If you're a Civilization fan, then I'm sure you'll love Stellaris. Yes, what can I say! Anyone who looks at least a little towards strategies will experience soul-warming feelings, exploring billions of square kilometers of outer space.
Do you think you plan well? Can you keep a unit under control, in addition to a few dozen others? Or maybe you are well versed in ion engines and know how to conduct a diplomatic dialogue with an extraterrestrial race? In any case, here you will find a lot of pleasant and not so - surprises. A lot of moments and nuances that you need to constantly control will make you turn off the real world for several hours and be transported to a giant and deep wasteland, the silence of which is depressingly pressing. Having played Stellaris, I can say that this is Dark Souls in the world of strategies. The game mercilessly punishes you for mistakes and miscalculations in the control strategy. Made the wrong decision? Get it! Did you take it right? Well done. But anyway, get it!
Take a seat, I'll tell you a little more.
Gameplay
In a vast galaxy between unreached stars and unexplored planets in various systems, you will be tasked with leading an empire. The main goal of the campaign is, of course, the conquest of new territories (systems). You can talk to the adjacent race of purple bugs about a truce, establish relations with them. Not? Okay, you can split them up with your massive fleet of warships. If, of course, you did everything right and you have a flotilla, and not 2.5 insignificant cruisers.
Beginning of the game
You can start by choosing one of the proposed 8 empires with your race. You want to remain a mammal, fine. Decided to try to control the reptilians?
Or molluscs? 
no problem. But take your time. Don't judge by appearances. Each of the proposed races in Stellaris has its own history, its pros and cons, characteristics, skills and traits. I do not like? Create your own, no problem! You can name your empire whatever you want, choose a flag for it under which you will conquer the galaxy. Choose a portrait, racial traits, what will be the fleet and initial types of weapons. Even the most harmful gamer will find here what to choose.
Starting in a single player, do not forget to decide on the complexity and size of the galaxy. This is what the system looks like:
And so, the galaxy. On it I marked our system.
And this is the smallest galaxy that can be made. Do you imagine? You can study the planets before Chinese Easter.
After the start, as always, you will have a few "resources" available around which the survival of the empire is built. Among them:
- Minerals. They are spent on the construction of stations and ships. But they can be stored a certain amount. Do you want to store more? Research technology. Are you earning a little? Explore the planets in the systems and if you find a suitable one, build a station on it.
- Energy loans. Everything that is built requires energy. The situation is identical to minerals.
- Influence. Affects buildings on distant "frontiers", for decrees or for hiring new scientists or army generals. You can earn money by declaring war on other empires, issuing decrees or studying technology.
By the way, it's an embarrassing moment. Living beings die. Do you have an experienced fleet admiral under your command and he is 70? Well, if he does not go to the gates of Valhalla, then soon he will simply die of old age. In order for him to live a little longer, you need to pump longevity.
Technology is what keeps the development of the empire. Need to develop:
- Physics. They can increase energy storage capacity or unlock solar panels.
- Society. Just help to increase the influence or open new types of ships.
- Technology. Help to increase the capacity of minerals or build a defensive platform.
Of course, this is only a small fraction of what is available for study. Before you start studying, decide what you really need at the moment, but do not forget about foresight.
The universe in the game is procedurally generated, i.e. no matter how many times you run the game, you will get different universes. Each time it will be unique.
Everything that I have described, all the nuances in control, learning and opportunities, I can present as a blue piece on the diagram.
Stellaris has dozens of nuances for every item. You have to be everywhere at the same time, and all sorts of reminders will not let you forget about it. Fortunately, the flow of time is adjustable, if not completely stopped, to exhale and look around. Assess the situation and make the right decision. To understand what is happening, to join and master the game, you need to spend more than a dozen hours in it before going online. Otherwise, you will spend several hours of your life and everything that you have acquired, as it seems to you, with overwork will be destroyed in an instant, and the wreckage will be studied and mastered.
You can not do the same thing for a long time, no matter how interesting it may be. Take, for example, the Swedish studio Paradox Interactive, in the track record of which you can see entirely global historical strategies (except, perhaps, the Penumbra series). You may have already heard about them - Europa Universalis, Victoria, Hearts of Iron and others; all of them have rightfully entered the pantheon of the best games of the genre and are unlikely to ever be excluded from it.
