Three Moves Ahead

This week, Len sits down with Philip "BeoMulf" Mulford, a professional RTS esports caster. We discuss how you get that gig, how you develop the skills for it, and how it compares to traditional sportscasting. We also dig in a bit to the recent 0.3.0 patch for Stormgate and how the first big graphical refresh, automated control groups, and fully rebindable hotkeys change the experience. NOTE: We found out after the show was recorded that Philip will be handling the main stream for the CHOC tournament on Sunday at https://www.twitch.tv/beomulf. You can find out more at https://playstormgate.com/news/stormgate-for-choc-charity-tournament

Len, Fraser, and Sin gather to try and figure out what the heck happened with Civilization 7. We discuss why it's such a let-down for the legendary series, and whether or not it's just time for civilization to end.

Len, Mike, and Nerium gaze down the road ahead at the most interesting and promising strategy games coming out (we hope) in 2025, from the heavy-hitters to some indie oddities.

Len, Mike, and Sin gather 'round to sing the praises of our favorite strategy and tactics games of the year, as well as trying to identify the ever-elusive narrative throughline.

Len, Jon, and Mike are joined by Freehold Games' Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat to discuss Caves of Qud. In a world where rogue"lites" and rogue-adjacents have blown up, what is the niche of a true, traditional roguelike? We also dig into the procedural generation of its post-multiple-apocalypses world and dreamlike writing style.

Len is joined by Nerium Strom, Mike Williams, and Sin Vega for a round-table of What Else Are We Playing? From weird surreal horror to Factorio and Cities: Skylines 2, it's a chill chat for a chilly month on our production calendar.

Len is joined by Father Lorris and Sin Vega to discuss Frostpunk 2, the long-awaited sequel to the quintessential survival city-builder. We discuss where it hits and where it misses, with a particular focus on the strengths of the original that it fails to recapture by zooming out further.

Len and Rowan are joined by games writer Kris Lorischild to discuss Tactical Breach Wizards. We discuss how rare it is for a game to be this funny on purposes, as opposed to from the chaotic intersection of procedural systems, how it creates rewarding tactical puzzles with simple ingredients, and... Metal Gear?!

Len is joined this week by David Lagettie, CEO of the resurrected MicroProse. We share some of our own MicropProse memories, and discuss what makes a MicroProse game, as well as why David chose this brand to bring back from oblivion.

This is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma! Len, Lambert, and FatherLorris continue their ongoing beef with the Holy See while discussing Europa Universalis 5 dev diaries primarily focused on warfare. We're not even doing jokes about how long these are anymore. That's so early 2024. It's just expected at this point. This is our lives now.

Len is joined by Aftermath's Luke Plunkett and Dr. Bret Devereaux to discuss Total War: Pharaoh's expansive Dynasties glow-up. We dig into the sources that are and aren't available for Bronze Age warfare, how the latest historical Total War feels now with all the bells and whistles, and whether or not Creative Assembly's grand apology tour might be a sign of things to come, or just a one-off PR move.

Len and Jon are joined by Sin Vega and Well There's Your Problem's Justin Roczniak (donoteat01) to revisit Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic for its 1.0 release. We discuss what's changed and been added since we last checked it out in Early Access, why it's so captivating, and who it's actually for.

This is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma! Len, Lambert, and Lorris get in and out of this month's deluge of dev diaries in a downright snappy three hours, despite nitpicking EU5's depiction of the British Isles for long enough to kill a non-map gamer. Please be cautious when listening to our nonsense around partners, small children, and the psychologically healthy. They may be unprepared for exposure to our level of pedantry and hyperfixation. FatherLorris' Art Manifesto: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hShrL1wJxVX0t4oNLasDFjf2ibGnuizBRERubdDyWVo/

Len, Lorris, and Lambert sat down with JayBean, the creator of the popular Anbennar fantasy total conversion mods for Europa Universalis 4, Crusader Kings 3, and Victoria 3. We asked him what he's most excited about from what we've seen of EU5 so far, what changes he might make to the mod with these new systems, and how Paradox Tinto can better support the modding community.

Len, Luke, and Ian warp in to discuss Homeworld 3, a space strategy sequel more than two decades in the making. We discuss its use of space terrain, the more intimate storytelling in the campaign, the co-op Wargames mode, and what it has and hasn't preserved from its pantheonic predecessors.

This is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma! Len, Lambert, and Lorris are here to explore the question of how long a podcast about an unreleased game can be before someone in our lives physically intervenes. We not only have Tinto Talks and the Johan Files to cover, but now Tinto Maps, Saturday Buildings, and the Pavía Papers. There was actually more news about EU5 this month than there ever has been in a 30-day period about any previous Paradox game.

Len and Rowan are joined by Nathan from the YouTube channel The Great Book of Grudges to discuss the Thrones of Decay patch, Creative Assembly's apology tour, and the state of Immortal Empires in 2024. Rowan grapples with why Warhammer 3 just isn't doing it for her, Nathan marvels at the current contentment of the community, and Len chews a hole in a shirt.

Len, Ian, and Jon are joined by our official unofficial historical consultant, Dr. Bret Devereaux, to discuss Manor Lords. We clear up what it is and what it isn't, how it portrays the historical realities of medieval burgage, and how Early of an Early Access game it really is.

This is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma! Len, Lambert, and Lorris are back to discuss the next four Europa Universalis V dev diaries and The Johan Files, an edited compilation of all of Johan's relevant forum posts that has more than doubled in size since we last talked. We decided to call it at four hours, but still had plenty more to talk about, so it seems like the Megacast format isn't going anywhere any time soon...

It's a full house this week, as Len is joined by Ian Boudreau, Luke Plunkett, Mike Williams, and Ruth Cassidy to perform a bit of an autopsy on Millennia, C Prompt and Paradox's take at a Civ-like historical 4X. We all came away with a bit of a bad taste in our mouths about it, to varying degrees, and we spend a fair bit of time trying to explain why – and set aside some time to talk about what we did like.