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 What exactly is this "Endless" series? The Endless series of games are a group of 4x (Expand, Explore, Exploit and Exterminate) games made by Amplitude Studios, a small but very talented group out of Paris, France. So far they've produced two projects in the genre and one rather interesting spinoff. Amplitude games have all launched in Early Access (except for their very first one, Endless Space) for the purpose of getting community feedback that alters development. So far, it's an approach that has really paid off. What differs the Endless games from other 4xes? The big difference is focus. Most 4x games are predominantly about the wargame, whereas this series has a greater focus on more complex empire management with highly diverging factions. Combat is designed to keep the flow of the game moving rather than to pause it while a battle is resolved. This is especially handy in multiplayer as it means the action does not pause for everyone once two players are engaged in conflict. A common trend amongst the games is the FIDSI resource system: Food, Industry (production, unlike others does not stack between turns) [d]D[/b]ust (the currency and primary power source of the setting,) S for research and Influence which is spent in diplomatic affairs. Enough about the studio, where are the GAMES?  Endless LegendEndless Legend was Amplitude's second game and is an extremely strong 4x title. It came out the same year as Civilization: Beyond Earth but the goon consensus appears to be that Legend is a far superior game. 8 races (in the base game, I'll get to the expansions/DLC later) each with extremely different mechanics, an absolutely gorgeous art direction, strong diplomacy and an unique but fast combat system all combine to make an excellent title. Each expansion has only expanded on the game mechanics, fleshing out weaker points or adding completely new systems. Which expansions should I buy? That depends what you want to add to the game, really. I order this in order of personal importance from most to least. Tempest: adds naval combat, a ton of new water-based features and territory. Shifters: adds more interaction with the winter phase and a race that massively shifts in gameplay depending on the season Shadows: espionage and more underhanded diplomacy options Guardians: adds the titular guardian super units, but more importantly adds basically wonders at the world and empire levels and the deeds (rewards for hitting competitive goals) The Lost Tales: adds extra quests, mostly from minor factions Echoes of Auriga: adds more (great) music to the already great soundtrack Anyone have some guides? Please PM or post Dungeon of the EndlessAn interesting roguelike based in the same universe as the other Endless games. Dungeon is actually a bit of a dungeon crawler/tower defense hybrid as your team of intrepid heroes build modules as they carefully cross each floor, culminating in a mad dash with your power crystal from your start to your exit. I'll leave any further expansion of this section to others in the thread as my experience with the game is somewhat limited. Endless Space 2 Came out a few months ago and so far is excellent despite a few polish issues (such as carriers and strike craft not yet in game, coming in an upcoming patch.) There's a huge focus on internal politics (for a typical 4X, it's not Europa Universalis or Crusader Kings) and diplomacy. The races are probably some of the most unique Amplitude have created so far, from the nomadic space "vampire" vodyani to the riftborn and unfallen. They even managed to make a really interesting human faction with the United Empire built on influence and military. For now, I'll just link the official wiki and some gameplay videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_yW2NkxQ2w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhYNUmj1oKQ Endless Space 2 official wiki On a final note, don't bother with the original Endless Space. It's a pretty solid first effort at a 4x, but it's still a very rough game. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Aug 20, 2017 |
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Sep 14, 2016 23:39
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Guides and Useful Links Lichtenstain's Guide to the Forgotten If anyone's got another guide or other info to contribute to the OP, please PM me or post it in the thread. I'll do my best to keep this updated. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Oct 27, 2016 |
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Sep 14, 2016 23:39
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Antti posted:Yeah, the Sophons seem to be smarter Kerbals who stumbled into an AI and they've probably put it in charge because All 4 ES2 factions shown so far are awesome. The Vodyani are the highlight for me. Nomadic religious zealot space vampires who go around converting or eating others they encounter. EDIT: \/ ship design is fairly in depth, though it is slotting different types of equipment into premade designs. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Sep 15, 2016 |
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Sep 15, 2016 17:55
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and now the AI is going to be the adult in the room and run their society instead.
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Demiurge4 posted:The new ship design system looks pretty neat and breaks down min maxing. Hopefully it also does away with the rock-paper-scissors system of ES1. In one of the interviews (I think it's the AngryJoe video) they specifically say they moved away from hard counters.
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Sep 15, 2016 18:40
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Chomp8645 posted:Legend wasn't an EA thing, was it? It was. 4 factions at early access release. Amplitude does it so player feedback shapes the game.
