Stellaris 3.12 Andromeda
- Thread starter Thorvard
- Start date
Ugh, every time...I so want to get into this game and start playing, but the interest in maybe taking a look always hits right around the time a new patch drops, making all the guides, mods, etc out there out of date.
Are mods generally backwards-compatible? If I were to roll back to 3.6.* or 3.7.*, would mods for 3.8 generally still work? Would like to just settle in on a version of the game that's been out for a while and not have to worry about sudden gameplay changes until I'm ready.
Are mods generally backwards-compatible? If I were to roll back to 3.6.* or 3.7.*, would mods for 3.8 generally still work? Would like to just settle in on a version of the game that's been out for a while and not have to worry about sudden gameplay changes until I'm ready.
You have to invade with armies, bombardment just damages pops + structures + defending armies. The damage to defending armies is definitely what you're going for, if you are trying to invade and take over.
If you bombard the population to 0, then the planet becomes uninhabited and you can colonize it yourself.
It was a change in the recent patch to auto invade undefended planets if you bombard them.
- Planets can now be taken through Orbital Bombardment if all defending troops have been killed. A policy can be set if you wish to refuse this form of surrender, and planets will not surrender to genocidal opponents.
Sorta funny - I was using jump engines to explore some systems that were cut off by a xenophobe fallen empire. Managed to find the "Ransomeer" node. The resulting pirate base established itself in the sector next to the fallen empire. Turns out that they're pissy about anything that's next to them. Their retaliation seems like a tad overkill for ~500 fleet strength, though.
I've been playing a game with the Gigastructures mod and expanded expansions perk mode (i.e. all the slots are available eventually).
Interesting thing is that I started with Jump Drive, but no Hyperlane capability (I don't think that's mod related, but don't remember where it came from). Sounds cool to begin with, but initial exploration is actually slower due to cool down timer. Although once I did research Hyperlane navigation - it really kinda gave me an edge.
Still early in the game, but interested to see where it goes. Downside is that there is no way I can afford the late stage gigastructures without owning just about the entire galaxy - those things are resource intensive.
Interesting thing is that I started with Jump Drive, but no Hyperlane capability (I don't think that's mod related, but don't remember where it came from). Sounds cool to begin with, but initial exploration is actually slower due to cool down timer. Although once I did research Hyperlane navigation - it really kinda gave me an edge.
Still early in the game, but interested to see where it goes. Downside is that there is no way I can afford the late stage gigastructures without owning just about the entire galaxy - those things are resource intensive.
That's a Civic called something like "Eager Explorers", IIRC. It starts you off with fewer pops, and several missing starter techs, but gives you the "subspace drive" that lets you jump but not use hyperlanes.
If I want to pick Stellaris up to give it a proper try during the Steam summer sale, what would be the essential set of expansions to really properly appreciate the game in its current state?
I don't particularly want to spend the >$100 (sale price) on the complete set for a game that I've never really even tried, but I also know Paradox is gonna Paradox and some of this DLC probably meaningfully adds to the game. Maybe the Starter Pack Bundle, which seems like it's about in the price range that I'd be willing to spend on this?
I don't particularly want to spend the >$100 (sale price) on the complete set for a game that I've never really even tried, but I also know Paradox is gonna Paradox and some of this DLC probably meaningfully adds to the game. Maybe the Starter Pack Bundle, which seems like it's about in the price range that I'd be willing to spend on this?
Yeah, I'd probably consider Utopia the closest thing to a "must have" DLC for Stellaris, even if it mostly comes into play towards the end game.
Officially, the DLC are divided into three categories - Expansions, Story Packs, and Species Packs.
In general, the expansions add new or flesh out existing mechanics, the story packs add new content to make the galaxy richer and more varied, and the species packs add mechanics and content for specific types of "species". The species packs are the least important unless you're playing as the species that they're for.
That Starter Pack bundle does look like a good deal - two good expansions and a good story pack (Distant Stars). Synthetic Dawn I'd personally consider more of a "species pack" even though it's officially a "story pack".
Personally, I'd probably take "Leviathans" over "Synthetic Dawn" unless you particularly wanted to play as or face machine empires.
Officially, the DLC are divided into three categories - Expansions, Story Packs, and Species Packs.
In general, the expansions add new or flesh out existing mechanics, the story packs add new content to make the galaxy richer and more varied, and the species packs add mechanics and content for specific types of "species". The species packs are the least important unless you're playing as the species that they're for.
