+Worth A Buy Thanks for reviewing this Mack - great WAB, have been looking forward to this coming out. Spot on I reckon - Paradox games tend to be very marmite-y (and I say that as a massive fan - I can still see and appreciate why people would hate them). I was also disturbed by how accurate your description was - to the extent I noticed my beard was indeed starting to get a little scruffy having played mostly EU4 for a while, and so I immediately trimmed it into a luxuriantly thick yet tidy form, and sank a few hours into Chivalry to boot.
BTW am streaming Doom tomorrow, not sure of the time but probably the first one will be at around 10:00am and then another one around 1:00pmStream link ruclips.net/video/W9FxeGZsgkk/видео.html
I made a genocidal slaver bird people race, eventually found humans, enslaved humans, humans rebel and eventually killed me. Best 20 hours ever and will be doing many more, it's also cool that you make your own race and then have them appear in your new game so the emphasis on role play can be pretty fun.
you know that you can divide your empire in sectors, which will be govern them self? A mechanic specifically implemented to reduce micro management greatly?
+Josef Hansi Sectors only manage the planets resources, I am on about all the clicking around constructing stations after they get destroyed, even finding them is a mess due to the crappy UI. It's like a huge searing game when things go wrong, even finding some ships is tedious at times.
+Worth A Buy Ah good, I thought you might have missed it as you did not mention it. I am not that far into the game, everything is still manageable for me. I checked my girlfriends hair, which is green, so i guess I'm good to go for the endgame.
+Worth A Buy Pretty sure you can just select the system and tell it to make all mining stations available. Down side is, it takes the entire mineral sum out immediately, which can get pretty high in some systems.
+Worth A Buy i don t known i put like 40 hours into game and it still is pretty easy to manage my 80 planets with over 800 pops empire mostly because enemy AI rarely focuses on killing mining stations and you can just right click on an system to build all mining stations or research stations especially easy to use shift que to tell a construction ship to pretty much build the mining stations in like big area and you don t need to worry about it anymore
As a guy who had a long untrimmed beard, and just recently trimmed it up. This video hit a little too close to home. But as always, you are fucking spot on Mack. Love your work, keep it up.
Fuck off with the "less" 4X. :P We want more. The deeper and more complex it is, the better. I've had enough of oversimplified shite like Beyond Earth. The very thing that makes 4X a genre is because it's not something you play in 2 hours. It's not Starcraft. I own around 1/6th of my 1000-star galaxy now. I'm playing as the Culture (Iain M. Banks). I've assimilated something like 10 species already, and a third of my population are droids. And I'm loving it. It's the first 4X that fully satisfied me. Particularly with the fact that a single game takes a very very very long time. You're not artificially forced into wars, and you can genuinely form strong alliances which can turn into federations. I currently have one ally with the same ideologies and busy kissing ass with the superpowerful nonexpansionist ancient civilization bordering my territories. Wars themselves are not usually wars of annihilation. I've personally split a slaver empire into two, and befriended the newly freed planets. They're complex and are constantly shaping the face of the galaxy. Same with the pre-Warp civilizations that sometimes develop fully midgame and form new factions. It's glorious. My only regret is that my ships aren't sentient. XD Haha
Also to note its already surprising there is any actual visible ship combat at all all other paradox games are just one dude with big number beneath it fighting another big dude with big number beneath it
Hey Mack, remember you can create sectors, sectors is controlled by AI, and you can make them focus special areas like Science or Minerals. I make sure that i always have 6 planets myself, so i can build an army fast, the rest i give to sectors. Sectors can also expand by themself, if you allow them to do so. Makes it much more less micromanagement and more easy to focus on other things. :) I think its one very important feature in Stellaris!. After the 1.5 update, they work much better than before..
MACK! i am Offended! I already have 40 hours on this sucker and i am not only Shaven like a newborns ASS, i would NEVR EVER go even near to any blue/purple haired problem glasses waering college girl... WAY to risky. fun aside. there IS automation mack. you can tell the computer to build ship designs for you. You can also just make sectors for all but 2 or 3 planets you directly controll. so yeah you actually can automate many things.
+Deus Vermiculus The sectors will also build their own construction ships and use those to build stations. Don't know what they do with their spaceports though.
+Fireiy they build them for defence, and so that your ships can repair and upgrade while they're in your sectors. If someone guns straight for your core worlds and takes out all your spacports, you'll be grateful to have some extras in your sectors
You can queue station building by right-clicking on a system while having a builder selected and there will be options to build stations on all resources.
sins is a different genre. you shouldn't be comparing this to that. It should be compared with games like Gal Civ iii, Endless Space and Master of Orion.
