I just want to have the most functionality and game systems - don't care much for "flavor packs". Which editions and DLCs do I need? 
New player, confused by editions and DLCs.
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Here's a community-written DLC buyers guide, which might help you out here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2184378602
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That was a great guide, interesting how the DLCs can work together in synergy providing even more functionalities when combined. Also, love how the base game is expanded - then making it possible to go further in-depth with the various DLCs. Seems like the base game actually has more than enough for 100s hours of deep play? I'll wait with the DLCs until I can actually understand why I would want one.
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yeah, the base game gets expanded alongside every DLCThat was a great guide, interesting how the DLCs can work together in synergy providing even more functionalities when combined. Also, love how the base game is expanded - then making it possible to go further in-depth with the various DLCs. Seems like the base game actually has more than enough for 100s hours of deep play? I'll wait with the DLCs until I can actually understand why I would want one.
You also could try to join a small multiplayer game (the big ones are usually competitive, thus not suited for new players). If the host owns some dlc all dlc functions are unlocked for the game session. It is a good opportunity to experience the dlc features and allows u to better judge what dlcs u want.
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Never play PDX titles without all of the DLCs. Wait for sale in the PDX store or purchase Steam keys via mmoga, kingpuin or other key discounters. You'll effectively get the base game plus all the expansions (except for the latest one) for a price comparable to a decent console title.I just want to have the most functionality and game systems - don't care much for "flavor packs". Which editions and DLCs do I need?
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definitely pick up the DLCs (or at least a few, and go back for the others later) when there's a steam sale they can be super cheap and they're amazing additions that are worth it.
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Yeah, there's a functional base game there. When my group was starting the game we did our first session or two with the base game only and then added in DLCs on subsequent runs 1-3 at a time depending on what we found interesting or wanted more options for (e.g. Megastructures, Federations, mid-game crises, etc.). I think that helped with learning it because you don't have to deal with every system in detail all at once, you can focus on the core systems and then learn the extra ones as you go.That was a great guide, interesting how the DLCs can work together in synergy providing even more functionalities when combined. Also, love how the base game is expanded - then making it possible to go further in-depth with the various DLCs. Seems like the base game actually has more than enough for 100s hours of deep play? I'll wait with the DLCs until I can actually understand why I would want one.
Paradox also often has frequent and fairly generous sales and with the holiday season coming up, it's highly likely you'll be able to find most DLCs at a 50-75% discount over the next few months.
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honestly if you want to play the game at it's best i recommend playing on 1.9 or earlier, the game is a lot simpler and arguably more enjoyable that way, although unfortunately most of the dlcs and mods don't work for that version.
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You don't have to wait for a sale, there's a really good one on Humble right now. Starts at 50% off but goes up all the way to 65% if you get 5 or more things.
www.humblebundle.com
My personal recommendation would be Utopia, Distant Stars, Leviathans, Ancient Relics, and Megacorp. Megacorp is a flex slot, and mostly for the non-megacorp things rather than megacorps themselves. It could also be Synthetic Dawn or whatever else really.
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My personal recommendation would be Utopia, Distant Stars, Leviathans, Ancient Relics, and Megacorp. Megacorp is a flex slot, and mostly for the non-megacorp things rather than megacorps themselves. It could also be Synthetic Dawn or whatever else really.
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the trouble is each Dlc also adds bugs that build up until the base game is beyond busted so playing without them [on early builds] is not a silly idea
just be aware there are 3 basic stores i.e, Steam, Paradox and Gog [for PC] and on the hole they don't talk to each other much so be careful grabbing Dlc from sales that you don't end up locked out of the platform you want to use
just be aware there are 3 basic stores i.e, Steam, Paradox and Gog [for PC] and on the hole they don't talk to each other much so be careful grabbing Dlc from sales that you don't end up locked out of the platform you want to use
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Since buying from Paradox really just gives you a Steam key, there are functionally only 2 meaningful stores. Steam and GoG.
There are three separate platforms to buy Stellaris on. Steam, GOG, and Microsoft store. Purchases on these three platforms will not work together. Purchases on the Paradox Store will also grant a Steam key.
Hope this clears up some of the confusion.
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You know stuff like this, new player confusion, sticker shock, total price pushing new players away is a big reason I tend to think games with large amount of DLC need to eventually start folding older DLC into the base game. Cause even if you have everything on sale to the point where it only costs about as much as the base game the sheer amount of DLC can be overwhelming even when the price isn't. Not sure what a good cut off would be for that, DLC older than 2 years? This would also let them making newer DLC rely on older DLC. Older DLC that gets folded into the main game after all would be fair game to build off of since it is no longer exclusive. There is the question of if this would irritate loyal day one players whose purchases are now effectively a 2 year pass rather than a permanent purchase or if it would negatively impact sales since folks may just choose to wait for it to be included in the base game. Though the latter I don't think would be a huge deal assuming the time frame before the DLC becomes folded in is reasonably long. It would mostly just hurt revenue from these massive sales done on new DLC releases in order to help make the game seem reasonably affordable. And not knowing their income sheets nor the patience level of the players I can't say just how big of a hit that would be. But what I do know is that when I come across a game with dozens of DLC that I have to try and sort through. I just give up and look for a different game. IF I came across Stellaris now as a new player? I would give it a hard pass. Too much DLC to sift through.