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Sep 15, 2016 22:18
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Chomp8645 posted:GOOFUS wants heroes modeled after Portal memes. They obviously learned from that mistake. They moved to a lot stricter vetting of ideas for Legend.
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Sep 15, 2016 22:25
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Yes. And they're doing the same idea for ES2 with the concept winner being The Unfallen. Tree people that spend population to grow infrastructure and ships. https://steamcommunity.com/games/392110/announcements/detail/816663997172114045 The art side is still being worked on. It's amazing what the community comes up with though.
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Sep 15, 2016 23:19
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Defiance Industries posted:So the Hissho are a minor race now. I would imagine the Pilgrims will get demoted similarly, hopefully not Horatio though. Not every race is coming back as ES1 is now considered "non-canon." ES2 is basically a reboot. They've stated there will be one human major faction, but haven't elaborated on who it is. My guess would be the Empire as a military/industrial niche. EDIT: \/ one thing they've said is that the race quests now have branching questlines. Some of them are a little obvious from the faction intro videos (Sophons are going to likely have a rebellion against their AI, Vodyani will be dealing with the heretics in some fashion, Lumenis have the old families vs the upstart dust user, etc.) So humans who are assholes or not definitely seems a possibility. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Sep 17, 2016 |
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Sep 17, 2016 20:03
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Cythereal posted:I suspect that if humanity is a major race in ES2, it's going to be Horatio. They were never a faction I enjoyed, but they're apparently very popular with the fanbase on the official site. I really hope not. I don't like Horatio at all. As for the Lumeris, I agree on their aesthetics being rather dull but their mechanics sound like a lot of fun. EDIT: \/ the four armed guys' faces look so much like krogans in the concept art that it's distracting. We have three unknowns with one human confirmed so I'm expecting of the last two it'll be one new faction and one returning one. I could definitely see the Harmony returning due to how unique their mechanics were. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Sep 18, 2016 |
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Sep 18, 2016 14:38
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Should be this week unless they run into major bugs. Edit: \/ I'll add them later. Can't believe I missed the cult. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 12:31 on Sep 19, 2016 |
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Sep 19, 2016 11:58
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A spacefaring group called the Mezari. We don't know much about them.
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Sep 20, 2016 13:17
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They were on Auriga for enough generations to forget they were space travellers.
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Sep 20, 2016 13:54
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IIRC it's been handwaved by Amplitude's lore guy that the Mezari were part of the United Empire in ES1, though ES1 is now not canon.
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Sep 20, 2016 14:31
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Actually wouldn't be surprised to see Harmony back
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Sep 21, 2016 00:11
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I do think some sort of auto-upgrade button would've been handy in the designer that just swapped everything out for the latest tier.
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Sep 23, 2016 13:11
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Demiurge4 posted:Maybe just have a single piece of 'armor' and weapons with no tiers for iron that lasts the entire game, with them made from resources giving them a minor damage/protection buff but a unique property for a big cost. That way you can build a few elite units that stand out but overall combat balance is mostly the same the entire game. It's a good idea and wouldn't interfere with the Vaulters' holy resource gimmick since they just stripmine that poo poo anyways.
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Sep 23, 2016 14:36
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NmareBfly posted:So this thread has made me start poking Legend again and I don't have any of the expansions. I'm not sure that I want to drop the 40ish bucks on getting all of them at once, and with a new one coming out how likely are they do do a better-priced complete edition or something? If I were to get them piecemeal is one better than others? On the face of it Guardians looks to be the one but iono. Shadows is probably the best one to grab. It adds the really fun espionage system and another quite unique faction. Shifters would be next as it gives you more options for affecting the winters. Guardians would be last. The legendary deeds and buildings are nice to have but the actual guardians aren't really big deals. Tempest, which I'm beta testing (and will talk about more once I'm allowed, though most of the info is on Amplitude's forum and will be added to the OP when I get the chance) is going to either be above or below Shadows. Opening up the oceans has a major impact on the gameplay.
