Exodus: Event Horizon

At war with the Centaurian Stronghold
about 7 years ago – Wed, Feb 15, 2017 at 10:52:25 PM

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Introduction to the Centaurian Stronghold scenario continues. Today, Rainer walks you through the new opposition you'll meet on the way to common victory (or defeat), and demonstrates the differences between playing the cooperative and semi-cooperative scenario.

Enjoy, and have a great day!

The New Adversaries

The Centaurian Stronghold scenario features two new adversaries — the Stronghold itself and Warship Squadrons.

The Stronghold is represented by a new central hex. In fact, the Stronghold is the central hex, making travel through the central hex no longer possible.

This massive alien ship megastructure has a nearly impenetrable defense system. Its shields are strong and unyielding and its turrets will bombard the players if they engage it in combat.

On top of this, the Stronghold will send out waves of Warships Squadrons. These ships have movement of their own and will pursue the players’ ships on the board. While they are not individually as deadly as the Stronghold, they are a most formidable foe sure to lay waste to an unprepared player fleet.

There are two ways to lose the game:

• If all Warship Squadron tokens are on the board at the same time.
• If the Centaurian Stronghold remains undefeated at the end of the final turn of the game.

In order to win the game you must defeat the Centaurian Stronghold, while keeping the Warship Squadrons at bay.

Warship Squadrons

While Centaurian Warship Squadrons function much like Centaurian Resistance fleets, they are not considered Centaurian Resistance. You will use a number of Warship Squadron tokens equal to three times the number of players.

During a special Centaurian Stronghold Activation Stage, the Stronghold will deploy waves of Warship Squadrons. All Warship Squadrons currently on the board will then move towards the closest player’s ships. If any Warship Squadrons share a hex with one or more player ships, a battle is immediately resolved.

Cloaking is ineffective against the Centaurian Warship Squadrons.

In a previous update, we talked about how the Centaurian Resistance has increased in difficulty. Not only are the Warship Squadrons one step tougher than any Strong Fleet, they have even more powerful cannons and shields! In addition to the Resistance Cards you will reveal to determine the overall strength of a Warship Squadron, they receive a fixed damage and shield bonus. The shield bonus is equal to the current Warship Squadron level and will therefore scale as the game progresses.

Since the Warship Squadrons are engaging the players in waves, only one Warship Squadron can be defeated each combat round, even if more Warship Squadron tokens remain in the hex! Extra damage beyond what is necessary to defeat the Warship Squadron does not carry over or apply to any remaining Warship Squadron.

Attacking the Centaurian Stronghold

The defense mechanisms of the Stronghold are directly linked to the Warship Squadrons. The Stronghold can only be attacked if there are no Centaurian Warship Squadron tokens anywhere on the board.

The Stronghold can be attacked from any hex adjacent to the Stronghold hex. Combat against the Stronghold is very similar to Warship Squadron combat, except even more challenging.

You never reveal any Resistance Cards to determine the strength of the Centaurian Stronghold. Instead, it has a fixed cannon strength of 8 and a shield power of 8 … plus the shield power bonus based on the current Game Turn! Not only will the players have a reduced chance of hitting the Stronghold — each combat round, in addition to any damage inflicted by the Stronghold damage roll, its turrets will deal 1 damage to each player ship participating in the combat!

The Centaurian Stronghold uses Level tokens instead of Warship Squadron tokens to indicate its remaining strength. Only one Level can be defeated each combat round.

Things just got very real and very dangerous! It is clear that they aim to purge humans from the Centauri system. Humanity’s survival is at stake!

Will you be able to save humanity from ultimate destruction? Are you ready to take on this unmatched threat?

There are several ways you can combat the Centaurians:

In the fully cooperative mode, you enlist the help of your fellow players as you work together to eliminate the alien threat. You win or lose together. You must make wise decisions in order to survive.

