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Hello Reddit!
Producer Ash Tregay and Lead Designer Rich Edwards here from Rebellion, ready to answer your questions ahead of the release of Evil Genius 2: World Domination on Tuesday 30th March.
Evil Genius 2 is a satirical spy-fi lair builder, where players take control of an Evil Genius and set their plans for world domination in motion. When it feels this good to be bad, the Forces of Justice don’t stand a chance!
You can build your own unique evil lair and cover operation, Train a force of criminal minions, Defend your Lair from the Forces of Justice, and Dominate the world with a Doomsday Device in this direct sequel to the 2004 cult classic.
We will begin answering 17:00 GMT
Ash Tregay - Rebellion_Games
Rich Edwards - Rebellion_Dev
More about the game:
Evil Genius 2 website
You can watch the latest trailers here
Gameplay with Developer Commentary
Don’t forget, you can pre-purchase Evil Genius 2 with up to a 15% discount on Steam
Didn’t get your question answered? We’ll be going live on our Twitch channel this Wednesday 10th March, 18:00 GMT.
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Will the game have Steam workshop support? And if so, what will we be able to create?
ID: gq89l7sID: gq827ubseconded - if only so I can put the TF2 mercs into the game as henchmen
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Are our exploits reported on the radio like in the first game?
ID: gq89ayoWe've put a much stronger focus on the exploits of your Genius this time around - so rather than listening to Radio Broadcasts, we've brought the focus much closer to the Lair through a series of conversations with their minions, Henchmen, and even Super Agents, at key points of the campaign. There's no shortage of these moments, either, and they're all directly relevent to what you're currently doing.
- Rich
ID: gq84sreI hope so
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How many Super Agents does each Organisation have? Also is the tutorial skippable?
ID: gq89v7hEach Force of Justice has a small army of agents at their disposal to thwart your evil deeds, with a unique powerful Super Agent all of their own to return time and again...unless you uncover their weakness and defeat them for good, of course. The tutorial can be disabled, though we strongly encourage you to play through it for your first campaign: dominating the world is no simple task!
- Ash
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How many seasons of additional content are you guys planning on doing?
Are you planning on introducing more Henchmen? Or more Geniuses?
ID: gq8946gWe're definitely not at the end of our ideas for Evil Genius 2, but we've just got the one season announced right now. That'll include a new Evil Genius, a pack of cool new items for your Lair, 2 brand new Henchmen with their own Side Stories, and a few new minion types to mix things up too. We also have a few additional surprises in store for you along the way. If you'd like to see more Evil Genius 2 after that...make sure you let us know!
- Ash
ID: gq81xpyI second this question, will you bring Shen Yu back? Or a relative of his similar to with Eli?
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Are Freaks from the first game making a comeback? Always loved recycling dead agents to make those guys. 😀
ID: gq8h2rrFreaks were looked at and ruled out relatively early in development: We incinerate our Body Bags now, it's far less wasteful!
Recycling is important in 2021 of course, so we're exploring other ways Agents might be put to use after their pesky do-gooder hearts stop beating.
- Ash
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Thanks to Ash and Rich for doing the AMA and another thank you to Beldeth for getting the whole thing set up. This was an AMA long in the making and we're super excited to have them here.
I also mod /
and I've collected a few questions from people there who wouldn't be able to make the AMA:/
: Will the AI have minions with preferential traits queue up for advanced training. For example, pacifist minions will not auto train to become guards, but will prefer to become valets or technicians?/
: Will there be multiplayer?/
: Why is Evil Genius 2 going to have a season pass?/
: Will EG1 be going on sale once EG2 releases?/
: Hopefully somebody can/will ask if we might get more than one season pass in addition to what’s already been mentioned?My own question: It seems like, from all of the promotional content that you guys have put out, that Rebellion understands what this game is all about. Could you give us some behind the scenes insight as to how you all found out you would be working on the sequel?
ID: gq8cnc9+ Will the AI Minions with preferential traits queue up for advanced training?