+Ricardo Warner True because in Sins you pick a race in space, build up space fleets, expand to take over other planets, communicate with other factions, make war or peace with them and expand across the galaxy. This game is different, in this game you pick a race in space, build up space fleets, expand to take over other planets, communicate with other factions, make war or peace with them and expand across the galaxy...oh wait
+Worth A Buy *sigh* it is a legitimate comment to make. Sins is an RTS with token grand strategy elements added onto it. It's all about combat. It's primarily at the RTS end of the spectrum of strategy gaming. Comparing Stellaris to it is like comparing rugby to football. The elements are the same, but the rules are very different.
+Ricardo Warner I'd say you have a spectrum from RTS-4X-Grand Strategy. Sins is 4X leaning closer to RTS, Stellaris is 4X leaning closer to GS. As Paradox fleshes out the AI and sector management it'll get more into GS too. I'd still say it's a good comparison, Sins vs. Stellaris.
Make your life easier mack! Use the galaxy map. Select a builder, RIGHT click a star and select build stations. Use SHIFT to cue up orders. It's the mid-game that's tedious imo. When you're somewhat powerful and just thinking about who you'll subjugate next. End game is hectic though :) Also, as you can see, no beard! ;)
If you prefer the missile weapons, consider investing in torpedoes. Good power and range, and they ignore shields. They can turn the tide especially if you know if that 5k fleet coming after your 3k is shield heavy. Also you can divide your empire in to sectors and tax 0 25 50 or 75% of the resources.
one of the beautiful things about paradox is games so in-depth that you could spend 200 hrs and barely scratch the surface. but also means want to become a pro you need a shit bucket.
I do have to note that there is limited form of automation, with planets, in particular the surface of the planet.. You can create "Sectors" and they will govern themselves to a certain extent. They will build up colonies and you can tax them up to 75% of what they produce. Also, with the construction ship, if a fleet comes and destroys half your stations that mine for example, you can go into the galaxy map with your construction ship selected and click on the system you want rebuilt and select "build mining stations" it makes a little easier. Otherwise great video!
Crusader Kings & Europa Universalis Games are also very deep games by Paradox Interactive. So they have history. Like you said there are niche games but loved by many
I'm 16 hours into my fist game, and yes with the tutorial/hints on full you have a shot at surviving that long. I nearly bought it at my first war, because I didn't expect that AI's composition of weapons/defense which is so important. Unfortunately for them they got stuck in a ground war while I rebuilt my fleet and that was that. Honestly not something that would have happened against a human oponent, but I was glad that I got a chance to recover this game. (Ironman mode is the only mode to go) Anyway, a very good description by Mack here again. I also loved Sins of a Solar Empire but wanted something with more depth, and I was pretty much done with turn based games already in the late nineties. Stellaris is a game in the right direction, but I do wish the battles were more involved. I find the UI for the game to make most of the game very manageable for the complex type that it is, but one really should play with the tutorial on for the first game. Maybe also do the galaxy a smaller one and in Ring formation, where you'll only have two fronts to cover for most of the game. Screw turn based games. Go for Stellaris, and maybe Sins of a Solar Empire as well.
I haven't shaved in about a month, there's an empty pizza box next to me and I was just playing stellaris for about 3 hours while eating my pizza and I loved it.
Battles are actually not that simple. As there is a counter to everything and one can easily beat a 2k fleet with a 1k fleet :) As an example, your missile fleet would be easily countered by a smaller fleet that has a few dedicated ships with point defenses. Regarding micromanagement, I must agree... Even thought there is sectors in place (and the reason why you can control so few planets) that enables one to remove micromanagement of planets, it can be to much in the rest of the area.
Have you tried Imperium Galactica 2? It is an amazing Space strategy with a suprisingly good story and amazing gameplay. There is 3 races in campaign so you can play it through at least 3 times and then you can play in skirmish (or on LAN) as 10 other races who has their own spaceship designs and national bonuses. ALSO you can equip ALL of your battleships as you desire. I for one made 4 kinds of fregattes. One that specialisez on offense one that is great at CC one that is good at defense and then there is the original design :)
Mack you not going to review the VIVE? It's honestly un-fucking-believably good. The sense of immersion with the wands and room scale has to be seen to believed.
I would really like to see more tactics involved with the combat. For example, if you have lasers researched, having a defensive type laser that can blow up incoming missiles before they damage the ships in your fleet. Or maybe reflective armor plating for laser defense. Right now, with all the customization, its really just a number crunch. Who's fleet has the bigger force number? They'll win. There's too much customization for that to be the only thing combat has to offer.
My 15k fleet has been wipe out by 5k enemy fleet because they use kinetic weapon which destroy my shield. So yes number are not the only wining solution.
