Stellaris

This is a /v/ related article, which we tolerate because it's relevant and/or popular on /tg/... or we just can't be bothered to delete it.

What

As if creating Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Victoria and Hearts of Iron wasn't enough, Paradox Interactive decided that space literally was the limit. They set out to make a 4X game set in the vast reaches of the cosmos. It's relevant to /tg/ because one can fit almost any sci-fi archetype. Do you want to play as the Imperium of Man and purge all the filthy xenos for the God-Emperor? You can do that. Do you want to play as the Federation, a noblebright union of alien species working together for the greater good? You can do that too. Wanna just *nom* the entire galaxy as the Tyranids? You can do that too. Wanna make a haha-funny hive mind that names everything Steve and receives buffs from it somehow? You can do that too! A large selection of DLC and fan mods (including explicit 40k based mods) makes Stellaris an incredible sandbox for creating grand narratives of the rise and fall of interstellar empires.

On the downside the cost of the paid DLC can be considered almost criminal.

Setting and Timeline

The game starts in 2200, with a galaxy and several independent cultures. The game has three phases, adjustable in options: Early Game, Middle Game and Late Game, each with their own events. You win when you conquer a majority of the galaxy, solely or in a federation. Tangible resources are: minerals for generic construction and processing, food, energy (as credits), alloys for military and high-tech construction, and consumer goods. Each species has different needs for these resources as well -- organics need food, mechanicals dont but instead need to eat energy and need alloys for reproduction. Then there are intangible resources like: amenities signifying ease of citizens's lives and infrastructural comforts, unity score which is gained by cultural activities like joyous festivals or the holy slaughter of aliens, and discovery of Precursor artifacts.

To simulate a Europa Universalis atmosphere, the game has obstacles and shennanigans of empires familiar to those from the medieval era of ancient Earth, it doesn't get any more anthropocentric than that.

In Early Game, empires expand and start their national quest-lines according to their natures.

In Middle Game (if enabled), a culture of hostile and bickering space-nomads somewhere in the galaxy will have an some orphan with protagonist disease aiming for greater things and uniting the tribes for galactic conquest with a dark start but noble goals in mind. It's Alexander of Macedonia, or Charlemagne, but in sppaaaaaaccceeee.

In Late Game (if enabled), the galaxy gets an endgame crisis like Middle Game but it's an outsider who'll fuck everyone's shit, forcing everyone to contribute or see the whole gameboard wiped clean. Fallen Empires (younger than Precursors, older than the Early Game empires), can awaken in this phase and will be as friendly and helpful as Eldar and Necrons.

Empires

What can tickle /tg/ and /v/ 's fancy is the remarkable variety in playable empires. You're not stuck with cultures that are balanced to the point of homogeneity, instead you have a 4X game where strategies for one type of culture could have no bearing what-so-ever on another. There are MANY categories of governments and species, and you can mix-and-match their attributes. The most outstanding divide is probably between the types of sentience your culture can have: Autonomous or Gestalt.

Autonomous Empires have rulers, populations with jobs (or quasi-jobs like "slave" and "criminal"), and civic features determining the style of government and typical social methods and values. An example Autonomous Empire is the Megacorporation: a giant business corporation in shape of a government. Megacorps are penalized for growing too quickly, but get lots of income when allying with other empires. Building unique corporation structures helping the host empire giving jobs and non-money resources per franchise just like a support class in a RPG game. A fast-food chain feeds the host country with new farmer jobs and gives cheap food to the Corporation stores, and Disneyland-expy Amusement Megaplexes instantly generate money for the Corporation and gives "Amenity" to host planet. Mercenary Office provides both sides with cheaper and better soldiers, Private Military Industries gives the host clerk jobs and the corporation military alloys and so on.

Gestalt-Consciousness Empires don't have individual citizens, so things like "government" or "society" are, well, alien to them.

One kind of Gestalt Empire is the Hivemind: drones following drones like synapse carriers toting biological antenna. They don't get the concept of "people who aren't us/me" and wind up dead if their planet is conquered, or kill every not-us/me when conquering a planet ("those were people? We had no idea.") They have magnificent unity, they're hard-working, and the centralized mental control helps with the reproduction strategies, and a unified front. On the downside, everyone who isn't that Hivemind finds them weird and creepy, damaging their diplomacy. They can still trade and communicate with neutral parties across the galaxy, and even join Federations if they act really nice. They use very little consumer goods because they already know what I/we look like naked.

Another Gestalt Empire is the Mechanical Empire: robots running forgeworlds and never not online, using no food and almost no consume goods, but will literally starve to death without consuming energy credits, and uses alloys for making even more war machines innocent beautiful children. Like a Hivemind they have trouble being diplomatic with anyone who isn't already connected to their One And Only Network.

But of course, you want to play the Imperium of Man.

Genocidal Empires are factions automatically hostile to everyone, their absence of any trade or negotiation compensated with extreme bonuses to combat and unity. Autonomous one-species empires can be genocidal as "Fanatic purifiers", mechanicals can be "Exterminators" like SKYNET, and hiveminds can be "Devourers" who eat the captured populations for biological research bonuses. For Genocidal Empires, exterminating a foreign populations will give bonuses in social and genetic unity of the race because DEUS VULT.

One could argue the Imperium Of Man is -not- a Genocidal Empire, since historically it has negotiated, traded and briefly allied with xenos. That's fine; one can still purge xenos in billions as a non-Genocidal empire, and eat the massive penalties in diplomacy, and displacing/enslaving whatever you want and call yourself the Imperium of Man. A "true" Genocidal empire will suffers not the xeno to live, nor wastes time talking to one.

Empires have civics: core tenets of government and lifestyle. An Autonomous Empire gets an 8-pointed star describing four political axes in their government, Gestalts get playstyles.

• Pacifism vs Militarism = Attack first, or tell everyone to stay in line and fight defensively, "liberating" if conquering into puppets.
• Materialism vs Spiritualism = Interex vs Imperium of Man. Enough said. Xenophiles have a lategame Unity unlock called "Xeno-Compatibility" boosting migration, sex tourism and happiness.
• Democracy vs Despotism = Votes vs a King/Emperor/Oligarchically elected scientist/priest.
• Xenophilia vs Xenophobia = Chakats vs Imperium of Man. Note that Tau can be counted in the middle as they -can- purge xenos species if they really find it against the Greater Good.

Civics depend on government political views or gameplay styles as Gestalt, each have bonuses and some have maluses, like a warrior culture or exalted priesthood where different jobs get bonuses or modifiers. A warrior society has entertainers double as virtual duelists, consuming military alloys as upkeep but adding not just amenities but also other bonuses. Technocracy makes every first population of ruling class (Administrator Job) in a planet a Science Director giving bonuses, Exalted Priesthood makes it "High Priest" with similar bonuses, and Merchant Guilds makes the Administrator job . Distinguished Admiralty lets you field more ships before penalties kick in, and so on. You choose 2, then a third as you develop societal technology.

/tg/ and /v/ relevance

You can simulate every stereotype in mind. Star Trek? Generic Empire with xenophilia, egalitarian and pacifist ethics. Tyranids *starting* in the galaxy? Hivemind with Genocidal and Devourer playstyle.