Stellaris II: I, For One, Welcome Our New Robot Fungus Hivemind Overlords

[Rockphed]

Stellaris, Paradox's entry in the ever popular 4X Genre, has generated 50 pages of commentary, war, galactic conquest, and general mayhem. We now enter a new era where letting your corvettes go commando will not be quite as optimal and Fungus Robots can form hiveminds and conquer the galaxy.

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[Caelestion]

At least this one doesn't have a full stop in the title.

[Sian]

Synthetic Dawn have gotten a release date ... 21 September at $9.99 (or regional equivalent)

[Silverraptor]

Synthetic Dawn have gotten a release date ... 21 September at $9.99 (or regional equivalent)

AKA, time limit for when I need to complete my current games before they are ruined forever. 15 days from today...

[Chipsy]

AKA, time limit for when I need to complete my current games before they are ruined forever. 15 days from today...

Same here, I still haven't finished my last campaign with "the Utopia" added... So many updates and DLCs, so little time to actually play the game

[Caelestion]

AKA, time limit for when I need to complete my current games before they are ruined forever. 15 days from today...

You can always set Stellaris to the beta mode of the current patch we're on. Unlike Bethesda, Paradox knows what they're doing in that regard.

[BannedInSchool]

After my loss and hearing "Construction Complete" in my head during the day I'm taking a break till the update anyway.

[Silverraptor]

So, with the exploit of starting with a ring world on Ironman mode I've been playing as a devouring swarm and managed to get so much of a head start and bonus that with literally the entire galaxy wishing me dead, I've been able to keep a max fleet up the entire time that no one has been wanting to DoW me, except a couple of my neighbors, and it didn't work out for them. Then, randomly I decided to make one of the ring section my capital and got the mage the ring world achievement by accident. Forgot that achievement even existed.

[Olinser]

So, with the exploit of starting with a ring world on Ironman mode I've been playing as a devouring swarm and managed to get so much of a head start and bonus that with literally the entire galaxy wishing me dead, I've been able to keep a max fleet up the entire time that no one has been wanting to DoW me, except a couple of my neighbors, and it didn't work out for them. Then, randomly I decided to make one of the ring section my capital and got the mage the ring world achievement by accident. Forgot that achievement even existed.

Yeah a pretty significant number of the achievements you aren't going to get unless you are specifically TRYING to get them.

Most of the achievements I have left are pretty RNG, I'm basically waiting for the next big patch/expansion to see if they add more achievements before I finish getting them.

[boomwolf]

You need to actively chase most achievements, but fortunately many of them are REALLY easy to cheese.
And you don't even need the "game file edit" chease, who is practically more cheating than cheesing, you just need to set up the galaxy in janky ways and most achivements can be cleared with ease (just you, some made-to-fail empires that you quickly take over, than fast forward, rinse and repeat until all the RNG cases are covered.)

If you are willng to delve into the cheating zone, the alt-F4 cheese can get you around most RNG events (didnt get the right result in a random choice, immediately alt-F4 before the game saves, and you get to re-roll the result.)

And some of the RNG achievements are cleared automatically by just playing. you'll run into them eventually.



Though, I'm playing with mods, so no achievements for me.

[Silverraptor]

Yeah a pretty significant number of the achievements you aren't going to get unless you are specifically TRYING to get them.

Most of the achievements I have left are pretty RNG, I'm basically waiting for the next big patch/expansion to see if they add more achievements before I finish getting them.

They have new achievements already listed. All of which seem to be based on starting your empire as one of the Robot start races. Like, having the terminator style robot eliminate all organic life in the galaxy. So, you know, easy achievements.

[Astrella]

Wonder if the existing DLC are going on sale when the new one is coming out.

[Silverraptor]

Wonder if the existing DLC are going on sale when the new one is coming out.

I think that played true in the Utopia DLC. It was why I got the plant portrait DLC. It was something like $2 or in that price range. Only reason why I got it.

