In their GDC presentation for this year, Paradox Development Studios has set a release date for their non-historical game. Those who dream of expanding their civilization among the stars can expect the game to be available May 9th.
Stellaris is a departure from Paradox’s historical sandboxes and promises to mix traditional 4X gameplay with a touch of the grand strategy that the studio is famous for. Since its announcement at Gamescom last year I’ve been looking forward to seeing how the game would evolve. The various dev diaries since have given me many reasons to be excited for the final product. The twists given on diplomacy and the how the game plays out as one progresses might breathe some new life into the otherwise standard 4X formula.
Paradox is set to show live gameplay for the first time this Thursday 17th at 20:00 CET on their twitch channel.
Between this and the Master of Orion reboot, 2016 is shaping up to be a good year for fans of galactic conquest.
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Stellaris is a departure from Paradox’s historical sandboxes and promises to mix traditional 4X gameplay with a touch of the grand strategy that the studio is famous for. Since its announcement at Gamescom last year I’ve been looking forward to seeing how the game would evolve. The various dev diaries since have given me many reasons to be excited for the final product. The twists given on diplomacy and the how the game plays out as one progresses might breathe some new life into the otherwise standard 4X formula.
Paradox is set to show live gameplay for the first time this Thursday 17th at 20:00 CET on their twitch channel.
Between this and the Master of Orion reboot, 2016 is shaping up to be a good year for fans of galactic conquest.
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Now that is a game I am really looking forward! :)
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That's great! Originally, Master of Orion was the game I had my eyes on, while Stellaris was more of a "dark horse", but since the early access build of MoO has gotten some pretty mixed reactions, Stellaris is now the title I have the highest hopes for.
It's good that it's released with some space to the sweltering summer warmth. ;-)
It's good that it's released with some space to the sweltering summer warmth. ;-)
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Psyched
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This is my current #1 want; cant wait for it to be released.
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Announcer sounds too serious, instant turn off. Interested nonetheless looks like the story may be good?
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While it may be a good game, I'm afraid I won't buy it. Experience has taught me that Paradox games are too expensive due to the expensive a frequent DLCs, and I don't expect Stellaris will be any different.
I own both CKII and EU4 but have stopped buying DLC for them, unfortunately the free patches often makes that difficult (Common Sense in EU4 I had to buy due to development introduced in the patch).
I don't feel the same way about games released but not developed by Paradox, I have Pillars of Eternity and all DLCs because they are sensible and reasonably priced. It has 2 DLCs, or rather expansions, which are completely optional.
I own both CKII and EU4 but have stopped buying DLC for them, unfortunately the free patches often makes that difficult (Common Sense in EU4 I had to buy due to development introduced in the patch).
I don't feel the same way about games released but not developed by Paradox, I have Pillars of Eternity and all DLCs because they are sensible and reasonably priced. It has 2 DLCs, or rather expansions, which are completely optional.
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So excited, exactly the type of game I will be able to sink many hours into.
I look forward to ruling the galaxy.
Thought the speaker matched the tone of the video perfectly :)
I look forward to ruling the galaxy.
Quoting: ElectricPrismAnnouncer sounds too serious, instant turn off. Interested nonetheless looks like the story may be good?
Thought the speaker matched the tone of the video perfectly :)
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@Stupendous Man
It's fair enough not to buy stuff you don't want nor need but you have to realize that games cost money to develop. The upside of the current Paradox Development Studios (not to be confused with Paradox Interactive, the publisher) strategy is that they have been supporting their titles for years because of the DLC. It's been 4 years since CK2 launched and nearly 3 since EU4. They can keep fixing bugs, adding new features and the like because it's commercially feasible to do so.
The DLC model itself is also better than the old system of expansions where you needed to have all the preceding expansions whenever they released new content. You get to pick and choose what you care about now and I think that's a positive thing. Don't care about the Steppes in CK2? You can skip that expansion and instead get the one making republics playable or whatever. Stuff like EU3/HoI2 was a nightmare to deal with because you had to buy everything before it to have the latest patches/MP functionality. With the current system DLC is active for everyone in a multiplayer game so long as just the host has it turned on.