The traits do affect the priority of various tasks around the Lair. If you have a minion with a Strong Right Hook, for example, they will prefer to train to become a Guard. But your demands as the Genius are always going to take priority - so if you need a technician, well, maybe you'll end up with a sub optimal minion. Just remember, they're always disposable.
Additionally, we have a minion manager for advanced players who really want to get in there and micromanage their workforce. Once a minion is given a preferential task, they'll make sure they're in a state to do that thing at a moment's notice. Those minions also won't head to the world, so if you want a team of workers dedicated to the control room, this is the feature for you.
+ Will there be multiplayer?
We're focusing on creating the strongest single player experience we can.
+ Why a season pass?
We've got some really cool post-launch content planned - the season pass will allow you to grab all the content we've announced at a lower price.
+ Will EG1 be going on Sale?
If you grab it now you'll get a discount on the sequel!
+ More than one season pass?
We've just got the one season pass announced right now.
- Rich
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As it is officially my birthday today, I invoke the ancient right to have a question answered!
How long will the campaigns approximately be, each?
(And what are the odds of a beta key finding it's way into my inbox?)
ID: gq8auxeHappy Birthday!
Each of the 4 campaigns is...not short. Each narrative campaign sees your Genius of choice progress from their earliest days putting their plans for World Domination into motion to the moment their doomsday device is fired for a final time...and the world isn't dominated in a day. On top of that, we have a wealth of optional content in the form of Side Stories: everything from recruiting Henchmen, defeating Super Agents, and acquiring shiny new Loot items.
All this is progressed at your own pace, so you can try to race through it or take a more laid back approach to ruling the world.
- Ash
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What change compared to the original game do you feel is the most important?
ID: gq8b9veI've got to say the Doomsday Devices. From the early days of development, Rich was adamant that he wanted to put doomsday devices into players hands during the campaign, not just save them for a grand finale cutscene. The result is dramatic - you can expect to unlock a hulking, powerful Doomsday Device relatively early in the campaign, and then unleash that doomsday device on the world multiple times as you expand and perfect it. Not necessarily without unforeseen side effects, mind you.
We're really proud of our doomsday devices 🙂
- Ash.
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What other games if any have inspired the development for the sequel to the 2004 game?
ID: gq89yxeWe're big strategy-management fans on the dev team, and eagerly work our way through big and small releases. Everything from Two Point Hospital, Frospunk, and Jurassic World Evolution, to Prison Architect, Oxygen Not Included, Parkitect and KeeperRL...to name just a few.
- Ash
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I noticed the UI is very, Yellow, will their be a way to shift it to another color, or a way to mod that?
ID: gq89qd2Yellow's great! It's the colour of your lowly Worker minions' jumpsuits! That said, we provide support for the most common forms of colour-blindness at launch, and changing this setting will impact a variety of key areas of the game, including the UI.
- Ash
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Will there be enormous raids? Bigger then we have seen before in Evil Genius? Like a All out assault on your Evil lair?
ID: gq89sx7The Forces of Justice certainly aren't going to stand idly by while you march toward world domination. You can expect incursions from all manner of saboteurs, soldiers, crime lord goons and more, and it's safe to say they'll only step up their efforts as your doomsday device nears its final form. Plan your defenses well!
- Ash
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Just wanted to stop in and comment that I played the original when I was a kid and it was so much fun. It's been wild to go from idly musing about a second game from time to time to eagerly awaiting the 30th! The game looks excellent and I can't wait to play. Thanks for bringing back a childhood favorite. Much love!
ID: gq8c173Thank you 🙂 We can't take credit for Demis Hassabis and team's work on the original game, but we're obviously massive fans of it ourselves, and Evil Genius 2 is a real passion project for many of us on the team. Can't wait to get the game into your hands!
- Ash
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Is the game going to come to GeForce now or similar streaming platforms?
ID: gq8ddagNo plans at present. We're focused on the Steam launch!
- Ash
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Why did you get rid of the TNT for construction workers, I kinda liked that.