+ZiLLA0100 Umm ... actually there IS point defense for shooting down enemy missiles, and for defeating laser you use shields. Its a rock-paper-scissor situation: shields counter laser, armor counters kinetic weapons and point defenses counters missiles. Its actually a bit more complex then that, because there are other things like evasion, weapons with different ranges and such too. Although simply having the biggest fleet works too in most cases ..
It's the first game I find your conclusions too different than what the final game felt like. As a strategy game enthusiast, I find this game not complex enough (in a smart, interesting kind of way). Bellow Civ V or older 4x titles or Paradox grand strategy titles in terms of horizontal complexity and it's not deep enough in any area. That'd be fine if there was an overarching narrative driving gameplay, but since there isn't any, the game obviously needed something more. Definitely not worth the initial asking price, considering it will depend on DLCs to be completed in terms of mechanics and content.
Scraggly bearded, giant assed blue haired girlfriend, eating pizza sitting around all day playing Stellaris in my Avengers overalls...you got a webcam in my house or what brother?
I love the Sins of a Solar Empire remarks. Hot damn, I've played that game for (according to Steam) 183 hours and this review made me reinstall it. So awesome! Regarding the review: I don't always agree with you, The Wither 3 being a prime example, but I do love that you give your OPINION. It's the way YOU think of the game. It's very refreshing! Please keep doing this!
After playing a LOT of this game, I realize that it's just not going to be up to the grand strategy standard I would of expected. Maybe give it a year for their expansions to catch up with balance/mid-game features.
Your going to incur the blue hair anger Mac :). But thank you for another good video. I have some really big strat fans I may pick this up on steam for them on their Thanksgiving/November and Xmas sales. All the best :)
I don't like to knock your review, but I think you have misunderstood this game. To start with it isn't a 4x game. It has 4x elements to it, but it isn't a traditional 4x game and this is why people expecting it to be 4x will be disappointed once deep in to a game. There are also some inaccuracies in what you said. For example, you definitely don't have to micromanage everything (Sectors). If you want to you can stick every single world in your entire empire in to self governing sectors leaving you only needing to deal with your home world. In fact there is a core worlds cap, so you have no choice but to hand off management of some of your worlds once you get in to the game a bit. The only reason I know this stuff is because I watched many hours of the pre-release streams in the build up to the game coming out and pretty much knew what I was buying. If you are a 4x fan and don't put in some research about what this game actually is before buying it, you will likely be frustrated by the way you have to deal with war once your empire is boxed in. If you have ever played other Paradox games like CK2 or Victoria, this is party what the game turns in to once the galaxy fills up. Do not buy this game thinking it is Master of Orion, StarDrive etc. It is similar early game, but later it changes to something else, not in a bad way, just make sure you are happy with that concept before you buy.
Haha as always I love your reviews. No scraggy beard here but Paradox Games still suit me. I'm glad that you gave a thumbs up but with the caveat that it's not for the casual gamer. And one thing to note with their games is that very often their initial release is unfortunately not the jewel... they listen to feedback and it's usually polished in their updates and DLC. And there's always a very active Modding community. Anyhow I look forward to you next video, I always watch them promptly and with admiration! Cheers!
Been really looking forward to a good game to fill the space strategy genre. Was really looking forward to playing this, seems like it is worth a buy! :)
Your beard analogy is so great. I had a ponytail and a splotchy, untrimmed neckbeard with an occasional hair sticking out. I had long hair primarily because I was a metal head and I always assumed that I'm just a lazy shaver but it seems like I'm just that type of guy. Hair is gone because it takes forever to dry and I shave cleanly because my beard is very brightly coloured and ugly. Next thing is a blue haired GF I guess.
The more depth to a game like this, the better, as there are too many shallow games about. This one will make you think, you know, use that brain you have. The more time that you are willing to put into this game and to learn its nuances, the more you are going to get out of it. Not everyone has a miniscule attention span. Yes, I am a big Civilization fan. Anyway, what have beards and blue hair got to do with this? If you had put more time into playing and yes, learning the game, you may have given it a bigger thumbs-up.
My current game I got boxed in by a Fallen Empire on one side and my neighbors on the other. I ended up creating a ton of Torpedo boats and enslaving all my neighbors and making them fight my wars for me. Good times!
Hey Mack! What is the song that you used? I have heard this song in a lot of your videos and I sorta like it, it's a bit addictive and it works so well with these space games.
