|
We really ARE getting Victoria In Space, years after I imagined we would based solely on the game using a pop system. (of course now I can't touch this game until the update in like 2-3 months, them's the rules.)
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 13:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2024 07:22 |
|
|
Dallan Invictus posted:2-3 months Oh, summer child.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 14:04
|
|
|
The Khan not always dying when their main ship dies really is poo poo, I've now basically lost against it because I put my all into killing their fleet and it didn't do anything at all. The worst part of fighting any crisis is that the AI just doesn't join in at all and it's so hard to beat it on your own if you're in a federation!
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 14:31
|
|
|
Taear posted:The Khan not always dying when their main ship dies really is poo poo, I've now basically lost against it because I put my all into killing their fleet and it didn't do anything at all. You have to kill him twice. The first time he always gets away like a Saturday morning cartoon villain.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 14:44
|
|
|
Escape pods are lostech.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 15:02
|
|
|
ConfusedUs posted:You have to kill him twice. The first time he always gets away like a Saturday morning cartoon villain. I've just not got enough left and they blew up my best shipyard, I'll just pack it in and restart. That really sucks, though.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 15:28
|
|
|
Taear posted:I've just not got enough left and they blew up my best shipyard, I'll just pack it in and restart. That really sucks, though. Just pull up the contacts screen and become a satrapy for a while.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 15:29
|
|
|
Taear posted:I've just not got enough left and they blew up my best shipyard, I'll just pack it in and restart. That really sucks, though.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 15:31
|
|
|
I put together an extended list of SMAC factions, now including the Alien Crossfire expansion factions as well. I made a few adjustments to better incorporate the increased number while also maintaining a degree of gameplay diversity. This includes moving some civics and traits around (i.e. Spartans have Functional Architecture instead of Nationalistic Zeal, in order for the Manifold Caretakers to pick up the latter). More controversially I moved many of the ideas about the Gaians over to the Cult of Planet and returned the Gaians to the "peacenik gardeners" sentiment as I originally viewed them (if you don't want any Fanatic Pacifists in your game, it would be easy to share the Syncretic Evolution concept). I toyed with making the Cult of Planet a Hive Mind instead, but instead decided to focus on their humanity aspect. Similarly, another thing that I deliberated over was whether to make the Cybernetic Consciousness Mechanists or Driven Assimilators; in the end I chose the former, since they remain at least half human. The Free Drones aren't particular Xenophiles, but it's a requirement for Free Haven, which they definitely are, so that was a compromise. I made the Nautilus Pirates into Barbaric Despoilers, which is probably a bit hyperbolic but it seemed better than simply ignoring that aspect of the faction. Not much is known about the Progenitors, but I made them into a Tomb / Gaia homeworld dialectic to reflect the 'horrors of Tau Ceti' and their general attitude toward Planet. It's too bad that I can't actually share these species, since I also picked out flags that were relatively similar to the ones in SMACX, and made good use of the near-human icon packs in Stellaris to represent the Consciousness, Drones, and Pirates. It was fun to do! Let me know what you think. SMAC Factions: Morgan Industries: Oligarchic (Megacorporation), Aristocratic Elite, Corporate Dominion, Authoritarian, Pacifist, Materialist - Thrifty, Enduring, Decadent quote:"Human behavior is economic behavior. The particulars may vary, but competition for limited resources remains a constant. Need as well as greed have followed us to the stars, and the rewards of wealth still await those wise enough to recognize this deep thrumming of our common pulse." Lord's Believers: Oligarchic (Holy Tribunal), Exalted Priesthood, Warrior Culture, Militaristic, Fanatic Spiritualist - Strong, Traditional, Nomadic, Slow Learners quote:"The righteous need not cower before the drumbeat of human progress. Though the song of yesterday fades into the challenge of tomorrow, God still watches and judges us. Evil lurks in the datalinks