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yes Paradox gives you a Steam key and Gog gives you a Paradox key... as if that's not clear enought then installing Steam Stellaris and Gog Stellaris on the same computer at the same time makes both of them not work
what else? Steam gives you pretty easy mod support and Gog doesn't... you can mod but its not as easy
Gog gives you an ironman save you can roll back to and try different outcomes and Paradox allows you to download any build of the game so you can play stabble multiplayer games
you can't buy 3 Dlc on Steam and 2 on Gog then put them all together and the basic end result is a massive mess no matter who you get it from... sad really because Stellaris should be a great game
what else? Steam gives you pretty easy mod support and Gog doesn't... you can mod but its not as easy
Gog gives you an ironman save you can roll back to and try different outcomes and Paradox allows you to download any build of the game so you can play stabble multiplayer games
you can't buy 3 Dlc on Steam and 2 on Gog then put them all together and the basic end result is a massive mess no matter who you get it from... sad really because Stellaris should be a great game
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That's a notion that comes up from time to time but we've already seen what happens when features that folks paid for some time ago are given away free. These folks get really angry and try to punish the game for doing so. For that reason alone, I think doing this would be a very bad idea.
But having a host of DLCs on your Steam store page is equally off-putting, especially as PDS has a bad rep for 'spamming DLC's' from the CK2/EU4 era. They no longer do this but Stellaris suffers a little from this too.
Instead, I would suggest that the old DLC be retired, rolled up into one or two packs and sold that way with only the most recent being full price stand-alones.
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The whole DLC system is a sale strategy that exploits the human psychological desire for completion.
there is nothing you can do about the feeling of missing out if you DON'T BUY EVERYTHING stellaris has to offer.
That being said, the smartest thing is to just buy the cheapest edition you can get your hands on, install the free DLCs and then decide if the game appeals to you at all.
Decide on buying DLCs later, just like all the day 1 Stellaris veterans telling you which DLCs you should buy now.
there is nothing you can do about the feeling of missing out if you DON'T BUY EVERYTHING stellaris has to offer.
That being said, the smartest thing is to just buy the cheapest edition you can get your hands on, install the free DLCs and then decide if the game appeals to you at all.
Decide on buying DLCs later, just like all the day 1 Stellaris veterans telling you which DLCs you should buy now.
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I'll admit that while I have never seen an incident of folks getting angry about it, probably because I don't follow gaming communities closely, I certainly acknowledged in my previous post that that would be a concern I just wasn't sure how big of a risk that was.
But DLC's getting rolled into packs is also a solid idea, though depending on price it may not avoid the sticker shock of that nice game you saw having a 300+ dollar price tag attached to it. I'll also admit that something like The Sims was in my mind when I made my comment. . . I don't actually know what the current full purchase price would be and I don't think I want to know.
the whole dlc thing is what is currently keeping me from picking up the sims simply because there are so many dlc i don't even know where to start on buying them, so even though since there's so damn many of them i'd likely never pick up more than a few
My advice, absolutely play the base game first. Check if you actually like the core systems and gel with it. 1.0 Stellaris was far, far less feature rich than the modern base game (you can actually go back and play 1.0 if you feel like torturing yourself) and there's no reason you shouldn't be able to get tens or hundreds of hours of enjoyment from it if it's the kind of thing you're into.
Buy the DLCs because you want them and you want to add something to your game. Most of them are clearly themed, so it's not that hard to see which ones you're going to enjoy. The biggest way to get a step up over the base game is probably still the excellent Utopia expansion. The other expansions are mostly decent, but tend to have a clear theme so you'll generally be able to tell whether they're for you or not. I wouldn't necessarily say all of them are worth full price unless you absolutely love Stellaris or have loads of money to burn, but you can always wait for a sale.
Also, the flavour packs are not always purely cosmetic. Some are actually quite feature rich. Synthetic Dawn is particularly stand out here.
Buy the DLCs because you want them and you want to add something to your game. Most of them are clearly themed, so it's not that hard to see which ones you're going to enjoy. The biggest way to get a step up over the base game is probably still the excellent Utopia expansion. The other expansions are mostly decent, but tend to have a clear theme so you'll generally be able to tell whether they're for you or not. I wouldn't necessarily say all of them are worth full price unless you absolutely love Stellaris or have loads of money to burn, but you can always wait for a sale.
Also, the flavour packs are not always purely cosmetic. Some are actually quite feature rich. Synthetic Dawn is particularly stand out here.