Dev Diary Asimov Part 2 Interesting built-in non-mod combat computer and engagement range changes, Map Modes, Nomads, Slave Factions, Wargoals and Diplomatic Incidents.
Update: Patch Notes for the Asimov Beta Haven't read through it all yet, but some interesting things in the first section alone, with my favorite being: "Happiness is now a linear modifier, with levels above 50% giving bonuses and levels below 50% giving penalties."
Read through the majority. They revamped a bunch of stuff: things I especially like include excess power slightly increasing stats, rebalanced the gov'ts/ethics, fanatics give 3x the ethics now, happiness from spiritualist is ded, and as above, happiness is linear scale. Looks like a pretty huge and nice update. We'll see how it goes. If anyone wants a game, by the way, hit me up; we can try to collect a group or pubstomp.
Happiness is definitely a lot more difficult to get decent values of, and picking Fanatic Pacifist for the +15% has it's own massive play-style drawbacks that one has to deal with in exchange. ---------- Post automerged at 11:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 PM ---------- Well, I'll be checking in around the usual time...
And Asimov's dropped. What's the verdict? So far I'm a bit iffy on it, but I think that's mostly just needing to get used to a lot of new/changed mechanics.
As far as Asimov goes you quickly learn to only send out a single corvette to scout, since they raised the weapons range of everything, they also upped the Aggro ranged for the wild enemies. Out of curiosity what does the DPL feel is an appropriate rate of expansion/colonization. Ive kind of settling on at least one every ten years for the first 50 to 80 years in game and then stepping up once your first colonies are producing the minerals necessary. And you get the habitability and gene modding techs. However Colonization does cost influence now, so in theory you shouldn't run into those situations were your patting yourself on the back because you now have 8 colonies but then you make contact with an AI that has colonized 14 worlds.
I get a second colony up as soon as possible, then wait until my home world is fully populated to get the third one. Use free migration and the immigration edict to get some pops over to the new world, then onces it's half full, start off a fourth colony. Rinse and repeat until you run out of space. This isn't a strategy for those use who frontier outposts a lot, due to the influence cost.
Collectivist/Fanatic Spiritualist seems even stronger now. Looking at Edicts, Traits, Ethos and Agendas, it's possible to get -70% Growth Time at Turn 1. It also comes with a boat load of ethics divergence, so slaves shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Honestly, after several games with Asimov, I haven't felt the need to diminish my scouting habits noticeably. In fact, I've only lost a single corvette due to needing to retreat, but needing to wait longer to do so, so far. Also, being a primarily wormhole player, it's pretty time-inefficient to split your fleet, but that's less important. In regards to expansion, like Aekiel, I tend to get my first colony ASAP. I don't utilize migration like he does, though. Just usually get more ships to valued relatively nearby, but preferably outside of my existing zone of control, planets. Of course, now that it's Core Systems, there is extra incentive to colonize multi-planet systems fully, tech requirements considered. Picked up a four planet 80/80/60/60 habitability system in my last game as part of my first expansion, which was quite nice.
I feel as if we should try to establish a non-saturday game for people who have spare time, in smaller bursts perhaps with a smaller base. For the last few weeks we haven't been getting many for the saturday games, so this might help for the more regular players. I am kinda itching for more Stellaris.
Today I learned that you can just land troops on a planet with Primitives on it. Sure your neighbors might judge but i dont rightly care as I now own the Sanctuary system, plus all that science from the defense stations
I live in montreal. So if memory serves it's GMT +5? Or is it GMT -5? In any case it's the same timezone as New York.
I've been trying to play, but the game is just so buggy and unsatisfying right now. last game I played (this weekend) had some of the following happen: 1) Random guys attempting to war me, but for some reason putting up a vote option, and for some reason I have say in that I can vote for them to not war me? It's really fucked up. 2) Achieving victory takes forever. Like, you need to control 40% of habitable planets, or conquer everyone. Okay, fine. But it takes literal forever. I'm playing a 400 planet system or w/e, so there's 10 or 12 civs. Midgame, some of those civs have like 50 planets, and you can only get 4 or 5 planets per war due to warscore, and the option to vassalize the whole civ takes more warscore than you can get, so it's not an option. I might just be dumb, but having to dominate 100 consecutive wars is not my idea of fun. 3) random bullshit bugs like this: . This happened every time I went to war. I don't even have a vassal, but it's the remnants of a conquered civ within my empire, and it would pop up (Blahblah) has entered the war, but it was randomly generating a name for them each time, so it would be like Confederacy of Blahblah, Blahblah galactice empire, United Blahblah planets, and it would generate 50+ messages. And that's just one amongt many annoying bugs that keeps happening to me.