ENDLESS™ Legend is a turn-based 4X fantasy-strategy game, where you control every aspect of your civilization as you struggle to save your homeworld Auriga. Create your own Legend!
With the recent updates, we've gathered quite some feedback and have noticed you all had very similar questions on where the game is heading. We're therefore allowing and encouraging you to post your questions in this thread so we can answer to them as best as we can, in a video we will publish by the end of the week.
We'll select a bunch of questions, so please follow this example:
Username - Theme - Question
Example:
Steph'nie - Faction - Who thought about adding this pug to the Roving Clans?
Deadline
Each Monday 10 am CEST.
Tips
To avoid duplicates, check the questions that have been posted before you!
Make sure you keep your questions intelligible.
Give a chance to others and don't post too many questions (or do, but we'd like to hear the shy lurkers out there [hellobytheway!]).
What exactly is your method of balancing units, equipment and factions? - When we design factions, we make sure we want to cover a spectrum of roles, templates… We begin with a classic orientation, a faction focused on economy for instance. After that, we try to break the limit of what people can expect of this faction. Once we did this step, we just play against each other in order to test it and correct it.
The combat system in Endless Legend is very unique. What was your goals and inspiration for creating this system? - We focused on few points: it must be fast. We took care about the units and their positioning (Forests...).
If I ever come close to your studio, could I come to visit ? - Yes, we definitely want to encourage to see us.. We also met at Gamescom and other events several players and VIPs. We would then talk about what we're working on at the moment.
Animated diplomacy screens like the intro of factions? - VIPs already tried that (close beta test) but it will be implemented for the release.
What about Custom Factions? What things can we customize? - We added the custom factions in the VIP build. We have all the traits of each major faction but we really want to add more in order to personalize them.
Any plans to add more "active" mechanics like the Ardent Mages' spells to the factions in general? It feels like that would add a lot more depth and options in play, which feels sorely needed at times. - We had a lot of abilities when we created the game. The thing is that it was a total mess during the battles. So we chose to apply it for a faction: the Ardent Mages. It's a choice, if a player likes those abilities, this person will take the AM. If a player does not like it, he will choose another race.
Will you add Luxury and Anomalies that can only be found on water tiles? - We had in the past anomalies like these. We do not have any plan to implement them for the release though. However, stuff like that will come after the release.
What do you think of a dual production queue - one for buildings and another for units ? - We just want to keep it simple, two production queues is complex.
How do you feel about implementing new aggressive ways of dealing with other factions without waging war. How about raiding, pillaging, looting and making plots? - We will implement that but we do not know when. It could be a pretty big aspect of the game.
Can we expect to see more information overlay option on the map and the ability to turn the stylized view currently used on the farthest zoom levels on and off at will? - Not for the release but we keep it in mind. We understand that people have trouble with performance issues. We will look into it but it's not our priority.
In the final release, can we have more control about the map we generate? Like how long/frequent is the winter?( Have to say, winter is a cool part of the game, but hell annoying) How many villages of minor faction in total? What kinds of factions are there on the map? - We understand that we should give you more options about that even if it's not ready for the release.
Do you plan to add a modding tool? if yes, when ? - We should have a basic modding ability at the release of the game. You will be able to edit a lot of things. It will be under the File called "Public".
How many budget in € do you have for Endless Legend? How long since the start of the development? - 3 times more than for Endless Space in term of budget.
Considering that Endless Legend is some kind of a 'confirmation' game after the first Endless Space, are you allowing yourself to postpone the release date in order to further polish and balance your little jewel and thus, set a new 'Amplitude' quality standard? - We don't just stop our work on a game once it's released, we do our best in order to support it at least for a while. That's what we've done with ES (2 years).
Live questions:
Games looks awesome, do you think about making collector edition for it? - We do have an edition, and it's more about supporting us. But later, we will have art books and other stuffs for you.
Will we have a Mac version of the game? - We hope to have a closed beta version this week. If it works well, mac version will be ready for the official release of the game. Probably Linux too.
Will you implement visual changes when we equip armours on the hero? - Making units is one of the most expensive parts to do. Changing most of the visuals is easy if you want it to be ugly. We did not want to spend that much time and money in order to focus others parts of the game. Moreover, we didn't want to have clones with all units wearing the same armour.
Will you do improvements of the diplomacy screen? - Yes, we added animations and more information that will create more clarity.
