why should I buy this and not stellaris

[-aAa- Kohlenhydrat]

?

[Alpharius]

That's a really poor question. No offence.

[-aAa- Kohlenhydrat]

Originally posted by Warsmith:

That's a really poor question. No offence.

can you answer that poor question?

[glenpawley]

I'm seeing a lot of comments about how Star Dynasties looks similar to Stellaris, so this is a good opportunity to address them.

First off, I've got 179hrs on record with Stellaris, so I'm pretty familiar with it (or at least what it was like in 2018), and I enjoyed playing it. Star Dynasties is a very different game, here's a breakdown of how:

Setting

• In Stellaris, the galaxy is on the cusp of a new era of colonization; ancient advanced empires exist but are largely isolated and stagnant
  
• In Star Dynasties, the destruction of earth has halted the expansion of humanity, and civilization has decayed into a fragmented set of competing feudal territories

Focus

• Stellaris is about space empires, alien species, exploration, empire management, and social engineering
  
• Star Dynasties is about characters, feudal politics, and how the history of empires is shaped by the personal stories of the powerful individuals in them

Gameplay

• In Stellaris, you operate at the level of a society; you craft that society, expand it, manage it's economy, government, and ethics. When you're playing Stellaris you're primarily managing an empire.
  
• In Star Dynasties, you play a specific person, and everything you do depends on relationships with other individuals; your family, your vassals, and other faction leaders. You grow old and die, and continue playing the game as your son or daughter. When you're playing Star Dynasties, you're still indirectly managing an empire, but your focus is primarily on what other people think of you, how to manipulate public appearance to get what you want, and how to take advantage of events that happen in the lives of those around you.

Mechanics

• Stellaris' systems are about modelling space empires and societies; population dynamics, complex governments, interstellar economies, etc.
  
• Star Dynasties' systems are about modelling individuals and relationships; happiness and interpersonal opinion, social standing and honor, life and death, families and political marriages, etc.

Story

• In Stellaris, you're telling the story of how a species colonized and took over the galaxy. Story events are about strange discoveries and technologies, and events that shape your empire and species.
  
• In Star Dynasties, you're telling the story of a noble family's rise to pre-eminence through scheming and political manoeuvring. Story events concern individuals as much as they concern empires; romantic indiscretions, personal intrigue, halting a war over a hostage, etc.

One last note; Star Dynasties is turn-based.

If you were in a position where you were choosing between the two games, it entirely depends on whether you want to play something that focuses on empire management, or something that focuses on interpersonal politics and human drama. Of course, if you like space strategy games, there's a good chance you will like both for different reasons :)

[-aAa- Kohlenhydrat]

Thank you glen, that was the answer I hoped for

[Diarmuhnd]

Whoa, that is a good answer. On my wishlist.

[Alpharius]

What I meant was this.

Lets say you're hungry, and you want to eat. It's like walking into an Indian restaurant and asking them why you should eat their food instead of the Chinese restaurant next door.

You know what I mean? All good though.

I'd say get both! Then decide what you prefer :)

[Monday]

What you described is still Stellaris, just with less content and more family drama.

[Whirlmeister]

Great answer, which just placed this game second on my wish list (Nothing could displace Mass Effect Legendary edition)

[easytarget]

I thought the standard answer to this question was because it's not stellaris.

Honestly I don't get why people feel the need to ask such questions because they're based on an assumed premise that's a false dilemma. I simply do not have to pick between the two and could buy both or neither.

But if I were to play along with this line of thinking my take would be to ask why this as opposed to this: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1113400/Alliance_of_the_Sacred_Suns/

[Pomelowe]

Originally posted by easytarget:

But if I were to play along with this line of thinking my take would be to ask why this as opposed to this:

Short answer? This is a 4X game with RPG elements, Star Dynasties is roughly the other way around: We focus on the human interaction (drama, politics, family) and support that with some management features. Alliance of the Sacred Suns gives you a lot of resources to manage, but in Star Dynasties all the individual characters are your primary resource.

[easytarget]

Or this one:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1437750/Stellar_Monarch_2/

[Father Damien]

I would never ask why should I buy or play this but word the question is this game like so and so game..... so one atleast has a rough idea at what they are buying into. I have to be honest when I saw this in the store i was wondering is it like Crusader Kings in space. Seems different from Endless Space atleast I couldn't get into that.

[The Renderer]

This all sounds like a poor Crusader Kings in space, unfortunately. And CK isn't that interesting to start with. Portraying complex human relations and interactions with numbers and sliders never really works out and usually ends up being a very dry number pushing affair. Plus Iceberg games usually aren't exactly high tier.

But the concept it interesting enough that I'll take a closer look at reviews and comments once it's out.

[Cicatrice]

Originally posted by Monday:

What you described is still Stellaris, just with less content and more family drama.

I suppose <insert any game> would be just like Stellaris with more <any game features> and less 4x content. Why bother playing <any game>.

[markelphoenix]

h8r going to h8. This is a day one buy for me.