Hey Mack, Good review, but at 10:50 you said that you need to micromanage everything. When In fact, you don't, you just need to divide your empire into sectors and set a governor for every sector and then they will do the micromanaging for that sector. here is a link for more info: www.stellariswiki.com/index.php?title=Empire&redirect=no#Sectors
I liked Endless Space and Endless Legend, so I'm not sure if I would like this one since those two aren't this complex. Maybe I'll just wait for Endless Space 2 and see if it's more my thing. Thanks for the review as always!
Mack, apparently they were lighting up penshaw monument in red and white for Sunderlands so called success! Canny sad them mackems! Well at least we get more games next season on the championship ha ha. Keep up the good work
Hey Mack, I really love your videos and I always come to you first for gaming advice! I'm one of those rare breeds of non-scraggly bearded paradox fanboys. I've played more of EU4 than any other game on the planet thus far; for my kind, I actually find that there is just not enough depth relative to other Paradox games. The customization is amazing the battles suck [still better than EU4 tho] but the grand strategy is there albeit ~ dum-ed down for a Paradox Game... at least it's not a Total War game. All that is to say that ~ well... my hunch is that that there will be oodles and oodles of paid downloadable content. Like every other recent paradox Game to-date it will get more and more complex. Accordingly, expect the dlc imo ~ they're coming @ quarterly or bi-quarterly intervals. For instance, just recently they added a corruption modifier for EU4 which has really changed the game. Why not Start CUNT in EU4 ~ they have a 'Custom Nations' creator too; it's not nearly as good as the one in Stellaris but it's still good.
How does it compare to something like Endless Space? I really enjoy the experience of playing ES but I never seem to git gud and get constantly beaten by the AI.
I'll trade you my blue haired girlfriend for 1200 minerals and your star charts 10/10
Grand Moff Tarkin Thats pretty cheap.
Some hilarious beard/Blue hair comments, having a right good laugh tonight, thanks guys, you are so funny.
Haha yea man
+MisterBeak Hi Beakface :)
Worth A Buy *blushes* :)
+Worth A Buy
Thanks for reviewing this Mack - great WAB, have been looking forward to this coming out. Spot on I reckon - Paradox games tend to be very marmite-y (and I say that as a massive fan - I can still see and appreciate why people would
hate them).
I was also disturbed by how accurate your description was - to the extent I noticed my beard was indeed starting to get a little scruffy having played mostly EU4 for a while, and so I immediately trimmed it into a luxuriantly thick yet tidy form, and sank a few hours into Chivalry to boot.
*Strokes Musketeer stache*
BTW am streaming Doom tomorrow, not sure of the time but probably the first one will be at around 10:00am and then another one around 1:00pmStream link ruclips.net/video/W9FxeGZsgkk/видео.html
But I thought you said it was "bantha piss." why torment yourself?
+Milkman Single player is good.
+Sony Pony Gaming Oh right, forgot about Single Player
I made a genocidal slaver bird people race, eventually found humans, enslaved humans, humans rebel and eventually killed me. Best 20 hours ever and will be doing many more, it's also cool that you make your own race and then have them appear in your new game so the emphasis on role play can be pretty fun.
I've got the beard, but not the girlfriend; I fear this game might not be deep enough for me..
+King Steele LOL
This guy restores my faith in RUclips gamers
you know that you can divide your empire in sectors, which will be govern them self? A mechanic specifically implemented to reduce micro management greatly?
+Josef Hansi Sectors only manage the planets resources, I am on about all the clicking around constructing stations after they get destroyed, even finding them is a mess due to the crappy UI. It's like a huge searing game when things go wrong, even finding some ships is tedious at times.
+Worth A Buy Ah good, I thought you might have missed it as you did not mention it. I am not that far into the game, everything is still manageable for me. I checked my girlfriends hair, which is green, so i guess I'm good to go for the endgame.
+Worth A Buy Pretty sure you can just select the system and tell it to make all mining stations available. Down side is, it takes the entire mineral sum out immediately, which can get pretty high in some systems.
+Josef Hansi lol
+Worth A Buy i don t known i put like 40 hours into game and it still is pretty easy to manage my 80 planets with over 800 pops empire
mostly because enemy AI rarely focuses on killing mining stations and you can just right click on an system to build all mining stations or research stations
especially easy to use shift que to tell a construction ship to pretty much build the mining stations in like big area and you don t need to worry about it anymore
I was enjoying this game ok, but then I stopped shaving....now I am REALLY enjoying it
Thanks for the tip Mack
As a guy who had a long untrimmed beard, and just recently trimmed it up. This video hit a little too close to home. But as always, you are fucking spot on Mack. Love your work, keep it up.
Help Mack I've got a huge problem, my girlfriend had blue hair until last month, but now it's black. Will I like the game?
