Reviews are meh, but what are your first impressions?

[Miyokari]

Played aroun 12 hours yesterday half of it on MP and half on SP and I have to say the game is great. The AI seems abit passive but looking at EU IV and CK2 I know that the AI will be improved so I don't worry about it too much (also played on lowest difficulty setting so that may be it). Early game is pretty cool and I just hope that they will adjust mid game like Bjorn says.

 

[Gemberkoekje]

I think this game is a great and well-polished baseline, which can only get greater with DLC and free updates.

I respectfully disagree with people saying that Paradox added less content on purpose, just to sell more DLC. This was an entirely new genre and an experiment for them, so I can completely understand that they wanted to set up the baseline before adding too much clutter.

It's not unlike some of their other titles, for example, EU4 vanilla already had most of the features EU3 with all DLC had, and I expect a similar route with Stellaris DLC and an eventual Stellaris 2.

 

[Neutral Good Human]

Started to play right after the release, played till dawn) Afted wathcing many hours of streams the first impression was like "OMG, I'm really playing it!!!" It's 2-days public holiday in Belarus, so I can play one more day! The game is just a candy, this is what can I say so far.

But there are some flaws in Russian localization though. It looks quite crude in terms of syntax and stylistics. There are also some gross mistakes which can indicate the machine translation. For ex. correct translation of parameter "range" for weapons should be "радиус" or "дальность". But ingame it's "ассортимент", which in English means "assortment"! So I had to switch back to English in order to stop bleeding from my eyes.

But in order to end on a positive moment, the game is great and was well worth the expectations!

 

[Archaeology hat]

Currently I'm just pleased to have a space 4X which isn't some combination impenetrable, unfixably broken and a MOO clone. Also the ship designer is actually not terrible, which as a person who doesn't normally like ship designing was a nice surprise.

It's not CK2 or even EU4 level good right now but there's the core of something which could be really special here.

Edit: I also really like the Art and the Music.

 

[LordMM]

Gal Civ 3 - IGN gives 8.6
Stellaris IGN - 6.7

I think the problem here is with IGN if they can give a crap uninnovative game like Gal Civ 8.6

 

[Invader_Canuck]

Canuck, might've been you guys fell for the Rock - Paper - Scissor thing. Then again, it's unlikely all of you did. I can't say I've seen anything like it even on Hard. There were some conflicts initially between various AI's but now everyone is in a Federation or huge Alliance and all conflicts have ground to a screeching halt als Cold War seems to have broken out with all the big blocks just staring at each other.

It feels as if they're far to likely to ally and even more far too likely to form a Federation.

Actually we're baffled how our fleets lost.

The AI was using mass drivers, 1 tier 1 shield, 1 tier 1 armor, and ALL corvettes. My fleet for example, was a mix of destroyers and corvettes, using coil guns, and a full stack of tier 1 armor. Granted, it engaged me before I could repair after declaring war on a smaller AI to try and force my way through to go help the other guys. Some of my ships were banged up, but still I went in with a fleet tailored to counter its fleet, 900 vs 1100 and I got smoked.

 

[id3oMOT0R]

Yesterday I played 8 hours straight and had to force myself to stop. So far, I´m thrilled. I underestimated the roleplaying aspect of the game and find it to be a exceptionally well working feature when it comes to replayability and motivation. Everything else feels just right. The way research is done here: Perfect! Why didn't anyone else come up with that before? For me, the way Stellaris handles the micromanagement vs. automation problem is the best solution there is yet. The sector mechanic, despite being criticized by some (one), works very well for me. I really feel like I am in direct control of a big space empire in spite of only controlling a small number of planets.
I also like that you can control the pace of your game by setting up your galaxy. I increased the galaxy size to 700 (because I like longer games) but did not think of increasing the number of AIs. This resulted in a quite long and lonesome early game, without aliens waiting at my doorstep. Depending on your playstyle this might be exactly what you want, but you can get a whole different experience by doing the opposite thing.
When I count in the huge potential for expansions, DLCs and Mods this game has ... Wow! Great times!

