{"id":12300,"date":"2018-12-13T19:41:46","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T03:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/stellaris-megacorp-dlc-review-a-masterful-economy-focused-addition\/"},"modified":"2024-01-24T17:28:22","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T01:28:22","slug":"stellaris-megacorp-dlc-review-a-masterful-economy-focused-addition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/stellaris-megacorp-dlc-review-a-masterful-economy-focused-addition\/","title":{"rendered":"Stellaris: Megacorp DLC Review \u2013 A Masterful, Economy-focused Addition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-14744\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/0-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"324\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Stellaris: Megacorp DLC<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Paradox Interactive<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When <em>Stellaris<\/em> was originally released back in May of 2016, I knew right away that it was going to be something special. I always say \u201cgoing to be\u201d because anyone familiar with Paradox\u2019s post-release policies knows that there are going to be tons of updates and DLC following each game\u2019s launch. I mean after all, these guys are the makers of the Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis series\u2019 for crying out loud.<\/p>\n<p>However one might feel about Paradox\u2019s DLC practices, one thing is for certain: These folks make the best strategy games out there, and this is an opinion that is shared by many a gamer out there. One of the primary things that separates <em>Stellaris <\/em>from the rest of the space strategy flock\u2014such as<em> Endless Space 2<\/em> and <em>Galactic Civilizations 3<\/em>\u2014is that it concerns the player with all of the juicy minutiae of running an entire stellar civilization.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-14745\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"378\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Each game of<em> Stellaris<\/em> is intrinsically unique because there are so many variables that are involved; from hand-crafting your very own space civilization; to the procedurally generated universe which you set the parameters for; to how everything seems to unfold organically through quests and role-playing scenarios\u2014there is just so much to take in and explore.<\/p>\n<p>Probably the most talked about complaint, however, was mainly about how <em>Stellaris <\/em>seemed to get bogged down during the mid-to-late game periods. People recounted how they\u2019d become bored or that the game seemed to become stagnant and rather uninteresting as the universe became more filled out, with aliens civilizations and their borders rubbing up on each other.<\/p>\n<p>In response, Paradox has released update after DLC which have, for the most part, addressed these concerns. The recent 2.2 update along with the <em>Megacorp DLC<\/em> only drive home this point further.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-14746\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"445\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Each and every update and DLC ushers in some new and usually drastic changes to the basic <em>Stellaris <\/em>formula. For instance, 2.0 relegated interstellar travel to hyper-lanes and did away with warp and stargate modes of traversing the universe. This caused quite an uproar until gamers got used to the changes and quit complaining.<\/p>\n<p>The most recent 2.2 update has again caused quite a stir. This time one of the biggest changes are within planetary management. Instead of the rather boilerplate tile-based system where you\u2019d place buildings on planetary tiles and more or less forget about them, with the new system you have much more control over every facet of your planetary development.<\/p>\n<p>2.2 introduces a new system where everything is organized into districts and building clusters, which makes everything much more intuitive. For example, during one game my empire\u2019s alloy stockpiles were running low so I apportioned part of my capital planet\u2019s surface to building mining districts. That in turn created mining pops which immediately went to work in the new alloy refineries I constructed. You can do the same for all of your other basic resources as well.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-14747\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/3-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p>However, if you\u2019re in a pinch and don\u2019t have the time to perform all of that construction quickly you can simply trade resources from the new galactic market. At first, you only have access to your civilization\u2019s own internal markets but once you come into contact with other alien empires you get the more \u201cinternational\u201d version which has better prices. I feel that having a central marketplace was a feature that was sorely lacking in <em>Stellaris <\/em>so I\u2019m glad that Paradox finally addressed it.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the new <em>Megacorp DLC<\/em> introduces the titular: \u201cMegacorporation empire type, which features unique civics as well as the ability to become an economic powerhouse by spreading branch offices on the planets of other empires,\u201d according to the official website blurb. Even if you don\u2019t have the DLC you still gain access to the new Trade Route system, which allows your empire to set up trade nodes between your star bases.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ve also added traveling space trader caravans, a galactic slave market, and new megastructures, including the Matter Decompressor, Mega-Art Installation, Interstellar Assembly, and Strategic Coordination Center. You can either construct them yourself or they can been found in ruined states which allows for you to reactivate them, once you gather the prerequisite materials of course.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-14748\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/4-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And perhaps the most impressive addition (at least in my humble opinion) is the new planetary type: The Ecumenolopolis. At a certain point in your empire\u2019s development, you can convert one of your planets into a city-world, which is completely covered in urban sprawl. Think: Coruscant from the Star Wars series.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Stellaris: Megacorp DLC<\/em> once again drastically changes the base game and gives gamers a greater amount of control over the economics of their space faring civilizations. It\u2019s a fantastic addition to the greatest (in my opinion) space strategy out there right now.<\/p>\n<p>SCORE: 88%<\/p>\n<p><em>Stellaris<\/em> features some pretty great graphics that make its strategy-based gameplay truly shine. However, you want to have a pretty beefy gaming PC or gaming laptop in order to play it at a decent framerate. So, you may just want to invest in a decent gaming rig:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14450\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14450\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowerpc.com\/system\/Tracer-III-15-Slim-100\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/combo_400.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14450\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowerpc.com\/system\/Tracer-III-15-Slim-100\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TRACER III 15 SLIM 100<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cyberpowerpc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CyberpowerPC\u2019s website<\/a> to check out all of the other great deals as well!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stellaris: Megacorp DLC Paradox Interactive When Stellaris was originally released back in May of 2016, I knew right away that it was going to be something special. I always say \u201cgoing to be\u201d because anyone familiar with Paradox\u2019s post-release policies knows that there are going to be tons of updates and DLC following each game\u2019s&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/stellaris-megacorp-dlc-review-a-masterful-economy-focused-addition\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Stellaris: Megacorp DLC Review \u2013 A Masterful, Economy-focused Addition<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":12297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2724],"tags":[2520,741,2488,2527,1225,67,2486,2556,2586],"class_list":["post-12300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-4k-gaming","tag-cyberpower-pc","tag-game-review","tag-game-reviews-2","tag-gaming-laptop","tag-gaming-pc","tag-ian-kane","tag-science-fiction-games","tag-strategy-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12300"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16869,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12300\/revisions\/16869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}