Cravers were my favorite faction in ES1, and really kind of my favorite 4X experience. I loved feeling my empire being on the verge of collapse, needing to constantly expand just to survive the basic economic and demographic facts of locust points. I think I'm in the minority but I felt that the Cravers of ES2 have captured this alright but I have hopes that they will capture it even more thoroughly.

Despite that, it's actually the Lumeris that have captured my fancy gaming. They may be the most vanilla faction, but expanding quickly and attempting to deal with a universe where everybody is either much more violent than you or much smarter than you (fundamentally the two sources of power in most 4x) creates an interesting dynamic. I haven't gotten the chance to play around with the trading mechanics very much, because of the pacing of technology and the late point at which diplomatic options open up.

I do have to concede that the Vodyani are probably the most interesting faction mechanically, they just don't click for me.

vahouth wrote:

Seeing that the Cravers are the least favorite in the poll as of now makes me cringe.

And I can't stop thinking that the reason for this is not that they are not an awesome race ('cause they are) but their gameplay thus far has been... underwhelming to say the least.

They only need a few things to make them truly awesome and fun to play.

• Should be able to actually consume foreign pop in their Empire. If it's supposed to happen already, it's not. The minors in their homeworld are already more than the Cravers.
• Minor faction populations in their Empire shouldn't vote. Cattle don't vote.
• It seems to me that depleted planets have the same FIDSI output as undepleted ones. Maybe it should be at least 20%-25% lower.
• They should receive half the penalty for overexpansion than normal.

I really hope Devs will read this comment and acknowledge it. Especially regarding consumption and over-population.

MezzoMax wrote:

vahouth wrote:

...

• It seems to me that depleted planets have the same FIDSI output as undepleted ones. Maybe it should be at least 20%-25% lower.

...

The tooltips are a bit misleading. Actually after depleting a planet the base FIDS is halved for every population. So the basic output per population is halved.

Here is the Link to my bug report in which I assumed that mistake that the +50% FIDS is still applied. Someone corrected me.

https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/forum/114-bug-reports/thread/21459-bug-craver-depletion-malus-not-applied-instead-it-stays-at-50-fids

The thing is Cravers still get +50% FIDS output regardless if a planet is depleted or not. But the depleted planet will give -50% base FIDS per population. So right now depleted planets are bad for Cravers but even worse for everybody else.

Thanks, good to know. 

vahouth wrote:

...

• It seems to me that depleted planets have the same FIDSI output as undepleted ones. Maybe it should be at least 20%-25% lower.

...

The tooltips are a bit misleading. Actually after depleting a planet the base FIDS is halved for every population. So the basic output per population is halved.

Here is the Link to my bug report in which I assumed that mistake that the +50% FIDS is still applied. Someone corrected me.

https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/forum/114-bug-reports/thread/21459-bug-craver-depletion-malus-not-applied-instead-it-stays-at-50-fids

The thing is Cravers still get +50% FIDS output regardless if a planet is depleted or not. But the depleted planet will give -50% base FIDS per population. So right now depleted planets are bad for Cravers but even worse for everybody else.

I've loved the story/design/gameplay of the Vodyani and I've throroughly enjoed playing as them.

Based on their current mechanics now I feel like they will have to be nurfed to some extent. You can easily suck the life out of neighboring systems quickly and rebuilding an arc is a piece of cake. 

- Capt'

Vodyani is my favorite. They have a cool style and imo the best looking ships in the game so far. It's also interesting how different they are from other factions in how they colonize/gain pop.

Lumeris is a close second for me. An economic/diplomatic playstyle that involves trading seems really appealing to me. Really don't like their ship design that much though.

Personally I voted for the Vodyani. Their mechanics are really fun, and I was actually surprised when I first sat down to play them. I remember going "Holy crap, these guys are way more aggressive than I expected." And its just a total blast. They are dependant on finding a minor faction nearby, but once you tweak the modules on your starter ark, or move to a better system, you really pick up steam.

