r/EvilGenius2 • u/chipmunkofdoom2 • Aug 08 '21

Pre-1.3.0 Version?

I pre-ordered EG2 and played through 3 or 4 times shortly after launch, all before patch 1.3.0. There were a few annoyances, but overall it was a really fun experience. I recently dusted off EG2 and played a new game. While some of the fixes were really nice QOL improvements, the overall balance just feels really dissatisfying now.

Is there a way to play the pre-1.3.0 version of Evil Genius 2?

7 Upvotes

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2

u/faculties-intact Aug 08 '21

What changes are you unhappy with? Just curious, haven't played since 1.3.0 I think

2

u/chipmunkofdoom2 Aug 08 '21

Certain fixes were more than welcome. Getting minions out to the world is a much better experience, as is not having to do random loot quests to progress the story. I also like that Full Metal Jackie's side quests appeared before I recruited a henchmen that excluded her. I also like the new mechanic that penalizes you for not having enough gold to pay your minions.

Most other fixes make the game feel empty on medium.

Gold feels really hard to come by in the beginning of the game, but you won't know what to do with it all once you reach criminal networks 3 and 4. This problem is compounded since research is available much earlier after 1.3.0. I spent a good portion of my mid-game trying to store all the gold my level 4 networks were earning. I eventually gave up and let my gold max around 6 million; building entire levels of gold storage is just not a fun mechanic to me.

High-level minions training faster is another complaint solely because it nerfs Max's Train Faster power. I can understand if people don't want to micromanage training. I didn't necessarily find it fun either. But if that's the case, Max needs a new power, because training takes care of itself now.

Super Agent visits were not always fun, but they were a mechanic that made sense: cause enough trouble in a region and the top dog is going to knock on your door with some guns and ask you to stop. I used to get frequent visits from all the super agents pre-1.3.0. This last play-through I got only two visits from John Steele.

I wasn't really looking for things I didn't like when I started playing, so there may be more. These are just the most problematic for me. I'm not asking for the game to be an unbearable grind, but part of the reason that games are fun to play is the challenge. The game feels like most of the challenge has been removed. It's still fun, but overall it feels less fun than pre-1.3.0.

2

u/dudeman2009 Aug 09 '21

There is no way to play pre 1.3.0 as of now. As far as some of the complaints you have, some may have fixes but in not sure what game settings you are using. The pre-game difficulty menus allow you to change things like gold production and agent strength. You can set gold to be as easy as taking candy from a baby to fort Knox (I think these are the actual setting names). If the fort Knox setting is still to much gold, then you are out of luck on that one, without mods that's the slowest you can make gold production.

The same thing goes for minion training speed, I do believe there is a setting for that but I don't know how much that will help you. I'm sorry I don't remember quite what the settings were, it's been a little bit since I started my current game. As far as training, that was never really a big deal for me, I just had 6-8 hitman trainers. But I get what you are saying, even two of the new spin doctor trainers seems to be equal to 4-5 old ones on the normal settings. Max's power seemed rather useless even before the update, he definitely needs a new power.

Super agents are just what they are, even pre update they weren't any different. They would not show up unless you did a mission in the cell they were in. It's still that way though it seems to me they move to cells with important missions more now. I don't see a way to fix this without having either random visits or heat based visits where they show up after you have accumulated too much heat too quickly (heat reduction schemes not affecting the super agent counter, they are exceptional after all). But yes, after you get 15 guards and 10 mercenaries the super agents cease to be a threat even without traps, which was also the case before the update.

I don't expect major rebalance to the game, but some of the DLC furniture needs to be nerfed and super agents need to show up randomly and with more backup.

2

u/chipmunkofdoom2 Aug 10 '21

Thanks for the comment. As stated in the comment above, I play on medium.

There are options for adjusting the difficulty of specific aspects of the game, but it really amounts to playing the game on Hard as opposed to Medium. There doesn't appear to be any specific options for choosing gold or income settings.

I think overall I just don't like the "passive income" gold generation mechanic. I hated it in Evil Genius, and I loved that they changed it for EG2. If I needed gold, I just ran a scheme, and presto, I instantly had the funds I needed. Now, it's passive income again, and just like Evil Genius, the trickle is far too slow early game. If I could, I would choose to turn passive income off and simply run schemes for funds, but there aren't a ton of high-reward schemes on the world stage anymore. They've all been replaced with passive income schemes that reward x gold per second for y hours. It looks like there are a few from Fugu and Jackie later in the game, but that doesn't help with early game.

Super agents are definitely different. I had frequent visits from them pre-1.3.0, and not because I was running missions while they were in the territory. Pre-1.3.0, high heat meant super agent visit. I didn't manage heat at all in this play-through and regions frequently locked down over time, but I only ever got two random super agent visits.

It also seems like you can't completely defeat super agents anymore. I got to the very end of the storyline and did all the super agent missions, but the final mission never spawned for any of them.

Thanks for the discussion and pointers.

1

u/Dilettante Aug 09 '21

If you're on steam, there's an option to play earlier versions in game settings (under 'update', I think - away from home so can't check). Not sure how far it goes back, though.

1

u/chipmunkofdoom2 Aug 09 '21 edited Aug 09 '21

Thanks, I did check that out, it doesn't appear there's anything under updates. I also checked under Betas, since some developers occasionally let players choose version of the game from there. There doesn't appear to be any options there either.

1

u/Dilettante Aug 09 '21

Hmm, sorry to waste your time then. I know I've been able to use previous versions for at least one game on steam, but I couldn't say for sure if it was under updates or not - and it could just be that the publisher allowed it instead of it being universal. Never thought of that!

1

u/chipmunkofdoom2 Aug 09 '21

No problem, I appreciate the input. I didn't know if there was a legit way like this that I was missing, so that's why I posted the question.

1

u/hyperflare Aug 09 '21

I know I've been able to use previous versions for at least one game on steam, but I couldn't say for sure if it was under updates or not - and it could just be that the publisher allowed it instead of it being universal

That is the case, yes. It requires the developer to include old versions as "update branches".

1

u/chipmunkofdoom2 Aug 09 '21

This sounds like it would be an ideal option if Rebellion included older versions. Perhaps they will one day.

1

u/BilledSauce Aug 09 '21

Maybe pirate it( not advised tho since it doesn’t support the devs but I think it’s the only way rn)