ENDLESS™ Legend 2 News

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Last month we released the Demo and everyone had the chance to get in and play a small slice of the game. It was great to see so many players becoming Necrophage food… I mean having fun.
[/p][p]Some of you have found exploits during the Demo. One player even completed the tech tree. Which would be a victory condition if the Demo included the narrative victories. Thankfully, he was kind enough to share his save and we have addressed the balance issues that led to it (but I’m sure he will find more). [/p][p][/p][p]Everyone who played for at least 2 hours was asked to fill out a survey. We ask a lot of questions (thank you to everyone who replied), but there are 2 questions in particular that we use to evaluate if we are ready for EA, “How satisfied are you with the game?” and “Would you recommend the game?”. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Armed with positive results from the Demo, and a long list of improvements we have made since the Demo went out, we are ready to move forward toward Early Access. [/p][p]There is so much more to experience in the Early Access version of the game. You will encounter doomwraiths, the narrative victory conditions and a few more surprises. Of course, the Kin of Sheredyn and the Aspects remain playable, and we are adding the Necrophage, Last Lords and our science-loving crazed cultists, the Tahuk. We can’t wait to get your impressions. [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]​[/p][p]Early Access is not the final version of the game – instead it is a chance for us to work with the community. We test features, replace them and add content. The game will be fully playable and fun, but balance and AI will improve throughout. We will try things, some of which will work, and some won’t. We expect each update of the game to improve. And we have seen that with each Insiders build, with the Demo, from the Demo to EA, and we will continue that all the way to 1.0 and beyond. [/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Even after an Insider’s program with thousands of players, we had more players on the first day of the demo than in the entire development of ENDLESS Legend 2. It was great to see some parts of the game resonating well with you, and the parts players were critical of. This helps us prioritize our next steps. [/p][p][/p][h2]Strengths [/h2][p][/p]

1. [p]Tidefall > This was a core element of the game, and we were happy to see it having a real impact and providing a special experience on Saiadha. The pacing and amount of Monsoon’s and Tidefalls went through a lot of iteration during development (there were once 8 small tidefalls during the game and they were so frequent you started ignoring them), so it was good to see it working out well (at least for the first 90 turns). 
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2. [p]Faction Asymmetry > This is always a focus of Amplitude, and it is the same here. We don’t expect every player to love every faction, the fact that players develop strong preference for and against different factions tells us the asymmetry is working. Players appreciated that in the two playable factions in the Demo, and we are excited to share more.
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3. [p]Art and Sound > The world, characters, animations, vfx all helped create a beautiful world to explore. The sound design, from the minor faction’s little jingles to the sounds of the storm and the amazing music were also well received and enjoyed. [/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]Weaknesses [/h2][p][/p]

1. [p]Main Screen UI > The bulk of the critical feedback received was around the UI. A quarter of reviews mentioned UI and only 30% of those comments were positive. In reading all your feedback we realize it’s not as simple as making a few changes and we are looking at something larger. There are instances where we displayed the wrong or not enough information. There were UI and text bugs to fix and we think more is needed here, which will take some time.
   
   We are working on concepts to update the main game screen, and will be sharing designs with you to show our direction and get your feedback.  
   [/p]
2. [p]City Flow/UI > There are issues understanding the decisions in the city screen. Adjacency, leveling districts, managing population, and having clear decisions on what to build next were all muddy. This is more than just a UI issue and we are also looking at it as a flow issue and considering things like having Districts work like improvements (so you can just select one from the build list instead of needing to click a tile in the world first). This will take time to change and won’t be in the initial Early Access, but we will be sharing concepts with you to get feedback.
   [/p]
3. [p]Writing > One of the goals of the game is to get the player closer to the world, both in art and writing. Because of that, there is a lot more writing in ENDLESS Legend 2 than in the first game, and some of it is between characters. We want heroes to feel personal and deep. They may be members of your council, have their own friends and enemies, and they talk directly to you and each other. But this additional granularity also came with issues. For Early Access we have updated the presentation of the dialog, we are cutting lines and events to focus on only the best and most suitable. In some cases, the wrong character would say something, or a character it didn’t make sense for, which we are fixing.
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4. [p]Terrain Readability > Even though the world is beautiful, it was difficult for many players to tell what was important or what was going on. We have made changes to attempt to address this for EA by making foundations more clear (so it’s more obvious that something can be built there), fixed bugs causing blurry graphics, exposed more graphical options to players to adjust to your preferences, reduced the saturation of the terrain slightly, made Grid Lines more visible, made yield icons more readable, and reduced the size of some terrain vegetation that was so large and bright it was easy to confuse with an Anomaly. It’s a difficult balance between providing a lush, detailed world where you can see the leaves blow in the wind during monsoon, and still not have to strain or be confused when trying to see information you need to play.
   [/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]​We have more coming. An unannounced faction, multiplayer, custom factions, etc. But we are waiting before laying out a more specific roadmap. First, we want to get you into Early Access. The feedback from that will guide everything that comes after. [/p][p][/p][p]But first, we need to get you all in and playing. We are excited to have you explore Saiadha and hear your feedback. Welcome to ENDLESS Legend 2. [/p][p][/p][p]Derek Paxton, 
Game Director of ENDLESS Legend 2 [/p]

