Its funny how many people excited for this game are just going to roleplay the Imperium of Man. Paradox knows their audience and are giving them what they want.
I
Its funny how many people excited for this game are just going to roleplay the Imperium of Man. Paradox knows their audience and are giving them what they want.
Not me. I'll probably go full Federation of Planets.
Well, sort of. Any interesting primitive species I'll run across are going to be uplifted and offered a seat in my interstellar community.
I have no plan! And with how this game seems to be prepped to fuck with you by creating disparate factions, random events, random-ish technology... I don't think any planned approach would last to the mid-game anyway.
I'm going to roll with what it gives me.
Triptycho: A card-and-dice tabletop indie RPG currently in development and playtesting
Agreeing with the ever-wise @The Sauce, but my desire for my first game is to go full-on Uplift.
It's what I've basically always tried to do when playing these kinds of games, but they've never really mechanically supported it. (E.g., you can give the Snathi all the tech you want, but they won't ever really expand beyond their first planet.)
Its funny how many people excited for this game are just going to roleplay the Imperium of Man. Paradox knows their audience and are giving them what they want.
I
Except better! No collapses nossirree!
Alternatively, some sort of enlightened technocracy. I always seem to veer towards ridiculous investment in research.
Hunh, I like how flavorful most of these elements seem to be able to get without over-promising. "Covert infiltration" of pre-starfaring civilizations means that you can basically be like "oh, and on that planet, 'V' is happening!" and all it is really requires is a few different tick marks to inform random events and income and such.
That is *funny*. You think you *see* Orz but Orz are not *light reflections*.
Maybe you think Orz are *many bubbles* too. It is such a joke.
Orz are not *many bubbles* like *campers*. Orz are just Orz.
I am Orz. I am one with many *fingers*.
My *fingers* reach through into *heavy space* and you *see**Orz bubbles*
but it is really *fingers*.
Maybe you do not even *smell*? That is sad. *Smelling**pretty colors* is the best *game*.
What I'm excited for is
a) EUIV diplo with casus bellis/aggresive expansion and probably over extension. It will curtail military expansion a lot. Heavily EUIV inspired sounds great.
b) The "pop" system. They don't mention it much but it's pretty clear your pops are going to be modeled after characters in CKII. Which is going to be awesome.
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaow - Felicia, SPFT2:T
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
My brother showed me this, from the Stellaris Reddit
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
What I'm excited for is
a) EUIV diplo with casus bellis/aggresive expansion and probably over extension. It will curtail military expansion a lot. Heavily EUIV inspired sounds great.
b) The "pop" system. They don't mention it much but it's pretty clear your pops are going to be modeled after characters in CKII. Which is going to be awesome.
I think it's more likely the pop system is going to be like the ones in either Victoria or Hearts of Iron, both of which have existing game concepts called pops...
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KadokenGiving Ends to my Friends and it Feels StupendousRegistered Userregular
I hope it's like Victoria. It's one of the most interesting parts of that game to me.
What's pop like in Victoria? I've been imagining it as like Endless Legend, essentially a resource for re-assigning priority and grabbing some effects that are per population.
What's pop like in Victoria? I've been imagining it as like Endless Legend, essentially a resource for re-assigning priority and grabbing some effects that are per population.
Pops are, well, quite literally all the ethnicities, cultures, religions, political affiliations, and economic/societal classes that make up your nation.
ie: 3% of your nation's population are ethnic Yankee, Protestant, Capitalists, Conservatives.
and,
49% are ethnic Yankee, Protestant, Laborers, Reactionaries
edit- In practice there are hundreds and hundreds of combinations and each have various effects depending on the choices of your nation.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
That sounds amazing. It's a shame I take a look at screenshots from Victoria 2 and just nope on out of there, that interface is just quite poor. You can really tell it's a previous generation Paradox game.
This game does look increasingly awesome, I'm hopeful that it won't be a direct clone of EU4 or something because I already own that game. If it is as different from EU4 as EU4 is from CK2, then I'll be good to go.
Ever since The Logic Factory quietly put their domain of 19 years up for sale in October 2014, pulled their Ascendancy port from the ios store, stopped updating their Facebook page altogether and both their previously-announced Ascendancy 2 and their hinted GOG release of Ascendancy thusly mysteriously passed into the realm of vaporware ( @Lucid_Seraph here's your next investigative project :P ) , I've been a sad panda as that was officially the last vestiges of my 4X childhood further passing into a bygone era. Everything since then(Endless Space included) have tried their hands at the 4X genre but have ultimately failed to capture the spirit of the classics for one reason or another.
