Shadow Empire: Ruthlessly Simplified Getting Started Guide

[@Destragond]

Some additional tips: 1: Another good recommendation for early councils is the interior council, especially the human resources slider to get more leaders. 2: If the name of a zone is "territory", it can be really dangerous. Not always, but most of the time these zones have strong units in them and need to be handled with care, probably by getting early MG OHQ brigades. 3: I don't think building the recycling asset on the first turn is a good idea, because it will suck up all your industry points. That means you're opening yourself up big time to be mauled by the two "territory" zones you started next to, because now you don't have the resources you need to get early defensive OHQs. Instead, I would recommend maybe getting a bureaucratic office, because it's cheap, or just saving up your resources in the first couple turns. Some more things that are pretty important to know for newbies: 4: Recon is incredibly important in this game. The accuracy of the victory chances in the battle screen depends vastly on how much recon you have on the hex that you're attacking into. To get more recon, play spies, get buggies, get motorbikes. 5: The game differentiates between discovering tech and researching tech. In the early game you should give discovery a bigger budget, because otherwise you might accidentally skip over some vital early game technologies. 6: You get more leaders through stratagems. Either increase the funding of your supreme command council's stratagem slider, or get an interior council like mentioned above.

[@danvern0]

Mechanically this game satisfies the sci-fi 4X planetary wargame niche quite well - so hopefully the new player experience gets ironed out a bit to help people get into it.

[@TheEdmon]

Agree. Getting started is tough. It's why I made this video.

[@swish5557]

3 years later I’m thinking about revamping this game to make the visuals better while keeping all the core gameplay mechanics and making basically an upgraded version of this game would you guys support me if I did this?

[@rueyashirogane2710]

Great video. I've watched a few of these beginner videos from other KZbinrs and this is by far the most informative for newcomers that strikes a fine balance between enough information to get you started while not overloading you with too much information that it overwhelms you. Highly recommended!

[@TheEdmon]

Thanks! I am glad you found it helpful.

[@OlStinky1]

Great job, this deserves to be THE beginner tutorial video for Shadow Empire.

[@TheEdmon]

Thanks :).

[@Handles_Are_Bad.Phuk-them-off]

Second

[@RenMomoDotPog]

have not watched video yet. however, I do want to say that before watching I am really glad there's a video out there that isn't 2 hours long on how to play this game. I literally wanna know just how to start, and that's it

[@TheEdmon]

It's a very complex game, but the basics can be covered in about 30 minutes or so...

[@ex-alpha]

I bought it last week with the new DLC and your video tutorial was extremely helpful!

[@TheEdmon]

Glad it helped :).

[@canniballistic555]

This was pretty helpful. I played an hour of this and did pick up a rough idea of how to play the game and do things but I couldnt figure out what my goals were, and thats exactly what was so helpful about this video.

[@TheEdmon]

Glad it helped you out :).

[@canniballistic555]

@@TheEdmon Need part 2 now that I got past the basics though lol.

[@delberry8777]

Yeah this video is better than DAS videos i.m.o. I like his voice and have watched videos of him for years but he's too long winded if you just want to get into something. Every time he spends like 30 minutes on just the settings or whatever. Discussing each slider in detail. By the time he says anything I couldn't have deduced myself my mind is somewhere else....Sorry now I'm complaining about DAS on your video...sorry TheEdmon (and DAS)...nice video! thinking more of buying it after this.

[@TheEdmon]

I am glad it helped you. Das does good work of course, it depends if what you are after is detail or just a quick guide.

[@SemperSalam]

For real. Just wasted an hour watching one of his vids that provided me with no necessary information.

[@vincemincevince]

hahahah so true

[@CamoflagedTumbleweed]

Thank you for this! Bought it and bounced off it, but this video gave me a push to give it another go. Thanks for making the entry point/first steps basic. (Wish they had planet seeds like Battle Brothers so I could play the same map for learning.)

[@TheEdmon]

Maybe I can share a map with you, something for me to think about.

[@CamoflagedTumbleweed]

@@TheEdmon that’d be great idea if possible. Maybe Google drive link or similar. I wonder if you saved on start turn 1, then posted save game? i dont know but that might work too.

[@BlueTemplar15]

@@CamoflagedTumbleweed In your *savedgames* folder, you should have a file named *lastplanetgenerated DOT se1*, which is created just before you get to the screen where you get to customize your names and flag. It's a good idea to make a copy of it ASAP, lest it be overwritten by your next generated planet !

