I REALLY want to get into this game, but the cost/amount of DLC and poor tutorials for the steep learning curve just put me off.

[TEMPEST]

Can someone recommend a really good and thorough tutorial for the current build? The newest I found on YouTube was over 3 years old.

[Pizza_0786]

About the cost, I'd recommend trying the subscription option for the DLC for a month and test out which of the DLC from that before committing to full-prize purchases. Concerning tutorial, there is an in-game tutorial, though I'm not sure how up to date that is and hive mind as well as machine intelligence currently disables it... The tutorial question should be answered by someone else.

Also, we can expect a sale on the base game once the machine age DLC drops...

[don pollo king of ohio]

you can get them for free, add me on discord olivier209

[Pizza_0786]

Originally posted by TTV_Peter_Griffin:

you can get them for free, add me on discord olivier209

I highly don't recommend trusting something like this............

[EJR]

Despite not liking subscription-based content for games like this, I recommend trying the subscription service for access to DLC content. From what I'm told and what I see, it is a fair alternative to buying the bucketloads of DLC as you only pay monthly to play with them. You can also do what I did and just purchase the DLC(s) you really want first, whether they are on sale or not. Then just buy the remaining DLCs on subsequent sales over a course of several months to a year. If you are willing to use the money, of course.

As for a tutorial, I will say that this game is definitely something you need to learn by yourself as you play. I'm saying this not because I am lazy to explain or I'm a "git gud scrub," but because that is genuinely the best way to learn. I find watching guides on Youtube to be a poor way to learn as not only is it hardcore but also more often than not you will find yourself playing builds you do not enjoy.

I personally enjoy a build that is both for RP and a bit of meta. In the save I am playing before Machine Age (MA) drops is a traditional elf kingdom in space built on Unity.

Species Traits:
Slow Breeders
Unadaptive
Talented
Traditional
Venerable

Ethics:
Fanatic Authoritarian
Xenophobe
(You can do Spiritualist as a third Ethic since it provides additional bonuses to Unity and helps with how 'religious' elves typically are in fantasy, but I enjoy starting out with a fanatic Ethic so I only have those two)

Civics:
Aristocratic Elite
Philosopher King

I work towards a Psionics gameplay in this save and it is working out well.

[Pizza_0786]

Originally posted by EJR:

Despite not liking subscription-based content for games like this, I recommend trying the subscription service for access to DLC content. From what I'm told and what I see, it is a fair alternative to buying the bucketloads of DLC as you only pay monthly to play with them. You can also do what I did and just purchase the DLC(s) you really want first, whether they are on sale or not. Then just buy the remaining DLCs on subsequent sales over a course of several months to a year. If you are willing to use the money, of course.

As for a tutorial, I will say that this game is definitely something you need to learn by yourself as you play. I'm saying this not because I am lazy to explain or I'm a "git gud scrub," but because that is genuinely the best way to learn. I find watching guides on Youtube to be a poor way to learn as not only is it hardcore but also more often than not you will find yourself playing builds you do not enjoy.

I personally enjoy a build that is both for RP and a bit of meta. In the save I am playing before Machine Age (MA) drops is a traditional elf kingdom in space built on Unity.

Species Traits:
Slow Breeders
Unadaptive
Talented
Traditional
Venerable

Ethics:
Fanatic Authoritarian
Xenophobe
(You can do Spiritualist as a third Ethic since it provides additional bonuses to Unity and helps with how 'religious' elves typically are in fantasy, but I enjoy starting out with a fanatic Ethic so I only have those two)

Civics:
Aristocratic Elite
Philosopher King

I work towards a Psionics gameplay in this save and it is working out well.

I'd add the in-game tutorial to that self-learning bit, that one isn't for any specific build.

[TEMPEST]

My issue is that the in-game tutorial (such that it is) just is a brief description of each panel you enter. It doesn't tell you when to use it or really how to get anything from it.

And because everything is available to you right off the bat, you can get lost in the politics, elections, grid development etc.. and never actually accomplish anything.

It's just too much information, but not enough education on what affects what and how and when to use it or leave it alone etc..

Just sending out ships and building stuff to expand the boundaries of your empire is hard enough without all the planetary grids, elections and resource mining...

