Need Game Suggestions

Talk about strategy games like MoO series, Civilization, Europa Universalis, etc.

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IamZeke
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Need Game Suggestions

#1 Post by IamZeke »

I like single player 4x, but as you know the genre has plateaued in the last decade. But even though I'm happy to play older games they don't always work with the newer OS's.

Worse is something I really hate, services like Steam. It's nosy and intrusive. Worse is it has led to them controlling the access to your game. In days past it was clunky to plop in your CD's to run the game but the game was really yours. You didn't have to go register the game or let them control access through a download. Disc ownership said you had control of a legal game. I fully understand the piracy threat but when it has come down to them basically holding onto your discs for you to ensure you weren't stealing it then it has gone too far. Download a patch or player made mod? Fine. But I wan't anytime access without going through a 3rd party.

Honestly, while I'm definitely a free markets kind of guy and respect ownership rights, if I had the money to buy Steam I would buy it just to dismantle it and put all those jerks on the unemployment line. They act like the insurance companies or the government getting between you and your healthcare. To blazes with those leaching nosy middlemen.

So I'm looking for 4X games that play with Win7 or better and have nothing to do with Steam and do not connect to a company server just to run the game. I want to be able to play the game without being connected to the internet when I'm actually playing. Patches and an online fan download community is fine, but I want to be able to play without getting the online blessing of some corporation every time I turn the game on. Older games, freeware, etc, are perfectly fine, but I'm not going to partition my computer to run an older OS to keep the game going. I don't mind an initial download of the game either but it's very rare for those to be truly yours to keep. If I buy a new PC then I want to just load the old code from my storage drive, not go fetch a new download.

I've played a whole lot of games, so don't be surprised if I say thanks but no help. I've just likely played it. And I'm really not a big fan of magic/fantasy stuff.


Pardon my personal opinions on what I like and don't, but we all do this for our own fun. If you don't agree with my personal strictures I'm fine with you not wanting to help. Just please don't try talking me into changing my ways.

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MatGB
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Re: Need Game Suggestions

#2 Post by MatGB »

There are a lot of fairly good games on gog.com, and while they have a download client/update manager, it's not compulsory and they're deliberately DRM free, you can download the install files and save them anywhere you like. No specific recommendations, lots of space 4x games including both MOO1&2.
Mat Bowles

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IamZeke
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Re: Need Game Suggestions

#3 Post by IamZeke »

I did buy once from gog but the game did require going through them again to install on a later pc. Might have just been the game though. Some game files resist being copied over. That game itself wanted to stay in contact with the maker's server online.

Yeah, I've done the MOO and a lot of the more famous ones out there. GalCiv's, IG's, Pax Imperia, the Civ's, lots of RTS in the CnC varieties, the Stronghold family, Warhammer 40K group, etc.

I kind of fell off into the MMO stuff for a while, but I'm feeling burnt by that stuff. I play games for my alone time, but MMO's just end up being too many young people being brash and irritating. Coming back to single player 4X after a decade away it looks like an ignored genre now. You can lump the RTS in too as slowing down. Game makers decided that keeping people online and milking them monthly is more profitable than trying to sell a finished single player game.

wobbly
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Re: Need Game Suggestions

#4 Post by wobbly »

Aurora is pretty fun if you don't mind database graphics, massive complexity & an unfriendly interface. On the upside it's free and allows for a lot of freedom in how you play.

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Vezzra
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Re: Need Game Suggestions

#5 Post by Vezzra »

wobbly wrote:Aurora is pretty fun if you don't mind database graphics, massive complexity & an unfriendly interface.
The main problem I have with this game is that it's horribly micromanagy. It's worse than Dwarf Fortress, and that is telling a lot...

wobbly
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Re: Need Game Suggestions

#6 Post by wobbly »

It has that problem, & to an extent you can get around it & to an extent you have to learn where to not micromanage & put up with imperfection for the sake of your sanity. It's 1 of those games you either love or hate. Mostly mentioned it because the commercial 4x space game scene seems mostly dead & as far as I know it's either old games, problematic games like Aurora or incomplete games like Free Orion.

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