Why should I buy Stellaris?

[Adonnus]

I technically did buy the base game years ago but have yet to really play it much nor buy the DLCs as I have done for most of the other Paradox games. I would like to but the blurry UI in 4K resolution makes it absolutely unplayable for me and there are no working mods around it that I could find.

Why should I spend money on a game which hurts my eyes to read the text of?

 

[MannheimCouncil]

Probably not the best time to start right, especially if reading the text hurts you (though there is an option to upscale the UI). Wait till the current season advances or better even finishes. Patches should improve overall quality, though in some things you are actually better off without the DLC.

 

[Adonnus]

Probably not the best time to start right, especially if reading the text hurts you (though there is an option to upscale the UI). Wait till the current season advances or better even finishes. Patches should improve overall quality, though in some things you are actually better off without the DLC.

The upscale is the problem, when it's at normal scale it's clear but so tiny, too small to read.

 

[RingworldUtopia]

i heavily recommend the season passes, they're a very good way to get a bunch of DLC for cheap.

also, not sure when you had this blurry problem, but the UI has been reworked and 1.8x upscaling looks super clean on my 65 inch 4k screen.

 

[Fulgrymm]

If you do play, you're definitely going to want to use the UI Overhaul Dynamic mod.

 

[Trigaea]

I would like to but the blurry UI in 4K resolution makes it absolutely unplayable for me and there are no working mods around it that I could find.

Check back in 6 months.

Devs said one of their summer experiments is the UI. It's unclear if making the game more playable in 4K is on their radar, but it might worth keeping tabs on their progress.

 

[RingworldUtopia]

If you do play, you're definitely going to want to use the UI Overhaul Dynamic mod.

honestly, since they reworked the UI in I think 3.0, I don't even feel that is necessary anymore and have not been using it. but it is a viable option and you can experiment with it if you don't like the default UI.

 

[HFY]

and there are no working mods around it

Steam Workshop should have a metric butt-ton of working mods.

 

[Nithralder]

I technically did buy the base game years ago but have yet to really play it much nor buy the DLCs as I have done for most of the other Paradox games. I would like to but the blurry UI in 4K resolution makes it absolutely unplayable for me and there are no working mods around it that I could find.

Why should I spend money on a game which hurts my eyes to read the text of?

I play in 4k Resolution and the UI Overhaul Dynamic Mod is basically mandatory. Paradox can spam out 500 DLCs per year but can't be bothered to make a good UI.


UI Overhaul Dynamic

Steam Workshop::UI Overhaul Dynamic

steamcommunity.com

 

[RingworldUtopia]

I play in 4k Resolution and the UI Overhaul Dynamic Mod is basically mandatory. Paradox can spam out 500 DLCs per year but can't be bothered to make a good UI.


UI Overhaul Dynamic

Steam Workshop::UI Overhaul Dynamic

steamcommunity.com

they did rework the UI a few patches back, even incorporating the big beautiful planet view some people were modding in. have you tried the basic UI recently at all? ui overhaul dynamic is great, but the rework made me swap back to default.

 

[Drachasor]

I know it's against the hoping-for-max-profit-at-all-costs strategy of Paradox execs, but they really should fold the earlier expansions into the base game. I am sure they lose more money by people seeing how expensive it is to get into and just turning away than they make by keeping high prices. It's crazy that during a big sale, they only DLC that's $5 or less is over 6 years old (besides some random species packs that don't do much), and the full game with all DLC during this big sale is still over $200. It also hurts design since they can build on past mechanics as easily, since they have to be ready for anyone having any random collection of DLC.

But in any case, the game is still pretty broken right now with sticking to their production schedule and putting out 4.0 before it was ready. It's not a good time to get into the game.

 

[Drachasor]

they did rework the UI a few patches back, even incorporating the big beautiful planet view some people were modding in. have you tried the basic UI recently at all? ui overhaul dynamic is great, but the rework made me swap back to default.

I find the current UI to obfuscate a lot of what's going on in 4.0 though. So it's pretty, but rough. Lots of extra clicks needing for things too.

 

[HFY]

I know it's against the hoping-for-max-profit-at-all-costs strategy of Paradox execs, but they really should fold the earlier expansions into the base game. I am sure they lose more money by people seeing how expensive it is to get into and just turning away than they make by keeping high prices. It's crazy that during a big sale, they only DLC that's $5 or less is over 6 years old (besides some random species packs that don't do much), and the full game with all DLC during this big sale is still over $200. It also hurts design since they can build on past mechanics as easily, since they have to be ready for anyone having any random collection of DLC.

Yeah.

Bugs are a problem, and simplifying the code by smushing old DLCs into the main game would reduce complexity = reduce bugs.

 

[passeris]

I know it's against the hoping-for-max-profit-at-all-costs strategy of Paradox execs, but they really should fold the earlier expansions into the base game. I am sure they lose more money by people seeing how expensive it is to get into and just turning away than they make by keeping high prices. It's crazy that during a big sale, they only DLC that's $5 or less is over 6 years old (besides some random species packs that don't do much), and the full game with all DLC during this big sale is still over $200. It also hurts design since they can build on past mechanics as easily, since they have to be ready for anyone having any random collection of DLC.

Coming at this from the other direction, I started with just the base game + Utopia, and buy DLCs one at a time.

Old DLCs are just as attractive as new ones to new players, I don't think they care about the age of DLCs. I also doubt they are put off by the cost of entry, as it's very affordable if you don't splurge on everything at once (and there is the season pass [as @Gilbert95 points out this is the subscription] if you want it all).

