r/EndlessSpace • u/xXAnrakyrXx • 5d ago
First Time Playing ES2 My Thoughts
Beautiful Game I really like the Factions overall this game got my attention its unique faction mechanics are cool BUT playing the game itself sometimes... Sucks. Seriously I am no stranger to losing. I always play on Grand Admiral or other high difficulties. I have played many games of Stellaris as well. 3700 hours total. But damn this game just annoys me with small issues. If i lose for no reason or from stupid mechanic that really wasnt worded properly but ill ignore that. It pisses me off. Like when an Academy fleet randomly attacks me. What am I suppose to do. Its literally my ships times 50 in power and its just one ship. Not only that but I havent even met the guy who has the spear.
Pirates fuck pirates Seriously why do they spawn in randomly. How? There is no body there. I am a Tree. Ignoring them just randomly spawning a Lair. How did they shit out 4 fleets in just 2 turns. Total of 6 ships. One Pirate Lair shitting out ships for no reason is stupid.
But the pirate thing i got over it whatever my fault for not paying attention I guess. Then we get to Minor factiosn. Im praising them doing the good shit then lo and behold the Nakarim come waltzing it and like. I own you now. And im like tf you mean? How? Why wasnt I notified someone was contesting me. These are things I want notifications for.
Fleet Retreating is by far the dumbest thing I have ever read in my life. If there is no starlane etc etc your fleet will be destroyed. Cornered apparently. So tell me... How does one get cornered in space. Please explain especially if my ships are objectively faster.
But these 3 issues are no big deal doesnt ruin the game for me just really annoying. However the one thing thst absolutely upsets me is why can I not escord my civilian ships to stop them from being destroyed. It makes it impossible to send civs from minor civs to your planets if there is an annoying Religious freaks in the way that are angry at me for existing. I havent even met the Craven yet but they are nicer because they haven't even bothered me yet.
Ok negatives out of the way.
Positives. Frog Mommy. Like... damn.
Unfallen is my favorite. And also first faction I played. Imma do a Choir run next a cult of THEE ORB because why not.
The system overview and how you get resources is pretty neet and its such a simple system that I am more willing to expand and not really play tall because apparently playing Tall as Tree is.. not good at all.
Overall I do like the turn based portion despite the AI ignoring its own turn on many occasions but hey whatever.
AI feels a lot more competent in this game which I love but at the same time they are really annoying. I declared war against the Nakarim because they keep killing my cute Jellyfish people. A crime I see as similar to killing Bubbles in Stellaris.
Galaxy view is meh map is a lot smaller than I would like. But its nice and cozy. I like their constellation system interesting take.
Diplomacy feels so much better in this game but at the same time somehow worse. Depends on the AIs mood I guess but still more positive than negative.
I really like the quest system and wish other games would utilize something like this. Its cool attention grabbing and some nice rewards to.
Research.... The UI is beautiful but in practice its well makes 0 sense Stellaris 3 scientist is better. But damn the UI is so nice. I love it. So clean. Really that is one thing the UIs is so clean.
Anyways imma go back to being a tree because Tree.
Best purchase I've made despite its hiccups its still a really good game. Plus... Stellaris is a mess a lot of times to. So I can't in my right mind dislike the game for only 4 to 5 negatives even if they annoy me but its hard to justify some of these systems in a Space game.
Edit: I should note that I do not want to disable the DLCS and while the Academy thing is annoying it didnt cause me to die. I was just like HOLY FUCK who sent the Grey Knights after my ass before my 2 questioners and hero got absolutely annihilated by the concentrated power of the sun times 20.
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u/Curious_Technician52 5d ago
Starting as Unfallen and then going to the Choir?
I really like your choices.
Love them both, especially the music of the Unfallen and the stealth system of the Choir.
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u/xXAnrakyrXx 5d ago
I could have gone the stereotypical Terran Empire Samurai Warriors or the other races. But I thought Thats basically what I usually play in Stellaris. So I decided to bring back a old stellaris combo minus lithoids. Its just being a Tree using the tree origin where you worship a tree. But now I am the Tree.