Not anymore man sorry :-(
I have scruffy, shitty facial hair, and I'd never date a blue hair... What 4X is for me?
+Steve Smith LOL I love my subscribers, so bloody funny at times.
+Steve Smith i have a failed attempt at face hair. and my other half has purple hair dose that mean i should pick this up or leave it :O ???
This game is just amazing. If you have the slightly interest in space 4x or grand strategy, BUY IT.
I played 30 hours in 3 days, btw.
Doom review Monday and yes I will also be reviewing Warhammer Total War at the end of the month :)
I haven't trimmed my beard in a while and I like this game. 10/10. Spot on review.
Fuck off with the "less" 4X. :P We want more. The deeper and more complex it is, the better. I've had enough of oversimplified shite like Beyond Earth. The very thing that makes 4X a genre is because it's not something you play in 2 hours. It's not Starcraft.
I own around 1/6th of my 1000-star galaxy now. I'm playing as the Culture (Iain M. Banks). I've assimilated something like 10 species already, and a third of my population are droids. And I'm loving it. It's the first 4X that fully satisfied me. Particularly with the fact that a single game takes a very very very long time.
You're not artificially forced into wars, and you can genuinely form strong alliances which can turn into federations.
I currently have one ally with the same ideologies and busy kissing ass with the superpowerful nonexpansionist ancient civilization bordering my territories.
Wars themselves are not usually wars of annihilation. I've personally split a slaver empire into two, and befriended the newly freed planets. They're complex and are constantly shaping the face of the galaxy. Same with the pre-Warp civilizations that sometimes develop fully midgame and form new factions. It's glorious.
My only regret is that my ships aren't sentient. XD Haha
Also to note
its already surprising there is any actual visible ship combat at all
all other paradox games are just one dude with big number beneath it fighting another big dude with big number beneath it
+ozis ponas Though to be fair, in EU 4 you can view a battle and then see a grid of squares light up and dim. The excitement is immeasurable!
+Cultist of Gyarloth damn the cav is in the middle and inf is flanking while i rolled a 0 in shock phase. nah don't worry to much i'm france ^^
Hey Mack, remember you can create sectors, sectors is controlled by AI, and you can make them focus special areas like Science or Minerals.
I make sure that i always have 6 planets myself, so i can build an army fast, the rest i give to sectors.
Sectors can also expand by themself, if you allow them to do so. Makes it much more less micromanagement and more easy to focus on other things. :)
I think its one very important feature in Stellaris!. After the 1.5 update, they work much better than before..
I've got the beard and the game, but still no blue-haired gf :(
+ap4777 Go to a few game cons, you can thank me later
+Worth A Buy do a face reveal
+ap4777 Here, Take a look at this.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aposematism
+Shogun Chanell you can see his face in the mack and mesh videos.
had a look myself, cool dude
"If you've got the beard!"
*Rubs his beard and smiles*
"...And that blue haired girlfriend!"
...
;-; forever alone.
MACK! i am Offended! I already have 40 hours on this sucker and i am not only Shaven like a newborns ASS, i would NEVR EVER go even near to any blue/purple haired problem glasses waering college girl... WAY to risky.
fun aside. there IS automation mack. you can tell the computer to build ship designs for you. You can also just make sectors for all but 2 or 3 planets you directly controll. so yeah you actually can automate many things.
TRIGGERED!!!
+Deus Vermiculus The sectors will also build their own construction ships and use those to build stations. Don't know what they do with their spaceports though.
Vexoro They'll build defense platforms and armies but they'll work on getting enough resource production to build and maintain them first.
+Fireiy they build them for defence, and so that your ships can repair and upgrade while they're in your sectors. If someone guns straight for your core worlds and takes out all your spacports, you'll be grateful to have some extras in your sectors
You can queue station building by right-clicking on a system while having a builder selected and there will be options to build stations on all resources.
Oh come on mack, Civ5 ain't that deep. Just tedious in the end-game with all the micro managing.
sins is a different genre. you shouldn't be comparing this to that. It should be compared with games like Gal Civ iii, Endless Space and Master of Orion.
+Ricardo Warner True because in Sins you pick a race in space, build up space fleets, expand to take over other planets, communicate with other factions, make war or peace with them and expand across the galaxy. This game is different, in this game you pick a race in space, build up space fleets, expand to take over other planets, communicate with other factions, make war or peace with them and expand across the galaxy...oh wait
+Worth A Buy *sigh* it is a legitimate comment to make. Sins is an RTS with token grand strategy elements added onto it. It's all about combat. It's primarily at the RTS end of the spectrum of strategy gaming. Comparing Stellaris to it is like comparing rugby to football. The elements are the same, but the rules are very different.