Like I said; I'm just lost and looking for the best 'way to learn' so I can not feel so overwhelmed and lost. Just pointless clicking and hoping isn't getting me anywhere.

I'm the last person EVER to advocate for the dumbing down of anything - that's not what I'm looking for... just maybe a bit more 'hand-holding' until things start to click.

Oh well...

[Pizza_0786]

Originally posted by Tempest:

My issue is that the in-game tutorial (such that it is) just is a brief description of each panel you enter. It doesn't tell you when to use it or really how to get anything from it.

And because everything is available to you right off the bat, you can get lost in the politics, elections, grid development etc.. and never actually accomplish anything.

It's just too much information, but not enough education on what affects what and how and when to use it or leave it alone etc..

Just sending out ships and building stuff to expand the boundaries of your empire is hard enough without all the planetary grids, elections and resource mining...

Like I said; I'm just lost and looking for the best 'way to learn' so I can not feel so overwhelmed and lost. Just pointless clicking and hoping isn't getting me anywhere.

I'm the last person EVER to advocate for the dumbing down of anything - that's not what I'm looking for... just maybe a bit more 'hand-holding' until things start to click.

Oh well...

There is a problem with game design on this scope when it comes to creating a tutorial: too many moving pieces to implement a good one that doesn't just look like the instruction manual or a strategy guide with too many options to make a strategy guide fun for everyone. I guess one could consider easy setting AI on a small galaxy a good testing field, but in the end, tutorials for this kind of game are very difficult to get in a good spot for the majority of people. Similar games like Civ, tycoon games ect have the same problem.

[Ratman]

find some good builds on reddit, and keep running through ironman playthroughs on a low-ish difficulty. look up good settings too, helps tune the galaxy and prevent late game performance issues. you're gonna die a bunch but eventually it will click

[syphonax]

Anyone new to this game and with a brain who wants all the DLCs etc should get the subscription and like 2 months off work, forget the diplomatic aspects and go all machinehead, you'll probs rage die a load of times until you figure it out and then eventually snowball the entire game which is what ya need to do right from the start

[HappySack]

Most Paradox game tutorials teach you nothing.

And there are dozens of tutorials on Youtube for pretty much everything as well as the wiki which can also be accessed in-game anytime.

As for DLC they regularly go on sale for 50% off on Steam or more if you get them outside of Steam, as an alternative there's also the subscription so you can try everything for months at a time.

[Diresage]

Play the base game, make mistakes, automate some of the micromanagement tasks such as planet management (AI drive these planets sub-optimally but you can revisit this aspect of the game after some core tenants have been figured out). The game is always changing so even for me who has played over many years but not terribly often has to play at a slower pace to see what's new.

There are many ways to play the game and tons of nuances to figure out but they just make sense if you can just get into some of the roleplay elements the game has to offer. Grab some of the DLC that align with how you want to play the game -- absolutely none of the DLC are mandatory to enjoying the game.

Example, if you play a few games and you find you like the combat -- grab some DLC that give you a few more toys to play with. If you like the diplomacy aspect then you can grab some that tailor to this.

The game is surprisingly simple once you just play and figure out what keeps you coming back for more or what aspect of the game you would like to improve on the next playthrough.

All in all, just play the game -- if your game is not enjoyable, figure out why and maybe start up a new game with a focus to fix it.

[identity]

This seems recent and informed.

https://youtu.be/P21cVLosfe0?si=WpIxqRbubR71u9LR

Also, I don't even remember playing a tutorial for this game if there was one... Game has changed pretty dramatically several times, too, if you go through some of the old patches, it'll almost feel like playing a totally different game.

[★REM★]

Originally posted by Tempest:

Can someone recommend a really good and thorough tutorial for the current build? The newest I found on YouTube was over 3 years old.

It's one of the easier if not the most easy PDX game to learn.

[TEMPEST]

Originally posted by ★REM★:

Originally posted by Tempest:

Can someone recommend a really good and thorough tutorial for the current build? The newest I found on YouTube was over 3 years old.

It's one of the easier if not the most easy PDX game to learn.

That's not helpful and a more passive-aggressive version of 'get good'. If you don't have anything useful to say, then don't say it.