Good resource gathering / building games

RiemannLives

I've been hankering for a good resource production and building game. Ok, so that's not the best defined genre description ever so here are a few titles that I've played along those lines:

Startopia. One of my favorite games of all time. Downside is I've beat all the scenarios far too many times at this point and the game is not conducive to modding or expansion packs.

Sierra city building series. These included Caesar 1-3, Pharaoh, Zeus and Emperor with their various expansions. The more recent Caesar 4 continues the traditions of the earlier games in 3d.

The Settlers. The series is in it's 6th incarnation. Note that in America the original was actually released under the title "Serf City". I played 1-4 but then lost track so if anyone has any experience with the recent games I would love to hear about it.

Civilization and Alpha Centauri

Tropico

Stronghold

Railroad Tycoon series

Edit, and how could I forget the incomparable DWARF FORTRESS. There's already a thread for that game but it still needs mentioning.

What I'd like to hear about is any suggestions for other games in this genre. How did the recent Settlers games turn out? Or that Caesar-like Civilization spinoff CivCity Rome?


Further Edit: Games suggested so far!

Cultures via vhzod
Settlers of Catan via xbox Live / various IP infringing free versions via Disco Bandit
Space Colony via Axen
Travian via Gigas75
Ikariam via Kalinko and the G&T thread on the subject

Oboro

I really liked Pharaoh but all I ever got to play was the demo. I've seen the Caesar games in stores, is it that similar to Pharaoh in gameplay?

RiemannLives

Oboro wrote: »

I really liked Pharaoh but all I ever got to play was the demo. I've seen the Caesar games in stores, is it that similar to Pharaoh in gameplay?

Yes, very much so. Note that there is a huge gap between Caesar 3 and 4. The order of release was:
Caesar III
Pharaoh
Zeus
Emperor
Caesar IV

Each iteration has pretty much kept to the same basic formula while adding new features and smoothing over some of the shittier design decisions of the earlier games.

In my opinion, Caesar III is by far the hardest via a combination of missing features and really hard level design.

Pharaoh (+ Cleopatra expansion) has the kewlest scenarios but does suffer for still requiring walkers to find residences to link to the labor pool so you end up with shanty-towns near production areas.

Zeus (+ Poseidon expansion) is probably the best overall but some people are turned off by its Comedic / Mythology approach as opposed to the other more serious or historical games.

Emperor is the easiest and has a weird Feng Shui mechanic but is still fun.

Haven't beat Caesar IV yet but the game systems are very solid. I'm somewhat annoyed as so far all the maps are made much harder than you would think by being really small. So you have to plan out your whole city from the start in order to fit everything you need onto the map.

Edit: Also Sierra put out a package deal thingy with all of the above except Caesar IV (including expansions) in one package. It's a damn good deal if you can find it. Also, I think all of them except Caesar IV are in gametap.

Arikado

Pharaoh was good until the later stages in the story mode where random invasions would make or break you. The combat in it was tacked on and both your defenders and the attackers had horrible AI.

Best one I played was Civ 4 mainly for the ability to win via economic, political or religious victories. I'm all for combat as well but being able to crunch numbers and become a technology powerhouse is just as satisfying.

vhzod

there's a semi obscure game called Cultures (which I belive the most current version of is called Northlands) its about you being vikings and each of your little guys gains xp as they do whatever their job is and gets better at it. To get more vikings you have the viking guys sleep with their wives in their house. You can make and arm little soldier vikings which go out and fight with the weapons you make. Each person has a lot of different equipment/potion slots you can fill. its really neat.

RiemannLives

vhzod wrote: »

there's a semi obscure game called Cultures (which I belive the most current version of is called Northlands) its about you being vikings and each of your little guys gains xp as they do whatever their job is and gets better at it. To get more vikings you have the viking guys sleep with their wives in their house. You can make and arm little soldier vikings which go out and fight with the weapons you make. Each person has a lot of different equipment/potion slots you can fill. its really neat.

That sounds really cool but so far my google-fu has failed me. Any idea of who made or published it?

Edit: Nevermind, found it in wikipedia Cultures

Disco Bandit

Settlers of Catan is a fun, if shorter, game. Free versions can be found online, or there is a demo on Xbox Live.

Gigas75

If you're into browser games, Travian is a good one.
http://www.travian.com

It's a Civilization-esque game that is a fantastic way to waste a few minutes, hours, or days of your life to. It's important to know it's a long-term game though. A typical server lasts one year before the player-ran end-of-world event (it isn't what it sounds) starts up.

That said, it has quite the learning curve. Like, massive. But once you get into the groove and establish an empire in your little area of the map, it's really sweet. It transforms from a "lone wolf" style Civ game into an all out warzone as the server ages and massive alliances form up in opposition to one another.
And by massive I mean massive. There are about 50+ servers hosting 21,000+ players each. Apparently there's one Asian server with 1.4 million players on it too, but I digress.

If you're interested, Server 2 (http://s2.travian.com) just recently restarted, so I would suggest starting there. While newly joining players on a server start at the outskirts of the map, it'd still be best to join a server where players with absurdly high populations don't even exist.

Kalkino

In the vein of web based games like Travian there is of course the current G&T fad - www.Ikariam.com

Axen

I played Space Colony off of Gametap. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

A brief run-down of the game:

Wikipedia wrote:

The basic premise is similar to The Sims in that the player has to care for the needs of a several individuals - here each with a unique personality and different abilities. However the game is mission orientated and involves setting up a futuristic base and carrying out missions which involve mining minerals, developing relationships, harvesting resources to prevent running out of oxygen, power, collecting food, and fighting back alien attacks.

Basically you are in command of a Space Colony (duh) and you have to keep it running smooth while trying to accomplish your mission. There are two different campaigns to play. One is Economy. In Economy you have to make your Colony profitable and eventually build it into a space Resort. The second Campaign type is Military. You have to deal with numerous alien threats to ensure the survival of your colony and crew.

There are a bunch of characters that join your crew and each of them has their own personality and skills. Thats kinda The Sims aspect. Remember a happy crew is a live crew!

n00bish

I let my brother borrow Startopia, one of my all-time favorite games. "Oh, I accidentally ran over it with my chair, it's in pieces. Sorry, bro."

D':

I know since Civ and Alpha Centauri have been mentioned, MoO might fit in here. Specifically, check out Free Orion if you haven't already. It's shaping up to be really nice.

RiemannLives

n00bish wrote: »

I let my brother borrow Startopia, one of my all-time favorite games. "Oh, I accidentally ran over it with my chair, it's in pieces. Sorry, bro."

D':

I know since Civ and Alpha Centauri have been mentioned, MoO might fit in here. Specifically, check out Free Orion if you haven't already. It's shaping up to be really nice.

Startopia is in gametap now as well. MoO and it's (IMO) far superior sequel are awesome games but not really in this genre.