Info about Stellaris: Apocalypse: Official game description: **Stellaris: Apocalypse** is a full expansion which redefines stellar warfare for all players with a host of new offensive and defensive options. Destroy entire worlds with terrifying new planet-killer weapons, fight against (or alongside) ruthless space pirates, and maybe discover a few non-violent game features as well. **The Apocalypse expansion includes:** THAT'S NO MOON, NEITHER IS THAT ONE, THAT ONE MIGHT BE A MOON, WAIT, NO ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Keep the local systems in line with fear of the new “Colossus” planet-killer weapon – a technological terror that eliminates entire worlds from the universe. ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO YOU ------------------------------- New enormous “Titan” capital ships can lead your fleets to conquest, offering tremendous bonuses to the vessels under their command. Meanwhile, fortify key systems with massive orbital installations and secure your homeworld as an impenetrable bastion among the stars. PIRATES OF THE CONSTELLATION ---------------------------- Watch out for Marauders – space nomads who raid settled empires and carve out their lives on the fringe of civilization. Hire them as mercenaries in your own conflicts, but take care that they don’t unify and trigger a new mid-game crisis! SOME NON-VIOLENT FEATURES ------------------------- New Ascension Perks and Civics are added in the expansion, along with new Unity Ambitions that provide new ways to spend Unity and customize your development. SOUNDS OF DESTRUCTION --------------------- To accompany your planet-shattering expedition, three new musical pieces have been composed by Andreas Waldetoft for your listening pleasure. Release date: Feb 22, 2018 Categories: 4X, Grand Strategy, Real-time with Pause, Ship Combat, Fleet Management, Empire Building, Destruction Mechanics, Diplomacy Feature scans: - MTX: score 10; verdict: Fair (One-time purchase with DLCs, no predatory monetization); summary: The reviews focus entirely on the high price of Stellaris DLCs and the perception that Paradox prioritizes DLC revenue over fixing the game. There is no evidence of microtransactions, pay-to-win mechanics, loot boxes, currency obfuscation, or other predatory monetization within the game itself. All complaints are about the upfront cost of expansions, which falls under base-price and DLC pricing complaints. According to the scoring rules, such complaints cannot push the score above 20. Therefore, the monetization model is considered fair (one-time purchase with traditional DLCs), and the score is set to 10 to reflect mild dissatisfaction with pricing but no predatory behavior. - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: - Community fair range: $10.00 - $15.00 - Reasoning: The majority of reviews indicate that the $20 price point is too high for the content provided, while $10 is considered a fair value. Many recommend waiting for a sale to get it at $10. This suggests the community's fair price range is between $10 and $15. - Playtime Metrics: - Game completion: N/A - Story completion: N/A - Session length: N/A - Endgame: N/A - Reasoning: The only concrete playtime mention is a 15-hour game where the player did not encounter the DLC's main features (Titans, Colossus), indicating these are late-game elements. However, no review provides a typical completion time, session length, or endgame hours for the DLC itself. All other references are either vague or pertain to the base game. Therefore, all metrics are set to null due to insufficient evidence. - Time-to-fun: - Summary: Stellaris: Apocalypse adds significant late-game content like titans, colossus, and marauders, but the fun is locked behind many hours of play, with early game marauders posing a threat and performance issues hindering enjoyment. - Stance: Clicks after - Anchor: Reaching late game content (titans, colossus, unity ambitions) - Time to anchor: N/A - Friction: late game performance issues and bugs; slow game pace requiring many hours to reach fun content; marauders can be overwhelmingly destructive early game; colossus locked behind an ascension perk and very late game research; content is primarily late game, leaving early/mid game stale for some - Unlock drivers: reaching late game through research and tradition completion; unlocking the colossus ascension perk; surviving early game marauder raids; using game speed sliders to accelerate progress - Conditions: playing militarist or genocidal empires to fully utilize colossus; engaging in evil roleplay playthroughs; using speed slider to fast-track to late game; multiplayer with friends who own the DLC - Player Archetypes: - Roleplay Enthusiast (sale) - Motivation: Narrative immersion and thematic fun - Playstyle: Focuses on roleplaying specific empire types (genocidal, barbaric) and using DLC features like Colossus for storytelling rather than optimal play. - Experience: mixed - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: roleplayer; genocidal empire fan; narrative-driven player - Reference games: Fallout IV