Paradox Grand Strat meets Sci-Fi 4X; Boners Explode

ThanatosRa · Post by **ThanatosRa** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 10:42 pm #251508

Bottom post of the previous page:

>stuck between two fallen empires
>build a bunch of habitat stations in attempt to build up enough to population and research to break out
would it work I wonder

Incomptinence · Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:05 am

Wonder if it will make pacifist tall builders work hrrrm.

Since changing core ethos with factions is going to be a thing I guess pacifism can just be a thing you do for a turtling phase then break out.

Grazyn · Post by **Grazyn** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 12:52 pm #251704

I abandoned stellaris and I'm back playing CK2. Funny enough, I first learned about it years ago when XSI made an AAR on the old forums. Btw, I wish there was an easter egg event chain hinting at an alien observation post in orbit interfering with your "late middle age" civilization

Anonmare · Post by **Anonmare** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 9:04 pm #251881

I'm honestly thinking about doing a hard sci-fi playthrough.

I'm thinking about doing a playthrough with a large galaxy, no AI empires and with the following mods:-
-The Belt
-Pre-FTL species
-Brute Force Colonization
-ISBS Living Systems

I'll probably have to look deeper for other mods, like one to make factions more threatening. Not sure whether to get rid of FEs and Primitives entirely or not though.

Anonmare · Post by **Anonmare** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 12:57 am #252340

I'm trying to replicate Transhuman Space in Stellaris, which didn't have any aliens I can recall

starmute · Post by **starmute** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 8:25 am #252786

I am so pumped about the expansion.

Ricotez · Post by **Ricotez** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:25 pm #252807

For a religious empire that worships stars, would a Dyson sphere be the ultimate expression of divine love and faith, or the biggest, baddest form of heresy imaginable?

leibniz · Post by **leibniz** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:45 pm #252814

The new fancy stuff sounds nice, but I will keep this in my backlog until they fix missiles.

Anonmare · Post by **Anonmare** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 9:00 pm #252913

Ricotez wrote:For a religious empire that worships stars, would a Dyson sphere be the ultimate expression of divine love and faith, or the biggest, baddest form of heresy imaginable?

I think that might depend on your policies and your R O L E P L A Y

I've roleplayed as a religious empire going on a Great Crusade to convert everyone to the Faith before. It's fun to set yourself some goals like that.

Ricotez · Post by **Ricotez** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 9:18 pm #252917

I do the same. My religious space bats believe that their home star is the physical incarnation of their deity, but I'm trying to figure out if they'd make a Dyson sphere their ultimate goal (freezing over their home planet as a sign of faith or something), or if they'd instantly declare war on anyone who dares to snuff out the light of a star.

Probably the latter though, I don't know many religions that believe trapping your god is a good idea.

ThanatosRa · Post by **ThanatosRa** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 10:38 pm #252939

Perhaps they believe others are unworthy of the light of their star.

Anonmare · Post by **Anonmare** » Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:12 pm #252953

Ricotez wrote:I do the same. My religious space bats believe that their home star is the physical incarnation of their deity, but I'm trying to figure out if they'd make a Dyson sphere their ultimate goal (freezing over their home planet as a sign of faith or something), or if they'd instantly declare war on anyone who dares to snuff out the light of a star.

Probably the latter though, I don't know many religions that believe trapping your god is a good idea.

I have come to this great land, the birthplace of Our Lord, to seek my very own sun! Oh if only I could be so grossly incandescent...

Ricotez · Post by **Ricotez** » Wed Feb 08, 2017 11:42 am #253111

ill admit that Solaire was a major inspiration

may the entire universe bathe in the gross incandescence of the Holy Star, Elk

starmute · Post by **starmute** » Wed Feb 08, 2017 3:30 pm #253159

leibniz wrote:The new fancy stuff sounds nice, but I will keep this in my backlog until they fix missiles.

How are missiles broken?

leibniz · Post by **leibniz** » Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:48 pm #253185

starmute wrote:
leibniz wrote:The new fancy stuff sounds nice, but I will keep this in my backlog until they fix missiles.
How are missiles broken?

>your fleet targets one ship
>huge travel time
>target explodes from the first missile
>rest of the missiles dont retarget
>meanwhile the other fleet was firing with stuff that has no travel time and they retarget normally when they kill something
bonus: specific line of modules for countering all missiles

starmute · Post by **starmute** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 8:27 am #253430

leibniz wrote:
starmute wrote:
leibniz wrote:The new fancy stuff sounds nice, but I will keep this in my backlog until they fix missiles.
How are missiles broken?
>your fleet targets one ship
>huge travel time
>target explodes from the first missile
>rest of the missiles dont retarget
>meanwhile the other fleet was firing with stuff that has no travel time and they retarget normally when they kill something
bonus: specific line of modules for countering all missiles

Oddly enough I don't have that problem. Typically my missiles target different ships. However I tend to go with torpedoes or energy torpedoes as the main weapon since they completely ignore/destroy shields and carrier fleets. If any of the small missiles connect then that's fine too. Missile weapons generally have 100% accuracy and very good tracking, unlike other modules. Lasers have trouble with shields and mass drivers seem to lack accuracy. They might do well at the start of the game but I personally believe that kinetics dwindle by the end in comparison to the other two.