And it seems that soon one more thing will be attributed to all these big names - Stellaris. But this time, "Paradoxes" decided on a radical change in the setting and now think on a galactic scale. Did it benefit the new series? Let's find out now!
Adventure on a galactic scale
Games have always stood out from their peers in the genre with their incredible complexity - sorting out the same Europa Universalis was not an easy task. Whether it's Stellaris, in which everything is easier with this and even a beginner can start playing, since everything is explained in detail from the very beginning.
Therefore, if you are not a seasoned gamer and want to join the genre of serious global strategies, then it is better not to find a candidate for this role Stellaris, since in just thirty minutes you can fully figure out the mechanics and play calmly further.
Before you start conquering the galaxy, you will need to choose a race. Or create your own, as an option. The second is even more preferable, because the wide possibilities of the local editor allow you to sculpt everything you want - from the cruel civilization of reptilians to the peaceful democratic society of anthropomorphic fennec foxes.
However, chanterelles in Stellaris are very, very different ...
After all the preparations, the action is transferred to space - to the home planet of the civilization over which you have taken patronage. Once you have a spaceport under your control, you can begin to produce (and design) scientific, construction, colonial and military ships in order to lead the controlled space empire to victory.
Developers remain true to themselves, and this is primarily expressed in the fact that all the action of Stellaris takes place in real time.
However, a quick and relatively easy start does not mean that the path to galactic domination will be as simple - as is customary with Paradox Interactive, there are many nuances that are easy to get confused about. The local beginning is reminiscent of a highly complicated space stage Spore: the player needs to expand their possessions, extract resources, study distant planets and, if possible, ennoble their own.
But there are a thousand and one nuances. For example, for scientific ships and for the study of technologies, scientists must be appointed, and for planets, governors. Of course, they can be hired, but the problem is that humanity (and not only) even in 2200, alas, could not master immortality, therefore, to replace employees who died of old age, they have to hire new ones who work much worse than their deceased and wiser ones colleagues.
And do not forget that death does not always occur only for natural reasons ... No one (even an alien) is immune from the fact that, relatively speaking, a brick will not fall on his head at one fine moment, and this will end his glorious life path .
Spore is mentioned for a reason, because Stellaris is the same unpredictable story game in which anything can happen. You can come across a planet whose inhabitants are at a very early level of development. It will not be possible to make contact with them, so you can watch them by building a scientific station in orbit. And this is not a simple imitation of life, because in the future this civilization will reach the cosmic stage and will be exactly the same as you, a player in the political arena. You can get a good benefit from such a situation by helping the natives with technologies, because in the future they will become vassals of your state with the possibility of full integration into the empire.
Everything is complicated with technologies in Stellaris, and there is no visual tree, as in Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth, because, according to the developers, all technologies are built for each race separately, based on its parameters. And this is not very convenient, because it is not known where the technology under study will eventually lead.
And in general, convenience is not the strongest feature of the novelty. It is easy to get confused in the interface, and navigating through a thousand systems of a huge galaxy is not very convenient. For example, in order to enter this galaxy map, you need to press a separate button on the keyboard (by default "E") or click on the corresponding button. Oh, how convenient it would be if the map, like the same Spore, scaled automatically!
The beginning is the most spectacular and best part of Stellaris. The start looks something like this: to the magical music, as if coming out from under the instruments of Hans Zimmer, you send a scientific ship to study the nearest star systems for useful and not very planets. You don’t need to fly far - one of these will definitely be found in your native system. Without wasting time (remember that everything happens in real time!), We send a construction ship to the object, which builds a mining station in its orbit.
Resources are gradually replenished, and at first glance, everything is fine. But do not forget that space is full of dangers - at the beginning of the game, the so-called space amoebas can annoy, so building warships in spaceports and pumping lasers is vital even if you have chosen the path of a pacifist reptilian who will not hurt an amoeba fly .
And this is only a small fraction of cases, and their number will increase over time: the colonization of planets, the study of anomalies and many other interesting things need your close attention, so sitting idly by for even a couple of seconds will not work, otherwise the whole empire will fall apart, you won't even be able to blink an eye. Yes, the game loves micromanagement.