[p]It’s less than a week until you can finally get your hands on Endless Legend 2, and we’re excited for you to experience it and to hear what you think about it! But there are a few things we’d like you to know before you dive in and start playing. [/p][p] [/p][p]First, let’s take a look at the expected hardware requirements for Endless Legend 2: [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Now, there are some questions that we’ve been asked many times in the last few months, so we compiled the answers to these questions here so you can find them easily. If we notice any other recurring questions, we’ll update this FAQ. [/p][p][/p][h2]FAQ [/h2][h3]How many playable factions will be in the game? [/h3][p]We are starting Early Access with five playable factions, and will be adding a sixth in the coming months. [/p][p]The currently available factions are: [/p]

• [p]Kin of Sheredyn [/p]
• [p]Necrophage[/p]
• [p]Last Lords [/p]
• [p]Aspects [/p]
• [p]Tahuks [/p]

[p] [/p][h3]Will the game have multiplayer? [/h3][p]Yes, but the multiplayer will not be available at the start Early Access. We want to take more time to work on it and will release it in an update within the coming months. [/p][p] [/p][h3]What feedback did you get on the Demo, and how will your address it? [/h3][p]We will talk about this in a few days, when our game director Derek Paxton will release a blog about the “State of the Game.” [/p][p] [/p][h3]What are your plans for Early Access? [/h3][p]We will talk about our plans for Early Access a few days after release, because we want to take your feedback into account for those plans. [/p][p] [/p][h3]I’ve explored my whole island. Where can I find ships and other naval technologies? [/h3][p]Endless Legend 2 does not feature any naval technologies or gameplay, as periodically the sea levels will drop to reveal new land and new connections between players. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will the game be available on Steam Deck? [/h3][p]We’d like to support Steam Deck, but this won’t be ready at the start of Early Access. The game does run on Steam Deck but will need more work to be properly verified. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will the game have controller support? [/h3][p]Yes, we want to support using a gamepad on PC, but we cannot say yet when this would be available. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Can we get an option for properly sequential turns? [/h3][p]While we understand the request for this option, unfortunately no. The simultaneous turn structure is too deeply part of EL2 to easily change it. We will however take steps to alleviate frustrations with the AI interrupting your actions. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will the game have hotseat multiplayer? [/h3][p]Unfortunately no. As explained above, adding the sequential turns necessary for this style of multiplayer is not feasible. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will there be an in-game encyclopedia? [/h3][p]We don’t have plans to add an encyclopedia in game. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will the game use Denuvo? [/h3][p]No, we are not planning to use Denuvo. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will the game support modding? [/h3][p]We would like to support modding, but the extent of the modding capabilities has not been decided yet. [/p][p] [/p][h3]How much will the game cost? Can I pre-order? [/h3][p]There will be no pre-orders, and the price will be revealed at Early Access launch. [/p]

[p]​Hey everyone, [/p][p] [/p][p]Thank you to everybody who tried the demo and took the time to share your thoughts with us. Since putting ENDLESS Legend 2 in your hands (from Insiders players to demo participants), we’ve received tons of input, and we will continue to improve the game based on your feedback in the coming days and weeks. [/p][p][/p][p]
Derek, our Game Director, will soon share a ‘State of the Game’ update, where he’ll go over what we learned from the Demo and Insiders program and walk you through the next steps on the road to Early Access. [/p][p] [/p][p]
The Demo will stay open until release 🎉[/p][p]
We’re happy with how the Demo went, so we’ve decided to keep it open until Early Access begins on September 22nd. This way, anyone discovering the game over the next few days will still get a chance to jump in and provide feedback 🤗. [/p][p][/p][p]Here is a nice infographic that gathers some stats from the Demo 👇 [/p][p]
[/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]There will be plenty of information during the week, so brace yourself for this adventure until release 🤣[/p][p]Have a nice day![/p]