ID: gq89ggpWhy did you get rid of the TNT for construction workers, I kinda liked that.
Thematically, it's been a few years since the events of the first game, and there's been wonderful advances in Lair Construction. All that dangerous, incriminating dynamite is no longer necessary.
From a gameplay point of view, though, we found that could cause the game to to drag as you had to wait for the minion to fetch the dynamite and return to the construction. We want to respect your time as a player and ensure the game moves swiftly at all times.
There's a world out there that needs to be dominated, after all.
- Rich
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suppose some one accidentally does something that means some of the sub story's can't be completed, is there a way to reset those either to the latest check point or restart completely without the need of loading a save ?
ID: gq8bhj7Forcing the player to reload a save has been something we've been aiming to avoid throughout development. We've work hard to make sure that once you start a Side Story, you'll always be able to finish it.
Unless you die, of course...
- Rich
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Since from our understanding, that EG2 is heavily inspired by EG, what will set the sequel apart? What kind of new content / mechanics that plays fundamentally different from the original EG can we expect from EG2, to inject creativity and innovation to this cult classic?
ID: gq8d4o4I'd have to say the narrative focus of EG2 is quite unusual for the genre. We offer 4 sizeable narrative campaigns, each of which focusing on a unique Evil Genius, with their own story and Doomsday Device, and this carries forward to our other content too. Take Henchmen for example: each of the Henchmen in EG2 starts life as a Crime Lord in their own right, somewhere in the world, and won't always take kindly to a job offer. Through a series of Side Story objectives, you'll need to decide whether each is someone you want to recruit, eliminate, or just...leave alone.
...I am of course avoiding the more obvious answer, in that EG2 invites you to build the evil Lair of your dreams across multiple vertical floors on an enormous island, then fill that Lair with literally HUNDREDS of minions! See also my answer about Doomsday Devices: you'll get to fire them. A lot.
- Ash
ID: gq8dwtxThe first thing that comes to my mind is Stairs! In the original Evil Genius you were limited to only building on one floor, while now we're encouraging you to use the whole mountain. This felt initially like something that was very simple, but it actually opens up a tonne of depth here when it comes to creating various zones within your Lair.
Then there's the amount of extra content we have in our game. Loot is back in a big way - there's a lot of it, and if you want to steal these powerful items for your Lair, you'll need to do more than send a few minions to the world. And once you have it you'll find there's a lot of different uses. I don't want to give anything away but we've done our best to make sure that Loot is worth your time.
Okay, I'll give one thing away. The doors to Fort Knox are _incredibly_ secure...
- Rich
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So of all the genius's, which one would you say you put the most effort into story wise?
ID: gq8e6okWe've worked with internal and external writers to build interesting narratives for each of our Geniuses (and our Henchmen, and our Super Agents...and even our Loot), and we're delighted with the work they've done. Everyone will have a favourite of course, and we're no exception. Rich is a big fan of Emma and her Spider Chair (though he says "my favourite genius is a rotating carousel"), where I favour Ivan's very...direct approach to World Domination...even if I look closer to Max.
- Ash
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How many henchmen will we be able to have per Genius? Also, will each genius also start with a henchman like the first game?
ID: gq89q8mYou'll be able to choose five henchmen to follow you at any one time. Given they start life as Crime Lords, directly opposed to you, and have to be brought on side through a series of tasks, it's much safer that way.
Of course, if you find yourself regretting a particular hiring decision... Execution isn't only for the minions.
- Rich
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Has anyone from the original game's team commented on the new version? I hope they like it!
ID: gq8jgv6One of the things that was core to the original game was its incredible soundtrack, composed by James Hannigan.
We're very pleased to say James has created the soundtrack for the sequel, too.
- Rich
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Will the campaign pack include a new genius or just new stories for the existing geniuses?
And if it's a new genius, can we see a return from Shen Yu?
ID: gq8eq9zThe campaign pack will include a brand new Genius, with their own narrative campaign, and their very own Doomsday Device.
- Ash.