Thats how I see things at least.

Incomptinence · Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:57 am

Might be graphics settings. PD is always the problem needs some serious tweaking, the pd slots change was plainly not enough. Also makes hangar modules useless.

Anonmare · Post by **Anonmare** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 10:03 pm #253691

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/in ... ud.998827/

So it seems I was correct, the Shroud is an expy of the Warp. The Shroud is only accessible to species who have become fully-fledged psionics (Spent two ascension perks on the Psionics path) and can commune with entities beyond the Shroud for a boon. Some of these entities are benevolent, malevolent and some are just plain indifferent, you can also form covenants with them for some more powerful benefits, but, they may not have your best interests at heart. Beware Shroud-marked worlds...

Jazaen · Post by **Jazaen** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 10:14 pm #253695

I am getting a strong Legacy of the Void vibe from this.

ThanatosRa · Post by **ThanatosRa** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:02 pm #253714

Eh heh. Become Psionic, Kill the Galaxy?
Admittedly, it would be interesting if you could go Technological Transhuman(or whatever race fuck you) and upload your citizens into synthetic bodies. Become the AI rebellion.
(haven't played in a few months)

Jazaen · Post by **Jazaen** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:12 pm #253717

Well, supposedly something REALLY BAD happens when you do this. And I think this expansion adds two more civilizations to the group occupied by the Prethoryn Scourge, Unbidden and AI Consciousness.

Anyway, if you do this in MP, you should, for starters, expect everyone around you to pile up on you.

ThanatosRa · Post by **ThanatosRa** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:25 pm #253722

Sooo, I guess this lets you become the big bad of the setting then? I imagine it pisses off every other civilization.

DemonFiren · Post by **DemonFiren** » Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:49 pm #253733

Ah, I smell Reapers.

Incomptinence · Fri Feb 10, 2017 10:28 pm

Can't wait to eat my enemies.

Jazaen · Post by **Jazaen** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 10:54 pm #254342

Also, this update + DLC add, among others:
- Empire-wide food (possible, not announced but seen on one of Wiz' screens)
- Standard Construction Templates (Not Standard Template Constructs), one of Ascension perks that gives some bonuses and whatnot.
- Fourth planetary bombardment option (labelled: Anihilation. Exterminatus/Base-Delta-Zero/Whatever incoming! Also, it has icon which looks suspiciously like a fleet over a world with plates floating on lava)
- Better rights management for various races (you can keep them in drug-enforced happiness faze, for example)
- Megastructures
- Becoming an end-game event (shroud thingy).
- Three main ascension paths: Psionic, Technology, Biologic. (Possibly tying into becoming respectively something like Unbidden, AI Rebellion, Zer... I mean, Tyra... I mean, PRETHORYN)
- Habitats
- EMPRAH (Read: "Chosen One Leader trait, which gives immortality, monthly influence, unity and ethics attraction", whatever that is)

Spoiler:

- Refugees, running away from purges
- Better terraforming, through both ascension perks and being able to make some uninhabitable planets inhabitable.
- Shedding your puny flesh. It worked for Necrontyr, right?
- Manifesting avatars through the shroud into materium, to keep the Worm-in-waiting company.

Edit: oh, and two most important features:
1. Using XENO SCUM as lifestock and
2. Science and construction ships will no longer cancel their whole queue upon escaping from hostiles.

Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:13 am

Global food was shown off extensively in the stream they did on Thursday.

Jazaen · Post by **Jazaen** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 11:15 am #254648

Then I am behind on my streams. Oh well.
ALSO:
- EDIT: Shit, that was a mod. Sad times.
- Factions

Anonmare · Post by **Anonmare** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 6:57 pm #255057

I've [played quite a few games and I never seem to get a lot of leviathans, I've never even seen the Enigmatic Fortress. Which sucks because I really want the Enigmatic tech research

Jazaen · Post by **Jazaen** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 7:06 pm #255062

Doth thy have the Leviathans DLC installed? Also, scan the galaxy intensely, they are bound to come up sooner or later.

Also, best one is the orb - you don't need to fight it, and if it's in your borders, you have a good chance of getting... Well, spoilers

DemonFiren · Post by **DemonFiren** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 11:28 pm #255169

>doth thy
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Anonmare · Post by **Anonmare** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:20 pm #255596

Jazaen wrote:Doth thy have the Leviathans DLC installed? Also, scan the galaxy intensely, they are bound to come up sooner or later.

