Star Ruler 2

There are two types of people who play Star Ruler 2.
The first type are the kind of people who will not like this game. These people generally will lodge complaints including but not limited to:
- Not as complicated as the first game
- Art style differs from my preference
- I dislike the economy system
- Combat is too hands-off
- There is no "soul"
- The menus don't look like the first game
- Research sucks
- Diplomacy is confusing/useless
These people also often do not have more than a few hours in game time. I'll tell you right now, at 5 hours in I had exactly the same complaints. The problem is that SR2 doesn't have a very good tutorial and that a lot of the complexity is somewhat hidden. Some of those complaints are also purely subjective and therefore cannot be addressed beyond "Yep, ok". For the rest of them, see below.
To a person who hasn't played more than one or two games against some regular AIs, the combat would most certainly appear to be blob vs. blob. However once you realize how damage works and how to effectively utilize the support AI patterns it becomes obvious that, while not micro intensive, the combat is far from hands-off. It's just that the hands-on part happens in the preparation. Armor type makes a HUGE difference. Taking a torpedo on reactive armor will produce very different results that taking it on ablative. Neutronium may seem like an uber-armor but since it's so heavy and expensive it's rarely cost-effective. Weapon types are very important, the difference in effectiveness between a railgun and a laser depending on the situation can be vast. Ship speed is vital to not only engaging in time but fleeing as well, especially if you have no hyperdrive. Speaking of FTL, the type you have plays a big role in how you approach combat. Pinpoint Hyperdrive strikes are certainly effective, but fling beacons are far superior for offense (due to their speed and usually lower cost vs distance) though they lack easy-retreat capability. Gates are usually only used for turtling, but a gate in deep space can attack an opponent at points and from directions they don't expect. Slipstream can be used the same way except with less setup and more risk (since the enemy can also use your slipstream tears). There is a ton of depth, but again most (though not all) of it is in the setup.
The economy would certainly seem strange and stupid, after all you can't stockpile resources and have to expand. Except that the cycle system discourages inactive play and actually results in the player actually making MORE ships and improvements than they would otherwise. Dry Docks can help you build ships that you couldn't otherwise afford. The forced expansion eliminates AI abuse strategies and also makes empire defense more of a priority. Even the smallest world can be a critical component in the supply chain for your L5 forge world. Losing a link in the chain doesn't have immediate crippling effects but it's certainly not something to ignore. The pressure system eliminates the need to micromanage planets beyond choosing good supplies and letting the system do its work. The level 0 resources (they don't contribute to planetary development) provide a variety of useful effects and if used correctly can provide a significant advantage. Terraforming can help provide more L1 resources for extra income and Artifacts/building/diplomacy can provide food and water if there is a shortage.
Research would seem like a step back from the first game until you realize that SR1's research system, while unique, was inherently broken. Ships were outdated before they were even finished being built and the effectiveness of subsystems grew to such absurdities that tech advantages were instant-win conditions. The new tree applies passives automatically without the need for retrofit except if new systems are to be applied, and while not infinitely scalable is not the silver bullet in engagements that it was in SR1. Good tactics and planning can easily defeat fleets of twice the strength of what you're throwing at them. However it's fairly obvious why a lot of people would fail at this, since if you believe the combat to be DeathBlob Fights 2015 you wouldn't think of using any flanking or varied fleet makeups.
Very few people complain about the diplomacy beyond "I don't like it" but the solution is simple. Add "Influence Peddling" to the main screen by clicking the "...". Keep track of who votes where and USE THE SYSTEM. It's incredibly effective if you put some time into it. Save some cards in case you need them. If you ignore it you're inevitably going to get screwed by it at some point. Oh and for god's sake read the Zeitgeist cards. Zealotry can be game changing and so can Co-operation.
Well that was longer than I expected.
