over the last few days.. it could be because I've been busy playing this game a lot. I had heard of this game and almost tried it a few times, but for some reason didn't each time. I'm glad I've tried it now. I got my butt handed to me the first few times, but then I decided to try the tutorial and play out that game (which I assume is an easier difficulty level.) I'm finally winning a game with over a third of the galaxy under my control and I'm having a blast. I formed a strong alliance with the Toltayan early. I figured if an emperor had never been deposed, they were as trustworthy as I was going to get. Together, we've steamrolled two civilizations, and are on our way to taking out a third. I love the ship design. The game definitely has something of a spreadsheet feel to it at times, but hey it works for FOF ;) In any case, I highly recommend this game if you like strategy. I got on today planning to play for just an hour or so, and I've been playing for about 12 hours straight (with a few breaks to check my email, FOFC, and eNFL boards.) I planned on going to sleep now, but I find myself drawn back into the game for just another few turns...

By the way, thanks for the link to the patch (I've been playing on version 1.84 which I thought was the most recent) and thanks for the suggestion on a good challenging mod once I get the hang of the basic SEIV experience.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola - I also played GalCiv and while I enjoyed it for a while and will occasionally give it a whirl as more patches/upgrades come out, I think this game will have MUCH more longterm play value for me. This game is just much, much, deeper then GalCiv with everything from complex ship designing, supply line maintenance, a very complex research tree, and a bunch of other features which are more in depth then GalCiv.

[Eaglesfan27]

Somehow, I lost track of this thread over the last few days.. it could be because I've been busy playing this game a lot. I had heard of this game and almost tried it a few times, but for some reason didn't each time. I'm glad I've tried it now. I got my butt handed to me the first few times, but then I decided to try the tutorial and play out that game (which I assume is an easier difficulty level.) I'm finally winning a game with over a third of the galaxy under my control and I'm having a blast. I formed a strong alliance with the Toltayan early. I figured if an emperor had never been deposed, they were as trustworthy as I was going to get. Together, we've steamrolled two civilizations, and are on our way to taking out a third. I love the ship design. The game definitely has something of a spreadsheet feel to it at times, but hey it works for FOF ;) In any case, I highly recommend this game if you like strategy. I got on today planning to play for just an hour or so, and I've been playing for about 12 hours straight (with a few breaks to check my email, FOFC, and eNFL boards.) I planned on going to sleep now, but I find myself drawn back into the game for just another few turns...

By the way, thanks for the link to the patch (I've been playing on version 1.84 which I thought was the most recent) and thanks for the suggestion on a good challenging mod once I get the hang of the basic SEIV experience.

Never quoted myself before I don't think. Anyway, Whoever told me (just looked back and it was Peregrine - I can't say you didn't warn me ;) ) never to trust anyone was right. The Toltayan realized I was getting too powerful and they allied with another race the Norak. Next thing I know I'm getting hit from behind by the Toltayan which I recover from and wipe them out, but in the process the Norak who have the other half of the universe (I had gotten control of about a half) send a massive fleet with a LOT of missile weapons. Unfortunately, my armada didn't have enough point cannon defenses and I didn't have enough missile ships (ok I have to admit I hadn't built any missile ships :o ) and they wiped out 31 of my ships that I had clustered against them with only 14 ships and I only took out 9 of their ships. They then steamrolled my planets as I didn't realize that I should be putting weapons platforms on every important planet. It was a good learning experience and I'm now enjoying my second serious game. This game is a lot of fun and I look forward to trying out the various mods once I get down the basics. Definitely a high learning curve however.

[sachmo71]

Good to hear you are having fun!

[EagleFan]

This one sounds pretty cool. Right now I'm splitting my limited gaming time between KOTOR, FBCB and Space Empires: Star Fury but may give this one a shot when I have the time.