Shadow Empire | Minos Tribe | Ep. 001 - Setup and 1st Turn on a Desert World

[@RisingDivinity]

I agree about the water in this game. It definitely feels like a limitless resource even after the update. Seth class planets are the only ones where I've needed to build an ice mine as any lake, river or puddle seemingly gives you thousands of water per turn.

[@battlemode]

Yeah, there's also this new card that basically increases the volume of a mine's resources that further makes water trivial to come by. I'm not quite sure why that card is there, I'm considering a house rule not to use it as it seems kinda broken on top of everything else.

[@RisingDivinity]

@@battlemode Oh so that card is new! I didn't recognise it in my recent games. You could make the house rule specific for ice as it is handy if you find only one deposit of oil in your territory. Saying that I still need to catch up on this series so maybe you're fine without.

[@TanakaRisingSun]

@@battlemode there is a new setting in the game that lowers resource amounts...

[@DiakronYT]

This game is one of the most fulfilling strategy games I have played in a while I only have 53 hours in it and I can already tell I'm in trouble as soon as Turn 1.

[@battlemode]

Haha right! It can be a difficult game but if you persevere you can sometimes fight through a bad start

[@edersonnico]

You cannot be in trouble in turn 1 unless you are playing on the hardest difficulty.

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

Game is quite boring. If you play on hard the AI never does anything even until turn 150 like I did unless you do something. Even if relations are bad. And if you fight a war the enemy AI has a scripted advantage that gives them basically unlimited ressources so they can pump out as many units as they want. Dont get me started on the suddenly appearing gisnt garrison armies. Gsme is ridicilously bad and stupid in singleplayer. Only in multiplayer it really is good and fair. I wish they developed a proper AI for the singleplayer snd not the scripted and lazy bull they got now Also the diplomacy and every foreign actions depending on cards is also annoying

[@aaronslater470]

I had one my favorite gamer moments with this game. I created a society based meritocracy. Farmed leaders till I got a 5 with 50 intelligence. Gave him GR tech till he became a demi god. Bastard staged a coup and took over

[@Jackal47]

​@@AbuHajarAlBugatti Tell us you're bad at Shadow Empire without telling us you're bad at Shadow Empire. 😂 Yes, the AI cheats (duh) but not the way you're describing with free unit production. It is all documented in the excellent manual (if you had bothered to read)... you just got massively outplayed and then came to YT to tell on yourself 🤣

[@retagainez]

This game interests me so deeply. I have started one of my first playthrough and I really like the role playing and immersion of it so far.

[@battlemode]

It's one of my favourite games, up there with Conquest of Elysium

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

Its great until you realize what a non-active and useless and overscripted mess the enemy AI is. Diplomacy for example is absolutely useless. You can filly ignore that aswell as counter espionage. And if you never attack you will never be attacked even at turn 150. and when you attack the enemy can spawwn huge armies out of nowhere to make the gsme harder. Even if you cut off logistics it doesent matter. While it can cripple your own entire playthrough

[@sidneysill8495]

Such a good, vastly underrated game.

[@battlemode]

It's one of those games that "if you get it, you get it" and so many people are put off that it doesn't have the same visuals and UI that other modern 4X do. That is exactly what drew me to it lol

[@undividedchaos2223]

Do you think its worth it for someone who likes Dominions to play this?

[@nerevarinenwah3690]

@@undividedchaos2223 I know this is a late reply and I am not Battlemode, but Shadow Empire is absolutely a great choice for someone who likes Dominions. Have another: Graviteam tactics - Mius Front.

[@AndrewRodda]

Really looking forward to this series. Your videos have really helped me appreciate the nuances of this game.

[@battlemode]

Ah that's great, glad to hear it! I'm hyped to play this one

[@rbfishcs123]

B A T T L E M O D E ENGAGED!!!!

[@whitefox25]

wtf u on about mate

[@rbfishcs123]

@@whitefox25 u wot?

[@battlemode]

Yeah! Here we go!

[@ricardopaiva1592]

I've been waiting for you or Das to do another SE series, keep up the good work!

[@battlemode]

I think Das tends to play Shadow Empire over on Twitch more than KZbin, but I may be wrong there.

[@xeroprotagonist]

Glad to see this series starting. I bought this game last year, I still haven't run a full campaign in it, I keep getting distracted by other games, but it's next on my list. I saw you had played it before when I started watching your Dominions videos and I was hoping you'd do another series of it.