The second kind of person is the type that will buy this game and enjoy it because they aren't looking for MOO2 Remake #232432 and are willing to put some time in to truly appreciate its uniqueness. If you read this far without downvoting this review you're probably in the latter category. Bear in mind that this is by no means a perfect game, but it is certainly worth the money. I paid full price for this game, and that is not something I do very often.

Having played for over 40+ hrs so far, my conclusion is that this is a solid 4x space game. Space 4x is my favorite genre and I've plaved many of them, and this game comes off as a very original and innovative game to me (have not played Star Ruler 1).
First off, the game is an RTS, but its really meant to be paused...a lot (early on at least), and thats ok. It takes quite some time to get the hang of how colonizing works, what to build, what orbitals do, how pressue works, etc. There is a wiki to help you with most things, and some things you have to figure out by trial and error. I've restarted quite a lot of games because I'd always realize something new I wasn't doing. Main thing is if it seems too complex, just hang in there, read the wiki, experiment and you will figure it out, and its well worth it, trust me!
-Research is nice, but the research screen could of been better. Easy to get lost, but it works.
-Ship design is daunting(for me). Others I'm sure will enjoy it. Thankfully you can have the AI design any size ship you want, or you can see what other players have designed and just use their ship!
-Diplomacy is unique, but good. Has a system where you can vote on certain propositions using cards and influence points. Has your standared treaties as well (don't need cards), like Alliance, Trade Treaty, Mutual Defense, etc.
-Exploration is nicely done as well. When you start exploring you can run into multiple things, like Debris Fields, which you can scan to bring up events in which you choose what you want to do. You can find Pirate ships guarding special items which will give you certain bonuses. There is also Artifacts to find in which you can spend energy to activate whatever bonuses they hold.
-Colonization is uniqe in this game as well, in which you constantly need to colonize planets for their resources in order to export them to planets you want to grow. It can get confusing, but pretty much how it goes is, growing a planet needs resoucres, and those resources need resources, and those resources need resources. Just pause the game, look at your surroundings, look at the planet you want to upgrade and it will tell you exactally what you need.
-Buildings can be constructed on each planet by the AI and user. The user can build things like Research complexes, Labor Factories, Megafarms, and more, the AI builds smaller buildings helpling the planet as it grows. You can also build Orbital structures that go in space, like shipyards, supply stations, outposts, etc. Careful on what you build though, they come at a hefty maintaince cost.
-Economy is done well in this game. You get income from population and "Income Pressue" and you have maintaince costs from buildings and ships. Every 3 minutes you will get cash based on the difference in your income and maintaince. So you can spend all your money and once the 3 minutes is up you will get another sum of money to spend in that time, based off the difference in Income and Maintanice. Seems confusing but it works nicely.
-Combat consists of having a flagship with multiple support ships under its wing. Those support ships can specialize in missles, rail guns, lasers, rockets, etc. The flagship has a certain amount of support capacity, which means you can only carry so many support ships. Your ships move in which your flagship is in the middle and the support ships make a big circle around it, so its like a circle of death. Combat is real time and you can zoom in to see the action, but its pretty much just a bunch of balls of death shooting at one another, but it works for me. Although ship building and making your fleets can be confusing.
-UI is only ok in this game for there are many things I wish they would of done. Can easily lose track of what you have building.
-Graphics and Sound are just average, if not below par. Graphics never mean much to me in these types of games, and the soundtrack didnt do anything for me. Effect sounds are ok at best.
-Scale can be whatever you want to be. You can choose from multiple types of universes and even ones with multiple universes, so you can make a game however big or small you want.
Overall this is a solid game that id give an 7.5/10. It might take a bit of getting used to, but its really fun once you get the hang of it. One of the better space RTS games to come along since Sins of a Solar Empire.