In the semi-cooperative mode, you still have the threat of the Centaurian Stronghold and its waves of Warship Squadrons. However, their overall strength has been dialed back to allow each player to also pursue individual victory. In this game mode, the Stronghold must still be defeated; however, once the threat has been eliminated, only the most successful player will stand victorious. How much will you contribute to humanity’s survival? There are valuable rewards available to those who bravely take on and eliminate the Centaurian adversaries.

Finally, in Solo play, you will have to stand up against the Centaurians alone. This is the ultimate test the Exodus universe has to offer.

In the next update we will examine cooperative play!

Birth of an expansion, and a peek at its first module
about 7 years ago – Wed, Feb 15, 2017 at 09:43:16 AM

Ladies and Gentlemen!

We are proud to give you the first of many updates from Rainer Åhlfors, the lead designer of Event Horizon. Here's how the expansion came to be - with an added bonus of delving into its first module:

How the Event Horizon expansion came to be is a unique story in itself. In the summer of 2015, as copies of Edge of Extinction were being delivered to Kickstarter backers, I eagerly played my copy as soon as it arrived. Even before the release of Edge of Extinction, Exodus: Proxima Centauri was my favorite game of all time. Naturally, I had high hopes for the expansion.

It is no secret that Edge of Extinction was a success! Reviewers and gamers alike agreed that the expansion took the game to the next level. Its seamless integration with the base game; the staggering amount of new experiences it had to offer, but without necessarily making the game more complex; the flavor and asymmetry of the factions; the way the expansion simply made the game better, in all aspects — all of this made for a very good addition to an already great game.

I was over the moon! Edge of Extinction was everything I had hoped it would be, and more!

My mind was running wild with hopes and ideas for what might come in a future expansion. Not only had Exodus: Proxima Centauri become more solidified as my number one game, its relevance as a prominent game had become reaffirmed.

I took notes of some of the thoughts and ideas I had. As time passed, I returned to my notes to make comments and develop the ideas further. After a few short months, I decided to share these ideas with one of the game's original designers, Andrei Novac. I really had no specific expectations with regards to the response. Maybe other expansion ideas were already in the works, or maybe he and the team at NSKN Games had altogether different ideas of where things should go next.

To my pleasant surprise, Andrei responded that he liked my ideas and asked that I would elaborate on how I envisioned them fitting into the game. After a few exchanges back and forth, I was asked to co-design an expansion with him! I had never expected such a response! The thought of my humble ideas making their way into an actual expansion for my favorite game was beyond anything I could have hoped for.

As time went by, ideas were developed into game mechanisms. Structure and balance began to form, and each idea grew into its own module. Over time, Andrei's liking for what I brought to the table grew into confidence that I could simply design the expansion on my own, while remaining true to the spirit of the base game. With that, he also asked that I increase the number of modules, to ensure viability as a large-box expansion, and to provide more enjoyment and value for any gamer who would acquire the expansion.

The order of the modules, as they are laid out in the expansion, does not reflect the order in which they were developed. Instead, they are presented in Event Horizon in a way that makes them easier to digest and implement for players. Over the next couple articles, I will present each module along with a bit of explanation of the process that went into its development, from early idea to final design.

Today, we will take a peek at the first module in Exodus: Event Horizon.

Module 1 — Bonus Actions

This module was actually one of the last to be added to Event Horizon. While the rules that accompany this module are extremely brief, its relevance should not be neglected. Bonus Actions are already part of the base game and play an important part in the overall game play. This module adds new cards to the mix.

One of the Bonus Action cards is a reimplementation of an older promo card (Supplies), although it has been updated and balanced to better fit with the rest of Event Horizon.

The other Bonus Actions are brand new and provide some very important benefits previously not available to the players "on demand". At first glance, the new Bonus Actions may not seem overly exciting. Of course, they were not necessarily designed to be exciting, only to be useful. Properly used, they can provide a valuable boost, especially when considering interaction with the other modules.

Accelerated Cloning allows you to immediately gain 2 Population on your Home Planet. This additional Population is an important boost for both Reactions and colonizing of new planets.

