First off I want to say I enjoy this DLC, However it does not match the price nor is it properly balanced. These are END game structures and to reach these structures takes a very long time, and as such should property help to END the game.

Currently outside of community mods this DLC is not balanced and even then the community makes them more op then balanced. For example Ring worlds and habitats are placed in their own category instead of being considered an actual planet/system. This is a huge mistake because it basically allows you to make as many core planets as you want. I understand that these are late game items however if RNJesus helps you out then congrats you now have infinite planets with no drawbacks.

Then there is the opposite side of the issue when it comes to building these Mega Structures the cost is insane which makes sense since by end game you should be able to pump out the minerals needed however even then the cost is stupid high. If you want to upgrade them at will you will need to own over a 3rd of the galaxy which is not acceptable. Since if you’re at that point you don’t need the mega structures to win and can probably end in the next 2 hours. Combined with that you can only start and upgrade one mega structure at a time which makes no sense since you can terraform multiple planets at once you should be able to build multiple mega structures at once. The game up till this point has had the policy of “if you had the resources and research; you can build it” I don’t understand why that changed for this. Lastly this DLC has completely confirmed Paradox Studios does not understand what value of their customer’s time is. In other games getting to this point in the game should bring the game to a close you now have all the energy you need to build that super army. However the amount of time it will take to create two and a half dyson spheres to generate the power need is so stupidly long that even on Fastest speed it could take upwards of over 4-5 hours. That’s just waiting for amassing minerals and waiting for them to build. In the mean time I have ♥♥♥♥ all to do because it’s end game I have a crisis happening 5 feet from my front door but I’m blowing all my minerals on a dyson sphere to have the energy to combat it. Honestly conquering the other side of the map for energy is FASTER.

So here’s what needs to change
1. Habitats need to be treated like systems.
2. You need to be able to build as many as you want at one time if you have the resources (duh)
3. The resource cost needs to be cut significantly
4. Time needed to create the mega structures needs to be cut
5. The cost of the DLC needs to be at least slashed in half why? Because before this there were ACTAULLY MODS THAT ALREADY DID THIS DLC FOR FREE
6. Fix leviathan DLC since it’s broken and nothing related to it works because of this DLC.

Edit: clarification

Based on the scores I’m getting I’m going to assume that I wasn’t clear enough. I spent 1 - 2 full days (got up and kept playing until I went back to bed) playing this DLC on fast and fastest speed in order to get to the research Mega-Structures. Only to have it come forward and demand a massive cost that was completely absurd. The reason I find it absurd is that a day before I unlocked mega-structures I had already conquered over 20% of the galaxy to say I could beat everyone but the top 3 was an understatement. The game was effectively over since it would only take me about another 2-3 hours to reach the 40% needed for the domination victory. However it would be another full day on fastest speed before I get the Mega-Structures research. By the time I got it the game was effectively over, countries only exist because I let them, and the Swarm couldn’t get past my borders. And I was letting them live too because I wanted to build a super army powered by dyson spheres.

This is why when I say Paradox Studios does not respect my time they really don’t. I have already spent 2 days getting to the point I can build the Mega-Structures and now it’s going to take an absurdity amount of time longer to even build just one. Which is why when I said “it would be faster to conquer the rest of the other half of the galaxy the Swarm has not touched then it would be to build one of these structures” I was not a joking. Combined with the fact I could only build one of these structures at a time even if I had the resources made me just quit the game right then.

Now look at the cost of these items. I understand that the initial platforms for each of these constructs should be minerals. It makes since but again the cost is huge when you consider a space station of the same size costs about 600 minerals. Then there is what the cost is; the ring worlds takes minerals which makes no sense since in creating the ring world you use up all! Of the planets and everything in the system besides the star as material. It should cost energy credits. While the dyson spheres cost energy even though just getting it barley online should pay the wages of production. You don’t consume the planets around it for material so it should cost material to create them. Both of these in either case have an absurd cost to the point of them being useless. Like I said it’s cheaper and faster to just go conquer other systems then it is to build these structures. Which it shouldn’t; the game should be rewarding you by making them cost close to the same level as terraforming. You have spent a significant amount of effort getting this tech you should be rewarded by being able to use it instead it’s useless.

Then there is the issue of how the ring worlds and habitats are treated. They are treated as just that habitats not planets which means they bypass the core systems number. If they were treated as regular planets then the above changes that I am requesting would be balanced out. You would not be able to abuse the ring making because that would affect your research speed and it would break your core system count if you built it outside of sectors.

The point I’m trying to make with all this is this DLC is very time consuming and the payoff is very little. I understand that this DLC is over powered however that should make sense since again they are end game structures. And should be treated and respected as such, as it is now it’s balanced as if you could build everything in the DLC from the start of the game not at the end. Which obviously makes no sense. Lastly is the price when people say that this DLC is 20 dollars for free mods. It’s not a joke, besides the science mega structure everything else was a mod pre the release of the utopia DLC. And that needs to be taken into account when you go over the value of the DLC. Also there is that fact that outside of the mega structures everything else was given in a free update. I do not see this price tag as valuable as what the content you are given even if the mods pre this DLC did not exist.

Balancing needs to be done for this DLC I should not have to go out of my way to download mods to fix the issues above because Paradox Studios believes they know better. Or believe that it is our! Job to fix their mess, which is incredibly disrespectful to us paying customers and gamers.