[Silverraptor]

Well, that was easy. Just lost both of my games left in Stellaris. My hivemind on a ringworld game I lost to the Prethryan scourge and my Human game I lost to the fallen empire neighbor that declared war against me. Took every one of my planets. Deleted both of them and ready for the new DLC.

[tonberrian]

My current game is at a pause. I just took out one of the fallen empires, but another, non-local one decided to awaken after that. I'm playing as half-synthetically ascended science geckos. I suppose I could build up my fleet again and try to stomp on that other fallen empire, but really i just want to play robots all the time - waiting for the DLC.

[-D-]

Did anyone release Malal? And if so, did they manage to destroy it afterwards?

[Silverraptor]

Did anyone release Malal? And if so, did they manage to destroy it afterwards?

At first I thought you were in the wrong thread. Then when I realized you were not talking about 40k malal. No I haven't done it yet. I've been too much of a wuss. I'll probably do it with some fanatic xenophobic spiritualist evangelist zealots one of these days.

[Sian]

... I still don't have a clue about that reference

[GloatingSwine]

One of the things you can rarely get from the Shroud is the ability to make a covenant with the end of the cycle. It basically doubles all your production for 50 years and then eats your empire, leaving you with one (new) planet somewhere in the galaxy. For every planet it eats it spawns a shroud avatar, and your homeworld spawns The Reckoning, a super-avatar with a massive (1 million plus) fleetpower.

It then drives around the galaxy eating everything else, eventually rendering everything uninhabitable.

It is beatable, but because it eats your empire before it starts you'd have to have a very particular combination of events occur to let you do it if you instigated it yourself (the AI can kick it off too, but it has super low weights on ascension perks and doesn't build much unity so you'd have to wait centuries before it did).

Swarming it with torpedo corvettes is the way to do it, it's mostly made of shields and can't regenerate HP, so wave after wave of torpedo corvettes will eventually bring it down.

[boomwolf]

Why bother bringing it down though?

It targets Exile (you new "homeworld") last. therefor, you only need not to get killed by everyone who hates you now, and let the shroud kill everyone.


You don't need to kill everyone to be the last empire standing, just not to die.

[Olinser]

Why bother bringing it down though?

It targets Exile (you new "homeworld") last. therefor, you only need not to get killed by everyone who hates you now, and let the shroud kill everyone.


You don't need to kill everyone to be the last empire standing, just not to die.

Which is effectively impossible against non-AI opponents. They know exactly where you are and even a tiny fleet can wipe you out.

And with double production against AI, 50 years should more MORE than long enough to win the game.

It's a semi-interesting gimmick but not actually useful for winning games.

[boomwolf]

I'm guessing you can take it as a challange of sorts to try to win that way?

Naturally the "intention" is to win within the 50 years (should be easy to win with 50 years of cheat mode), but just imagine managing to pull it off otherwise?

You just need to make sure you surrender the war to someone who will vassal you rather than claim to planet :P

[Silverraptor]

Got the Payback Achievement where as Humanoids I infiltrated a Reptilian pre-FTL species. Took a couple tries, as I misread it and the first reptilian species I invaded instead. No achievement that way, woops.

[Olinser]

Got the Payback Achievement where as Humanoids I infiltrated a Reptilian pre-FTL species. Took a couple tries, as I misread it and the first reptilian species I invaded instead. No achievement that way, woops.

Yeah the 3 pre-FTL achievements are super RNG.

The one where you have to find one in specific age of development (I think its Bronze Age) and take them to space travel I still don't have because they're quite rare and the few I've found have been deep in AI territory and by the time I get there they've advanced past the age or been integrated.

The Earth one is ULTRA RNG because you're not even guaranteed to have Sol spawn in a game and then you have to find it in a specific age of development.

[boomwolf]

Well, you can grantee having a sol system by making the galaxy freaking huge, and making sure you got enough "must have" races around that the earth empires cant spawn-but good luck finding it in time and in the right age.

[GloatingSwine]

I've never seen Sol not spawn.

Having it spawn pre-FTL and inhabited by humans not roaches and in the right era and spawn the WW2 event, however. That's something different.