Nanobots with their ability to repair your ships can be a welcome boon after a particularly devastating round of combat or when fighting against the ever stronger and bolder Centaurians.

Additional Supplies can provide you with a timely Upgrade you desperately need and perhaps otherwise could not afford. However, ensure to Research the desired Technology first!

Exploring the Void - Part 3
about 7 years ago – Wed, Feb 15, 2017 at 03:55:43 AM

Ladies and Gentlemen!

The final installement of Rainer's introduction to Event Horizon's new exploration component is here! We hope you enjoy your read and - as always - that you will have a great day!

Exploration and New Challenges — Part 3

Previously we examined how the Centaurian Resistance has always been an integral part of the Exodus experience, with Event Horizon escalating the conflict between humans and Centaurians.

It is time to realize that the Centaurians mean business. Not only has space combat become more challenging. Now, Centaurian Outposts pose a threat on the planets themselves. Just as the Centaurians actively fight against the spread of human influence and control in space, that same resistance against human control and exploitation can now be found on the planets themselves in the form of Centaurian Outposts.

Centaurian Outposts was the name of the very first module that took shape in what is now Exodus: Event Horizon. The inspiration behind this module was multifaceted from the start. In the Exodus universe, humanity was rebuilt on the ashes of a former Centaurian empire. A Centaurian remnant would oppose human expansion and was waging combat in space, yet the planets were seemingly undefended and empty. And thus the idea was born.

The desire for a planetary version of the Centaurian Resistance held so much potential! There would be surface combat; another source of victory points and other valuable rewards; an alternative to building a large fleet of ships; increased thematic depth and immersion.

The Centaurian Outposts

Fans of Exodus: Proxima Centauri (myself included) have long desired for ground combat to be represented in the game. I also wanted to provide options for scoring victory points and gaining access to valuable abilities and technological rewards without requiring players to focus on space combat, especially with the escalated Centaurian Resistance featured in Event Horizon.

On the other hand, ground combat would have to be implemented in a way that provides a meaningful challenge, powerful and interesting rewards (on par with those provided by defeating Centaurian Resistance ships), but without placing unnecessary strain on actions and resources. Since expansion onto new planets is also a necessary aspect of Exodus, I did not want the players to feel forced to research certain Technologies or alter their overall game strategy.

Of the modules introduced in Event Horizon, this one is certainly the most challenging, greatly increasing the overall dangers posed by the game itself, while also increasing the need for each player to properly manage their resources and actions. Fortunately, you will have several ways to manage the Centaurian Outpost threat.

You can research powerful new Technologies specifically geared toward ground combat. Additionally, your Fighter ships may lend suborbital support in combat against the Centaurian Outposts. Lastly, the more Population you deploy onto a planet, the better you will be able to neutralize the Outpost threat.

During the Upkeep Stage, each player places 1 additional Population cube on their Home Planet. Awesome! More Population means a stronger military force. Alternatively, you can choose to spend your population to perform more Reactions, colonize more planets, etc.

Centaurian Outpost combat itself happens during the Conquest Stage. Immediately after successfully deploying Population onto a planet with a face-down Centaurian Outpost token, flip the token face up. If the token is blank, remove it from the game. Otherwise, engage in combat with the Centaurian Outpost.

In the base game, there are 6 Technologies which directly deal with space combat, and a handful of others which can be argued are related. On top of that, you need to build ships, buy upgrades, repair your ships, etc. There are only 4 Technologies related to surface combat. Individually, they are cheaper and more powerful than their space combat counterparts. You have the ability to cloak, avoiding combat altogether. One technology lets you roll 1 additional die against the Centaurian Outposts. Another technology reduces the amount of damage taken when the Outpost attacks. The final technology counts all results of 4 or better as successful hits. Together, these techs cost a mere 28 CP. Each Technology provides an immediate benefit and do not require planetary Upgrades to use. In your fight against the Centaurian Outposts you can research one, some, all, or none of the new Technologies and still be successful. It is up to you, the player, to weigh your options and to decide the strategy that suits you best.