That Starter Pack bundle does look like a good deal - two good expansions and a good story pack (Distant Stars). Synthetic Dawn I'd personally consider more of a "species pack" even though it's officially a "story pack".
Personally, I'd probably take "Leviathans" over "Synthetic Dawn" unless you particularly wanted to play as or face machine empires.
Just finished a war that involved, literally, the entire galaxy. The game actually hung for a good 45 seconds at the declaration of victory before it popped up this mess:
That's something like 70-odd refugee pops fleeing into my territory.
That's something like 70-odd refugee pops fleeing into my territory.
The starter bundle is a good way to start the game, but depending on how you want to play you might want to pick up one or two others that are thematic for you. For example, if you want to role play Star Trek, you should get Federations. If you want to roleplay the Imperium of Mankind, you get Apocalypse. If you want to roleplay late-stage capitalism in SPPPPAAAACCCEEE pick up Megacorp etc
One minor addition to that, if you want to "really" play the Imperium of Mankind, you will also need the new Paragons DLC, as that adds the "Under One Rule" Origin, that pretty much literally makes you the Emperor of Mankind from the 40K setting, Genetic Perfection trait and all.
Along with a bunch of story beats to either slowly transition your empire to a more democratic society, or to strengthen your hold and rule the galaxy.
"Know that we wish nothing more than a buffer zone around our empire borders. You are not that buffer zone. Your allies are not that buffer zone. Cold dead space is that buffer zone, and if this is not the case, we will make it so."
That's one of the texts xenophobic fallen empires can send you, and it is certainly truth in advertisement. Also, for whatever reason my head-canon always has it pronounced in Sovereign's voice from Mass Effect.
Ugh, AI pretty much completely destroyed my fleets and any chance I had of surviving.
I'm still pretty much a newbie at this game. Just upped the difficulty to I believe one above default as the last game was pretty much a cakewalk.
Started off well, lots of expansion and room to grow. Pretty sure I had the largest overall territory extending from the core to the rim and an OK number of inhabitable worlds in a 400-size elliptical galaxy. Hyperlanes were in an odd, kinda winding path, which did make traversal a bit time-consuming before jumping was an option. Ran into a fallen empire along the core on one side, and marauders on the other side midway between the core and rim.
I think where I messed up was over-concentrating on specializing my colonies, to the detriment of research. It felt like I was struggling to be where I should the whole game, despite being at least equivalent to AI empires. I was able to build up enough of a force to wipe out the marauders before they turned into a horde and went on a rampage. A bit later, after I conquered a small empire off the corner of mine along the rim, I took out some kind of hostile station (forgot what it was called) that was also there.
So, late game. Navy is back up, parked near the fallen empire close to the core just waiting for them to emerge. Stations near the border are citadels built up to max, and a couple more behind the lines to serve as fleet yards. I also have a mega shipyard in a nearby sector and am building up a strategic coordination center. I'm in a federation with another two empires of roughly equivalent power, both also border the fallen and one also with me.
Well shit, back at the rim a couple years away, at the site of that alien station, Unbidden start emerging and taking down systems. There go two worlds and also bunch of trade from surrounding systems. Take my last ascension perk to handle this, and rush my fleets down to intercept. They're not strong enough to take them on directly, but can turtle in the next system as they come one-by-one instead of all at once. Also, my weapons mix sucks as these are all shields/no armor, so I remix my loadout and start cranking out new ships at the mega shipyard and another nearby station while the existing fleets make do. Finally get the crisis taken care of (with absolutely no help from my federation partners). Rebuild the outposts and mining/research stations in the affected systems, and recolonize the decimated planets.
Send navy (probably at ~40-50% of complete) back to the yards at the stations near the fallen empire. Repair and reset the weapons mix back to something more appropriate. Alloys are running low (forgot to reset policy to wartime/military alloy/consumer good balance), so I can't reinforce all at once. Meanwhile, the fallen empire is lurking around in systems on the other side of the wormhole that's in its territory. OK, most everything over there is pretty weak, maybe they'll skip the locals and go straight to the other side of the galaxy, and while they're gone I can swoop in and decapitate them by taking out their home systems (similar to what happened in my last game)? Nope, not a chance.