Stellaris is the closest thing to approach my dream game in ten years, and I'm hoping beyond hope that this fulfills even a fraction of that ideal. If nothing else, I at least know Paradox is a company that will give it their best.
Ever since The Logic Factory quietly put their domain of 19 years up for sale in October 2014, pulled their Ascendancy port from the ios store, stopped updating their Facebook page altogether and both their previously-announced Ascendancy 2 and their hinted GOG release of Ascendancy thusly mysteriously passed into the realm of vaporware ( @Lucid_Seraph here's your next investigative project :P ) , I've been a sad panda as that was officially the last vestiges of my 4X childhood further passing into a bygone era. Everything since then(Endless Space included) have tried their hands at the 4X genre but have ultimately failed to capture the spirit of the classics for one reason or another.
Stellaris is the closest thing to approach my dream game in ten years, and I'm hoping beyond hope that this fulfills even a fraction of that ideal. If nothing else, I at least know Paradox is a company that will give it their best.
The part that's so encouraging is that it is so very easy to imagine the awesome systems they've built for their multiple decade-running series applied to this game. The events and personal intrigue from Crusader Kings, the grand politics from EU3, the economy and internal politics of Victoria, all of them seem like they'd fit right into a space 4X.
It's not just pedigree, they can directly apply and then keep developing systems they have spent more than 10 years building, and I very much doubt doing so will make the game feel any less fresh or interesting.
Yeah, one of the things Paradox has ruined in other 4X / strategy games for me is war.
Like, in every other game, war is always total, there's almost never a reason to surrender to anyone (because it usually counts as an immediate loss), and there's almost never a reason to stop before you've completely won.
I really, really miss that depth when playing, e.g., Dominions or Civ.
Yeah, one of the things Paradox has ruined in other 4X / strategy games for me is war.
Like, in every other game, war is always total, there's almost never a reason to surrender to anyone (because it usually counts as an immediate loss), and there's almost never a reason to stop before you've completely won.
I really, really miss that depth when playing, e.g., Dominions or Civ.
That really hurt my enjoyment of Civilization: Beyond Earth. There's a game has a setting and scenario that could really benefit from a Paradox-style diplomacy mechanic.
What I'm hoping is that this is the game that fulfills the promise hinted at but not fully realized in Distant Worlds and Endless Space - a game where exploring the universe as a single ship/small fleet is as engaging as the civilization-building game.
Yeah, one of the things Paradox has ruined in other 4X / strategy games for me is war.
Like, in every other game, war is always total, there's almost never a reason to surrender to anyone (because it usually counts as an immediate loss), and there's almost never a reason to stop before you've completely won.
I really, really miss that depth when playing, e.g., Dominions or Civ.
100 % this. And also the fact that in other games you can just go in an totally wipe out another large empire/civ/country (once you win the first battle it's always basically over) and at worst the other 8 AI players going "Bad human, I will now cancel this trade deal with you".
In Paradox games being super aggressive leads to the very obvious result of everyone and their dog piling onto you together because they aren't stupid and they realize they are next in line. It's also fun because while the AI is mostly good at respecting such limits it too can fall into the same greed traps that the player have and then they get piled onto as well.
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaow - Felicia, SPFT2:T
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
Also agreed.
I enjoy the fact that in some of their games, Vicky and HoI notably, you're Gov't type determines how easily you can go to war. Full on Dictatorship? Invade whoever, whenever! Liberal Democracy? You better have a damn good reason or else the answer is "no".
And even in EU and CK you still needed some reason for war, ranging from the more complicated "His brother's son's cousin's nephew has a claim to the throne by way of his brother's wife's Great Uncle!" to the more basic "they're the wrong religion/culture!".
Most of the time if you lost a war it still wasn't the end of the game. Hell, war is very, very rarely an "all or nothing" deal in Paradox games. In many of their games if you were totally conquered you could go on managing your nation as a vassal or protectorate or what-have-you while slowly plotting your revenge.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Excerpt from lecture on Uplifting and Genetic Self-Improvement by Professor Xirg Ta’Nolek
Royal Science Academy, Nishga VI
Galactic Stardate 394.48 (Post-Upheaval Reckoning)
3 hours before unconditional surrender of planetary authorities
<recording starts>
Excellent. I’m glad so many of you could make it, given the present conditions. Especially you, Mr. Zeq-Zeq! Please, don’t let the sound of the orbital bombardment distract you.