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Sep 23, 2016 18:32
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Generic Octopus posted:There's no NDA; you can talk all you like, just don't post pics or vids yet since the assets aren't finished. Amplitude wasn't too clear on that so I was being cautious. So...Tempest impressions. I'm loving the ocean gameplay though I admit it's a little disappointing that everyone uses the same ships (save the Morgawr who have a couple really powerful sea units instead of land ones) but it's obviously a budget issue. Naval combat works really well outside of a few smaller bugs currently. The sea contains ruins similar to the land ones as well as large sea fortress structures guarded by Formenians (basically a sea-based minor faction you can't assimilate.) Capturing these forts lays claim to nautical territory, expanding your borders. Additionally each fortress has up to three resource nodes, usually starting with and unlocking the others based on the highest research tier in the game (globally, not per empire.) Now as for the Morgawr, I really like them. Similar to the Forgotten they're a really different implementation of mechanics, heavily based on the expansions newest feature (in this case, naval warfare.) They are built completely around being monsters on the ocean, but weak on land. Any of their cities with a water tile can build navy units from the get go and their settlers/land units are amphibious, able to embark without a tech research.) They also have the ability to spend influence (and they gain it rapidly due to holding ocean easier) to turn pacified villages hostile or to take immediate, invisible control of roaming wild armies. Their sea units (the vore and leviathan) are both incredibly potent versus other ships. Diplomatically, they can employ the Black Spot against one empire at a time, allowing anyone to freely attack that empire and granting them extra rewards for doing so. Similar to the market ban, influence can be spent by the affected empire to remove it and the cost decreases the longer the effect is in play. Tempest really is likely the most significant expansion for EL. It's also probably the last as Amplitude transitions into Endless Space 2 development. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Sep 23, 2016 |
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Sep 23, 2016 19:51
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Speedball posted:There are so many ways that de-pacifying villages could be used to gently caress with your enemies. I love it, it's a form of subterfuge we haven't had access to before. Catspaw (the ability to mind control roaming armies for a small bit of influence) shouldn't be underestimated either. It's pretty fun to suicide them to soften up a target.
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Sep 24, 2016 01:04
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Endless Space 2's early access launches October 6th. https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/blog/467-coming-to-steam-early-access-on-october-6th EDIT: \/ Sadly no, but I'd guess mid to late October myself. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Sep 27, 2016 |
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Sep 27, 2016 14:20
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Flipswitch posted:It's a bit unfair to ask with them working on an expansion to EL and ES2 itself, but is there any more announced stuff for DotE? Would love some Endless Space character packs. Gimme a Craver hero or a Sophon Berserker is something silly. They did release the rescue team pack not too long ago so it's still getting some support. They do consider development finished though. Also, in ES2 news there will be a 100 turn limit in the initial release ala EL Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 15:11 on Sep 30, 2016 |
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Sep 30, 2016 14:40
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Defiance Industries posted:I'd like to see UE maybe take on qualities from one of the smaller splinters (Pilgrim/Horatio/Shredyn) as a product of their story. I think that would be fun. The plot could be a power struggle and who wins is decided by how you've built your empire. This is kind of what I expect. An Empire with the other human factions as basically political parties inside it. Amplitude has hinted at Vaulters but I doubt they're the major faction as we already have a science race. They've said the game will be an even split between old and new groups so we have two returning ones and one new one left to be revealed (the 8th slot is the contest winner which is a race of sentient trees called The Unfallen)
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Oct 2, 2016 13:49
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Yeah, NDA lifted yesterday with the latest patch since the expansion's feature complete. EDIT: \/ I believe he's one of Amplitude's "VIPs" (read: community beta testers) Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Oct 5, 2016 |
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Oct 5, 2016 14:07
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ES2 pricing and other info
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Oct 5, 2016 17:16
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Given their previous track record the game should be finished in 6-8 months.
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Oct 5, 2016 22:50
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Riso posted:Gotta say the people came up with a pretty neat concept there. I am kind of excited. They made the Cult from Endless Legend as well which are one of the most unique groups in it. So some more info from the steam forums for ES2. The 125 turn limit will be in the initial release but likely will be removed next week sometime. And a nice summary of what's done/what needs tweaked/what's missing from the developers https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/forum/66-game-design/thread/20669-community-gdd-2-update-overview
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Oct 6, 2016 18:33
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Speedball posted:The quest dialogue for them is weird too. They seem to have even more of a hive mind than the Necrophages, but rather than seeing everything else as food, they just see everything else as something they hate. Their whole questline is about removing anything that could imprison them again. They've been locked away for a very long time while those assholes on the surface got to roam free. Of course they're pissed.
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Oct 6, 2016 20:23
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berenzen posted:I kinda wish that there was an option to slowly repair them other than paying a mountain of dust. Then again, I'm not spending a bunch of dust elsewhere, and it's fairly easy to get high in the black if you research the tier 1 economic techs. Repair costs are getting cut by 2/3rds next patch.
