I am not really sure why the artificial war limit exists
Because it forces the game to be different from Civ, etc., where war is always absolute.
It's one of the things that I really, really like about Paradox strategy games.
Thing is if you're playing a heavily militaristic conquistador species, you typically don't give a shit about silly little things like "rules of engagement" or "sentient rights". Why would you care about "war goals"? Oh boo hoo, not respecting them would make you look bad in the eyes of aliens that you are going to kill anyway, so sad.
Yeah, but that goes for all of their other games, too, and I still prefer it to the Civ-alternative.
It's gamey, yeah, but I think it makes for a better game when you can reasonably expect to survive a war and for your opponent to survive if you win.
The problem I have with this is that the victory conditions are set up in opposition to this and the game has a limiting factor built in that emerges on its own. You don't need the artificial limit. Plus if the AI could decently band together after you've rampaged awhile to form a competent denial force, so much the better. I just wish the war limit wasn't in direct opposition to the only victory condition. I am sure it will grow and change and I am very much looking forward to that.
I am not really sure why the artificial war limit exists
Because it forces the game to be different from Civ, etc., where war is always absolute.
It's one of the things that I really, really like about Paradox strategy games.
Thing is if you're playing a heavily militaristic conquistador species, you typically don't give a shit about silly little things like "rules of engagement" or "sentient rights". Why would you care about "war goals"? Oh boo hoo, not respecting them would make you look bad in the eyes of aliens that you are going to kill anyway, so sad.
Yeah, but that goes for all of their other games, too, and I still prefer it to the Civ-alternative.
It's gamey, yeah, but I think it makes for a better game when you can reasonably expect to survive a war and for your opponent to survive if you win.
The problem I have with this is that the victory conditions are set up in opposition to this and the game has a limiting factor built in that emerges on its own. You don't need the artificial limit. Plus if the AI could decently band together after you've rampaged awhile to form a competent denial force, so much the better. I just wish the war limit wasn't in direct opposition to the only victory condition. I am sure it will grow and change and I am very much looking forward to that.
I think the victory conditions will work better once you have galactic politics and Space UN to enforce them. They come from games with the European balance of powers as a prime factor in the setting.
The problem I have with this is that the victory conditions are set up in opposition to this and the game has a limiting factor built in that emerges on its own.
You should really ignore the "victory conditions". They are very obviously a "good jaerb!" placeholder that means nothing and I don't even think they work right.
Huh. I mean, they do mean you win right? The idea being that you met the condition. You could create your own I suppose, but it would be nice to flesh them out with some other diplomatic options and even set up scenarios where you are trying to grow from a vassal into your own space mighty empire, but I mean... those are in the game.. "ignore them" I don't think is quite the right answer. I agree they need more varied ones and the systems to support getting there though.
i wouldn't mind seeing a total conquest option that allows you to make another empire submit in one go. YOu have to deal with dissidents and unrest after you conquer them anyway so as the player i always have to decide if its worth it to subjegate them or wipe them out. Adding the ability to subjegate when i have overwhelming techs/fleet power seems reasonable. They can refuse but if i cap all their planets or destroy their fleets or something it should allow me to stop having to peace-meal them.
Sometimes? They don't work reliably. And they're supposed to allow things like allied and federation victories but don't, because they are just placeholders. All you get for the conquest victory is a popup saying you achieved the conquest victory condition (or someone else did). Literally nothing else changes. It doesn't even end the game, you can still keep playing.
It's literally just there to appease people who need some sort of "achievement unlocked" feeling to aim for, but it's not like a victory condition in a game where it actually means anything. If Dwarf Fortress added a "victory condition" of having 200 dwarves but was otherwise identical that popped up up a popup saying "You did it! 200 dwarves achieved!" and otherwise plays identical to how it does now, would it really be "winning" to achieve it?
If you want it to be, I guess. I think pursuing them in Stellaris the way it is right now is not worth it though.
I have beaten an awakened empire straight up on hard. you need a lot of planets to fight them because otherwise you won't have enough fleet capacity, I had over 1,000 at the time and my fleet was 130k strength. I did get a bit lucky I think because they did not have both their fleets at once so I fought the first one which was about 150k strength and won with 90k left. then their second fleet with the dreadnought jumped in and that fleet is super wimpy despite having 100k strength, I blew it up with almost no loses. the advantage you have against them is you know exactly what they are equipped with: fighters and tachyon lances, so build your ships to counter those.
