Pandora: First Contact

Pandora: First Contact is a turn-based 4X strategy game set on a planet-scale map. You lead one of several human factions to establish a foothold on Pandora, an Earth-like world reached after Earth’s resources have been exhausted and attempts to colonize other planets have failed.

The factions grew out of different opportunities and ideologies, independent of governments. Private corporations and religious movements have fought wars over greed, ideology and power, leaving many dead and much of the land in ruins. On Pandora, indigenous life ranges from gigantic inland and ocean-dwelling creatures to human-sized bugs and fungi that threaten human expansion.

Explore Pandora

Pandora has varied ecological regions, from frozen northern ice lands to vast deserts and lush tropical forests in the south. You encounter deadly swarms on land and agile predators in the skies; there are also reports of a giant creature in the oceans. Indigenous life reacts to your actions, so you can seek to live in harmony with it or use it to advance your cause.

You can discover ruins and artifacts left by an ancient alien civilization. These relics can give you an advantage over the planet’s life and rival factions.

Build your empire

Found cities to expand your empire’s borders, then manage them by setting tax rates, choosing production and assigning colonists to jobs. Resources and growth are pooled across your empire, letting you specialize one city in mineral extraction while another produces units. Colonists can migrate between cities in response to factors such as pollution and available living space.

Terraform the landscape and build farms, mines, forts and other improvements to increase colony productivity or fortify positions. A randomized research tree spans dozens of technologies, unlocking operations, buildings, units, weapons and more.

Develop your forces

Design units by selecting from different classes, armor, weapons and devices. Command armies against rival factions, using the terrain to gain an advantage. Military operations range from deploying drop pods behind enemy lines to using black hole generators to eradicate entire landscapes.

Diplomacy and multiplayer

Negotiate trade and research pacts for mutual benefit, and form alliances against common foes. You can also play multiplayer with friends or strangers, where different strategies are possible.

Modding

The game’s data can be modified through XML, with support for well-known image and audio formats.