[p]Hey everyone, [/p][p] [/p][p]It’s time we take a look at the final faction that will join our roster for the launch of Early Access, another group native to Saiadha: The Tahuks. [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h2]Lore [/h2][p]The Tahuks are devout followers of the Endless, venerating them through a peculiar mix of faith and technology. They hope their devotion will bring back the Sages, and watch the stars for signs of their return. [/p][p]But the change the Tidefalls bring to Saiadha may upset the delicate balance of power in their ruling council, and change the way they see their faith in the Endless and their technology. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Visual Inspiration [/h2][p]The Tahuks blend lizard and amphibian traits, giving them a rugged, powerful look. Their architecture is inspired by ancient South American designs, featuring massive stone structures with precise geometric lines that recall Aztec and Maya pyramids. [/p][p]Mechanical elements like wooden gears and clockwork devices are integrated into their buildings, reflecting their attempts to understand and replicate the advanced technology left by the Endless, a civilization they revere but don’t fully grasp. [/p][p]Their clothing is practical yet detailed, with layered robes that combine utility and ceremonial significance. Earthy tones, deep blues, and metallic accents dominate their color palette, tying their aesthetic to nature and tradition. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h2]Gameplay [/h2][p]The Tahuks are the “Science Faction” of Endless Legend 2, but we wanted to wanted to give you more than just “faction that researches faster than others.” While they certainly generate a bit more science than other factions, they also have new ways to use it, charging powerful Holy Oculum Actions. Add the religious aspect of their society on top of this, and you get a quite different experience than our previous scientific factions. [/p][p] [/p][p]Our game designers told us this about working on the Tahuks: [/p]

[p]The Tahuks were a tough nut to crack: How to create a science faction who isn't JUST going to unlock the whole tech tree turn 5? We thought giving them a cool science sink who help in that matter and that's how the Holy Oculum Actions were born. The real challenge was that we saw BIG right off the bat : 3 actions for each path, unlockable throughout the game, so 9 super cool super powers, isn't that awesome?? It turned out the whole production was against it, UX wondering how they could fit that in the HUD, Gameplay programmers claiming this was double the work they were doing on other factions, etc. But since we're a stubborn bunch, we gave our beloved blue folks a lot more. [/p][p]At Amplitude, we always try to twist archetype. For instance, the Lords are honorable knights with lowly people-feeding instincts. Hence the Tahuks, our "mad-lad scientists" became plagued with a heavy institutional theocracy. Scientists with strong religious beliefs. They became these chaotic yet touching little folks, riddled with esoterism and cutting edge technology. We've build their whole faction around the idea that, because they are so contradictory, they cannot manage to do one or the other properly. Every time they attempt to do something, it backfires and they have to face consequences. Their Empire Powers are powerful, but each use will bring some drawbacks. [/p][p]Another fun fact about them was that, as a religious faction, they were to have a huge emphasis on population so we tried to give them a fanatic population with negative yields. It did not go well and we reverted that almost immediately after introducing it. Sometimes, it feels like balancing the faction is part of the gameplay itself : it is so hard to give them a good scientific gameplay that goes hand in hand with a good religion-oriented one! We hope you will experience this dilemma too and you will be as fond as we are of our air-headed engineers ! [/p][p][/p]

[p] [/p][carousel][/carousel][p][/p][h3]Faction Affinity: Blessed by the Sages [/h3][p]In their quest for knowledge and worship of the Endless, the Tahuks have access to two unique buildings. Their armies can construct Observatories on mountains, which will help you generate Science and can be upgraded to Approval-boosting Libraries or the Sacred Flame defensive emplacements. They can also build a single Holy Oculum in one of their cities, a venerated structure that plays a key role in their gameplay. [/p][p]Finishing the Holy Oculum will unlock the Holy Oculum Actions, powerful active abilities that you charge by diverting some of your Science generation to them. The effects of these abilities range from upgrading Observatories with additional yields to turning an entire region into glass to further your research. However, the effectiveness of some abilities will vary depending on which forces in the Assembly you favor during the main quest, so choose wisely to strengthen your position. [/p][p]The Holy Oculum Abilities may also create or interact with the Called, a unique type of Tahuk population. Whether you keep them in your cities or send them away to other empires as Missionaries, how to handle the Called will be an important part of your strategy. [/p][p] [/p][h2]Military [/h2][p]Thanks to their intricate technology, the Tahuk military has access to more ranged units than other factions. This makes them deadly in the right hands but vulnerable to being trapped in melee. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Battle Affinity: Illuminated Foes [/h3][p]Attacks from Tahuk units will “Illuminate” their target, giving the next attack against them a bonus effect: Additional damage for ranged attackers, or a damage-absorbing shield for melee attackers. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Initiates are a ranged scout unit with keen awareness of their surroundings, allowing them to see through many obstacles on the strategic map. [/p]