Choir just seems very interesting to me as a concept. They dont do much hide from everyone and by the time you see them. Its a oh fuck there is a flying nebulae coming for my Meat Suit!
Also Yes Choirs music along with Unfallen is my favorite so far. Choir being my favorite overall.
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u/Curious_Technician52 5d ago
Good reasoning there.
I love the Choir for staying hidden. Usually I just play with the „own all capitals“ victory condition and the Choir can win without ever being seen by others.
Probably just my own weird challenge run xDHoratio is a fun campaign as well, if you actively manage your minor pops and beautify your own genes.
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u/Neiwun Umbral Choir 5d ago
Like when an Academy fleet randomly attacks me. What am I suppose to do.
Pretty much everybody will advise new players to disable the 3 major DLC's for their first few playthroughs: Supremacy, Penumbra and Awakening. The Vaulters is a major DLC that can be left turned on, because it adds pirate diplomacy, which can be completely ignored, and the Vaulters are a great faction for beginners.
then lo and behold the Nakarim come waltzing it and like. I own [the minor faction] now. And im like tf you mean? How? Why wasnt I notified someone was contesting me.
Probably they assimilated them by invading and occupying their system, or by getting 50 out of 100 reputation and completing their faction quest, which is randomly chosen. Sometimes these things can be accomplished very fast and there's no notification that would help.
If there is no starlane etc etc your fleet will be destroyed. Cornered apparently. So tell me... How does one get cornered in space.
For practical reasons, there has to be a heavy cost to retreating because it's annoying to have to chase down weak but fast ships. Realism doesn't always make a game fun.
why can I not escord my civilian ships to stop them from being destroyed. It makes it impossible to send civs from minor civs to your planets
Just put your military fleet defending the system where they will arrive by pressing the Guard button. And keep moving that fleet from one system to the next adjacent system, until the civilians arrive where you want them. If anybody tries to attack your civilians, then they will first have to attack the strongest fleet on that system, which will be automatically chosen by the computer.
apparently playing Tall as Tree is.. not good at all.
If you're playing any faction (except the Hissho) then you'll want to go as wide as possible, as long as you can still maintain an empire approval above 85. More systems will simply give you more resources.
Depends on the AIs mood I guess but still more positive than negative.
Every major faction has some AI personality traits, which you can see in the diplomacy menu by pressing on "Empire information" in the top right corner. Also, the AI will remember things, like if you ever attacked its exploration ships.
Best purchase I've made despite its hiccups its still a really good game.
I'm glad you're having fun! If the game ever becomes too easy, I recommend you install the ESG 1.6 mod in order to make the game more challenging.
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u/xXAnrakyrXx 5d ago
Disabling the DLCS is a bit to extreme for me. I have seen the defeat screen enough times in stellaris to just treat it as a way of life i just prefer knowing what is pimp slapping me into submission. Just a sudden thing. And yea i get your points they are just gripes I have. As for the retreat thing imma have to agree to disagree. It would be fun if done properly. Because this system isnt fun for me especially after being spoiled by Starpoint Gemini Warlords and Rebel Galaxy where i can just run away. While being shot at to but im still running away. Rebel Galaxy did it best. Warlords made it inconsequential. Rebel Galaxy you are supposed to run away but you can still get absolute pimped on if you are unprepared.
Also thanks for telling me about the psuedo escort. Maybe the tutorial did tell me it and i missed that aspect of it. Well no probably is what happened.
As for ESG I read the changes and while I liked some I disagree with the way they went about Balancing things. however I would like to play all the factions first before i do so. But after looking at the way they butchered Carriers i rather not. Because to me Carriers are op even in real life. Is there a Carrier Meta? Probably but its the same case in Real lie i your navy doesnt have an Aircraft Carrier then you do not have a navy same goes for space. Carriers provide range recon multi system support and so many other things.
