▼ Not recommended
126 hrs
This is kind of Factory town idle style, idle game.
The resources are inspired by the Dyson Sphere Program. Which is an awesome game.
Then you have this combat system to gain a planet.
Also, the DLC offers a battle against space monstrosities. Which will reward you with bonuses.
Means, more boons of resources when you capture a planet. More slaves to work with you as 'Citizen'.
I cannot recommended the game because of questionable design choices.
The game play experience is like to dealing with someone with narcissistic disorder.
Like giving you 10 upfront, +1 per progression, but taking 2 as compensation.
1. One planet at a time.
You need to enter a combat to control a planet.
No matter how strong your fleet is, you can only capture a planet at a time, at a certain speed maximum.
Because instead you're obliterating them for once for all with your overwhelming force, assuming you're. The enemy will only shows up slowly bit by bit delaying the progress. Let's say, 10 minutes is the fastest possible you can capture a planet due this Mechanic restriction.
When your empire is small, capturing 1 out 10 maximum you're allowed with, means +10-20% from total income needed to overcome your total expenditure. When your empire is BIG however, capturing 1 out 100 only means +1-2%.
And no matter how strong you're, 1 planet per 10 minutes. Assuming you just want to replace all of the older ones because you've depleted all of resources, it took 1000 minutes or approximately 16.7 hours. I had 55 planets, when I'm writing.
If you have 100 planet, you're industry is scaled to support that big of an empire.
Means, latter capturing one planet may be not enough to support the overall expense of the empire.
This I'm while having the DLC, means even with those extra bonuses, it still not enough.
Speaking of DLC, have another problems.
2. You hunt or invade
The DLC allows you to hunt monsters, that gives you bonus.
However, if you do that, you doesn't increases your raw material input by a meaningful means.
You can only hunt or invade a planet. Cannot be both at the same time.
Buying DLC will adds up another chore which looks like rewarding you with something, but actually are still not enough to make the game easier.
Like it is advertised to ease your game experience. To offer faster gaming pace.
It isn't. It can potentially giving you +10% buff more resources for example, at expense of cutting 50% the final income. Assuming you're 50% hunting 50% invading now with the DLC. Maybe need to find a certain golden ratio for the proportion? Which i couldn't bother, i want to play for fun.
3. Also, the DLC monsters will be stronger as you kill them. The reward increases, but at some point, you might be not strong enough to kill what you previously can. Also, their availability is time gated. Easier monster will be die in few seconds. Because it is only against one entity, it is not as chore as the invasion battle. The problem, you have to pay attention to it. To pay attention when they become available again.
Literally, killing the Idle premise of the game.
4. Centralized production.
Everything is centralized. So unlike Factory idle town which have mutiple regions to split, or Dyson Sphere Program with multiple planets, you only deal with one system. All resources will be magically dumped onto a single place, instead of scattered among the stars. It is good for the logistics, you don't have to worry about that in this game. And what could possibly wrong?
Energy deficit or one thing lacking will cascade, halting your empire.
It isn't like only one region getting hit by the blackout, all of them will ceased to function!
And restarting the energy production is absolutely tiresome.
Because, there's a good chance you need a certain commodity to supply your power plant.
Like Enriched Uranium for your nuclear reactor. And now you can't produce Uranium since all of them stopped working. And you also only wants to reactivate the necessary Enriched uranium production to generate power. Trimming the other uranium production that went to another line.
So you have to build wind turbine, or any 'free energy' alternatives to restart the uranium production. Note if this wind turbine eat your precious land estate, so if your empire is stacked up, you may end up having no land to spare. They simply not the best Energy generation per acre. It is why i don't use them anymore during that time. So you have to fold another industries? To save some estate to that cause.
After folding them, you have to reinstall them again. Sometimes your warehouse just can't take the influx of mothballed equipments. And now you have to deal with your warehouse expansion as well.
There's Dyson Sphere wonder later in the game, that can provide 'free energy' generation, but IMHO it just cannot sustain all the energy needs of the empire. I've tried to shift as much as possible to it, and still going like 50% at best. Building wonders are herculean effort.
5. You have to scroll all the way down to see all of your production.
Which is not a pleasant thing. It took time to scroll them down. The menu won't memorize your last position.