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When I saw a stream I noticed some of the traits don’t seem of much consequence at least on the surface and were just a bit of flavour to the minion. Is that the case or are they all relevant to the minions performance in some form?
ID: gq8kezwThis is one of my favourite things about working on Evil Genius 2. While a lot of these traits may appear to be filler, I've worked dilligently to make sure that as many of them as possible all have an effect on the minion. Our GUI team have done a wonderful job in producing some great, characterful icons, and it's a genuine delight to work with.
Here's a sneak peek into some of our internal patch notes:
+ "Dungeon Masters" now have a preference for Science jobs.
+ "Coffee Lovers" have a preference for the mess hall table that has Coffee clearly visible. (Which is a mainly Deception themed item)
+ Film Buffs restore Smarts more quickly when watching TV
+ "Amatuer Entomologists" will try to become Biologists.
+ Anyone with "Hayfever" will try to avoid becoming a Biologist.
+ "Tortoise Owners" move _slightly_ slower than everyone else.
- Rich
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Can we unironically be nice to our minions and give them good quarters etc?
ID: gq8f1idYou can, yes! Minions need downtime like everyone does, and if you want to give them more than the bare essentials in the Barracks or the Mess Hall, you can choose to invest in Staff Rooms where your loyal minions can indulge in TV, video games, or even karaoke.
Of course, if productivity drops, you could choose to execute a few layabouts and hire in some fresh recruits. Always an option.
- Ash.
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Does the evil organisation have a name this time around? Or are we still just known as “an evil organisation”
ID: gq8k4qfEach Genius has their own, though we don't necessarily name them. The first rule of running a secret evil organisation is don't name your secret evil organisation.
- Ash
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Are able to do a catch and release type thing like with the first game? Where say an agent or tourist spots something they shouldn’t and we do a certain type of interrogation and it resets their bar, allowing us to guide them outside and be on their merry way none the wiser? I’ve always preferred that method when I can use it
ID: gq8gbhcThat's the problem with catching and releasing - the Agent knows they've been caught. You've just shown them the inner workings of your Lair. You might have even monologued in front of them, or given them the opportunity to overhear a key detail of your plan.
So we've introduced the Brainwasher. Catch an Agent, break their will, and then turn them into a minion who works for you. Depending on the Agent you capture, you'll get a different minion type. For example, a Saboteur can be persuaded to put their talents to better use fixing up your Lair as a Technician.
But if you want to play the game in a stealthier way, then that's what the Casino is for. Train up a horde of Deception minions and turn them loose on your enemies before they even get to the Lair. Drain their Resolve and they'll go home without even investigating what's going on behind that big, suspicious door between the baccarat table and the floorshow.
There's also a number of Henchmen that can help in this endeavour. But I'll need to save some secrets for another time, otherwise I'm going to get captured and brainwashed myself.
- Rich
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When will details on the DLC genius be released?
ID: gq8gkaeWe'd like to give you the details as soon as we can, but none of our DLC is content we've just removed from the base game: we need to make it! We have some concepts for the new Genius, but we'll be keeping the details close until they're truly ready to be unleashed on the world.
- Ash
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If you finish all research somehow, will science minions have other important duties left, like tending to minion health and the Device?
ID: gq8ez3fAbsolutely. Executing minions provides a significant morale boost to any witnesses, after all!
But if you're feeling merciful then yes, they can still prove useful. A number of items in the game can be toggled between different modes, and those modes require different minions. So if your scientists are done uncovering the mysteries of the universe, you can give your Workers a break and set the boffins to work monitoring your Global Operations. They're actually better at it, too, even if they are more demanding then their jumpsuited comrades.
- Rich
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What movies has the team watched for inspiration? Any Bruce Lee or other martial arts movies? (Fingers crossed for a Jet Chan or similar)
And, a couple questions on behalf of /
. Will trap combos still earn money? Also, will sandbox mode be available from the start? Will everything be unlocked in sandbox mode from the start? Will there be an in game encyclopedia of all the stuff that can be unlocked? If there is an encyclopedia, does it give dimensions on how much floor space items take up?ID: gq8jmnr- Trap combos don't earn Gold, but we do have a particular trap to let you take care of any loose change those pesky Agents might have rattling around in their pockets.