as it lurked in the streets of yesteryear. But it was never the streets that were evil." Human Hive: Imperial (Despotic Empire), Corvée System, Police State, Fanatic Authoritarian, Xenophobe - Communal, Natural Sociologists, Conformists, Fleeting, Repugnant quote:"Learn to overcome the crass demands of flesh and bone, for they warp the matrix through which we perceive the world. Extend your awareness outwards, beyond the self of body, to embrace the self of group and the self of humanity. The goals of the group and the greater race are transcendent, and to embrace them is to achieve enlightenment." Peacekeeping Forces: Democratic (Moral Democracy), Parliamentary System, Cutthroat Politics, Fanatic Egalitarian, Pacifist, Talented, Charismatic, Rapid Breeders, Quarrelsome quote:"As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last loose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master." -- Commissioner Pravin Lal, "UN Declaration of Rights" University of Planet: Oligarchic (Science Directorate), Technocracy, Meritocracy, Xenophobe, Fanatic Materialist - Intelligent, Natural Physicists, Solitary quote:"The substructure of the universe regresses infinitely towards smaller and smaller components. Behind atoms we find electrons, and behind electrons quarks. Each layer unraveled reveals new secrets, but also new mysteries." Gaia's Stepdaughters: Imperial (Irenic Monarchy), Agrarian Idyll, Environmentalist, Xenophile, Fanatic Pacifist - Adaptive, Agrarian, Weak, Sedentary quote:"In the great commons at Gaia's Landing we have a tall and particularly beautiful stand of white pine, planted at the time of the first colonies. It represents our promise to the people, and to Planet itself, never to repeat the tragedy of Earth." Spartan Federation: Oligarchy (Citizen Stratocracy), Citizen Service, Functional Architecture, Xenophobe, Fanatic Militarist - Quick Learners, Resilient, Strong, Wasteful quote:"Superior training and superior weaponry have, when taken together, a geometric effect on overall military strength. Well-trained, well-equipped troops can stand up to many more times their lesser brethren than linear arithmetic would seem to indicate." SMACX Factions: Cult of Planet: Imperial (Enlightened Monarchy), Syncretic Evolution (Mind Worms - Very Strong, Repugnant, Slow Learners), Philosopher King, Fanatic Xenophile, Spiritualist - Extremely Adaptive, Conservationist, Deviants, Solitary, Weak quote:"Mankind has been blind for thousands of years-for all of its history. We have come to a place whose wonders are a hundred-fold more amazing than anything on Earth. Around us is clear evidence of the will of a higher power. I bring the Vision to the blind eyes of men. I bring the Word to the deaf ears of men. I will make them see it. I will make them hear it." quote:"As the writhing, teeming mass of Mind Worms swarmed over the outer perimeter, we saw the defenders recoil in horror. "Stay calm! Use your flame guns!" shouted the commander, but to no avail. It is well known that the Mind Worm Boil uses psychic terror to paralyze its prey, and then carefully implants ravenous larvae in the brains of its still-conscious victims. Even with the best weapons, only the most disciplined troops can resist this horrific attack." Data Angels: Democratic (Direct Democracy), Idealistic Foundation, Beacon of Liberty, Fanatic Egalitarian, Materialist - Nomadic, Intelligent, Deviants quote:"What's more important, the data or the jazz? Sure, sure, 'Information should be free' and all that--but anyone can set information free. The jazz is in how you do it, what you do it to, and in almost getting caught without getting caught. The data is 1's and 0's. Life is the jazz." Nautilus Pirates: Oligarchy (Bandit Commune), Barbaric Despoilers, Distinguished Admiralty, Authoritarian, Fanatic Militarist - Nomadic, Adaptive, Quarrelsome quote:"The sea ... vast, mysterious ... and full of wealth! And the nations of Planet send their trade across it without a thought. Well, the sea doesn't care about them, so it lets them pass. But we can give the sea a little hand in teaching the landlubbers a lesson in humility." Cybernetic Consciousness: Oligarchy (Executive Committee), Efficient Bureaucracy, Mechanist, Pacifist, Fanatic Materialist - Natural Engineers, Intelligent, Slow Breeders quote:"Those who join us need give up only half of their humanity--the illogical, ill-tempered, and disordered half, commonly thought of as 'right-brain' functioning. In exchange, the 'left-brain' capacities are increased to undreamed potential. The tendency of Biologicals to cling instead to their individual personalities can only be attributed to archaic evolutionary tendencies." Free Drones: Democratic (Military Commissariat), Free Haven, Mining Guilds, Egalitarian, Xenophile, Militarist - Industrious, Strong, Communal, Slow Learners, Wasteful quote:"Now it's day and night the irons clang, and like poor galley slaves Manifold Caretakers: Dictatorial (Military Dictatorship), Life Seeded, Nationalistic Zeal, Authoritarian, Xenophobe, Militarist - Resilient, Conservationist, Intelligent, Repugnant, Solitary quote:"Tau Ceti Flowering: Horrors visited upon neighboring systems must never be repeated. Therefore: if it means the end of our evolution as a species, so be it." Manifold Usurpers: Imperial (Blood Court), Fanatic Purifiers, Post-Apocalyptic, Fanatic Xenophobe, Militarist - Survivor, Very Strong, Intelligent, Solitary, Repugnant, Wasteful quote:"Risks of Flowering: considerable. But rewards of godhood: who can measure?" Alternative Standard Human Traits: Adaptive, Nomadic, Quick Learners, Deviants, Wasteful Alternative Standard Progenitor Traits: Intelligent, Talented, Repugnant Kaal fucked around with this message at 16:48 on Jul 27, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 15:35
|
|
|
I miss Outpost 2 
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 15:54
|
|
|
ConfusedUs posted:Just pull up the contacts screen and become a satrapy for a while. No. It drops my federation and I'd rather start again than do that! In other news - the Xenophobe voice set reminds me of a TV series from a long time ago but I can't quite get it in my head. Does anyone know who he sounds like? It's a little David Warner but not quite.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:12
|
|
|
July of 2401, Commodore difficulty, Huge map, middle/end game sliders were left to default. I own like 1/6 - 1/7th of the map, very good minerals/power production, already conquered 1 out of 3 fallen empires, all other empires are equal or less in tech and mostly pathetic (some are inferior) at naval cap and fleet power. Shall I start a new game at higher difficulty or will something interesting happen any time soon? Are there good chances some crysis will reshuffle the cards?
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:24
|
|
|
Kaal posted:I put together an extended list of SMAC factions, now including the Alien Crossfire expansion factions as well. I made a few adjustments to better incorporate the increased number while also maintaining a degree of gameplay diversity. This includes moving some civics and traits around (i.e. Spartans have Functional Architecture instead of Nationalistic Zeal, in order for the Manifold Caretakers to pick up the latter). More controversially I moved many of the ideas about the Gaians over to the Cult of Planet and returned the Gaians to the "peacenik gardeners" sentiment as I originally viewed them (if you don't want any Fanatic Pacifists in your game, it would be easy to share the Syncretic Evolution concept). I toyed with making the Cult of Planet a Hive Mind instead, but instead decided to focus on their humanity aspect. Similarly, another thing that I deliberated over was whether to make the Cybernetic Consciousness Mechanists or Driven Assimilators; in the end I chose the former, since they remain at least half human. The Free Drones aren't particular Xenophiles, but it's a requirement for Free Haven, which they definitely are, so that was a compromise. I made the Nautilus Pirates into Barbaric Despoilers, which is probably a bit hyperbolic but it seemed better than simply ignoring that aspect of the faction. Not much is known about the Progenitors, but I made them into a Tomb / Gaia homeworld dialectic to reflect the 'horrors of Tau Ceti' and their general attitude toward Planet. It's too bad that I can't actually share these species, since I also picked out flags that were relatively similar to the ones in SMACX, and made good use of the near-human icon packs in Stellaris to represent the Consciousness, Drones, and Pirates. It was fun to do! Let me know what you think. I'm going to use these but mod custom civica to start people off with technology, I think
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:25
|
|
|
jerk irl posted:July of 2401, Commodore difficulty, Huge map, middle/end game sliders were left to default.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:31
|
|
|
WhiskeyJuvenile posted:I'm going to use these but mod custom civica to start people off with technology, I think Great idea. There's so much more you can do with a mod. The name lists alone would be a great addition. Let me know how it comes along. I made good use of the Civilization wiki to help parse the various faction picks. It was pretty useful as a reference. http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Factions_(SMAC) Kaal fucked around with this message at 16:47 on Jul 26, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:34
