Is Stellaris gameplay more exciting than Victoria 3?

[Kaathe]

I picked up Victoria 3 recently, my first paradox grand strategy game, and it seems there's nothing more to this game than selecting options on menus, fast forwarding time then seeing the outcome, rinse and repeat... And the tutorial is shockingly bad and doesn't help me learn at all.

How's stellaris compare to this?

[Geoff]

Originally posted by Guardian Kaathe:

How's stellaris compare to this?

I don't have experience with Victoria 3, but your summary of it sounds exactly like the disgruntled take on Stellaris.

[Razorblade]

No offense, but putting 50 minutes into a complex game and declaring it "boring" is laughable. The game isn't boring; you didn't understand how to play it. Those are totally different issues.

Stellaris is more straightforward than Victoria 3, which I think is what you're actually looking for. That being said, if all you're willing to give it is 50 minutes, you're still likely going to have issues. Those will be a more productive 50 minutes than your Victoria playthrough, surely, but 50 minutes is still 50 minutes. No one scratches the surface of a good strategy game in 50 minutes.

[Geoff]

Originally posted by Razorblade:

if all you're willing to give it is 50 minutes, you're still likely going to have issues.

That sounds correct to me. Stellaris is a niche taste. It doesn't sound like the OP is in its niche.

[Geoff]

Originally posted by Guardian Kaathe:

The tutorial stopped giving me help after like 20 minutes and I was left on my own to fast forward time and not know what to do. There's like 100 icons on the screen each with the own menus and more icons...

I'm planning on putting more time into it but don't be condescending. I'm a new player trying to learn but the game doesn't really allow me to.

The lack of a decent tutorial is a real flaw with the game. There are video explainers that largely fill the gap if that's your kind of learning. The official wiki is well-maintained and thorough, but it's very dense and really isn't useful until you've figured out what you're coping with.

The first experience of Stellaris is a firehose of information coming at you - klaxons screaming and flashing, and too many vairables to consider at once. But because it is a real-time-strategy game, once you've learned how to ride in the saddle there will in fact be a lot of times where you've got everything you need to do taken care of... and then whether it's boring really depends on what you're hoping to get from it. I enjoy playing it at a slow pace and watching the galaxy develop - very small circumstances can end up having very large impacts and that part of the game holds my interest. People who are in a rush to get to the grand end-game combat can just speed up the timer through all that. But huge amounts of it are making decisions then letting the clock run until they come out.

If you are committed to figuring your way through it and aren't really a video consumer, then I recommend treating the UI like learning a foreign language. At first, it's too dense and complex. So it's a good idea to break it down into small goals, focus on a few things at a time until you're confident you have it figured out. Then scrub your game and start over, armed with better understanding of how it works. You shouldn't expect to sit down and reach a successful and satisfying end game on your first playthrough. The game isn't really the great strategic proving ground some of its fans imagine it to be. Its difficulty lies in its complexity and speed. The developers are constantly changing how it works, so a lot of flexibility is also very important.

[Geoff]

Originally posted by Guardian Kaathe:

Edit : I just realized this game is on GamePass, I'll try it there first before buying. Thanks !

Good luck with it!

[Geoff]

Originally posted by Guardian Kaathe:

Thanks Geoff, you are a true friend in the Stellaris community to me. If I enjoy which dlc should I buy first

Utopia is generally considered the most essential of the DLCs. I bought them all at the same time I bought the game so I don't really have much experience playing without DLCs. But I think it's a solid recommendation, just based on what it adds to the game.

Some of the more recent DLCs were bad enough that I bought them, then turned them off. The newest one, Machine Age, has enjoyed much higher rating than the DLCs before it (I haven't been buying them anymore), and because it's the new shiny thing it's what a lot of the players in this forum will be playing and talking about. In multiplayer, everyone has access to the DLCs that the host has, so that can be a way to size up DLCs you're interested in before you commit.

[Geoff]

Originally posted by Guardian Kaathe:

What does Utopia add

The link on this page provides a pretty handy breakdown of the features each DLC added: https://stellaris.paradoxwikis.com/Downloadable_content#Expansion_subscription

It adds a lot of features to the core gameplay that it's hard to imagine playing without. It adds "ascension perks" that give you a diverse range of powerful ways to specialize your empire as it develops, it adds hive minds, it lets you build advanced structures in space that are integral to most players' late game experience.

[Dmformom]

Very different games, Vic 3 is an economy simulator, where as Stellaris is...Kind of a bit of everything, really. But definitely more focused on war/expansion/exploration. Personally Vic 3 is very underwhelming compared to its predecessor and I would not recommend that game even to someone that enjoys eco sims.

Objectively, yes, stellaris is much more exciting than vic 3.

[Biggs]

stellaris is for roleplayers. it is theatre for the mind. great fun for those who like strategy.

i didnt play the other game you mentioned but stellaris is a masterpiece in any case

[Immortalis]

Originally posted by Guardian Kaathe:

Thank you for a good post, not like that other guy trying to critique my gamer prowess based on my stats... (Even though I can complete a game like Elden ring in 35 hours while he has over 60 and has barely beat any bosses...)

And this isn’t condescending at all right? Telling someone “you didn’t play long enough” and comparing playtime is fine as long as you’re the one doing it, is it?


On a more serious note, Stellaris has a monthly subscription option which is extremely good for new players in that for a very small fee you get access to all DLC. I don’t recommend it as a permanent option but it might be a good idea to use it for a month or two and check yourself which DLC you find worthy of purchasing and which you can absolutely do without.

Also, as in all Paradox games, you have the option to revert to previous versions of the game, straight to 1.0.
If you’re completely new it could be a good idea to do that as well and play the game as it was, slowly advancing through the updates and the additional mechanics that were added as you grow comfortable with it

[Biggs]

Originally posted by Guardian Kaathe:

Originally posted by Dmformom:

Very different games, Vic 3 is an economy simulator, where as Stellaris is...Kind of a bit of everything, really. But definitely more focused on war/expansion/exploration. Personally Vic 3 is very underwhelming compared to its predecessor and I would not recommend that game even to someone that enjoys eco sims.

Objectively, yes, stellaris is much more exciting than vic 3.

How's stellaris play on steam deck?

steam deck? this game needs a full pc coz of its power