• [p]As True Guides, they can help your armies move quickly across the map. [/p]
• [p]Vigil Masters on the other hand are competent skirmishers. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Devotees are the only melee unit in the Tahuk’s military, and they specialize in slowing down the enemy with their attacks. [/p]

• [p]Zealots are especially skilled at taking up defensive positions and holding the line. [/p]
• [p]Lightbringers can pin down isolated targets and finish them easily. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Relic Keepers offer ranged support that will weaken any enemy they hit. [/p]

• [p]Divine Protectors will strengthen nearby allies as they attack. [/p]
• [p]Divine Smiters will make their targets even more feeble and leave them vulnerable to critical hits from other units. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Wrath Bearers are powerful ranged units, outranging most other units in the game. [/p]

• [p]Specializing in Devastating Wrath will let them destroy priority targets as they ignore defense and leave their target vulnerable. [/p]
• [p]The Fire of the Gods is more suited to dealing with hordes, applying its damage in an area of effect and weakening its targets. [/p]

[p] [/p][h2]Soundtrack [/h2][p]Of course, no faction would be complete without their accompanying theme. Arnaud even incorporated the clockwork elements of the Tahuks into this piece, and we think he did a stellar job! [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Hello everyone![/p][p][/p][p]The other day, we organized a Q&A session with some members of the Dev Team. First of all, thanks to everyone who participated. It was really fun and interesting.[/p][p]We´ve made this recapitulative blog for all of you who could not participate but are interested in the different questions.[/p][p][/p][p]We ordered the questions based on the number of votes that they received 👍[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p]🧙‍♂️ Derek - Game Director[/p][p]👷‍♂️ Augustin - Producer[/p][p]🎨 Hadrien - Art Director[/p][p]🗿 Pierre - Game Designer[/p][p]🥷 Sergio / Daarkarrow - Community Developer[/p][hr][/hr][p]
To make your life easier, I included the emoji that corresponds to the dev who answered it.[/p][p][/p][p]What are the top lessons taken from each previous game that are being used in EL2?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ Disclaimer: I wasn't involved with Amplitude games prior to Endless Legend 2 so I can only report on talking to the team, inspirations and lessons learned.[/p][p]With EL1 Amplitude built a beautiful game, and then put a wall around it. It was really difficult to learn. Something easy to forget if you have 20, 40 or 100 hours in it. The battle system also gave partial control. Which is dangerous and leaves players wanting more.[/p][p]So from Endless Space 2 we really inherited the quest system, especially the ability to choose how you would like to pursue objectives.[/p][p]And from Humankind the battle system was a big step up from EL1[/p][p]As well as really attempting to make it easier to understand (sometimes succeeding, and sometimes failing here). EL2 is the first Amplitude game to have Nested Tooltips, so it was a challenge to implement and took time to adjust to the new ways you communicate information in a nested tooltip world.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will you add loads more lore in-game? Maybe in-game encyclopedia?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ Hello! We're not planning to add an encyclopedia in game. For more lore, we'll probably add more events along the way of EA or after the full release.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will there be any radical changes after the demo feedback?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ I am going to do a full blog on this before EA. Super appreciative to everyone to filled out a survey, no matter the feedback. I talked a little about it in the "State of the Game" for august but I will be digging into more specifics in an upcoming post.[/p][p]The big thing is UI (which we are working on and will share the direction with you about), and lots of little things that were causing confusing (What is a quarry?).[/p][p]I was surprised at the amount of people having terrain readability issues. And we have a lot of changes coming there to make gridline, yields, etc more readable. To adjust colors and reduce conflicting objects which were hard to see. As well as making empty foundation more clear.[/p][p]All from feedback from the demo.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Which parts of the game are you most excited for?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ Tidefall is the obvious answer here. It fixes some problems the genre has struggled with.[/p][p]Right now I am also very curious to see how players respond to the "world heroes". These are ai controlled unique characters in the world that are doing their own thing, or causing damage depending on their personality. I did this a bit in Fall from Heaven and I am excietd to see it here too[/p]