[@Quilargo]

Good work, explained very well and you hit the right points- watched dozen of other vid, but they were too slow and für the beginning it its too frustrating to listen- with your tutorial i have instant more fun with this very good strategic game!

[@TheEdmon]

Great! Glad it helped you out.

[@eddieballgame]

For the 'beginner' players, they should play on the 'Beginner Difficulty Level'; this will ensure a Metal Resource close by. If one chooses to play on a higher Tech Level start (which would allow one to start with all the basic tech ) the usual 1st choice of the Economic Council need not apply. Depending on one's profile choices; the Interior Council, for example, can offer some early benefits as well.

[@TheEdmon]

I perfer to direct people to regular because starting with metal is something you get very used to, then when that is taken away it totally changes how the game is played. Causing you to need to totally relearn the beginning of the game. But people are free to choose beginner if they feel the game is too hard. I think the game is hard to understand, not hard as in really difficult, hence my advice.

[@eddieballgame]

​@@TheEdmon I don't disagree; but for new players & while factoring in the 'fun factor', per single player in particular, I see no harm in starting with an available metal resource. It helped to suck me into this great game. The relearning of the game per not starting with a metal resource is, really, not that difficult. Ok...maybe for some. :) But it does require some patience & adjustments in planning, as the challenge is greater. Overall though this & all of your videos per other titles are invaluable to us gamers...so carry on.

[@markroyer9828]

I actually set up two games now with eddie (and two others) and I did it on 'beginner' solely because we were novices. Getting all the raw game mechanics and system interactions under our belt is difficult enough, so I figured I'd go with that before raising the play difficultly level. I was not aware that a "feature" of the next difficultly level was no automatic nearby metal - now I look forward to playing that as I thought it strange we always had metal nearby. Nevertheless, it might be worth first timers to play through once or twice on beginner before moving up as there is so much other stuff to figure out.

[@rockhopper01]

Just picked this up on Steam, thanks for the video sir!

[@TheEdmon]

Get ready to lose tons of hours to this monster...

[@crankycorvid2090]

21:49 Transport Hubs provide no value to the private economy since they don't produce credits or items. In addition, Transport Hubs and Truck Stations lose efficiency when they need to route through another building that produces truck points, and since the public sector version also has a much longer logistics range, it's best to nationalize the starting Transport Hub once you start needing extra logistics. For the Scavenging building and the Dome-Farm, there's no pressing need to nationalize the former if you start next to more ruin hexes, though the Rare Metals income from nationalizing can be lucrative if you can't just build more Recycling Centers, and nationalizing the farm is usually pointless since you're just taking away food from the civilian population that they're going to need to eat either way.

[@TheEdmon]

Well like I said, it is a bad idea to nationalize these things normally. Expensive too. This guide is all about stripping away the detail of the decision making, when people really understand the game they will make their own choices. The civilian transport hub provides, so far as I know, the method by which free people more easily arrive at your city. Helping it grow. So I tend to leave it alone as well. Rather just build my own truckstop and supply bases for the early and mid game. This has worked fine for me up until and beyond turn 100.

[@eddieballgame]

@@TheEdmon Admittedly, I was always quick to 'nationalize' my transport hub. I never thought about the importance (or if it even played a factor) in transporting 'free folk' to my city/cities. Nice catch 'TheEdmon' ...need to rethink this. :)

[@crankycorvid2090]

​@@TheEdmon This is the first time I've ever heard anything about private transport hubs being relevant for population migration, so if you have any evidence for that being the case, I'd be interested to know.

[@TheEdmon]

@@crankycorvid2090 It was an off the cuff comment I heard, looking at it deeply now that you've mentioned it, the issue may simply be that the truck stop provides 2.1k private jobs. Which boosts the attractiveness of your private sector and therefore attracts people to your city, though only a little bit compared to the 40k of the food buildings. Nationalizing reduces happiness which also impacts population growth via Free Folk. Digging deeply, I think the impact overall is likely to be minor outside of the very early game. Still, no real harm in making your early logistics just outside of your city tile.

[@Destragond]

I'd pretty much always recommend to nationalise the starting scavenging building ASAP and to do the same with the transport hub later when you need more logistics, instead of building another truck station. The rare earths you get from nationalising the scavenger can be a ton of money (which in turn you can use to buy more normal metal) and having it nationalised also means you can upgrade it, which is more worker efficient than building a second level 1 scavenging asset.