By default the advanced starts are more likely to have an aggressive personality so it's probably not that they hate you personally but more that they hate everyone.
I have beaten an awakened empire straight up on hard. you need a lot of planets to fight them because otherwise you won't have enough fleet capacity, I had over 1,000 at the time and my fleet was 130k strength. I did get a bit lucky I think because they did not have both their fleets at once so I fought the first one which was about 150k strength and won with 90k left. then their second fleet with the dreadnought jumped in and that fleet is super wimpy despite having 100k strength, I blew it up with almost no loses. the advantage you have against them is you know exactly what they are equipped with: fighters and tachyon lances, so build your ships to counter those.
I thought they got a few new possible loadouts in the DLC, like for example high-tech autocannons + afterburners
I made a game! Hotline Maui. Requires mouse and keyboard.
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
So who else would be willing to do a Monday-Tuesday game? I can play pretty much any time during the day, but I could only host if we did it in the morning, like 6-10AM EST
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
My last two starts have... not gone well. First was a peaceful brahmin species that was going to focus on building and research, but they started in the corner of the galaxy and blocked from expansion by a strong militaristic civ.
Discarded that game and started a new one last night, essentially hyper aggressive humanity; they were blocked from the north by a really strong pirate fleet and an equivalently sized hegemonic imperialist. I was about to plunk down a frontier for a really nice research station and some border buffer when they beat me to it. I had just found a badass frigate from a construction facility anomaly and had been slowly increasing my fleet, so I thought I could wardec to humiliate, destroy their outpost and have a nice rival, but somehow they also managed to snag some awesome spaceship and then decided to wreck my fleet with it. Ugh. Going to try again tonight. Still wish I knew what I was doing.
The Keepers of Knowledge use Alpha-class Titans, Beta-class Battlecruisers and Gamma-class Escorts. They also have Omega-class and Sigma-class space stations. The ships are armed with Tachyon Lances, Gamma Lasers and Phase Disruptors.
The Holy Guardians have Eternal-class Titans, Avatar-class Battlecruisers and Zealot-class Escorts. Their stations are Bulwark-class and Faith-class. The ships are armed with Focused Arc Emitters, Marauder Missiles, Plasma Cannons, Whirlwind Missiles and Proton Torpedos.
The Militant Isolationists ships are the Imperium-class Titan, Supremecy-class Battlecruiser and Glory-class Escort. Unlike the ships of other Fallen Empires, they all have Advanced Afterburners and somewhat less shields. They are armed with Giga Cannons, Kinetic Artillery and Flak Artillery. Their stations are Reaper-class and Devastator-Class.
The Enigmatic Observers have Keeper-class Titans, Custodian-class Battlecruisers and Warder-class Escorts. Like the Keepers of Knowledge their ships have Tachyon Lances and Gamma Lasers, but boast Kinetic Artillery and Gauss Cannons insted of Phase Disruptors. Their stations are Sentinel-classand Watcher-class.
My last two starts have... not gone well. First was a peaceful brahmin species that was going to focus on building and research, but they started in the corner of the galaxy and blocked from expansion by a strong militaristic civ.
Discarded that game and started a new one last night, essentially hyper aggressive humanity; they were blocked from the north by a really strong pirate fleet and an equivalently sized hegemonic imperialist. I was about to plunk down a frontier for a really nice research station and some border buffer when they beat me to it. I had just found a badass frigate from a construction facility anomaly and had been slowly increasing my fleet, so I thought I could wardec to humiliate, destroy their outpost and have a nice rival, but somehow they also managed to snag some awesome spaceship and then decided to wreck my fleet with it. Ugh. Going to try again tonight. Still wish I knew what I was doing.
Consider sticking some games out. The previous one that I abandoned I've gone back to and, well, it requires some backstory.
I started as a random empire. It gave me fanatic individualist and pacifist. So this was going to be hard. To the east was an isolationist FE, to my northwest an advanced start hegemonic imperialist. I spammed private colony ships to grab as much land as I could because I knew damn well war was coming.
Before long, the imperialists demanded I vassalize. They were Overwhelming so I could do little but bow my head. For now. At some point they declared war on their neighbor on the other side of their empire. I helped a bit, but let this opponent whittle down my overlord's fleet. When the war was over, I immediately dec'd for independence and won it. Managed to secure a federation status with two other nations and pull even with my former masters, securing safety. However I was still heavily boxed in.