[p][/p][p]What is your Roadmap for the EL2?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ It's a little early to share our plans. For now we are focusing on providing the best Early Access experience possible and then we'll focus towards the 1.0 release. 
Step by step to make a great game enjoyed by many 🙂[/p]

[p][/p][p]Is there any chance that heroes will get models more representative of their portrait art? [/p]

[p]🎨 We’re definitely looking into improving hero models to better match their portrait art, but I can’t promise anything just yet. The challenge is that 3D art requires more resources than 2D, and we also need to ensure heroes remain clear and recognizable on the battlefield. Too much detail can sometimes make smaller units harder to read, especially in various environments. It’s something we’d love to address, but like all improvements tasks during and after the EA, we’ll need to balance it against other priorities to make sure it delivers the best possible impact for the game experience.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Do you plan to implement one of the best UI features invented for 4X and tile-based games over the past few years? Or a way to show what was built last in a city?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ We got lots of feedback on the city ui from the demo. It has been an area we have done a lot of iterating on with the Insiders as well and we still arent happy with it. The version in the demo was pretty new and is missing some key functionality (like being able to see what improvements you have already built). We have read about all the pain points from players and are looking at a redesign that address these issues. Things like: showing what was built, filtering options, recommended options, better displaying leveling effects, better displaying adjacency, etc[/p]

[p][/p][p]Are you going to add artwork for resources and anomalies on the pop-ups?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ I dont know. We are discussing it. We certainly saw feedback about it from the demo surveys.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Modding possibilities in Endless Legend 2: What’s planned?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ Hello! Currently, you can only tweaks values of the game with modding. It's a first version that we hope to improve until 1.0 and maybe later, but nothing is certain yet.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Are devs focused on flavour and on building the setting?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ Yeah its a hard balance. We tried to make sure lore was sprinkled throughout. There isn't a good place to put the minor faction background right now. But I agree it needs to be in.[/p][p]We focused early on on creating a beautiful world so you could see it directly. Where EL1 was a more stylized world and the 2d art showed you the detail.
I think that may have been a mistake as people miss those beautiful 2d images. We are looking into it.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Is UI going to show us actual upgrade yields and minor faction bonuses[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ Yeah. This feedback isnt very helpful. I am going to check on what we can do to improve that.[/p][p]We do a good job of that with hero skills and buildings (showing the "Net Effect" and the "Breakdown") but its missing for minor factions. I'll add a note about it. Thank you.[/p]

[p][/p][p]What are your biggest artistic inspirations and how do you go about designing visuals for your games?[/p]

[p]🎨 Hi! That’s great to hear our art books are inspiring you, and it’s a really interesting question you’re asking! It’s a big topic, so I won’t be able to cover everything quickly, but I’ll do my best to give you a clear answer.[/p][p]When we approach concept work, visual design is always about elevating the player’s experience. We start by looking at the core elements: the game design, the type of gameplay, the tone of the universe and its lore (especially in Endless Legend 2 and the broader Endless Universe), and even technical considerations like platform and camera perspective. [/p][p][/p][p]All of these help shape our art direction and the visual choices we make.For the Endless Universe, we’re really exploring the space fantasy genre, a blend of sci-fi and fantasy, that lets us create something unique and immersive. Our inspiration comes from all over: classic sci-fi and fantasy, of course, but also traditional cultures, historical and mythological references, and even various art movements.[/p][p][/p][p]We believe the best worlds are built when you mix the familiar with more original or surprising ideas.Once the art direction is set for the game, our process is highly collaborative. We always start by working closely with game designers and writers to get a clear brief for each element. From there, the art team takes over, following a pipeline: 2D concept art, then 3D modeling, animation, VFX, and SFX. [/p][p][/p][p]The 2D concept phase is especially important. It’s where we iterate, discuss, and make sure everyone (designers, artists, programmers, creative directors, etc.) is aligned before moving into full production. That said, we sometimes prototype things directly in the engine before finalizing 2D concepts, especially when we need to test how an idea feels in the actual game space. This helps us validate directions quickly, this way, we ensure the final assets fit perfectly into the game experience.[/p]

[p][/p][p]When developing a faction, do you focus on making gameplay fit lore or lore fit gameplay?[/p]

[p]🗿 When developing a faction we first try to find a cool pitch or thematic first: Adapted to lore but with a cool gameplay twist. I don't think we put a particular Focus on Lore or Gameplay but we start designing the faction based of a lore pitch. The faction then evolve with back and forth between lore & gameplay to define it piece by piece, cool design ideas can fit with the planned lore or make it adapt but it's not a dominance of gameplay over lore kind of situation. The main concern is keeping the faction lore & fantasy coherent & appealing rather than implanting a particular lore.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will the UI eventually contain links to all full Minor Faction unit stats?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ You can checkout the stats of the units before you decide to make them a protectorate.[/p][p]So many minor factions showed up when we did that that it was overwhelming. So it is currently set so that you only see those that are in your territories or are pacified. But that may be a mistake. Maybe more is needed.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Is there any outside-the-game etymology of Sheredyn or is it merely the cool name without background?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ The Sheredyn are one of the factions in Endless Space. So i dont know the true origin of the name, but i know its been around well longer than EL2[/p][p]🥷 You can check different wikis but > The Sheredyn are one of the playable factions in Endless Space. Originally the bodyguards for the emperors of the United Empire, the Sheredyn Fleet, as it is known, has since grown into a powerful subfaction within the empired.

\[🌠 Jeff - Narrative Director] So, in 2009, our family took a cruise around the Black Sea. During that trip, we visited cities in Ukraine, including Sevastopol and Odesa. Between those two cities is the estuary of the huge Dnipro River, and down near the Black Sea there is a tributary called the Seredynka.  We ended up spending a day down there, and the place struck me as being really beautiful. Fast forward a couple years, and we were looking to rename the faction who were temporarily called the "Praetorian". I came up with a list of names, and let the boss choose which one he preferred: Janissary, Ranger, Proxim, Vyaslav, Edelny and Sheredyn [/p]

[p][/p][p]Why no community-created faction?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ We  are planning to work closely with the community during Early Access, so stay tuned 🙂[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will there be any demo released before we start the main game? How will multiplayer work?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ Hello! There is no other demo planned with multiplayer.
Multiplayer will come with a later update of the Early Access. Turns will work the same way as in solo, everyone playing at the same time. Battle pause the timer for the turn.[/p]

[p][/p][p]What was the hardest thing to implement through programming?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ This is probably a better question for the programmers. But as an outside observer the specific system that seems the most complex in EL2 is the rendering system. Amplitude has some wizards and they have invested a lot to make the game look special. Its black magic.[/p][p]The other area of extreme complexity is AI.[/p][p]AI is terribly hard in 4x. Especially in EA because the game is still being developed. How do you build an AI that can effectively play a game when the devs are changing the game every day?[/p][p]Thats incredibly hard for other 4x games. Now take that and introduce significant faction diversity and I'm amazed the AI devs havent gone crazy. Literally the designers change the way a system works and the AI programmers need to consider the way each factions AI reacts to that (or not).[/p][p]It's tough and handled by people way smarter than me.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will there be any gorilla-based playable or neutral factions?[/p]

[p]🗿 Gorogs feel offended by this, check your frontdoor with the upmost precautions[/p][p](and check custom factions traits when it'll be available)[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will there be Steamdeck Support at launch?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ Steamdeck will not be supported officially at launch of the Early Access, but we plan to support it a few months after.[/p][p]However, we know that the game runs on it already, but it was not tested officially yet.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Can you address why you chose simultaneous turns in EL2 and if you are taking any steps to reduce the need for quick clicks?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ Great question![/p][p]Yes. We prefer simultaneous turns because it makes turn times quicker. You don't have to sit and wait for all the other players to go. If each player takes 15 seconds in a game with 5 AI players you go from a few seconds between turns to 75 seconds between turns.[/p][p]But we saw the feedback about how frustrating it can be so we made changes (which I believe are in the demo)[/p][p]We set the ai to not go for things the player has already targeted, so the player doesnt feel the need to "click fast". The ai was also "reserving moves" (ie: it would use some of its moves, but not all and wait to see if the player would move into its radius) which felt unfair those are gone.[/p][p]We considered (but havent done yet) putting the multiplayer turn indicator on for single players turns so you can see when the ai is moving and done moving but its so loud and busy we havent done it (maybe we will add an option for it for players that want to know exactly when the ai is going)[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will we have Horatio factions?[/p]

[p]🗿 You kinda have to work for it, but there is a way to reach perfection (not as a base Major faction tho) if you explore the planet enough[/p]

[p][/p][p]How many major factions will be endemic to Saiadha?[/p]

