Stellaris - New Sci-Fi Grand Strategy by Paradox

[StealthFox]

It's still a lacking experience after 2 years of updates imo.

That's how I feel about it. It has some good gameplay mechanics, but there's no hook to it or anything driving me to want to play it.

[herne_the _hunter]

Admittedly I've only had a few hours experience with the previous patch but 2.0 is a marked improvement and a good foundation for further improvements. The exploration is slowed down (helps with the sense of scale) and the improvements to war stand out (no blobs of death). Requires some further tweaks and fixes which Paradox are doing. If you interested in sci fi it's worth it and it's the most accessable strategy game Paradox have done.

Rolling beta of 2.0.2 is available

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...erryh.1074215/

[hellheaven1987]

Have you played any other Paradox games? Hows it compare to em?

A mixture of Endless Space and Civ 5 with CK's role-play ability; I have to admit it does give a feeling similar when I played EU Rome and Sengoku - good design but lacking a vision how this game should be, hence I am afraid much like those two games I mentioned Stellaris may ultimately become a deadend too.

It's simpler/ more straightforward. Def. the most accessible.

EU is still most accessible title.

Edit: I do have to say the design of this game does allow the most fun MP experience throughout all Paradox series though.

[PikeStance]

I think Stellaris is a great concept, but it is still just a shell of a game. It lacks depth. The DLC really do not add to the depth. The game moves a little too fast. You can do things in almost a blink of an eye. I think the galaxy is too small with not a lot of potential factions. You get a sense when looking at the DLCs released that not even the developers know exactly what they can do with it. I think they are trying to make the game accessible, but as a result, it is somewhat bland. I supposed if the DLCs storylines appeal to you, then the game may be better for you. Just to stress, I like the game, but still, see areas of improvement that will make more a thought-provoking game than it is now.

[hellheaven1987]

I think Stellaris is a great concept, but it is still just a shell of a game. It lacks depth. The DLC really do not add to the depth. The game moves a little too fast. You can do things in almost a blink of an eye. I think the galaxy is too small with not a lot of potential factions. You get a sense when looking at the DLCs released that not even the developers know exactly what they can do with it. I think they are trying to make the game accessible, but as a result, it is somewhat bland. I supposed if the DLCs storylines appeal to you, then the game may be better for you. Just to stress, I like the game, but still, see areas of improvement that will make more a thought-provoking game than it is now.

Currently Stellaris is really like EU3 vanilla, and I do wonder whether Paradox can overhaul it into Divine Wind status. Overall, there are quite a number of areas that desperately need some life:

- Diplomacy, absolutly needs a serious enhancement to pull out its bland status now.

- Warfare, the current battle system is strictly just fleet wave your opponent to death with little technology impact; land combat also needs a rework too.

- Espionage and trade, two things that need to implant as quick as possible.

- Improvement of mid and late game engagement.

Sure I don't mind more events package or overkilled machines, but those are not what make a game interesting.

[Candy_Licker]

I think Stellaris is a great concept, but it is still just a shell of a game. It lacks depth. The DLC really do not add to the depth. The game moves a little too fast. You can do things in almost a blink of an eye. I think the galaxy is too small with not a lot of potential factions. You get a sense when looking at the DLCs released that not even the developers know exactly what they can do with it. I think they are trying to make the game accessible, but as a result, it is somewhat bland. I supposed if the DLCs storylines appeal to you, then the game may be better for you. Just to stress, I like the game, but still, see areas of improvement that will make more a thought-provoking game than it is now.

Too small galaxy is not a point I'd agree on. 1400 stars with 40 empires is not what I call small.

Hellheaven has listed the problems accurately.

Problem has been since release that mid game is still very empty. Main problem is that the diplomacy is so basic, and the design of coalition/federations makes the games completely static, once the (usually small) blocs have formed it's just the same petty wars over and over, with no suprises. At this point, it's kust waiting for endgame crisis. Diplomacy should've been top priority for them, and that ties directly into trade/espionage, which is virtually not in the game yet. Instead of a meaningful trade system that would be important for interaction with other empires we have tedious micromanagment of planet tiles.

Moreover, their try to make internal politics interesting have failed miserably. Warfare was another issue, they tried to adressed it this time, maybe they improved at least here.

I found the features that are supposed to make empires more unique (that Utopia stuff) pretty unconvincing.

[PikeStance]

Too small galaxy is not a point I'd agree on. 1400 stars with 40 empires is not what I call small.

Hellheaven has listed the problems accurately.

I shared what I thought the game is lacking. I stand by them. Moreover, you missed my point completely about the size. First, in EU, you hit 40 before you get out of central Europe, but that misses my point completely. The galaxy feels tiny. You easily go from star to star. You survey systems in a blink of an eye. Sure, there are things here and there, but mostly it is bland and uninteresting. The game seems set on colonization than on anything else. There is little or no risk. No one boldly goes anywhere. The game reminds me of Age of Empires but without the annoying little people running around. It is fast paced to keep you interesting, but it should have more things to actually pique your interest. Surveying a planet for livability should take a lot longer than discovery minerals on a planet. Now that is a lot of complexity, but that is the sort of intricacies Paradox games are known for. Like I said last time, judging by the DLCs, I do not think they know how to make the game more interesting beyond a simple storytelling outline. It really needs more complexity in the exploration and the types of planets one might find (based on what we can already speculate/ know about our own galaxy).