|
|
|
jerk irl posted:July of 2401, Commodore difficulty, Huge map, middle/end game sliders were left to default. I run it at grand admiral (turn off scaling difficulty if you want it to be hard. AI will be rather dangerous early as a result and will keep up better) and set the crisis to fire an extra 50 years sooner so they are possibly relevant before game end.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:35
|
|
|
jerk irl posted:July of 2401, Commodore difficulty, Huge map, middle/end game sliders were left to default. If you've defeated the fallen empires and have crisises at normal level you might as well just quit now. I don't get how people can be so big and strong so fast.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:48
|
|
|
Taear posted:If you've defeated the fallen empires and have crisises at normal level you might as well just quit now. Probably because I "gambled" with keeping a small fleet early on and expanded fast, building industry. Probably the placement of empires helped me to grab enough space easily. When the 1st empire in the game declared on me, I was a bit behind in tech, but too much ahead in production. Had a good defensive starbase at their borders too. They didn't manage to do any harm to me, they lost their fleet and after that the game was a cakewalk. I usually play like that, but I guess I'll have to change it around for higher difficulties, because I am vulnerable early on, by not having a decently sized fleet. Probably it also harms my chances of an enjoyable experience, 'cause if I survive the rocky start, I'll probably be too strong during midgame and on. Not really sure though, cause I don't have enough experience. Only did this one playthrough after 2.0. jerk irl fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Jul 26, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:00
|
|
|
Kaal posted:Great idea. There's so much more you can do with a mod. The name lists alone would be a great addition. Let me know how it comes along. Cybernetic Consciousness should start out with Cybernetic trait, at least!
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:04
|
|
|
jerk irl posted:July of 2401, Commodore difficulty, Huge map, middle/end game sliders were left to default. sounds like you're more or less ready for admiral turn up your AI numbers to max or nearly max if it's not already set up that way, too
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:07
|
|
|
WhiskeyJuvenile posted:Cybernetic Consciousness should start out with Cybernetic trait, at least! I agree! And of course without mods the only way of doing that is the Driven Assimilators setup, where you can make a companion race of cyborgs. It is an imperfect solution, since you'll start out with a purely robotic leader and several robotic pops. Also Assimilators are much more aggressive than the CC, which is pacifistic. With Mechanist I think you get the idea across without getting into Machine World territory. Obviously in a mod you have a better ability to curate options.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:26
|
|
|
Taear posted:If you've defeated the fallen empires and have crisises at normal level you might as well just quit now. In my last Grand Admiral game I had some really great luck and ended up with almost half the map being controlled from a pair of Gaia worlds by 2300, and then got the Worm and Tomb World preference and was able to settle every world in my borders more or less simultaneously. By the early 2400s I had 50 Citadels and I was north of 2000 fleet, and was basically just building habitats in my Inward Perfection plant land. Then I picked up Chosen One and declared war on the biggest alliance and clobbered them both at the same time. Next game I'm really going to have to make the mid and late game triggers fire earlier. Basically the difficulty is limited by how critical it is to make most of your stations dedicated Anchorages - the AI always makes these mixed use stations that just can't contribute in the same way as +36 naval capacity can. And a big part of that is that combat is set up in such a way that a large winning fleet will often take very few losses against a smaller fleet. If you smash a 40k station with a 100k fleet, you probably won't lose more than a few thousand fleet in ships, so you can do it over and over. Kaal fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Jul 26, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:37
|
|
|
I regret catching up on Wiz’ twitter because it all looks amazing and I want it now When do dev diaries resume?