I do not even know where to begin. There are some amazing ideas in this game, and it seems a lot of polish even during early access. The diplomacy is unique and very complex, with influence and interactions that feel very very real. The planetary resource systems are fascinating to me, as is the resulting trade networks that grow organically. The ship builder is actually better than the first Star Ruler, which had an amazing ship builder. FTL was weak in Star Ruler 1, here there are 5 different methods each unique and tactical. Combat seems solid, manageable, and interesting. The flagship system means that you are ordering around fleets, not ships, but you still have a nice amount of control and the ship numbers are amazing. Everything is . . . perfect.
I'm a highly critical gamer with jaded tastes. I've been disappointed by one 4x game after another. MoO3, Endless Space, Sword of the Stars 2, all sad memories. Even Galciv and Distant Worlds weren't quite good enough for me. I have never been so completely blown away just playing a tutorial, realizing the depth of the systems I'm seeing laid out in front of me. Assuming there is nothing horribly wrong with this game that is hidden from me currently . . . well damn, I'll say it, this might be the game that surpasses Master of Orion 2.
It's an overused cliche, but it fits with this game. Things could go wrong, the AI may turn out to be useless, or some other chronic mistake, but I don't think so. Star Ruler 1 was visionary and flawed, fascinating but clunky. It seems they learned a lot from that game. Seeing this come from a small studio . . . I hope it gains the accolades it deserves. I also suspect modding will be amazing, since Star Ruler 1 had a wonderful modding scope, and I suspect they did the same here.
Buy this game. No seriously, if you like 4x gaming at all, buy Star Ruler 2. This isn't a game you buy just to support the ideas of the devs, though those ideas are amazing. This is the game I wish I had paid more for, because I think I cheated the devs and got way more than I paid for.
:::Post-release:::
The game remains very strong, with several major improvements over the beta. The ship design remains the high point of the game, and sadly the AI remains a little weak. The AI is competent, certainly. It does know how to play the game properly, but it lacks aggression. On the other hand, it is smart enough to know when it has lost.
I won a game recently without actually taking a single enemy planet. I out-expanded them slightly, and while they fought wars against each other, I offered surrender to whichever side was near to losing. Most of them accepted subjugation, since I was a friendly power that was roughly 10 times their strength. After I did this three times, I turned on the one remaining AI. I declared war, sent my massive ships. Three of my ships arrived in their systems and I received an offer of surrender before they could reach the planet. I think they just saw the ships blotting out the sun and said "Nope, this is not winnable." That is smart design and saved me a long slog to a certain victory.
Recent improvements to the tech tree have made it far more understandable and elegant. Technology in general seems far more unique and useful as compared to the beta tech tree, which was somewhat repetitive. Performance remains very good, I've yet to see a bug or crash in any of my games. The races and various FTL methods have vastly improved from the beta, and the AI knows how to play every combination without error.
The modding community is rapidly expanding, as predicted, and has already furnished several very solid mods. The devs have already incorporated some of the best additions as core gameplay, which does not surprise me. I still recommend this game highly, it remains a very original and solid 4x game. I have high hopes for the future, and I do feel they have delivered a solid game as it currently stands. Of course, I always yearn for more.

Star Ruler 2 is a hybrid space 4X/RTS set in a fictional galaxy.
What is Great about this game:
- Intuitive and enjoyable fleet design, mechanics, and combat
- Nicely paced 4X/RTS that does not require twitch reflexes or ADHD to have fun
- High level of easy modification available and Steam Workshop support
What is Good about this game:
- Detailed ship builder allows for different ship designs as the game progresses
- Significant options such as diplomacy and trade to play the game as you would want to
- Good use of Steam features such as Workshop, trading cards, etc
What is Bad about this game:
- Frustrating initial difficulty that requires mods to become more reasonable
- Some systems such as the economy, resource dependency, and planetary development are too obtuse even after hours of play
Conclusion:
If you can modify the game to relax its difficulty to a more manageable degree, Star Ruler 2 has a lot of good ideas to bring to the space 4X/RTS genre.