One day there comes a moment when it becomes impossible to fully control your vast possessions. And here the opportunity to divide the systems into sectors and give each of them under the control of artificial intelligence comes in handy. The manager from him is so-so, but he helps to throw off a huge pile of accumulated obligations and get rid of an extra headache.
Moreover, your state can literally fall apart - as in the last Europa Universalis, the separatists can revolt and separate from your glorious space union. Of course, they can be bribed or weakened by propaganda, if only resources were enough.
As for the war, then in Stellaris in the early stages it is rather optional, if not optional. Dangers in the form of pirates and aggressive unknown lifeforms can be faced in distant systems, but aggression from other space-states is difficult to run into, and even hard-nosed militarist dictators attack only in the most extreme cases.
At the beginning of the game, you will not meet intelligent life forms - at most, space ones. They are not very smart and can be aggressive, but they are not able to deliver serious problems even to an empire that is just getting on its feet.
At the same time, it is possible that you will be in splendid isolation for a long time to colonize and build up other planets, since a random number generator can throw the first brothers in mind very far from your starting point. However, meeting with other intelligent civilizations is inevitable, and sooner or later the first contact is bound to happen. And how warm it will be, it is impossible to predict.
Naturally, each race has its own ideas about good and evil, so by definition, friendly relations cannot develop with someone, but this does not mean that war in Stellaris is a must. The fact is that the artificial intelligence in the game is rather weak, so you should not count on any diplomatic tricks on his part. Yes, and with diplomacy everything is standard here: you can go to war against an enemy, establish an embassy, invite you to an alliance, bargain, but that's where it ends.
For example, the race of these slugs lives under the yoke of an absolute monarchy, and it will be impossible for peaceful pacifists to find a common language with them. Well, it didn’t hurt, and I wanted to!
And sadly, war is one of the few ways to win (there are only two of them - world domination and the capture of 40% of the systems in the galaxy) in Stellaris and perhaps the only opportunity to entertain yourself in the later stages of the game, when there are no more interesting objects to explore, and the treasury is bursting with resources.
No, you don’t think that the battles are not bad at all and it’s even interesting to watch them (thanks to the excellent graphics), but playing as a race of staunch pacifists and at the same time declaring war on other empires… It’s a bit strange, agree?
Tactics is for the weak, because in Stellaris, the one who stamped the most advanced ships always wins.
Speaking of graphics, it should be noted that Paradox Interactive made not just a great strategy, but a great looking great strategy. Here it is worth remembering the previous games of the Swedish studio: they were all graphically sketchy, and the player had to draw all the epic battles and historical events in his imagination. But in Stellaris, everything has changed dramatically: the visual performance is pleasing to the eye, and watching how the ships cross the damn beautiful space over and over again does not bother even at the twentieth hour of the game.
In addition, despite all its graphical splendor, Stellaris requires little. On the “recommended” configuration (Intel Core i3-2100 @ 3.1 GHz, 4 GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti-level video card), the FPS counter, if it drops below 60 frames per second, is only a hundred to two hundred years after the start of the game, and then these subsidences up to 38-40 frames cannot be called critical, because we are talking about a global strategy.
Oil painting: space whales fly into space against the background of Saturn. But seriously, there are still a lot of such shots in Stellaris.
Conclusion
When you look at the greatest games ever released in the industry, you realize that they all not only tell interesting stories, but also allow the player to write them themselves. And in Stellaris, this is all right - before us is one of those few games that make us connect fantasy without compromising the gameplay, because it is already so beautiful.
Building your space empire has never been so exciting, and therefore the new creation of Paradox Interactive pulls again and again, despite all its shortcomings like not very smart AI, too standard diplomacy, confusing interface and “sagging” late game. Well, after a continuous five-hour game, I want to at least retell everything that happened to a friend, but as much as possible put it on paper.
Although the events in Stellaris are probably not enough for a multi-volume novel. Anyway, for now. Knowing the "Paradoxes", we can assume that all the disadvantages listed above are temporary, and soon the developers will release more than a dozen patches and DLCs that will add even more features and content. But even in its current state, the novelty looks impressive, and you want to explore space until all its mysteries are revealed.
And after another long game, there is a desire to go to the menu, press the "New Game" button again and lead a race of intelligent bloodthirsty mushrooms to galactic domination in the name of their powerful emperor.