As for the others, the Sophons and Cravers are nice but I think the Lumeris have more potential. Currently I'd say they are the least fleshed out race of the 4 currently available, but not because the faction itself is lacking or boring. I think the problem lies in that the diplomacy system, trade system, and marketplace system are all currently WIP or not yet in our build of the game. As a pacifistic economist faction those aspects of the game are almost required to survive, and once they are include I think the Lumeris will really pick up some steam. It's kind of like, imagine playing the Roving Clans but the marketplace isn't there so you dont get tax revenue, AND you dont have privateers yet because they haven't been programmed yet. It doesn't make the faction bad, or the game bad, it just means it's unfinished and has potential to be so much better. That's my opinion anyway, and I'm happily looking forward to the future.

That is not to say the other factions or fun. I just love how the cravers feel the most. 

The Lumeris. I love them because of their super sexy utilitarian ship designs, their buissness-like  approach to politics, and the fact that they are the freaking space Mafia. It also helps that I can just crush my enemies with a near unlimited amount of cash tosupport my battlefleets.

For me, it is the Vodyani. Rescuing the aging unenlightened barbaric unwashed masses from body odor, cellular deterioration, dirty minds, and false tenets seems to be a sufficiently evil cause to rally behind. Also, I like very much that they play very differently to other factions. To me, they have the most interesting gameplay mechanic to date.

My favourite is Cravers! I hate diplomacy and i like the militarists way :D

I voted Vodyani, as most of the people in this thread did. They're the most radically original faction atm and one of the most balanced (though they are heavily RNG-dependent right now).

Cravers have the beginnings of a very interesting slash-and-burn gameplay style going, but until you gain the ability to raze unwanted colonies and get rid of unwanted pops they are always going to collapse under their own weight.

Sophons are honestly kind of OP. Gaining a flat science bonus to most techs AND being able to research techs 1 era ahead when the game begins AND being able to see the ends of every star lane is a bit much.

Lumeris are the most disappointing to me so far. Maybe it's because peace doesn't really last long enough in the EA build for proper trade diplomacy to get going, but I feel like their intended playstyle (buy far-flung outposts and run trade routes through most of the galaxy) is just heavily unviable right now. 

Vodyani for me. Their aesthetic, their ship design, their playstyle is really what I am looking for in a space 4X game.

I voted Sophons, although it's not because I actually like the Sophons all that much. The ability to research Tier 2 techs right away is just amazing though, and opens up so many more early game options. Even if you inevitably lose the Senate to the Pacifists, just getting 2-3 early techs can change everything. I wish that was their Affinity, actually, instead of or in addition to Omniscience.

Vodyani are definitely the most mechanically interesting right now, but I just don't personally enjoy that playstyle very much. Mostly the emphasis on leeching, which sits in a weird gray zone between aggression and non-aggression that I can't really wrap my head around yet.

Cravers feel broken to me right now. They're supposed to be eating their slaves, but that never really happens, and then they get hit with huge happiness penalties from being in a Dictatorship. I don't think they necessarily need any huge mechanical changes or exceptions to normal game rules, but they definitely need to be tweaked until they can actually function as Cravers.

Lumeris feel the closest to a Vanilla faction right now, oddly enough. They do have that Planet Broker thing, but ultimately it's only a small convenience issue over building a colony ship (especially since Warp travel is unlocked so early compared to ES1). They get tons of dust, which every faction needs, and bonus approval, which every faction wants, so right now they're just a solid pick with no real stand-out mechanics or strategies. Maybe they'll become more interesting as Pacifists once the diplomacy AI is improved: right now they win by simply out-expanding everyone else through extra dust and happiness.

What is your favorite faction so far? Please discuss.

Lumeris right now.  I just hate balancing everything, so all dust all the time is nice.

