Stellaris

[spelk]

DasTactics (humble) Top 10 tips for playing Stellaris

[Jarhead0331]

The tutorial is good, but in all honesty, I was exploring and playing without it. The UI and overall design of the game seems to be very elegant. However, I don't think this game is nearly as complex as CKII, or even EUIV, or really any of the prior historical grand strategy games by paradox. Those game are practically impossible to just jump in and start playing with an inherent understanding of what to do, when and how. It takes time, study and effort to learn all the different systems and how they all come together. That isnt so with stellaris.

I think in order for stellaris is to really shine and succeed it is going to need that kind of depth and complexity. This prospect is what made stellaris so eagerly anticipated. The idea of having a space 4x with interwoven complexities of CKII is a dream come true for most strategy gamers.

I tend to agree with some of the others who have noted that the foundation is here, and it's rock solid, but it has a ways to go and will require DLC in order to really reach its full potential.

Now, I've only played for under two hours so far, so the above is based on initial impressions, but I have already sampled construction, exploration, research, leader recruitment and management, colonization, planetary management and resource management. Unless there are really some hidden layers, I think I have a good idea of what this game is about. The fact that I was able to play with all these features in under two hours and feel comfortable with how they function and come together is indicative of, primarily, a very well thought out UI, but also of perhaps a lack of deep complexity.

I don't yet understand the complaints about the mid to late game. It seems to me that most if not all 4x games suffer from late game stagnation, I wouldn't expect stellaris to be any different. It is practically unavoidable to some extent.

Anyway, it seems like a great game so far, and with time, and the right additional content, I can see it easily rivalling distant worlds.

[jomni]

I'm holding off. Get it on sale or bundled. 

[Jarhead0331]

I'm holding off. Get it on sale or bundled.

Why?

[jomni]

Saving money.  :P

[Greybriar]

I'm holding off. Get it on sale or bundled.

Why?

I'm in the same boat as jomni. Why you ask? I'm not jomni but my reasons are that it's a Paradox title and will have countless DLC. It and the DLC will be reduced to a fraction of the purchase price after the game has been out for awhile. By which time Paradox will have gotten most of the bugs out of it. So if and when I finally purchase Stellaris, it will be a polished game.

While typing my post, jomni posted the reason why he is holding off, which coincides with the fourth sentence of my post.

[Tuna]

What bugs? Was only 29 bucks at CDKeys.. not sure if that's still the price.

[Jarhead0331]

^exactly. What bugs? If you don't feel the urge to have the game now, that's fine, but don't claim it has bugs, is incomplete, or isn't a quality release to justify your decision. I see a lot of people buying a lot of crap, so it surprises me when people pass on a quality release.

Like tuna said, this isn't exactly an expensive game. You can get it easily for under $30.

[JudgeDredd]

...
The fact that I was able to play with all these features in under two hours and feel comfortable with how they function and come together is indicative of, primarily, a very well thought out UI, but also of perhaps a lack of deep complexity.
...

JH - do you think that might be in part to you having played MoO? I think they are incredibly similar - though I would say this is deeper.

Just one particular thing that stuck out to me was one of the things that pops up in the tutorial to help actually looks like one of the races in MoO.

But I found it (on the surface) extremely similar to MoO and therefore I was able to easily jump in. There's more depth there and I don't meant to take away from the design which is very good and definitely helps the ease of playing.

[Tuna]

I never played MoO, and I find the UI very easy to get into. I'm really not wishing for a Manual, as the tips are fine for hopping right in. Manual sometime down the line for learning idiosyncrasies would be nice.

[Yskonyn]

One thing I am really starting to miss after my 6 or 7 hour playtime is the fact that Leaders are nothing like CK2 or EU4. It was touched upon earlier that they don't generate any offspring; they just have an age stat which can be modified by various events, but once their timer is up they vanish from the game and you need to recruit a new one.
While I can see the need to force the player to spend on new units and the tension it gives when you have a high level leader about to die, the CK2 system would be fantastic for Stellaris and I am dissapointed it is so flat in the space game.

I agree with Jarhead; most systems are easily figured out after just a few hours and the game starts to fall in the 'easy to pick-up, hard to master' category. Which is a testament to the elegant UI on one side, but the flatness of the gameplay on the other.

I *really* hope Paradox will flesh out the various systems more, because the core game is super fun!
Indeed, a CK2/EU4 complexity level for certain gameplay aspects in Stellaris would easily make it my favorite 4x of all time.
For now it remains DW, though.

Oh and the manual? Press the  ? on the lower button bar. It opens an in-game browser to the wiki pages of Stellaris.

By the way, do any of you know how to actively try to end a war?
I am locked in a war, while a far bigger empire than my enemy has become very friendly towards me. I'd like to try to forge an alliance with it to then smash my current enemy, but I can't see a way to stop this war (which my enemy started)?  :-\

[Rayfer]

Interesting comments regarding the disappointment over lack of depth/complexity/etc. as compared with EU4 and CK2. Stellaris is a game I will be getting but don't yet have, but personally I'm glad it doesn't have those EU4 and CK2 qualities. They are games I was never able to get in to. I would complete the tutorials, start a game and then feel lost as to what I should be doing and when to do it. So I guess Paradox faces the old 'you can please some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all the time' dilemma.

[Yskonyn]

Nevermind my question about how to end a war;

It's not via the normal 'diplomatic relations' button at the top of the screen, but in the lower right you have a hex-like icon. Click on it to open the war progress screen and there you can try to negotiate.

Be aware that you can never delete a claim the enemy has put in as a war goal, only your own claims or demands. I removed mine and was able to sue for peace, but that involved conceding to his goals, which was ceding a planet to his empire.
As it was my only planet it meant defeat. 

So, the lesson here is to be very wary (again) with going to war. Especially if you only have one or two planets. In the grand scheme of warfare, whole planets are needed as 'currency' to barter for better conditions during a war.

A very cool feature, but it poses a problem for early games because you will be locked in an indefinite war, especially if its the AI deciding to lay waste to your tiny empire.

[joram]

I'm holding off. Get it on sale or bundled.

I'm with you.  This and the TW series always have so much DLC crap, I wait till it all goes on sale and get it together at a deep discount.

[JudgeDredd]

When I play these games, I always start with very few AI opponents.

That might seem like an odd decision...and I kind of agree. I do it to try and have a peaceful game allowing me to explore and build...but it does make for quite a lonely game.

What are the benefits of using lots of AI apart from the obvious "not so lonely"?