+Ricardo Warner I'd say you have a spectrum from RTS-4X-Grand Strategy. Sins is 4X leaning closer to RTS, Stellaris is 4X leaning closer to GS. As Paradox fleshes out the AI and sector management it'll get more into GS too.
I'd still say it's a good comparison, Sins vs. Stellaris.
+Death Mwauthzyx I was hoping he would have a convincing reply.
I see what you did dare
Civilization is not depth. Its like a middle ground.
Tfw scraggly beard but no gf.
Make your life easier mack! Use the galaxy map. Select a builder, RIGHT click a star and select build stations. Use SHIFT to cue up orders. It's the mid-game that's tedious imo. When you're somewhat powerful and just thinking about who you'll subjugate next. End game is hectic though :)
Also, as you can see, no beard! ;)
YOU SIR. Earned a subscriber with your perfect use of dirty comedy and good details on the games you've reviewed- Brah-fuckin-Vo my good sir.
Thanks, Mack! I've been eyeing this game for a long time. I could kiss you for putting this one up now (in a manly way obviously).
If you prefer the missile weapons, consider investing in torpedoes. Good power and range, and they ignore shields. They can turn the tide especially if you know if that 5k fleet coming after your 3k is shield heavy.
Also you can divide your empire in to sectors and tax 0 25 50 or 75% of the resources.
You make me self conscious about my beard...and my girlfriend is brunette .
Sooooo close to 100k congrats Mack
There's something very british in your sense of humor that I find absolutely fantastic!!!
Am on the fence of subscribing to your channel!
Hitting the like button the moment you talk about untrimmed beards for no reason :)
3:27 can you find the skull ?
You're getting better at these reviews Mack. Fokking hell, this beard comparsion is brilliant!
one of the beautiful things about paradox is games so in-depth that you could spend 200 hrs and barely scratch the surface. but also means want to become a pro you need a shit bucket.
you forgot to mention that nothing happens in mid game and the end game crises either crush you or you crush them.
Wait... those beard guys get girlfriends? So there still is hope for me growing up! Thank you! You, sir just saved my life!
I do have to note that there is limited form of automation, with planets, in particular the surface of the planet.. You can create "Sectors" and they will govern themselves to a certain extent. They will build up colonies and you can tax them up to 75% of what they produce. Also, with the construction ship, if a fleet comes and destroys half your stations that mine for example, you can go into the galaxy map with your construction ship selected and click on the system you want rebuilt and select "build mining stations" it makes a little easier. Otherwise great video!
You crack me up, man.
THE WORDS THE WORDS THE WORDS, OF THE DEVELOPER!!!!!
+Nemisis _P best part of the review :D
the music is awesome bro! sounds so nostalgic somehow
you know, I really want a game like this, with the massive populated galaxy, but with you exploring it and taking part in wars and stuff
Crusader Kings & Europa Universalis Games are also very deep games by Paradox Interactive. So they have history. Like you said there are niche games but loved by many
I'm 16 hours into my fist game, and yes with the tutorial/hints on full you have a shot at surviving that long. I nearly bought it at my first war, because I didn't expect that AI's composition of weapons/defense which is so important. Unfortunately for them they got stuck in a ground war while I rebuilt my fleet and that was that. Honestly not something that would have happened against a human oponent, but I was glad that I got a chance to recover this game. (Ironman mode is the only mode to go)
Anyway, a very good description by Mack here again. I also loved Sins of a Solar Empire but wanted something with more depth, and I was pretty much done with turn based games already in the late nineties. Stellaris is a game in the right direction, but I do wish the battles were more involved. I find the UI for the game to make most of the game very manageable for the complex type that it is, but one really should play with the tutorial on for the first game. Maybe also do the galaxy a smaller one and in Ring formation, where you'll only have two fronts to cover for most of the game.
Screw turn based games. Go for Stellaris, and maybe Sins of a Solar Empire as well.
Great review, as always. The talk about the scraggly beard and blue haired girlfriend had me rolling.Love your reviews. Keep 'em coming.
I haven't shaved in about a month, there's an empty pizza box next to me and I was just playing stellaris for about 3 hours while eating my pizza and I loved it.
I randomly stumbled onto your vid and I'm glad I did. You're fucking hilarious. I look forward to more of your videos, man.
Battles are actually not that simple. As there is a counter to everything and one can easily beat a 2k fleet with a 1k fleet :) As an example, your missile fleet would be easily countered by a smaller fleet that has a few dedicated ships with point defenses.
Regarding micromanagement, I must agree... Even thought there is sectors in place (and the reason why you can control so few planets) that enables one to remove micromanagement of planets, it can be to much in the rest of the area.