To further enhance your ability to combat the Centaurian Outposts, you may also take advantage of existing Technologies and features. You may find that Civilian Ships are more useful than before. Turn Order will also play a role in Centaurian Outpost Combat. Finally, the mere presence of one or more of your Fighter ships will also make the Outposts easier to defeat.

Centaurian Outpost combat is streamlined and simple.

When attacking a Centaurian Outpost, you roll a number of dice equal to 1 + the number of Population you have on the planet. The Infrastructure tech lets you roll one additional die. If you have at least one Fighter ship in the hex, roll one additional die.

Unlike combat between ships, a single attack roll constitutes Centaurian Outpost combat. To defeat the Outpost you must, in a single roll, score a number of hits equal to or greater than its level (1 or 2). If you win, collect rewards and remove the Outpost token from the game! In case of defeat, the Outpost attacks.

Overall, this module was designed to add as much theme, immersion, and value as possible, but without introducing new mechanisms or slowing down the game. Yes, using Centaurian Outpost combat will marginally lengthen the game. However, you will find that it is intuitive and flows smoothly.

Centaurian Outpost combat has been kept as close to Centaurian Resistance combat as possible, with differences implemented only to improve and streamline the experience.

Centaurian Resistance combat uses technologies and upgrades to improve your combat prowess. Centaurian Outpost combat uses fewer technologies and does not rely on any upgrades.

Centaurian Resistance combat continues until one side is defeated. Centaurian Outpost combat involves at most two die rolls — one die roll for the player attacking the Outpost and, only if the Outpost is not defeated, one die roll for the Outpost attacking the players with Population on the planet.

In Centaurian Resistance combat, the strength is determined by drawing cards from a corresponding deck. In Centaurian Outpost combat, the victory and defeat parameters are static, and a card is only drawn if the player was victorious, as the reward.

The rewards function the same way — discard for the effect or ability listed on the card or keep to score additional points at the end of the game.

Centaurian Resistance combat involves other players making rolls or decisions against each other. Centaurian Outpost combat can be resolved simultaneously by all players. Each player engaged in Outpost combat will simply roll their attack and compare the number of hits against the level of the Outpost. If the Outpost was defeated, they collect its reward and discard the token from the game. If the Outpost remains, they simply roll and resolve the Outpost attack, inflicting hits as applicable.

That’s it! Simple, streamlined, but packing a significant punch!

Let’s conclude this update with a bit of story:

It is now over one hundred cycles since the Centaurians departed, leaving only a remnant of their once glorious civilization behind. We, humans, were still weak back then. But with the advantages afforded by Centaurian technology, we prospered and grew. Each of our six factions rose from the ashes of their former selves, establishing new homes on separate planets, and rebuilding into powerful empires, each exhibiting their own unique capabilities and passions.

With newfound strength, the innate human desire to expand and exercise control would not be bridled. At first, only small skirmishes broke out.

Eventually, however, we returned to full war against one another. As we expanded our control in the Centauri system, we found that the remnants of the old Centaurian civilization also had prospered and regained much of their old glory.

As if it were not enough that we had to fight our human brothers, now we had to fight against the ever stronger Centaurians as well…

Of course, the tables turned on us yesterday — the Centaurians returned!

The Centaurian Stronghold
about 7 years ago – Tue, Feb 14, 2017 at 11:32:27 PM

Ladies and Gentlemen!

With 400% (yes, that's a four-zero-zero!) funding reached, we are starting with a series of updates introducing the Centaurian Stronghold. Rainer himself once again will walk you through everything you need to know about this new grand component of the Exodus gaming experience.

The Centaurian Stronghold — Introduction

So, after a long absence, the Centaurians have returned. In terms of the Exodus story line — this changes everything! This is an event horizon in terms of humanity and the relationship between humans and Centaurians. Let’s first clarify what the Centaurian Stronghold is and what it is not.

It is not just another module that Event Horizon includes.

It is not simply a scenario or an alternate objective.

It is not a required game mode. Your enjoyment of Event Horizon is not diminished if you never play the Centaurian Stronhold scenario.

