Rising like a Phoenix ? Stellaris 4.0

[Tisifoni12]

Well, so far after starting way to many games I find I either:

• have one or more hostile hegemonic imperialists on my doorstep who declare war while I am way too weak and I abandon the game
• despite the size of my territory find only one or two other planets worth colonising and the techs for terraforming or for 'colonising space' just aren't coming up
• find 4 - 6 planets worth colonising, I seem to be doing well, but I eventually give up out of boredom
• decide to play one of my species which I want to take down the Cybernetics route and the techs just don't come up; despite doing the 'Flesh is Weak' ascension perk, but the Integrated Cybernetics tech never seems to come up and I give up out of frustration

I tend to play as humanoid (not human) and my 'empire governments' tend to be 'irenic bureaucracy', 'moral democracy', 'martial dictatorship', 'Military Commissariat' or similar

Overall, though I find it an improvement on earlier versions, I am find myself 'questioning the design' more than enjoying playing.

 

[Ishyro]

despite doing the 'Flesh is Weak' ascension perk, but the Integrated Cybernetics tech never seems to come up and I give up out of frustration

The perk sould give you access to an agenda that unlocks the tech.

and the techs for terraforming or for 'colonising space' just aren't coming up

Same thing, the adaptability tradition tree grants an agenda that unlocks terraformation techs. This one is not a tree you will take in all games though.

have one or more hostile hegemonic imperialists on my doorstep who declare war while I am way too weak and I abandon the game

You can usually avoid early wars by sending all your envoys to improve relations. If that fails, being a vassal is not that bad, it depends if your liege is taking planets during the war or not.

 

[Tisifoni12]

The perk sould give you access to an agenda that unlocks the tech.

The tech doesn't automatically come up because you've chosen 'The Flesh is Weak' and can come up when you haven't chosen that. You need both to choose 'the Flesh is Weak' and have done the tech for the research focus or whatever it's called to come up. You then need to do that before you can activate any of the five steps within 'the Flesh is Weak'. That tends to take so long that by the time it comes up, if it does, that you can activate two or three of those together as you've saved up so much unity.

The adaptability I assume will increase the chance of terraforming techs coming up, but it's not automatic (in Stellaris necessity is not the mother of invention); it can still take a long time.

I've never played on when vassalized. I have researched how to become 'rebel scum', but haven't so far felt enthused to try that.

 

[Ishyro]

Maybe you don't have the DLC paragons?

Otherwise, unless it is bugged right now, the perk should give imediate access to the agenda, which will unlock the tech as an option with 25% progress.

Adaptability does the same. I don't think the tech is actually random, or at least it's always terrastrial sculpting first.

 

[Tisifoni12]

Correct, I don't have the DLC

 

[Losttruppen]

I don't think the tech is actually random, or at least it's always terrastrial sculpting first.

If it's anything like the Psionic Mind Over Matter Agenda then yeah, it runs it up from the lowest Tech to the highest, granting +25% progress in each one per Agenda use; I think you can use them back to back as well with no Agenda cooldown and it's also faster at 35 Months instead of the 95 Months I'm seeing for most other Agendas.