Have you tried Imperium Galactica 2?
It is an amazing Space strategy with a suprisingly good story and amazing gameplay.
There is 3 races in campaign so you can play it through at least 3 times and then you can play in skirmish (or on LAN) as 10 other races who has their own spaceship designs and national bonuses.
ALSO you can equip ALL of your battleships as you desire.
I for one made 4 kinds of fregattes. One that specialisez on offense one that is great at CC one that is good at defense and then there is the original design :)
Mack you not going to review the VIVE? It's honestly un-fucking-believably good. The sense of immersion with the wands and room scale has to be seen to believed.
Good job keeping up with all the new releases lately. Must me a lot of work :)
I would really like to see more tactics involved with the combat. For example, if you have lasers researched, having a defensive type laser that can blow up incoming missiles before they damage the ships in your fleet. Or maybe reflective armor plating for laser defense. Right now, with all the customization, its really just a number crunch. Who's fleet has the bigger force number? They'll win. There's too much customization for that to be the only thing combat has to offer.
My 15k fleet has been wipe out by 5k enemy fleet because they use kinetic weapon which destroy my shield. So yes number are not the only wining solution.
+ZiLLA0100 Umm ... actually there IS point defense for shooting down enemy missiles, and for defeating laser you use shields. Its a rock-paper-scissor situation: shields counter laser, armor counters kinetic weapons and point defenses counters missiles. Its actually a bit more complex then that, because there are other things like evasion, weapons with different ranges and such too. Although simply having the biggest fleet works too in most cases ..
Does anyone know if this game is like Imperium Galactica 2?
The beard commentray cracked me up, because one of the Devs that livestreamed the game was a Hipster-Male Feminist-Sissy-Man Bun guy!!!!
It's the first game I find your conclusions too different than what the final game felt like. As a strategy game enthusiast, I find this game not complex enough (in a smart, interesting kind of way). Bellow Civ V or older 4x titles or Paradox grand strategy titles in terms of horizontal complexity and it's not deep enough in any area. That'd be fine if there was an overarching narrative driving gameplay, but since there isn't any, the game obviously needed something more. Definitely not worth the initial asking price, considering it will depend on DLCs to be completed in terms of mechanics and content.
What is the music in the beggining? It sounds awesome :D
What about Endless Space 2? Are you considering reviewing it as well?
I like the way you tell us things Mack
I must admit to having a chuckle at the name of your science ship :)
this game does appeal to me but i don't think that i have the beard to pull it off..
Feels like a huge step backwards from the Lost Empire 4x they published back in 2008
Good to see Mike Ashley's ship sports an appropriate moniker.
Mac your reviews are ace, some of the best around. I'd like to see more simulator and comedy based content but this content is top notch
Scraggly bearded, giant assed blue haired girlfriend, eating pizza sitting around all day playing Stellaris in my Avengers overalls...you got a webcam in my house or what brother?
You could have gone with Corrupt United Nation Trader Specialists, a.k.a. C.U.N.T.S.
I love the Sins of a Solar Empire remarks. Hot damn, I've played that game for (according to Steam) 183 hours and this review made me reinstall it. So awesome!
Regarding the review: I don't always agree with you, The Wither 3 being a prime example, but I do love that you give your OPINION. It's the way YOU think of the game. It's very refreshing! Please keep doing this!
After playing a LOT of this game, I realize that it's just not going to be up to the grand strategy standard I would of expected. Maybe give it a year for their expansions to catch up with balance/mid-game features.
Your going to incur the blue hair anger Mac :). But thank you for another good video. I have some really big strat fans I may pick this up on steam for them on their Thanksgiving/November and Xmas sales. All the best :)
I don't like to knock your review, but I think you have misunderstood this game. To start with it isn't a 4x game. It has 4x elements to it, but it isn't a traditional 4x game and this is why people expecting it to be 4x will be disappointed once deep in to a game. There are also some inaccuracies in what you said. For example, you definitely don't have to micromanage everything (Sectors). If you want to you can stick every single world in your entire empire in to self governing sectors leaving you only needing to deal with your home world. In fact there is a core worlds cap, so you have no choice but to hand off management of some of your worlds once you get in to the game a bit.
The only reason I know this stuff is because I watched many hours of the pre-release streams in the build up to the game coming out and pretty much knew what I was buying. If you are a 4x fan and don't put in some research about what this game actually is before buying it, you will likely be frustrated by the way you have to deal with war once your empire is boxed in. If you have ever played other Paradox games like CK2 or Victoria, this is party what the game turns in to once the galaxy fills up.
Do not buy this game thinking it is Master of Orion, StarDrive etc. It is similar early game, but later it changes to something else, not in a bad way, just make sure you are happy with that concept before you buy.