[p]🗿 Yo, the Aspects and the two unannounced factions are fully original factions with new lore and thematic. [/p]

[p][/p][p]Will it have DLSS support?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ DLSS is not supported on EL2.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Are we going to see some changes to the endless difficulty level AI?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ We defiitly need more feedback here. Save games with examples of "bad ai decisions" are gold for our AI team. [/p][p]Right now we are improving the issues we are aware of. And Working on making the ai for each faction more distinct from each other.[/p][p]Your example of attacking armies they lose against may be because they are attempting to weaken you for future battles. Or may just be a mistake. We would need the save to make sure.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will you release a paid upgraded version for Advanced Access?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ No, there won't be an advanced access to the release. The game will be available for everyone on Sept 22.[/p][p]🥷 Also, it is not possible to have Advanced Access when releasing a game in Early Access (afaik)[/p]

[p][/p][p]What made you want to divide strategic resources into economic/military uses ?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ This is interesting. We actually made this change fairly late in development (one resource for economy, one for military) and I really like the change. It influences my global strategy and makes me hungry for the right resource when i want to push in one area.[/p][p]Also note that trading posts allow you to buy/sell resources so you can swap around to deal with difficulty finding the right resources, but it is costly.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will there be some sort of option to pick the equipment you want for your hero or quest to do with him to obtain it?[/p]

[p]🗿 Yo, That s something we keep in mind to help you build your hero as you want to build it. But for the EA nothing is planned, for the moment some heroes have unique skills helping you creating equipment or chasing fortresses can help you find new equipment. We are also looking at equipment drop distribution to help you have equipment for your hero because as other player said we also like this kind of drop as it encourages you to get different heroes to fit the equipment dropped.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Have you considered doing some sort of Endless RPG at some point?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ Right now we are just focused on making a great 4x 🙂[/p]

[p][/p][p]I saw how the water receded and new paths appeared for transportation and empire building. However, I am interested in whether the reverse processes will occur[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ We considered that. But decided that it wouldnt be fun to lose everything you built.[/p][p]At its heart EL2 is a 4x. Its about building your empire. Having that wiped out by something the player can't react well too makes it a very different game.[/p][p]During monsoon rivers chnage strength and it used to be that if you had an army in a dried up riverbead when it struck your army would be killed. We removed that for the same reason.[/p][p]There are a fewer places the "punishing" nature of tidefall remains. Most notbaly all lands adjacent to water get a food bonus. As the ocean recedes those bonuses go away. Making cities counting on that food less optimal. (unless you build damns to keep the rivers or build on inner lakes).[/p]

[p][/p][p]When will the 5th faction be revealed?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ Soon™![/p]

[p][/p][p]What is the feature you are most proud of?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ I think the asymmetry of all the factions. It's so fun to switch between the empires and discover a new whole game. They all feel completely different from each other 🙂[/p][p]🎨 Personally, on the art side, I’d say I’m really proud of the day cycle lighting... even if it’s more of a small detail. It adds atmosphere to the game, and I especially love how it teases the monsoon season coming up. It’s one of those subtle touches that helps bring the world to life! For the game as a whole, I also love the water receding feature. It’s a unique way to extend exploration and keep the experience fresh![/p]

[p][/p][p]Will we have some advanced setting options to tweak Gamespeed, Tidefall and Victory Conditions?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ Victory conditions will be editable in the options at the release. We are planning on adding the game speed at a later stage in the Early Access because it needs extra care for balancing. For Tidefalls, it is not planned currently to be able to change this number as it is central to the game.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will we have more graphical settings in EA?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ Yes. We are adding a few more options to graphical settings for EA. The rendering layer of the game is very custom, so we tended to block it to just a few specific settings.[/p][p]But we are changing that to allow players to tweak more themselves. That will mean you can make the game look horrible (please dont post screenshots of that, it will break our artists heart). But also means you will be able to tweak more to your preference.[/p]

[p][/p][p]With Endless Dungeon as roguelike, is there any talk about other genres that as picked up interest at amplitude [/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ I am trying to get momentum for a Saiadha based Surfing game. But it isnt going anywhere (I am just kidding, we are just ficused on EL2 right now)[/p]

[p][/p][p]Out of all the 5 factions that's in EA. Which is the devs' favorite?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ For me, it's the Aspects! I love their design and how they conquer the world slowly with their corals 😄[/p][p]🥷 I have a couple that I love, but I will decide with Necrophages (sry REDACTED faction, you will need to wait a bit longer)[/p]

