Do some imperial space politics, don't get deposed in Alliance of the Sacred Suns

Alliance of the Sacred Suns is a space-y blend of 4X and Grand Strategy RPG percolating out there in game land, and its developers have shared some interesting news about big changes to the core game ahead of its Early Access launch this year. They've revamped the in-game encyclopedia and tutorial functions, and beefed up the tooltips, to make the overall user experience better.

Thrilling, I know, but this is the kind of stuff us strategy gamers live for. Alliance of the Sacred Suns is a promising-looking game, one where you're the newly-minted ruler of a crumbling space empire who has to hold its byzantine politics at bay in time to save galactic civilization.

Their latest development diary also reveals new mechanics for exploring and connecting new worlds to the Empire. Explorers must find them, then constructors must develop them, but the most interesting part is that the worlds are then auctioned off among the powerful imperial houses. It's a 4X where sometimes you don't get to keep the things you explore, which is neat.

Rick Lane called it "Dune meets Crusader Kings" when he looked at it last year, and I can't help but agree that there's a very Dune and Book of the New Sun vibe here. "Initially, you’ll only control one or two planets directly, known as your holdings. While you can acquire more, and it can be prudent to do so, that isn’t really the point of Alliance," said Rick. "Your ultimate objective is the integrity of the Empire as a whole, achieving which requires a more nuanced approach than making naked land grabs for personal gain." 

You can find Alliance of the Sacred Suns on Steam, where there's also a demo that at last check is about six months old. It's developed by KatHawk Studios, published by Hooded Horse, and set to release some time this year.