Paradox Games

Same. It makes exploration feel more like... well... exploration, if you don't instantly know how everything's connected.

And science ships get a new ability to use an "experimental hyper jump", so you can still exlore even if you get boxed in.

edited 23rd Apr '18 6:55:05 PM by DrunkenNordmann

Somehow, I doubt it. The AI will probably always know, but pretend it doesn't, but be bad at faking it, kinda like how the EUIV AI fakes not seeing through Fog of War, often rather poorly.

Just by the way, the event I mentioned in the summation of my current game◊.

Really tempted to take it - kinda fitting how democracy is abolished by the very psychics the UNE empowered.

So... the player character in a game of Civilization?

PsychICS, not psychOS.

edited 23rd Apr '18 10:32:40 PM by DrunkenNordmann

You mean Stellaris?

Which game? There are four current-generation Paradox games (Crusader Kings II, Europa Universalis IV, Hearts of Iron IV, and Stellaris).

@Drunken Nordmann: All glory to the hypnotoad!

That said, it would also destroy the UNE's native xenophilia. Do you want that on your conscience? Though you could probably have her deal the Xenoist faction back in upon her ascension.

The Imperium of Man is born.

To be fair, while xenos have become a fairly integral part of the UNE, they rarely ascended to the highest office.

The one or two xenos who became president were, funnily enough, members of a species that I had a non-aggression treaty with at the start, then went to war with twice. First for a corridor to reach core region - where I ran into an isolationist empire blocking off further expansion - and then to vassalise the remainded. Over time these guys became stalwart supporters of the slowly expanding republic.

Most of my presidents were humans, generally running for multiple terms. Where xenos are well-represented is the miltary, with the the admiralty consisting of some otter people from a a neighbouring protectorate of mine and my armies being commanded by a marauder.

My overall empire setup is farly interesting - you have the UNE running along the most "southern" part of the galaxy, surrounded by different dependencies and "sister republics", i.e. former autocracies that had a regime changed enforced on them and then swore fealty to the Earth government. I went for the ascension perk that reduces integration cost by 75 % because I want to slowly integrate them.

The Commonwealth of Man and its breakaway rival already rejoined humanity and the otter people have become citizens as well.

While the end of democracy is somewhat disconcerting to the egalitarian faction - previously one of the most dominant political factions in the UNE - the general population seems to take it rather in stride, with more and more people joining the new imperial cult.

I still have xenophilic laws in place anyway.

What will be interesting is when I finally integrate the assimilator empire that's been a vassal of mine for a while - most of their population are cybernetically-enhanced xenos and I wonder what'll happen I psionically enlighten them. Might end up with psionic cyborgs.

It's less Imperium of Man and more of a benevolent autocracy.

Only issue I have is that I tried to have another war with the guys to my right and the war acceptance counter bugged out AGAIN.

Here's a map of my galaxy (with annotations)◊

edited 24th Apr '18 1:16:05 PM by DrunkenNordmann

Ugh, I'm gonna have to give up on KR for a while because I can't seem to stop getting segfaults in 1937.

Hi, I'm emperor-for-eternity Tacitus, ruler of a race of undying metal xenophobes. If you're like me, the only thing worse than a planet full of hideous aliens is the hassle of cleansing that planet of those hideous aliens. Formally claiming systems owned by your neighbors, planetary bombardments to soften up defenses, raising and replacing invasion forces, lengthy occupations while the death squads go to work, juggling your new worlds and your existing sectors - what a chore!

That's why I switched to the Colossus for all my aggressive expansion needs. With one of these bad boys in your fleet, wars for claimed territory are just an unpleasant memory as you embrace a new "total" approach to conflict that's simplicity itself. And when it comes to those troublesome alien colonies, that's where your Colossus really shines! Its patented "neutron sweep" technology cleanses your newly-acquired real estate of any unpleasant squatters with the press of a button, without the bother of organizing extermination squads, and while leaving the planet's infrastructure completely intact. Better yet, you don't have to immediately settle your newly-cleansed world, giving you more time to develop your previous sphere of planets before having to hand them off to a sector governor.

Where once it took decades for me to fully conquer my immediate neighbors, with a Colossus I was able to cleanse nearly half the galaxy of hostile lifeforms in a mere thirty years! So make the switch to Colossus-based warfare today. The set-up may take time, but once you give it a try, you'll never go back!

Warning: constructing and utilizing a Colossus may have negative effects on your relationship with foreign powers, and may make you the target of a "Stop Colossus" casus belli. The Colossus is not rated for ship-to-ship combat, and should be given an escort during its deployments. The Colossus' neutron bombardment may temporarily reduce the habitability of planets as their ecosystems recover; if you detect lingering residual effects more than ten years after use, speak with your engineering staff immediately. Your Colossus superweapon experience may vary based on your ideology and technological advancements. The Colossus is not available in all galaxies. Consult your empire's Naval Capacity rating before deciding if a Colossus is right for you.

Isn't science grand? It just makes our lives as brutal imperialistic dictators so much easier.

Ugh, I wish there were more ship mods than what there already are.

Next time, I'm probably gonna use the Kurogane ship set because that one is hella rad.

Okay, I think that the 1937 crash thing is happening on Hearts of Iron 4 in general, because it happened to me last night.

Hmm... Maybe if I reinstall or something, it'll work.

Of course, the downside of giving the galaxy a good neutron scrubbing is that there isn't anyone to form the League of Un-Aligned Powers with when the Fallen Empires start their War in Heaven. Might need a less xenocidal approach to get that cheevo.

Also getting a weird interaction between my Fanatic Materialist and Xenophobe ethos - the "What Comes Between Us" event keeps popping up on new colony worlds in which my citizens clash with the aliens living among them. The "aliens" in this case being the robotic pops I've had since the game's start thanks to taking that one civic. And yes, this keeps happening even when the Synths have full citizenship rights and my species has undergone Synthetic Evolution. Guess they're the wrong kind of robutts since the game's not letting me apply the Synth template I used on my starter species to my existing Synths.

Especially when xenophobes don't seem to mind other species being...made into immigrants.

Also, I wonder if it's possible for synthscended xenophobes to chemically process xenopops? If not, it should be.

So, someone explain something to me: I noticed at first that you can at some point make it so only non-core species can be slaves, is there a specific civic mix for that?

Isn't it simply being Xenophobe without being Authoritarian? IIRC you need Authoritarian to enslave your starter species.

Yeah that's just being xenophobes, they get full slavery that only works on alien species while authoritarians get partial slavery that works on your own species as well as others.

edited 28th Apr '18 9:54:56 AM by Fourthspartan56

Ah, okay then. I'd had it before but I was wondering what all it meant.

edited 28th Apr '18 11:13:01 AM by theLibrarian

So it turns out Contingency planets aren't considered inhabited worlds, which means my neutron-centric approach to problem-solving doesn't work in this situation. Gonna have to research that planet-cracker option after all.

Also, a fleet of 180 corvette torpedo boats with disruptor beams is hilariously effective against standard Contingency fleets. Yeah, they'll take losses, but the reinforcements all get built in like a month.

I remember an "assimilate" citizenship option, and "work to death" and "process for food" purge choices, but went with "livestock slavery" for the sake of the cheevo. I guess my synthscended pops enjoyed the food the same way they enjoy those Paradise Domes, drinking in all that data through their sensors. Or maybe they've become jaded after I neutron swept half the galaxy and desire more imaginative ways to commit atrocities on filthy aliens.