Stellaris thread, reviews, and opinions!

It has been only a couple of days since I bought it, and I already have 15 hours on it. It's excellent, and I never really expected to enjoy a Paradox Grand Strategy all this much. I tried Hearts of Iron III obtained on a sale once, and while slightly entertaining, its mind-numbing depth kind of turned me off. Good for people who like it, but it's not for me.

I don't know what fans of PGS games will say, but Stellaris feels much simpler than other PGS games, and IMO I feel like it's better for it. Maybe it might be too simple for some of the more hardcore fans, but I know that I got way into it while I couldn't get into Hearts of Iron III or the Crusader Kings 2 demo, so as long as I enjoy it, I don't care all that much what they think. After all, Stellaris is its own series, and not a shifted-down sequel of an existing one, so no one's favourite series is getting "dumbed down". :lalala:

So far, my biggest challenges has been violent separatism and trying to get my xenophobic people to deal with immigration until my free migration deals end. It's a great strategy game, so far the only large-scale strategy game I've been able to get into was Civilisation V. Looks like I might have a new favourite soon.
 
So I was browsing the Steam Workshop and someone has already modded in the Krogan from Mass Effect as a race...

There's some funny/interesting/fun mods already.
 
It is a fun game but it really lacks the complexity and longevity of EUIV for me. Personally I've already gone back to play that instead although I do have a bit of a bias being a big fan of history.
 
Vergil said:
It is a fun game but it really lacks the complexity and longevity of EUIV for me. Personally I've already gone back to play that instead although I do have a bit of a bias being a big fan of history.
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As it is currently I agree that Stellaris lacks some complexity and some longevity. My hope is that it develops the same way that Civilization 5 and Endless Legend did - a lot of expansions over time leading to a very deep game. It seems that is the way 4X-type strategy games develop into great games.

With other games that would be a bad thing but for Civilization 5 and Endless Legend the continued DLC/expansions really made the game great, while the base game was lacking or disappointing in some way. So hopefully Stellaris gets the same type of development and they add lots of new features and it becomes an increasingly complex, interesting, and deep experience.

All that said, I think the base game is refreshingly bug-free and polished. It just needs the same kind of attention and expansion process that other 4X games have gotten.
 
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The expansion packs are great and all but I don't plan on spending twice the price of the base game just to make it enjoyable like with Civilization V.
 
Vergil said:
The expansion packs are great and all but I don't plan on spending twice the price of the base game just to make it enjoyable like with Civilization V.
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Yea that is sadly the way games work these days. With some the great strategy games it seems to actually be worth it, unlike the Fallout 4 Season Pass or other similar cash grabs.

Stellaris has been decent enough that I'd be interested in future DLC, but it has also made me interested in EU IV and the new Hearts of Iron 4. Right now I'm hoping for the best with this game's future development.
 
I can't get into Hearts of Iron. Those games are just reaching a level of autism I don't think I will ever reach. Same with Crusader Kings. Call me casual trash but I'm just fine with Europa.
 
Vergil said:
I can't get into Hearts of Iron. Those games are just reaching a level of autism I don't think I will ever reach. Same with Crusader Kings. Call me casual trash but I'm just fine with Europa.
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huahaaa

crusader kings 2 is the game that makes me thinkl for awhile; "am i playing edu-games made for historical class?"

while in HOI, you could just let most aspect being managed by AI
 
Crusader Kings 2 is the only Paradox Grand Strategy game I could get into, all the other ones I just couldn't wrap my head around them, too many things happening and that needed focus.

Both me and my wife got into Crusader Kings 2 easily, but the game gets even better using the CKII+ mod :clap: I can't recommend that mod enough.

Also I bought most of the Crusader Kings 2 DLCs when there is sales and most cost around $1 or less when I have left over Steam Wallet points from when people give me Steam gift cards :wiggle:, also the tiny DLCs are definitely not worth buying to make the game enjoyable, I just bought some because like I said I got small change left and I don't trust Steam to keep my Steam Wallet points there for long so I just spend them :lmao:. The bigger DLCs are worth it because it actually add a lot of stuff to the base game (but again I only get them on sales for the cheapest I can, I am poor) but I still think that the game is worth it even without DLCs, although they do improve the game in their own ways.