~10-15 years after my Unbidden crisis, fallen empire wakes up. They don't go after me directly, but instead one of my federation neighbors. So now I'm drawn into this fight to help someone who stood back a couple decades ago and watched my navy be decimated by the Unbidden. I'm not fully prepared. My fleets are at ~75% when this mess starts, and I have no alloy reserves to further reinforce and can't buy enough to make a real difference. I was able to hold them off for a while at my forward-most citadel, but that one eventually fell. Remaining forces fall back to the one behind it. I rebuild for a short while as the awakened empire deals with a federation member on the other side of its territory who took a couple systems. But then it pumps out another OMG huge fleet and comes back for me. Next citadel falls, along with pretty much every ship that was fighting in that system. All I have left are a handful of battleships and cruisers that just came online and are a few systems away. No titans are left, and my juggernaut is also gone. That's it, the game is essentially over, there's nothing I can do to stop the awakened empire from walking all over me.
Like I said, I think (a lack of) research hurt me, my fleet power for its size wasn't where it probably should have been. I let research slide as I over-concentrated on specializing my planets (also not a single relic world to utilize). I tried to compensate later with research habitats, but those where slow to grow despite the robot assembly plants. It also hurt that I had no free spot to take the ascension perk to deal with awakened empires. I'm also not really feeling federations right now.
I'm still pretty much a newbie at this game. Just upped the difficulty to I believe one above default as the last game was pretty much a cakewalk.
Started off well, lots of expansion and room to grow. Pretty sure I had the largest overall territory extending from the core to the rim and an OK number of inhabitable worlds in a 400-size elliptical galaxy. Hyperlanes were in an odd, kinda winding path, which did make traversal a bit time-consuming before jumping was an option. Ran into a fallen empire along the core on one side, and marauders on the other side midway between the core and rim.
I think where I messed up was over-concentrating on specializing my colonies, to the detriment of research. It felt like I was struggling to be where I should the whole game, despite being at least equivalent to AI empires. I was able to build up enough of a force to wipe out the marauders before they turned into a horde and went on a rampage. A bit later, after I conquered a small empire off the corner of mine along the rim, I took out some kind of hostile station (forgot what it was called) that was also there.
So, late game. Navy is back up, parked near the fallen empire close to the core just waiting for them to emerge. Stations near the border are citadels built up to max, and a couple more behind the lines to serve as fleet yards. I also have a mega shipyard in a nearby sector and am building up a strategic coordination center. I'm in a federation with another two empires of roughly equivalent power, both also border the fallen and one also with me.
Well shit, back at the rim a couple years away, at the site of that alien station, Unbidden start emerging and taking down systems. There go two worlds and also bunch of trade from surrounding systems. Take my last ascension perk to handle this, and rush my fleets down to intercept. They're not strong enough to take them on directly, but can turtle in the next system as they come one-by-one instead of all at once. Also, my weapons mix sucks as these are all shields/no armor, so I remix my loadout and start cranking out new ships at the mega shipyard and another nearby station while the existing fleets make do. Finally get the crisis taken care of (with absolutely no help from my federation partners). Rebuild the outposts and mining/research stations in the affected systems, and recolonize the decimated planets.
Send navy (probably at ~40-50% of complete) back to the yards at the stations near the fallen empire. Repair and reset the weapons mix back to something more appropriate. Alloys are running low (forgot to reset policy to wartime/military alloy/consumer good balance), so I can't reinforce all at once. Meanwhile, the fallen empire is lurking around in systems on the other side of the wormhole that's in its territory. OK, most everything over there is pretty weak, maybe they'll skip the locals and go straight to the other side of the galaxy, and while they're gone I can swoop in and decapitate them by taking out their home systems (similar to what happened in my last game)? Nope, not a chance.
~10-15 years after my Unbidden crisis, fallen empire wakes up. They don't go after me directly, but instead one of my federation neighbors. So now I'm drawn into this fight to help someone who stood back a couple decades ago and watched my navy be decimated by the Unbidden. I'm not fully prepared. My fleets are at ~75% when this mess starts, and I have no alloy reserves to further reinforce and can't buy enough to make a real difference. I was able to hold them off for a while at my forward-most citadel, but that one eventually fell. Remaining forces fall back to the one behind it. I rebuild for a short while as the awakened empire deals with a federation member on the other side of its territory who took a couple systems. But then it pumps out another OMG huge fleet and comes back for me. Next citadel falls, along with pretty much every ship that was fighting in that system. All I have left are a handful of battleships and cruisers that just came online and are a few systems away. No titans are left, and my juggernaut is also gone. That's it, the game is essentially over, there's nothing I can do to stop the awakened empire from walking all over me.
