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4X (abbreviation of ''Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate'') is a subgenre of strategy-based computer and board games, and include both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay involves building an empire. Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of military and non-military routes to supremacy.

The earliest 4X games borrowed ideas from board games and 1970s text-based computer games. The first 4X computer games were turn-based, but real-time 4X games are common. Many 4X computer games were published in the mid-1990s, but were later outsold by other types of strategy games. Sid Meier's ''Civilization'' is an important example from this formative era, and popularized the level of detail that later became a staple of the genre. In the new millennium, several 4X releases have become critically and commercially successful.

In the board (and card) game domain, 4X is less of a distinct genre, in part because of the practical constraints of components and playing time. The ''Civilization'' board game that gave rise to Sid Meier's ''Civilization'' computer game, for instance, includes neither exploration nor extermination. Unless extermination is targeted at non-player entities, it tends to be either nearly impossible (because of play balance mechanisms, since player elimination is usually considered an undesirable feature) or certainly unachievable (because victory conditions are triggered before extermination can be completed) in board games.

Definition

The term "4X" originates from a 1993 preview of ''Master of Orion'' in '' Computer Gaming World'' by game writer Alan Emrich where he rated the game "XXXX" as a pun on the XXX rating for pornography. The four Xs were an abbreviation for "EXplore, EXpand, EXploit and EXterminate". By February 1994, another author in the magazine said that ''Command Adventures: Starship'' "only pays lip service to the four Xs", and other game commentators adopted the "4X" label to describe similar games.

The 4X game genre has come to be defined as having the four following gameplay conventions:
* ''Explore'' means players send scouts across a map to reveal surrounding territories.
* ''Expand'' means players claim new territory by creating new settlements, or sometimes by extending the influence of existing settlements.
* ''Exploit'' means players gather and use resources in areas they control, and improve the efficiency of that usage.
* ''Exterminate'' means attacking and eliminating rival players. Since in some games all territory is eventually claimed, eliminating a rival's presence may be the only way to achieve further expansion.

These gameplay elements may happen in separate phases of gameplay, or may overlap with each other over varying lengths of game time depending on game design. For example, the ''Space Empires'' series and '' Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar'' have a long expansion phase, because players must make large investments in research to explore and expand into all areas.

Emrich later expanded his concept for designing ''Master of Orion 3'' with a fifth X, eXperience, an aspect that came with the subject matter of the game.

Modern definition

In modern-day usage, 4X games are different from other strategy games such as'' Command & Conquer'' by their greater complexity and scale, and their complex use of diplomacy.

Reviewers have also said that 4X games feature a range of diplomatic options, and that they are well known for their large detailed empires and complex gameplay. In particular, 4X games offer detailed control over an empire's economy, while other computer strategy games simplify this in favor of combat-focused gameplay.

Game design

4X computer and board games are a subgenre of strategy games, and include both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay involves building an empire, which takes place in a setting such as Earth, a fantasy world, or in space. Each player takes control of a different civilization or race with unique characteristics and strengths. Most 4X games represent these racial differences with a collection of economic and military bonuses.

Research and technology

4X games typically feature a technology tree, which represents a series of advancements that players can unlock to gain new units, buildings, and other capabilities. Technology trees in 4X games are typically larger than in other strategy games, featuring a larger selection of different choices. Empires must generate research resources and invest them in new technology. In 4X games, the main prerequisite for researching an advanced technology is knowledge of earlier technology. This is in contrast to non-4X real-time strategy games, where technological progress is achieved by building structures that grant access to more advanced structures and units.

Research is important in 4X games because technological progress is an engine for conquest. Battles are often won by superior military technology or greater numbers, with battle tactics playing a smaller part. In contrast, military upgrades in non-4X games are sometimes small enough that technologically basic units remain important throughout the game.

Combat

Combat is an important part of 4X gameplay, because 4X games allow a player to win by exterminating all rival players, or by conquering a threshold amount of the game's universe. Some 4X games, such as ''Galactic Civilizations'', resolve battles automatically, whenever two units from warring sides meet. This is in contrast to other 4X games, such as ''Master of Orion'', that allow players to manage battles on a tactical battle screen. Even in 4X games with more detailed control over battles, victory is usually determined by superior numbers and technology, with battle tactics playing a smaller part. 4X games differ from other combat-focused strategy games by putting more emphasis on research and economics. Researching new technology will grant access to new combat units. Some 4X games even allow players to research different unit components. This is more typical of space 4X games, where players may assemble a ship from a variety of engines, shields, and weaponry.