So I took my new federation into war with my previous masters in an attempt to liberate a few planets and get a new ally. That's when I realized they had defensive pacts with two large empires. That bordered both my fed allies. I took the wargoal planets easily and held off my opponents, but my federation allies lost all of their planets and I was forced to concede my home planet, one of my allie's home planets, and the other was humiliated. This is where I stopped for awhile.
When I came back, I resolved myself to break the imperialists who had oppressed me for so long, but it was going to take some work. The private colony ships had peppered my territory with all kinds of various ethics, along with migration treaties that brought five other races in to my empire. These were having adverse affects on overall happiness and, during war, factions. I pushed for border expansion tech to secure more planets. It had the added benefit of surrounding my former home planet with my territory, thus marooning the 5k fleet my rivals had there. Unfortunately, this also angered the FE. They demanded I destroy half my colonies. Since this was unacceptable, I refused. Naturally, they declared war. I was unable to dent their fleets, but luckily they only declared with a humiliation goal. I submitted, taking a huge hit.
Some years later, another border expansion tech came up. I took it, but this time I had a plan. I bloated my military, quickly hitting almost double my capacity and bleeding energy. Sure enough the FE demands I destroy half my colonies. Again I refuse, again war is declared with humiliation. This time, my oversized force jumps into their territory, destroys a mining station and jumps back to mine. This pulls the FE fleets while my Science ship wormholes into their territory and begins analyzing the wreckage. Their fleets destroy mine with ease again, but I take some of their ships out this time, in my territory. The science ship finishes his debris survey before the FE fleets get back to him, immediately concede humiliating defeat, then jump the ship back home and survey that wreckage. Now I have half a dozen high tech research options I will use to take back my homeworld, and that of my allies, then push out from my corner of the galaxy.
The spiritual FE across the galaxy has awoken, however, so it is only time before my angry neighbors do the same. A great war is coming and I have little time to prepare for it.
My last two starts have... not gone well. First was a peaceful brahmin species that was going to focus on building and research, but they started in the corner of the galaxy and blocked from expansion by a strong militaristic civ.
Discarded that game and started a new one last night, essentially hyper aggressive humanity; they were blocked from the north by a really strong pirate fleet and an equivalently sized hegemonic imperialist. I was about to plunk down a frontier for a really nice research station and some border buffer when they beat me to it. I had just found a badass frigate from a construction facility anomaly and had been slowly increasing my fleet, so I thought I could wardec to humiliate, destroy their outpost and have a nice rival, but somehow they also managed to snag some awesome spaceship and then decided to wreck my fleet with it. Ugh. Going to try again tonight. Still wish I knew what I was doing.
Gonna second the idea that you should really stick to it. Re-rolling until you get an easy-mode galaxy isn't really the most fun way to play, a lot of the fun comes in trying to play the hand you've actually been dealt. The game is a lot more fun when you play with personal goals like "destroy those assholes that took my favorite planet, at all costs!" and start committing everything you have to that (like talking with their other enemies and plying them with gifts of research and resources, changing your own policies to be more acceptable to those people, pulling together an alliance, and then curbstomping the bastards for your own benefit before turning on your new allies and lording over the ruins of your once oppressors)
My last two starts have... not gone well. First was a peaceful brahmin species that was going to focus on building and research, but they started in the corner of the galaxy and blocked from expansion by a strong militaristic civ.
Discarded that game and started a new one last night, essentially hyper aggressive humanity; they were blocked from the north by a really strong pirate fleet and an equivalently sized hegemonic imperialist. I was about to plunk down a frontier for a really nice research station and some border buffer when they beat me to it. I had just found a badass frigate from a construction facility anomaly and had been slowly increasing my fleet, so I thought I could wardec to humiliate, destroy their outpost and have a nice rival, but somehow they also managed to snag some awesome spaceship and then decided to wreck my fleet with it. Ugh. Going to try again tonight. Still wish I knew what I was doing.
My biggest advice is to rush to colonize and develop planets. Resource stations are a tradeoff, especially mineral ones, while mining and energy plants on planets are pure bonus. Usually, I can grab enough planets and keep a nice enough fleet early game to ensure that I don't get stomped.
Defensive pacts can help, but be wary of getting dragged into a war you cannot win. The current AI really likes to sit back and let you fight their wars.
So who else would be willing to do a Monday-Tuesday game? I can play pretty much any time during the day, but I could only host if we did it in the morning, like 6-10AM EST
I get home 16ish CET monday and have tuesday off work. Might be able to be around for this depending on how timezones match up.