Like I said, I think (a lack of) research hurt me, my fleet power for its size wasn't where it probably should have been. I let research slide as I over-concentrated on specializing my planets (also not a single relic world to utilize). I tried to compensate later with research habitats, but those where slow to grow despite the robot assembly plants. It also hurt that I had no free spot to take the ascension perk to deal with awakened empires. I'm also not really feeling federations right now.
Yeah, there are basically two things in Stellaris that you can never have too much of. Science and Alloys.
Everything else on that bar at the top you can be happy if your income is +1 (remember to use the market to buy things, especially minerals in the early game).
But science and alloys win games. The whole point of the rest of your empire is to support as many labs and foundries as you can squeeze in.
Defensive stations and platforms are good in the early game (especially if you just build hangars) but fall off hard once cruisers and battleships start appearing.
Per r/stellaris and the dev diary they are revamping the older species packs and when it gets released those will match the price of the later ones.
Yeah. Newbie mistakes. In the previous game I didn't specialize properly, but pretty much every world got at least one research station and later the institute. In this game I specialized and mostly had enough alloys and other resources to build what I needed until a far superior enemy came along and I couldn't hold them off or rebuild fast enough. If my tech had been where it should have been I think my other resources would have been sufficient for the conflict.
I've been taking in some youtube tutorials, but given how rapidly changing the game is it's sometimes hard to tell which ones are still relevant.
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Yeah, instead of having one lab per world, have one world of labs per other type of world.
Always try and get an Ecumenopolis world and specialise it as a forge world for the alloys (if you have the applicable DLC).
Always try and get an Ecumenopolis world and specialise it as a forge world for the alloys (if you have the applicable DLC).
Release notes for 3.9 are up.
Huge rework of habitats, and significant revamps of trade buildings/jobs. Also a rework of the ascension perks for the ascension paths. Resource stockpiles are no longer required for automating colonies.
Huge rework of habitats, and significant revamps of trade buildings/jobs. Also a rework of the ascension perks for the ascension paths. Resource stockpiles are no longer required for automating colonies.
Hurriedly trying to finish my fanatic pacifist game as it relies heavily on habitats.
Also why did I think Fanatic Pacifist would be an enjoyable game.
Also why did I think Fanatic Pacifist would be an enjoyable game.
You can be a heavily armed fanatic pacifist that defends your own borders and watches the crisis eat everyone else?
If you into Properties -> Betas in Steam you can select pretty much all old versions of the game, Paradox has this for all their grand strats so people won't have to abandon saves, mods that haven't been updated, etc. Stellaris goes all the way back to 2.1.3.
oh I know I can do that. I also want to finish it cause this style of game play is to boring for my liking.
Oh, makes sense, I think that's about the time when I would bring up the console and just go apeshit with it. Kinda like og Sim City when my cities felt like I had them where I wanted, I'd just summon all the disasters at once and see what happened. 
It's interesting how Fanatic Pacifist is boring mode, while Pacifist is easy mode.
[Dev Team] 3.9 'Caelum' Released (checksum 629C)
Game Director Eladrin talks us through the new features available now in the 3.9 "Caelum" Update! Stellaris 3.9 "Caelum" Release Trailer Hello there! Loke is out on Parental leave, so I am going to be taking over the reins for a bit. Our...
The patch notes exceed the maximum post length here, so go click through.
Looks like NSC3 Season 1 launched. Now I just need an updated Forerunner...
[Dev Team] 3.9.2 Patch Released
Hello all, The latest minor patch for Stellaris is ready and released, fixing a number of issues and further balancing the new mechanics. We're also planning a follow-up 3.9.3 patch for mid to late October, which will include some of the issues...
Mental note for next time. Take Colossus perk if you pick all 3 crisis to spawn. Having to bombard the contingency planets into oblivion is not fun. Especially if fanatic pacifist and can only do standard bombardment.
Steam Workshop::Additional Precursors Collection
Steam Workshop: Stellaris. This collection contains all mods known to man, xeno and other interstellar being, that adds precursors to the Sol III game known as "Stellaris", as well as a mod that allows you to pick and choose ex
I'm not going to say it makes for a balanced experience, but if you're into archaeological dig sites, install that whole collection and turn everything on. It's absolutely nuts.
Stellaris - Stellaris Dev Diary #316 - Leader Consolidation - Steam News
Today we’re going to look at a likely 3.10 feature, some changes that we’ve called the Leader Consolidation,
Leaders are still a mess, but this sounds a little better.
I will continue to use Leader cap increased to make most of the problems manageable. +50 leader cap, woo!