[@battlemode]

It's probably the most popular game I play on the channel, by a long way too

[@OznerpaGMusiC]

A tip for picking unit color at game start - pick white or light grey. When you start the 1st turn, find each initial army HQ, click on 'Unit Admin' on the right side tab, and change the color of the HQ to black/blue/whatever. It's a lot easier to spot which units are with which HQ, and the SHQ/militia will be a neutral color

[@battlemode]

It's funny , I did use white for a long time and never realised there was white text with a brigade number identifier, but grey is probably a good bet, thanks!

[@TanakaRisingSun]

Nice tip! I'm assuming you cannot do this if you just start with militia?

[@OznerpaGMusiC]

@@TanakaRisingSun it works no matter what - 'unit color' is the base color for all your units, so if you choose white, the color of it's HQ stands out better

[@TanakaRisingSun]

@@OznerpaGMusiC I found the buttons but I don't think you can change the color unless you have an army. There is no change color button for me in the unit administration box. I start the game with militia not army.

[@OznerpaGMusiC]

@@TanakaRisingSun you are right, it has to be a non-SHQ HQ

[@OznerpaGMusiC]

The best research council to start with (on lvl3 tech start) is Economic - you need power badly and solar power is the answer. do not research ANYTHING until you have discovered solar power, you do not want the other tech trees to unlock until you discover what you want. Put ALL research councils at 95% research and 5% discovery - if you are not researching something then it all goes to discovery anyways

[@battlemode]

Depends on the start in my experience. If you are surrounded by hostiles and your models suck, economic council ain't gonna help you. I think Economic Council is a little greedy as a first council unless you are sure you are safe from an early attack, and even then you can lose a lot of troops to weak nomads

[@OznerpaGMusiC]

@@battlemode 100% true, depends on the situation of course. My thought is that Econ have 8 techs in Basic Techs to fish through, and odds are you will discover all the ones you don't want before the ones you need lol. Democracy you can get away with slower Econ research, but Meritocracy you need a lot of those techs to pump up your QoL

[@LeoPanther]

Nice, more Shadow Empire content.

[@battlemode]

Been a while!

[@jrherita]

Resisting the temptation of the Colossus class planet.. impressive :). (Side note - even “normal + nemesis” on a Moon is really difficult..). Will be watching this series - thanks Battlemode!

[@battlemode]

I want to play Colossus one day but it'd be too long for a Let's Play. And Moon was always brutally difficult, right from the re-release beta, I know a few people that went into that thinking it'd be an easy way to learn the game lol

[@edersonnico]

I don't remember this class. Is it from the DLC?

[@jrherita]

@@edersonnico its from a recent update - it might be beta, but it'll show under "additional". It works with or without DLC.

[@SerMattzio]

Looking forward to watching this playthrough and seeing what I can learn. I am a noob who started on a frozen desert planet myself and it's been brutal. Getting the economy going with next to no water is a constrant struggle. Then I was attacked by aggressive "Roader" nomads from the first few turns and have spent all my time trying to fight a massive motorised army with my crappy Line Troops hahaha.

[@MohamedWaheedAtef]

Watching many of your RotP videos, at 11:34 the way you say "barren" made me think "well you can always research control barren environments" 😆

[@battlemode]

Man, I need to play ROTP again, it's such a great game!

[@MohamedWaheedAtef]

@@battlemode Indeed! And your videos made me love it, I am yet to play it, and being a developer I appreciate what Ray did so much! Such a great project and great community 😉

[@JV-ib7gx]

Thank you for playing this amazing game, please play more of it!

[@battlemode]

I'll be back soon

[@abrosheen]

Excited to catch one of your Shadow Empire series right at the start!

[@battlemode]

Welcome on board!

[@valdimarinn]

Came here because of the poll! Decided to check it out to give you some engagement!

[@battlemode]

Thanks! Much appreciated :)

[@TheKazzerscout]

Oh wow I have stumbled upon your channel looking for in depth crunchy strategy games. This looks fascinating and I've never heard of it before.

[@battlemode]

Welcome to the channel, this is a good series, probably my best, I hope you enjoy it!

[@atreidesonthethames3715]

Awesome, I've played this update too and the AI is much better. I was adjusting the AI speed in the preferences to see how that changed their tactics and that makes a big difference too.

[@battlemode]

Yep I play on slowest AI speed. (or should be, I'll check that now...)

[@rogue7744]

Awesome stuff! Thank you for the videos!

[@battlemode]

Enjoy!