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:40
|
|
|
Two weeks
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:47
|
|
|
During my last game, I didn't build as many power plants as I used to build in other playthroughs and was mostly getting my energy from trading hub stations. This helped a lot with mineral production at start and I think it helped me expand and go snowballing after a point. I think it helped me with keeping up with tech too, early on, and then, early mid-game, surpassing others in tech. But, it kept my naval capacity smaller than it could had been, maybe smaller than acceptable during early game, not sure. Worked fine after mid game and on, but, generally, can this work on higher difficulties, is it a valid thing to do? To give you an idea --> year 2401: 35 starbases, 4 shipyards, 17 trading hubs, 11 anchorages, 3 bastions. Most anchorages were built lately though. 488/593 fleet, +630 energy, +884 minerals, +986 unity, 450/437/564 research. I just got out of a war and the above numbers are not all about what I was aiming for. I mean, I wasn't aiming for so much energy. I am usually trying to keep it so I produce twice my energy in minerals and then some, or something like that. What should I be aiming for at higher (than commodore) difficulties? How much aggressive is the AI with wars early on? Should I be on my guard all the time, having a strong fleet and trapping enough resources on ship upkeep, resources I could use to expand more rapidly? jerk irl fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Jul 26, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 18:12
|
|
|
jerk irl posted:During my last game, I didn't build as many power plants as I used to build in other playthroughs and was mostly getting my energy from trading hub stations. you should always be able to fend off your immediate neighbors. that doesn't necessarily mean keeping ship parity - if you can quickly build more ships, then a "superior" neighbor might not actually be superior to you, and defensive wars can be useful in various ways so sometimes you want to provoke a neighbor into attacking by seeming weak. mostly, though, if you want to avoid war, keep parity with your neighbors. you should still be playing more efficiently than they are so you'll be fine with whatever resources are left after ship upkeep
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 18:18
|
|
|
Victoria in space is all I ever wanted from Stellaris. Wiz is good.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 18:31
|
|
|
What's the consensus on the Distant Stars dlc? Hard to tell off steam reviews since there's always loads of ~**~hyperlanes**~~* QQ stuff.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 19:08
|
|
|
appropriatemetaphor posted:What's the consensus on the Distant Stars dlc? Hard to tell off steam reviews since there's always loads of ~**~hyperlanes**~~* QQ stuff. If you like events, leviathans and crises it's cool. turn off the TV fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Jul 26, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 19:10
|
|
|
jerk irl posted:During my last game, I didn't build as many power plants as I used to build in other playthroughs and was mostly getting my energy from trading hub stations. The AI generally is manageable unless they think they can take a piece out of you without taking much damage in return. The big concern is that you overextend, start getting slapped around by a militarist, and then get dogpiled by the other neighbors. In general, as you said, I'd suggest that you're floating too much energy - convert some of those early trading hubs into anchorages as you get later into the game. I don't know if you can get too prescriptive about specific fleet numbers, because there's a lot of randomness in the game. If you're surrounded by fanatic purifiers then you'll need lots of fleet; if it's a xenophile lovefest then you might not have the space to really build up a huge fleet - but you probably won't need one either. Kaal fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Jul 26, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 19:34
|
|
|
appropriatemetaphor posted:What's the consensus on the Distant Stars dlc? Hard to tell off steam reviews since there's always loads of ~**~hyperlanes**~~* QQ stuff. Good flavor pack that like doubles the amount of exploration events and adds some leviathans/other cool exploration related stuff. And seeing as exploration is by far the best part of the game right now, I'd say definitely worth it.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 19:58
|
|
|
appropriatemetaphor posted:What's the consensus on the Distant Stars dlc? Hard to tell off steam reviews since there's always loads of ~**~hyperlanes**~~* QQ stuff. Tons of new events + anomalies. I'd happily pay  every 3-6 months for story packs like that.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 21:17
|
|
|
I just love how Stellaris went through development, Wiz gets added on late to do some AI stuff and then they just cancel whatever it was he hinted at being lead of when dev was done and put him in charge. Like 2 years later and when this DLC hits the game isn't even going to be recognizable to 1.0
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 21:26
|
|
|