The fact that they regularly have 75% off sales for their games is also nice, which means that I give the small cosmetic DLC that I didn't really care about a second look and sometimes pick it up. So yeah, ultimately it's your money and you get to vote with your wallet but given that their sales seem to be getting better with time, most people feel like I do. I'll probably be picking this up on launch and, if it means many hundreds of hours of gaming like with their other titles (I have 500+ on both CK2 and EU4) and years of support and free content, I'm all for a new expansion every 6-12 months.
It's fair enough not to buy stuff you don't want nor need but you have to realize that games cost money to develop. The upside of the current Paradox Development Studios (not to be confused with Paradox Interactive, the publisher) strategy is that they have been supporting their titles for years because of the DLC. It's been 4 years since CK2 launched and nearly 3 since EU4. They can keep fixing bugs, adding new features and the like because it's commercially feasible to do so.
The DLC model itself is also better than the old system of expansions where you needed to have all the preceding expansions whenever they released new content. You get to pick and choose what you care about now and I think that's a positive thing. Don't care about the Steppes in CK2? You can skip that expansion and instead get the one making republics playable or whatever. Stuff like EU3/HoI2 was a nightmare to deal with because you had to buy everything before it to have the latest patches/MP functionality. With the current system DLC is active for everyone in a multiplayer game so long as just the host has it turned on.
The fact that they regularly have 75% off sales for their games is also nice, which means that I give the small cosmetic DLC that I didn't really care about a second look and sometimes pick it up. So yeah, ultimately it's your money and you get to vote with your wallet but given that their sales seem to be getting better with time, most people feel like I do. I'll probably be picking this up on launch and, if it means many hundreds of hours of gaming like with their other titles (I have 500+ on both CK2 and EU4) and years of support and free content, I'm all for a new expansion every 6-12 months.
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@BTRE,
I see what you mean, and once I thought the same way as you. Unfortunately I've had too many bad experiences with CK2 and EU4 lately due to the new patches and DLCs.
1 - The DLCs are released unfinished. Back when Rajas of India was released I bought it on day 1. However, it was so full of bugs that I could hardly play it.
2 - Yes, we have the option to roll back to an earlier version, unfortunately that creates 2 problems: you won't get any further bug fixes (map shadows on Linux weren't fixed until about a year after they started to be bugged); mods only work with the latest version, so say farewell to them.
3 - I don't agree that deep sales come that often, you can often go up to a year for a 75% off sale on DLCs. Maybe I'm just cheap, but I live in a country with relatively low wages compared to the rest of Europe, and I often have to think hard on buying a game or DLC for 15-20€. Yes, I can certainly afford it, but it's money that could reach long on other luxuries.
I understand that development takes money, but sometimes you have to include less new features that often are not even asked for (infamy in CKII), and focus more on squashing bugs. Then when your product is relatively bug free, release a DLC with new content but make it completely optional; don't release a patch that changes the game if you don't want it, forcing you to buy the DLC.
In the end, to each their own, I fully respect and somehow agree with your view point, but since I've found other games that are cheaper in the long run, those are the ones I tend to buy instead. I was once a big Paradox fan, today not so much, solely due to my personal bad experience with their products.
Who knows, maybe I'll pick up Stellaris in 3 years when they release the definitive bundle with all DLCs included.
I see what you mean, and once I thought the same way as you. Unfortunately I've had too many bad experiences with CK2 and EU4 lately due to the new patches and DLCs.
1 - The DLCs are released unfinished. Back when Rajas of India was released I bought it on day 1. However, it was so full of bugs that I could hardly play it.
2 - Yes, we have the option to roll back to an earlier version, unfortunately that creates 2 problems: you won't get any further bug fixes (map shadows on Linux weren't fixed until about a year after they started to be bugged); mods only work with the latest version, so say farewell to them.