Hmm, that's a great plan!
Verdict: Stellaris will make you experience dozens of unforgettable adventures and deprive you of sleep. Definitely the best global space strategy to date.
Rating: 9.0 ("Great").
Ruslan Gubaidullin
- Discussion of the game at the conference site.
When a studio like Paradox Interactive, best known for its 4X historical strategy games, decides to ride a rocket and explore the depths of space, you involuntarily begin to worry about the end result. What if it doesn't work out, what if it gets boring or too crooked (impressions from the early version of the recent Master of Orion are still fresh in your memory)?
It would be better if it was crooked, because after another sleepless night, there is a desire to curse both the developers who created Stellaris and the entire galaxy along with the “Play” button on Steam, calling to click on it either at six in the evening or at seven in the morning. Painfully entertaining 4X-project turned out.
⇡ Freedom to the galactic pigs!
The day for the reptilian Vasily did not work out in the morning. Empire on fire - inside the borders, separatists who want independence for their system are raging, outside, militant conquistador clams with a powerful fleet are pressing. And on the far front, not everything is going smoothly - there is a war between two powerful factions, which risks spreading to friendly systems. There are definitely not enough resources to solve all the problems at once.
The paragraph above describes the real situation that developed during the next game in Stellaris. This is one of hundreds of possible scenarios. However, in order to grow to such proportions, there is a long way to go. To begin with, we are offered to decide on the race, and this is not a quick process. The choice is impressive - from ordinary people to intelligent pacifist mushrooms. And after all, each one is distinguished by its political system, attitude towards other species and a lot of additional parameters and nuances. If you don’t like the options available by default, then there is a convenient editor at hand where you can either tweak or build your own civilization from scratch.
Then it remains only to go to conquer the inhospitable space. Paradox understands that great things start small, so at the start you will get the role of space pioneers, that is, a race that has just mastered the technology of moving over long distances. If at this moment you open a galactic map, then you can be seriously scared of the scale. But you should not be afraid, because Stellaris is very patient with beginners and, without rushing at all, explains the features of its mechanics step by step. For example, scientific ships, like research, need leaders: anomalies, neighboring systems and new technologies will not study themselves. For other cases, it is not necessary to hire leaders, but it is desirable - governors and admirals will give useful bonuses to settlements and fleets. Moreover, the secret of eternal life, even in deep space, has remained a secret - members of the ruling elite grow old and die. It is especially annoying when a scientist engaged in important research departs to another world, and, as luck would have it, right now there are not enough resources to replace him. And this is just one of the many little things to keep in mind.
In general, the fresh "paradoxical" strategy can be conditionally divided into three levels of control: planetary, systemic and galactic. On the surface of celestial bodies, we set the vector for the development of settlements: what exactly to build and which of the inhabitants to send to work at a mining or production station. In a separate solar system, it is possible to study celestial bodies if you got here for the first time, as well as install a variety of structures, from scientific stations to defensive outposts. Finally, information about the resources in each specific region is available on the map of the universe - having this data, you can plan in which direction to move the borders of the empire, and which of the neighbors is better to beware of.
And all this happens not in the usual step-by-step mode for the genre, but in real time. At any time, the player can change the speed of its flow or pause it in order to calmly issue orders or read the description of technologies. Very unusual, and the eyes in the first hour are desperately trying to find the "End Turn" button. However, you soon get used to it, the study of dozens of systems is addictive, and then, after a certain number of minutes (depending on the size and shape of the chosen galaxy), you find that you are far from alone in the universe. Here, the romance of free space travel and incredible discoveries of the initial stage of the game gradually runs into a wall of geopolitical problems and interspecies hostility. This is felt especially sharply if you are “lucky” to find yourself between xenophobic neighbors who flatly refuse to let even civilian research vessels into their territory, not to mention the military fleet.
From the moment when the map of the galaxy begins to fill with multi-colored ovals with the coats of arms of various states, Stellaris becomes a trade and political simulator. To strengthen peaceful coexistence, various agreements are concluded, embassies are established, alliances are formed and even federations are created, but not all races are eager to cooperate. This is where brute force comes in handy. However, no one will let anyone invade someone else's territory just like that - it is necessary not only to declare war, but also to indicate the purpose for which it is being waged. For example, make the losing side your vassal or force it to give the selected planets under your leadership. A certain amount of limited battle points is spent on each of the requirements, so it’s not possible to roll your lip and capture everything at once - you need to think and choose.