So if you're changing tab like to see how the invasion going, you have to scroll all way down to see your bottom line of production, again.
6. You have to find the English language option from the game that starts up with Chinese.
Also the English isn't that good either. For me it is a little jarring. But it is like there's no story you have to read anyway. Leader names aren't English by default so, if you're not accustomed with Chinese, you have to rename them one by one.
7. For some reason the game becoming laggy and unresponsive after continously online for a prolonged time, like maybe 6 hours. Had to close the game to refresh that. And there's no 60 fps option i think. I'm using Ryzen 7600 32GB RTX3060Ti, and the fan spins quite fast during prolonged game session. Idk why? It is a 2D game with minimal graphics, trying the best to run 165fps, since it is my monitor refresh rate. Use frame limiter if you must. Like the Riva tuner of MSI afterburner.
Like I've playing the game for 100+ hours, then only to face I couldn't get the resource fast enough because of the system restriction. And now my empire will die, it just 100+ hr gaming experience down to gutter.
Developer adamantly saying nothing wrong with the game, because there are no body else reporting the same problem is just baffling. Assuming, there're only one or two ways to play this game CORRECTLY, and no other play style are allowed is just a bad game design choice. There's no unlimited resources option just like Dyson Sphere Program, because how the game works. It potentially killing the enjoyment of the game?
Assuming this is skill issue of my own, like I had to play the game twice to understand how the curve of the game looks like and learn. I'm playing two playthroughs, with different approaches. Seriously, have to fold when already invested on the game, when my empire is strong, and fleet is mighty? And has zero counter play to fix the problem. Because it is gated by the awesome combat mechanic.
Like it took 10 minutes to capture a new planet, but one of my resource will be depleted in 5 minutes.
Let's say i capture it right now, it only served like 8 minutes worth of resource.
If anything PRO about the game, the early progression did actually fun.
Like the first 16 hours of the game. Because compared to traditional resource management games, the centralized system did looks neat, during that scale of progression. The combat reminds my an old online browser space game. Also, you can minimize the game when progressing. The only form, the game taking a little resources. Which i prefer not, since i do like to see the combat progress.
The resources are inspired by the Dyson Sphere Program. Which is an awesome game.
Then you have this combat system to gain a planet.
Also, the DLC offers a battle against space monstrosities. Which will reward you with bonuses.
Means, more boons of resources when you capture a planet. More slaves to work with you as 'Citizen'.
I cannot recommended the game because of questionable design choices.
The game play experience is like to dealing with someone with narcissistic disorder.
Like giving you 10 upfront, +1 per progression, but taking 2 as compensation.
1. One planet at a time.
You need to enter a combat to control a planet.
No matter how strong your fleet is, you can only capture a planet at a time, at a certain speed maximum.
Because instead you're obliterating them for once for all with your overwhelming force, assuming you're. The enemy will only shows up slowly bit by bit delaying the progress. Let's say, 10 minutes is the fastest possible you can capture a planet due this Mechanic restriction.
When your empire is small, capturing 1 out 10 maximum you're allowed with, means +10-20% from total income needed to overcome your total expenditure. When your empire is BIG however, capturing 1 out 100 only means +1-2%.
And no matter how strong you're, 1 planet per 10 minutes. Assuming you just want to replace all of the older ones because you've depleted all of resources, it took 1000 minutes or approximately 16.7 hours. I had 55 planets, when I'm writing.
If you have 100 planet, you're industry is scaled to support that big of an empire.
Means, latter capturing one planet may be not enough to support the overall expense of the empire.
This I'm while having the DLC, means even with those extra bonuses, it still not enough.
Speaking of DLC, have another problems.
2. You hunt or invade
The DLC allows you to hunt monsters, that gives you bonus.
However, if you do that, you doesn't increases your raw material input by a meaningful means.
You can only hunt or invade a planet. Cannot be both at the same time.
Buying DLC will adds up another chore which looks like rewarding you with something, but actually are still not enough to make the game easier.
Like it is advertised to ease your game experience. To offer faster gaming pace.
It isn't. It can potentially giving you +10% buff more resources for example, at expense of cutting 50% the final income. Assuming you're 50% hunting 50% invading now with the DLC. Maybe need to find a certain golden ratio for the proportion? Which i couldn't bother, i want to play for fun.
3. Also, the DLC monsters will be stronger as you kill them. The reward increases, but at some point, you might be not strong enough to kill what you previously can. Also, their availability is time gated. Easier monster will be die in few seconds. Because it is only against one entity, it is not as chore as the invasion battle. The problem, you have to pay attention to it. To pay attention when they become available again.
Literally, killing the Idle premise of the game.
4. Centralized production.
Everything is centralized. So unlike Factory idle town which have mutiple regions to split, or Dyson Sphere Program with multiple planets, you only deal with one system. All resources will be magically dumped onto a single place, instead of scattered among the stars. It is good for the logistics, you don't have to worry about that in this game. And what could possibly wrong?
Energy deficit or one thing lacking will cascade, halting your empire.
It isn't like only one region getting hit by the blackout, all of them will ceased to function!
And restarting the energy production is absolutely tiresome.
Because, there's a good chance you need a certain commodity to supply your power plant.
Like Enriched Uranium for your nuclear reactor. And now you can't produce Uranium since all of them stopped working. And you also only wants to reactivate the necessary Enriched uranium production to generate power. Trimming the other uranium production that went to another line.
So you have to build wind turbine, or any 'free energy' alternatives to restart the uranium production. Note if this wind turbine eat your precious land estate, so if your empire is stacked up, you may end up having no land to spare. They simply not the best Energy generation per acre. It is why i don't use them anymore during that time. So you have to fold another industries? To save some estate to that cause.
After folding them, you have to reinstall them again. Sometimes your warehouse just can't take the influx of mothballed equipments. And now you have to deal with your warehouse expansion as well.
There's Dyson Sphere wonder later in the game, that can provide 'free energy' generation, but IMHO it just cannot sustain all the energy needs of the empire. I've tried to shift as much as possible to it, and still going like 50% at best. Building wonders are herculean effort.
5. You have to scroll all the way down to see all of your production.
Which is not a pleasant thing. It took time to scroll them down. The menu won't memorize your last position.
So if you're changing tab like to see how the invasion going, you have to scroll all way down to see your bottom line of production, again.
6. You have to find the English language option from the game that starts up with Chinese.
Also the English isn't that good either. For me it is a little jarring. But it is like there's no story you have to read anyway. Leader names aren't English by default so, if you're not accustomed with Chinese, you have to rename them one by one.
7. For some reason the game becoming laggy and unresponsive after continously online for a prolonged time, like maybe 6 hours. Had to close the game to refresh that. And there's no 60 fps option i think. I'm using Ryzen 7600 32GB RTX3060Ti, and the fan spins quite fast during prolonged game session. Idk why? It is a 2D game with minimal graphics, trying the best to run 165fps, since it is my monitor refresh rate. Use frame limiter if you must. Like the Riva tuner of MSI afterburner.
Like I've playing the game for 100+ hours, then only to face I couldn't get the resource fast enough because of the system restriction. And now my empire will die, it just 100+ hr gaming experience down to gutter.
Developer adamantly saying nothing wrong with the game, because there are no body else reporting the same problem is just baffling. Assuming, there're only one or two ways to play this game CORRECTLY, and no other play style are allowed is just a bad game design choice. There's no unlimited resources option just like Dyson Sphere Program, because how the game works. It potentially killing the enjoyment of the game?
Assuming this is skill issue of my own, like I had to play the game twice to understand how the curve of the game looks like and learn. I'm playing two playthroughs, with different approaches. Seriously, have to fold when already invested on the game, when my empire is strong, and fleet is mighty? And has zero counter play to fix the problem. Because it is gated by the awesome combat mechanic.
Like it took 10 minutes to capture a new planet, but one of my resource will be depleted in 5 minutes.
Let's say i capture it right now, it only served like 8 minutes worth of resource.
If anything PRO about the game, the early progression did actually fun.
Like the first 16 hours of the game. Because compared to traditional resource management games, the centralized system did looks neat, during that scale of progression. The combat reminds my an old online browser space game. Also, you can minimize the game when progressing. The only form, the game taking a little resources. Which i prefer not, since i do like to see the combat progress.
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