I really appreciate the Stellaris DLC model (not predatory like F2P, not stingy like EA, not overboard like CK2). It keeps the game fresh and uncomplicated if you take it slow. And I get to feel smug about not having paid for bad or poor-value DLCs like Federations or Cosmic Storms.

 

[rubert]

Why should I spend money on a game which hurts my eyes to read the text of?

With few or none owned DLC I would just pick subscription which includes all the current ones.

 

[Gilbert95]

Stellaris is my second favorite game (after Civ) and it gas given lots of fun hours in the last 8 years, but I cannot recommend it to a potential new player right now. The current state of 4.0 would not make a good impression. Come back in fall and hopefully it will be in better shape.

I don't have any UI recommendations, but I do have some on DLC:
There are two things that sometimes get confused - the season pass and the subscription. The season pass is a bundle of a year's worth of DLC that you can buy and own. The subscription gives access to all DLC for a monthly fee, but you don't own them. Once you stop subscription, you no longer have access.

The subscription can be an inexpensive way to try various DLC. However, if you get it, don't turn on all the DLC. Trying to wrap your head around everything all at once would be tough. The best way to learn the game is to play the base game plus Utopia (they really do need to roll this one into the base game now). Once you get comfortable add in DLCs that look fun, one at a time so you can appreciate what each one brings to the game.

 

[passeris]

Stellaris is my second favorite game (after Civ) and it gas given lots of fun hours in the last 8 years, but I cannot recommend it to a potential new player right now. The current state of 4.0 would not make a good impression. Come back in fall and hopefully it will be in better shape.

I don't have any UI recommendations, but I do have some on DLC:
There are two things that sometimes get confused - the season pass and the subscription. The season pass is a bundle of a year's worth of DLC that you can buy and own. The subscription gives access to all DLC for a monthly fee, but you don't own them. Once you stop subscription, you no longer have access.

The subscription can be an inexpensive way to try various DLC. However, if you get it, don't turn on all the DLC. Trying to wrap your head around everything all at once would be tough. The best way to learn the game is to play the base game plus Utopia (they really do need to roll this one into the base game now). Once you get comfortable add in DLCs that look fun, one at a time so you can appreciate what each one brings to the game.

Yeah, I get these mixed up.

It's worth pointing out that if you're new to Stellaris, you don't need Biogenesis, and if you don't need Biogenesis you don't need its bugs. You can probably roll back to 3.14 and have a great time until the storm has passed. 4.0 hasn't brought any hi-dpi improvements (yet).

 

[RingworldUtopia]

And I get to feel smug about not having paid for bad or poor-value DLCs like Federations or Cosmic Storms

i'll be the one to feel smug back and say the game is not as lively without subtle additions like federations and storms

i will also say, to all the 4.0 naysayers, you're really doing this new player a disservice by recommending they hold off. your issues with the state of the game are based on liking how it was before 4.0. a new player would not have your experience, nor your disappointment (which isn't even unanimous and shared by all veteran players). a new player would have an easier time getting into the game now than in previous patches, and the economy is easier to understand to someone new who isn't having to unlearn old ways.

 

[HFY]

i will also say, to all the 4.0 naysayers, you're really doing this new player a disservice by recommending they hold off. your issues with the state of the game are based on liking how it was before 4.0. a new player would not have your experience, nor your disappointment (which isn't even unanimous and shared by all veteran players). a new player would have an easier time getting into the game now than in previous patches, and the economy is easier to understand to someone new who isn't having to unlearn old ways.

Nah, I mean, it's broken now.

Some stuff just plain doesn't work.

There are mechanics which you have to guess about because the UI doesn't show them any more, like migration, which is kinda huge since it's a big part of why Civilians and Unemployment are tolerable, or like what civics actually do.

You need to know what kind of economy you want before you build your colonies, because you only get two Zones Specializations and they're going to scale with housing. You can't just build up, you need to know when a decision is temporary and plan to tear some things down. The job-swaps are poorly displayed and not documented anywhere in the game itself.

This is a not a good time to start playing Stellaris.

 

[Drachasor]

i'll be the one to feel smug back and say the game is not as lively without subtle additions like federations and storms

i will also say, to all the 4.0 naysayers, you're really doing this new player a disservice by recommending they hold off. your issues with the state of the game are based on liking how it was before 4.0. a new player would not have your experience, nor your disappointment (which isn't even unanimous and shared by all veteran players). a new player would have an easier time getting into the game now than in previous patches, and the economy is easier to understand to someone new who isn't having to unlearn old ways.

Well, one the one hand, a new player is generally not very good at 4Xs but likes to play on easy difficulties, then I'll say it's probably fine to buy now. Bugs are mostly at the point where they probably won't notice and won't make a pick that gets them a game breaking one.

One the other hand, if they want an AI that is even mildly competent or challenging in any sense, then getting the game now is going to give the wrong impression.

But on the gripping hand, execs at Paradox obviously forced this out early and it's still a mess and won't be really fixed for months. I just don't think that should be rewarded. I was going to buy two dlc, as much as I hate their insane dlc system there's just not another game really like this. However, I'm not going to do that now because I don't want to send a message that it's ok for them to attempt to maximize quarterly profits at the expense of the game itself. Heck, the game suffers enough from that attitude without them pushing out beta/alpha releases.