Stellaris

[Huw the Poo]

I have to admit that is pretty good turnaround for two major patches and a couple of hotfix patches

Yeah.  I've just clocked 70 hours since launch which, for me, is astonishing; it's already my second most played game on Steam.  Even when it pisses me off I come back to it a day later.  I think it's a fantastic game now, and it's only going to get better and better.  Just imagine what it will look like when it's had the same update cycle that EU4 and CK2 have had.

Yeah, but by then I'll be engrossed in Victoria 3.  :P

I really, really hope that Victoria 3 is next, because that's the only major PDS series I haven't played.

[sandman2575]

I'm really, really eager for Vicky 3. It has got to be Pdox's next big project, right?

... right?

[KyzBP]

I'm getting ready to give this Stellaris thing a whirl (better late than never), what are the must have mods to get before starting?

[tgb]

I would guess that VIcky III and CK III are next up to bat.

[Millipede]

I'm getting ready to give this Stellaris thing a whirl (better late than never), what are the must have mods to get before starting?

Not sure if any of these are "must have's" but there are a many choices. I've been enjoying the "Sol System Expanded" mod myself. Check it out at: http://www.gamewatcher.com/editorials/the-best-stellaris-mods/12561

[ghostryder]

Asimov patch is now live! Gee, here I was into a game over 100 years long and now will need to restart concidering all the changes-

# Important
* Added Defensive Pact diplomatic action that allows you to form a defensive alliance with another empire.
* Non-Aggression Pact, Migration Treaty, Support Independence and Guarantee Independence are now diplomatic actions instead of trade deals.
* Removed embassies and replaced it with Trust. Trust builds over time from having active diplomatic treaties (such as a Non-Aggression Pact or Alliance) and increases opinion by up to +100.
* Federations now vote on wars and new members.
* Federation members now give 20% of their Navy Capacity to the Federation, which makes up the Federation Navy Capacity.
* Federation fleets no longer cost maintenance, but cannot exceed the Federation Navy Capacity in size.
* You can now kick alliance and federation members with a majority vote action.
* Sending a favorable trade deal (such as a gift) will now increase the opinion of the other empire by up to +100
* You can now set a War Philosophy policy. This policy determines what type of wargoals you can use
* Removed War Economy policy
* Colonzing Planets and building Frontier Outposts now costs Influence based on the distance to your closest owned system
* Border are now Open to everyone by default, but can be Closed through a Diplomatic Action. Empires will Close Borders to Rivals by default and Fallen Empires will never Open Borders
* Happiness is now a linear modifier, with levels above 50% giving bonuses and levels below 50% giving penalties
* All Ship Weapons have had their range doubled
* Added Diplomatic, Opinion, and AI Attitude Map Modes. Map Modes are easily moddable and more can be added through mods, but it will affect the checksum
* Core Planets is now Core Systems instead. This means you can colonize multiple planets in the same system without it affecting the soft cap.
* Pops receive a -10% happiness penalty while the empire is in an offensive war

# General
* Ship Designs with excess power gain a small bonus to damage, speed and evasion
* Grand Admiral achievement now requires a combined fleet power of 100.000 instead of having dealt 100.000 damage in a ship combat
* Alliances and Federations can now vote to kick a member. For the vote to be successful, ( 50% of members + 1 ) need to vote yes (so 3 members in an alliance of 4, for example)
* Ship Combat Computers behavior has been changed. Aggressive behavior is now called Swarm behavior and Defensive behavior is now called Bombardment behavior
* Added Visitor Center building and associated technology that is available to Xenophile empires
* Added Symbol of Unity building and associated technology that is available to Spiritualist empires
* Fleet merging has been improved and should prioritize certain fleets better
* Spaceports can now be dismantled
* Natural Beauty planet modifier effect on habitability removed. Instead the modifier now affects planet migration attraction by +25%
* Taking a Tributary now makes you guarantee their independence for 10 years without cost
* Migration Time was changed into Migration Speed
* Base Ethics Divergence has been changed and capital buildings have been adjusted accordingly. It is no longer possible to avoid Ethics Divergence by not working the Reassembled Ship Shelter
* Added Regulated Slavery policy option
* Added Regulated Xeno Slavery policy option
* Only Collectivists can now enslave their own species
* Civilian Ship designs are updated with shields and armor technologies
* Frontier Outposts are destroyed if the last owned planet in a system changes owner through war
* Strike Craft attack and movement pattern was charged to be more swarm-like
* Strike Craft ship count increased from 4 to 8, and damage has been rescaled accordingly
* Galactic Ambitions technology no longer provides Survey Data for empires you have contacted

