Dawn of Andromeda - gamescom Preview

Dawn of Andromeda, developers Grey Wolf Entertainment tells me, is a 4X game about making choices. A real-time empire-builder set in space, the game is focused on providing an immersive experience of being a galactic emperor. The game creates a galaxy that will be full of “artefacts, ruins, anomalies and fascinating elements”, says the developers, offering a range of asymmetric gameplay options.

In the preview shown to GameGrin at gamescom the developers showed off the game’s impressive graphical details and galaxy-spanning setting. Stars and clusters fill the screen, all of them explorable and each one unique - not every race in the game is a space farer and not every race starts out at the same rate the player does. You’re as likely to bump into a fledgling species as you are a system-gobbling empire.

Diplomacy is dependent on your standing in the universe. Alien AI will treat you with the respect that your might in the galaxy deserves. Some may mock you and others might tremble in fear. All of these things will progress in real time as your empire does. Influence can be spent to muscle your way into trade deals, non-aggression pacts and more. Each race in the game can also be customised, edited and recreated to suit the player.

Planets in your empire will create income, expenses and resources. A detailed screen shows just how your planet is thriving - from a collection of small pre-fab buildings to a bustling cityport. Interestingly, the view you get will also change depending on the season currently underway on the planet.

Combat between empires is conducted in real-time, with small detailed spacecraft darting around each other in the great tableau of a solar system. In the preview there wasn't much to be seen of large-scale battleships but they have been promised by the developers. Dawn of Andromeda looks like a promising 4X title for the fan that likes customisability and replayability. The game is slated for release on Steam in Q4 2016.