The genre of so-called 4X-strategy, or if you want grand strategy, has been with us for many years and its most famous representative, the Civilization series, perhaps we don’t even need to introduce it in any special way. During its existence, this genre has spread in several directions, but mostly sticks to its foundations. You start with your civilization, nation, group, or tribe almost from scratch and try to do exactly what the 4X acronym really stands for. So explore, expand, exploit, and destroy—explore, expand, exploit, and destroy accordingly.
Perhaps not only have I always been in the mood to sit down to such games and spend long evenings with them, but at the same time I did not have the patience to master all the rules, nuances and concepts that each of these games brought. It actually makes me slow Dune: Spice Wars from Shiro Games which is currently in pre-access. This can also be described in the same words, and of course this is also a 4X strategy. However, unlike its competitors, it seems to be more understandable and, despite its potential scale, also relatively uncomplicated. If you’ve been waiting for the right entry into the grand strategy genre, this might well be the one for you.
The disadvantage of this title in the first minutes is quite strict textbook, which is also unlocked piecemeal. Your first steps are more likely to serve only as a quick introduction to the user interface, in which there are no special reproaches. But to sort it out in order, and perhaps to explain clearly how Dune should be different, let’s look at the concept itself.
Before starting a new sludge, you can currently choose from four playable factions. There is a more politically oriented gender AtreidesHulk Harkonnens, smugglers as well as the original inhabitants of the planet Arrakis, Free. Each faction offers different bonuses, which in turn lead to a specific type of play. For example, the Atreides family is characterized by the ability to peacefully capture a neutral village, while smugglers are less prone to sabotage in foreign territory. Unlike other games, only four factions can have a limited effect, but this is the first proof that this is not such a difficult endgame game. In addition, individual factions can be easily modified, as you will also have to choose two of the four advisors for each of them, who also add their own bonuses or changes.
And as you probably already know, the game itself is, of course, about domination. You gradually expand your territory and try to get spices first. You want to get this mainly because of the imperial taxes, which you have to pay on a permanent basis and which increase gradually. This is actually the main and so far the only pressure that the game puts on you, and getting back on your feet is not at all difficult. Do you want to send from the beginning ornithopteriafind a place for the extraction of spices, and in that region you will have to take a neutral village in any way. This will give you control of the region and therefore the ability to mine spices and move on.
Gradually you will begin to command the villages, improve them, extract spices and other things and build a map of your place in your area. Of course, it’s not that simple, although it may sound from my description. Sooner or later you will start to stumble without prior knowledge and experience. You will begin to lack water, authority, people, fuel cells or other raw materials that you need to mine and somehow regulate. But their overview is surprisingly simple, and they really make sense..
Source: Shiro gamesThis is how the complex strategy Dune: Spice Wars will play out
Perhaps, in general, however, the biggest change compared to, for example, the Civilization mentioned at the beginning, is the fact that that the whole game takes place in real time. Instead of moves where everyone determines their actions, which are then replayed at one point, here everything is shifted anyway. So no big delay. and the game keeps moving forward, which is a nice change.
However, I have to appreciate another fundamental thing from the original play, which is the greater emphasis on politics and espionage, which brings the popular element from the Dune books, movies, and board games to the game. On an ongoing basis, voting is held on several aspects that affect individual factions, but above all, these are spies and intrigues. Gradually you will be able recruit spies and then assign their functions. You can direct them against one of the factions, thanks to which you will gradually learn more about it, or direct them against neutral elements. Be it the planet itself or Landsraad. It will give you in time unlocks bonuses or increases the profits of one of the raw materials, but more than that, you get the so-called Intel. You can then invest in missions. You have your own chances of success and the risk of detection, but if they succeed, you have the opportunity to start the mission at any time and receive certain bonuses from it. Whether it’s sending a probe to a certain region and finding all the stuff in it, or sending supplies to friendly units in the region.
In the finale, you will be able to eliminate the leader of the enemy faction and thereby completely get rid of him. Where, of course, is again the opportunity to put agents in the position of counterintelligence so that they can detect such attacks against you. Of course, there is also the possibility of a conventional war using units and armies. What is interesting about them is that if they are not in your, which means friendly territory, then the so-called supplies are slowly disappearing. In a sense, this is such a second indicator of health. You will have to constantly bring your units back to your territories and not leave them for too long, which is one of the relatively interesting aspects.
There is no need to worry about the seriousness of Dune: Spice Wars. Everything together works very well. And while there are some new ideas and concepts, it’s actually very easy to understand. That’s basically why I think it’s a great entry into the 4X strategy genre. Unfortunately, this of course means veterans of these games may be disappointed because it’s not a very deep game in the finale. Upgrading villages is quite simple and, for example, it does not matter where you put them. Caring for raw materials is also not very difficult.
Duel with units is again very straightforward and it doesn’t offer much room for any kind of strategy, so thinking about how to use the relatively bumpy terrain of Arrakis is useless and the game won’t reward you in any way. Relations between factions can only be built minimally, and trade opportunities are not very extensive. And then, of course, there is the spy system, which takes care of itself in many ways, and you usually just benefit from it without much risk.
Many of these aspects are, of course, affected by both difficulty level and difficulty level. whether you’re playing single player or a more difficult multiplayer mode. But the essence of the game remains the same, and it’s a catchy and fun game that tries something new. And he’s doing a good job. We can only hope that gradually, over the course of my life, other possibilities, nuances, will grow in the preliminary approach, even if I myself did not believe that that I will sometimes say this with 4X strategy as well as some more demanding mechanics.
Source :Indian TV