[@eddieballgame]

Always like me a good Shadow Empire series; especially by BATTLEMODE & DasTactic. :)

[@battlemode]

Cheers Eddie, good to see you!

[@jelliottii]

AWESOME !!! Happy to see this video/series :)

[@battlemode]

Cheers Jim! Happy to see you!

[@dannyroe1697]

Just trying to get into this game, love the content you have put together. new subscriber inbound!

[@battlemode]

Thank you, and welcome to the channel. Check the comments on the videos as there's a lot of great info from other players.

[@TheJoshman01]

I'm a huge fan of the private economy that is simulated. You can basically ignore it if you want, but if you nurture it and help it grow you can become an industrial powerhouse in the mid to late game.

[@battlemode]

Right, it was partly designed to be a way for people to avoid having to fiddle with the city management if they didn't want to. I love the simulation side of things, particularly how you can indirectly affect it in various ways

[@wojszach4443]

violence on massive scale? yes

[@battlemode]

You know it!

[@mishag.5358]

Hype

[@michaelcook2290]

Leader Doug Galliwalker looks like a super model.

[@battlemode]

Lol!

[@monksons]

Nice video. And I find the soundtrack sounds similar to Atomic Society's. It's pretty nice, eerie, etc. Also, you voice is very soothing to me...haha!

[@battlemode]

Haha thanks!

[@HansenSWE]

I tried playing this a few years ago. It was so different from what I expected that I only played a few hours and later got another game more of what I was looking for at the time. But I own it and I should have a look again one of these days. Maybe on a slow weekend.

[@battlemode]

Definitely set yourself aside two or three hours for your first go at it. It's likely the most complex strategy game on the market, and requires a real investment of time to learn well. But if you set it on Beginner (highly advised) much of the game's more complex systems are either automated or can be ignored until later, once you're ready for them. You should give it a try when you're ready for it, it's one of the best games ever made IMO.

[@PainFireFist]

Why does no KZbinr like the story modules? I always play with all of them on and I really like the additional content.

[@battlemode]

I tried them a few times and found them too disruptive. I strongly considered playing them this time but the v1.25 changes are enough new content this time. I might try one of them next time

[@PainFireFist]

@@battlemode Thanks for explaining. I personally think they give a lot of extra flavor, especially if you not only play the game as a war game.

[@TanakaRisingSun]

@@battlemode curious what you find disruptive about them? I actually found using them made the game easier as you get tons of bonus add ons for your military units I was swimming in them...

[@Mazth]

Happy you are doing a SE run again! Will take some time to catch up but I like watching more in batches anyways. Just a psa, if an unit has movement you don't HAVE to move it, readiness, entrenchment etc etc... 😉

[@battlemode]

Glad to have you on board! It's been a wild ride, best series I've ever done I reckon.

[@Mazth]

@@battlemode Tension from the start! But I have many episodes left so exited to see how you'll manage to get out of the first war =)

[@Rashagar]

This game passed me by entirely, I have no idea what I'm looking at but I'll give the series a go haha!

[@battlemode]

It's one of the finest strategy games ever made, and probably the most complex game I can think of. Dominions is also complex but that's due to the billions of combinations of possible plays that can be made because of the almost endless content in it, but Shadow Empire is probably three or four times more complex in terms of the sheer amount game mechanics there are in here.

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

@@battlemodewell not really the same 2 strategies win you every game. You maybe didnt have so many hours in the game to really understand the sadly quite bland system. Just build up as many cities ad possible, fully ignore the diplo and counter intelligence funds, first put anything into weapon and economy development, ignore and just please the Ministers(loyalty is all that counts in the game, the rest is just useless cosmetic numbers), then build up army as quickly as possible, do several drafts snd just keep population happiness at the bare minimum before revolts occur and then just steamroll the enemy with scouts combined with artillery and AA infantry. Mass artillery basically wins every battle without much losses at all Game was exciting in the times you need to understand it. But then the stupid AI and the super simple battle system really ruined it for me

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

Save your time its barely worth it. Maybe try but only as long as you get to learn the game

[@wojszach4443]

i wonder how it would look like to have 90% mountains

[@Ericshadowblade]

Incredbly rough but can be fun to play less surround and pound and more reletlessly shell with artillary

[@wojszach4443]

@@Ericshadowblade and remember,if your units do not break through its because of their lack of fighting spirit

[@battlemode]

I like high mountain percentage games

[@Blxz]

I got in on the ground level. Can't wait for another battlemode shadow empire series!