3 - I don't agree that deep sales come that often, you can often go up to a year for a 75% off sale on DLCs. Maybe I'm just cheap, but I live in a country with relatively low wages compared to the rest of Europe, and I often have to think hard on buying a game or DLC for 15-20€. Yes, I can certainly afford it, but it's money that could reach long on other luxuries.
I understand that development takes money, but sometimes you have to include less new features that often are not even asked for (infamy in CKII), and focus more on squashing bugs. Then when your product is relatively bug free, release a DLC with new content but make it completely optional; don't release a patch that changes the game if you don't want it, forcing you to buy the DLC.
In the end, to each their own, I fully respect and somehow agree with your view point, but since I've found other games that are cheaper in the long run, those are the ones I tend to buy instead. I was once a big Paradox fan, today not so much, solely due to my personal bad experience with their products.
Who knows, maybe I'll pick up Stellaris in 3 years when they release the definitive bundle with all DLCs included.
0 Likes
@Stupdendous Man
Yeah, I definitely agree about the bugs. It's unacceptable! I was also there when RoI came along. I also complained. But, to be fair, since then they've taken on more QAs and their releases have been more polished. I've been a fan long enough to remember stuff like the disastrous HoI3 launch and, trust me, they are definitely getting better. They still need to do better but with the last expansion/patch in EU4 I played at launch with no issues that I could think of. The last CK2 patch had a few things they fixed in an open beta patch almost immediately.
And, yeah, sales do happen really regularly. Steam has 5 sales since October, not to mention on their official webshop and other sites like gamesrepublic.
I disagree that the patches force you to buy the DLC as most mechanics aren't necessarily a game changer. The only exception I can think of being vital was retinues in CK2 but since launch they made levies more relevant, auto reinforce etc which makes that argument sort of moot. Stuff like development in EU4 was also mathematically proven in the forums to be less cost effective than outright conquest, so it's there for roleplaying and giving players other strategies. I know someone who has been playing EU4 with no expansions for the last year with no complaints. But yeah, I think we're going to disagree on this and it's not worth getting into an argument here.
Like I said, it's fair enough that you vote with your wallet. I feel that I get my money's worth in general but I can see how some people find it excessive. I wouldn't hold my breath on a definitive bundle - it's been 4 years of CK2 and they're still putting out more paid content and I couldn't be happier ^_^
Yeah, I definitely agree about the bugs. It's unacceptable! I was also there when RoI came along. I also complained. But, to be fair, since then they've taken on more QAs and their releases have been more polished. I've been a fan long enough to remember stuff like the disastrous HoI3 launch and, trust me, they are definitely getting better. They still need to do better but with the last expansion/patch in EU4 I played at launch with no issues that I could think of. The last CK2 patch had a few things they fixed in an open beta patch almost immediately.
And, yeah, sales do happen really regularly. Steam has 5 sales since October, not to mention on their official webshop and other sites like gamesrepublic.
I disagree that the patches force you to buy the DLC as most mechanics aren't necessarily a game changer. The only exception I can think of being vital was retinues in CK2 but since launch they made levies more relevant, auto reinforce etc which makes that argument sort of moot. Stuff like development in EU4 was also mathematically proven in the forums to be less cost effective than outright conquest, so it's there for roleplaying and giving players other strategies. I know someone who has been playing EU4 with no expansions for the last year with no complaints. But yeah, I think we're going to disagree on this and it's not worth getting into an argument here.
Like I said, it's fair enough that you vote with your wallet. I feel that I get my money's worth in general but I can see how some people find it excessive. I wouldn't hold my breath on a definitive bundle - it's been 4 years of CK2 and they're still putting out more paid content and I couldn't be happier ^_^
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Oh and the name doesn't mean anything but coincidentally could be pronounced as "Buttery" which suits me just fine.
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