Now then, let us begin! First I will be talking about the uplifting and genetic manipulation of pre-sentients.
While surveying planets, explorers will sometimes come across a pre-sentient species that shows particular promise. These are beings who would likely evolve some manner of intelligence on their own if they were left alone for a few million years... but that is a long time to wait. Many spacefaring empires instead take it upon themselves to accelerate this process, turning the pre-sentients into productive galactic citizens within the span of just a few years.
In addition to the gift of sentience, the uplifted species is often bestowed with new genetic traits as well, to better suit whatever purpose their benefactors might have in mind for them. Perhaps they are looking for a hardy species to serve as shock troops in their ground armies, or industrious workers that are skilled at mineral extraction. Uplifted species are also frequently used as colonists, to settle worlds with climates that are unsuitable to an empire’s dominant species.
After successfully rebelling against their masters, the uplifted Hulfir would eventually go on to establish a twelve-system interstellar empire.
Let us not forget the tragic example of the Shigarans, who were used to…
<recording ends abruptly, and is resumed 43 minutes later>
...there, I think power has been restored. Don’t worry, that was only a near-hit. How I can know that? Miss Zuka, if it hadn’t been, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Will someone please check on Mr. Zeq-Zeq? I saw him take a nasty blow on his pileus when the roof collapsed.
In the meantime, I believe the smoke has cleared enough for me to resume the lecture.
When an empire has reached a certain level of technology, they will have unlocked the tools necessary to modify the genetic code of their citizens. Whether or not they choose to make use of those tools, their citizens sometimes take it upon themselves to do so - especially if they find themselves in an adverse environment. There are several recorded instances of colonists modifying themselves to better cope with a planetary climate that is too cold or too hot, or any number of other things that their frail organic bodies weren’t designed to handle.
Focus, Miss Zuka! Ignore the flashes - what you are seeing is just tracer fire from the local garrison. Nothing to be afraid of.
Now, the changes introduced by the colonists into their genetic code may eventually be of such magnitude that they have essentially mutated into what must be considered a new subspecies. From experience, I can tell you that once you have modified yourself and your family to better deal with the cold, it can be very tempting to also increase your strength, or your fertility, or whatever else you think will give you and your kin an edge in a cold and uncaring galaxy.
No, you may not be excused, Mr. Kolosch! Sit down!
The birth of the Post-Cynn. Their failed attempt to eradicate their parent species would leave billions dead in a conflict that lasted almost two decades.
A new subspecies that is stronger and more formidable than their parent species may eventually come to see themselves as… superior. Why should they bow down to their lessers? Meanwhile, the unmodified members of the parent species often come to regard a subspecies with jealousy and suspicion. Fear of that which is different has been a driving force in the creation of conflicts since the dawn of this galaxy, and the creation of a subspecies can often be followed by civil strife and unrest.
The fighting appears to be drawing closer, so I'm afraid we'll have to cut this lecture a little short. Many of you will be leaving shortly in an attempt to break the orbital blockade so that you can celebrate Khartaz-Ya with your loved ones. I wish you good fortune, and since there will be no lecture next week in light of the holidays, I hope to see those of you who survive in two weeks time.
Oh! That was a close one. I believe the shockwave will hit us soon. As my old mentor, Professor Kalabux, used to say, “Ji ka vixa, zu na…!”
<recording ends abruptly and does not resume>
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Going by the picture I think they're a bit more like this kind of Fungoid :P
Of course it would be interesting if they had an ork-a-like in the Fungoid category
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
Too bad orc tech doesn't function without literal magic compensating for their non-existent manufacturing tolerances.
Fungoid aliens made me think primarily of the original association with those words, i.e. Mi-Go:
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Hmm yeah that does come to mind. Hm, fungoid aliens are a thing, hopefully they'll add "plant alien" as a distinct category at some point. I want to play as some Dryad/Ent race. Or the Elder Things or something.
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
Hmm yeah that does come to mind. Hm, fungoid aliens are a thing, hopefully they'll add "plant alien" as a distinct category at some point. I want to play as some Dryad/Ent race. Or the Elder Things or something.
More games should take inspiration from Lovecraft outside his most common Cthulhu/Tentacle monsters. He had lots of other creature designs that were pretty awesome.
Hmm yeah that does come to mind. Hm, fungoid aliens are a thing, hopefully they'll add "plant alien" as a distinct category at some point. I want to play as some Dryad/Ent race. Or the Elder Things or something.
