Galactic Emperor: Hegemony

Your Once-A-Day 4X Fix

Galactic Emperor: Hegemony is a multiplayer "4X" (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) game played via a web interface, with one turn update per day. The basic rules behind the game are simple--each player starts with a single star-system surrounded by 'neutral' ones, and the early game is a matter of expansion until you contact your opponents (usually 12 players in a game). Systems produce resources, which you use to build factories (which produce ships), improve your technology, and purchase a few special units. Ultimately, the player who controls the most systems wins.

The kicker, of course, is that this is a diplomatic game; players can ally, and stab each other in the back, and the real route to victory isn't mastering the interface or min-maxing your economics (though both help), but making the right alliances, and knowing when to cut your losses and betray an ally. Victory goes to the silver-tongued, in other words.

Some may find a one-a-day update schedule a drag--but some of us find this appealing. It allows you to get in a little gaming fix for fifteen minutes or a half hour (about how long it will take you to see what happened last turn and plan your moves for tomorrow), and then get on with your day.

The Developer Says:

Q: What's Galactic Emperor: Hegemony

A: Galactic Emperor: Hegemony is the fourth game we've released through the Skotos site and also the second game in our Galactic Emperor universe. It was officially released on March 11, 2002. It's a science-fiction game of strategy and diplomacy.

We rate our games by how large they are, what genre they fit into, what types of interaction players have, and what the basic style of gameplay is. Galactic Emperor: Hegemony can thus be described as follows:

Stage. A new game of Hegemony starts whenever there are enough people to play. Each game lasts three weeks and has a specific goal: to conquer the galaxy.

Science Fiction. Hegemony falls into the genre of Science Fiction. It's a space war game that's equal parts Diplomacy and Space Opera. It's reminescent of any science-fiction movie, novel, or television show where invasion is among the themes, including Star Wars, Blake's 7, and Star Trek: Deep Space 9.

Competitive. The game of Hegemony is about raw competition--taking over the galaxy before your foes do. However, without cooperating with a few other players in the form of alliances and non-aggression pacts, you are doomed to failure.

Strategic. Though it enjoys roleplaying elements, Hegemony is at heart a strategy game where you must manage resources and carefully stage attacks in order to emerge victorious.

More information on Hegemony is available in the Introduction and the Player's Guide at the Galactic Emperor: Hegemony game site.

Q: What is the story of Galactic Emperor: Hegemony?

A: For millennia the major races of the galaxy have reached out to the stars, colonizing systems and scattering their people to the winds. However the ram ships and slow boats they used have been limited to the speed of light, and thus no true empire has ever been founded.

Now, the universe is changing. All across the galaxy artifacts of the Shining Ones have begun operating, giving planetary Overlords access to an ancient space station named Abode, and with it access to the technology of the ancients. The Overlords have begun to adopt the technologies they have found in Abode, including the miraculous Pinpoint Drive and the dreaded Death Probe.

If the Shining Ones purposefully left behind a cache of technology to bring an era of peace and prosperity to the galaxy, they would be bitterly disappointed. Instead, a race has begun for rulership of the known worlds. Each Overlord is intent on forming the first Hegemony of a Galactic Empire, a state that will reign over its fellows.

Q: What is my role in Hegemony's story?

A: You are one of the Overlords of the Galaxy who is trying to make it your own.

Q: What are the main technical features of Galactic Emperor: Hegemony?

A: Hegemony is a java-based game that allows for slow real-time movements over a three-week period. The core gameplay all occurs through this java client.

Hegemony is supplemented by the Abode Chat Theatre, a locale for interaction, roleplaying, and diplomacy that builds on the consensual social systems that are a part of Castle Marrach and other Skotos games.

Q: Is Hegemony a MUD or a MUSH?

A: Neither. It's a java-based strategy game that operates in slow real time.

Q: Can You Player Kill (PK) in Hegemony?

A: This question doesn't really apply to Hegemony. It's a strategic environment and thus the whole goal is to crush your enemies. However, within the Abode Chat Theatre you will be unable to hurt your fellow Overlords, since you all appear as holograms.