[p][/p][p]How do/did you decide which factions return from other Endless games?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ In general, we prefer new factions. The callbacks are nice. But its fun to produce new lore, new stories and brand new characters.
When legacy factions are used it needs to be with a new twist that makes them fun to try.[/p]

[p][/p][p]How open is the development team to large changes or overhauls to systems over the course of the Early Access? Or is the early access more of a period of small fixes and changes?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ Every change is a consideration of how much it improves the game and how much time it takes. We have a team to work on things through EA and we have some things scheduled, but we have open time based on the feedback. We have already begun some UI work which take time, but we think we need.[/p][p]So it depends. If we all decide that the game is really good but we really need to scrap the Diplomacy system and redo it entirely, and that a better use of time than other things. Then that is what we will do.[/p][p]But so far I expect more refinement than new systems. More balance than new content. Outside of UI. But Early access may change that.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will there ever be a form of naval battle or action at EL2?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ Hello, it is not planned to have naval battle action in EL2, the water is receding, so it'd be weird to have boats on it![/p]

[p][/p][p]Are there any plans to change combat? There are two things that bother me:  1) Cities are not included in battles happening nearby  2) When starting a battle, your units are teleported[/p]

[p]🗿 Yo boss, [/p][p]1) This is something we are working on, rather in the hiding the city when fighting next to a city rather than letting you hide in it: Why we do this? Prevent forward settling and random cheeses, catching an army outside the gate should still be rewarded instead of having a X tiles radius around a city where you are vastly advantaged.[/p][p]2)The angle of the attack defines where the deployment zones are placed. It always go opposite to the placement of the initial opponent's army[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will there be automation for the abilities of the faction? To avoid using Kin of Sheredyn's 1st ability for 25 influence every 5 turns[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ No we hadnt considered allowing automation for that. After all we wouldnt know what city the player wants to do it in. Maybe we need to be more obvious when its enabled though. Make the whole button gold or something?[/p]

[p][/p][p]Balance changes on Council and map changes[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ We have done a big balance pass on council abilities (including Reka's crazy good military district boost). Those changes will be in for EA[/p][p]We don't have any plans to increase the amount of land from tidefall. We reduced Tide down from 8 to 3 specifically so that we can have more land revealed with each and the balance feels pretty good (to me at least). Of course this may change based on EA feedback.[/p][p]As for "snakey" territories. That won't be significantly different from the demo to EA. But it is something on our list to improve during EA.[/p]

[p][/p][p]What is the Plan for "For the Badge"?[/p]

[p]🗿 Yo boss, We changed it to mainly focus on stability (even more than the current stability given by military district) instead of all fidsis, we don't want to have a one district spamm do all resource kind of strategy. This should still help to advance in your strategy as stability gives you % fidsi but it's not a viable option to only build military district anymore (even if you are kin)[/p]

[p][/p][p]What are the main principles the dev team follows in terms of faction balance?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ Different designers may have different ideas here. Personally I always like pushing boundaries and making something that is overpowered and fun and then trying to find a way to make it work (the Magic the Gathering mode of game design). The rule of cool definitely applies.[/p][p]As to which is prioritized more. Probably singleplayer. Even in multiplayer we expect you you be playing coop or with friends that wont exploit against each other. We arent designing a e-sport that has to be super balanced and anti-griefing.[/p]

[p] [/p][p]Will there be a way to remove a population from a city? Or transfer it to another?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ There isn't. There is a faction that will take advantage of that fact.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will there be an Endless Legends or an Endless Space TCG in the far future?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ I am sure most of the design team here would love to work on this. But nothing planned that im aware of.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will there be competitive/dynamic events?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ World heroes work in that sense, they are unique on the map, and you might be able to recruit them 😄[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will you improve the rivers input? I do not know how to make dams.[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ Dams are built just like rivers. By clicking on the river tile. The appropriate tech is needed.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will minor faction camps be movable?[/p]

[p]👷‍♂️ No it won't be possible in the game[/p]

[p][/p][p]Will there be new minor factions at release?[/p]

[p]🧙‍♂️ We are currently planning to hold a faction for release so people have something new to play on release day.[/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]From left to right > 🥷 / 🎨 / 🗿 / 👷‍♂️ / 🧙‍♂️[/p][p]
[/p][p]Thanks for sharing all your feedback and questions[/p][p]See you next week for the reveal of the \[REDACTED] faction 🔭[/p]