Also, best one is the orb - you don't need to fight it, and if it's in your borders, you have a good chance of getting... Well, spoilers

Yeah I've done the Infinity Machine a few times, I always seem to get the Drake in every playthrough. Though my current playthrough has the Infinity Machine, Enigmatic Fortress and the Drake (because I always get the drake). I also got Relics of a Fallen Empire mod and I'm staring at this Ringworld around a blackhole called the Eternity Gate which has a fleet stack power of 204k guarding it and a Guardian, likely a dreadnought but I can't say, curators know jack shit about it obviously.

Also I just realised that pic related's species is actually a species of parasites controlling a host:

Spoiler:

ThanatosRa · Post by **ThanatosRa** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:50 pm #255610

I got the giant pirate ship currently. Right next door too.

XSI · Post by **XSI** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:58 pm #255613

So is this thing actually finished these days or is it still mostly sitting on your ass and maybe throwing a bunch of ships at an AI nearby, while your own empire is horribly mismanaged by sector AI?

Ricotez · Post by **Ricotez** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 12:07 am #255643

It's a better game now than it used to be but I still don't fully trust sector AIs.

XSI · Post by **XSI** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 1:04 am #255679

Sector AI being crap is not a big deal, really

But does it actually have content aside from early exploring, colonising, and then doing nothing whatsoever?

Ricotez · Post by **Ricotez** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 2:21 am #255742

Nah.

Utopia might change that though.

Ikarrus · Post by **Ikarrus** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:29 am #255769

That's what I thought the last 4 major updates

I'm probably still going to get Utopia tho

Jazaen · Post by **Jazaen** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 5:21 pm #255928

Utopia is the first real non-storyarc non-aesthetic DLC, really.
Also, not sure if they will do much improvements to sector AI, but so far they've confirmed they are adding "what sector AI will do" window to sector management.

Incomptinence · Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:57 pm

Twitter spoilers are pretty hype saw some important ones linked from the stellaris digg.

hiveminds n shit
civics which replace most of the variety in government types also be the fanatic purifier
start with a menial co-evolved species of dumbos also hinted maybe start with some form of robot as mechanist?
be delicious!

Ricotez · Post by **Ricotez** » Tue Feb 21, 2017 2:11 pm #258757

where are these leaks coming from? did some people get dev builds of Banks?

Incomptinence · Tue Feb 21, 2017 9:37 pm

they're intentional teasers from one of the devs

starmute · Post by **starmute** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 1:09 am #259477

If this expansion doesn't come out soon somebody's going to get cut.

Ricotez · Post by **Ricotez** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 11:06 am #259645

another dev stream in 3 hours, they might reveal a release date this time

http://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive

Ikarrus · Post by **Ikarrus** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 5:58 pm #259740

I legit look forward to spending a whole day reconfiguring my custom races with the new customisation options.

Wyzack · Post by **Wyzack** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 6:03 pm #259742

Is this a good time to try playing the game again or should i way for this next DLC or whatever?

Ikarrus · Post by **Ikarrus** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 6:21 pm #259750

I personally am more interested in the internal politics of this game rather than war so this next update seems to be the biggest to date.

I'd wait until Banks is out, though, just so you don't have to work around the patch coming in mid-playthrough and fucking up your save.

Jazaen · Post by **Jazaen** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 7:14 pm #259795

Yeah, this one allows you to both play tall, and adds a bunch of internal stuff to worry about.
Also, Hive Minds seem interesting, if somewhat aggressive by design, since you can't invite other pops over and your own pops die when stranded/migrating.
Plus no influence/unity bonus if factions are happy.

Ricotez · Post by **Ricotez** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 7:48 pm #259811

Wyzack wrote:Is this a good time to try playing the game again or should i way for this next DLC or whatever?

Next update overhauls the ethics and government systems so your savegame will probably become incompatible once it comes out (though you can always go back to earlier versions to access older savegames).

Wyzack · Post by **Wyzack** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 7:53 pm #259812

I dont mind starting over for new content but i dont want to burn out my enjoyment of the game with new stuff around the corner, i'll probably wait it out. Thanks for the advice.

I feel like i never get the most out of these games. I just like to kinda build my civilization and expand and go to war at my own pace, so i never really play any multiplayer unless i can find people who just kind of want to play a chill noncompetitive run

Ricotez · Post by **Ricotez** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 8:02 pm #259819

we played a few multiplayer games and they were pretty fun, but I wouldn't really say you're missing anything

Incomptinence · Thu Feb 23, 2017 9:56 pm

Fun note on multiplayer their dlc policy is only host needs to have non cosmetic expansions in a multiplayer game.

So if whoever hosted had both utopia and leviathans the entire old gang could get the full experience.

Doesn't apply to cosmetics but unlike earlier tittles you can see my cosmetic dlc plants ahoy.