#New - Traits
* Added Fleeting trait that reduces leader lifespan by -15
* Added Deviants trait that increases ethic divergence by +15%

# New - Wargoals
* Make Tributary: You can now take tributaries in war. Tributaries are a type of subject that pays 20% of their Energy Credits and Mineral income to their overlord, but do not join their overlord's wars and are free to declare their own wars and colonize planets
* Abandon Planet: If your policies allow Purging you can force an enemy to abandon a planet, killing all pops on that planet in the process
* Humiliate: You can humiliate enemy empires, making them suffer a negative modifier for a time and giving you a chunk of influence
* Open Borders: Forces the other Empire to open their borders to you for 10 years
* Stop Atrocity: Forces the other Empire to ban slavery and purging

# New - Space Nomads
* Nomads have been completely reworked and expanded for the mid-game
* This non-player faction travels from one end of the galaxy to the other, encountering empires and triggering events

# New - Diplomatic Incidents
* Certain actions and circumstances can now cause Diplomatic Incident events between Empires in the mid-game

# New - Slave Factions
* Removed the old Slave faction
* Added the Docile Slaves faction made up of relatively content slaves
* Docile Slaves faction has fairly mild Support Effects
* Docile Slaves faction demands Regulated Slavery policy
* Added the Malcontent Slaves faction made up of unhappy slaves
* Malcontent Slaves faction has fairly harsh Support Effects, indluding empire-wide rebellion
* Malcontent Slaves faction demands freedom for all slaves
* Added Emancipation faction for non-slave Pops
* Emancipation faction strengthens the Malcontent Slaves
* Pop ethos influences which faction Pops join when enslaved, and the decision "sticks" to them for a time
* Enslaved Pops move between the two factions, with dissatisfied slaves gravitating toward the Malcontent Slaves



A ton more but grogsite only allows 2000 chars-get full list here:

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/asimov-update-1-2-released-checksum-2352-not-for-problem-reports.953141/

[bbmike]

# New - Space Nomads
* Nomads have been completely reworked and expanded for the mid-game
* This non-player faction travels from one end of the galaxy to the other, encountering empires and triggering events

You know, Kirk had to deal with space nomads...

[Sparhawk]

Ok, time to start a new game. Current one is in midgame slog anyhow.

[solops]

I have not played this in a while. My peeves were the sector system and war goals. With the patch activity, is it worth another try or are my peeves still unaddressed?

[mikeck]

There is a mod that adds war goals. Not sure if it's updated

[solops]

Don't like war goals/aims. War is chaos. Need to be flexible in our greed.

[Rayfer]

Started a new game with the update. Not sure if it was bad luck or the patch but after surveying the Sol system I went to survey the nearest star system and immediately encountered a 150 strength alien craft, an amoeba-like thing, that pursued my science ship back to the Sol system, destroyed it and my weak 4 corvette fleet, it then set about destroying what little I had left. Game over.  :'(   Still, I haven't had this much fun with this 4X space game since Distant Worlds Universe.

[mikeck]

Don't like war goals/aims. War is chaos. Need to be flexible in our greed.

Ok. I believe you can change the goals as you go. When you look at the war score, there is a tab for "negotiation". You can add and subtract things as you see fit. Recently I started a war with the goal of vassalizing the enemy. Their allies were wearing me down and they only had 1 planet left...I had taken 2 and "nuked" 1 (mod). So I negotiated new terms: cede the two planets I own and I will stop. They took it

[mikeck]

Started a new game with the update. Not sure if it was bad luck or the patch but after surveying the Sol system I went to survey the nearest star system and immediately encountered a 150 strength alien craft, an amoeba-like thing, that pursued my science ship back to the Sol system, destroyed it and my weak 4 corvette fleet, it then set about destroying what little I had left. Game over.  :'(   Still, I haven't had this much fun with this 4X space game since Distant Worlds Universe.

Hmmm....it's not usual to find them but it is unusual for them to follow you back and wreck crap. I'm playing the new patch so maybe bad luck.

[jamus34]

# New - Space Nomads
* Nomads have been completely reworked and expanded for the mid-game
* This non-player faction travels from one end of the galaxy to the other, encountering empires and triggering events

You know, Kirk had to deal with space nomads...

Yeah but the typically either shot them or slept with them. I don't see option#2 available