Jazerus posted:you should always be able to fend off your immediate neighbors. that doesn't necessarily mean keeping ship parity - if you can quickly build more ships, then a "superior" neighbor might not actually be superior to you, and defensive wars can be useful in various ways so sometimes you want to provoke a neighbor into attacking by seeming weak. mostly, though, if you want to avoid war, keep parity with your neighbors. you should still be playing more efficiently than they are so you'll be fine with whatever resources are left after ship upkeep Non-aggression pacts also work if you can get your neighbors to like you. Starting with a +25 opinion really helps with that. Of course it doesn't help at all against genocidal neighbors, and isn't enough against opposite civics most of the time. Even if they eventually decide they don't like you, breaking the NAP is a 10-year truce, I think. The problem I have with Distant Stars is that the L-Cluster is either empty and just has some strategic resources, which is boring, or has about 15 terraforming candidates after you beat the crisis. Especially on smaller galaxies, that basically ensures you'll be too strong to ever be threatened again. Anyway, trip report: I'm just finishing a fanatic spiritualist/authoritarian run where I got robots early. I took the deviant trait since I figured I couldn't really keep the spiritualist happy early, which led to a lot of factions pretty quickly. That was probably a mistake, since I lost Homogeneity for a couple decades–the drat spiritualists count non-sapient robots/droids as people when calculating the % of population that are spiritualist. Get over your drat persecution complexes!  Of course, even with homogeneity I couldn't have kept the faction happy without psionics until I got a Gaia world hallowed, which was after Transcendence anyway. That then allowed me to switch from AI outlawed to servitude, which would always make the spiritualist faction unhappy without psionics (assuming you don't ban robots, which would be a pretty weird combination). The egalitarians were the only other real problem faction though, xenophiles became happy after the penalty from the last primitive world I invaded wore off, and since I had robots materialists were happy as long as I could keep the cutting edge happiness. I lost that for a while because I was going deep into the tech tree, in order to get synths and later mega-engineering quickly. I had to go psionic to get the spiritualists happy, though. That kinda sucked, since the only good thing I got from the shroud in the first 100 years after Transcendence was Precognitive Interface. I got the tech option for that thrice, though! Useful! Then I eventually get Whisperers in the Void, but too late to really be useful–I was already into the repeatables in all three categories. Oh, and I think I stole Climate restoration from a FE I guess. But the spiritualist faction was happy as long as I didn't get a bad result from the Shroud. I could even afford to terraform tomb worlds with the bonus from shroud boons, as the faction would be unhappy with a curse anyway. The deep dive for mega-structures worked out pretty well, I got it soon after getting my sixth tier 4 engineering tech. Synths were a bust though, I didn't realize they require the empire capital/extra civic tech for some reason. Because of that Synths had to wait until my fourth tier 4 eng tech. And then it turned out servitude protocols just give +10% minerals and I think food, and don't get any slave buffs. Quite underwhelming. And then eventually I got a machine rebellion of course, taking the entire L-Cluster and some other planets. The L-Cluster sector had at least 100k minerals too, which just disappeared I guess. The uprising was a complete pushover though, but it took time for my fleets to recapture everything, distracting me from the Contingency. Did I mention spawned soon after the machine uprising? Because it did. Kinda neat I guess. The first two hubs were far from me though. But just as I was getting the last systems in the L-cluster back under my control the third hub spawned in one of my systems, and then they purged one of my planets in the next system. Then I screwed up and the Awakened xenophobes grabbed the system after I cleared the contingency from the system. That's pretty much all they've done after awakening. The Machine FE woke up as guardians, but doesn't seem to have actually done anything. Also, the Contingency never sent constructors to the systems adjacent to most hubs, just sitting a fleet in each one. So they basically accomplished gently caress-all too. Now there's only the final hub, left but the idiots next to it have rivaled me so I can't get there. The Ghost Signal is only at -10% now, so I figure it's not my problem anymore. 