Also... I dont where to download most of the updated mods. I got the definitive edition for 23 bucks on GOG so... Im pretty much shit out of luck. Thanks for the comment though really appreciate it.
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u/nohmsane 5d ago
Also thanks for telling me about the psuedo escort. Maybe the tutorial did tell me it and i missed that aspect of it. Well no probably is what happened.
I am almost certain that this concept is NOT explained in the tutorial, so I don't think you missed anything; the "escort" idea (i.e., having a combat fleet fly to the next system and wait there until the civilian ship(s) pass through it, then repeat) is just something that players have learned by running into the same problem and trying to find a solution to it.
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u/Knofbath Horatio 5d ago
Nah, just disable the major DLC until you are ready to take the training wheels off. Vaulters is the only one that is noob-friendly, because the mechanic it introduces can be safely ignored.
And personally, I find that the AI works better when it's not juggling DLC mechanics(Supremacy especially), so you may find it harder anyways.
The penalty for Retreat is 50% HP, and if you do it correctly and have a place to retreat to, you can recover, but retreating twice in a row means full fleet destruction.
The Carrier meta is that Carriers have strengths and weaknesses, so should have screening elements to help defend them. There are strategies and tactics to run a full Carrier fleet, but a full Carrier fleet is expensive and can be hard-countered. Fleet recon is handled by a fleet Hero and his Dust-fueled abilities. Support/tanking is done by Protector/Coordinator hulls. Chances are you haven't figured out the weapon meta enough to use Carriers to their full abilities. They are the strongest non-Behemoth hull, and pack quite a punch when used correctly.
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u/xXAnrakyrXx 5d ago
My issue with the game isnt really a DLC thing though unless Minor Civ buyout sniping is part of a DLC i just want to play Pacifist Trees without every mechanic fighting against me. Its not even a issue of difficulty the game is not difficult. My gripe is the AI cheats in ways it shouldnt be allowed to cheat. Stellaris AI chest Starpoint Gemini AI cheat they al cheat but this is just so annoying. Academy thing isnt even an issue it happened once then 50 turns later not a single fart from the academy or the guy who sent the fleet. Honestly i am thinking it might be a quest thing and not an AI just sending the power of god against 2 exploration ships and a single hero.
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u/Knofbath Horatio 5d ago
Pacifists don't get to not build fleets, you need to be familiar with the concept of "fleet in being".
The Spear of Isyander is the giant gift fleet being used against you. And the size of that fleet is dependent on the Academy difficulty in Game Setup. That role is handed out every 40 turns on normal difficulty, and depends on who wins the bid war that cycle.
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u/xXAnrakyrXx 5d ago
I am well aware of that. I appreciate the comment anyways though. Thanks for a more clearer info on that.
But that isnt the issue. Its not the Academy. Academy gifted me a nice Carrier. And I can confirm what actually happened. I was doing this quest its called Chapter 4: A Final Absolution. Going to the system in question regardless of anything else will have you fight an Academy Fleet. It comes with a pop-up that I didnt think much of at the time where it says you must fight for the answer.
So it is my fault for not realizing that. I wasnt even trying to do the quest. I was just sending a questioner there to do the curiosity quest and then well.... they got comoletely annihilated.
So yea other than the Minor Civilization detail which is making me not want to play the game. Everything else is mildly annoying somewhat annoying or really cool and awesome.
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u/Knofbath Horatio 5d ago
Final Absolution is the last stage of a Dark Matter DLC quest. It's 4x Coordinator hulls with late-game modules (T5 Beam, T5 Laser, T5 Armor/Shield, and a Flotilla Shield). So yeah, getting wiped when going in early/unprepared is sorta expected.
