The game’s progress and DLC may not be as eye-catching as, say, an expansion pack about blowing up planets, but there’s a refreshing humility about Amplitude’s work, with much of it being based on a close relationship with its community.Ī more comprehensive expansion that shakes up the mechanics is surely forthcoming, but Amplitude isn’t in a rush, focusing on content that puts its existing player base first.The 4X strategy game is one of the most prolific and well known sub-genres of the greater strategy game umbrella. It’s not expanding as such, but rather deepening the intrigue and interactions in its corner of the universe.

To that end, it has been expanding apace, adding layers upon layers of systems to capture some of that infinite complexity.Įndless Space 2 is doing the opposite, quietly tightening up the web of galactic relations binding its motley factions together. Stellaris is outward-looking, like an astronomical telescope, embracing the daunting vastness of space with its randomised races and systemic oddities. But their co-existence also highlights their distinct qualities. The silence of space is now filled with the din of different peoples pleading and bitching and threatening each other it really feels like a gloriously concentrated space soap opera.Ĭomparisons between Endless Space 2 and Stellaris are inevitable, given how more time-constrained players might only be able to pick one game in the ‘Space-based Strategy Timesink’ genre (that I may I have just made up).

Crucially, the AI actually utilises them, making each game feel much more rowdy than before. It’s become a fine repertoire of options. You and your allies can set co-ordination points for each other if you need help in battle (expect them to throw a huff if you don’t heed the call), and if one alliance member enters a war that another deems unjust, you can renounce the alliance on the spot. They’re now more complex affairs that embrace this more confrontational approach to diplomacy. How these situations are resolved then has short-term knock-on effects for your empires do you denounce a trespasser who refuses to leave, or create a cover-up so no one finds out that you’re a galactic doormat? Either way, there will be statistical consequences.Īlliances, meanwhile, are no longer a case of just announcing to the galaxy that you’re BFFs, signing the odd trade agreement and embarking on the odd intergalactic war. Since the Galactic Statecraft update, factions can exert pressure on each other via bureaucratic imbroglios and diplomatic requests, such as asking you to get your ships off their territory, or to stop attacking their fleets. You could go half a game without the AI approaching you, and there were not enough options to evoke the feeling that you’re constantly spinning the plates of interstellar relations. At launch, one of my biggest problems was that for a game priding itself on unique factions, their personalities never shone through on the diplomacy screen. Looked at in isolation, the Vaulters DLC doesn’t amount to that much if its faction means nothing to you, but in the context of how much work Amplitude have put into the game since release, a little cash injection feels well deserved (especially when you look at the proliferation of content in its cosmic rival Stellaris, where Paradox has, true to form, left the DLC tap dripping).Īlong with the pirate revamp, the most notable improvement Amplitude has made over these past eight months is diplomacy. It’s a neat addition, but still in need of tweaking, as currently the inflated costs of liaising with pirates outweigh the benefits by mid-game. You can sabotage their lair to stunt their levelling, or offer them ‘Support’, which will make them stronger but also more loyal to you, and more effective should you hire them to launch attacks on an enemy’s system. Pirate Diplomacy, introduced in The Vaulters, builds on this, letting you interact with the stumpy, Watto-like leader of these pirate lairs.

Endless space 2 ships system is full