Stellaris

[Undercovergeek]

After all these updates and add ons is there a stellaris 2 mentioned anywhere - pretty much like CK1 and 2 - eventually you’ve got to improve the engine and grow up a bit

[Yskonyn]

Not talked about AFAIK.
But I do recall reading somewhere that the Clausewitz engine is now such that games can ride along with its progression in tech, so that suggests a sequel is not needed for tech reasons. More like a reset to cut stuff that didnt really work or has become bloated/obsolete and start from a fresh foundation.
No idea if and when a sequel is in the works though. They seems to still have lots of ideas for the current game.

[Martok]

To add to Yskonyn's comments (fascinating, I hadn't heard that bit about the Clausewitz engine before), Fredrick Wester made a couple interesting statements in this video from a few days ago: 

While he and Alex both dropped several bits of info relevant to Paradox fans (a big one is that the price of DLC's are probably going to increase ), one thing that especially stuck out for me was that at one point, Wester says they're not going to stop supporting a game just because it's been out for a while.  (He cites HoI4 as a particular example, noting how it actually has more players now than it did at release.)  Similarly, he hinted that they're not necessarily going to put out a sequel just because a game is "due" for one -- if the current entry in a series is doing well, and players are happy with it, then why would they start working on a new game? 

It's a somewhat rhetorical question, of course -- at some point, a new/updated version will needed and/or warranted.  But Fred's comments do make me wonder if it might be significantly longer before we see Stellaris 2, to the point that I'm beginning to doubt my predictions of a 2026 release date, if only a little. 


I still think we'll see a sequel sometime in the next five years.  But I'll admit I'm no longer as certain of that as I was a week ago. 

[ojsdad]

While he and Alex both dropped several bits of info relevant to Paradox fans (a big one is that the price of DLC's are probably going to increase ),

To be fair to Paradox and other developers, I came across my 20 year old EU2 box, which was $39.99.  The same price as EUIV on Steam today.  So in 20 years the base game prices haven't changed.  How much has hotel room costs or meals go up in the last 20 years?  Or anything else for that matter. 

[Martok]

^  You have a very good point, of course, but that doesn't mean I like it.   


I would also be less unhappy if Crusader Kings III and its first major expansion, Royal Court, weren't setting a bad precedent:  They're Paradox's first game and DLC to be price at $50 and $30 (respectively), and both have their problems.  While the base game scored well, it still gets quite a few complaints about it feeling empty and/or stripped of a lot of the features that made CK2 fun; and of course Royal Court has been blasted by the community for being too light on content (and/or having the wrong content) for the price they're being asked to pay for it. 

[Undercovergeek]

50% - 80% off the whole franchise apart from aquatics and overlord right now

Not two days ago was about to buy most of the dlc - now a definite purchase - certainly the content packs I think I can live without the species packs unless they come with additional story

Whilst I declare my love for DW2 and have recently been obsessed with the game, playing, reading, watching - i don’t want to spoil my enjoyment of it using work rounds to get around some things that are starting to appear on the mid game

[Martok]

Hot damn.   


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889490/Stellaris_Overlord/

As might be expected, the base game is currently on sale at a steep discount, as are most of the DLC's: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/281990/Stellaris/




Myself, I'm fired up and ready to go!  The only thing I'm waiting on is for a few more mods to be updated.  I keep checking the list: 

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/3-4-cepheus-updated-mods-list.1524411/

[Barthheart]

Bought it through Green Man Gaming with a 15% discount email. 

[Martok]

I picked up my copy of Overlord on Fanatical for a total of $16.52 (USD).  Current price is $17.39, plus I had a 5% coupon.   

[bayonetbrant]

https://twitter.com/PDX_Dev_Studio/status/1525085883610849284

[Anguille]

Seems there's a big problem with revolts in the game since the last patch (impossible to quell or manage). Anyone having experience with that?

[Martok]

No, as I ironically haven't really touched the game much since Thursday.  I suddenly realized I needed a break from Stellaris after I purchased Overlord -- but then, I often do when a new DLC and/or major patch drops.  (I think I suffer from "update fatigue"... ) 

That being said, I have heard about revolts causing an issue, especially on planets inhabited by primitive civilizations.  It's apparently a major reason why Overlord's rating has abruptly started tanking on Steam in the last 24 hours.  (It was initially rated "Mostly Positive" the first 12-18 hours after launch, but it's since dropped to "Mixed".)  The problem is explained in better detail in this Reddit thread (though I've quoted the most pertinent bit here): 


https://www.reddit.com/r/Stellaris/comments/uoy7ym/game_director_aware_of_some_of_the_issues/

If you conquer primative planets a situation will appear in your log. This situation is a death spiral currently in some planets especially if the planet you conquered had already low stability due to other factors. Low stability + not enough time to fix = stacking debuffs that spiral out of control before you can resolve it.

Even once a "revolt" happens, if you fail to fix it, you instantly lose the planet and surrounding systems for 10 years including your troops stationed on the planets.

People are unhappy because this does not make sense.

Why can they declare independent when I have an overwhelming fleet without a fight? Why can they take my surrounding systems also without a fight? Why must I give them 10 years truce when technologically they are throwing sticks at me? In a real world situation if there is such a revolt you can just obliterate them into oblivion. This apparently screwed up some of the people's playthrough during war time because (they have to pay attention to the war) and can't keep micro-managing planets that have low stability while their attention is elsewhere.

Steven Muray is aware of (at least some of) the problems with the Cepheus update.  Here's hoping they get a fix out soon: 

https://twitter.com/smuray/status/1525123515363491840

[Undercovergeek]

That screeching sound you here is my wallet jamming the brakes on - all other dlc is purchased and ready - might start a game this weekend

IIRC when I was checking out all the dlc - every single one from utopia upwards is ‘mixed’

[ojsdad]

That screeching sound you here is my wallet jamming the brakes on - all other dlc is purchased and ready - might start a game this weekend

IIRC when I was checking out all the dlc - every single one from utopia upwards is ‘mixed’

I don't like the way Steam does user ratings.  Where the problem lies is if there is a technical issue with something that gets resolved, but the player never goes back and updates their review.  I have no problem if you don't like a new feature or how it was implemented.  However, on that note, we know there are features that have been released in a DLC and later overhauled, but again, reviewers don't go back and update their reviews.

[Undercovergeek]

That screeching sound you here is my wallet jamming the brakes on - all other dlc is purchased and ready - might start a game this weekend

IIRC when I was checking out all the dlc - every single one from utopia upwards is ‘mixed’

I don't like the way Steam does user ratings.  Where the problem lies is if there is a technical issue with something that gets resolved, but the player never goes back and updates their review.  I have no problem if you don't like a new feature or how it was implemented.  However, on that note, we know there are features that have been released in a DLC and later overhauled, but again, reviewers don't go back and update their reviews.

Agree 100%