City-building Game Catch All

Skylines isn't that difficult, Prederick. I'd just dive in without much in the way of hints. You'll do fine.

I agree, if you've played SC4 then you're more than prepared to play this. It unfolds naturally in the beginning of a map, acting as a basic tutorial (if not outright tutorial, can't recall).

Could turn into something fun, however. Wishlisted.

Well this looks nifty, Zeus-esque.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/53...

I'd play this. Aven Colony.

Budo wrote:

I'd play this. Aven Colony.

I think that was posted here before. I'm definitely keeping it on my radar and crossing my fingers that it doesn't suck and isn't broken at launch.

So I finally picked up the Cities: Skylines expansions on the last Steam Sale (not the Natural Disasters one). They do add a surprising amount to the game. There's just a ton of little extras I did not realize were there, like prisons, and bike lanes...so on.

Skylines felt a bit lean at launch, but it's really shaping up. Even has disasters (I need to buy that...) Only thing I'd like to see added is a region mode, similar to SimCity 4.

the_poison_king wrote:

So I finally picked up the Cities: Skylines expansions on the last Steam Sale (not the Natural Disasters one). They do add a surprising amount to the game. There's just a ton of little extras I did not realize were there, like prisons, and bike lanes...so on.

Skylines felt a bit lean at launch, but it's really shaping up. Even has disasters (I need to buy that...) Only thing I'd like to see added is a region mode, similar to SimCity 4.

I only got the After Dark expansion but am tempted by the Snowfall one in the sales. I think the playerbase were a bit allergic to region mode after the debacle that was SimCity, so it could have been a deliberate decision not to include it.

I think there is a dedicated Skylines thread.

I'm hoping they will add some wacky DLC like godzilla attacks and UFOs.

Kingdoms and Castles being crowdfunded here. Appears to be kind of a voxel-y, Banished. Has kind of a freemium vibe to it, but I'll reserve judgment.

Also Greenlit on Steam.

Urban Empire, by Kalypso Media (Tropico)

Urban Empire is a ‘City Ruler’, pioneering a new breed of strategy game that combines city builder features with political scheming and adds profound social and historical events into the mix, creating a whole new gameplay experience.

I'm pretty interested in what anyone here has to say about Urban Empire if we have any early takers.

Only davet010 on my friends list has it, but it doesn't unlock until the 20th.

I doubt I'll dive right in, but will be keeping an eye on it.

So how is this different than Tropico aside from ditching the tropical banana republic theme?

PC Gamer has some more details on it.

It will feature elements of city building games, but instead of working as an overblown urban planner, you'll take control of one of four unique families, each with its own interests and priorities, and lead your city and its citizens through 200 years of progress.

Large-scale city management, like planning city districts and infrastructure, is naturally part of the job, but it sounds like the real meat will be in the political operations, both above-board and behind the scenes. There will be up to 800 dynamic events, ranging from child labor laws to women's rights, that “represent the twists and turns of public life.” In some instances, diplomacy and debate will get the job done; in others, a firmer (or, perhaps, cash-filled) hand may be required.

Also, my mistake, Kalypso are just the publisher for both this and Tropico, but it's obviously got some links.

Reborn Interactive? Have they done anything before?

Anyway, this sounds like something I'll probably be interested in. I've had some ideas rattling around in my head about a Crusader Kings-esque city builder and this kind of sounds like that.

Edit: It appears the devs are or were called Fragment, but are now called Reborn Interactive. The head dude used to work for Colossal Order and worked on Cities in Motion. That all makes sense now.

shoptroll wrote:

So how is this different than Tropico aside from ditching the tropical banana republic theme?

This video should answer that.

There's also a dev walkthrough:

And a let's play by quill18:

I've got it on my wishlist but have been waiting for reviews and recommendations after it comes out. I've got dozens of hours of gameplay left in Cities: Skylines, and with Planet Coaster out as well I didn't feel like pulling the day-one/pre-order trigger on Urban Empires, though it does look interesting.

garion333 wrote:

Reborn Interactive? Have they done anything before?

Anyway, this sounds like something I'll probably be interested in. I've had some ideas rattling around in my head about a Crusader Kings-esque city builder and this kind of sounds like that.

Edit: It appears the devs are or were called Fragment, but are now called Reborn Interactive. The head dude used to work for Colossal Order and worked on Cities in Motion. That all makes sense now.

Yeah, I found their website and read their short history. The thing that troubles me is that their previous games, Rescue - Everyday Heroes and RESCUE 2: Everyday Heroes, both have only a 58% positive rating on Steam.

Yea, I'm skeptical of that game. I feel like it's an attempt to resolve that classic logic problem with city games..."Why am I mayor for life?" But does that really need to be solved? I'd rather not have Crusader Kings II in my city-builder, thanks.

the_poison_king wrote:

Yea, I'm skeptical of that game. I feel like it's an attempt to resolve that classic logic problem with city games..."Why am I mayor for life?" But does that really need to be solved? I'd rather not have Crusader Kings II in my city-builder, thanks.

I agree that it isn't really a problem that needed solving, but my hundreds of hours of playtime mean that I'm contractually obligated to suggest that we need more Crusader Kings II. In everything.

I watched a few videos of quill18's LP yesterday, and the gameplay seems to be about 80% politics (specifically that screen of city hall) and 20% city building. If those elements were more balanced, I'd be more inclined to actually consider buying the game.

Yeah, I'm interested to see whether the varying power holdings of the 3 political parties are scripted....I was watching one LP series where the 1848 revolutions in central Europe were occurring, and wondered whether one would see the conservative backlash that appeared after those uprisings had largely been crushed.

I may have jumped in too soon, if it turns out anything like Grand Ages:Medieval, which I bought on the basis of LPs and found to be somewhat disappointing.

MeatMan wrote:

I watched a few videos of quill18's LP yesterday, and the gameplay seems to be about 80% politics (specifically that screen of city hall) and 20% city building. If those elements were more balanced, I'd be more inclined to actually consider buying the game.

I'm okay with that split. Sounds fresh.

This gives me a The Guild vibe. Where you manage your dynasty and your assets, and yes kind of change the town but mostly just worry about your own position.

It remains to be seen if it's any good, but drawing comparisons to Tropico and The Guild sure does give me hope. Those series are some of my all-time favorites.

I got it, it looks interesting and different. I don't want a traditional city-builder necessarily - I can always go play Cities Skylines (or Banished or whatever) when I want that. The political stuff in this looks interesting as does the cross-era stuff.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun just posted a review of Urban Empire: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...

Sounds like its bogged down by interface issues, and also, it's way too easy.

The best of the Impression city-builders is now on GOG: Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom

I played quite a bit of Zeus and Pharaoh and enjoyed them both. Is Emperor much better than those, or is it mostly more of the same?

MeatMan wrote:

I played quite a bit of Zeus and Pharaoh and enjoyed them both. Is Emperor much better than those, or is it mostly more of the same?

Someone with more depth in the series can maybe answer better, but I'd say the answer is: yes?

It's the culmination of the series. Not made directly by Impressions, BreakAway Games (who also made the Pharaoh expansion) was able to polish the details of the game. Don't expect something radically different: its value is in being firmly a part of the Impressions' walker-based city builders while taking off some of their rough edges. It has explicit city districts via residential walls, for example, and gives you more control of which walkers can go where. The inclusion of Feng Shui is just about the perfect match for the rest of the systems.