AI opening L-gates too early

[Antsassin]

Hello all, I know this has probably already been spoken about. But I wonder if we can have an option where there is no L Cluster. The AI is opening the gates so early. It is so hard to contend with the nanites when you have 5 k fleets only. You spend hours plotting and scheming and warring and then boom... seems such a waste of time.... I don't find it interesting at all where the nanites decimate the entire galaxy and you cannot do anything about it other than watch.

 

[prismaticmarcus]

switch Distant Stars off

 

[Antsassin]

I like other features of distant stars. A shame to lose the whole update for one feature

 

[Antsassin]

Maybe just a selection when you are setting up the galaxy.... L Cluster - No

 

[ASGeek2012]

Maybe just a selection when you are setting up the galaxy.... L Cluster - No

I've been asking for this feature for over a year now.

I've gotten so fed up with it that the first thing I do when starting a new game is run a console command to see what was picked for the L-cluster. If it's the grey tempest, I restart. I actually enjoyed the bug where all it gave was L-drakes.

I don't like feeling the need to tech rush at the start of the game just to be able to meet the threat of the grey tempest. To me, it's the single most immersion-breaking thing in the game. At least with things like the marauders, FE awakening, and final crisis, I have control over when they spawn in the new game options. Or whether they spawn at all.

 

[Antsassin]

I've been asking for this feature for over a year now.

I've gotten so fed up with it that the first thing I do when starting a new game is run a console command to see what was picked for the L-cluster. If it's the grey tempest, I restart. I actually enjoyed the bug where all it gave was L-drakes.

I don't like feeling the need to tech rush at the start of the game just to be able to meet the threat of the grey tempest. To me, it's the single most immersion-breaking thing in the game. At least with things like the marauders, FE awakening, and final crisis, I have control over when they spawn in the new game options. Or whether they spawn at all.

I agree. I don't want an easy game obviously. However, I love the depth with espionage and placing your starbases properly and diplomacy etc etc and spend hours and hours working on it only to have the dopey AI open the L-gates and boom. Hours of strategy and interest down the drain. I spent over 40 hours on this game. Now I've gone off Stellaris again for a while. I can't even look at it. Can you explain to me how to do the console command, please? Thanks in advance

 

[BakedPotato]

Hello all, I know this has probably already been spoken about. But I wonder if we can have an option where there is no L Cluster. The AI is opening the gates so early. It is so hard to contend with the nanites when you have 5 k fleets only. You spend hours plotting and scheming and warring and then boom... seems such a waste of time.... I don't find it interesting at all where the nanites decimate the entire galaxy and you cannot do anything about it other than watch.

I have bitched and moaned about this for a while. I had a really bad stretch of about 3-4 games in a row that were torpedoed by the Grey Tempest being set loose on the galaxy and the AI having no means to stop them, same with me. I shelved Stellaris, so to speak, for almost a year because of it. I've suggested they either get nerfed (as well as the reward), or add an option in the game settings to disable L-Gates, or adjust how many clues are required to activate them.

I dunno, it just seems like I get the Grey Tempest 90% of the time. It sucks, it's boring, and it makes it painfully obvious how inept the AI is. It's nuts, and apparently some people will argue it's perfectly fine and nothing needs to be done. Having to disable an entire DLC, one of the good ones, just to mitigate one poorly balanced feature is retarded, imo.

 

[Fenris_SE]

It'd be nice if you could pick a minimum required year before the L Gate is opened. So for example you could set it to 2300, and the gates would just refuse to open before then for whatever made up reason.

 

[BakedPotato]

It'd be nice if you could pick a minimum required year before the L Gate is opened. So for example you could set it to 2300, and the gates would just refuse to open before then for whatever made up reason.

What's the earliest you've seen them open? I think I had an AI open them around 2260 one time. Some crazy advanced start empire across the galaxy. Needless to say, they were all brains and no balls, and got roflstomped by the Greys.

