Stellaris

[PhilBowles]

Where can a player find demographic assessments like johannak mentioned where the number of a species can be contrasted with others? Is similar data available for tech levels and military levels?

There's a Species tab at the bottom of the Empire page. I don't think it has sortable ranking - you just have to count manually.

The game is curiously bad at providing summary data - basic standards of the genre like a spreadsheet list of colonisable planets are missing as well, and no I don't think tech and military level rankings exist, only empire-by-empire indications of whether a power has equivalent/superior/inferior ratings.

 

[BvBPL]

So science costs apparent ramp up with total population size. Any idea what a good science to pop ratio would be?

 

[Dell19]

I've ended up starting a second game as in the first one I made a few mistakes. The first was not turning on the detailed map mode so it took me a while to realise that I had already found colonisable planets, the next one was not building a second science ship early enough plus more warp gates and probably the most costly was not building extra star bases on my colony worlds as it meant that my force limit was too low which left me looking weak and eventually the AI declared war.

Second game is going significantly better as I've expanded much faster and will most likely start a first war soon. Also found my first gaia world which I'm assuming I should keep under my control rather than placing it in a sector. Also have just managed to get a level 5 scientist so I should be able to complete a quest soon.

 

[PhilBowles]

I've ended up starting a second game as in the first one I made a few mistakes. The first was not turning on the detailed map mode so it took me a while to realise that I had already found colonisable planets,

It's bizarre that that isn't on by default, I agree, especially as the game doesn't inform you about colonisable planets you've identified after the first one.

the next one was not building a second science ship early enough plus more warp gates and probably the most costly was not building extra star bases on my colony worlds as it meant that my force limit was too low which left me looking weak and eventually the AI declared war.

I went for a second starbase as soon as I unlocked destroyers simply because otherwise I couldn't fit any ships in my fleet. I had an early Fist of God mission and at one point you face a starbase with more than 500 power - which is pretty much your full starting allowance of early corvettes.

Having done that I realise I probably should have done that earlier, simply because it gives you access to a repair/upgrade point without having to go all the way back home (more of a chore with hyperdrive than warp gates, I expect) and also because it can open areas to quicker colonisation.

Second game is going significantly better as I've expanded much faster and will most likely start a first war soon. Also found my first gaia world which I'm assuming I should keep under my control rather than placing it in a sector. Also have just managed to get a level 5 scientist so I should be able to complete a quest soon.

So far I haven't encountered any quests that require a scientist above level 4 - I had one of my early promising scientists killed when his ship couldn't retreat from cultists fast enough.

Gaia worlds don't look anything special from what I've seen - I've encountered a small one, but the only trait it appears to affect is planet habitability, which seems to be set at a default 100%. I presume this is important (all my planets to date have default 80% habitability, so I don't have any experience with differences in this stat) but they don't seem any better for production than any other worlds so it doesn't appear to matter how they're managed. I think the most important feature of gaias is simply that any race, whatever its planetary preference, can colonise them without special technology.

 

[Ailedhoo]

Welp and joy...

Spoiler crisis stuff :

I tried to face the horror... was greeted by the Queen... then her overwhelming bodyguard fleet showed up; needless to say I bravely ran away and the Horror is still active; though it turned out to be wise when one of my fellow powers declared war on me; ended with me getting a new vassal from one figure who decided to war me at the same time and forcing the power who declared war on me to make a planet independent, thus allowing me to make another thrall. Also thanks to the war against the Horror I have some neat new horrific technologies I can use against them once I am ready.

My current development is as thus:

Spoiler has a spoiler on the north-east :

Quocunque Jeceris Stabit!

 

[JohannaK]

How strong was their navy?

 

[ThERat]

Got the game yesterday and was a little lost initially. Watched a nice youtube intro but does anyone know where to find a nice guide for people who are rather new to Paradox games?

Thanks

 

[Arakhor]

You could try watching Quill18's videos. I enjoy them much more than I do Arumba's.

 

[PhilBowles]

Got the game yesterday and was a little lost initially. Watched a nice youtube intro but does anyone know where to find a nice guide for people who are rather new to Paradox games?