My Sith Empire had its first major crisis.
What should've been a simple land grab attempt on the Hutts turned into a much larger war. See the Hutt Cartel was at war with (and losing it) the Bothans, so my 2 fleets moved into Hutt space, one going for the colonies, one for the homeworld.
Meanwhile the Mon Calamari I had backed into a small corner of the galaxy, decided this was their chance to attack me, take some land and maybe not get cornered in the ass end of space. They convinced the Wookiees (who were on the opposite side of my empire to them) to join them and suddenly I had a war on 3 fronts with only two fleets.
Luckily for me the Mon Calamari decided that their best option was to ignore 99% of my Empire and head for the planet furthest from them in a far part of the galaxy. Where thanks to some frontier stations I had a large chunk of space all to myself as no-one else could get past me (I close borders with everyone).
Me and the Bothans crushed the Hutt fleet above their homeworld and took their worlds. Then my fleets headed to the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, where a defense station pulled my ships out of hyperdrive right next to Kashyyyk and about 40 transports full of angry Wookiees (bye-bye wookiee invasion fleet). By the time the main Wookiee fleet arrived to fight me I'd destroyed everything in their system and had been bombing the homeworld for months.
The Wookiee fleet discovered that its destroyers were no match for my cruisers and shortly after getting a sound beating agreed to a white peace. Probably angry that Mon Calamari talked them into a war that cost them so much
2 Months later the Rakata awakened on the far side of the galaxy saying they were going to reclaim the galaxy and saying we're all doomed.
My last two starts have... not gone well. First was a peaceful brahmin species that was going to focus on building and research, but they started in the corner of the galaxy and blocked from expansion by a strong militaristic civ.
Discarded that game and started a new one last night, essentially hyper aggressive humanity; they were blocked from the north by a really strong pirate fleet and an equivalently sized hegemonic imperialist. I was about to plunk down a frontier for a really nice research station and some border buffer when they beat me to it. I had just found a badass frigate from a construction facility anomaly and had been slowly increasing my fleet, so I thought I could wardec to humiliate, destroy their outpost and have a nice rival, but somehow they also managed to snag some awesome spaceship and then decided to wreck my fleet with it. Ugh. Going to try again tonight. Still wish I knew what I was doing.
My biggest advice is to rush to colonize and develop planets. Resource stations are a tradeoff, especially mineral ones, while mining and energy plants on planets are pure bonus. Usually, I can grab enough planets and keep a nice enough fleet early game to ensure that I don't get stomped.
Defensive pacts can help, but be wary of getting dragged into a war you cannot win. The current AI really likes to sit back and let you fight their wars.
Phillisphere is on the money with regards to Resource Stations. To whit, Resource Stations cost 90 whereas Mining Networks cost 60. So without even taking into account any natural resources you're building the Network on, you already need the Station to be on a 3 mineral resource to break even.
Regarding quick colonisation, bear in mind research costs are increased with every planet you own. So you can get behind if you don't take that into account and build research stations early in a planets life.
And of course if you're diverting 350 minerals a pop building colony ships you're going to have a much weaker navy. Which with your new found planets will make you a very juicy target for any scurrilous neighbours!
BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
I've started just outright avoiding defensive pacts after I got dragged into a war with an FE over AI research, after they had already stuck me with a humiliation tag. It wouldn't even let me surrender immediately to avoid damage to my planets/fleet.
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
So, what do you do when you're easily the biggest and most advanced fish in the sandbox, but everybody loves you and your population would turn against you if you switched from Liberation wars to Offensive wars policy? I don't really know if I want to endure the liberate-vassalize-integrate slog 3-5 planets at a time in order to win... The Unbidden crisis is already over, handily resolved by myself. The three Fallen Empires, and the one Awakened one rate as "Inferior" against me. What do?
So, what do you do when you're easily the biggest and most advanced fish in the sandbox, but everybody loves you and your population would turn against you if you switched from Liberation wars to Offensive wars policy? I don't really know if I want to endure the liberate-vassalize-integrate slog 3-5 planets at a time in order to win... The Unbidden crisis is already over, handily resolved by myself. The three Fallen Empires, and the one Awakened one rate as "Inferior" against me. What do?
Federate?
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
or be an oligarchy and have 67 mineral cost stations. I don't know how you think resource stations can't 'break even', they function the exact same as planetary stuff except they don't require population to run. even without an oligarchy a 2 mineral station will be a net positive after 45 months, which isn't long at all early on.