Peaceful competition

4X games allow rival players to engage in diplomacy. While some strategy games may offer shared victory and team play, diplomatic relations tend to be restricted to a binary choice between an ally or enemy. 4X games often allow more complex diplomatic relations between competitors who are not on the same team. Aside from making allies and enemies, players are also able to trade resources and information with rivals.

In addition to victory through conquest, 4X games offer peaceful victory conditions or goals that involve no extermination of rival players (although war may still be a necessary by-product of reaching said goal). For example, a 4X game may offer victory to a player who achieves a certain score or the highest score after a certain number of turns. Many 4X games award victory to the first player to master an advanced technology, accumulate a large amount of culture, or complete an awe-inspiring achievement. Several 4X games award "diplomatic victory" to anyone who can win an election decided by their rival players, or maintain peace for a specified number of turns.
Galactic Civilizations has a diplomatic victory which involves having alliances with at least four factions, with no factions outside of one's alliance; there are two ways to accomplish this: ally with all factions, or ally with at least the minimum number of factions and destroy the rest.

Complexity

4X games are known for their complex gameplay and strategic depth. Gameplay usually takes priority over elaborate graphics. Whereas other strategy games focus on combat, 4X games also offer more detailed control over diplomacy, economics, and research; creating opportunities for diverse strategies. This also challenges the player to manage several strategies simultaneously, and plan for long-term objectives.

To experience a detailed model of a large empire, 4X games are designed with a complex set of game rules. For example, the player's productivity may be limited by pollution. Players may need to balance a budget, such as managing debt, or paying down maintenance costs. 4X games often model political challenges such as civil disorder, or a senate that can oust the player's political party or force them to make peace.

Such complexity requires players to manage a larger amount of information than other strategy games. Game designers often organize empire management into different interface screens and modes, such as a separate screen for diplomacy, managing individual settlements, and managing battle tactics. Sometimes systems are intricate enough to resemble a minigame. This is in contrast to most real-time strategy games. ''Dune II'', which arguably established the conventions for the real-time strategy genre, was fundamentally designed to be a "flat interface", with no additional screens.

Gameplay

Since 4X games involve managing a large, detailed empire, game sessions usually last longer than other strategy games. Game sessions may require several hours of play-time, which can be particularly problematic for multiplayer matches. For example, a small-scale game in ''Sins of a Solar Empire'' can last longer than twelve hours. However, fans of the genre often expect and embrace these long game sessions; Emrich wrote that "when the various parts are properly designed, other X's seem to follow. Words like EXcite, EXperiment and EXcuses (to one's significant others)". Turn-based 4X games typically divide these sessions into hundreds of turns of gameplay.

Because of repetitive actions and long-playing times, 4X games have been criticized for excessive micromanagement. In early stages of a game this is usually not a problem, but later in a game directing an empire's numerous settlements can demand several minutes to play a single turn. This increases playing-times, which are a particular burden in multiplayer games. 4X games began to offer AI governors that automate the micromanagement of a colony's build orders, but players criticized these governors for making poor decisions. In response, developers have tried other approaches to reduce micromanagement, and some approaches have been more well received than others. Commentators generally agree that ''Galactic Civilizations'' succeeds, which GamingNexus.com attributes to the game's use of programmable governors. ''Sins of a Solar Empire'' was designed to reduce the incentives for micromanagement, and reviewers found that the game's interface made empire management more elegant. On the other hand, ''Master of Orion III'' reduced micromanagement by limiting complete player control over their empire.

