#AskFedi: It's recommendations time again! :boost_requested:
I'm looking for games that are high in simulation and strategic complexity, but that are not *obtuse*; ie. I should be able to learn and discover the complexity through gameplay, rather than through reading hundreds of pages of manuals.
Good examples are Factorio, Rimworld, Project Hospital, Workers and Resources, Software Inc., Airport CEO, and so on (but those games I obviously already know about).
I prefer games that also involve some kind of layout/design/building process, where the design choices meaningfully affect the outcome. Also especially interested in more obscure games, including indie ones and graphically unpolished games!
Also, no war-themed games please. And preferably no turn-based, as I tend to find those too slow for my liking.
@cafkafk I'm aware of it, but I did not enjoy it very much - it was too carbrained for me, and even despite that the traffic engineering tools weren't actually very good (even with mods)... I'm looking forward to Junxions releasing though, which seems like a much better implementation of the same idea!
(The actual city-building part of Cities Skylines I've found pretty shallow, personally. Definitely deeper than the SimCity games before it, but not quite on the level I'm looking for here.)
@joepie91 I quite enjoyed timberborn the last week. You have to layout a city for beavers, and let the research research points to unlock new buildings and manage the water and food they have
@joepie91 @mynameistillian I heard good things about Timberborn https://store.steampowered.com/app/1062090/Timberborn/
I have yet to play it but it seems to me like Factorio x Dwarf Fortress, with humanoid beavers.
@maxthefox @mynameistillian (and cc @kloenk): I did enjoy it for a bit, but it didn't feel like it had particularly much depth or complexity to me; it's polished and all, but mechnically it felt like basically just another city/town builder to me, But With Beavers.
Perhaps I'm missing something, though? I did not end up playing it into the endgame.
@joepie91@social.pixie.town do you already know about Zachtronics games? Almost every game by them scratches a similar itch IME.
Spacechem is a good start.
@joepie91 starbound is fun and has a thriving modding community:) it's like terraria but in space
@joepie91 Parkitect maybe? It's the spiritual successor of RollerCoaster Tycoon, but they made it so that it's strategically sound to make your park look pretty as well. And it has more strategic depth than Planet Coaster, which is more focused on aesthetics.
@joepie91 I’m assuming this is something you’re aware of but if not cities skylines, specially with mods for micromanaging traffic and such can be kinda enjoyable