8.0 / 10.0

Star Ruler 2 is an innovative 4x space strategy game that focuses on macro scale and the management of a whole stellar empire. I must admit I am positively impressed by this game, in fact, so much, that it convinced me to write my first steam review.
Disclaimer: I won the game in a contest organized by spacesector.com I try to be as objective as possible but the fact that I didn't pay for the game might affect my judgement, therefore I mention that, just to be honest.
The positives:
- Hands down the best diplomacy/politics system in 4x game I've seen. The diplomacy and politics is conducted via cards that you can buy or use with influence (which is an in-game resource). The cards can be used to various benefits, like buffing your planets or ships, or getting a short term empire-wide bonuses, or even forcing opponents to cede their planets or systems. This system is surprisingly deep and enjoyable and really makes you feel like a leader of an empire, mettling with galaxywide affairs.
- Great sense of scale. The empires are big and depending on map, they can spread across several galaxies. You can build a battleship the size of a star. Nothing holds you really.
- Clear and interesting economy system. Economy in SR2 is all about creating a supply chain of goods, to develop your planets. While your empire might consist of hundreds of planets, just a couple of them can get developed to a high level and be really relevant as commerce hubs, research centers or factory worlds. That system is both deep and not too overwhelming. There is a degree of automation, and while you have means to affect that, the worlds mostly develop by themselves. Considering the scale, the management of your empire is rather intuitive and pleasant.
- The degree of freedom. You can create planets and even whole solar systems. You can design your ships freely.
The ones that depend on your perspective:
- The game can become complicated. It streamlines and automates plenty of things, but sheer scale might be overwhelming at times, especially that it is not turn-based but real time. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of everything. That might however not be a problem to veterans of the genre.
- Technologies are mostly passive upgrades. It has a big advantage, because that means you don't have to refit your ships everytime you research something new, however they are by no means as interesting and meaningful as the system of MoO2.
- The combat system is focused on macromanagement. While it's not bad as some claim, you are not just ordering 2 blobs to fight each other, you can't order singular ships. It has plenty of mechanics that must be taken into account like logistics, ship design and their orders. However the battles on tactical level fight by themselves. You are just dispatching fleets, not really fighting battles.
- Some aspects of the game are not explained well. The game is deep as I said and there are a lot of underlying mechanics, just some of which are covered in tutorial. It has a steep learning curve (which I guess should be expected) and in your first matches you'll probably don't know what you are doing. Not a big deal for vets I guess though.
The negatives:
- The game lacks personality of lets say MoO2. I feel the races are dull and not distinctive. While they differ a lot when it comes to mechanics and are interesting on that level, all have access to the same ship designs and technology, they don't communicate with you, don't taunt you. Also there are no admirals or governors.
All in all I wholeheartedly recommend it. It's pretty stellar :)

This game has the single best diplomacy system I've ever seen in a strategy game. The diplomacy revolves around influence and influence cards. Influence ticks up depending on the resources and research your empire has aquired, and can be spent on cards such as "negotiate", "annex planet", "protect system". These cards appear in a queue, and every empire has the option of spending influence to snag the card for themself, or to keep it away from someone else. Cards refresh quickly, so keep an eye on the queue if you're playing the diplomacy game. Some cards can be played for immediate effects, such a "protect system" protecting a system from hostile takover for some number of minutes. Other cards, such as "annex planet" require a vote in the galactic senate before they can take effect. Each empire can then play cards for or against the proposition. "negotiate" simply provides direct support or opposition, while cards like "rhetoric" have a greater magniture of support or opposition, but provide benefits to anyone who takes your side. This can lead to interesting situations where two empires you really don't care about are duking it out in the galactic senate, but you want to get in on the action to get the benefit of a "rhetoric" or "bribe" card. Overall, the system is fun, and gives diplomacy some real teeth, without it being overpowered.