[@battlemode]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@tetapdua]

interior council is the real important leader,with high capabilities high iq and good admin skill, i always choose that at my 1st appointed member of cabinet. Choose enforcement all the times untill your IC can spend the efficiency drive to build up your credit, spend war games to make your field army leader become better, since i always go with democracy i always spend the cabinet retreat card all the times to improve all my leaders skills and improve relationship with them. After my credits reach 40k or more ,then i choose commerce, but the secret of effective private investment is not from high taxes but the higher population of a city. So any city under 100k population will not give much money.

[@battlemode]

Yup that's a great strategy on some maps for sure. I'm more inclined towards Meritocracy because I can't really handle the bad leaders you get with Democracy, but I do switch things up with each playthrough. I like Commerce early as it will eventually build a strong economy, unfortunately you will be dealing with low credits until you can get some Enforcement in.

[@Blxz]

I love commerce early. It's helpful when IC and metals are tight but you still need to kickstart the civilian economy and get the standard of living up.

[@Zoratoune]

I have never played or watched this game. Hopefully your explanations are enough to get me acquainted with the game mechanics !

[@battlemode]

This series is a bit hit and miss as a tutorial but if you do want anything explained, please ask in the comments and one of us will help you out!

[@jRsqILVOY]

I love how the planet type really affects the game - like I was playing an Earth-like planet and the Economic Council is less important as you have loads of water, food and most resources, but aeroplanes were really important.

[@battlemode]

Right, and each planet even within those planet types are going to be very different based on the random nature of their generation. v1.25 really changed things there, environmental hazards are way more serious and affect gameplay properly now, and the water stuff too.

[@Worweee]

About to get back into Shadow Empire myself after a break. Kind of annoyed I forgot a lot of stuff, but I am sure this series will help jog my failing memory.

[@battlemode]

I'm sure it'll find some way to kick you in the balls no matter what! But glad you're watching! Thanks ;)

[@0MVR_0]

really screwed up by neglecting to declare war from the first turn having the border that close to the city will cause a huge amount of discontent. When the front solidifies, then you can think about redeeming relations.

[@battlemode]

Haha nah, there'll be no danger from a friendly regime like that. Attacking them early is risky as you don't know what your other neighbours will be like. I've gotten tied up in a quick war before and had slavers roll in and there was nothing I could do about it, and with a YT series there's no reloading of game saves

[@0MVR_0]

@@battlemode if you say so. I might also be speaking from always using the aggressive diplomacy option

[@1Maklak]

I hate all the re-rolling the advanced players do. The challenge is to work with whatever the RNG gives me the first time around. Model Design is important, but it seems more important to get Economic and Military Councils first.

[@battlemode]

The debate about a first council will rage on, but the correct answer is "it depends" :D

[@1Maklak]

@@battlemodeWell, with Model Design you can immediately upgrade the Infantry to Carbines or get a second Model of something to roll for a better Structural Design or try to rush Light Tanks or something. None of that seems as appealing as working on padded envirosuits, rifles and solar power.

[@Figsak]

We are Soooo different... If I lose a game, I may not be actually physically throwing my mouse/controller, but I'm doing it in my mind. I've rage uninstalled more games than I can count. I envy your tolerance for failure.

[@battlemode]

I don't get frustration so much as demoralisation. I enjoy being beaten by a game if the following are true: a) the game was fun even while losing b) the game did something interesting that caused me to lose c) I learned something

[@TanakaRisingSun]

Always enjoy your SE series and learn a lot. I highly suggest the Moyer terrain mod at the Matrix games forums it is very immersive and much better than that washed out scene...

[@battlemode]

Thanks! Much appreciated :)

[@Dahostorynerd]

So looking forward to this series, I wonder how humans would function on a planet with a 13 hr day, would we stay awake for our normal 16 hours? Can’t wait to see what u pull off

[@battlemode]

I think humans would adapt fairly quickly! You're gonna enjoy this series, it's been the wildest one I've ever recorded, thought I was gonna lose it at one point.

[@jrherita]

For the Story modules - Do you dislike all 3? Or just wanted less distraction for this playthrough?

[@battlemode]

I don't dislike them, I just prefer to focus on the gameplay that's already in there, especially considering I've yet to play a game through in 1.25 and it's is so different now.

[@jrherita]

Just curious - what resolution are you playing at, and what UI scale settings in Shadow Empire? Thanks!