 

[Fenris_SE]

What's the earliest you've seen them open? I think I had an AI open them around 2260 one time. Some crazy advanced start empire across the galaxy. Needless to say, they were all brains and no balls, and got roflstomped by the Greys.

Honestly can't remember the earliest, lately I've lucked out when the AI opens the gates early and it's been either the L-Drakes or the Dessanu Consonance.

 

[Lykus Cerebros]

What are your game settings? I heard the AI was only opening them by midgame start year. Maybe try and move that back and see what happens.

 

[BakedPotato]

What are your game settings? I heard the AI was only opening them by midgame start year. Maybe try and move that back and see what happens.

Nope, mid-game setting is irrelevant, they open them whenever they can, willy-nilly, and doom half or more of the galaxy to a boring, grey death. Basically what should be a mid-game crisis ends up becoming THE crisis and ruins the entire game.

Another problem is that it doesn't take into account individual game settings. For example, what if you prefer longer games with lower tech, like x2 or greater tech/tradition? Good luck against a 2280 Grey Tempest.

 

[Lykus Cerebros]

Another problem is that it doesn't take into account individual game settings. For example, what if you prefer longer games with lower tech, like x2 or greater tech/tradition? Good luck against a 2280 Grey Tempest.

It would make the techs more expensive to research.

Interesting that you say 2280 I have only ever seen the AI open them and that was like 2350.

What settings or mods are you using?

 

[Antsassin]

Ok so I found this post. I am going to try it and let you know. It seems that while reloading the game doesn't change the outcome you can try editing the events file and opening a save game from before the L-gates have been activated. I will see if it works - changing to L Drakes

 

[Antsassin]

Ok so I found this post. I am going to try it and let you know. It seems that while reloading the game doesn't change the outcome you can try editing the events file and opening a save game from before the L-gates have been activated. I will see if it works - changing to L Drakes

Oops... this is the thread link - https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/edit-savegame-l-cluster-event.1125840/
And we are editing the event files and not the save game

 

[SirBlackAxe]

Ok so I found this post. I am going to try it and let you know. It seems that while reloading the game doesn't change the outcome you can try editing the events file and opening a save game from before the L-gates have been activated. I will see if it works - changing to L Drakes

Couldn't you just edit the event itself via mod to disable the Grey Tempest as a possible outcome? I feel like that would be easier than messing with the save file every game.

 

[Cat_Fuzz]

I don’t have this DLC, and one of the things preventing me from getting it (aside from waiting for the game to get fixed) is that the L-cluster isn’t toggleable in the galaxy creation menu.

Not that I don’t want it at all, but I’d like the option to disable it for certain playthroughs.

 

[hart30]

There really are some advanced game start settings needed.
An toggle for l-gates belongs in there as well as a mid game crisis strength slider and a become the crisis perk toggle.

A while ago i posted a suggestion for this an it received over 20 votes, so maybe it attracted the attention of the custodian team.
It really cannot be a solution to have to turn of a whole dlc and all features with it just to prevent a single feature ingame.

 

[fusei]

What's the earliest you've seen them open? I think I had an AI open them around 2260 one time. Some crazy advanced start empire across the galaxy. Needless to say, they were all brains and no balls, and got roflstomped by the Greys.

I've never seen them this early. Perhaps the reason is that I play with the maximum amount of AI empires which makes it harder for each individual empire to find enough clues.

 

[Antsassin]

OK, so it does in fact work. SO create your game and go to the "distant_stars_events_3.txt" file (for me anyway) search for "10950" and the event line comes up. Change the 11000 event (grey goo) to any of the event codes - I used L-Drake 13000 and booted a save game before the AI opened the gates and hey-presto.... L Drakes.
The events file can be found in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stellaris\events. The code lines in the event file appear as below:
country_event = {
id = distar.10950
hide_window = yes

is_triggered_only = yes

immediate = {
set_country_flag = lcluster_opener
set_global_flag = l_cluster_opened
# spawn L-Cluster
country_event = { id = distar.13000 } ......... (I changed this from 11000 to 13000)

And PS... always backup and make a copy of any files before you change them.