Summer draws to a close
So, our quadrennial sporting distraction is over for another 4 years, back to gaming!
First off, a look to the near future:
Endless Legend 2
Confirmed release date!
We have been quiet about this since we looked at the early access version and covered it on the pod. Release date is September 17th, and I for am am terribly excited. No promises, but we are hoping to do a podcast about our initial 1.0 release version impressions, and then follow it up with one of our trademark in-depth reviews.
Will this de-throne Age of Wonders 4?
Steam link.
And a blast from the past:
Zephon:
A long time coming, we finally have an actual review of this, to complement our extensive coverage.
Here is a decent beginner’s guide to Zephon.
Next up:
Dawn of War 4 – delayed
Delayed!
There has been some (well presented) analyses of the developer playthroughs, which have caused concern amongst the fanbase. Whether that has led to the delay, I do not know.
I like to give developers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to release dates, and think it is better to be late and well executed, than rushed.
Some people think the world is ending!
In any case, Dawn of War 1 & 2 are still available and still great fun, and I have been playing them this week. Are Tau OP?
Next game, also an RTS.
Liquidation
Micropose reached out to me to talk about this, and I am glad they did. This game is a blast, even in early access.
It is a bit like Warcraft 3 and Starcraft 2 had a baby.
It is a bit rough around the edges, but get this, it has been made by a *single* developer, by the name of Divio.
Also, it is 10% off right now.
Remember, it is early access.
And new but not so new:
Age of Wonders 4
The celebrated, extensive, game is on sale, until August 19th.
If you have not already, this is a good opportunity to lose yourself in an ever varied fantasy world for a few hundred hours.
There are some interesting rumours about the next DLC
Love it or hate it, there is no denying this is a serious behemoth of a game.
And, last, not a game, but a games conference:
Gamescom
Self described as the biggest game event in the world, Gamescom 2026 runs from August 25 to 30th.
It looks like a right barrel of fun. I have been to ParadoxCon (2018) and SpielEssen – both great fun. If you can make it to any event, I recommend you do.
Official website.
eXplorminate News & Discussion
Out now our podcast on eXpansion and eXploitation in the 4X genre, with Enkidu (of Folk Emerging fame).
It’s 2 hours long, grab a brew and get comfortable.
We are lining up the following podcasts, dates to be confirmed:
- An interview with Enkidu (Folks Emerging)
- eXtermination in the 4x genre (a look at warfare and battle systems in a variety of games)
- *Fingers crossed* an interview with some very big people in the industry 😀
- Our end of year game ranking, always controversial!
Our Youtube has not been updated in a while, so we are hoping to remedy that, with videos to accompany all of the above, plus some content on Liquidation.
Every month, we would like to celebrate the community, which is full of lovely people, and highlight a community member we feel embodies what makes eXplorminate such a great place.
This month, it is Erfael, purely for this post.
Questions to ponder:
- AI – again. This time, drama over at RPS, over a specific instance of AI apparently taking someone’s job.
- Have you ever thought about creating a realistic military system in a game? You might like this article series.
- In a similar vein, I was reading about the Battle of Flodden, and the line below made me wonder if we have nay games that model this sort of thing
The Scottish troops were unpaid and were only required by feudal obligation to serve for forty days
Did we miss anything? Be sure to let us know in the comments below if we’ve missed an important news item!
Want to write for us? Have a game or two that you love to keep tabs on? Let us know! eXplorminate@gmail.com
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