Thanks

Familiarity with space 4xes may be of more help - it's not very similar to other Paradox games beyond having basically the same diplomacy system and the same broad approach to random events ('anomalies' for the most part in this case).

Not much eventful in my evening playthrough, though the Brokthuras Compact ended up with Yurus in their sphere of influence to my annoyance. I assimilated my pacifists (who immediately started an independence movement - oh, the woes of being a repugnant insect overlord), while disappeared and then reappeared with little support once I transferred the planet to a sector. Then the number of races I was familiar with exploded, several with larger empires than mine.

Diplomacy and, more likely, warfare seem likely to beckon. The space to my immediate west has three powers - the Trakpocians who have been my rivals for a while, the Bokis - a supposedly peaceful group - and a newly-encountered military despotism who formed a Star Compact with the Bokis. Complicating matters the Bokis, already rivals with the Trakpocians, declared me their rival as I was debating sending a fleet to attack the then-inferior Trackpocians. At the end of the session the Trakpocians declared war on the Bokis - I'm inclined to come in on the side of the alliance, as the Trakpocians seem about as strong as the two other powers combined.

 

[Ailedhoo]

How strong was their navy?

25k to my then 15 or 16k, plus the 5k Queen.

I would try to fill my naval limit but, as you can see, I am suffering a energy decline and that is when my fleets are in dock; I am trying to build up my energy production and hand out my metals to others for energy to keep me from entering the minus zone. I will need to plan my energy production in advance in future playthroughs; this is my first playthrough I am on still.

 

[ThERat]

Thanks guys

 

[JohannaK]

Here, have some images of my empire:

Here the current extent of the Jedi Council in the Galactic Republic federation. Since then I waged war against the Great Wulhubb State to vassalise them and gain access to a Prethoryn colony forming at the edge of the Yilrak Ancients, a Fallen Empire I'm thinking of destroying. It would allow me to bridge into my allies' systems, since we're now equivalent in every way.

Spoiler :

An outdated screenshot. I have since colonized quite a few more planets and I also have about 300 more pops than the pic shows.

Spoiler :

Now for the Scourge from the Void Event Chain:

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

And the obligatory:

Spoiler :

Finally, the fleets that are taking care of this menace in Ruul and will continue to do so in the Chisellion system as soon as we manage to get access to it:

Spoiler :

As you can see, I've got five of those, and right now I've achieved 100% mobilisation, which is not a mechanic but which I define as being able to maneuver one's full naval capacity without going into energy deficit.

 

[Ailedhoo]

Now for my current day: I leaded my fleet against the <spoiler>

Spoiler cosmic spoiler and large images :

Spoiler report :

As you can see the horrors of this cosmic scourge are no match for the powers of SCIENCE!

Speaking of SCIENCE I have something to brag about: I have made a new vassal...

Spoiler large screenshot of former rival :

...out of my ideological rival. Tis a wonderful day! We thank our brave fleets and armies as we sail and march across the stars, bringing SCIENCE throughout the galaxy!

Spoiler the galaxy :

We grow and expand both mind and border: Quocunque Jeceris Stabit!

However there is one thing...

Spoiler now for a request :

How do I... err... kill the horrors? I destroyed their fleets but I cannot take or destroy the corruption of their worlds. I am unable to invade and I do not know how henceforth to eliminate the scourge. Now do I clean the galaxy of the cosmic threat?

 

[JohannaK]

Apparently when you bomb their planets to 0 fortifications they should spawn transports and be left barren, but the feature is bugged. I've encountered this myself after attacking their miserable puny colony in Kuul. I'm keeping the Central Combined Fleet in orbit and have built a defense station there, just in case.

 

[GAGA Extrem]

Apparently when you bomb their planets to 0 fortifications they should spawn transports and be left barren, but the feature is bugged.[...]

Fortifications give defending troops a significant defence bonus (damage reduction). When (almost) fully removed, defenders take double damage instead.

Bombardment on limited or full (make sure you adjust for fleet stance in the fleet selection or planet army tab!) makes pops unemployed and has a chance to kill a pop or destroy a building each months (and in case of full to create a blocker, too).

