Thanks for the long explanation. Some of those points (randomized tech tree, advanced hostile race gating in) remind me of Stellaris. :) I've never played Alpha Centauri myself, so my only real points of comparison are Civilization 3–5 and Beyond Earth.

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Innnnteresting, and thanks for the detailed explanation. I have 553 hours in Civ V and 81 in Beyond Earth, but got bored of both of them a year or two ago (I now scratch the same itch with EU IV). Much of that time was playing multiplayer with a friend who still wants to play a 4X occasionally (and isn't quite prepared to jump to the complexity of a grand strategy game), so maybe I'll bring this up to him to see if a new game with a different take on the mechanics would be fun for both of us.

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The limitation right now with their new online multiplayer is that it's limited to joining by IP. Hopefully once they've managed to ensure it's stable, they can add a proper lobby system and a server browser.

Just to note, apparently you can also invite people through the usual Steam system; my brother was playing earlier today and invited me to join a game that way, no IP typing necessary. (I timed out half a minute later due to his connection being really spotty, but the connecting part definitely worked.)

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Someday when I can justify the cost of replacing my graphics card I hope to switch to AMD…so it's good to see the drivers coming along while I wait. :)

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Quoting: dmantioneIn Civilization derived games, like AC, but also beyond Earth like games you need to build as many cities as possible in a short period of time after starting the game. In Pandora, such strategies don't work, are even counter productive, and in order to be succesfull, you need to develop yourself a different strategy in order to win the game.

Thanks! I appreciate the overview. Regarding the bit I quoted here, could you elaborate just a little—why is expanding as fast as possible counter productive? Is it because the aliens push back if you expand too fast?

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I rather like their building system, with the mothership essentially being a massive 3D printer. It’s a clever building system, as the mothership opens up and buildings rise out of the golden liquid.

Reminds me of Battlezone II's construction system. :) This definitely sounds pretty interesting. Is there a campaign you play through for the story, or is it more just random maps? Or both?

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Oh, nice! I got this years ago back when it first came out and was just thinking of going back and playing it some more (since I don't think I ever finished the new campaign stuff they added later). This looks like just the incentive to do so, plus now I can play with friends. :)

I'm sure they'll be able to get the multiplayer system more user friendly in the future now that they have it in place.

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How does it compare with Civilization: Beyond Earth? I was excited for that but somewhat disappointed with it. I like the 4X-on-an-alien-planet vibe though and this looks similar, so while it looks interesting I'd love to hear from people who've played both.

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Interesting. I've had a few non-Linux games on my wishlist for a while, which I go check whenever they go on sale; I think there was one earlier this year that actually had been ported to Linux since I added it without me being aware of the fact, though I can't remember what it was now (it might not have actually been on my wishlist and was just one I was interested in, though).

Quoting: WorMzyI only wishlist games that are on Linux, since my less-techy friends and family often buy me birthday/Christmas gifts from it (it's either that or socks!).

Your less-techy friends and relations use your Steam wishlist? Jeez. :'( Wish I had a single friend or family member who was techy enough to realize I have one, let alone buy my something from it. :(

(Ok, my little brothers might be, but as minors sans credit card… :))

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Quoting: Asufinally a valve game...

Well, not quite; Valve's not involved with it as far as we know so far, they've just let ClockStone Software license the Portal IP.

I haven't really been interested in the bridge constructor games before (at least, not interested enough to actually get any, I've watched a video or two) but this looks pretty fun.

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