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u/ActiveVoiced 5d ago
Funny, I had the opposite issue. The game was too easy even on max difficulty too fast and even made a post about it. The balance mods did extend the game for me for another 30 hours though.
https://www.reddit.com/r/EndlessSpace/comments/1ttphd3/great_game_but_the_difficulty_is_too_easy/
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u/xXAnrakyrXx 5d ago
I never said it was difficult i said it was annoying or Unfun. And yea if i were playing this game like i did Stellaris i would already have killed off 2 or 3 of the factions by now. But i decided not to go all Xenophobic Genocide. Stellaris makes pacifism unfun this game makes it tolerable but now its just unfun.
Really what pisses me off is still the Minor Civ Sovereignty thing on high difficulties I pump 4k influence on my cute Jellyfishes have 223 yet jo scmoe across the galaxy is like nah homie your Minor Civ belongs to me. It is like. The fuck is even the point. The Hacking its so useless to getting them back it makes me literally not want to play the game. Without warning to no notification or nothing. I dont care if the notification wont help me just tell me in advance at this point imma just play as the Craven and just kill everyone because then no one can just take shit from me so agrediusly with 0 counterplay. I am closer but because I am tree i cant assimilate unless i vine them. Im also on GOG so i cant even download the mod that supposedly fixes this. I have tried 3 different sites and SteamCMD doesnt support Endless Space 2. So i am sitting here. Really not enjoying the game at all. If i wanted another 4x game i would play stellaris. I am here for the diplomacy, story and interactions...... I dont want to invade them or decalre war or wait 20 turns to do a single hack that wont mean shit.
Sorry man you commented right when my cute Jellyfish civ abruptly switch sovereignty. I had to vent. No one cant give me a justified reason for this anyways. Oh they got to it first. Hur durr or they got the quest. They are across the galaxy and have no ships they shouldnt even be able to see it. And they are not allied with the Nakirim where the civ is located behind and they hate everyone right now.
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u/borddo- 5d ago
It’s hard to pick out what happened here but it sounds like a Coup from hacking. One of the most expensive and destructive. There would have been a lot of build up and backdoors for that.
Hacking mechanics from Penumbra DLC are quite divisive.
Obviously it’s particularly good as Penumbra, which is faction that can peacefully turtle all game hacking people and win.
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u/Hopeful-alt 5d ago
I would highly recommend turning off the DLC until you understand the game better. They're a lot and are very difficult to understand without a foundational knowledge of the game. It's very common for new players to just eat shit and die for reasons they don't understand when playing with the DLCs.
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u/Jorun_Egezrey Amoeba 5d ago
However the one thing thst absolutely upsets me is why can I not escord my civilian ships to stop them from being destroyed
Try to establish a colony near a small fraction to reduce transport time. You can place fleets along the route to protect civilian ships, putting them in guard mode in star systems.
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u/k0rvbert Vaulters 5d ago
I also have about 4k hours in Stellaris and I have played almost no Stellaris since discovering this game. I'm more of Civ junkie than Paradox junkie anyway, and ES2 lands nicely in between for me.
I also go max difficulty, but I can't really say I share your annoyances. I have different annoyances. Been playing with a balance mod (ESG) that addresses some of them.
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u/xXAnrakyrXx 5d ago
Yea its that Stellaris Burn out you know. Its like there is only so many times i can go through the exact same early game then go through this go through that. Of all my time playing stellaris i have completed only a total of 40 games. thats it. with a 6 to 34 win ratio. Like i could do the first 2 hours of the game blind folded using only text to speech program to move the mouse. Im sure you can as well. It is so mind numbingly boring now. Thats just the price of playing a game wayyyy too much.
Now i just play enough to finish the storyline iof a modded empire. Or play another round of KDC Storypack. Though i probably wouldnt stop playing it just because of this game. There is many things stellaris has that Endless Space 2 can never hope to beat and that is a Overactive Modding Community.
I know ESG solves some of the annoyances its just i dont like most of the changes they made. Personal Preferance. Especially Carriers. Carriers are supposed to be op but thats a whole other story.
Speaking of annoyances what are your gripes with the game. Just curious.
