I still get messages when any construction queue is completed (a vocal message and an item popping up at the top). Maybe you turned it off in settings?
It’s possible that I turned a setting off, however I can’t find any setting that will let me turn it back on.
Basically you get some fun exploration for a while, then nothing happens until maybe there’s an end game event that is a bit of a mess, and sometimes doesn’t happen at all.
That’s my experience. In the midgame just… Nothing happens.
A lot of the midgame problem, especially at this point, is self-inflicted. Players leave the AI aggression low, don’t start any wars themselves, then complain that nothing’s happening. Even then, these days there are some mid-game events that can spice things up considerably.
Also, it’s a Paradox game. You can always turn up the game speed.
The problem Stellaris has at this point is a legacy of being a totally different game. People have ingrained opinions about it that may no longer be true, because it’s no longer the same game it was when those opinions were formed. We’re on Stellaris 2 and a half at this point, at least, in terms of the design. As @KevinC says, it’s probably in Paradox’s best interest to just make a new game at this point, this one’s baggage has just gotten too heavy.
Yeah, I like the Paradox develop model. EU4 started out great for me and became my favorite strategy game of all time. I wish Firaxis had continued working on Civ4 for longer than they had. I like continued work and development on a title.
However, EU4 was the fourth iteration of the series, they had 13 years of prior experience to build off when they released 1.0. Stellaris was their first attempt at not only a non-historical game but a GSG/4X hybrid at that. It’s not really a surprise they had to learn more lessons along the way and that various design decisions in 1.0 didn’t pan out.
So on one hand I always applaud developers who continue to work on their projects but Stellaris hasn’t been so much refinement as having whole pillars demolished, rebuilt, and retooled. I think it’s in a decent spot now, better than it has ever been, but you can see the torturous process it took to get here. That’s why I think starting with a blank slate on Stellaris 2 is the right approach, then they iterate off of a much better base.
Of course, that’s my POV as a player. When Stellaris moves very good numbers with each release it’s probably a pretty difficult sell on the business side to stop working on it and start up a new project. Still, CK2 has now been retired and it looking like EU4 is following suit with the (I believe) final expansion coming out shortly, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Stellaris is next up on the docket. That’s my hope, anyway, even if I do enjoy the game as-is.
To be fair, Kevin did mention that it’s partially EU4 in space so it’s a bit of an odd thing to burn someone else about.
I agree all around. I expect they’ll probably aim to squeeze another 2 or more years out of Stellaris 1 before moving on. As CK3 and eventually EU5 make Stellaris 1 look lacking due to technical reasons, then you’ll get Stellaris 2.
Thanks for the info. Can some of that midgame lull be reduced by changing the late-game starting year in the settings?
I think I’ll stick with Stellaris for a little while longer. I like what I’ve seen of the economy, pops, and political factions so far. A Star Trek themed faction seems like fun. Following what @vinraith said, I’m going to bump up AI aggression, and create a small, crowded universe. Hopefully that’ll make things eventful.
I think so, yes. The mid game lull is partly due to the fact that the default settings are pretty easy which means the end game crisis often doesn’t happen for a long time. Moving up the crisis date adds a little more sense of urgency to the midgame, where you’re trying to build up and prepare for the crisis to hit.
It can also really vary depending on what RNG gives you for random opponents, if you don’t bother setting up particular races. A game with a bunch of xenophile space hippies is going to be way more calm than when your neighbors are Devouring Swarms, Determined Exterminators, and Fanatic Purifiers.
It would be nice if they let game setup determine the share of those AI personalities overall or per cluster.
Yeah, that would be really nice to have.
You can sort of approximate it by designing a bunch of races to your liking and forcing them to spawn. It’s a sort of labor-intensive approach, but designing a dozen races doesn’t take long compared to playing a game.
This part wasn’t really true until recently. At least on my computer.
Hah, true.
No arguing with that!
To me the pacing is a little off. In my game I’ve got 5 planets settled and a 6th on the way (seems like there are a lot less planets). I am over my fleet score by a good margin, but still don’t feel like I can attempt to take on my neighbors. I’m 60 years in. To be fair, I have not played too much after 2.0, 1600 hours total, so not a noob.
In contrast, in Eu4, I am usually at war in a year or less.
EU4 starts “in media res” while Stellaris has a typical space 4x start and is meant to transition to an EU4 state once things start to get filled in. To me at least, the process of exploration and initial colonization is interesting enough, especially with the archaeology, expanded events and new origins.
Generally I find it’s once the EU4 part starts that I start to lose interest. I have to admit though that my current game is pretty engaging so far. I think the changes have had a fairly positive reception on the Paradox forums as well.
Playing a bit more, I agree the penalty is real, but I don’t think it works for research. You can neutralise your research penalty and finish up the tech tree way, way too quickly.
I think I would reformulate sprawl to be something like excess sprawl (so base admin and straight admin bonuses would instead subtract from sprawl). Then I would make research (and possibly others) be scaled by the sprawl, without being able to counter it with bureaucrats. Instead, sprawl that ISN’T countered by bureacrats would do things like reduce stability, increase risk of rebellions, that sort of fun stuff.
I made a game where tech costs 4x as much, makes you think twice about where to go.