Twilight Imperium expansion

[vladdswrath]

Check it out, the website just went live. There is not much in the way of details, but there are some tasty tidbits as to what the expansion adds...

www.fantasyflightgames.com/ti3products_expansion.html

LMK if you can't follow the link Dave, i'll post the relevant info.

[warlord1985]

Nope can't see it.

[vladdswrath]

Shattered Empire
At the end of empire, a faint wind rustled through Salai's robes. It was a calm, warm evening, and the bruised purple outline of the setting sun was still visible on the horizon. An evening made for calm contemplation and peace.

Verus came to his emperor's side for the last time. Together, the two stood in the trembling tower, silently witnessing a bloom of fires grow in their city like a garden of destruction.

The next wave of bombardments destroyed the imperial palace and everyone therein.

The Lazax empire has fallen - first into decay, and then, after a long twilight, into history. It is done and gone, but a new day is dawning, and your people have a new chance to mold the Twilight Imperium to the design of your race.

Twilight Imperium: Shattered Empire is an expansion for Twilight Imperium Third Edition. It enhances gameplay with a variety of new options and enables you to play with seven or eight players in an epic struggle for true galactic dominance!

Twilight Imperium: Shattered Empire includes:

Four never-before-seen races join the struggle for empire!
Two new colors of plastic units to allow for up to eight players in a single game.
Dozens of new system tiles, including new special systems such as Ion Storms, Hope's End, trade stations, and the Wormhole Nexus.
Brand new technologies for all eight players, including a new never-before-seen type of tech!
Eight new variant strategy cards for a completely different gameplay experience, and an additional variant Imperial strategy card for optional use with the core strategy set.
An even broader array of agendas and options in the form of new Action, Political, and Objective cards
Facilities, shock troops, artifacts, space mines, and more!

[vladdswrath]

This is an interview with one of the designers, has even more info!

Please introduce yourself and explain your role with Fantasy Flight Games (FFG).

Hello, my name is Corey Konieczka and I am a game designer/developer for Fantasy Flight Games. I have been working very closely with Christian T. Petersen, the designer of the Twilight Imperium universe to make this game (and many others) a reality.

How long has TI:SE (Twilight Imperium: Shattered Empire) been in development?

There is no simple answer for this. Chris had been working on ideas for a TI3 expansion since TI3 was received so positively in early 2005. I officially started working on the project this May, although we had been brainstorming and tossing ideas around for quite a long while.

What is one of your favorite new features in TI:SE?

I’d probably have to say the new technology cards. There is one new technology for each color and each one fills a very specific (and useful) purpose. We have also made it a little easier to acquire technology now with the alternate technology strategy card. Lastly there is a new type of technology that I am not at the liberty to discuss quite yet.

Are there any new features in TI:SE that didn’t make it in previous games?

In addition to features from the previous version of TI, Shattered Empire also adds a multitude of brand new never before seen options, races and features to the Twilight Imperium universe.

What were some of the motivations in creating TI:SE?

I would have to say that the major motivation has been the support of our wonderful community. Without all the TI3 fans out there, this expansion would only be a twinkle in the mind’s eye.

Since there will be four new races, we’ll get at least four new tiles. Are more tiles being planned for TI:SE?

TI:SE contains a whopping 7 sheets of punchboard containing tons of new systems, tokens and of course the new strategy cards. There are many new system types including one of my favorite: Trade Stations. Trade Stations are controlled by the player that controls the system and are never invaded with ground forces. In addition, these trade stations also include a way of getting free trade goods. Fans of second edition will also be happy to see the return of the Hope’s End system.

I believe fans at GenCon saw the four races: Embers of Muaat, The Brotherhood of Yin, The Winnarians, and the [something gathers]. Is there anything you can tell us about the new races?

I can tell you that the race you were missing was the Clan of Saar. These Nomadic people live on an asteroid, have mobile space docks and have a couple of other neat abilities.

The use of Action and Political cards always enhances the game. Are more in development, and are they planned as a substitute or a supplement to the current deck?

There are tons of new Action and Political cards in the expansion. I believe the political deck has been increased by 50% and around 2 dozen more action cards have been added.

Other than earning Victory Points and the two “I Win” objective cards, will TI:SE feature additional ways to win a game?

There are a few new ways to claim victory points including controlling planets that contain artifacts. There are also a few political cards that provide ways to acquire victory points.

There’s been much talk about new Objective cards and new Strategy cards. What can you tell us about the new cards?

Those are some of my favorite additions from the Expansion. There is a brand new alternate objective deck that focuses a little more on warfare than the original deck. There is also an alternate set of 8 strategy cards that provides players with a new game play experience featuring tweaked and brand new strategies.

With new Strategy cards, Political cards, Action cards, Rules, Races, and Tiles, how will TI:SE affect gameplay?

Many of the new cards either encourage more conflict or are useful for countering some common strategies. For example, I think fans of fighters swarms will have a couple new things to worry about.

Currently, Politics plays a somewhat softer role than Warfare or Technology. Will TI:SE make any substantial changes to politics?

There are two major changes to politics in TI:SE. The first and most obvious one is the new Politics strategy card. To give a hint, it allows players to choose which politics card they want to play from their hand (which is then voted on). Also, the addition of many new politics cards allowed us to make some effects that are much more powerful on the whole. There are many new ways to acquire victory points that can be found in the new politics cards.

Many have commented on how the role of religion could be incorporated into the Twilight Imperium gameworld. Any chance we’ll be seeing religion in TI:SE?

One of the new races is the Brotherhood of Yin. This race can not only convert opposing ground forces, but can also sacrifice ships to destroy opponents.

I’m sure the dev team reads the posts on the forums all the time. Has there been an occasion where the team decided to go with what the fans wanted rather than what the team wanted?

While we would never go against our best judgment, but we did do a lot of forum reading online to see what players wanted. Often times when there are thousands and thousands of people playing our games they can provide insight that we may not have thought of.

With so many of the hardcore players using their own variants, are there any plans to use blank cards so fans can create their own Action, Political, Event cards?

Unfortunately, we will not be including any blank cards for players to create their own cards.

Are you planning to incorporate rules from the 1st or 2nd TI?

Some rules such as Minefields and Shock Troops have been included in this expansion. Both those components (and more) have been incorporated from the earlier editions of TI.

Are you still on schedule for a late November release?

The game is currently at the printer and still on scheduled to be released before Christmas. Even though I cannot provide an exact date, at least fans can rest easy knowing that the game itself is finished and will be in their hot little hands very soon.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We have only scratched the surface of this expansion. There are a great many things that I did not mention for the sake of leaving some surprises for fans. I would also like to add that we have plans for a little something special for TI3 fans on our website just before the release of the expansion.