[@faintsmile363]

The first time I played this game it reminded me of the first time I played CK2

[@TheEdmon]

They both have that incomprehensible game learning period when you first play them, for sure.

[@TheTaurus502]

Yes, this helped. This is a very useful video for us beginners. Thanks

[@hundun5604]

23:50 Q. about metal. What if you don't have ruins in your empire, or nearby? Use Market, mining? Is there something else to gain metal?

[@TheEdmon]

It's going to be super hard without metal. You can trade for it, but finding some will be an urgent priority.

[@whitefox25]

Great video would love one that is more in depth and goes on past turn 3 and explains a little more of the detail and complexity of the game

[@TheEdmon]

There is a lot of stuff out there by DasTactic that covers the depth of the game. But I will give it some thought if I ever start a full campaign.

[@scottdaniels4981]

@@TheEdmon DasTactic does a great job, but I would definitely watch more in depth videos by you. You get the main points across without going too in depth and overwhelming me.

[@TheEdmon]

@@scottdaniels4981 Thanks, I am glad you like my teaching style :).

[@wabdab3459]

Bruh, Earth 2150 and Ground Control? Nice channel

[@TheEdmon]

Check out the playlists section :). Lots of hardest campaigns in there...

[@strangerstranger8360]

Excellent starting guide! Thank you!

[@TheEdmon]

Glad it was helpful!

[@joelmitchell7597]

This is excellent, thank you.

[@TheEdmon]

My pleasure.

[@Grenbork]

Unique blend of 4x and wargame, and probably my favorite game of 2020, but still, i think whole personal relationship management layer feels tacked on. It doesnt really provides you with meaningful rewards - only annoying nuisances which you have to deal with. I feel they should have either made it optional (like modules stuff), or went full CK2 on it.

[@TheEdmon]

Yeah, it does feel like it is just a system you fight so you can get on with the actual fun stuff, I.E. the building and warfighting.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Super helpful, thanks!

[@jessep3571]

Hi, I don't know if you are still responding to these, but does the hex perk need a road running to it? In game it states when you click on them that they do but I could just be misunderstanding them.

[@TheEdmon]

A building does but I do not believe a perk does. I know for certain that hex perks that provide power, people, etc. Do not need a road.

[@jessep3571]

@@TheEdmon thanks, it said connected to the zone, I wasn't sure what that meant.

[@myziot]

Thanks!

[@TheEdmon]

Thank you! :). Not every day (or even every year) that someone donates on youtube. :).

[@myziot]

@@TheEdmonI wish more tutorials had that option out there.. Not every channel/video has that option! I do that especially for good value tutorials. These should be rewarded!

[@Dedmaroz69]

Great video

[@TheEdmon]

I am glad you found it helpful :).

[@herbertbrown8683]

Excellent

[@TheEdmon]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@osucarus4337]

The ruthlessly simplified took 30 mins

[@TheEdmon]

It's a very, very complicated game. Das's guides to this are hours long, for example.

[@uncletimo6059]

effort post vidya have an upboat

[@TheEdmon]

Danks

[@Salaci]

My games ai turns are taking forever! Anyway to fix this?

[@TheEdmon]

Not that I know of.

[@ConsortiumOfTheBrain]

having a lot of fauna causes the games ai to drag. i always roll till i get no apex life forms to make the ai turns pas faster

[@duranium4445]

Upgrade your pc.

[@Riterdando]

Version 1.09 at least has an option called "Give AI more time to think" which can be ticked off.

[@Blxz]

At the end you say that militia decrease over time as you build regular forces. You also spend the entire video saying that industry is king and that small territory is acceptable early on. So, why would you waste your limited industry on military at the expense of your 'free' military when you could instead spend that industry on building up your economy while relying on the militia to cover you until a tangible threat is encountered?

[@TheEdmon]

Because at the start of the game, taking other people's industry (and metal mines) is vastly more important and faster than building your own. On harder difficulty, you don't even start with a metal mine, meaning you *must* capture an enemy city asap or you will fall so far behind you'll never recover.

[@Blxz]

@@TheEdmon good reasoning, appreciate the explanation. You didn't cover much of that in the video itself which was a shame.

[@TheEdmon]

@@Blxz The game has massive depth. Honestly this guide is just to help you get started and keep you alive and early military will help you achieve that. Yeah, I wanted to do more guides to this but there is never enough time in the universe to do everything I want to do :(.