eXplorminate

Join the gang as we go over 2 games that got dlc recently.

Which do you prefer, Conquest of Eo or Zephon?

Join the eXplorminate gang as we dig deep into the Endless Legend 2 demo, and talk about what we like, and what we think needs some more work.

What is the connection between Distant Worlds 2 and the concept of "awe"?

Awe - the feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear and wonder.

Awesome -having some awe. Now used to mean something good, cool, interesting. As in it was awesome to get Erik Rutins AND Dastactic on the show.

Awe inspiring - bringing about the sense of awe. As in, the concept of Distant Worlds 2 is awe inspiring.

Awful - meaning, literally, full of awe, yet somehow the exact opposite of awesome. As in, it is awful that I have waited this long to play Distant Worlds 2.

Yes, this show is about Distant Worlds 2. We have Erik Rutins, Dastactic, Drexy, David and Andy (who says very little because he is awestruck!)

Enjoy, and keep exploring!

Join Drexy, Ricky and David as they discuss the current state of 4X. Is the genre dead? Are we in a golden age? Too many games? Too little innovation? Can games recover from a "bad" debut?

Listen on, and you decide.

Andy (aka BloodyBattleBrain) and Drexy sit down for a brief chat about the eXplorminate handover, and what the future holds for this amazing community.

Rob, Drexy, and Ricky speak with Jongwoo and Martin of Studio Imugi about their upcoming grand strategy game, Bonaparte: A Mechanized Revolution.

Rob, William, and David speak about their experience with ARA: History Untold, as the rest of the gang chimes in with questions and more! Support this podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/eXplorminatepodcast

The gang got together and spoke about all of the recent news coming out of Gamescom, including initial reactions to Civilization 7 and the new gameplay footage of Ara: History Untold.

The new gang sits down to discuss the latest expansion for Age of Wonders 4 and more as they settle into their own new groove.

In this episode, Rob and Drexy are joined by a menagerie of new hosts, as both Shaun and Ben have to step back. So, listen in as they new roundtable discusses the recent news of Civ 7 and Age of Wonders 4 and more and decide who makes the cut!

Rob and Drexy were able to speak with Rok and Lorenz from Proxy Studios about their in-development post-apocalyptic 4X game, ZEPHON, and learn about their future plans, the feedback they’ve received, and much more.

Once again, the eXplorminate crew speaks with Vic Reijkersz about his fantastic 4X game, Shadow Empire. What's next? Tune in to find out!

Join Ben, DasTactic, and LucidTactics as they discuss what's new, improved, and otherwise worth discussing with Dominions 6, the newest Illwinter Designs grand strategy game. Music by Whitebat Audio. All rights reserved.

Rob, Ben, Drexy, and Shaun discuss the year that will be 2024X. They also digress a little, but that's not unexpected, is it? Music by WhiteBat Audio. All rights reserved.

Ben and Drexy sit down with Richard Yorke, a strategy gamer grognard, and discuss strategy and wargames.

The Commonwealth gang, aka Ben, Drexy, and Shaun, discuss 4X, tactics, strategy, and even...RPGs?

Tune in to see what they're up to this month!

Ben and Dastactic interview Ail, the AI programmer behind some great games, including the lauded Warhammer: 40K - Gladius!

Rob and Jesse sit down with Jan Wagner, the Creative Director at Owned by Gravity, and talk to him about the development process, what got left out, and what might be in store for Conquest of Eo's future!

Music by White Bat Audio/Karl Casey. Used with permission. 

Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code eXplorminate at MANSCAPED.com! #ad #manscapedpod

Rob, Ben, and Drexy are joined by special guest, DasTactic, as they dive in deep into the Age of Wonders 4 reveal! At the end, Rob convinces Das to help him love Distant Worlds 2 like Das does.

Outro music by Karl Casey of White Bat Audio. Used with permission.

Rob's out. Ben, Drexy, and Shaun are in. The blokes discuss the games that drew their attention most in 2022 and the games they're looking forward to most in 2023.

Outro music by White Bat Audio. Used with permission.

Rob, Ben, Drexy, and Jesse sit down and discuss the release of Master of Magic, then Rob and Jesse provide their impressions of SpellForce: Conquest of Eo. Somewhere along the way, Rob and Drexy have it out over Stellaris, then they make nice, and they all talk about their personal games of the year.

Fun show.

As it's the final show of 2022, we just wanted to take another moment to thank you all for your unwavering support. It means the world to us. We hope that 2023 will be an even better year for you, your families, and eXplorminate.

Thank you all!

(Outro song by Karl Casey of White Bat Audio. Used with permission.)

Rob, Ben, Drexy, and Shaun all bring to the table one element of relevant strategy news and then talk about the games they're playing, including Rob's new obsession? with Stellaris.

Music by Whitebat Audio. Used with permission.

Rob, Drexy, and Ben sit down with the CEO of the upstart publisher signing all the indie strategy games lately, Hooded Horse.

Outro music by White Bat Audio. Used with permission. 

Times are not exact: 

00:43 Intro 

02:35 Publishing Philosophy 

05:14 Tim's interest in strategy games 

09:34 Terra Invicta 

13:18 Disrupting the publishing industry 

24:04 Pushing the strategy game genre 

35:23 In search of developers 

38:05 Release roadmap 

42:14 Why Hooded Horse? 

46:12 The Silmarillion and other scenarios 

51:20 Wrap up

Rob, Drexy, and Ben talk about Terra Invicta, Victoria 3, the success of our reboot, and that of publishing newcomer, Hooded Horse, and much more!

Outro by White Bat Audio. Used with permission. 

Rob, Drexy, Ben, and Shaun talk about the HUGE news in the 4X and strategy world, including the Sins of a Solar Empire 2 announcement and a Vicky 3 release date, then get into the games they're most excited for in late 2022 into 2023!

Outro by White Bat Audio. Used with permission.

Ben, Drexy, and LucidTactics speak about the element of "pressure" and how it can make a strategy game more interesting and then dive deeper into what makes 4X and strategy games fun to play.

Outro song by White Bat Audio

Rob and Drexy sit down with Adam and Keith of Praxis Games and get some exclusive information on their newest expansion for Interstellar Space: Genesis, "Evolving Empires".

Listen in and find out what's coming to this highly underrated space 4X!

Outro music by White Bat Audio

Rob, Drexy, and Jesse sit down with Chris and Nik of Curious Panda Games about their upcoming mercenary management tactics game, The Iron Oath. If you haven't checked The Iron Oath out yet, you might want to start!

Outro music by White Bat Audio

Join Ben and Drexy as they're joined by special guests (again), DasTactic and TortugaPower, while they discuss the release version of the highly anticipated Distant Worlds 2.

Outro music by White Bat Audio.

Join Rob and Drexy as they speak with Derek Paxton, the Vice President of Stardock Operations and the Lead Designer of Galactic Civilizations 4, and Henry Pailing, the Community Lead for Stardock. Together they discuss the design philosophy of Galactic Civilizations 4, the lessons learned so far in Early Access, and the content yet to come!

Join Rob, Drexy, Ben, and Shaun for the latest news and then their first in-depth discussion on Galactic Civilizations 4. What works? What doesn't? Does the panel agree on anything? Tune in to find out!

Outro song by White Bat Audio.