[Narkis]

New patch notes are out: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...notes.1043979/

Some of my highlights:

Removed the restrictions on interfering with sector planet buildings and pops, can be re-enabled via a define
Removed the influence cost for revoking systems from sectors and deleting sectors

Oh god, yes. Sectors are finally fixed!

The Devouring Swarm and Fanatical Purifier civics can no longer be added or removed after game start

Damnit, I loved starting as a generic xenophobe, laying low until midgame and then switching civics and purifying the galaxy.

Tropical, Contingental and Ocean worlds are now more likely to have food, society and mixed deposits
Arid, Savannah and Desert worlds are now more likely to have energy and physics deposits
Arctic, Alpine and Tundra worlds are now more likely to have mineral and engineering deposits

I really dislike this change. Cold homeworlds are strictly better than the rest.

Materialist Fallen Empires are no longer opposed to robots, but rather have a singular focus on hoarding technology

Cool. It was odd that both spiritualist and materialist FEs hated robots.

Liberated empires will now refuse all offers to become subjects for 20 years after gaining independence
Liberated empires now have a stronger governing ethics attraction modifier for their first 20 years after gaining independence

Well, no more indirect expansion if you're a pacifist. Your new friends will be better though.

Synthetic Leaders can now malfunction and break down

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Only components that can be reverse-engineered and are not currently researched will now show up in debris, if there are no valid components to reverse-engineer, debris won't spawn at all

Yay! No more having to scroll through dozens of useless debri to find anything useful on the situation log!

Major work done to AI empires' ability to cooperate and defend against endgame crises
Major work done to the AI to make it better at expanding in the early game
Major work done to AI to make it build up its planets and have a stronger late-game economy
General work done to war AI to make it better at prosecuting and winning wars
Some AI personalities, such as fanatic purifiers, will now go after neutral targets like Enclaves and uncontacted empires
The AI is now more reliable when it comes to cooperating with and following their overlord and allies

Hopefuly the AI is finally competent. Wouldn't hold my breath though.

Looks pretty good, all in all. Can't wait to play it.

[Silverraptor]

Well, you can grantee having a sol system by making the galaxy freaking huge, and making sure you got enough "must have" races around that the earth empires cant spawn-but good luck finding it in time and in the right age.

I've never seen Sol not spawn.

Having it spawn pre-FTL and inhabited by humans not roaches and in the right era and spawn the WW2 event, however. That's something different.

I happened to have Sol in WW2 during my last Slaving Elves Gameplay.

Damnit, I loved starting as a generic xenophobe, laying low until midgame and then switching civics and purifying the galaxy.

I wanted to try doing this. Why would they do this.

[Olinser]

New patch notes are out: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...notes.1043979/

Some of my highlights:

Oh god, yes. Sectors are finally fixed!


Damnit, I loved starting as a generic xenophobe, laying low until midgame and then switching civics and purifying the galaxy.


I really dislike this change. Cold homeworlds are strictly better than the rest.


Cool. It was odd that both spiritualist and materialist FEs hated robots.


Well, no more indirect expansion if you're a pacifist. Your new friends will be better though.


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!


Yay! No more having to scroll through dozens of useless debri to find anything useful on the situation log!


Hopefuly the AI is finally competent. Wouldn't hold my breath though.

Looks pretty good, all in all. Can't wait to play it.

'Fixed' may be a strong word. If I read this correctly you still have to use your OWN minerals to build sector buildings, which still defeats the purpose of having a sector in the first place.

And yeah, Cold is straight up better start than other worlds. RIP balance.

There's some great war in changes in there though. Now non-aggressive fleets don't wipe out mining/research stations!!! Saves hundreds of minerals when conquering an enemy because you don't have to rebuild the stations.

They failed to provide final numbers on the rebalanced weapons so guess we'll have to see if the naked corvette is actually dead now.

[Eldan]

I haven't actually used sectors since my very first game. I can't stand the idea of not controlling my own planets, so I either just settle as many systems as I can keep inside core or just suck up the penalties.