4X-RTS:
Paradox Development Studies, the
developing arm of publisher Paradox Interactive is, at least in my
mind, best known for its grand historical strategy series, such as
Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, and
Victoria. In 2016, they eschewed this theme for a space
4X-RTS, which focused more on the 4X genre than Star Ruler 2 or
Sins of a Solar Empire. Yet, while they altered the superficial
aspect of the genre, a regular Paradox player would recognize
Stellaris immediately as something they've experienced before.
There are so many similarities between
Stellaris and Paradox favorites like Crusader Kings 2
or Europa Universalis 3, it seems almost tiresome to name
them. At its most basic, Stellaris uses similar controls,
like allowing the player to alter the game speed, or use the many
overlays for easier diplomatic communication. Like the armies of
Europe, fleets are created ship by ship, combined, travel together,
and battle as a unit. Once entered, combat is beyond the player's
control, and a battle must consume a minimum amount of time before
either fleet can retreat. And the whole game is built around reading
various screen, implementing policies, and leveraging a nation's
strengths for victory.
Stellaris, like Star Ruler 2
and Sins of a Solar Empire, includes resources, diplomacy,
combat, research, but its greatest strength is colonization and the
political systems of the empire the player controls. In my longest
game, I managed a Moral Democracy containing eighty-four inhabited
planets, one thousand, three hundred, and seventeen (billion?)
citizens, composed of thirteen different species, each with their own
unique traits (and astonishing visual depictions).
An empire in Stellaris consists
of two core resources: minerals and energy, but also produces unity,
influence, and three different types of research: physics, society,
and engineering. Most resources are produced directly on a planet.
Planets are divided into tiles (like a grid), include between eight
and twenty-five spaces. The population of a planet is equal to how
many titles are populated, with one population allowed per tile.
Tiles, while often contain a naturally produced resource, can be
improved with buildings which increase production.
Planets can be one of eleven different
biomes, and each species, of which there were forty-two unique
variations in my game, prefers one of the nine common biomes,
tolerates two, and dislikes the other six (everyone loves the unique
Gaia biome and dislikes Tomb worlds).
Stellaris incorporates mechanics
from other popular games, such as Civilization V's
tradition system, employing its own unity resource, which allows
empires the option for further differentiation into expansion,
domination, and harmony. But like many aspects of Stellaris,
the effects of acquiring a new tradition doesn't have the same impact
as Civilization's social policies. Stellaris includes Ethics,
Civics, Authority, Ruler Traits, Species Traits, Factions, Policies,
Edicts, Strategic resources, and more aspects, most of which feel
inconsequential, like altering the chance of rolling perfect on a d20
by less than a tenth of a percent. Some of these traits are more
significant, more on that later, and each adds a level of depth to
the game, but most felt as significant as single star in the endless
space of the Universe. Having played over six hundred hours of
Europa Universalis Rome, 3, 4, and Crusader Kings 2
combined, complexity, depth, or small details, isn't an issue for me,
and something about the way Stellaris used its features felt
off.
Ships in Stellaris are different
than either Star Ruler's lego like constructions, or Sins
prefab cruisers. The player unlocks hull types, weapons, engines,
armor, shields, and reactors. Hulls have predetermined slots for
each component, and the player can insert their unlocked weapons,
armor, etc, into these slots, replacing inferior varieties with
improved upgrades as they are unlocked.
Upgrades are acquired through
technological advancement. Science is broken into three varieties,
which I assumed were physics, biology, and engineering. At any time,
the player is researching one technology for each category, though
the speed of progression depends on the buildings built on in the
empire, and the scientists assigned. Unlike the other two 4X games,
the tech tree in Stellaris is obscured, preventing the player
from picking a path. Instead, upon completing a research project,
Stellaris offers three options from the appropriate tech tree.
This supposedly prevents precise planning, and offers replayabilty,
but a few short and incomplete games will demonstrate that there is
little variety in the beginning between games of the technological
advancements offered to the player. It's odd that Paradox choose to
hide its tech tree, as someone was bound to compile the tech tree
after some research.
Stellaris employs a diplomacy
system much like Europa Universalis 3 and 4, including
casus
belli as a necessity for war, and a numerical value defining
every interaction in a relationship. But unlike the EU
series, the opinions of other Empires towards my own seemed too
rigid, inflexible, and impossible to alter. If some nation hated my
guts, there seemed no method to alter their opinion, except to
radically reshape my society to match theirs. Even empires which
seemed neutral couldn't be persuaded to make small diplomatic steps,
which meant, I couldn't improve minor relations (like trade treaties)
into serious commitments (alliances).
To return to the campaign with which I
concluded my Stellaris experience: there was a minor issue.
Alone I controlled nearly a third of the galaxy, and with my
Federation ally, the United Nations of Earth, our Federation
controlled at least half, maybe two thirds, of all planets. But, the
rest of the galaxy seemed unamendable to joining our Federation,
without facing the end of a laser pistol. Except, I couldn't do
that. As my three governing ethics I'd chosen; Egalitarian,
Xenophile, and Pacifist! Pacifist empires can't take
territory after a victorious campaign, but only force the losing
empire to shed planets politically, birthing new nations through the
blood of war. Even with my 150k strength fleet, which dwarfed any
foe, I couldn't advance to Stellaris' conclusion. For you
see, Stellaris (currently) has only two possible means to
victory. The player must eliminate (or subjugate) all other powers,
or own 40% of all the habitable planets (this 40% does not include
allies or Federations, but does count vassal empires). With each
planet securely under the control of somebody, and unable to conquer
them, I couldn't advance to the final achievement. An observer might
say, I should have altered my Ethics, and transformed my peaceful
people into militant murderers, but that misses two points. The
first is, a player should be able to win with each and every Ethic,
while the second issue is the difficulty of altering the core
principals of one and a half trillion sentients. And even if I had
tried to claim the galaxy from myself, winning might have meant war
with my Federation partner, who would have opposed my transformation
for a benevolent nation into a bloodthirsty one. Rock,
Paper, Shotgun has a detailed article criticizing Stellaris'
victory conditions, while Paradox
appears to have recognized its mistake, and is releasing an
update which supposedly revises the win conditions.
In conclusion, Stellaris
exhibits the grand style of classic Paradox games, but without its
historical aspect to anchor it, with many aspects altering outcomes by minuscule amounts, and with an end game
which is time consuming (and nearly impossible for some types of
Empires), it's hard to love it. Yes, it's a special game, allowing players to construct a unique, personal empire fit for their playstyle, and including a species generator capable of producing species both beautiful and varied. Instead of being built
around combat like Star Ruler 2 or Sins of A Solar Empire,
Stellaris is a classic Paradox game: internal policies and
external diplomacy are the key features, infused with the wonder of space. And because of this I should (and wish I could) love it, but the best I can offer is
lukewarm approval.
Next week, a final conclusion to the
4X-RTS space genre, and then onto the games I've been playing in 2018.
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