- Sandbox Mode is indeed available from the start, and we've stripped out anything that would hinder you from building the Evil Lair of your dreams.
- No encyclopedia - you'll just have to experiment!
- We watch ALL the movies. Rich has completed a full re-watch of the James Bond movies at LEAST once during development (I'm working through them again now myself - up to George Lazenby, for my sins), and we enjoy everything from Bruce Lee to the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (give us a sequel!).
- Ash
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Will we get more than one season pass in addition to what has already been mentioned?
ID: gq8eiprAnswered this one in a different comment:
/comments/m0iw5b/evil_genius_2_world_domination_ama/gq8946g/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" class="reddit-press-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.reddit.com//comments/m0iw5b/evil_genius_2_world_domination_ama/gq8946g/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3- Ash.
What's it like working on a game most considered vaporware at best the past 15ish years in a functionally dead subgenre? How does it color your design and production decisions regarding the direction you take it, in general , in terms of past fans, to a modern audience, and of course how one balances those three?
We've been in development for 3 years, and it's fair to say what we feel most is responsibility: responsibility to our fellow Evil Genius fans, and responsibility to do the original game justice with the sequel. It's a priviledge to work on this game with such a talented team, and we can't wait for you to finally play it.
- Ash.
Emma’s trailer kind of hinted to it but Is John Steele returning? And is there any backstory on what happened to Shen Yu & Alexis?
Yes, John Steele is returning, although maybe not exactly how you'd imagine...
No word yet on Shen Yu or Alexis - Although someone had to conquer the world in the first game.
- Rich
Will Red Ivan have a rocket launcher and grenades still? 😉
Ivan still has his trusty Rocket Launcher, but we had to take his grenades away. He didn't lose an eye and a hand just from growing older.
- Ash.
I can answer that one - he definitely has a rocket launcher from the footage, but I don't think he has grenades.
Longtime fan of the original - crossed north america to get a copy back in the day. 2 questions -
1 - did the waffle trap make it in/are there plans to add DLC should the game perform well?
2 - Will Denuvo eventually be removed/is there any plan for Linux support in the post launch period? I get that copy protection is important, but I'll be really disappointed if it isn't removed after a period. Denuvo is some of the most aggressive, resource intensive hog DRM that exists. I hope to be playing this at least 20 years just as I did EG1
According to Beldeth on Rebellion's Discord, the Denuvo integration is supposed to be very lightweight.
Waffle trap..?
Evil genius has only been out 16 and a bit years! But I’ll forgive you and assume you’re rounding to 1sf.
Are the radios back after you complete a heist on the global map? Those where hilarious.
Is there any feature that you wanted to add that didn't make the cut? If so, what was it?
What kind of bases will we be able to build? I saw there was the traditional volcano base, but what about a deep sea base?
Hey guys, big fans! I wondered which Evil Geniuses you most relate to yourselves? If you were creating an Evil Genius style super weapon related to you what would it do?
A Cheesonator - looks like a hand canon. Makes everything into cheese. 🙂
Will your Evil Genius be able to have personal bodyguards?
I really liked the research system from the EG, where minions themselves research things in the lair. Will this part remain or has something changed?
The research system is a bit more traditional to base building games in the footage released so far.
One of the core things we wanted to get right was making sure that we respect your time. To that end, we've added a tech tree, and Science minions will now research what you want, when you want it.
- Rich
When executing captives in your prison cells - Will minions still calmly go and fetch an applicable firearm and just as calmly shoot them?
Simple question and ill ask in a no spoiler way, is the max minion capacity bigger than EG1? A simple yes or no question.
YES. A larger island means more space for minions. A lot more space.
Just don't get too attached to any individual one of the little guys.