[@battlemode]

1440 desktop resolution with the resolution scaling set at 3/4 resolution (150% DPI). Previously the resolution scaling setting was really slow but an update about two years ago fixed it so it's silky smooth now.

[@PerfectDeath4]

I stopped using Militia only starts when I had like 2-3 slaver factions spawn as my neighbors at the very start who declared war on me by turn 2 or 3. xD

[@battlemode]

Yeah I think that was basically what happened to me too

[@edtazrael]

Me too. Got stomped in 3 games right at the start. So i put 1 army in every time.

[@gabrote42]

1:38 Gonna be a nice experience then.

[@battlemode]

It's been an equal mix of wonderful and harrowing!

[@wojszach4443]

republican knights? reminde me of patriotic knights cross from legend of the galactic heroes, classic of 80s

[@felix34ever1]

Man that show was so good

[@wojszach4443]

@@felix34ever1 and shadow empire gives off same vibes

[@wojszach4443]

i guess its time to watch this shai hulud of a series

[@battlemode]

Haha!" It's quite a monster yes, still ongoing although I'd say it's probably about 2/3rds of the way through IF I'm not defeated earlier.

[@wojszach4443]

@@battlemode and its still 60 hours

[@Tinyuvm]

I don't know why but I'm attratcted to making Desert Planets with scarce liquids where I can larp as a Water Baron of sorts 😂

[@battlemode]

I also like them. There's that Dune thing, and also the scarcity is attractive. I'm still thinking water is too abundant, particularly with that new card that replenishes the mine stocks, I'm considering banning myself from using that card but I'm not gonna make a decision until I've played it more.

[@Tinyuvm]

@@battlemode I'm the player that like more of the economic aspect of the game. With the new update you can't extract water as easily from lakes and bodies of water. There was a remarkable playthrough where most of my income came from selling water from a big lake inside my territory and a major was trying his best to get a share of that market by invading me. Little moments like that that make shadow empire awesome!

[@Bill_Garthright]

This is a great game! Now, I get bored with wargames, so I definitely like the simulation aspect of this one. Indeed, I tend to play it as a role-playing game. Well, we're recovering from the collapse, after all. But I haven't played it for awhile. Just too many games out there. (A great problem to have, huh?)

[@battlemode]

It is a great problem haha! We're in a golden age of gaming for sure.

[@adrianthompson5250]

Shouldn't you get a bit of recon on the units to the east before advancing any further? You have no idea what you're up against. I'd be building a buggy battalion or two for recon if I was you. They'll cover the ground quicker than your infantry too.

[@battlemode]

On this difficulty I prefer to have enough troops to cover my battle lines and the buggies are expensive, I've had too many games where I've lost because I got rushed early

[@KS-rq3og]

Hi! U Sir have a very pleasant voice!

[@battlemode]

Thanks a lot, I hope you enjoy the videos

[@KS-rq3og]

@@battlemode Only as long as U have fun making them. :)

[@Yarkoonian]

I miss the old portraits.

[@battlemode]

I didn't actually mean to use the new ones in this playthrough, I forgot to disable them :D I do quite like them though, so I'm not that bothered. The old ones were so bad but they grew on me over the years.

[@Yarkoonian]

@@battlemode new ones scream ai to me. Old ones are pleasing early 20s jank

[@tomkmb4120]

No idea what I’ve just stumbled upon

[@battlemode]

One of the better strategy games released in recent years

[@tomkmb4120]

@@battlemode I am absolutely intrigued by it....I've never played any table top hex based strategy games, which it seems closer to than a 'conventional' PC strategy game - do you think that could be a barrier to enjoyment? Also everything I've been reading seems like the learning curve is more of a vertical cliff face than anything - does the game make it hard for a new player/fan?

[@battlemode]

@@tomkmb4120 No it's not that difficult to learn but you do need to read the manual fairly early, and I'd strongly advise playing on the easiest difficulty setting, turn off all story events (corporations, crime syndicate etc) and just play. Avoid the DLC until you've gotten the hang of the base-game too, it's very advanced stuff and very difficult. The game has many features to easy new players in. Much of the complexity can be passed over on the easiest settings and you can just learn how to push counters around, figure out how to build stuff. If you need help, you can join the War of the World's discord, the Matrix Shadow Empire forums or Steam discussion groups, there are a lot of friendly people willing to help. But definitely, read the manual as you play.

[@scorpp149]

the character portraits are the worst i have ever seen in any game!

[@battlemode]

Eh, I've seen a lot worse than this :D