TL;DR: Addictive to the point it endangers your job and social life and with its focus on customization, Stellaris for me is a 9/10 and by far the best 4X since Master of Orion 2. Everyone who is slightly interested in space 4X games should buy this thing now and try it out. @ParadoxTeam: Job well done! Cheers!

 

[Bchewy]

I think the game is a pretty nice game to play around with, Just started out earlier and it's hasn't failed to disappoint with keeping me entertained.

 

[asebvgrtahr]

I've found it pretty disappointing so far. The UI is clunky. Not being able to seamlessly zoom from the galaxy map to a system with the scroll wheel is a bizarre choice. There is a lack of options when it comes to starting a new game, such as AI empire starting location relative to you, prevalence of space monsters, etc. Diplomacy is simplistic; trade is nonexistent.

I played the game for a good while yesterday, but in the end just kind of felt like I was wasting my time. It doesn't do anything to make itself stand out from the gazillion other space 4x games I've played. Compared to Distant Worlds, the game is vastly inferior in pretty much every respect.

 

[Arizal]

I have played something like 6 hours, and I have a good feeling mixed with some (worries.

I liked the beginning, with all the events, exploration and a menace of being boxed in as a whormhole power between my ally and my rival. I had some problems with the UI, especially with how planetary capitals are supposed to be upgraded, and I guess I was a bit too reckless with my fleets. Still, I managed and I won my first war. I guess I took too much, but I easily prevented a rebellion, not without almost runnimg out of energy, thought (which could have been prevented if I had know how to upgrade planets properly).

I like the Ship Designer, which is something new for me in a Paradox game, but I'm a bit at a loss about the optimal build. There should be some quick indication on what I'm changing on my ship by adding removing components. Other than that, I liked being able to have a second wave of exploration, but I have the feeling that after I colonized a Gaia world and definitely crushed my rival, the AI, which wasn't so awesome in my last war against my rival, won't be a match anymore (except fallen empires). It may be too soon to say that, thought.

Ho, also, I didn't manage to uplift pre-sentients in an habitable world in my empire. Somebody has a clue how to do that? (nevermind, I need a special tech...)

 

[Adonnus]

My opinion on Stellaris

 

[-Marauder-]

Actually we're baffled how our fleets lost.

Oh I had the same. I actually LOST an 8k fleet against a 2k one while barely scratching it. I must admit I reloaded because I wasn't actively watching and the second time around they tore it apart in seconds. I've seen that a rock is pretty hard to cut with a scissor but you sometimes can bull through anyway. Then you meet fleets which you by all means should beat handily and something goes, very awry.

 

[PheonixSong]

My honest (little) review. I have a dislike for 4X space games, always found them sooooooooooo confusing, but as soon as Stellaris downloaded, I started it, and I got the hang almost instantly. The game is really fun and it makes me love paradox even more.

Praise be BLORG!​

 

[Jerree17]

Was writing a paper when the game unlocked at 12, so I said I'd just fiddle around with species creation to see how things were. Yeah, next thing I know I'm three hours in with a science directorate run by xenophobic fungoids. The game is just really fun to play. My first encounter with aliens was in a system that had three(!) colonizable size 18+ worlds, and they sent a fleet before I could finish my border outpost and without us being able to communicate with one another. This silent fleet then started warping from system to system, attacking mining stations until I could confront them in a direct battle. Chased them off, we've hated each other ever since and are on the brink of war now.

As for the 'grind' aspect of it, once I got stuck between the aforementioned jerk empire and an empire of mammals, I started focusing on building up my systems, improving border projection/weapons technology, and readying for an eventual war with my first contact rivals. I'm just now getting a hang of ship design and I've personally really enjoyed the peacetime preparations and system management.

I've had the game run smoothly the entire time so far, so I've (personally) got nothing to complain about there.

I think the best way to prevent the overly crowded feeling that lots of people aren't fond of is actually to play with a smaller number of starting empires. 15 empires on a size 800 galaxy leaves plenty of room for exploration and preserves that "space is big" feeling. That's just my personal taste, though.