So, what is it then?

Component wise, you get one new hex (depicting the alien megastructure itself), 18 Warship Squadron tokens, and 6 Stronghold Level tokens. This scenario also requires the use of all rules and components related to the Centaurian Resistance and Centaurian Outposts modules. You can freely choose to include (or exclude) any or all of the other modules presented in this expansion, except the Proxima Centauri module, which cannot be used.

If you have followed the journey of Event Horizon since the expansion was announced and the Centaurian Stronghold was first hinted at, it has always been mentioned as an “oh, by the way” part of a modular expansion. This was on purpose.

Now, there may be some who are drawn into the Exodus universe because of this scenario (and that’s fine; Welcome!), but it is also important for long-time fans of Exodus to understand that this scenario does not have to change anything. You can keep playing the game that you love, getting full enjoyment out of Event Horizon, without ever playing the Centaurian Stronhold scenario.

In terms of the design and development of this expansion, once the list of ten modules (all of which are now unlocked) had been finalized — at least on paper, though in various stages of game development — I was thinking if there was anything else this expansion could benefit from. There was already going to be so much new content, so many new aspects to enrich and enhance the game experience. What more could I possibly add? What is the craziest, most ridiculous, thing that could be added to Exodus?

This. The Centaurian Stronghold.

Exodus: Proxima Centauri is a highly competitive and grandiose 4X experience. It is an epic space opera, an empire building game. There is conflict, there is politics, there is intrigue … And now, there is the Centaurian Stronghold.

This scenario, with its humble component list, will enable anyone to play the full Exodus: Proxima Centauri game, in all its glory, any way they like — competitively, cooperatively, semi-cooperatively, or solo.

Basic Exodus, with or without expansions, is a competitive game. Exodus: Event Horizon was designed to enhance competitive play, to introduce new challenges and options for everyone.

Solo scenarios were introduced in Edge of Extinction (which all backers of this campaign will receive in digital form). Event Horizon does not alter or invalidate those scenarios. They will remain another way to enjoy Exodus solo. The Centaurian Stronghold does, however, allow you to play the full game solo, mixing and matching modules from this expansion as you would for a multi-player game, with the game itself as your opponent.

And then there were those two other words — cooperatively and semi-cooperatively.

Exodus: Event Horizon, through the Centaurian Stronghold scenario, enables fully cooperative and semi-cooperative play in Exodus: Proxima Centauri.

This is not simply a variant. It is not just a tacked on resemblance of cooperative play. True cooperative or semi-cooperative play — the players against the game, or the players against each other and the game.

Had Exodus: Proxima Centauri been designed as a cooperative game from the beginning, this is what I imagine it would have been.

From a design point of view, this was a tremendous challenge! Designing a cooperative mode of play in a way that stays as true to the competitive game as possible, that has minimal impact on existing rules, and that, for all intents and purposes, is “the same game” as before … just cooperative instead of competitive.

Of course, completely avoiding changing any rules is impossible. We are, essentially, talking about different games with completely different objectives and challenges. However, every effort was made to make any such changes sensible and easy to remember.

In the next several updates, we are going to take a closer look at specific aspects of this scenario. Tomorrow, I will address the Stronghold itself along with the other components used. After that, we will look at “Fully Cooperative Play” and “Semi-Cooperative Play” separately. Finally, I will cover how solo play will work.

“Event Horizon contains ten different modules, all of which are compatible with one another and can be used together or individually. In this expansion you will find more Bonus Actions, a reimagined Centaurian Resistance which scales in both threat and reward throughout the game, and Centaurian Outposts which the players must neutralize. The expansion also places Exploration at the forefront of game play. You will find several exotic New Planets to explore and Proxima Centauri, the home star of the Exodus universe, makes an appearance. The expansion also adds Jump Gates, Communication Satellites, Energy Barriers, and lets the players employ powerful Leaders.

