Join the Alpha Test for Epimethean Challenge!

[wraith]

Are you a fan of classic 4X games and old-school play-by-mail strategy? If so, we have something special for you. Epimethean Challenge is a new game inspired by the original 1978 rulebook for Empyrean Challenge, the ambitious and legendary PBM game from Strategic Simulations. While it draws heavily from the spirit of the original, this is an all-new game—built from scratch, with no legacy code—designed to bring back the deep, strategic gameplay of its predecessor.

Right now, the game is in a rough alpha state, and we're looking for a small group of dedicated testers willing to dive in, explore the mechanics, and provide feedback. Expect a hands-on experience—this test game will be mostly hand-moderated, with turn orders and reports handled through Discord. If you enjoy working through the quirks of an early-stage game and helping shape its future, we'd love to have you aboard.

The test game officially begins on March 8 15h, and we’re keeping it small to make feedback and iteration easier. If you’re interested, join the Epimethean Challenge Alpha Test on Discord at https://discord.gg/6Gjfus84. Whether you’re a veteran PBM gamer or just love the depth of classic strategy games, this is your chance to help rebuild a legend.

Come be part of gaming history—again!

[GrimFinger]

It is as complex as Empyrean Challenge?

[wraith]

It is as complex as Empyrean Challenge?

EC went through almost continual upgrades during the 30+ years that it was active. This version uses the original set of rules, so it's fair to say that it's not as complex as later versions. It's also not as balanced and there are fewer units to fiddle around with.

I don't know how it would compare to other games from 1978. The mechanics are fairly straight-forward: gather resources, transport them to factories, build things, conquer the known worlds. Combat is abstract, economics are rather flat, and there are no lines-of-supply. It requires some planning to build and there are a lot of units to track.

My personal opinion is that game reviewers conflated number of pages in a turn report with complexity of the game's mechanics.

If you're wondering why I'm doing this, it's to let people play a game that is similar to something that was popular back in the day. Doesn't matter it if succeeds, it's what I do for fun.

[wraith]

I need to push the start to the 15th of March. Ran into a lot of issues this week and don't want to rush. On the bright side, more time for testers to sign up.

[wraith]

From the Discord:

I think the first four turns should go fairly quickly since no one is starting with ship engines in inventory. They take a year (four turns) to produce, then on the fifth turn everyone will likely have a ton of questions on how to use CNW units to build ships. Which may not be true - someone will notice that you don't have to build ships in space (the USS Enterprise was built in the canyonlands of Iowa in the Kelvin universe, right?), so one could start on the hull and then fit the engines on turn 5.