Terrorbombing an enemy planet into oblivion takes quite some time.

 

[JohannaK]

No, the Infested planets, planets where the Prethoryn Scourge have invaded, only have some sort of life points that are like normal planet fortifications. They are uninhabitable and armies annot be sent. The only way to destroy them is to bring these points down to 0, then the world is apparently supposed to spawn transports and become barren. It's got nothing to do with regular planet fortifications.

 

[PhilBowles]

My own empire seems to have gone rather off-track during the war with the Tracpocians - which hasn't been especially challenging, but it turns out uses a typical Paradox warscore system and is rather drawn-out as a result (especially as I got my first armies massacred by sending them in piecemeal) - and there wasn't even any warscore gain from a massive (for the scale of fleets at this point in the game - my 1,300k vs. 940 on the opposing side) fleet engagement that destroyed half my fleet (though following some timely research into weapon systems I now have greater overall firepower than I did before with two-thirds of the fleet capacity) and left the Tracpocians effectively without one.

I'm no longer scoring especially highly on most metrics, my Bolthuran neighbours are superior to me in tech and fleet capacity and I can't find a way to push my research ahead of a technologically superior race. All my original characters are now dead but I lack the influence to hire more so am concentrating only on keeping my science going.

My energy economy is collapsing due to fleet maintenance and I have no readily-exploitable sources I'm not using, while my newly-colonised planets are not growing fast enough to work new energy facilities.

And finally, I now have two assimilated races, both of which are dangerously close to rising in revolt - both are on strike, the original pacifists outraged in part by the ongoing war after I'd previously more or less calmed them down (the subterraneans have at least become good citizens - though I still only have two due to available space on the planet, and one of them refuses to let the self-determinist movement die out completely, the other is content). Again my influence shortage prevents me doing anything very much about that.

I'm somewhat tempted to abandon the war with no particular need to obtain a Tracpocian vassal anyway, but the Tracpocians' rivals were weaker to begin with than I realised and haven't used the opportunity to make any gains of their own, so that would just be an invitation for them to rebuild.

 

[JohannaK]

Sounds like an interesting, if frustrating, situation. My policy is to use colonies rather than frontier outposts wherever possible, so the most I've ever had at any given time has been three, which with rivalry influence still allowed me to be positive on influence. As a result, I haven't had a shortage of it at any point in the game.

 

[PhilBowles]

Sounds like an interesting, if frustrating, situation. My policy is to use colonies rather than frontier outposts wherever possible, so the most I've ever had at any given time has been three, which with rivalry influence still allowed me to be positive on influence. As a result, I haven't had a shortage of it at any point in the game.

Yes, now I've unlocked continental colonisation I intend to replace my remaining frontier outposts with colonies - but my economic deficit makes that difficult, given that colonies take a while to get to a stage where you can use them as net energy producers even after they stop being 'outposts' and so aren't actively a drain. Plus I'm at my planet limit and my character shortage leaves me with no one to govern additional sectors (not that governors are a strict requirement - with my character die-offs I have no governors but my heir anyway).

 

[Dell19]

Gaia worlds don't look anything special from what I've seen - I've encountered a small one, but the only trait it appears to affect is planet habitability, which seems to be set at a default 100%. I presume this is important (all my planets to date have default 80% habitability, so I don't have any experience with differences in this stat) but they don't seem any better for production than any other worlds so it doesn't appear to matter how they're managed. I think the most important feature of gaias is simply that any race, whatever its planetary preference, can colonise them without special technology.

The one I found was a large planet with basically all tiles unlocked and far more tiles have a bonus than normal. I guess the other difference about my second start was that I had 5 systems within my initial radius rather than just two in the first one so I was able to get more resources early on.

I conquered three planets today which have joined a faction. Should I just lower their dissent every so often by spending energy and influence or do I need to be more proactive? I don't want to enslave them.

I had a quest to investigate the remnants of an empire which I completed and at the end it gave the location of their homeworld which I went to but nothing happened. I can't scan it as its within another nation's border. Is anything further meant to happen?