The collisions themselves take place automatically. You simply direct the ships to attack, and then the game itself will calculate who and how much damage was inflicted. At this time, a window with information about the current situation in the battle is displayed on the left, but the maximum that you can do is to give the order to retreat. Therefore, there is no point in dividing the flotilla into several links; anyway, they cannot be controlled in a direct battle. It is easier to form one giant armada from all combat units - Stellaris allows you to combine an infinite number of troops into a “stack” and roll out everyone who gets in the way with the resulting lump.
⇡ Someday this empire will be yours, son
Over time, the number of colonized and captured planets will grow so much that it is simply physically impossible to cope with them. This is not to mention the fines for exceeding the limit of controlled celestial bodies. Therefore, it is possible to separate systems into separate sectors - such autonomies are controlled by a computer, and a percentage of the resources extracted on its territory flows into your treasury. And here new problems begin - this does not like the political system, an opposition faction has appeared there. Having recruited enough supporters, artificial intelligence will first incite the settlement to rebellion, then sabotage production, and the final chord will be an armed uprising in order to gain independence.
And it is worth at least ten minutes to be distracted and let everything take its course, as a formidable empire hangs over the abyss, at the bottom of which the chaos of civil war rages. It happens, of course, at the most inconvenient moment. You can conduct a military campaign on distant frontiers in order to expand influence, and at this time the other half of the state, to the sound of pop-up notifications, will proclaim its independence, deprive the flow of all resources located on its territory, and it’s good if it doesn’t have time to make friends with your own enemy.
Oddly enough, the interface will help prevent this. It is worth paying tribute to Paradox for taking care of users - despite the large number of windows, it is simply impossible to get lost in them. It is always clear where you are and where to click, and tooltips will not only describe the technology or parameter in detail, but also help you understand what resources are being spent on right now. You just need to feel free to hover over an incomprehensible element. The highlighted menu deserves special praise, where all the information about controlled planets, troops, civilian ships, factions and other important parameters is presented in a convenient form. If at the start of the game you don’t pay much attention to it, then in the later stages it turns into the main tool for controlling the vital signs of a huge empire.
It's probably time to end, and it's been too much. However, everything described here is only a tiny part of the strategy that Paradox released on Steam without much advertising. This completely unpredictable, incredibly exciting and complex creation can easily make you fall out of real life for many days. And even after the game, there is no desire to leave Stellaris for 30-40 hours. I would like to choose another race, set the difficulty higher, and the map - more and again go to conquer the galaxy.
Stellaris is the coolest sci-fi game I've ever played. There are so many things in this game that it is impossible to list every detail. I want to tell you about my first gaming experience in this masterpiece.
I'll start with main menu. The main menu of the game is very colorful and original. I like it.
I started new game. First of all, I had to choose empire(ready very very much). I could not imagine so many elaborated races. I decided to create my own.
I decided to choose a race Machinery. "After all, they can easily take over the universe," I thought.
After choosing a race, it was necessary to add signs to them. I chose " Self-learning algorithm", it gave a plus to the study of technology.
What could be a race without its own star system? Creation editor added Mira and Stars. Named my world Megatron, and the star Starkiller. Next comes the choice of landscape. fit for me Medium-Humid climate.
Here, I have already created a system and my star, the turn has come architecture. I liked the look reptilian city.
Next comes Government and his principles. Since I have a race of machines, there are 2 choices: Collective mind and machine mind. I chose the second. From the principles I chose: mining complex(+10 to ore extraction) and Introspection(+ to research).
After, comes the choice of the name of the empire. I named mine: shinigami(from Japanese, gods of death).
Next comes the editor flag empire. He's very advanced here.
After the flag, they gave me the choice of my spaceships. My choice fell on the reptilian ones.
Next, I saw the editor emperor. He named his own - Lucifer, tried to make it as cool as possible.
latest settings, universe setting. I made 3 empires (not counting myself) and tiny galaxy size.
Finally! I'm in the game. Outwardly, "Stellaris" resembles a game " Spore", but more advanced and modern.
