Non-RPG General News - Stellaris Reviews

The first reviews for the 4x scifi strategy game Stellaris are out:

Destructoid:

[…]

This is a game for anyone who has already enjoyed the grand strategy genre or anyone who has always wanted to. There is a strong sense of accomplishment from starting an empire and guiding it along the path you choose, even if it eventually ends in failure. Stellaris is easy to comprehend and exciting to execute, which is a perfect combination for a genre notoriously difficult to break into.

Score: 9/10

Rock, Paper, Shotgun:

[…]

I say that I’d expected something messier and part of me had hoped for something messier. That messiness may come with expansions and DLC, but for now Stellaris is incredibly assured and confident, if perhaps a little too tidy and streamlined. It’s one of the most accomplished 4X space games I’ve ever played, but it feels knowable. Despite all of the randomisation and the extraordinary influence of Fallen Empires and other features that shake the 4X formula hard enough to make it wobble, this is a game that can be understood, analysed and mastered. Doing so has been, and will continue to be, a joy, and yet I crave the early days of exploration before the galactic map became a place on which to exterminate the competition rather than to find new ways of living.

The great experiment of the game was not so much the change of scenery, from history to science fiction, it was the decision to create a Civ-like game of expansion with some complexities and aspects of simulation borrowed from grand strategy. It’s in the simulation of a living galaxy that most of the complexity has been lost, but what has been gained is a precise and finely tuned machine. Less erratic and surprising than its ancestors, but much more elegant in its design.

IGN:

[…]

Stellaris is filled with good ideas, and it’s not difficult to see the outline of a great space strategy game where those ideas could come together. But beyond the early game, it’s only compelling in bits and pieces – it turns into a largely uneventful slog after that. Paradox has developed a reputation of major upgrades to their games for years after launch, and Stellaris is going to need all that love and more to reach its potential.

Score: 6.3/10

PC Invasion:

[…]

Thoroughly alien in presentation, yet unerringly human in many of its galactic power tousles, Stellaris successfully gene-splices the themes of a 4X game with the mechanics and systems perfected over Paradox’s last couple of grand strategy titles. The complexity curve, often a bit of a problem for newcomers in prior releases, will be smooth enough for those who’ve played a strategy game or 4X before; while Paradox veterans will be immediately at home with a star-nation sandbox that shows every sign of being another long-term strategic triumph.

Score: 8/10

More information.

The reviews by gamers over at Steam forums, are very positive thus far. I've heard a couple of complaints. There is a bug that causes some stuttering and sounds like the devs are already working on that. Also, people complaining about UI scaling. Apparently, there is none. So play at 1080 or else. Although someone is now saying there is a fix, not a perfect fix, but a fix.

Yeah, I've got the stutter. I read a hotfix is supposed to come tomorrow.

Regarding the UI, yep. It's a Paradox game in the same engine as EU and Crusader Kings. The text is small as hell. I read they have no plans to fix this. I'm waiting for someone to make a mod like the other games have. In the meantime, you can do this. It's a pretty ghetto workaround, as tooltips and other elements of the UI will continue off the screen. But I've found setting the scale at "1.1" is a decent help and you don't lose much off the edges of the screen.

As mentioned in another thread, I was surprised to see the game only has two victory conditions which basically both mean military action. Especially the victory conditions were what made Civ5 interesting in end game. Now if one empire has like a huge empire and the other player is tiny, there probably isn't much fun to play it to the end as there can't be any hidden strategy or something like that. In order to win the small empire would neeed to become huge, pretty much no way around it.

The developers spoke about other victory conditions like a tech victory condition before. But nothing of that seems to be in the game.

Regarding the performance: I am only playing with a tiny galacy at the moment in my testing game but was pleasently suprised. I am using a Phenom 2 X3 and a GTX 260. Meaning that I don't even meet the minimum requirements. After disabling multisampling the game runs perfectly smoth.

Originally Posted by Kordanor
As mentioned in another thread, I was surprised to see the game only has two victory conditions…The developers spoke about other victory conditions like a tech victory condition before. But nothing of that seems to be in the game.

You can probably expect at least one new victory condition in DLC #84, hopefully the first one after 83 portraits sold separately.

Looking forward to that portraits!

Just kidding. Though the portraits in the game look great.
Let's see what the future brings.

The portraits do look nice.

I have to say, I'm really liking the game at the moment. I was up to 5 am last night, catching only 2 hours or so of sleep before having to head to work.