Bottom line is Crusader Kings 2 DLCs are worth buying if you really like the game.
 
Well I've got the Blorg Commonality settled in and "befriended" a couple of empires and formed a Federation of Friends with a few other empires. I think I'm in what would be the "late game" and it's definitely a different set of priorities from the early game. The sectors really help with that - it makes the game play different ways as it progresses.

Now I'm debating what to do about a group of empires that don't want to be friends and have formed a Federation. It's been my experience that war with Federations can be very difficult and not at all straightforward. This is where an espionage mechanic or a deeper diplomacy system would be nice and hopefully that is put in the game at some point.

I'm also trying to deal with a group of Blorg on a new planet that have started augmenting themselves and began calling themselves "Blorg Commonality Superior" which leads me to believe they're going to go all Wrath of Khan all over the place.

And if that's not enough, I uplifted some pre-sentient wookies and they turned into humans which was a nice touch. When you uplift a species they actually evolve in appearance.

The later game is a bit open-ended - you kind of have to make things happen on your own, though sometimes empires or events provide some interesting organic gameplay. Perhaps some different victory conditions?

There's definitely room for Paradox to expand on the game and add more things to do but that is a good sign for strategy games. I'm actually excited for DLC/expansions for this game based on how they turned out for other games in the genre and how they seem to have turned out for previous Paradox games.
 
Sorry for double post - the new Clarke patch is out! The changelog is extensive but most importantly, you can now play as a Platypus.

I also learned you can infiltrate pre-spaceflight civilizations, "modifying" your species to look like them and make them develop along certain paths.

Major updates to the UI, bug fixes, performance, and numbers depending on what kind of species you play as (the specific ethics/governments chosen). Loving it so far.

The Clarke patch makes me very optimistic for the future development of Stellaris.
 
Irwin John Finster said:
Casual compared to what? Paradox games in general are considered the most complex strategy games out there.
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Casual for people who need to feel superior at computer games most find tedious and overly complex, to battle their inferiority complexes. Maybe.
 
aenemic said:
Casual for people who need to feel superior at computer games most find tedious and overly complex, to battle their inferiority complexes. Maybe.
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Yea I mean I've never heard the words "casual" and "Paradox" in the same sentence.

They are considered extremely deep games with lots to do and manage.

If they are for "casuals" then I have to wonder what you're comparing it to. You basically need to be unemployed to fully master some of their games. If you look at the Steam reviews of Europa Universalis and their other games, most of the people have well over 1000 or 1500 or even 5,000 hours in the game.
 
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do you think how many patches stellaris need to make it enjoyable?
 
If you're doing grand strategy, you have to do it right. Otherwise it's pointless. Who the fuck wants to play a game about running a country or intergalactic empire and have it be easy?

Stellaris might as well have been a browser game.
 
eissa said:
do you think how many patches stellaris need to make it enjoyable?
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I think it's enjoyable right now. I still think Endless Space 2 is going to destroy all other space games though.

Endless Legend was enjoyable at release and become a very, very great game with all it's expansions. Civilization was not so good at release because the AI was bad but then after the expansions it became great. I think Stellaris is great and if they make good decisions with patches/expansions it will end up even better like those games did.

It really depends on how much Paradox loves Stellaris. If they really give it lots of love then I think it's going to end up as one of the best. If they don't, it will be wasted potential.
Illuminati Confirmed! said:
If you're doing grand strategy, you have to do it right. Otherwise it's pointless. Who the fuck wants to play a game about running a country or intergalactic empire and have it be easy?

Stellaris might as well have been a browser game.
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You're calling Paradox games "casual trash" and "browser game" without offering anything to compare them to. If their games are for "casual trash" as you keep saying, then what in the world are you playing that is deeper than the Paradox Grand Strategy games?

I really want to know, because I have never heard of any such game. I do agree Stellaris needs work and is easy in a way though.
 
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