I have a scraggy looking yellow beard and a Mrs with purple hair, what game can you suggest for me??
+Treeb Gaming Overwatch.
***** Sorry, man, I can hear the joke in there now
Scraggly beard 🧔 and blue hair girlfriend who you referring to??
Haha as always I love your reviews. No scraggy beard here but Paradox Games still suit me. I'm glad that you gave a thumbs up but with the caveat that it's not for the casual gamer. And one thing to note with their games is that very often their initial release is unfortunately not the jewel... they listen to feedback and it's usually polished in their updates and DLC. And there's always a very active Modding community.
Anyhow I look forward to you next video, I always watch them promptly and with admiration! Cheers!
Paradox is usually pretty good at coming with updates to flesh out their games after launch.
Been really looking forward to a good game to fill the space strategy genre. Was really looking forward to playing this, seems like it is worth a buy! :)
Your beard analogy is so great. I had a ponytail and a splotchy, untrimmed neckbeard with an occasional hair sticking out. I had long hair primarily because I was a metal head and I always assumed that I'm just a lazy shaver but it seems like I'm just that type of guy. Hair is gone because it takes forever to dry and I shave cleanly because my beard is very brightly coloured and ugly. Next thing is a blue haired GF I guess.
Mack, do you reckon you'll do civ 6 when it comes out?
The more depth to a game like this, the better, as there are too many shallow games about. This one will make you think, you know, use that brain you have. The more time that you are willing to put into this game and to learn its nuances, the more you are going to get out of it. Not everyone has a miniscule attention span. Yes, I am a big Civilization fan.
Anyway, what have beards and blue hair got to do with this?
If you had put more time into playing and yes, learning the game, you may have given it a bigger thumbs-up.
mack are you going to review civ 6 when it comes out Oct 21st?
lol love the tangents in this review - mack rules so hard
My current game I got boxed in by a Fallen Empire on one side and my neighbors on the other. I ended up creating a ton of Torpedo boats and enslaving all my neighbors and making them fight my wars for me. Good times!
Hey Mack! What is the song that you used? I have heard this song in a lot of your videos and I sorta like it, it's a bit addictive and it works so well with these space games.
Any chance of doing a WAB on Cortex Command Mack?
Hey Mack, Good review, but at 10:50 you said that you need to micromanage everything. When In fact, you don't, you just need to divide your empire into sectors and set a governor for every sector and then they will do the micromanaging for that sector.
here is a link for more info:
www.stellariswiki.com/index.php?title=Empire&redirect=no#Sectors
I liked Endless Space and Endless Legend, so I'm not sure if I would like this one since those two aren't this complex. Maybe I'll just wait for Endless Space 2 and see if it's more my thing. Thanks for the review as always!
will you ever do a worth a buy of old meg?
i think you can use sectors to automate planets. not 100% sure tho
How would you compare it to Endless Space ?
man,will Tommy Lee Jones ever get to finish that morning paper?
Hands down the funniest review I've ever watched
Mack, apparently they were lighting up penshaw monument in red and white for Sunderlands so called success! Canny sad them mackems! Well at least we get more games next season on the championship ha ha. Keep up the good work
Mack what do you think of videogame pirates?(the kind that steal games not the pricks on elite.
Been waiting for this review for a long time! Finally!
Hey Mack, I really love your videos and I always come to you first for gaming advice! I'm one of those rare breeds of non-scraggly bearded paradox fanboys. I've played more of EU4 than any other game on the planet thus far; for my kind, I actually find that there is just not enough depth relative to other Paradox games. The customization is amazing the battles suck [still better than EU4 tho] but the grand strategy is there albeit ~ dum-ed down for a Paradox Game... at least it's not a Total War game.
All that is to say that ~ well... my hunch is that that there will be oodles and oodles of paid downloadable content. Like every other recent paradox Game to-date it will get more and more complex. Accordingly, expect the dlc imo ~ they're coming @ quarterly or bi-quarterly intervals.
For instance, just recently they added a corruption modifier for EU4 which has really changed the game. Why not Start CUNT in EU4 ~ they have a 'Custom Nations' creator too; it's not nearly as good as the one in Stellaris but it's still good.
There is automation in this game. You didn't say a thing about the sector management.
How does it compare to something like Endless Space? I really enjoy the experience of playing ES but I never seem to git gud and get constantly beaten by the AI.
So it just needs a "repair all destroyed stuff back " button.
I like it
every time u said "survey" i heard "severe"
"Corrupt United Nations Traitors" :D Genius!
Waiting for your review of Doom Mack, is it worth a buy?