Space Empires Complete Pack

I can't possibly recount how many hours I've put into these games over the years, but it's a hell of lot. I've been a fan since SE1 and progressed as new versions came out. I think I spent most of my time in SE4, which is truly an outstanding 4x game with incredible depth and design options. Highly recommended if you love micromanagement games, space games and of course 4x games. If you're still on the fence, just do it.

SE1: would not start. SE2: starts; has no manual. SE3: starts; has a manual (.doc format); assumes a CRT display with large pixels (i.e. low DPI count), hence on a modern display (not even a gaming one!) is small and really hard to see. SE4: starts; has a manual (.pdf format); assumes 1280 vertical resolution but stretches horizontally as far as possible, so text is nigh-unreadable. There is a graphics option screen, but it does not work. SE5: starts; has a manual (.pdf format); has a working graphics resolution selector; yay! My only complaint: there is no way to obtain windowed mode, which would be extremely useful since the manual is 300 pages long --- rather more than I can easily memorize. Since the unavoidable-full-screen problem plagues nearly all the the other GoG games in my experience, not deducting any points for it.

Space Empires as a whole has always been a contemplative series. It isn't so much space action + a 4X, but more a game of planning, and long term cunning. The standout feature of the series as a whole is a mass depth of customization, starting with ship/unit customization and expanding over the series. The first two games, are essentially living prototypes. So basic and simple as to not be worth pontificating upon. Playable, sure. But I wouldn't go out of my way to register my shareware copy. Space Empires ]|[ is the first title where I actually sat down and played for a while, and what it lacks for in stylistic flair, it more makes up for in depth.(Especially in a world before grand strategy games set in space.) Space Empires ]|[ also introduces sound properly into the series, and more than a large handful of (usable) graphical pizzazz. The inklings of the mass customizability which would let the series keep living to this day in some form. Maybe drop a game or two into it. But it is overshadowed by the crown prince... Ah, Space Empires IV. I truly do not know how many days I sank into this, modded and otherwise. A massive comprehensive visual overhaul to the UI to keep the player fully immersed for sessions, and a fairly gloomy space soundtrack to boot. Not only does Space Empires IV improve on the third title in major ways, but it also introduces several new nonsolar sector types. Black holes, nebula, space kudzu, massive storms, etc. Most of these have both a combat and exploration effect, most infamously the black hole pulling your ships in towards the void. IV is also where the modding scene really took off for the series, and here's a little fun thing: Most of the assets are plaintext and bitmaps. Want a new ship name list? Crack open your small editor of choice, and start at it. New system generation in IV? A bit more complicated, but doable! More titles for your empire and leader? Go to it! Oh, and Space Empires IV really took off with the system customization aspect. While it had been there a little in the former two games, this was the one where you could get relentless with it. After all, nothing quite like the cherry on top of a scorched galaxy approach like a black hole bomb. Just don't enable the political minister, as you don't get to see the outgoing messages they send, and next thing you know, a former ally might thunder up to glass your planets because the AI sent a declaration of war in your stead. Space Empires V is...complicated to rate. Much of the ideas are competent, just that many of the systems shake apart (and the game itself) under scrutiny. It was hard to run then, and it can be a pain now. I imagine there were a number of contributing factors, but I don't think the game engine or designers were ready for the polygon ceiling. Not only is a steady 60 FPS being impossible to achieve in a turn based game more than a little baffling, the 3D doesn't even add that much depth. Unfortunately, Space Empires V is closer to Orion 3 than the rest of the series. (That isn't a compliment.) You WILL be engaging with deep and complicated systems; unlike the previous games where you [COULD] engage with deeper systems such as finetuning the exact production outputs per planet, most of them were perfectly cromulent when left to your ministers or on the defaults. A flawed execution of many good ideas, in short. Overall, I would absolutely say the Space Empires series is worth buying, caveat emptor: Arron Hall, the series creator isn't getting any money from this. He sold his company to Strategy First, who are for a lack of a better term, are something of a strategy game beetle; frankly you're a little surprised to see it, and are left wondering how they're even still alive.

After typing a too-long-to-post review I will just say that SEV is vastly less enjoyable than stellaris, it's "strategic" combat AI is terrible which ruins it for multiplayer since the combat can only be AI controlled. I bought it hoping to relive the glory days of VGA planets via PBEM and leave it still wishing there was some modern equivalent of a 90's game that touted its VGA graphics. The PBEM does work. The multiplayer does not require a central server or login. The people who say it requires the 3rd party balance mod are completely correct. The online community and resources for SEV vs SEIV should be your first and last clue that SEV is not worth the money. Learning the game in single player mode was enjoyable until the enemy (organic) planets became invincible. There is a lot of potential depth in this game but in the end it was a disappointment. I bought the pack. Time to see if downgrading to SEIV is any better.

I came back to this game few times. Modding possibilities are on extraordinary level. There are some downsides however: - lack of personal attachment, no heroes of any kind but well...it is 4X after all - after 50+ turns the game becomes very slow in turn processing no matter how strong your rig is, there are mods to overcome that up to some extent, but they could be hard to find today. I wouldn't recommend it.