Review: Stellaris: Utopia

[admin]

Gargantuan grand strategy games like Stellaris have an expansion problem. Long term players want new levers to pull, but it's also a chance to tempt fresh meat into the fold.

http://www.strategygamer.com/reviews/re ... is-utopia/

[Private Prinny]

I have a massive problem with my backlog with tons of games. So I should have steared clear of Stellaris as I remember perfectly well how many hours I have put into Europa Universalis 2 and Hearts of Iron 1 10 years ago. But seeing I haven't played a Paradox Game in earnest in years (despite owning a sizeable chunk of EU 3 and EU4 inc. DLCs) and seing how Civ 6 is a bit underwhelming for me in comparison what i felt to civ 5...I have a bit PC time to spare...and Stellaris gobbles it up.

I like this game very much....and the Soundtrack is one of the best of its kind in my book. Went home early yesterday to plunge myself into Utopia and i lik the new tradition system (think Policies in Civ 5).

However I am still a bit miffed about the placement options of Empires.....why is there not a truly "even" distribution...option, at least for multiplayer.
We started a MP game last night. I had 6 (2 advanced) Neighbours, my opponent had 1 normal and one fallen Empire and tons of free space to develop.....In Civilization there are ways to even out the starting odss...but this is simply stupid....

The game may be balanced around it in in SP but in MP? But nonetheless...this game and Master of Orion will keep me occupied for years...
I hope the next DLC will be more substantial as well.....but as we know Paradox likes to throw dozens of DLCs our way....each relevant but each a bit on the overprized side for whats in it....

[Commander Cello]

I recently started playing Stellaris myself, and while awesome, it does have some pretty glaring flaws. Things like the ridiculously shallow combat system, limited race creation, and slightly unclear options put a serious dent on my overall enjoyment.

I also discovered that there is no proper ping function implemented on multiplayer, and the one there is constantly bugs out and keep the ping eternal throughout the whole dozens-of-hours campaign. Such basic features being bad or missing reflects quite poorly on the overall game.

[Private Prinny]

I recently started playing Stellaris myself, and while awesome, it does have some pretty glaring flaws. Things like the ridiculously shallow combat system, limited race creation, and slightly unclear options put a serious dent on my overall enjoyment.

I also discovered that there is no proper ping function implemented on multiplayer, and the one there is constantly bugs out and keep the ping eternal throughout the whole dozens-of-hours campaign. Such basic features being bad or missing reflects quite poorly on the overall game.

Hm, I had no such problems in MP....Compared to what I experiecned in Civ 5 and Civ 6 Stellaris may run flawless (technically speaking for MP issues only)

And to your point of limited race creation...how do you think it is limited? The options regarding goverment, traits, ethics, civics etc are staggering.......so what part do you have a problem with, just curious....

[EICJoe]

Paradox have always traditionally struggled with their MP back-end, especially with large groups of players. Believe or not Stellaris (from my experience) seems to be the best version so far though, and the one less prone to drop-outs.

Even when people do drop-out, hot joining actually *works* which is more than what can be said about EUIV.

[Commander Cello]

And to your point of limited race creation...how do you think it is limited? The options regarding goverment, traits, ethics, civics etc are staggering.......so what part do you have a problem with, just curious....

Sorry for the delay answering this.

I felt that while you do have a plethora of options do choose, you are severely limited as to their permutations. Racial traits cost way too much, and you way get way too few points, in order to make anything interesting. As a result, most races are either simplistic one trait species, or heavily flawed yet super advanced in something else, which is a pathetic and restrictive way to approach the diversity of the universe. I feel they could allow you to mix and match a bit more and not restrict your options so severely -- maybe by giving you different game modes with more or less points to spend.

The aesthetic creation is also awfully simplistic -- I hate how you get to choose between lists of names, but you can't choose a list for each category; it wouldn't be hard to allow a separate list for ship names, planet names, and individuals, instead of lazily clumping them all together onto one choice. Same thing with the lack of variations in species ship designs, and the simplistic flag creator that don't even allow you to mix and match symbols to create something more unique. Customisation wise, Stellaris has a long way to go.