My last two starts have... not gone well. First was a peaceful brahmin species that was going to focus on building and research, but they started in the corner of the galaxy and blocked from expansion by a strong militaristic civ.
Discarded that game and started a new one last night, essentially hyper aggressive humanity; they were blocked from the north by a really strong pirate fleet and an equivalently sized hegemonic imperialist. I was about to plunk down a frontier for a really nice research station and some border buffer when they beat me to it. I had just found a badass frigate from a construction facility anomaly and had been slowly increasing my fleet, so I thought I could wardec to humiliate, destroy their outpost and have a nice rival, but somehow they also managed to snag some awesome spaceship and then decided to wreck my fleet with it. Ugh. Going to try again tonight. Still wish I knew what I was doing.
My biggest advice is to rush to colonize and develop planets. Resource stations are a tradeoff, especially mineral ones, while mining and energy plants on planets are pure bonus. Usually, I can grab enough planets and keep a nice enough fleet early game to ensure that I don't get stomped.
Defensive pacts can help, but be wary of getting dragged into a war you cannot win. The current AI really likes to sit back and let you fight their wars.
Phillisphere is on the money with regards to Resource Stations. To whit, Resource Stations cost 90 whereas Mining Networks cost 60. So without even taking into account any natural resources you're building the Network on, you already need the Station to be on a 3 mineral resource to break even.
Regarding quick colonisation, bear in mind research costs are increased with every planet you own. So you can get behind if you don't take that into account and build research stations early in a planets life.
And of course if you're diverting 350 minerals a pop building colony ships you're going to have a much weaker navy. Which with your new found planets will make you a very juicy target for any scurrilous neighbours!
IMO that's only really true if you're at the point where you can build a building on a tile that you aren't planning to use on anything else.
On top of that 360 cost for the ship, there is also the time it takes. Base time for building a colony ship is a year, to colonize a world is a year, and since the starting reclaimed colony ship building doesn't produce minerals itself, barring migration or resettlment it's about another 2 years before you can grow the pop to work on whatever tile you want to put that mineral tile (and it would be an empty mineral tile, because you can only build a basic mine until you get the 350 minerals and 5 pops to do a planetary admin, and you don't save on the minerals you spent on the basic mine when you upgrade to a network.)
On the other hand, it takes only about 100 days, or 3 1/3 months to build a mining station, which means after 48 months you would fully recoup the minerals spent making that station on a 2 mineral node by the time your new colony could begin to start making back it's cost in the same time.
or be an oligarchy and have 67 mineral cost stations. I don't know how you think resource stations can't 'break even', they function the exact same as planetary stuff except they don't require population to run. even without an oligarchy a 2 mineral station will be a net positive after 45 months, which isn't long at all early on.
Perhaps break even was the wrong phrase to use. It's more accurate to say they're less efficient than planetary mining networks in the majority of cases and that planetary mining will 'break even' quicker.
So who else would be willing to do a Monday-Tuesday game? I can play pretty much any time during the day, but I could only host if we did it in the morning, like 6-10AM EST
I get home 16ish CET monday and have tuesday off work. Might be able to be around for this depending on how timezones match up.
Well between you and I Tuesday is probably the best day, depending on how everyone else's schedule shakes out.
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
So, what do you do when you're easily the biggest and most advanced fish in the sandbox, but everybody loves you and your population would turn against you if you switched from Liberation wars to Offensive wars policy?
Declare yourself victor and start a new game, obviously. I mean, who is gonna say otherwise? I'm sure they'll let you have this.
I'm like six humiliation wars in with the stupid FE. I managed to get a good number of upgrades from him and am slowly creeping closer in power level. I managed to get my homeworld back, along with my ally's homeworld. And then took three more of their systems and made a nice vassal out of them.
I think I might curb this FE and then start a new game.
My scientists detected an energy surge and then this happened
Looks like it is kicking off.
Yup, ten more open borders notifications and The Unbidden
alright it takes way too long to chip away at these empires through war. it shouldn't cost 160 fucking warscore to vassalize an empire with 6 systems
Something to be said though -and it's a feeling only a Paradox grand strategy game can give- for that feeling of complete satisfaction of pulling planets, 1 by 1, from an uppity neighbor that pissed you off in the like the first month of the game. I'm looking at you Gargaxton Administration. We could have been the strongest early Federation this side of the galaxy, but you couldn't deal with us being ugly fish people right out of a Lovecraft novel. Instead, you started a federation with my immediate neighbor to the south and royally fucked my ability to militarily expand.