More games should take inspiration from Lovecraft outside his most common Cthulhu/Tentacle monsters. He had lots of other creature designs that were pretty awesome.
So you are saying psychic dream space cats that live on the moon?
Living colors?
Planet sized aliens of doom?
Extra dimensional invaders that defy all laws of physics?
Why would any of that be interesting?
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
Hmm yeah that does come to mind. Hm, fungoid aliens are a thing, hopefully they'll add "plant alien" as a distinct category at some point. I want to play as some Dryad/Ent race. Or the Elder Things or something.
More games should take inspiration from Lovecraft outside his most common Cthulhu/Tentacle monsters. He had lots of other creature designs that were pretty awesome.
So you are saying psychic dream space cats that live on the moon?
Living colors?
Planet sized aliens of doom?
Extra dimensional invaders that defy all laws of physics?
Hmm yeah that does come to mind. Hm, fungoid aliens are a thing, hopefully they'll add "plant alien" as a distinct category at some point. I want to play as some Dryad/Ent race. Or the Elder Things or something.
More games should take inspiration from Lovecraft outside his most common Cthulhu/Tentacle monsters. He had lots of other creature designs that were pretty awesome.
So you are saying psychic dream space cats that live on the moon?
Living colors?
Planet sized aliens of doom?
Extra dimensional invaders that defy all laws of physics?
Why would any of that be interesting?
I just want to play a hyperintelligent shade of blue. Is that so wrong?
Hello and happy new year! I’ll be your substitute Doomdark for today and in this week’s dev diary we’ll take a closer look at Fallen Empires.
The galaxy is vast, old and unknown. New species constantly flare into existence and some are even able to take their first cautious steps towards other stars. Of those that do some are arrogant enough to assume that they are the first and only chosen. They fail to realize that others may have taken those same steps before them, others who have found amazing wonders and unraveled their secrets, others who reached the furthest edges of knowledge only to crumble away. Those others are called Fallen Empires.
These are once-glorious empires that for unknown reasons have stagnated and often fallen to infighting or crippling apathy. That which once covered hundreds of systems have shrunk to a fraction, barely held on to by superior technology and what little remains of a once glorious fleet. Fallen Empires are isolationist and will look at newer species with disinterest or outright contempt. Diplomatic attempts are futile and they will most likely attack any unknown ships entering one of their remaining systems.
The response of Fallen Empires vary greatly when approached. It is rarely friendly though.
Design Reasoning
We’ve added Fallen Empires to the game for a couple of reasons. They have the potential to enable some really cool stories and there is a bunch of different directions we can take to ensure players get a different experience from game to game. Players should never feel confident in how a Fallen Empire may react to different events in the galaxy. If left alone they might resurge as a reaction to a galaxy-wide threat or become outraged when their most holy planets are colonized by lesser races.
Gameplay-wise the Fallen Empires can act as a potential source of advanced technology for players willing to invest the military forces required to defeat one of their fleets in battle. In Stellaris, all ships destroyed in combat will leave debris behind and through reverse engineering a player may discover the technologies required to build the weapons and components equipped by those ships. Players can also invade planets belonging to Fallen Empires, allowing them to utilize whatever advanced buildings placed there. This of course means dealing with a new species within the Empire.
While the rewards may be tempting, players may want to consider the risks before attacking a Fallen Empire. Who knows what horrors they have unearthed during the ages, what forbidden secrets their planets hold within, what captives might be unleashed should their wardens be struck down.
Fallen Empires will use a separate series of models for their ships and stations.
Next week the good Goosecreature will be back with a dev diary on the events and mishaps that may befall colonies and their inhabitants. Until then!
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
Posts
So, Patron God of the (de)Culture and Dakka?
I
Not me. I'll probably go full Federation of Planets.
Well, sort of. Any interesting primitive species I'll run across are going to be uplifted and offered a seat in my interstellar community.
So full... Asari? Citadel Council?
My sci-fi knowledge is rather limited.
I'm going to roll with what it gives me.
It's what I've basically always tried to do when playing these kinds of games, but they've never really mechanically supported it. (E.g., you can give the Snathi all the tech you want, but they won't ever really expand beyond their first planet.)
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Except better! No collapses nossirree!
Alternatively, some sort of enlightened technocracy. I always seem to veer towards ridiculous investment in research.
That is *funny*. You think you *see* Orz but Orz are not *light reflections*.
Maybe you think Orz are *many bubbles* too. It is such a joke.
Orz are not *many bubbles* like *campers*. Orz are just Orz.