I decided not to waste time and ordered the machines to study technology(in 3 directions). Simultaneously with the study of technology, I decided to build mining stations in your star system.
opened for me tradition branch. She surprised me, there were a lot of ways to pump. Each branch gave special bonuses and skills.
I sent my scientists to investigate other systems and look for other sentient beings. The closest system was - Culdax. In the new system, there were 2 habitable planets.
I found the galaxy button and pressed it. The entire galaxy of the game opened up before me (the tiny one I chose).
As you can see, my 2 systems are flowers before the unknown. You can talk about this game endlessly, but alas, I can not do it. Perhaps I will end my story on this.
The game is great, the graphics are great. The game mechanics are original and well developed. What I have shown is not even half of the content. I highly recommend playing it.
They are widely recognized among fans of the genre. It was all the more interesting to watch the birth of the space 4X strategy Stellaris, which was supposed to combine the best features of games from Paradox and other games of the genre.
Interstellar
But slow doesn't mean boring. Stellaris at first, it constantly throws something interesting to the player - then you find in the orbit of some planet an old destroyed battleship of an ancient race that can be towed and disassembled for parts, then on one of the studied worlds there is a primitive race (which you can quietly observe for years) , then the core of some asteroid turns out to be a real neural network.
In the same random way, the game also offers technologies for research in three areas, eliminating Stellaris from the main scourge of games of this genre - the same type and primitive start. True, when the game diligently for years does not allow you to learn a technology that is extremely important for further expansion (for example, terraforming), you want to hit the local randomizer with your fist.
Academician Pupkin, at your service
All research, including the study of distant systems with the help of scientific ships, takes place with the direct participation of scientists - Paradox they simply could not help but introduce the institution of leaders from their other games into the game. Unfortunately, their presence does not have much influence on the process, but their death, especially if it is a scientist, falls on the player as a heavy burden - after all, the replacement of scientific personnel is still worth the same ill-fated “Influence”, which is spent not only on the construction of outposts and hiring important people, but also for the issuance of decrees.
After capturing five or more planets in Stellaris A new phase of the game is coming when parts of your empire have to be farmed out to AI governors. The idea is definitely interesting, because they tried to free us from the routine, but, at the moment, it looks just like an idea - in fact, we still have to manage large construction projects and choose the general line of behavior for our lands, while the governors themselves automate only a small part of the processes, and not very successful. At the same time, independent sectors serve as a separate source of constant headaches, especially if representatives of other races live on the planets. Separatism, the movement for independence, armed uprisings - the ruler of a vast space country must understand what a disregard for domestic politics can lead to.
Soon the player's empire will be surrounded on all sides by hostile or not so hostile states of other races. victory conditions in Stellaris currently two - owning a certain number of habitable planets or controlling (directly or through federations or vassals) 40% of the galaxy. Kindly, of course, even pacifists will not give you their planets - you will have to fight.
And now the war, unfortunately, is the weakest side of the game at the moment. Assemble a fatter fleet - and that's it, watch the enemy fleets crumble into space dust. Only it is not always possible to pull off this trick, remembering the random order of the issued technologies and the presence of the so-called "Fading Empires" on the map, whose fleet and technology level can be disproportionately higher than that of any race in the galaxy.
War and Peace
Another endgame problem for any game in Stellaris- extremely chaotic relations with neighbors and very primitive diplomacy. Allies are stupid and passive, opponents are even more stupid and aggressive. And instead of leading your empire into a happy future, you spend the last hours fighting AI stupidity and chasing a steel fist from one system to another.
Of course, in addition to this Stellaris there are a whole lot of different features, mechanics, unpredictable twists and original solutions that you can study for long hours of play - and that's what makes it great. It is bad that at the moment there are no two important components of any strategy of this kind - espionage and trade. We are waiting for additions, DLC and patches. The first one, by the way, has already been released and made some changes to the balance and interface, the next one promises, among other things, to add new victory conditions and improve the AI of controlled sectors.
***
From the time of Master of Orion II or at least Endless Space there has never been such a smart, deep, beautiful and varied 4X strategy. Stellaris, despite numerous unpleasant little things, is currently the best representative of the genre and a must-have purchase for anyone who has a soft spot for such games. Doubters can wait for the release of patches and DLC, all the rest - we invite you to the stores.