Is Federations worth the price? Is it worth getting at all?

[Skorpzy]

I am on the fence. I love Stellaris, it is my favourite space game of all time but I have read/heard that Federations is more or less a costly addon for the free update Verne. I don't know if it is worth buying at the current price and I should get it on sale or if it is worth buying at all if most of the features were added in the Verne update and differ very little apart from the fact the DLC just adds a few megastructures, a few origins and federation types. So, I don't know you know. I am really not so sure :(

[AngleWyrm]

Here's the graph of reviews[i.imgur.com] for Federations as of today. The pattern seems to indicate that it was both well received at release, and that opinion hasn't dramatically changed over time.

Source: go to the Steam store entry for Stellaris/Federations, and click the customer reviews rating; there's a graphs option.

[Skorpzy]

I appreciate that but most reviews are not reliable. The majority of reviews I have read have been wriitten by people who seem to think the features I mentioned above were added in the Federations DLC when most of them were actually added in the free Verne update that was released alongside the Federations DLC. Because I dug deeper, I discovered the update added more than the DLC. All the DLC did was expand on what was added in the free update. Hence, when I am on the fence about getting it.

[AngleWyrm]

So those 600+ opinions don't suit you...And you came here for some more reviews?

[Skorpzy]

As I said, most of the reviews are not reliable because the majority of people seem to think the features that were added in the free update were what they got when they purchased the Federations DLC. I want somebody who has the DLC and the free update and is aware what each one adds to the game to provide me an answer as to whether I should buy the DLC or not and to explain to me if what is expanded upon in the DLC is enough to warrent a purchase or not.

[Elitewrecker PT]

It's only up to you whether more federations types attract you, or the extra megastructures, or giant ship, or the extra origins.

[Nightmyre]

I honestly find Federations a bit disappointing. Not because it isn't good - it actually is quite good, and I would probably rank it at least at the same level as Apocalypse and Synthetic Dawn, perhaps even on the same scale as Ancient Relics and Distant Stars (which I consider the "tier-2" DLC, behind only Utopia, which is "tier-1").

The reason I consider it disappointing is because it has such potential, it's just not there yet. I'm hoping the big update they plan on releasing in May will help them get there. As it stands, the coolest features are just things that I don't end up using. The bonuses just aren't enough, and the time delay is too long. If they tweaked things a bit, I think it could potentially even end up on the same level as Utopia, but it's not there yet.

[Skorpzy]

Originally posted by Nightmyre:

I honestly find Federations a bit disappointing. Not because it isn't good - it actually is quite good, and I would probably rank it at least at the same level as Apocalypse and Synthetic Dawn, perhaps even on the same scale as Ancient Relics and Distant Stars (which I consider the "tier-2" DLC, behind only Utopia, which is "tier-1").

The reason I consider it disappointing is because it has such potential, it's just not there yet. I'm hoping the big update they plan on releasing in May will help them get there. As it stands, the coolest features are just things that I don't end up using. The bonuses just aren't enough, and the time delay is too long. If they tweaked things a bit, I think it could potentially even end up on the same level as Utopia, but it's not there yet.

Thank you for your response, it does sound a bit disaoointing. What mechanics/features does it add other than expanding what was added in the free update Verne? (apart from megastrutures, additional origins and federation types).

[Nightmyre]

Well, the signature part of Federations are ... the federations. That comes in two flavors - the federations you form between other empires, which in-turn unlocks perks and bonuses for being a member, and the galactic council, which lets you decide on galaxy-wide matters (that, in turn, apply bonuses to specific things).

Like I said, though - they end up just not being "enough" to really be beneficial. I do want to emphasise, though, that when I say disappointing, I don't mean it's not a good expansion, or that it's not worth buying. Just that there is so much more it could be. And I also fully expect it will eventually reach that stage.

In terms of whether you should buy it, that's a question only you can answer. I think it's worth the money, but if you're hoping for a discount, the earliest you can probably expect one to arrive would be the Steam Summer Sale, and even there, I doubt it'll be discounted by much.

[Astasia]

I think my experience over the past couple days sums up federations quite well. I got tired of the federations theme playing on startup, so I changed the DLC files to make it play a different track. A few days later I realized that by changing those files it changed the hash on the DLC causing it to be disabled, and I never even realized I was playing the game without federations. For several days.

You see pretty much everything about the federations update, was vanilla. The only thing in the DLC is juggernauts, the mega shipyard, a few origins, and some federation controls. How I finally figured out my game was missing federations was that I wasn't able to change some of the federation laws in my trade league federation. At that moment I was like, "So wait... THAT is what I paid $20 for??"

[GoldenTalon]

Originally posted by AngleWyrm:

So those 600+ opinions don't suit you...And you came here for some more reviews?

And why not? That's one of the points of a game forum. If this offends you, you're not obligated to respond to the OP.

[Elitewrecker PT]

Originally posted by Astasia:

I think my experience over the past couple days sums up federations quite well. I got tired of the federations theme playing on startup, so I changed the DLC files to make it play a different track. A few days later I realized that by changing those files it changed the hash on the DLC causing it to be disabled, and I never even realized I was playing the game without federations. For several days.

You see pretty much everything about the federations update, was vanilla. The only thing in the DLC is juggernauts, the mega shipyard, a few origins, and some federation controls. How I finally figured out my game was missing federations was that I wasn't able to change some of the federation laws in my trade league federation. At that moment I was like, "So wait... THAT is what I paid $20 for??"

Ummm, trade leagues are supposed to be federations only too.

[Astasia]

Originally posted by Elitewrecker PT:

Ummm, trade leagues are supposed to be federations only too.

To create, not join, apparently. You also get all the bonuses of the trade league without the DLC, the stuff you get by leveling it up, you just can't change the laws as I mentioned.

[Jorgas]

Only get it for the mod dependencies from the mods you use, it's absolute trash.

[Kapika96]

I mean... that's basically Paradox in a nutshell. Not a single one of their DLCs are ever worth the price by themselves. They're expensive add-ons alongside free updates.

Although if you take into account the free content as well then the price for the DLC + update is usually worth it.

[sattyre]

your question is a bit retorical. Is it woth getting the update? Yes. Why, because even if the content of the actual DLC isn't worth the money, it is what is paying for the free update. If no one buys the DLCs, then there won't be any updates. It's as simple as that. Paradox isn't going to keep developing a dead fish, so if you want Paradox to continue developement of Stellaris, the players have to spend enough money to make it worth thier while. So yes it is worth the extra money.