Edit: so, if I were to give a judgement of how I'm feeling about the game, then I'd say it's a blast to play and as immersive as I'd hoped it would be. Given the way pdx continues to develop their games over time, I'm really happy that Stellaris is already in such good shape and I'm excited to see how the base systems will be expanded upon. As it is, it's already kept my interest better than any 4x game I've played since I was a kid.

 

[jeffreys14b]

I've played only 4 or 5 hours, but so far it's great. I think UI is fantastic -- I have several methods to get where I want to be.

 

[Poh]

I've found it pretty disappointing so far. The UI is clunky. Not being able to seamlessly zoom from the galaxy map to a system with the scroll wheel is a bizarre choice.

I actually like the fact that you cant just scroll zoom, and the "E" key also takes you to the system you hover. So i actually find it quite easy to hop in and out. So easy that at times im a little too fast and does not hover properly before i hit E so i end up in the last system i was in instead of the new one.

UI - wise, i have some trouble finding some of the information at times. There are lot of under tabs in the tabs. Im not sure if it could be streamlined more but i dread if more is added in future DLC.
Minor annoyance i found was one of my systems the text from a mining station (i think) overlaps the name of the planet i have colonized so its hard to click on.
Also the fact that the Outliner disappears when VIR tries to help you is a little weird to me.
The empire wide and pop specific modifiers are also a "bit" weird to get the head around from the start. I mean i picked the -cultural divergence as a trait but later considered if it was indeed good. Since ofcourse it will keep the "starting" pops in line but with new races it wont help. Also when you have -10% cultural divergence from goverment and +15% from edict but -20% on Pops how is that calculation made?
The same with science output. +15% sociology research seems nice in the trait screen but after having thought about it it only impacts the output on the tile if that type of pop is standing on it (from what i can figure)
Another thing i have with the Traits is the lack of a couple of +2 (really bad ones) or some -3. When you have 2 points and 4 slots and the options are +1, -1, -2, -4 and -5. There are some options where you cant fill the "slots" (which doesnt seem optimal). Like picking a -1 and -2 cost trait. now you just need to pick a +1 and you have a balance with one slot left.

 

[Tim_Ward]

I think the criticisms in the more negative reviews are a pretty fair, but I also think they're rather overemphasised

The game has obvious problems but early returns are that it is still the best space 4x game I've played, by a considerable distance.

That's actually a pretty low bar to clear because most space 4x games are massively flawed, but I'd also say, at the moment, that it is at least the equal of Alpha Centauri, which is a game I've probably put thousands of hours into over a literal decade. So there's that.

6 or so hours in so far, so we shall see tonight if that view changes as I move further into the mid game.

 

[id3oMOT0R]

Ho, also, I didn't manage to uplift pre-sentients in an habitable world in my empire. Somebody has a clue how to do that? (nevermind, I need a special tech...)

You have to build an observation post on the planet in question. From there you can (depending on your empire policies) do all you want. I don´t think you need a special tech for that ...

I myself infiltrated an atomic age civ and switched their leaders with my imperial agents. Now I use them to settle elsewise uninhabitable arctic worlds for me.

 

[Taraskeskro]

So far 7 hours played. I love the game. Even if my campaign map is not that great.
For now the only thing that bugs me it's, I play pacifist people and there is only xenophobic people around me, and they don't like aliens... crap ^^

 

[illapa]

Hi guys! It's great to hear your opinions, and I'm glad to hear that you are mostly positive.

We've heard the feedback on mid-game, and this is where we will put our focus to begin with. Doomdark is hard at work coming up with ideas on how to improve that aspect of the game. I'll let him talk more about that himself later.

We know that there are some other areas of the game that aren't as fleshed out as they could be. But you need to stop somewhere when you make a game, or it won't be finished ever I can guarantee that we will continue developing the game and expanding on different areas of the gameplay as we always do.

Thanks for playing Stellaris and posting your feedback!

Just look at your Steam reviews. If people have to downvote you because you use the UK flag instead of the USA flag for English and they have little else to downvote you for you've done pretty well.

*Edit* That said I do find it weird that there isn't like some sort of trade system other than diplomacy trade.