Nuka-World - Mechanics-Conscious Min-Maxer (deep sale) - Motivation: Efficient gameplay and cost-benefit optimization - Playstyle: Evaluates DLC content for competitive viability, avoids roleplay-only features, and prioritizes mechanical strength and value. - Experience: veteran - Purchase stance: deep sale - Labels: min-maxer; competitive player; efficiency-focused - Reference games: N/A - Multiplayer-Focused Player (no buy) - Motivation: Stable multiplayer experience - Playstyle: Plays primarily in multiplayer, values synchronization and reliability over single-player content. - Experience: familiar - Purchase stance: no buy - Labels: multiplayer enthusiast; co-op player - Reference games: N/A - Veteran Completionist (sale) - Motivation: Completing the DLC collection and optimizing purchase order - Playstyle: Owns all other DLC, evaluates new content relative to existing ones, and advises based on long-term game knowledge. - Experience: veteran - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: veteran player; completionist; long-time fan - Reference games: Utopia; Synthetic Dawn; Leviathans; Species packs Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Marauders add mid-game challenge (weight 0.58): Marauders are frequently praised for adding a mid-game crisis that creates both challenge and opportunity, with interesting raid and recruit mechanics that spice up local gameplay. - Colossi offer fun planet destruction (weight 0.54): Colossi are described as absurdly fun and cool, with multiple weapon types including planet destroyers, bio-lifeform destroyers, shields, and assimilators, allowing for satisfying planet destruction strategies. - Titans are powerful capital ships (weight 0.4): Titans are highlighted as powerful capital ships with auras and heavy weapons, serving as massive artillery ships that are valuable giant flagships. - New civics and perks are nice (weight 0.16): New civics and ascension perks are considered nice additions, with players appreciating more options in these areas. - Music is masterful and beautiful (weight 0.16): The game's music is praised as great, masterful, and beautiful, enhancing the overall experience. - Expansion is great (weight 0.12): The expansion is described as great and really good, indicating strong positive reception. - Patch 2.0 improves the game (weight 0.12): Patch 2.0 is considered great, making the overall game much better. Common complaints: - Price too high (weight 0.78): The $20 price point is considered too high for the content offered, with many users recommending waiting for a sale. Multiple clusters emphasize that the DLC is overpriced and not worth full price. - Colossus underwhelming (weight 0.42): The Colossus is described as niche, flashy but shallow, underwhelming, and requiring an ascension perk slot that many feel is wasted. It also has a long charge time and needs escort. - Marauders are annoying (weight 0.39): Marauders are frequently described as repetitive, annoying, and often game-breaking or unfair. Some users note that their empires disintegrate after the Khan's death, which feels abrupt. - New FTL system slow and limited (weight 0.26): Removal of warp and wormhole FTL methods is disappointing, and the new hyperlane-only system is gimped. Travel times are very slow for large empires without wormholes or gateways. - Titans underpowered and limited (weight 0.25): Titans are barely stronger than battleships, require late-game tech, are capped by naval capacity, and have limited customization (only one section type). This makes them underwhelming compared to expectations. - Minimal content compared to expansions (weight 0.2): The DLC offers scarce content compared to major expansions like Utopia, and users feel it adds little value for the price. Some call it not worth the money. - Barbaric Despoilers weak (weight 0.18): The Barbaric Despoilers civic is considered underpowered, and the Nihilistic Acquisition ascension perk is among the worst. Ascension perks in the DLC are generally forgettable. - Game pace slowed down (weight 0.11): The game pace has been noticeably slowed, with the early game becoming monotonous. This is linked to changes in FTL and war mechanics. - War exhaustion system illogical (weight 0.1): The war exhaustion system can be illogical, such as a gestalt empire accruing defeat while winning, making attrition warfare ineffective. - Pirates spawn annoyingly (weight 0.1): Pirates spawn unannounced and too frequently, making them annoying to deal with. Gameplay feedback: - Colossus planet destroyer added (weight 0.95): The Colossus is a planet-destroying ship class with multiple weapon variants (e.g., Planet Cracker, Neutron Sweep, Global Pacifier) that provides a Total War casus belli. It allows players to destroy, sterilize, or shield planets, adding a powerful strategic option. - Titan class ship introduced (weight 0.72): Titans are powerful late-game capital ships with limited numbers (e.g., 1 per 200 naval cap) that mount heavy weapons and provide system-wide auras (e.g., -10% enemy fire rate). They serve as flagships that buff the fleet. - Marauder empires added (weight 0.51): Marauder empires are new AI factions that raid player empires and can be hired to attack rivals. They act as a mid-game challenge and add a dynamic raiding mechanic. - New ascension perks and civics (weight 0.28): New ascension perks and civics are available, including Life-Seeded, Post-Apocalyptic, and Barbaric Despoilers. These expand empire customization options. - War exhaustion system added (weight 0.21): War exhaustion is now a base game mechanic that increases even when winning, affecting war dynamics. It adds a strategic layer to prolonged conflicts. - Ion Cannon defense platforms (weight 0.2): Ion Cannons are defensive starbase platforms that provide additional firepower to star fortresses. They enhance starbase defense capabilities. - Hyperlane-only FTL travel (weight 0.18): FTL travel is now restricted to hyperlanes only, requiring ships to traverse systems. This changes strategic movement and map control. - Barbaric Despoilers civic (weight 0.16): The Barbaric Despoilers civic allows raiding and pop abduction via the Despoil casus belli. It enables aggressive expansion through raiding. Performance notes: - Severe late game lag (weight 0.34): Multiple reports indicate severe performance degradation, especially in the late game (after year 2350 or 100 years), with slowdowns and lag making the game barely playable even on high-end CPUs. The code is described as unoptimized spaghetti. - Multiplayer desync issues (weight 0.17): Multiplayer is reported as impossible due to frequent desynchronizations and connectivity issues. - 4.0 update worsened issues (weight 0.07): The 4.0 update is reported to have made performance and stability worse than before. - Chinese language crash bug (weight 0.07): A crash bug occurs specifically when the official Chinese language setting is enabled, preventing gameplay. - 4K text rendering broken (weight 0.06): Players report that text rendering is broken when playing at 4K resolution, making UI elements unreadable. Recommendations: - Wait for a sale (weight 0.97): Many reviewers advise waiting for a sale before purchasing this DLC, citing the $20 price as too high for the content offered. They suggest buying at a significant discount, often around half price or $10, as the value is not seen as worth the full cost. - Not recommended overall (weight 0.76): A significant number of reviewers do not recommend this DLC, citing issues like high price for little content, bugs, or that it's not suitable for beginners. Some suggest skipping it entirely or buying other DLCs like Utopia instead. - Recommended for fans (weight 0.71): Many reviewers recommend the DLC for Stellaris fans, especially those who enjoy intense mid-late game wars, Titans, or playing as a galactic villain. It's seen as essential for wide and aggressive players, and a must-have for regular players. - Wait for updates (weight 0.39): Several reviewers express disappointment with bugs, lack of updates, or the need for a fundamental rework. They advise waiting for patches or mods before purchasing, or reverting to an older version. - Conditional recommendations (weight 0.28): Some reviewers give conditional recommendations, such as buying only if interested in specific elements like Titans or Marauders, or if using mods. Others suggest disabling Marauders or recommend pure corvette swarm strategies. - Base game fine without (weight 0.23): Reviewers note that the base game is good and recommendable even without this DLC. They emphasize that players don't need the DLC to enjoy the game, as the core experience remains solid. - Consider alternatives (weight 0.18): A few reviewers suggest considering alternative games or DLCs, such as Windrose or Utopia, as they offer more content or better value. They advise against getting invested in this title. - Buy to support devs (weight 0.17): Some reviewers encourage buying the DLC to support ongoing development and the developers. They advise not to be swayed by negative reviews and see it as a way to contribute to the game's future. - Alternative acquisition (weight 0.16): Some reviewers mention that players can buy the DLC with in-game unity instead of real money, or leech from friends who own it in multiplayer. This reduces the need for a direct purchase. - Localization issues (weight 0.08): Some reviewers mention waiting for a Chinese translation or mods before playing, indicating language or localization concerns. - Review may change (weight 0.08): A couple of reviewers currently give negative reviews but indicate they may change them if certain issues, like static defense, are addressed. - Mod compatibility (weight 0.05): One reviewer notes compatibility issues with mods that use Titan slot weapons, advising caution for mod users. - Specific strategy (weight 0.05): One reviewer recommends a pure corvette swarm strategy, suggesting a specific gameplay approach. - Villain roleplay (weight 0.05): One reviewer recommends buying if you want to play as the ultimate galactic villain, highlighting a specific roleplay aspect. Other player notes: No miscpoints Emotions: No emotions}