Dawn of Andromeda Early Access Starting Soon

Dawn of Andromeda has a lot of competition, and a lot to live up to if it wants to leave its mark on 2016. It is a shorter 4X game that has real-time combat happening fluidly on a zoomable galaxy map. The inclusion of a faster game pace, star lanes, and multiplayer all focus Andromeda on competitive play.

I’m in 4X heaven right now, and currently enjoying simultaneous games of Stars in Shadow, Masters of Orion (4), Endless Space 2 and even Stellaris again (with mods). These four very different titles have already carved a niche for themselves in many Space 4X gamer’s hearts, and if you include 4X games in general, with Civ VI entering the equation, you start to see the problem.

So what does Andromeda bring to the party that’s going to make it a contender in 2016’s? Frankly, not that much. It’s quite hard to judge Andromeda accurately right now. Watching recent playthroughs has shown me that there’s a lot of content still to be added and a lot of testing still to be done. In short, Dawn of Andromeda has not finished cooking yet.

If used correctly Early Access can do two things: it can flesh out a game to its full potential (Space Engineers did this well, adding more and more content as players demanded it); or it can refine a game, adding polish, and focusing its mechanics to be as effective as possible.

I hope Grey Wolf Entertainment (Dawn of Andromeda’s devs) makes good use of Early Access. What matters most for the game right now, is patience and quality. If it can come through EA as a polished product, then very soon the gamers engrossed in 2016’s great 4X games will welcome 2017’s best titles too.

Dawn of Andromeda is coming to Steam Early Access on the 1st of December this year.

Official Press Release

Publisher Iceberg Interactive announces today that their 4x space RTS ‘Dawn of Andromeda’ (PC) will launch on Steam’s Early Access program on December 1^st 2016. Earlier this year the game enjoyed a very successful closed beta program, accumulating tremendous feedback and suggestions from a dedicated group of testers. Having taken giant strides forward since then, and having undergone extensive Quality Assurance, developer Greywolf Entertainment is now eager to put the current advanced beta in front of a much wider audience, in Early Access. Given the remaining development roadmap and gamer requests, they currently anticipate the game to stay there for around three months, releasing in March 2017.

Iceberg Interactive CEO Erik Schreuder says: “Despite the avalanche of releases occurring in Q4, we feel that Dawn of Andromeda stands out from the crowd and is polished enough to take the leap during this busy window. It has been quite a while since a solid and engaging 4x space RTS title has emerged between the many turn-based competitors and we expect many real-time 4x strategy fans to jump on board and grab their chance to make an impact.”

Dawn of Andromeda, is a pausable, real-time space 4X game focused on providing a fun, immersive and accessible experience, as it allows you to build your empire, colonize new planets, interact with other factions and characters, research new technologies and build fleets so powerful your enemies will tremble. On top of that, the game brings you a galaxy filled with diverse factions, outlaws, merchants, pirate clans and mercenaries but also anomalies, black holes, ancient artifacts, ruins and much more.

Publisher Iceberg Interactive will launch Dawn of Andromeda on Steam Early Access at a price point of $24,99. For more information on the game, please visit the official website http://www.dawnofandromeda.com or check out the Steam page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/427570

Be the emperor!

Andromeda has seen quieter days, and it’s up to you to take the reins of one of many civilizations and guide it through the myriad dangers hiding in the galaxy. Build your empire, colonize new planets, interact with other factions and characters, research new technologies and build fleets so powerful, your enemies will tremble.

Explore a galaxy filled with diverse factions, outlaws, merchants, pirate clans and mercenaries but also anomalies, black holes, ancient artefacts, ruins and much more. Arriving in a new system may provide new opportunities or open up Pandora´s Box.

Are you up to the challenge?

Features

· Explore, expand, exploit and exterminate in this real-time space strategy game, featuring real-time combat in a dynamic and ever-evolving galaxy.
· New factions and characters can join the fray mid-game; artefacts, ruins, anomalies and a huge variety of fascinating elements are scattered throughout the galaxy and can yield new research opportunities. Various characters such as outlaws, merchants, travelers and others roam the galaxy.
· Asymmetric gameplay. Not all races discover space travel at the same time, some may have yet to discover it, some may have already built a mighty empire, and some races may be naturally stronger than others. However if you’d rather prefer a traditional 4X experience and start an entirely symmetric game, it’s up to you.
· Pre-designed, customizable and randomly generated races, each with their unique backgrounds and traits.
· Accessible gameplay, featuring a highly-intuitive User Interface.
· Eras; unique scenarios, each with a pre-designed galaxy and background stories which you can play as one of the existing factions, each with their own victory conditions, traits, challenges and ongoing conflicts and relationships. (Not Available at the start of EA)
· Research incredible technology, from weapons so powerful they can destroy an entire planet, to Dyson Spheres
· Explore ruins, anomalies and much more. You may even find artifacts you can study, projects you can start and come across interesting events and quests you can take on.
· In depth diplomacy system. Make allies and enemies, but beware, each action you take can change how the rest of the galaxy will view you. Destroying an entire planet, or just praising or denouncing another race, can have a deep impact on the balance of the entire galaxy.
· Reduce micromanagement by appointing governors to your colonies and council members to your empire, all of whom can be leveled up. Each come with their own unique traits, happiness and experience.
· Multiple, customizable victory conditions, which can even be set to vary for each faction, changing how the each faction operates and making for unpredictable friends and foes.