No that is not the logic. The logic is that sectors take their part on the mineral income at least 25% are not available for expansion purposes. 5 cores give simply more minerals than 3. Allowing sooner construction of colony ships.
So yes it comes to a comparison of how wide the empire can be at a certain time, usually when you run into your neighbors. And there the differences between 5 and only 3 are huge.
Habitats are earliest available at midgame, at that point empire mineral production should be able to compensate the sector tax, and differences in cores doesn´t matter that much.
When does the balance between tall and wide really matter? I would say only in multiplayer.
So how about adding in singleplayer games a slider in the galaxy creation for core systems e. g. 1-10 or the like? What do you think?
@Wiz: Would that slider be possible, at least theoretical?
i think its all based on balancing , usualy you find at least 1-2 habitable planets with a good habitability for your race in a close range from your capital , then its all luck .
atm if you find more habitable planets, you will just expand the faster you can to increase your border and increase over time your income of minerals and energy . BUT if you are in a empires cluster and you are closed by them , you wont have expansions route . yep, there is war , but the effect its the same, you will take more planets, invest resource to increase overtime your income , there is no alternative . and thats the problem , there is not alternative, if you remain small, your research cost less, but you have less research station, less planet for making research , less minerals income and less energy income . they are nerfing the "luck" factor and giving more way to play the game . with this patch is actualy possibile to invest in your core sistems, making important research to upgrade your income when the other tall will have to research core systems , or find themself with realy low income for all the early game , and in midgame you will build your extra planets in your little empire .
they even said during the stream , that they want to change the "victory condition" , because evrything is forcing always to try to become the biggest possibile , the fastest possible.
in stellaris atm you have to be a military supremacy , you can't be something else to win . if you think at all the way you can build a supremacy (military, economy)or sistem you have to controll ( colonies, religions, culture, research) in EU4 or the vassal - family structure of ck2 you will notice that stellaris is lacking in objectives , you just want to grown and take more planets possible . not that stellaris isn't good, stellaris have many ways to obtain your (only) objective, have great events and (i love)end game crysis that are great, and with this patch , this is becoming even better with more fixed difference between empires choise .
i.. started to bablebla during the end , but i think this is a necesary balancing to increase the burden of the colony rush ( that i do , i even rush droid's research to colonize un-habitable planets). this don't force you to do not, it don't even really force you to focus on core system researches . it even have a positive factor , it force you to make early sector, that will make the
appearance of faction in your empire faster , and usualy in early game you don't have much divergence so, they should like you and give you free influence , to colonize even more!