1x Crisis strength felt about right on a 600-star galaxy on (scaling) grand admiral, I had to do the first hub in two attacks since my fleets focused the AI Core. I've also had to drain a couple hundred thousand minerals from sectors for reinforcements and building up to 1200 naval cap. Well okay I didn't have to do the latter, but I want to take out the xenophobe AE soon. I'm currently hemorrhaging energy if my navy is out of port though, but the next Dyson sphere stage should take care of that. I could also downgrade some of my trading hub citadels to get a little less over my starbase cap, but I don't want to do that. I'll just research a couple more starbase cap repeatables, and then the AE's planets will allow me to get +4 cap from more population. The machine uprising felt really really lackluster, but I rolled assimilators for it, so I got a psychic cyborg template out of it. Applied it to everyone, of course. My leaders didn't get the memo though for some reason, but new ones got the trait. Ascension-wise, I went for Executive Vigor so I could later run all ambitions 24/7, and save some influence on the way. Also because I also got Consecrated Worlds, just because I felt like it. It still sucks. Now I've got all of my planets consecrated, and I'm at 1000 influence and nothing to spend it on except gateways, but as mentioned I'm losing energy every month right now. Should have just taken Voidborne, especially as I still got Master Builders just so I could get my two (I had Cybrex Alpha) ring worlds and a Dyson Sphere sooner. Overall I wasn't really satisfied with my build. Having to keep AI in servitude hurt my mineral production, since happiness is a multiplicative buff after all. Missing that +20% was much bigger that the paltry 10 points servitude gives. I also still hate Psionic ascension, the shroud just gives something useful so rarely. I suppose I could have gone Synth ascension, so instead of keeping spiritualists happy, I could have just eliminated the faction completely since robots can't join it. Forcing all spiritualists to upload themselves to synth bodies, thus breaking their spirits and stopping them from ever being an organized faction again does have a certain appeal to it. But that would have taken much longer, and I also didn't think of it until long after I had taken psionics already. Also not having any organics to grow kinda sucks, even with robot build speed bonuses. Consecrated Worlds is garbage, but I knew that when picking it. The spiritualist bonuses are nice, but keeping the faction happy was a lot of effort. Maybe I should have just skipped all governing ethics attraction bonuses, and let the faction stay unhappy (and not too big). But I'd probably have been better off just going Inward Perfection instead.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 21:26
|
|
|
Ah, I never expand that fast because I don't like to colonise worlds and put them in sectors. So I only go for ones that I can do within the scope of my own cores. Until I conquer worlds from people. Like I have no problem with the game or anything, it works absolutely fine. I'm just not killing fallen empires by 2400, that's all.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 21:32
|
|
|
I put on scaling grand admiral diff and at least with the driven assimilatiors game I am running it feels way too easy. Every other non- FE have pathetic fleet comparisons and I easily squashed the Khan due to his own dumbness. How exactly does scaling work?? Are these empires likely to catch up or should I just got for straight up grand admiral diff. I've won playing straight up admiral diff. before as non robots and am really enjoying the assimilator gimmick/style but these empires pose no threat and it just turned 2310. I will probably start a game straight up grand admiral and see if I get steam rolled
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 21:47
|
|
|
Scaling means the AIs start with no bonuses, with the bonuses ramping up until they get the full difficulty bonuses at end game start year. If you're running 2300/2400 mid/endgame start years, consider trying out 2275/2350 , or 2275/2325, or even 2250/2300. I just did a 2275/2325 scaling GA game, and the crisis felt about right, even at 1x crisis strength (600 star galaxy). However the AIs became complete pushovers long before the crisis hit. Full GA might be best, if you're confident you can avoid being eaten by a neighbor early.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 22:05
|
|
|
Someone a while back suggested replacing the scaling bonus option with a starting and finishing difficulty. like you pick what level it starts at and what level it ends at, as opposed to it always starting at easiest.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 22:25
|
|
|
turn off the TV posted:If you like events, leviathans and crises it's cool. Cool, I do. Haven't played since they added in the scaling difficulties so due for a run-through with some new stuff. edit: ooh there's new music! appropriatemetaphor fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Jul 27, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 22:30
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2024 07:22 |
|
|
Staltran posted:Scaling means the AIs start with no bonuses, with the bonuses ramping up until they get the full difficulty bonuses at end game start year. If you're running 2300/2400 mid/endgame start years, consider trying out 2275/2350 , or 2275/2325, or even 2250/2300. I just did a 2275/2325 scaling GA game, and the crisis felt about right, even at 1x crisis strength (600 star galaxy). However the AIs became complete pushovers long before the crisis hit. Full GA might be best, if you're confident you can avoid being eaten by a neighbor early. I just had a full GA game and you do get jumped by neighbors quickly. They come in with like 3+k with of fleets when I could only field 1k. Even with defense station it was not enough to hold them. Definitely going to take a few tries to re-adjust strategy and focus more on building warships than previously.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2018 00:14
|
|