Still in an early-ish phase at this point, though made contact with a few empires, colonized a few planets. I really loved the very beginning, exploring systems, researching anomalies and having all sorts of events pop up all over the place. Very well done. Right now I am debating going to war with my next door neighbor with whom I have a rivalry going (they look like giant dragon flies, kinda creepy). I'm kind of boxed in at the moment by my neighbors, one of them being a dreadfully intimidating (yet luckily well disposed toward humandkind) Fallen Empire of molluscoids.

I'm having a lot of fun with it, which is not to say there's not a few niggles. The whole feels like it could be fleshed out just a little more (diplomacy and trade most notably, IMHO), but I think a few DLC should help a lot there. I would even welcome some more ship models.

Reviews have been mentioning the mid- to late game gets boring and grindy, but I've yet to get there; I've only had 4 hours with the game so far. I'm playing on a huge spiral galaxy so still a lot more to discover hopefully!

Originally Posted by Kordanor
As mentioned in another thread, I was surprised to see the game only has two victory conditions which basically both mean military action. Especially the victory conditions were what made Civ5 interesting in end game. Now if one empire has like a huge empire and the other player is tiny, there probably isn't much fun to play it to the end as there can't be any hidden strategy or something like that. In order to win the small empire would neeed to become huge, pretty much no way around it.

The developers spoke about other victory conditions like a tech victory condition before. But nothing of that seems to be in the game.

Are you sure they did? I don't remember, but then again, I hardly remember what I had for breakfast this morning.

Either way, it's not a 4X pur sang, I'd say. It's like a mix of 4X and grand strategy, in the vein of EU and CK that also do not have any victory conditions. You set your own goals, though granted, that's a little harder in a randomly generated sandbox.

Regarding victory conditions:

We had more victory conditions, but they didn't quite work out so we cut them from the release version. We plan to add more in upcoming patches once we balanced them correctly etc.

Source.

Originally Posted by Capt. Huggy Face
You can probably expect at least one new victory condition in DLC #84, hopefully the first one after 83 portraits sold separately.

While true that Paradox release lots of DLC, much of the new mechanics are often released for free in the patches. I would expect it to work similarly for this game.

Originally Posted by wiretripped
Regarding victory conditions:



Source.

Thanks for the update!

The patch isn't officially out yet, but I hear the beta patch is, for those who need it badly. Do the whole right-click thing on Steam.

Originally Posted by Capt. Huggy Face
The patch isn't officially out yet, but I hear the beta patch is, for those who need it badly. Do the whole right-click thing on Steam.

It's out now 1.0.1

This hotfix contains the following:
- Fixed CTD when showing tooltip for an ambient object that gets destroyed
- Fixed CTD when an ambient object gets destroyed while selected
- Fixed fleets getting stuck trying to use wormhole stations belonging to other empires
- Improved performance issues and fixed issues with stuttering in early game

We are also currently working on a second hotfix that fixes various bugs and stability issues. The work with the first larger patch has also begun, no final release date set for that one yet.

In 4X/Grand Strategy I think Explorminate are an authority. Long review:
https://explorminate.net/2016/05/09/stellaris-review/

Game looks good, but won't get it until the second DLC…

Otherwise this game will cost £500 :

Originally Posted by Pladio
Game looks good, but won't get it until the second DLC…

Otherwise this game will cost £500 :

You're smarter than I. I'm such a sucker for a good space game, and I am enjoying this one, even before it's properly rounded out with expansions in true Paradox style.

Originally Posted by Capt. Huggy Face
You're smarter than I. I'm such a sucker for a good space game, and I am enjoying this one, even before it's properly rounded out with expansions in true Paradox style.

Maybe, but that's more because I have too many games in my backlog already.

I still have to play through divinity original sin and that bastard apparently takes 100 hours of gameplay.

Taking into account I can play a maximum of two hours a day ( and that's generous ) it would take me a minimum of two months to complete.

Then there's another five or six other games

So I'll wait a bit for stellaris .

Of course the price also matters … I spent way too much on games in the past two years. So I'm trying to cut down a teeny bit. Since paradox like charging full price for their games and then release five expansions, I am sure I can enjoy this game in a year too …

Originally Posted by yllaettaevaet
In 4X/Grand Strategy I think Explorminate are an authority. Long review:
https://explorminate.net/2016/05/09/stellaris-review/

That's a very thorough and comprehensive review, echoing my own sentiments. There's a few things here and there that could be better, and some areas definitely need to be fleshed out a little more (trade/diplomacy most notably), but boy, the potential is definitely there.
It's already highly addictive in it's current iteration. Since Monday, I have barely slept 3 hrs/night.

Stellaris is the first game to make me feel like a true space emperor

Couldn't agree more.

Our Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4HlDuAIEI4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYiOYIOuWhY