I just started playing again after this thread...a bit gobsmacked to see a 1.1k strong enemy fleet flying through a system close to me and all I have is.....a fleet of 385 strength.
Heh. Yeah, for all its flaws, the AI is fairly good in the early game at getting its navy ramped up. You definitely don't want to fall too far behind them, although it's less of an issue if you're stronger than them in economy and/or technology.
I don't have any of the DLC - do they add much to the original game?
Short, oversimplified answer: yes.
A bit longer answer: Opinions vary, of course, but I personally have found that *in general*, pretty much all the major expansions and story packs enhance the game experience to a greater or lesser degree, and are all worth picking up at some point. Some of them are only worth getting when they're on sale, but I would at least deem them worth getting at that price. (Of course, I recommend only grabbing DLC when it's on sale anyway, but I'll also cheerfully admit to being a bit
of a cheapskate frugal in that regard.
)
In contrast, you can easily skip the species packs, unless one of them particularly appeals to you. (I'll admit I really like the Humanoids pack, for instance, despite it not affecting gameplay in the least. Not so much for the additional ship pack and race portraits, but for the new advisor voices, which I find add a nice bit of immersion & atmosphere to the game.)
« Last Edit: February 06, 2021, 02:41:53 AM by Martok »
"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart
"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike
