Talk:4X

FAR warning

If the "Recent History" section is not updated soon or a good reason to not include recent information is given, it would appear that this will have to be nominated for WP:FAR due to comprehensiveness concerns. QuicoleJR (talk) 20:13, 15 May 2023 (UTC)

The only major change on the 4x landscape since Civil IV would be Amplitude's Humankind. I cannot think of any other major 4x title not already mentioned or offered since 2017. Masem (t) 20:51, 15 May 2023 (UTC)

In that case, I believe it would be better to remove the maintenance tag. QuicoleJR (talk) 20:54, 15 May 2023 (UTC)

The Age of Wonders series is missing from the article. Planetfall and 4 seem to be well regarded 4X games that received plenty of press coverage. --Mika1h (talk) 15:48, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

I know Age of Wonders 4 as well as their previous space game were treated as 4x's, but I am not sure about earlier games in the series.

What I would like to find is sourcing on 4x indie games, not to list them all out, just that this is a new vector of new games. Masem (t) 16:58, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

Why are we going immediately for the nuclear option? And why is this an issue for others? WP:SOFIXIT. Expounding on current 4X games does not require expert knowledge, just reliable sources. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 07:48, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

I was planning to work on it, I was just notifying people that there may be problems. QuicoleJR (talk) 14:15, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

The X series of video games are a hybrid 4x/Space Flight Sim, has been around since 1999, and also isn't mentioned anywhere in this article. 2600:6C5E:3800:C8C:387F:30EA:D859:856D (talk) 08:16, 24 January 2025 (UTC)

@QuicoleJR, Masem, Mika1h, and Zxcvbnm: I was thinking of scheduling this for WP:TFA but saw that there was a lot of uncited text, especially in the "Grand strategy" section. Is this article ready to run at TFA, are any of you (or anyone reading this) interested in fixing this up, or should this go to WP:FAR? Z1720 (talk) 22:42, 13 May 2026 (UTC)

"More complex than other strategy games"

In the Complexity subsection it says repeatedly that 4x-games are "more" complex than other strategy games, but the sources that are linked don't support that claim. ~2026-61496-0 (talk) 23:49, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

To clarify, this is what i mean:

"Whereas other strategy games focus on combat, 4X games also offer more detailed control over diplomacy, economics, and research"

Assuming "other" meaning "other than 4x" it is misleading to say that this detail is a unique characteristic of 4x-games. The same can be found in non-4x grand strategy games. ~2026-61496-0 (talk) 23:58, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

How is this criticism?

Quote from Criticism section:

"According to Rolf Nohr of the Braunschweig University of Art, the gameplay of modern 4X games is based on an expansionist concept similar to Lebensraum. In these games, conquest is a requirement for political victory, and is defined as liberation of an occupied space, which is then annexed by the player. The state is portrayed as an organism that, to be "healthy", must grow and gain more space by engaging in resource war. Nohr describes strategy games as repeated narrations of the Clash of Civilizations, citing the large focus on conflict and us vs. them politics."

There is no actual criticism in this section, it just talks about the fact that these games portray expansionism/imperialism etc. and not why that would be a bad thing. Thats not really criticism. ~2026-40609-10 (talk) 22:00, 20 July 2026 (UTC)