I crippled them years ago and every 10 years eat another planet. One more cycle and my revenge will be complete. After that I don't even care what happens to the galaxy because I'll know that those cold blooded reptiles are under the heel of my slimy, fish smelling boot.
I've been playing around with some of the new settings, and I like dropping the habitable planets slider as low as it'll go (25% of normal). This has the double effect of making habitable planets rare and exciting to find and making the awful sector mechanics less burdensome.
You can really get hosed on start location, though. I found myself sitting between two advanced start fanatic xenophobe empires (with the 'fanatical purifier' and 'hegemonic imperialist' AI personalities, and the difficulty on Hard) in one galaxy arm. I couldn't get past either of them due to the closed borders, and, since I was playing default United Nations of Earth, I couldn't make it to another arm of the galaxy with my technology. I was stuck with only the two freebie planets available to colonize and another pacifist nation of space water buffalo (who were not an advanced start) sharing my little crab bucket.
Ended up eating a war declaration shortly after getting my first colony established and then losing my ~350 fleet power of corvettes entirely when my admiral suddenly gained that "never retreats" trait and then got stuck on a mining station while the AI fleet closed in. Then the AI parked 1000 power worth of corvettes over Sirius Prime and started trickling in transports. I was actually winning the ground war (rebuilding armies between each invasion) until the orbital bombardment killed the last pop and the planet decolonized.
I managed to turn that war around, though, when the AI tried to attack Earth and got the Will Smith treatment from the (now level 2) spaceport and a few rebuilt corvettes. My space water buffalo allies finally roused themselves and managed to occupy an enemy planet (I have no idea how they got through the spaceport with their tiny fleet), letting me get out of the war with a victory and a conquered planet. That planet was full of assholes and basically useless, but I kept it just to weaken one of my opponents slightly.
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The problem I have with this is that the victory conditions are set up in opposition to this and the game has a limiting factor built in that emerges on its own. You don't need the artificial limit. Plus if the AI could decently band together after you've rampaged awhile to form a competent denial force, so much the better. I just wish the war limit wasn't in direct opposition to the only victory condition. I am sure it will grow and change and I am very much looking forward to that.
I think the victory conditions will work better once you have galactic politics and Space UN to enforce them. They come from games with the European balance of powers as a prime factor in the setting.
You should really ignore the "victory conditions". They are very obviously a "good jaerb!" placeholder that means nothing and I don't even think they work right.
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
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Sometimes? They don't work reliably. And they're supposed to allow things like allied and federation victories but don't, because they are just placeholders. All you get for the conquest victory is a popup saying you achieved the conquest victory condition (or someone else did). Literally nothing else changes. It doesn't even end the game, you can still keep playing.
It's literally just there to appease people who need some sort of "achievement unlocked" feeling to aim for, but it's not like a victory condition in a game where it actually means anything. If Dwarf Fortress added a "victory condition" of having 200 dwarves but was otherwise identical that popped up up a popup saying "You did it! 200 dwarves achieved!" and otherwise plays identical to how it does now, would it really be "winning" to achieve it?
If you want it to be, I guess. I think pursuing them in Stellaris the way it is right now is not worth it though.
It also does not help that the Advanced Starts seem to hate me.
I thought they got a few new possible loadouts in the DLC, like for example high-tech autocannons + afterburners
Discarded that game and started a new one last night, essentially hyper aggressive humanity; they were blocked from the north by a really strong pirate fleet and an equivalently sized hegemonic imperialist. I was about to plunk down a frontier for a really nice research station and some border buffer when they beat me to it. I had just found a badass frigate from a construction facility anomaly and had been slowly increasing my fleet, so I thought I could wardec to humiliate, destroy their outpost and have a nice rival, but somehow they also managed to snag some awesome spaceship and then decided to wreck my fleet with it. Ugh. Going to try again tonight. Still wish I knew what I was doing.
Consider sticking some games out. The previous one that I abandoned I've gone back to and, well, it requires some backstory.
I started as a random empire. It gave me fanatic individualist and pacifist. So this was going to be hard. To the east was an isolationist FE, to my northwest an advanced start hegemonic imperialist. I spammed private colony ships to grab as much land as I could because I knew damn well war was coming.
Before long, the imperialists demanded I vassalize. They were Overwhelming so I could do little but bow my head. For now. At some point they declared war on their neighbor on the other side of their empire. I helped a bit, but let this opponent whittle down my overlord's fleet. When the war was over, I immediately dec'd for independence and won it. Managed to secure a federation status with two other nations and pull even with my former masters, securing safety. However I was still heavily boxed in.
So I took my new federation into war with my previous masters in an attempt to liberate a few planets and get a new ally. That's when I realized they had defensive pacts with two large empires. That bordered both my fed allies. I took the wargoal planets easily and held off my opponents, but my federation allies lost all of their planets and I was forced to concede my home planet, one of my allie's home planets, and the other was humiliated. This is where I stopped for awhile.
When I came back, I resolved myself to break the imperialists who had oppressed me for so long, but it was going to take some work. The private colony ships had peppered my territory with all kinds of various ethics, along with migration treaties that brought five other races in to my empire. These were having adverse affects on overall happiness and, during war, factions. I pushed for border expansion tech to secure more planets. It had the added benefit of surrounding my former home planet with my territory, thus marooning the 5k fleet my rivals had there. Unfortunately, this also angered the FE. They demanded I destroy half my colonies. Since this was unacceptable, I refused. Naturally, they declared war. I was unable to dent their fleets, but luckily they only declared with a humiliation goal. I submitted, taking a huge hit.
Some years later, another border expansion tech came up. I took it, but this time I had a plan. I bloated my military, quickly hitting almost double my capacity and bleeding energy. Sure enough the FE demands I destroy half my colonies. Again I refuse, again war is declared with humiliation. This time, my oversized force jumps into their territory, destroys a mining station and jumps back to mine. This pulls the FE fleets while my Science ship wormholes into their territory and begins analyzing the wreckage. Their fleets destroy mine with ease again, but I take some of their ships out this time, in my territory. The science ship finishes his debris survey before the FE fleets get back to him, immediately concede humiliating defeat, then jump the ship back home and survey that wreckage. Now I have half a dozen high tech research options I will use to take back my homeworld, and that of my allies, then push out from my corner of the galaxy.
The spiritual FE across the galaxy has awoken, however, so it is only time before my angry neighbors do the same. A great war is coming and I have little time to prepare for it.
Gonna second the idea that you should really stick to it. Re-rolling until you get an easy-mode galaxy isn't really the most fun way to play, a lot of the fun comes in trying to play the hand you've actually been dealt. The game is a lot more fun when you play with personal goals like "destroy those assholes that took my favorite planet, at all costs!" and start committing everything you have to that (like talking with their other enemies and plying them with gifts of research and resources, changing your own policies to be more acceptable to those people, pulling together an alliance, and then curbstomping the bastards for your own benefit before turning on your new allies and lording over the ruins of your once oppressors)
My biggest advice is to rush to colonize and develop planets. Resource stations are a tradeoff, especially mineral ones, while mining and energy plants on planets are pure bonus. Usually, I can grab enough planets and keep a nice enough fleet early game to ensure that I don't get stomped.
Defensive pacts can help, but be wary of getting dragged into a war you cannot win. The current AI really likes to sit back and let you fight their wars.
I get home 16ish CET monday and have tuesday off work. Might be able to be around for this depending on how timezones match up.
What should've been a simple land grab attempt on the Hutts turned into a much larger war. See the Hutt Cartel was at war with (and losing it) the Bothans, so my 2 fleets moved into Hutt space, one going for the colonies, one for the homeworld.
Meanwhile the Mon Calamari I had backed into a small corner of the galaxy, decided this was their chance to attack me, take some land and maybe not get cornered in the ass end of space. They convinced the Wookiees (who were on the opposite side of my empire to them) to join them and suddenly I had a war on 3 fronts with only two fleets.
Luckily for me the Mon Calamari decided that their best option was to ignore 99% of my Empire and head for the planet furthest from them in a far part of the galaxy. Where thanks to some frontier stations I had a large chunk of space all to myself as no-one else could get past me (I close borders with everyone).
Me and the Bothans crushed the Hutt fleet above their homeworld and took their worlds. Then my fleets headed to the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, where a defense station pulled my ships out of hyperdrive right next to Kashyyyk and about 40 transports full of angry Wookiees (bye-bye wookiee invasion fleet). By the time the main Wookiee fleet arrived to fight me I'd destroyed everything in their system and had been bombing the homeworld for months.
The Wookiee fleet discovered that its destroyers were no match for my cruisers and shortly after getting a sound beating agreed to a white peace. Probably angry that Mon Calamari talked them into a war that cost them so much
2 Months later the Rakata awakened on the far side of the galaxy saying they were going to reclaim the galaxy and saying we're all doomed.
Phillisphere is on the money with regards to Resource Stations. To whit, Resource Stations cost 90 whereas Mining Networks cost 60. So without even taking into account any natural resources you're building the Network on, you already need the Station to be on a 3 mineral resource to break even.
Regarding quick colonisation, bear in mind research costs are increased with every planet you own. So you can get behind if you don't take that into account and build research stations early in a planets life.
And of course if you're diverting 350 minerals a pop building colony ships you're going to have a much weaker navy. Which with your new found planets will make you a very juicy target for any scurrilous neighbours!
http://steamcommunity.com/id/pablocampy
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.
Federate?
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
IMO that's only really true if you're at the point where you can build a building on a tile that you aren't planning to use on anything else.
On top of that 360 cost for the ship, there is also the time it takes. Base time for building a colony ship is a year, to colonize a world is a year, and since the starting reclaimed colony ship building doesn't produce minerals itself, barring migration or resettlment it's about another 2 years before you can grow the pop to work on whatever tile you want to put that mineral tile (and it would be an empty mineral tile, because you can only build a basic mine until you get the 350 minerals and 5 pops to do a planetary admin, and you don't save on the minerals you spent on the basic mine when you upgrade to a network.)
On the other hand, it takes only about 100 days, or 3 1/3 months to build a mining station, which means after 48 months you would fully recoup the minerals spent making that station on a 2 mineral node by the time your new colony could begin to start making back it's cost in the same time.
Perhaps break even was the wrong phrase to use. It's more accurate to say they're less efficient than planetary mining networks in the majority of cases and that planetary mining will 'break even' quicker.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/pablocampy
The effect is automatic as long as you retain control of the resource.
Well between you and I Tuesday is probably the best day, depending on how everyone else's schedule shakes out.
Declare yourself victor and start a new game, obviously. I mean, who is gonna say otherwise? I'm sure they'll let you have this.
I think I might curb this FE and then start a new game.
My scientists detected an energy surge and then this happened
Looks like it is kicking off.
Yup, ten more open borders notifications and The Unbidden
Something to be said though -and it's a feeling only a Paradox grand strategy game can give- for that feeling of complete satisfaction of pulling planets, 1 by 1, from an uppity neighbor that pissed you off in the like the first month of the game. I'm looking at you Gargaxton Administration. We could have been the strongest early Federation this side of the galaxy, but you couldn't deal with us being ugly fish people right out of a Lovecraft novel. Instead, you started a federation with my immediate neighbor to the south and royally fucked my ability to militarily expand.
I crippled them years ago and every 10 years eat another planet. One more cycle and my revenge will be complete. After that I don't even care what happens to the galaxy because I'll know that those cold blooded reptiles are under the heel of my slimy, fish smelling boot.
You can really get hosed on start location, though. I found myself sitting between two advanced start fanatic xenophobe empires (with the 'fanatical purifier' and 'hegemonic imperialist' AI personalities, and the difficulty on Hard) in one galaxy arm. I couldn't get past either of them due to the closed borders, and, since I was playing default United Nations of Earth, I couldn't make it to another arm of the galaxy with my technology. I was stuck with only the two freebie planets available to colonize and another pacifist nation of space water buffalo (who were not an advanced start) sharing my little crab bucket.
Ended up eating a war declaration shortly after getting my first colony established and then losing my ~350 fleet power of corvettes entirely when my admiral suddenly gained that "never retreats" trait and then got stuck on a mining station while the AI fleet closed in. Then the AI parked 1000 power worth of corvettes over Sirius Prime and started trickling in transports. I was actually winning the ground war (rebuilding armies between each invasion) until the orbital bombardment killed the last pop and the planet decolonized.
I managed to turn that war around, though, when the AI tried to attack Earth and got the Will Smith treatment from the (now level 2) spaceport and a few rebuilt corvettes. My space water buffalo allies finally roused themselves and managed to occupy an enemy planet (I have no idea how they got through the spaceport with their tiny fleet), letting me get out of the war with a victory and a conquered planet. That planet was full of assholes and basically useless, but I kept it just to weaken one of my opponents slightly.
It wiped the floor with me. Twice. First time with a 2k fleet, second time much later in the game with a 10k. Yikes!
It wiped me once, but the second time around I wiped it. What happens after is kinda cool!
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.