Any add-ons or DLC? - We'll do free add-ons (expand what we have already in the game) and expansions packs (add totally new content).
Any ideas for DLC? - Not at all, we are focused on the live game.
What's the moral at the office? Do you know that you're doing a great game? - We never hear this enough! We are just too focused on the bugs, negative points in order to do better. The moral is good!
What is the best lesson that you learned from making Endless Space that you brought into Endless Legend? - Every game is a different experience but I would say the cinematic battles, the dynamic of balancing… But the lesson for me was the factions creation.
Have you done profit on EL? - Not at all. Early access is not done for money, it's used for gathering feedback and doing a better game.
There is a lot of negative feedback about combat for the press previews. - It was hard, it was not that strategic at the beginning. We implemented only few decisions during combats but just enough in order to have a strategic combat.
Secret plans? - Finishing the game is a good one!
Q&A Session 2
Will the maps getting bigger? - Maps for 8 players are the maximum. I think it's too big but you guys will tell me. It could be possible to create something bigger but we might have memories issues.
Do you feel satisfied by working on two projects on the same time? What do you think about crowd-funding? - We love work on more than 2 projects. We can exchange ideas for both games which is really interesting. Concerning the crowd-funding, we are not thinking about it for our next games. But it's still a good idea, we just prefer crowd-sourcing at the moment.
Do you have any ideas for the expansions? DLC? Discounts from the founders? - We will do free add-ons (we will add content linked to what we've done) and expansions pack (totally new content). Some of the ideas: Spying, Sea battles.
Will we see wonders? - We will have more civilization wonders, we will have also the Cultists. You will have also new content this Thursday (Animated screens for Diplomacy, Update for the Tech Tree, stats for the equipment, also the difficulty has been increased a lot).
How many months are you working on Endless Legend already? How many people on the average? - Up to 30 people in the team for Endless Legend and in average, 20-22 people.
The Marketplace is a distinct feature of Endless Legend, but always seems to be underutilized due to research barriers and superior alternatives. Do you have any plans to make the Marketplace more integral to the game? - We balanced it a lot recently. It's more accessible and dynamic.
Is there any planned work on the Armour Visual changes, "after release" ? At least, will the players able to customize the Visual Design of the units in any way? - It's really expensive if you're searching for quality. Changing most of the visuals is easy if you want it to be ugly. In the future, I would love to see different versions of units, like evolution of their design, it would be incredible!
What do you think about releasing a digital art book like in Endless Space? - We definitely want to do that.
Have you considered to add something like "Natural Wonder"-Anomalies to the game? - We do have few rare anomalies and one wonder called "the "golden tree", which is really powerful. We will look into it after the release.
What do you think about achieving diplomacy though quests? - Awesome idea, we did not think about it. It will be ambitious, we will look into it.
Will there be a mac version of the game before the release? - Thursday, we want to release a test version for the mac, OS 10.8 and above. Test it and give us feedback!
Despite anomalies and FIDS, do you plan to make some terrain useful for battle strategies? - We reviewed the system and the formula. It will be easier to predict, you will do more damages. You can have a critical attack if you have twice as more damages than the enemy defense. You will have also a half damage and a critical failure if the enemy has a high defense. Moreover, the terrain, if you are on top has been also buffed a lot.
Live questions:
Will we have minor factions heroes available in marketplace? - We love this idea. We will keep it mind for the future of the game.
What is the favourite faction at the office? - I can't tell for everyone, we all have different visions of the factions. My favourite is the Vaulters, I love their visuals.
Will we see biomes in game like lava? - We had lava originally, we removed it, we did not like the visual. We might expand the biomes later, good idea.
Have you more Dev vs Community games planned after the release? - Yes we will do it. We loved doing that, we will definitely keep you posted for that.
One thing I've noticed is that on maximum map zoom, the map just absolutely looks like a, well, board game board.How did you accomplish that? - The original intent was to do a good looking map. But was no that good and quite hard to understand. So we changed it, and once we got a good design, we knew it was the good one.
Have you thought of rewarding/punishing heroes in combat with wounds and capacities skills? - We did not plan it. We would like to work on a few points like being rewarded, not punished, I'm not a fan of wounds. I like the academy system with the hero at the moment.