Cravers. I didn't really play them much in the first game, as I had the Automatons and Amoebas to delight myself with. But I find them really enjoyable now, and out of all the races revealed so far, they're easily my favourite, as their playstyle fits me quite well: Blind, quick and mindless violence.

Gotta agree with many, Vodyani totally take the first place followed by Sophons simply because I really, really like super technology over most things but currently the bug (or at least I think it's a bug) where the Haroshem spawn constantly on my planet make their gameplay pointless as the Pacifist always win in votes.

RageMcGeezaks wrote:

Just founded a new system as a Sophon near a Craver system, guess what my second pop turned out to be ^^

The poor settlers are now getting eaten by Cravers during peace-time.

I hated when this happened to me, damn Cravers depleting everything.

Seeing that the Cravers are the least favorite in the poll as of now makes me cringe.

And I can't stop thinking that the reason for this is not that they are not an awesome race ('cause they are) but their gameplay thus far has been... underwhelming to say the least.

They only need a few things to make them truly awesome and fun to play.

• Should be able to actually consume foreign pop in their Empire. If it's supposed to happen already, it's not. The minors in their homeworld are already more than the Cravers.
• Minor faction populations in their Empire shouldn't vote. Cattle don't vote.
• It seems to me that depleted planets have the same FIDSI output as undepleted ones. Maybe it should be at least 20%-25% lower.
• They should receive half the penalty for overexpansion than normal.

Aiyen wrote:

Vodyani because they are the one race that have a truly unique playstyle. 

I want to love the cravers, but they just feel so malplaced... I do not feel like I am playing a hive mind bent on galactic consumption when I play them.  They do not have any mechanics that really display what they are all about. The depletion mechanic is lacking in flavor the way I see it. 

With the Vodyani you actually feel like an evil enslaving bastard who brainwash people into allowing them to be just food... with the rare few allowed to be uplifted. 

Indeed.Cravers needed a specialist politic mechanic.The ingame one just doesn't fit..

Condorf wrote:

I really like the Vodyani, for what others have said, they are really unique. I also like how you can edit the Arc and put the +50% industry, science, etc. as support slots. The heroes also level so fast. I got my starting hero to level 20 just by keeping him on my starting Arc. Their ship designs are really cool too.

I have played the Sophons, but I found them to be quite 'meh'. The omniscience faction trait is okay, but with no tech victory it hard to get excited about it.  Also, their government type (democracy) frustrates me because I couldn't keep the scientists in power. Their ship designs are okay.

I haven't played the Cravers or the Lumeris yet.

Lumeris didn't do anything for me, personally, but the Cravers are a riot to use. They can flood the nearby systems, which in turn pisses off your neighbours, which in turn means you can go to war - usually with their one or two systems versus your half a dozen. The AI is laughably bad at using them though, and you'll be screwed if there's nothing close to colonize (Way moreso than any other race), thanks to their "Overexploitation" malus.

I really like the Vodyani, for what others have said, they are really unique. I also like how you can edit the Arc and put the +50% industry, science, etc. as support slots. The heroes also level so fast. I got my starting hero to level 20 just by keeping him on my starting Arc. Their ship designs are really cool too.

I have played the Sophons, but I found them to be quite 'meh'. The omniscience faction trait is okay, but with no tech victory it hard to get excited about it.  Also, their government type (democracy) frustrates me because I couldn't keep the scientists in power. Their ship designs are okay.

I haven't played the Cravers or the Lumeris yet.

Vodyani because they are the one race that have a truly unique playstyle. 

I want to love the cravers, but they just feel so malplaced... I do not feel like I am playing a hive mind bent on galactic consumption when I play them.  They do not have any mechanics that really display what they are all about. The depletion mechanic is lacking in flavor the way I see it. 

With the Vodyani you actually feel like an evil enslaving bastard who brainwash people into allowing them to be just food... with the rare few allowed to be uplifted. 

My favorite faction so far are the Vodyani and a close 2nd the Cravers. With a few well placed changes though, they can easily move to the 1st place.