Distant Worlds: Universe Reviews

Well what can I say. I had this game in my library for a couple of years reluctant to start playing as it seemed overwhelming. Boy was I wrong and wish I'd started earlier. Everything can be adjusted to your playstyle. Heck you can even automate everything and just explore the galaxy Star Trek style. To get the game to run on win 11 just go to the setup ini file and change the intro video to 0 rather than 1 so that it skips the video at the start avoiding a crash.

I cannot get this game to work. I checked all the boxes on the support tab and searched the web for fixes. It opens in task manager but then fails. Please comment if you can help

For all those who encounter a crash on startup: try editing startup.ini in the game folder. Change "Play Movie 1" to "Play Movie 0". After putting more than 750 hours into this game over more than 10 years, I am finally ready to write a review. This is it. The space 4x strategy game that I keep coming back to among all the others. I have played Stellaris, Sins of a Solar Empire, Masters of Orion, StarDrive, Endless Space, even space 4x games as far back as Spaceward Ho! and Stars!, which probably gives away my age. I've even played through Distant Worlds 2 (though not since some major updates were made). None of them keep me coming back time and again like Distant Worlds Universe. The graphics are 2D, and fairly simple by today's standards. The UI is complex and often difficult to understand. The learning curve is very steep. Planet management is a bit lighter and less involved than other space 4X games. With such a huge barrier for new players, why then do I put it at my #1 spot? I have a lot of reasons. Grand Scale: Galaxies can have up to 1500 stars, each with their own system of planets, asteroid fields, resources, ancient artifacts, ruins, and the occasional primitive civilization. Sprinkled between those stars are anomalies, space monsters, abandoned star bases, derelict ships (which you can repair or salvage for research), a rich history of a galactic war that happened centuries ago, and a looming threat of the return of a savage species. Control Customization: You can take full control and micromanage every little detail throughout the game. Or, you can handle a single starship flying around the galaxy while the AI handles everything else in your empire. Or anything in between. Heroes: Leader (one per faction), ship captains, fleet admirals, planet governors, scientists, spies, ambassadors. Each with their own set of perks and drawbacks. Some scientists might be very skilled in one or more areas of research, but might also be a foreign spy, which gives other factions a much greater chance of stealing research from you. A fleet admiral might be an excellent tactician, leading to greater targeting accuracy and damage, but might also be a drunkard, leading to slower hyper drive speed and greater ship maintenance costs. Espionage: Distant Worlds Universe has the most involved, compelling, and choice-rich espionage system of any space 4X I've played. Each mission requires that you send one of your hero spies (no nameless, disposable spies in this game!), and a mission failure is a very real loss--if your spy is captured, he's gone for good, along with all of the work you've put into carefully developing his skills. And if your last spy is lost, then you are unable to perform any espionage missions until a new agent appears! Ship Design: I've seen many different ship designers in space 4x games. Some are decent, some feel really dumbed-down (I'm looking at YOU, Endless Space!). But Distant Worlds and StarDrive have by far my favorite ship design mechanics. You can design a ship literally any way you want! You can create a flying fuel cell with barely enough hull to protect the crew from the void of space, designed to speed out and scout distant areas while still making it back with any fuel to spare. You can create colony ships with double capacity to give you a head-start in a new colony. How about a missile boat that deliberately stays at long range to pelt enemies with a shower of long-range missiles? (Yes, you can give each ship class specific directives on how to behave when encountering enemies.) Design star bases, construction platforms, research facilities, resort hotels (yes, your people need entertainment too!), mining outposts, deep space observatories (for spying on enemy factions or getting early-warning notice when enemy fleets are inbound), and orbital defense platforms to help protect your colonies from surprise invasions. Just like with ship design, base design is wide open as to what components you want to put into each base type. Scientific Research: There are three entirely different research sections: Weapons/Armor/Tactics, Energy/Construction, and High Tech/Science. You can conduct one research project from each of them simultaneously. The speed at which they are researched depends on the size of your population, along with the specific skills of your scientist heroes and how much research "capacity" you have constructed (in the form of research facilities). Exploration: With a vast galaxy, limited fuel, and warp speed requiring research before use, in the early game just exploring your own starting solar system is exciting, as you discover what resources are available and try to find that oh-so-elusive "warp field precursors" data left on one of your system's planets by the few survivors of a centuries-old galactic war. Early research advancements in fuel capacity, engine thrust, and directional thrust are critical in how efficiently you explore and exploit the resources available in your home system. By the time you are ready to leave the cradle and travel to nearby stars, exploration starts all over again with your first barely warp-capable scouts travelling and discovering critical fuel-resources in order to extend your empire's reach. In fact, exploration is viable and fun throughout the early- and mid-game, and by the time you hit end-game, your scout ships' purposes shift to being deep-space scanners to be able to see through the fog of war. I could go on: Race variety. Diplomacy. Resource mining/management. Planet-destroying super weapons. Fuel management. Race-unique win conditions. This game is a dream for those who love this genre. Buy this game. Have the patience and courage to get past the obtuse user interface and complex game mechanics, and you will find a gem of a game where I, after more than a decade of play later, am still learning new things.