I have been following the development of AotSS for a very long time… I look forward to further updates, but I understand that TexasHawk76 has a day job and a real life to manage. I thought the project was done for good when one of his collaborators departed, but to my surprise, the whole thing got rebooted.
I root for him, but still the “game that plays itself” syndrome is something to watch out for.
These two bits are indeed something I wish PDX took inspiration of. Associating module and tech research to the “traits” system is a missed opportunity at integrating the game systems and make the game feel tighter and more cohesive. Even if that could cause some high pitched whingeing about “content gating” and “I can’t get to see everything on one single playthrough”.
Let’s recall too that PDX was SOTS only publisher in Europe for a very long time (through GamersGate, the online game store, if anybody remembers that), and they published directly SOTS2. I’d have find surprising that PDX didn’t appreciate SOTS too.
Also, there’s now a Canadian working on Stellaris development… that must be a sign <G>
I posted this in this very thread almost 2 years ago. It feels appropriate to bring it back now, since the feeling I got is that Paradox saw Stellaris as a “Sword of the Stars 3 on overdrive” of sorts. Back then, I really hoped it would be that. But then it wasn’t.
I wonder if they genuinely felt like the game they were developing was a successor to SotS in terms of philosophy and design?
I would argue that it isn’t and that their implementation of the systems inspired by SotS suggests they didn’t really understand the subtlety and nuance of said systems!
I think they were trying something new (for them) and took a whole lot of inspiration from SOTS, which was clearly a game they appreciated. And then they whiffed on the execution and couldn’t figure out how to integrate certain features (notably FTL) into a Paradox grand strategy game.
@kedaha and @kevinc : yes, I think they thought of Stellaris as both an evolution of Sword of the Stars and a new step in the evolution of the classic PDS gameloop.
And like you both, I feel that Stellaris absolutely fails as a Sword of the Stars 3, because it doesn’t really understand what made Sword of the Stars good (or how to make it work in the PDS structure). Which is mainly my big problem with Stellaris.
Now, it seems Paradox is moving Stellaris away from the “SotS evolved” view into its own thing (and if Stellaris is going to be a new classic someday, that’s the only way they can go). Maybe they’ll get it right, but that means I still want a Sword of the Stars 3. ;)
Time to get some tweets flying perhaps? :)
I’m waiting for 2.0 just in case. And maybe for March to roll over so there’s 2 full years since the original answer. ;)
What made SOTS really good… now that’s a very good question @rhamorim My opinion is that it wasn’t so much as to what specific mechanics amounted, like having several different FTL methods, but rather the effect those had in how you approached the game and how well it was all clicking together. You could totally have one single FTL method and still introduce assymetry linked to “species” and “civic” traits. For instance, having humans a weird lethargy as they “jump”, following the lead of C. J. Cherryh’s books on the “Pact” universe.
Still, the main issue with Stellaris is also its major strength: its eclecticism when it comes to incorporate gameplay components. Eclecticism, in my opinion, is the pathway to true innovation. Eventually, given enough perseverance, it all clicks together and what used to be perceived as a pastiche, becomes a new style. In the meantime, you get weird concoctions which are unsatisfying to various degrees.
The new thing is that this process of iteration over designs, which used to take place behind closed doors, now it is happening in the open, funded by interested parties. PDX (or PDS) doesn’t make games in the traditional way… they’re taking us along for the ride (for a fee, of course!).
EDIT: Actually, Kerberos pioneered this iterative approach to design, with the first SOTS, as other have rightly pointed out already.
It’s going to be hard being stuck in the office all day tomorrow while other people are posting impressions in this thread. However, I’ll comfort myself knowing you’ll all be beta testing the inevitable hotfix for me!
I’m in the same boat, but on holiday from tomorrow for 2 weeks. Going to skip a hour or two of possible play time tonight and sit on it until I’m back - I figure it’s a good chance to start after the 1-2 hot fixes!
It will. For my own games I recreated all the species from Ascendancy, which turn out to cover all the ethic bases just fine.
Players in Europe waiting for U.S. patch release times…
I got my pre-order code from the Paradox store a few hours ago! It isn’t available yet of course, but it’s cool to see it “in library” all the same.
Doesn’t it unlock at the same time for everyone globally, at 3pm CET?
Think so, if that’s 1 hour from now. Because that’s how long we have to go here!
Just got a 387Mb update, so giving it a try.
It’s out on Steam now. I loaded it and it says Cherryh 2.0 on the start menu.
I got to work at 5:30 AM. Gonna be a loooooooong day. :(
I hear you.