- Ash
In a fair amount of Rebellion's YouTube videos containing EG2 gameplay, I've seen what I presume to be the current minion count be above 100. I know in this video, it shows a current minion count of 195. Besides, I have no clue how one could manage a multi-floor with only 100 lowly minions XD
If it wouldn't be telling, why is Europe now under H.A.M.M.E.R. control?
At the end of the original Evil Genius (Spoilers, by the way) the Genius conquers the world. It's been a few years since then, and the world has started to revert back to its old ways. Cue the Forces of Justice reshuffling their borders in the turmoil.
Don't worry, by the way, we're not going to quiz newcomers on this stuff. Evil Genius 2 stands alone and tells its own story.
- Rich
In the first game doors was key, how have you improved them? Can we now post guards on doors without locking everyone else out?
Doors still have security levels that make them more secure. A more secure door is going to take an Agent longer to hack open, but your minions are going to be forced to wait much longer, too. Getting that balance right in your Lair is absolutely key to ensuring tasks get done in a timely manner.
We've also made sure that different Agents struggle with different door types. You'll want to experiement a bit, and not just go for the most advanced, single door type throughout your entire Lair.
And Guard posts are now a seperate item. You can put them next to doors if you want to, but you can line your corridors with them. Of course you'll need the guards to man them...
- Rich
Footage appears to show designated guard tiles you can place anywhere you like, where they will stand.
Doors themselves are different - their security level influences how long they will stay closed and scan someone waiting to pass through it. It seems plausible that non-disguised agents will have to crack the door open to pass, while disguised ones can sometimes be caught out by higher security levels, at the cost of slowing your own minion traffic.
I've heard there isn't a mid-game island switch like in the original game, but I kinda liked the ability to redesign the island from scratch once you have more resources and rooms unlocked. Is there an optional opportunity to reset/move island mid-game?
p.s. Thank you for bringing my favourite game back after all these years
p.p.s. I live in Didcot pls can I have a job at Rebellion
Once you pick your Island Lair you're there for the duration. Within those walls you'll either achieve World Domination or die in the attempt. After all, moving a Doomsday Device is a dangerous proposition.
As a development team we knew that allowing you to move island midgame gave you a great opportunity to redesign your Lair after a clean break. This is why we've put a very heavy focus on our building controls - Lay out the most complex order you like, and your minions will handle it for you. We don't want you to feel constrained by the tools, and if you want to redesign your Lair, you can.
Let's be honest. You probably should redesign your Lair a few times, especially once some Agents make it through that Trap Network...
- Rich
Any plans for a Custom Genius Creator? Kinda like Tropico's El Presidente? I think it'd be nice, alot of fun can come from it
No plans here. We offer you 4 unique Geniuses to choose from in the base game, each of which has their own backstory and full narrative campaign.
- Ash.
What are the possibilities for future expansions or seasons passes outside of the ones that have already been announced? Also, will we see in depth trailers for Zalika the way we have for Emma and others?
The Evil Genius universe is a wonderful pastiche of spy-fi tropes, and a special something all of its own, so it has no shortage of potential. Though we have no current plans beyond the season of content we've already announced, let us know if you're eager for more!
- Ash
I just wanted to say thank you for adding accessibility for colorblindness.
You're welcome 🙂 Accessibility is a key component of modern games development, and I'm pleased with what we've been able to deliver here, as well as designing the game with accessibility in mind.
- Ash
Will agents have the same feeble-fantastic level system and/or will they be getting special traits like the new minions? And will henchmen have traits in some way?
Some Agents are better than others, so their quality does increase as you scale your operations up, and those present themselves as traits. Be wary of those Excellent Saboteurs.
As for Henchmen - these are super unique characters. Their traits and behaviours and built into who they are. We have given them each two unique abilities, though, and those are significantly more awesome. Some minions get Hayfever or a Bad Back or are good at seeing through Agent Disguises - Eli Baracuda Jr. gets a Silver Revolver and some legendary charisma.
- Rich
What inspired the decision to make a narrative sequel, rather than a "soft reboot" with a similar setting and concept?