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u/k0rvbert Vaulters 5d ago edited 5d ago
My gripes are mostly with balance, like some minor civs bonuses are way too strong and overall minor civ diplomacy is way too easy. Land combat is too cheap and easy to win, conquest and invasion is too fast. Hacking too strong. These together meant that spawning with nearby minors would just instantly win the game. I love how the factions are unique but I think they should all be viable, and with how some game mechanics work some of them are just too handicapped. Like how United Empire has such a hard time picking up early anomalies due to overly fighting-oriented scouting ships. ESG fixes all of these bothers pretty well.
I also dislike how pirates can really screw you with their first spawn, especially for Unfallen, ESG makes that worse (but buffs Unfallen), but anyway I'll just turn down pirates in vanilla.
As for your bothers I found ways to deal with them --
Academy ship attacking -- I actually have never had this happen to me. If the AI wins the Academy repeating quest and picks "Spear of Isyander" it borrows a fleet of Academy ships and may attack you, which has definitely happened, so I make sure to compete in that quest if I'm worried about that.
Minor factions -- yeah, it's too swingy in vanilla, but in either case assimilate ASAP or ignore them. I first wanted to hold them as allies like city states in Civ but that doesn't really work in ES2, someone will eat them.
Fleet Retreating -- this one I actually think is a good mechanic. Because without it would be too hard chasing down scouts and other AI expeditions. To deal with it, I'll bring escorts, make peace deals, guard systems and retreats, probe starlanes to find out where it's safe to go. I find the fleet movement pretty engaging. Make sure it's the first thing you do in a turn, because while the game is turn based fleet movement is more like RTS.
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u/Jorun_Egezrey Amoeba 4d ago
Pirates! f... pirates! Seriously why do they spawn in randomly. Ignoring them just randomly spawning a Lair. How did they shit out 4 fleets in just 2 turns. Total of 6 ships.
Pirates can appear as part of a quest. I believe you're playing without the Vaulters DLC? This DLC has exactly "diplomacy with pirates." This DLC features "pirate diplomacy." You can donate money (Dust) or buy a "black" mark, a pledge to raid a marked system. So you can use them as mercenaries if you have extra Dust.
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u/OtherWorstGamer 5d ago edited 5d ago
Turn off Awakening DLC until you master the game systems, its widley considered the worst DLC for a reason. Hell, turn off all the dlc except vaulters until you get a hang of things.
You can freely customize the difficulty of pirates, minor civs and win conditions.
Start with a less complex setting until you learn the build/research orders, faction quests and other essential mechanics of the game.
Edit: to address some of your other concerns. Fleet retreating is a mechanical necessity. Otherwise any engagement other than an overwhelming victory you'd retreat from. Its less that your ships have nowhere to go, and more that theyre getting shot in the ass while doing so, its why anything with less than 60% health gets destroyed.
Pirates exist as a pressure to get you to build some semblance of a defense fleet, instead of just hiding for the entire game (you should be building combat fleets regardless, even as a "pacifist" faction). Plus theres unique mechanics and pirate deplomacy, plus one faction gets unique interactions with them.
You can actually "escort" your civilian ships from place to place. Enemy ships can't attack them if theres an actual combat fleet in the same system. Your actual combat ships should be faster so you sit on a node while the civie passes through, then race ahead to the next one and so on.
Minor factions can have multiple ways to be captured, normally you dump influence then wait, but you can invade them, or snipe them out from under their suezerian via their assimilation quest, or hack them to lower enemy relations. Sounds like the enemy just did that to you first.
I think Stellaris's research system is inferior, since i wish to control the line of research, as opposed to the "deck of cards" system they have. But thats a personal preference.
Everyone takes their turn at the same time. Occasionally the AI will bug out and not do anything, but thats a minor concern.
Let me know if you have any specific questions, i have almost as many hours in this game as I do Stellaris, albiet im a bit more casual of a player.