Victory conditions

Most 4X and similar strategy games feature multiple possible ways to win the game. For example, in ''Civilization'', players may win through total domination of all opposing players by conquest of their cities, but may also win through technological achievements (being the first to launch a spacecraft to a new planet), diplomacy (achieving peace agreements with all other nations), or other means. Multiple victory conditions help to support the human player who may have to shift strategies as the game progresses and opponents secure key resources before the player can. However, these multiple conditions can also give the computer-controlled opponents multiple pathways to potentially outwit the player, who is generally going to be over-powered in certain areas over the computer opponents. A component of the late-game design in 4X games is forcing the player to commit to a specific victory condition by making the cost and resources required to secure it so great that other possible victory conditions may need to be passed over.

History

Origin

Early 4X games were influenced by board games and text-based computer games from the 1970s. '' Cosmic Balance II'', '' Andromeda Conquest'' and '' Reach for the Stars'' were published in 1983, and are now seen retrospectively as 4X games. Although ''Andromeda Conquest'' was only a simple game of empire expansion, ''Reach for the Stars'' introduced the relationship between economic growth, technological progress, and conquest. Trade Wars, first released in 1984, though primarily regarded as the first multiplayer space trader, included space exploration, resource management, empire building, expansion and conquest. It has been cited by the author of VGA Planets as an important influence on VGA Planets 4.

In 1991, Sid Meier released ''Civilization'' and popularized the level of detail that has become common in the genre. ''Sid Meier's Civilization'' was influenced by board games such as ''Risk'' and the Avalon Hill board game also called ''Civilization''. A notable similarity between the ''Civilization'' computer game and board game is the importance of diplomacy and technological advancement. Sid Meier's ''Civilization'' was also influenced by personal computer games such as the city management game ''SimCity'' and the wargame ''Empire (1977 video game), Empire''. ''Civilization'' became widely successful and influenced many 4X games to come; ''Computer Gaming World'' compared its importance to computer gaming to that of wheel, the wheel. ''Armada 2525'' was also released in 1991 and was cited by the ''Chicago Tribune'' as the best space game of the year. A sequel, ''Armada 2526'' was released in 2009.

In 1991, two highly influential space games were released. '' VGA Planets'' was released for the PC, while ''Spaceward Ho!'' was released on the Macintosh. Although 4X space games were ultimately more influenced by the complexity of ''VGA Planets'', ''Spaceward Ho!'' earned praise for its relatively simple yet challenging game design. ''Spaceward Ho!'' is notable for its similarity to the 1993 game ''Master of Orion'', with its simple yet deep gameplay. ''Master of Orion'' also drew upon earlier 4X games such as ''Reach for the Stars'', and is considered a classic game that sets a new standard for the genre. In a preview of ''Master of Orion'', Emrich coined the term "XXXX" to describe the emerging genre. Eventually, the "4X" label was adopted by the game industry, and is now applied to several earlier game releases.

Peak

Following the success of ''Civilization'' and ''Master of Orion'', other developers began releasing their own 4X games. In 1994, Stardock launched its first version of the ''Galactic Civilizations'' series for OS/2, and the long-standing ''Space Empires'' series began as shareware. ''Ascendancy (video game), Ascendancy'' and ''Stars!'' were released in 1995, and both continued the genre's emphasis on strategic depth and empire management. Meanwhile, the ''Civilization'' and ''Master of Orion'' franchises expanded their market with versions for the Macintosh. Sid Meier's team also produced ''Sid Meier's Colonization, Colonization'' in 1994 and ''Civilization II'' in 1996, while Simtex released ''Master of Orion'' in 1993, ''Master of Magic'' in 1994 and ''Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares, Master of Orion II'' in 1996.

By the late 1990s, real-time strategy games began outselling turn-based games. As they surged in popularity, major 4X developers fell into difficulties. Sid Meier's Firaxis Games released ''Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri'' in 1999 to critical acclaim, but the game fell short of commercial expectations. ''Civilization III'' encountered development problems followed by a rushed release in 2001. Despite the excitement over ''Master of Orion III'', its release in 2003 was met with criticism for its lack of player control, poor interface, and weak Artificial intelligence in video games, AI. Video game publisher, Game publishers eventually became risk-averse to financing the development of 4X games.

