>I agree with the article in that the mechanics of the game weren't ideal. Personally as someone that LOVES 4x and has spent _way_ too much time playing them, I think the format is fundamentally flawed and cannot be saved (e.g. expanding is too overpowered, games become too dull to close out - given the win was effectively gained hundreds of turns ago, AI being too costly to implement and difficult to balance). IMHO the best 4x game that will come out at some point in the future won't actually follow the 4x format.
Yeah, your decisions are very important in the early game (because that's what determines the speed at which your snowball grows), but as your faction grows, your individual decisions become more and more meaningless and monotonous.
One possible approach is to have the player's role gradually shift somehow, from micromanagement to providing overall strategic direction.
OP states:
>Meanwhile the automation functions are undermined by being abjectly stupid more often than not. Your governor will happily continue researching string theory while his rioting citizens are burning the place down around his ears. You can try to fine-tune his instructions, but there comes a point when you realize that it’s easier just to do everything yourself.
I wonder if turning it into a programming game could help address this problem? Then again, I'd be tempted to re-use my "code" across various playthroughs. Probably most players would go to the wiki to copy some "code" which is known to perform quite well.
Yeah, your decisions are very important in the early game (because that's what determines the speed at which your snowball grows), but as your faction grows, your individual decisions become more and more meaningless and monotonous.
One possible approach is to have the player's role gradually shift somehow, from micromanagement to providing overall strategic direction.
OP states:
>Meanwhile the automation functions are undermined by being abjectly stupid more often than not. Your governor will happily continue researching string theory while his rioting citizens are burning the place down around his ears. You can try to fine-tune his instructions, but there comes a point when you realize that it’s easier just to do everything yourself.
I wonder if turning it into a programming game could help address this problem? Then again, I'd be tempted to re-use my "code" across various playthroughs. Probably most players would go to the wiki to copy some "code" which is known to perform quite well.