Difference in TBS/4X?

[Toxicwire†]

What's the difference? Essentially, in my eyes, they both are the same, just different way of calling them. Not all 4X games are TBS but like 95.54% are.
For example:
I have all Total War games; you expand, you exploit, you explore, you EXTERMINATE
Civilization series; you expand, you exploit, you explore, you EXTERMINATE
etc.

[Gus the Crocodile]

The difference is clearest when you look at smaller-scale games like XCOM, I suppose.

[Toxicwire†]

Originally posted by Gus the Crocodile:

The difference is clearest when you look at smaller-scale games like XCOM, I suppose.

Never played it but it would be classified as a Tactical strategy game, TBS. And most tactical games are TBS anyway. "4X" games were called TBS, when civilization controlling games came out, way before the term "4X" was adopted.

[Gus the Crocodile]

Not really sure what you're saying in any part of that post. XCOM is a "tactical" strategy game as well as a turn-based one? Sure, okay. It's still a TBS, and not a 4X.

If you like, consider TBS the "major" category that "contains" other subtypes like "tactical" or "4X". I don't like to think of genre as hierarchical generally, but if it helps, it helps.

[Toxicwire†]

Originally posted by Gus the Crocodile:

Not really sure what you're saying in any part of that post. XCOM is a "tactical" strategy game as well as a turn-based one? Sure, okay. It's still a TBS, and not a 4X.

If you like, consider TBS the "major" category that "contains" other subtypes like "tactical" or "4X". I don't like to think of genre as hierarchical generally, but if it helps, it helps.

It's "Tactical" and also a "TBS (if I'm right not sure, but I think it's turned-based, aren't I right?)", I just simply can't wrap my head around why would they come out with a name "4X" for a certain type of strategy games that was invented about 10-15 years ago or even longer ago?

In my eyes, that's like trying to tell everyone to stop calling a chair a "chair" and start to call it a "4L-seat"

[Gus the Crocodile]

4X isn't a new term. According to Wikipedia it was coined to describe Master of Orion in 1993. As for why, well, much the same reason we come up with any other category label I suppose: to help us quickly describe what something is.

Nobody is telling anyone to stop calling things a TBS. If it's a strategy game, and it's turn-based, then it's a TBS. It can also be a 4X, or it can also be a tactical game or whatever else. Things don't have to fit into only one box.

[Toxicwire†]

Originally posted by Gus the Crocodile:

4X isn't a new term. According to Wikipedia it was coined to describe Master of Orion in 1993. As for why, well, much the same reason we come up with any other category label I suppose: to help us quickly describe what something is.

Nobody is telling anyone to stop calling things a TBS. If it's a strategy game, and it's turn-based, then it's a TBS. It can also be a 4X, or it can also be a tactical game or whatever else. Things don't have to fit into only one box.

Okay, thank you. I just could never get a distinguished difference between them, asked multiple people and they didn't know (I'm a freak about organizing even in my Steam library, so that's why it was urgent to me, haha). Thank you.

[supertrooper225]

4X games stands for Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate. That is the main difference here. A TBS might be something like X-Com or something like that. While a 4x game would be Civ, Endless Legend, Europa Universalis etc. 4X games tend to push the empire building/world conquering mechanics. TBS is a more general term and 4X describes a more specific subset. At least...that is the way I look at it.