I am Orz. I am one with many *fingers*.
My *fingers* reach through into *heavy space* and you *see* *Orz bubbles*
but it is really *fingers*.
Maybe you do not even *smell*? That is sad.
*Smelling* *pretty colors* is the best *game*.
a) EUIV diplo with casus bellis/aggresive expansion and probably over extension. It will curtail military expansion a lot. Heavily EUIV inspired sounds great.
b) The "pop" system. They don't mention it much but it's pretty clear your pops are going to be modeled after characters in CKII. Which is going to be awesome.
Heh
It's funny cause it might come true
I think it's more likely the pop system is going to be like the ones in either Victoria or Hearts of Iron, both of which have existing game concepts called pops...
Pops are, well, quite literally all the ethnicities, cultures, religions, political affiliations, and economic/societal classes that make up your nation.
ie: 3% of your nation's population are ethnic Yankee, Protestant, Capitalists, Conservatives.
and,
49% are ethnic Yankee, Protestant, Laborers, Reactionaries
edit- In practice there are hundreds and hundreds of combinations and each have various effects depending on the choices of your nation.
This game does look increasingly awesome, I'm hopeful that it won't be a direct clone of EU4 or something because I already own that game. If it is as different from EU4 as EU4 is from CK2, then I'll be good to go.
They're pretty cool, I like that they're in this.
Stellaris is the closest thing to approach my dream game in ten years, and I'm hoping beyond hope that this fulfills even a fraction of that ideal. If nothing else, I at least know Paradox is a company that will give it their best.
The part that's so encouraging is that it is so very easy to imagine the awesome systems they've built for their multiple decade-running series applied to this game. The events and personal intrigue from Crusader Kings, the grand politics from EU3, the economy and internal politics of Victoria, all of them seem like they'd fit right into a space 4X.
It's not just pedigree, they can directly apply and then keep developing systems they have spent more than 10 years building, and I very much doubt doing so will make the game feel any less fresh or interesting.
Like, in every other game, war is always total, there's almost never a reason to surrender to anyone (because it usually counts as an immediate loss), and there's almost never a reason to stop before you've completely won.
I really, really miss that depth when playing, e.g., Dominions or Civ.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
That really hurt my enjoyment of Civilization: Beyond Earth. There's a game has a setting and scenario that could really benefit from a Paradox-style diplomacy mechanic.
What I'm hoping is that this is the game that fulfills the promise hinted at but not fully realized in Distant Worlds and Endless Space - a game where exploring the universe as a single ship/small fleet is as engaging as the civilization-building game.
100 % this. And also the fact that in other games you can just go in an totally wipe out another large empire/civ/country (once you win the first battle it's always basically over) and at worst the other 8 AI players going "Bad human, I will now cancel this trade deal with you".
In Paradox games being super aggressive leads to the very obvious result of everyone and their dog piling onto you together because they aren't stupid and they realize they are next in line. It's also fun because while the AI is mostly good at respecting such limits it too can fall into the same greed traps that the player have and then they get piled onto as well.
I enjoy the fact that in some of their games, Vicky and HoI notably, you're Gov't type determines how easily you can go to war. Full on Dictatorship? Invade whoever, whenever! Liberal Democracy? You better have a damn good reason or else the answer is "no".
And even in EU and CK you still needed some reason for war, ranging from the more complicated "His brother's son's cousin's nephew has a claim to the throne by way of his brother's wife's Great Uncle!" to the more basic "they're the wrong religion/culture!".
Most of the time if you lost a war it still wasn't the end of the game. Hell, war is very, very rarely an "all or nothing" deal in Paradox games. In many of their games if you were totally conquered you could go on managing your nation as a vassal or protectorate or what-have-you while slowly plotting your revenge.
Oh my word. I did.
Of course it would be interesting if they had an ork-a-like in the Fungoid category
Fungoid aliens made me think primarily of the original association with those words, i.e. Mi-Go:
Perhaps, if we were to plant spore sacs in your brain organ, and let its tendrils spread through your flesh...
More games should take inspiration from Lovecraft outside his most common Cthulhu/Tentacle monsters. He had lots of other creature designs that were pretty awesome.
So you are saying psychic dream space cats that live on the moon?
Living colors?
Planet sized aliens of doom?
Extra dimensional invaders that defy all laws of physics?
Why would any of that be interesting?
I had a nineties flashback there for a second.
I just want to play a hyperintelligent shade of blue. Is that so wrong?
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]