On the road map it's written that you will add flying units, like an airship for Vaulters? - No, we were first working on dragons but not like a flying unit. Now, we have real flying units in the world and in battles.
Will the use of influence points remain balance as it is? What do you think of diplomacy with minor factions? - Diplomacy is cheaper than it was so you will want to use your influence. We do not have plans for minor factions.
Will you continue the development of Endless Space? Any add-ons? - No more expansions pack. We want to fix a few issues.
Are you satisfied with the current state of heroes? - I really like how the skill trees work at the moment!
Any active skills for heroes in the future? - Not for the release. We removed active abilities in battles, it was too much micromanagement. We will look into it.
How is Dungeon of the Endless progressing? - We are satisfied, the game will also be available on Xbox One.
Is the Xbox pad compatible for playing Dungeon of the Endless? - Well, DotE was initially developed to work with a controller but we then switched to mouse/keyboard. It should be the case though. We will work on it for the Xbox One version at least and add the controller support to the Steam version.
Who is the best Endless Legend player at Amplitude? - We do not want to be humiliated. I challenge them to play Einstein. We will create the most powerful AI with a super endless difficulty, he will meet defeat for sure!
Q&A Session 3 with SpaceTroll and AmpliMath
Why only 3 units per race? - We wanted to create very different races with an evolution during the game. So you can pick the units during the game by choosing the minor factions near your positions and decide to pick other units when you have more and more cities.
With the new combat system, it takes many more attacks to kill units and combats are quite long now. - Originally, we wanted to have combats that could last several game turns. We still need to work on this point.
Can we create mod in the game? - Right now, you can play with the XML files but it's not practical. So we are starting to work on it right now.
ANDM - System - Will there be a Mac version of the game before the release?
I love playing the beta version of the game right now, but I hate having to reboot to Windows to do so.
ANDM - System - Are you going to support very high resolutions?
Such as retina or 4K displays. I happen to have a 4K display. Endless Space works fine but the controls are too small relatively to the ideal display distance.
Nosferatiel - Production How many months are you working on EL, already, with how many people, on average?
Nosferatiel - Balancing What exactly is your method of balancing units, equipment and factions? A qualitative answer is sufficient, I do not need to know your source code or possibly mathematic formulae.
DotBeta - Features - Is there a possibility of seeing naval fleets for ocean battle scenarios down the road?
DotBeta - Multiplayer Features - There has been talk among the MP community of having the ability to play with teams. Will team battles such as 2v2 and 4v4 etc. ever make it into Multiplayer?
DotBeta - City Expansion/Growth - Will there be more options for beneficial city growth shapes other than triangular or stick patterns?
Firefixer - Anomalies - Will there be river/lake/shore anomalies?
Heros - Will we be able to change name and or add/edit bio?
Map size - Will the maps be getting bigger?
Victory - Any chance on a ending scene for each race or like a spaceship taking off? Maybe a better way to ask it is this will there be a conclusion other than victory screen?
Eysteinh- Multiplayer Features - Will there be a voluntary report system of out of syncs where one can send save game and amplitude look for out of sync problems?
Eysteinh- Multiplayer Features - Will there be a option for starting positions? (Who starts where both for free for all and if in the future for team games if possible)
Eysteinh- Multiplayer Features - In the future is a ladder, ranking or saving of scores or even achievements for MP been considered?
Eysteinh- Design - Could you describe some of the influence of the different factions ? I think the factions are very well diversified and exiting.
Eysteinh- Design - how are you guys thinking about avoiding games where one player defeats most of the empire
of the other and there is not much reason to play on for either player? What are the incentives to have a full and rewarding game for everyone until the victory is finally declared?
Eysteinh- Development - Could you describe one day of working on Endless Legend @ Amplitude? - I think you have done a lot of great work on this game and it shows.
2. In battles a movement phase and after movement a targeting phase?(talking about manual control mode)
3. A form of Culture-Religion that factions can follow?
4. Animated diplomacy screens like the intro of factions?
5. Ending scenes like the openings for each faction?
Nomas - Economy
Will there be trade caravans? for the purpose of manual trade routes and picking the trade actions like exchange of goods or goods for dust. Or transfer of FIDS between own cities.
