Paint a Galaxy

Make your own custom maps and scenarios!

Features

• Paint the galaxy in broad strokes, no need to individually place each star and hyperlane

• Then manually tweak the galaxy to get it just right

  • Solar systems, hyperlanes, wormholes, and nebulas

  • System names

  • Unique systems

  • Spawn locations

  • Reserved spawns submod - choose where each player / custom AI starts

• Save and load multiple projects

Instructions

This mod does nothing on it's own. You use it alongside a separate map mod (see this collection) or create your map with (https://oatmealproblem.github.io/paint-a-galaxy).

1. Subscribe to and activate this mod

2. Paint, generate a map, and download the txt file in (https://oatmealproblem.github.io/paint-a-galaxy)

3. Add your map to this mod (easier) or create your own mod (better for sharing)

4. Start a new game, select "Elliptical" as the galaxy shape and your map as the size (it will be listed after "Huge" / before "Tiny")

Known Bugs (will fix)

• Minor issues where vanilla checks for named galaxy sizes

Caveats (minor issues, won't fix / not fixable)

• 1700+ star galaxies require a mod that adds more star names (such as Just Star Names)

• The "Advanced Neighbors" setting has no effect; advanced AI can neighbor the player

• All precursors are "on" regardless of settings (but Precursor Selection does work)

• Nomads with random home systems do not start in a designed-for-nomads system

• Some things spawn additional solar systems, so you'll see some in-game that were not in-app (marauders, fallen empires, some events).

Compatibility

• For Stellaris 4.5

• Should be compatible with most mods

• Modded starting systems must set the "empire_home_system" flag, or they will not work

• Modded origins that change planet classes sometimes have minor issues; please report

• If you are using a modded galaxy shapes, you must select a vanilla shape (eg elliptical).

• Modded precursors are not directly supported, but will work if you use Precursor Selection

• Conflicts with overwrites of common/fallen_empires (very rare). Built-in compat with:

  • Ancient Cache of Technologies

  • Ethics & Civics: Alternative FunEFork

  • Ethics & Civics: Bug Branch

  • Ethics & Civics: Classic

• Conflicts with overwrites of UNE preset empire (very rare). Built-in compat with:

  • Ethics & Civics: Alternative FunEFork

  • Ethics & Civics: Bug Branch

  • Ethics & Civics: Classic

• Modded event chains that use "neighbor_system" will not work. This is very rare.

• Don't paint stars in the core if playing with Gigastructural Engineering

  • You can turn on a guide in-app in the "View" menu

Companion Tools and Mods

Tools

• Nro's Galaxy Editor - edit the geography of in-progress games

• StellarMaps - create custom, styled maps from your saves

• Stellaris Solar System Editor - GUI to create custom solar system mods

Mods

• Intuitive Habitables Slider - makes the Habitable Worlds slider behave like you'd expect

• Just Star Names - needed if you create a map more than 1,700 stars

• Precursor Selection - enables modded precursors in painted maps

• MicroMod - Galaxy is Flat - all solar sysems are in the same flat plane, like in-app

Credits

• Mudja~ and LeGustaVinho for helping to investigate nomad spawns

Sharing

Feel free to share and upload the galaxies you create, and feel free to manually edit them further to your liking. You should mark this mod as required, otherwise your subscribers will experience various issues such as incorrect homeworlds, no marauders, no fallen empires, etc. Credit and linking is appreciated.

Come chat in (https://discord.gg/bHVez2C) #oatmeal-mods or my own Discord server