Another system that is done very well is the economy. Every planet has a core resource that it can export to other planets, and every planet needs resources to grow and level up. Some resources need a certain level planet to be utilized. So the economy game revolves around creating chains of trade to funnel the right resources to the right planets. It's very steamlined, and provides tangible effects without much micromanagement. Additionally, most resources have secondary effects that can interact without other resources. So while it's easy to just get a planet up to a high level by giving it whatever it needs, you may want to save that grain for your homeworld, and find some fish for your asteroid mining planet. On the downside, the game currently lacks any kind of filter mechanic, so it can be difficult to find that one resource you're looking for in the late game. This being an alpha/beta game, I expect the issue to be resolved before launch.
The two systems that are still farily lackluster are research and ship design. While the core mechanics of ship design are great, the game currently lacks enough variety in ship parts to make it really interesting. This ties in with the very small number of research options. Interviews from before early access seemed to indicate that the research system is still in a very early stage. However, the devs are very genuine in their desire to make a great game, and I have no concern that these features will be fleshed out significantly before release.

A hidden gem in the space RTS genre
I haven't had much time to put into this game as of yet but so far I am loving how everything fits together. This is a complex game that doesn't have a big learning curve and is extremly addictive. Below i will describe the elements I like and some improvements that could be made.
Empire Management:
In most space rts games your star systems are pretty much self reliant and doesnt require reasources to travel from one system to another. Here, if you want to have a powerful industrial/economic/science system you will need that primary stystem to have trade connections to other systems. Each planet can level up, increasing the population and amount of structures that can be built on them but to level up the planet must meet certain reasource requirements (example to get to level 1, a planet must import food and water from both a food and water planet). What this does is allows the player to have multiple home worlds that have a specific purpose (industrial,economic,science) thus opening up a wide range of tactics an enemy can use to damage an empire. It's difficult to explain but once you see it for yourself it makes perfect sense.
Fleet Management
the combat in this game is all about building fleets and the start of every fleet begins with a flagship. Once you have a flagship built you can link multiple support ships, the only limit being the number of support points a flagship has and that number gets bigger the larger the flagship is so a size 100 flagship may only support a size 300 support fleet whereas a size 500 flagship can support 3000 using the right modules. Which brings us to....
Ship Design
Like other space RTS games you can design the internal specs of your falgships and support ships (weapons, armor, shields, command and control modules ect) which allows you to change your tactics when approaching an enemy. Maybe you want a flagship designed around amassing a huge fleet, or a flagship that is a WMD, its all whatever you make of it.
Combat
Support ships will always stay in formation with the flagship so managing which supportships go with which flagship is not an issue as they are linked. This makes it easy to coordinate offensives and defenses with multiple flagships. in combat your flagship targets an enemy flagship (or whatever target you specify) and the fleet engages. It's very simple with the fleet management that is implemented here and it looks epic when you have massive fleets duking it out.
Diplomacy
This is the crown jewel imo. In most space rts's diplomacy takes a backseat with very limited options. Here it's a card game.... Not kidding, it's all about using influence (a reasource you aquire from specific planets) to buy cards that pop up from time to time. Certain cards are very desirable and your enemy may buy them before you do if you aren't quick enough. For example certain cards allow you to capure an entire solar system without ever firing a shot. Such cards when you use them bring up a galactic vote where you can use negotiation cards to win favor and it turns into a game of who has the more votes wins! It's pure genius and much like how politics works in real life. (it's all about political capital)
There are some things that could use some improvement but i expect some of these things could be handled with mods. For example there could be more ship designs and different ship formations. The graphics are also not stellar (no pun intended) but that also allows for bigger fleets and smoother gameplay (I haven't run into any latency at all). A storyline would also help not only get new people into the game and learn the mechanics but also immerse people into the lore of the game.
I think that's enough from me, this is a must buy for any fan of the space RTS genre that crushes others like it. I'm suprised I only heard of this after scrolling through page 10 of steam's top sellers in the strategy section.