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Oct 8, 2016 02:33
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HiKaizer posted:Is building defense ships useful? I had a bunch and the Cravers seemed to ignore them and go straight to planetary invasion which was frustrating. Put defence ships in an adjacent system on guard duty. If they're in orbit of the planet they're supposedly defending the AI can somehow still ground assault. This is especially bad for Vodyani as you lose the Ark in an instant.
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Oct 8, 2016 12:28
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Cythereal posted:My money's on Horatio, they're super-popular on the official forums. Apparently the game files have references to both the United Empire and Horatio. But they also have a faction referred to as "time Lords." My guess is Empire for major and Horatio for minor. Vaulters have been hinted to show and I'm guessing minor as well. We've got ten unknown minor races so plenty of room.
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Oct 9, 2016 14:50
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Auriga in ES1 gave a big science boost due to the Endless ruins. I suspect it'll be similar here once you can colonize it.
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Oct 9, 2016 15:10
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Demiurge4 posted:The humans in all the art so far look like they could come from a setting that's not far removed from us today. They all wear leather jackets, jumpsuits and generally don't have anything that could suggest which faction they would belong to which makes guessing a lot harder. If they were from any of the ES1 factions you'd expect them to appear more martial. Amplitude's said to not use the art to guess at future factions. They use humans a lot as filler.
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Oct 9, 2016 17:09
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Prop Wash posted:On this note - does Endless Legend add anything in free patches paradox-style, or is all the new content locked behind buying expansions? I have the base game but no DLC, and it's good but not great. I'd like to see if it's a bit better now (and maybe from that point lay down the money for the DLC) but I'm not paying $45 just to try it out. There's been quite a few AI and diplomacy improvements but most features are indeed limited to the expansions. Also Amplitude has said one unknown ES2 major is humans of some type.
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Oct 9, 2016 20:16
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The combat is probably going to end up with planning closer to EL where you give targeting and stance orders
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Oct 12, 2016 19:15
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IAmUnaware posted:Yeah, Morgawr have to assimilate a minor faction and use that faction's unit if they want to have a land army. Catspaw is good for levying a temporary army, but as you note you really want to have a sensible way of disposing of those troops. You can just end the Catspaw effect at any time, but I prefer to find a useful way to kill them off just so I don't have to deal with them after. That being said, Leviathans and Vores are ridiculous on the oceans. And don't forget black spot. Black Spot can really screw over a powerful enemy since it basically sics all their neighbors on them for a while. EDIT: \/ the patch actually contains all of Tempest's data for the sake of MP. The game just looks at what's activated on your account. The Company of Heroes 1 expansions worked the same way. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Oct 13, 2016 |
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Oct 13, 2016 20:02
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The Deleter posted:They want tactical combat, or at least decision points to make inside of the battles. This is despite the fact that basically every battle is auto-resolve now and watching it unfold is basically watching a simulation. I'd like some finer control on flotillas beforehand but I really don't want to end up like NuMoO where you suddenly realise space has no exciting terrain features to fight in, which is where tactical combat shines, so you just shove ships at each other. The MOST I want is basically single round EL combat. Pick the maneuver plan and a few targeting orders. That's all.
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Oct 13, 2016 20:21
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WarLocke posted:This talk about Tech Eras and whatnot is making me think that making the jump from ES1 straight to ES2 is going to call for a lot of learning new junk, huh? Honestly it's not that bad. The tech tree's a lot easier to understand.
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Oct 14, 2016 19:57
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Chocolate Chunk posted:So I just won a game as Sophons in ES2 and enjoyed it even though it was obviously missing a bunch of things. Maybe you guys know the answer to a couple questions? 1. V will be the final one. III-V are not implemented yet. 2. Starvation definitely seems to be a bug. I believe the latter is intentional (the ring will dissipate over time, but it represents that there's a population still friendly to the old empire remaining.)
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Oct 16, 2016 20:20
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The big thing with EL AI is it respects strength. If you want friends you need to carry the biggest stick.
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Oct 25, 2016 18:31
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Speedball posted:I love that effortpost. Could we put a big link to that in the OP? Added to the OP. If anyone has anything else to contribute, please let me know. I still need to do a better ES2 writeup. EDIT: \/ there were some big writeups in the older thread for at least the 8 vanilla groups. I'll dig them out when I get a chance. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 15:16 on Oct 27, 2016 |
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Oct 27, 2016 14:45
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