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 – use a trait to choose where each player / custom AI start
- 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 the Paint a Galaxy web app[oatmealproblem.github.io].
- Subscribe to and activate this mod
- Paint, generate a map, and download the txt file in the web app[oatmealproblem.github.io]
- Add your map to this mod (easier) or create your own mod (better for sharing)
- Start a new game, select "Elliptical" as the galaxy shape and "Painted Galaxy" as the size
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)
- Sol doesn’t get Sol-specific neighbors, eg Alpha Centauri, Barnard’s Star
- 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)
- Some things additional solar systems, so you’ll see some in-game that were not in-app (guaranteed worlds, marauders, fallen empires, some events).
Compatibility
- For Stellaris 4.3
- 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
- Overwrites common/fallen_empires. This is very rare. Built-in compat with:
- Ancient Cache of Technologies
- Ethics & Civics: Bug Branch
- 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[github.com] – edit the geography of in-progress games
- StellarMaps[stellarmaps.app] – create custom, styled maps from your saves
- Stellaris Solar System Editor[github.com] – 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
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.