[hellheaven1987]

Slow expansion may make mid and late game crises impossible for anyone to handle. Recently there are numbers complaints how Great Khan spawns a 20k ~ 50k fleet in 2300 that no one can handle it.

Anyway it took roughly four years for CK2 to hit gold status (have to take in Sengoku too, since it is literally a prototype CK2) hence some patience may be needed in this one...

[PikeStance]

Agreed. Paradox developers admit that their games upon release are far from its best possible product.

[hellheaven1987]

So recently I finally start a new game with medium size galaxy (only try small and tiny previously), and I feel even after 60 years the colonization process is slow; in fact only about 1/3 of space is colonized currently with the total effort of 8 AI empires. I don't know, the current expansion process would mean that none of empire would be ready for 2300 Great Khan spawn and no doubt it would just a one side drama when Crisis show up in 2400.

[herne_the _hunter]

Started a game (small galaxy and just one fallen Empire) to check out the new Distant Stars dlc. Very satisfied with the new content i've experienced in this exploration focused play through. Just when I get the relevant technolgy to unlock the gate to the L cluster the Great Khan turns up. I understand there's an issue when the gate is open as the new area causes the game to lag. So I haven't yet got that far. Even better when it goes on sale eventually but if you like the exploration element of the game I recomend it.

Only a few more days of playing on a 2.2 gig Core 2 Duo till I move onto the i5 where I can try larger galaxies than small and more than 4/5 ai empires. Medium provides a good game and there's still going be an end game lag just not as bad as sometimes on this below spec machine.

[hellheaven1987]

Well, expansion is slow now so the early phase can be quite long.

[Martinskyboy]

Well Stellaris look great like most of Paradox game with good potential but the battle systems it far under lot of other space strategy. Maybe Stellaris 2 will hit the aim like I think all the 2nd versions does for their others games. HoI 2, Ck2, EurU 2, Victoria 2 I think are the best of there respectives series. HoI 3 have lot of thing better but some big con like the huge bonus for holding regions or bill that you can pass. Paradox game are simulator but those make it feel to much arcade. What it in Paradox fun it you can almost just watch a game and simulate thing with a different race or country. That the big positive thing about Stellaris it that it can almost play alone while you sit and watch over your core planets

[Candy_Licker]

Unmodded Stellaris is still a horribly dull experience imo. With mods (like Star Trek: New Horizons) there's some fun to be had, but with the lacking base gameplay even that cannot keep the interest long.

[James the Red]

The upcoming update for Stellaris has been teased on twitter. They are basically turning Stellaris into Victoria 3, complete with pie charts. It's going to be more complex soon.

[Thanatos]

The upcoming update for Stellaris has been teased on twitter. They are basically turning Stellaris into Victoria 3, complete with pie charts. It's going to be more complex soon.

I certainly hope so. Been playing the game since the initial iteration, and have been purchasing the DLC since then, and the mid-game is still a mindless boring slog for the most part. Battles have almost no real strategy still. Rush towards battleships and tachyon lances and spam it until the galaxy is yours.

[hellheaven1987]

Jesus that 2.2 system rework, now the economy is much more interesting and certainly the game is going right direction.

[PikeStance]

I do not own any of the DLCs. I am not really sure what they do to enhance the game experience. The videos are not that informative.

[herne_the _hunter]

I do not own any of the DLCs. I am not really sure what they do to enhance the game experience. The videos are not that informative.

Utopia is the main dlc to get. Allows late game mega structures, evolving into machines, using robots, hive maind, psionics and factions. Some of the assenscion perks were added to the main game but this is still worth getting.

Synthetic Dawn allows playing as a robot empire from the start. Robots play much differrently from organics.

Distant Stars allows more content for the discovery phase of the game and a seperate area outside of the galaxy to explore the L cluster at your peril

Apocalyspe for me it's not the titan class ships and the planet destroyers that is the major draw of this dlc. It's the maruaders that you can also hire to attack your enemies and the Great Khan that can shake uop the mid game that are the main attraction.

Leviathans gives you Guardians to encounter and the various enxlaves to trade with. War in Heaven between fallen empires where you have to take sides. It's quite a cherap dlc when it's on sale so worth getting. With the internal and galactic markets trading enclaves isn't such a big incentive to getting this dlc but they do give other bonuses such as improving research and such like.

I haven't got Megacorp

Worth looking at the wiki for more information on the expansions.
https://stellaris.paradoxwikis.com/Downloadable_content

Also look at mods such as More Events Mod and Dynamic Political Events

[Sir Adrian]

I think Megacorp is the most essential dlc after Utopia. It fixes a lot of wrongs with the sectors and economy while making planet management more believable and intuitive.