Strategic eXpanse #33 – 4th Anniversary Hangout Session!

eXplorminate turned four years old! So Nate, Troy, Joshua and Mark had a some fun hanging out and talking about 4X and gaming in general. They had A LOT of fun, so much so, that some strong language made it on the podcast. Listeners, beware!!! Thank you for following us for four years, because we have more where that came from. Enjoy!

Music for eXplorminate by Mangadrive

Show Notes: 
State of the 4X genre – 02:07

1. General discussion
   • Space Tyrant Steam page
   • Aggressors: Ancient Rome Steam page
   • Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War Steam page
   • Northgard Steam page
   • Total War: Warhammer Steam page
   • Frostpunk Steam page
   • Master of Orion 1 Steam page
   • Galactic Civilizations III Steam page
   • Endless Space 2 Steam page
   • Stellaris Steam page
   • Stardrive 2 Steam page
   • Civilization 6 Steam page
   • Endless Legend Steam page
   • Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition Steam page
   • Endless Space Steam page
   • Master of Orion 2 Steam page
2. What kind of innovation do we want in the 4X genre? – 12:48
   • Thea: The Awakening Steam page
   • Go explore board games on Boardgamegeek for inspiration!
3. Short Endless Space 2 spoiler! – 20:07
   • Master of Magic on GOG
4. Discussion continues… – 22:26
   • Warlock – Master of the Arcane Steam page
   • Warlock 2: The Exiled Steam page
   • Eador: Masters of the Broken World Steam page

What is your biggest disappointment about 4X since eXplorminate started in 2014? – 24:47

1. 4X being a niche and a bunch of crappy games (Mark)
   • Aphelion: Phoenix Rising on Gamespot
   • World of Warcraft webpage
   • StarDrive Steam page
2. Constant spamming of MOO 1/2 remakes + gamers in general (Joshua) – 29:44
   • Citizen Kane (1941) movie on IMDb
3. Wargaming.net and MOO: Conquer the Stars (Troy) – 32:52
   • Apollo4x Steam page
   • Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars Steam page
   • Civilization: Beyond Earth Steam page
4. Several big games released without much promotion and reaction (Nate) – 38:56
   • Distant Worlds: Universe Steam page
   • Star Ruler 2 Steam page
   • Space Tyrant Steam page
   • Stars in Shadow Steam page
   • Star Ruler Steam page

What makes you smile about eXplorminate in relation to 4X? – 42:23

1. “Game of the Year” debates and subsequent podcast (Troy)
   • Thea: The Awakening Steam page
2. 4X conversations in general and listener/reader feedback (Joshua) – 44:15
   • Civilization 6 Steam page
3. Let’s Play X-Com: UFO Defense (Mark) – 45:30
   • OpenXcom
4. Team effort and events visited (Nate) – 49:52

What are you planning to play in the upcoming year? – 52:21

1. Mark
   • Age of Wonders: Planetfall Steam page
   • Phoenix Point webpage
   • Stellaris Steam page
   • Cyberpunk 2077
2. Troy – 57:25
   • Thea 2: The Shattering webpage
3. Joshua – 58:40
   • Age of Wonders: Planetfall Steam page
   • Star Control: Origins Steam page
   • Stellaris Steam page
   • Endless Space 2 Steam page
   • Civilization 6 Steam page
   • Diablo III: Eternal Collection for Nintendo Switch
   • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch
   • Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4
   • Hearthstone webpage
   • Pillars Of Eternity II: Deadfire Coming To Consoles
4. Nate – 1:05:05
   • Age of Wonders: Planetfall Steam page
   • Thea 2: The Shattering webpage
   • Untitled Stardock game…
   • Endless Legend Steam page
   • Civilization 6 Steam page
   • Phoenix Point webpage
   • Red Dead Redemption 2 webpage