Epharon - Stockpiles - As far as I know, one has to activate each stockpile one by one at the moment. I don't like this mechanic at the moment. Do you plan to improve this mechanic, to allow the activation of multiple stockpiles in one step? Lets say for example during the game, you saved 7 food-stockpiles and 9 industry-stockpiles for a new city, could you improve the mechanic, that I could select for my new city both stock piles and for each stock pile 10/10 or even better individually like for food 5/10 and for industry 8/10?
At the moment you need to select the stockpile first. I think for multiple stockpiles, it would be great if you could lead us to the city selection for the stockpile and add to this screen all available stockpiles, arrows to select the quantity and a text field, where we can also set the number without pressing the arrows over and over again. This would be a little bit like the selection for the amount of resources at the market place.
Maybe it is hard to understand, here is an image for this example. In this image, it is possible to select multiple stockpiles and set the amount (at the right bottom just above the "select" button). The number behind the stockpile shows the available amount per stockpile. In this example, I reached the city selection screen by selecting the Necrophages recycled stockpile, which was therefore set by default 1, the others per default to 0, cause they were not selected:
Propbuddha - Factions - Can you tells us some specifics on game mechanics that needed to be changed to implement the Games2Gether faction - The Cultists of the Eternal End?
Propbuddha - Combat - The combat system in Endless Legend is very unique. What was your goals and inspiration for creating this system?
Propbuddha - Marketplace - The Marketplace is a distinct feature of Endless Legend, but always seems to be underutilized due to research barriers and superior alternatives. Do you have any plans to make the Marketplace more integral to the game?
EcthelionHelm - Features - We have heard devs talk about mid-late game features such as improved diplomacy (council system?), a wonder/achievement system, and espionage. Any information on these?
EcthelionHelm - Quests - Any chance of competitive / cooperative, or otherwise interactive quests?
EcthelionHelm - Economy - Terrain has virtually no impact. The flat income are relevant only for the first few turns in your first city, anomalies are only eye-candy, and a cities location (both region and within region) is more a matter of preference than strategy. Are there any plans to make terrain relevant?
EcthelionHelm - Economy - A common complains is the rapid scaling and spikiness of growth - this makes shuffling stockpiles around very powerful and makes the difference between era costs an abrupt jump. Are there any plans to address this?
Nasarog - Aquatic tiles - Will there be an expansion adding use to the oceans/seas?
Nasarog - Navy - Will ships have more uses then just transportation?
Nasarog - Aquatic travel - How does winter affect this? Does it wipe all ships that are currently in the water?
Nasarog - Navy - If there is no combat in the foreseeable future, will a mechanic be added to make sea travel dangerous? otherwise there is no point to islands.
PurpleXVI - Art - One thing I've noticed is that on maximum map zoom, the map just absolutely looks like a, well, board game board. Like one of those elaborate constructions people do for Warhammer games or the like. How did you accomplish that? It's really awesome and I can't nail down what it is that completes the illusion.
PurpleXVI - Mechanics - Will there be more details on the exact calculations involved in, for instance, damage, and similar things in combat? Perhaps some pre-attack calculations to tell you how much damage you'd do if your order goes off without a hitch and no intervening changes?
PurpleXVI - Mechanics - Any plans to add more mechanics to combat? For instance bonuses for flanking or surrounding enemies, etc. things to make positioning more important than standing on high ground or a wooded hex? At the moment it feels like the game needs a few more basic factors to weigh in on stuff to make combat less of a slugfest after the initial positioning and trading of blows.
PurpleXVI - Factions - Any plans to add more "active" mechanics like the Ardent Mages' spells to the factions in general? It feels like that would add a lot more depth and options in play, which feels sorely needed at times.
Kingsguard - Unit Design - Is there any planned work on the Armor Visual changes, "after release" ? Atleast, will the players able to customize the Visual Design of the units in any way ?
Kingsguard - Mechanics/Tech Tree - Will there be any technologies about ecology ? After all, Auriga is "dying", will there be any way to fight againt the "End" ?
eobet - heroes - Are there or will there be heroes with different skill trees? I'm new and don't understand everything about the game, so I see (at least for the early game) only one optimal build and no reason to try anything else.
eobet - combat - Either I've gotten used to the combat, or the system has greatly improved from the initial way it was done, because I actually understand and enjoy it now. However, there are still a lot of symbols flying around and appearing near the units which I don't understand, and I also don't know if terrain (other than hard edges) affect combat at all. Will we see more improvement to make this rather unique combat system more informative?
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