Oh, by the way — you can now also play this epic 4X game as a fully cooperative or semi-cooperative game now …”

Exploring the Void - Part 2
about 7 years ago – Sat, Feb 11, 2017 at 10:18:30 PM

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Today Rainer continues to unveil the secrets of exploration in Event Horizon. We hope you enjoy the read - and the rest of your weekend!

Exploration and New Challenges — Part 2

In the lore of Exodus: Proxima Centauri, humanity was on the brink of self-destruction. It tells the story of a nuclear war that devastated Earth, making it necessary for the human race to leave their dying world behind, seeking for a new home in the Alpha Centauri system.

On their exodus, humanity came into contact with a superior alien civilization, simply referred to by humans as the Centaurians. After learning of the exiles' predicament, the Centaurians guided the severely damaged human fleet towards a planetary system able to support human life. There the ships were repaired and outfitted for their final journey towards what was believed to be a perfect new home for the troubled humanity.

Even though the journey became a time of peace and respite, during which humanity forgot about inner strife and instead focused on enjoying advanced Centaurian technologies, peace would not last forever. Even before reaching their new home, the human factions again took up arms against one another, causing the Centaurians to interfere. As a result, each human faction was established on a different home planet in the Proxima Centauri planetary system.

The humans began the long process of rebuilding, ever guided by the Centaurian hosts. Eventually, however, the Centaurians announced their own departure. Only a small remnant of Centaurians decided to stay behind.

As humanity prospered, conflicts between the factions grew fierce. Other battles would also take place, involving Centaurians who resisted the expansion and growth of the new human empires.

When Exodus: Event Horizon continues the story, the Centaurian empire has grown stronger and regained much of its former glory. Space combat has become deadlier as the Centaurians are more actively resisting the humans, posing a very real and capable threat.

The Centaurian Resistance

In Exodus: Proxima Centauri, the Centaurian Resistance is represented by tokens placed on the board during setup. Defeating any Resistance ship rewards the victorious player with valuable technologies or upgrades, with the option of foregoing the reward in exchange for end-game victory points.

Early in the game, engaging in combat against Centaurian ships would spell certain doom for a player. However, later in the game, the Centaurian Resistance would cease to be a significant threat. The latter was even more pronounced when playing with the Edge of Extinction expansion.

Even though the old Resistance cards are still used, the strength of the Centaurian Resistance has changed. Instead of three Resistance levels, there are now only two — Regular and Strong. "Regular" tokens replace the Level 1 and Level 2 tokens on the board, whereas "Strong" tokens replace the Level 3 tokens. Howbeit, the actual strength scales throughout the game! During the first turn, "Regular" is still equivalent to a Level 1 Resistance ship. But, later in the game, that "Regular" token may instead represent a Level 2 and a Level 3 Resistance ship!

After identifying the type of Centaurian Resistance fleet you are facing, consult the chart below to determine the Resistance Level of the fleet based on the current Game Turn. When fighting a Strong Fleet, the Resistance Level is always one higher than normal. Mnemonic: The level of a Strong fleet is equal to the current Game Turn.

Reveal a number of Resistance Cards from the appropriate decks, as indicated by the chart. Each card represents one Centaurian Resistance ship. Battle according to the normal rules. When facing multiple Resistance ships, you must destroy all of them in order to claim victory.

Additionally, a defeated Resistance token is no longer removed from the game. The token is simply flipped to its defeated side and remains on the board. During the Upkeep stage, if no player controls ships in that hex, the Centaurian Resistance reactivates and the token is once again flipped to its active side.

The Centaurian Resistance has grown noticeably stronger, thereby proving to be a more consistent and balanced threat throughout the game than before. As you would expect, the increased threat also increases the opportunity for rewards.

A scaling Resistance was one of the earliest ideas added to Event Horizon though the module did not take its final form until relatively late in the development cycle, around the time when the Centaurian Stronghold scenario was being designed.

But it is not just in space where the Centaurians prove to be formidable opponents. In the next update, we will discuss other areas where the Centaurian civilization has grown and prospered, now posing a more significant threat than previously.