Real-time hybrid 4X

Eventually real-time 4X games were released, such as ''Imperium Galactica'' in 1997, ''Starships Unlimited'' in 2001, and ''Sword of the Stars'' in 2006, featuring a combination of turn-based strategy and real-time tactical combat. The blend of 4X and real-time strategy gameplay led Ironclad Games to market their 2008 release ''Sins of a Solar Empire'' as a "RT4X" game. This combination of features earned the game a mention as one of the top games from 2008, including GameSpot's award for best strategy game, and IGN's award for best PC game. The ''Total War (video game series), Total War'' series, debuting in 2000 with ''Shogun: Total War'', combines a turn-based campaign map and real-time tactical battles.

Recent history

In 2003, Stardock released a remake of ''Galactic Civilizations'', which was praised by reviewers who saw the game as a replacement for the ''Master of Orion'' series. ''Civilization IV'' was released at the end of 2005 and was considered the PC game of the year according to several reviewers, including GameSpot and GameSpy. It is now considered one of the greatest computer games in history, having been ranked the second-best PC game of all time by IGN. By 2008, the ''Civilization'' series had sold over eight million copies, followed the release of ''Civilization Revolution'' for Video game console, game consoles soon after, ''Civilization V'' in 2010 and ''Civilization VI'' in 2016. Meanwhile, Stardock released ''Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords, Galactic Civilizations II'', which was considered the sixth-best PC game of 2006 by GameSpy. Additionally, French developer Amplitude Studios released both ''Endless Space'' and ''Endless Legend''. These successes have led Stardock's Brad Wardell to assert that 4X games have excellent growth potential, particularly among less hardcore players. Paradox Interactive specializes in Grand strategy wargame, grand strategy games, a genre that often overlaps with 4X, including the ''Europa Universalis'' series, the ''Crusader Kings (video game), Crusader Kings'' series, and ''Stellaris (video game), Stellaris''. Grand strategy games differ in being "asymmetrical", meaning that players are more bound to a specific setup and not among equally free factions in exploring and progressing the game and an open world. Amplitude Studios released ''Endless Space 2'' in 2017, met with mixed to positive reviews.

The 4X genre has also been extended by gamers who have supported free software releases such as ''Freeciv'', ''FreeCol'', ''Master of Orion#External links, Freeorion'', ''Golden Age of Civilizations'', and ''C-evo''.

4X in board games

Cross-fertilization between board games and video games continued. For example, some aspects of ''Master of Orion III'' were drawn from the first edition of the board game ''Twilight Imperium''. Even ''Sins of a Solar Empire'' was inspired by the idea of adapting the board game buck Rogers – Battle for the 25th Century, ''Buck Rogers Battle for the 25th Century'' into a real-time video game. Going in the opposite direction, in 2002 Eagle Games made a board game adaptation of ''Sid Meier's Civilization,'' entitled simply ''Civilization (2002 board game), Sid Meier's Civilization: The Boardgame'', significantly different from the board game that had inspired the computer game in the first place. Another remake based on that series, under a very similar title, ''Civilization (2010 board game), Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game'', was released in 2010 by Fantasy Flight Games, followed by ''Civilization: A New Dawn'' in 2017.

Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization is a board game for 2–4 players designed by Vladimír Chvátil, Vlaada Chvatil and published by Czech Board Games in 2006. Its theme is the development of human civilization and the players determine the progress of their own civilization in different fields including culture, government, leadership, religion and science. The game won multiple awards including the ''International Gamers Awards'' in 2007 and ''Game of the Year'' in Poland in 2010, where it was published as ''Cywilizacja: Poprzez Wieki''. Scythe (board game), Scythe is a board game for one to five players designed by Jamey Stegmaier and published by Stonemaier Games in 2016. Set in an alternate history version of 1920s Europe, players control factions that produce resources, develop economic infrastructure, and use dieselpunk war machines, called "mechs", to engage in combat and control territories. Players take up to two actions per turn using individual player boards, and the game proceeds until one player has earned six achievements. At this point, the players receive coins for the achievements they have attained and the territories they control, and the player with the most coins is declared the winner. As of early 2021, BoardGameGeek listed close to 200 board games classified under 4X type, including titles such as ''Eclipse (board game), Eclipse'' (2011) and ''Heroes of Land, Air & Sea'' (2018).

See also

* List of 4X video games

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:4x
4X games,
Real-time strategy video games,
Strategy video games
Turn-based strategy video games,
Video game genres