Stellaris

[Martok]

Game Director Steven Muray posted an update regarding the issues with Overlord/Cepheus, and the team's plans to address them: 


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/the-next-steps-as-overlords.1525810/




TL;DR:  Rookie game director screwed up in approving last-minute changes to release code.  Subsequently, a (large-ish) hotfix is currently in the works, with a more significant patch planned to be released in a few weeks. 


The way things are currently looking, I'm guessing I'll be playing Old World for a bit before I end up spending any significant time with Stellaris. 

[Steelie]

Sometimes I look at the Stellaris icon on my desktop and think.....nah, one of these day's they might finish it and I'll play it then. I love the game, but playing it every year or two is like being a duck who wakes up in a new pond every day.

[Martok]

Ha!!  You're not wrong at all, Steelie.  That is a very apt way of phrasing it.   

[Martok]

A good interview with game director Steven Muray: 


https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/quantum-futures-stephen-muray-on-embracing-roleplaying-blorg-body-pillows-and-six-years-of-stellaris-3227436




Sounds like he wants to add/change/improve pretty much the same things to the game as the community does: factions, internal politics, combat balance (fixing the Battleships/Corvette meta would be fantastic). etc.  Looking forward to seeing what else he comes up with in the future. 

Also interesting that they apparently did actually add personnel with the Custodians Initiative.  I'm surprised the higher-ups at Paradox authorized the money for hiring more people, but I'm glad they did. 

[Martok]

The 3.4.3 hotfix has dropped!  The patch notes make up today's dev diary: 


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/stellaris-dev-diary-254-3-4-3-cepheus-patch-released-checksum-9d15-whats-next.1526372/




Sounds like they were able to cram some of the changes/improvements originally planned for the larger patch next month into this one instead.  Not bad. 



Also: holy hell.  These 2(3) features alone are going to massively improve playing this game... 

We also have some quality of life automation improvements planned for 3.4.4:

    - Automated Exploration and Automated Research are now available from the start of the game rather than being tech-locked.
    - Construction ships now have an Automated Construction mode, which will automatically build Research and Mining Stations over appropriate deposits. (It will not automatically build Observation Stations, Hyper Relays, or other constructions.)

 

[Anguille]

Also: holy hell.  These 2(3) features alone are going to massively improve playing this game... 

We also have some quality of life automation improvements planned for 3.4.4:

    - Automated Exploration and Automated Research are now available from the start of the game rather than being tech-locked.
    - Construction ships now have an Automated Construction mode, which will automatically build Research and Mining Stations over appropriate deposits. (It will not automatically build Observation Stations, Hyper Relays, or other constructions.)

 

Finally! Especially the one for the construction ships

[Martok]

Incidentally, Stellaris is free to play this weekend, in celebration of its 6th anniversary: 

Also: holy hell.  These 2(3) features alone are going to massively improve playing this game... 

We also have some quality of life automation improvements planned for 3.4.4:

    - Automated Exploration and Automated Research are now available from the start of the game rather than being tech-locked.
    - Construction ships now have an Automated Construction mode, which will automatically build Research and Mining Stations over appropriate deposits. (It will not automatically build Observation Stations, Hyper Relays, or other constructions.)

 

Finally! Especially the one for the construction ships

Agreed.  That's gonna be huge. 

[Undercovergeek]

Right - the great big adventure starts

I’m going to try a megacorps build first as that’s new to me - in the guides I’ve watched everyone chooses a food policy called nutritional plenitude- this seems to have disappeared - was it replaced by anything

[bob48]

Base game free download on Steam at present?

[Barthheart]

Free to play this weekend. Not sure you get to keep it past that though.

[bob48]

Yes, its a bit ambiguous, innit?

[Martok]

Right - the great big adventure starts

I’m going to try a megacorps build first as that’s new to me - in the guides I’ve watched everyone chooses a food policy called nutritional plenitude- this seems to have disappeared - was it replaced by anything

Very cool, 'geek.  Have fun!   


Nutritional Plenitude is still in the game; it's just an edict now instead of a policy.  It's unlocked with one of the lower-tier Society (Biology) techs. 

However, I don't know that it provides the same benefits that it used to.  I only use Nutritional Plenitude on those rare occasions when I'm genuinely running low on food. 

Base game free download on Steam at present?

Yes, its a bit ambiguous, innit?

It was free-to-play during the weekend only. 

And yes, it's a bit vague.  I wish games that are "free to play" on Steam for a temporary period are listed differently from those that are actually free to *own* (such as Crusader Kings II and Order of Battle: World War II). 

[Undercovergeek]

ok, so thats me in the middle the northwest of the Cydrian Hub - the very tiny blue empire



ive got closed borders to the west and south and the only place to expand is over there in the west..............



.........where those 2 gaia planets are!!!!

I think ive done the megacorps bit right - i have 330 credits a month coming in - if i havent got it i can buy it

For a first run throuugh im having a blast - the asshats to my west are another megacorps - ive either forgotten or i dont know how to generate as much expansion as theyve managed - theyre not that much more powerful than me - had a war, they hit destroyers a bit before me so they were just about to decimate my last corvette fleet before i could convince them to sign a status quo peace treaty and now everyone is just watching everyones fleets get bigger til the hammer drops - i might wait for cruisers before going in to subjagate them or i might grow a big ass destroyer fleet though

on a side note - i cant find any platform to put missiles on a destroyer - did i break something?

[bob48]

.......swirly blue thing alert...............

[Martok]

.........where those 2 gaia planets are!!!!

Wow, score!! 

(They're not Holy Worlds claimed by a nearby Fallen Empire, are they?  Had to ask, since you usually can't get your hands on Gaia planets without a bit of extra effort...) 

I think ive done the megacorps bit right - i have 330 credits a month coming in - if i havent got it i can buy it

Yep, that sounds about right.  Even your small amount of territory fits the theme, as megacorps are more meant to be played tall rather than wide.   

For a first run throuugh im having a blast - the asshats to my west are another megacorps - ive either forgotten or i dont know how to generate as much expansion as theyve managed - theyre not that much more powerful than me - had a war, they hit destroyers a bit before me so they were just about to decimate my last corvette fleet before i could convince them to sign a status quo peace treaty and now everyone is just watching everyones fleets get bigger til the hammer drops - i might wait for cruisers before going in to subjagate them or i might grow a big ass destroyer fleet though

I recommend waiting for cruisers if you can, though of course it depends on how dire your situation is.  If necessary, I typically continue to build corvettes (and skip destroyers) in the meantime. 

on a side note - i cant find any platform to put missiles on a destroyer - did i break something?

Nope, it's nothing you did.  Unlike Corvettes, Destroyers don't have a missile module, unfortunately.