Paradox Games

It's one of the shorts in Mel Brooks' History of the World; Part One. I think it was the closer.

It was, yeah.

Well, I did not expect that.

Also, I always thought Quarians were closer to "Roma/Gypsies in Space" considering the negative stereotypes associated with them.

Soon as I saw "Jews in Space" I instantly thought of that scene. Glad to know I was not wrong. History of the World Part One. Good movie. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a humorous take on history.

Jews in Space was a teaser for a never-made sequel called History of the World Part Two.

ETA: Of course, that would beg the question of how you'd design multiple ships. Would they all be varying sizes of the Star of David, or would you design different classes after different Jewish symbols, culminating with an eight-gunned Battleship shaped like a Menorah?

Edited by Journeyman on May 22nd 2019 at 8:38:34 AM

Wasn’t Jews in Space technically adapted in Spaceballs?

Possibly. I didn't even think of that.

Yeah, in Stellaris I definitely go for a second science ship as quickly as possible. If I'm not a genocidal empire, this is followed by a second construction ship so I can get snaking. I don't mind a little early "your empire looks ugly" penalty if it allows me to lock off a modest chunk of the galaxy for later peaceful expansion.

I often run 6-7 science ships early on and rush the automatic exploration tech.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on May 22nd 2019 at 6:58:58 PM

I tend to rush the initial 20-corvette fleet so when my ships run into the minor alien races, I can just obliterate them and keep going. Plus if I'm a slaver I'll rush a small six unit army out so I can combat drop onto primitives and suck their worlds dry. I don't usually play Total War races like devouring swarms, though sometimes I will. Usually it's a materialist race with militarist or authoritarian leanings so I can have the best of both worlds. Currently working on something I call Cold War mode where human players draw the AI races into their spheres of influence and wage proxy wars on each other through computer allies rather than rushing straight to the kill.

Though I'm only in single player right now. I'm having fun with a campaign where I have one Inner Perfection race as a buffer against two hegemonic imperialists on one side, a hive mind as an enemy on another, while two other races are backing me and I own a one system minor as a vassal. And the minor loves me because I enlightened them and they happen to be Honorbound Warriors while I'm a militarist materialist totalitarian regime with mechanist leanings. All in all it's good fun.

You’ve got your own warrior caste.

I personally have never really had much success with Stellaris because the AI always seems to blob faster than me while I try and build my worlds and economy up first.

Starbases and Colony Ships require a different resource than buildings these days, though. So there shouldn't be any problems.

Two of my races have actual battle thralls built right in, with syncretic evolution. I've also got Democratic Crusaders, and a spin off that functions as a bandit kingdom that raids neighbors.

Outposts do cost one of the same resources as warships, but for me it doesn't cause problems because I generally rush a second alloy foundry off the bat. My main bottleneck is influence , which is why I don't rush the second set of science and construction ships. Science, you got me, I could. It would help with the scouting. But if I'm out of influence I can't colonize systems any faster. It's one of the few inducements I have toward xenophobia.

Yeah, I know, they use Alloys to build ships now, but I still don't expand nearly as fast.

Is it an active decision or just a side effect of other decisions? Playing tall is a viable strategy as long as you know what traditions and ascension perks to take. And as long as you know how to keep a big enough fleet to scare off enemies. Aspec has a video on the subject of winning with a single planet challenge.

Which is why I slow down a little in the midgame, focus on strategic grabs and vassalizations, get a couple of ecumenopoli up (seriously nerf plz...) and work my way to Colossus Project. The Colossus removes the problem of influence expenditures for conquest (the actual Colossus weapon is immaterial, next to what the Colossus represents).

With Materialists in particular, an early tall game makes a lot of sense, but there's limits to tall play in the long run. And by limits, I mean that if you want ecumenopoli at the center, you need a constant inflow of minerals from the rural planets.

Edited by Ramidel on May 23rd 2019 at 6:59:26 AM

Right, I forgot that a war caused by Colossus is a total war, and you keep what you occupy. Still, that makes it harder to use options when everyone hates you for having one of those.

Honestly I use very little in the very in the way of strategy or planning when playing Stellaris. I jut expand when I can, build buidlings if I'm out of jobs, pick Traditions based on the RP of my empire, start building ships if I have a lot of excess alloys, and kinda eclipse everyone else by default. Hell, my most recent game I explicitly made sure to not focus on science and my technology level is still superior to everyone else's. The closest to a consistent stragey is that I tend to go for reduced Starbase Influence cost pretty early because normally it just takes way too long to wait for influence otherwise. If you aren't top dog except for the Marauders and Fallen Empires 100 years in, I honestly don't even know what you're doing wrong.

Against the computer you're absolutely right. I'm not the astrographically biggest nation in my game but I'm already top dog out of every non-FE and it's only 2267 now. On the flipside, I'm training to play against humans in cold war mode where it's as much about sphere of influence as anything else. I'm a nation builder at heart. Conquest isn't the end for me, just the means to secure resources and disable hostiles. If I've got a peaceful neighbor I'm totally willing to ally up in some form, whether that's a Federation when dealing with equals, or extending my protection when dealing with inferior nations.

Edited by Journeyman on May 23rd 2019 at 11:20:51 AM

Geez, is gathering Influence always this annoying? Dammit, I have a dozen systems explored and can't claim a single one!

Edited by HailMuffins on May 23rd 2019 at 1:51:11 PM

Unfortunately, yeah.

You need to meet others and rival them for a boost. Also pay attention to factions when they arrive, because pleasing them also boosts it. Other than that, yeah, it's a serious waiting game. I wouldn't say take it out. It's the only thing keeping players in check from just blobbing up ASAP.

Once you're in the endgame, diplomacy is for the weak anyway.

*is a pacifist player*

Not really, about the "weak player" bullshit. The only time I gave enough of a shit to actually win, instead of nation build, I did it when a War in Heaven erupted and I was strong enough to tell both sides to shove off. I became the head of the league of independent states and over the course of the war I managed to accrue a big enough Federation out of it to claim a Federation victory.

Some of us micromanage. We don't necessarily want enough land to make that overwhelming. I've got control freak brain issues that practically force me to micromanage to have fun with this game. I usually quit and restart when my nation gets too bulky for that.

Once I hit my limit of how much I'm willing to govern, I start thinking in terms of vassalage rather than federations, myself. If I'm going for building a galactic federation, that's likely to be my objective from the start rather than a late-game gear shift.