That was a day one decision.
We're all enormous fans of the original game, and we really couldn't bring ourselves to reboot that. Obviously, we had to scale some things back, you can't really conquer the world if there's an evil overlord, and that's posed one of the biggest narrative challenges for us to tackle.
It also gave us an incredibly rich set of building blocks to work from - What does a world look like where a Genius ruled the world for a number of years? The technology would advance, but did the style remain? How long should Jubei's beard be these days? Did Eli have a son?
Going from there, everything just started to fall into place.
- Rich
Will we still be able to interrogate prisoners with a variety of objects around the base?
Will there be a Pre-Load Option for the game? Say perhaps a week or a day before the launch day?
Will we be seeing a lot of references to the first game, and will it reveal the fates of the original geniuses and henchmen after the world was conquered? (besides the ones we obviously know about)
Though we've been careful to ensure that no prior Evil Genius knowledge is required to fully enjoy the sequel, there are certainly plenty of references to the original Evil Genius, from returning names and faces, to the occasional familiar catchphrase. The fates of some characters will be readily apparent as you encounter them, their acquaintances, or their remains through the campaigns. Others...who knows if we'll see them again?
- Ash
A common issue with management style games is a lack of depth that stops it from turning a good game into a great game. Does the game design allow for different playstyles within each evil genius playthrough? What design choices have you made that allows for different ways a player can complete a task?
One of the first questions we asked ourselves when starting development was 'How do we want to play the game?' And we got four different answers.
It's no coincidence there are four Geniuses in the game.
If you want to go with hordes of disposable minions, throwing gold and bodies at problems until they go away, there's a Genius for that. His name is Maximillian, and he's the Gold Standard in villainy.
Other than that, there's three minion trees - Deception, Muscle, and Science, which map to the other Geniuses. If you want an excellent Cover Operation that bamboozles agents and sends them home before they even try to investigate your Lair, you'll be doing a Deception playthrough. If you want to shoot all your enemies, then shoot them some more, and then shoot them again - Muscle is where you should go. And if you want to build a diabolical trap network? You're going to need a lot of power and research to maintain that, so you'll be heading down the Science tree.
Of course, you can mix and match your approaches to the game. We're never going to force you into a particular playstyle, so if you want to play against type - say, play as Ivan but use the Casino - you'll absolutely be able to.
- Rich
Will the minions operate in a tiered system like in the first game, or will they work in some other way? Will there be any day 1 paid for DLC, or any content on day 1 at all locked behind a paywall?
The base game is full fat Evil Genius 2 as it's intended. There is no content locked behind a pay wall, and you won't get bugged to buy a pack of random minions or anything like that. The Deluxe Edition includes additional, optional, Side Story content and unique Loot items to go with them, and we have announced our plans for post-launch support, which includes new Henchmen, new minion types, and an entire new Genius campaign, but I want to be very clear on this point: No content was removed from the core game experience, and we need to make all this stuff!
- Ash
There's some preorder-exclusive Loot, as well as an "in-game item" if you sign up for the EG2 newsletter. I don't know if those are technically "Day 1 DLC", but I hope that partially answers your question.
I noticed a deluxe version is available with various features. How will henchmen packs and minion packs work? Is it a loot box system with everyone potentially getting different stuff, or is it guaranteed content? Will any element of DLC ever have random mechanics associated, or will it be a system where we know what we’re paying for in advance?
I think my answer above addresses this:
/comments/m0iw5b/evil_genius_2_world_domination_ama/gq8map0/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" class="reddit-press-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.reddit.com//comments/m0iw5b/evil_genius_2_world_domination_ama/gq8map0/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3...but just to be clear: There's no random element to any of our post-launch content. You'll always know what you're paying for 🙂
- Ash.
The modding community has been phenomenal in keeping interest in the original Evil Genius alive, and we've certainly been watching with interest. We don't have anything to announce on Steam Workshop support for Evil Genius 2 right now, but if it's something you're passionate about seeing, let us know! What would you like to create?
- Ash