Hey everyone! I'm Julian, and I'm back to moding! I love creating mod lists for games I enjoy, and Stellaris is one of my favorites. After working on this list for over 43 days (and counting), I think I've finally hit the sweet spot between mod complexity and realism. Excited to share it with you all!



First off, why should you use this mod list?
It's simple: I've tested it thoroughly, and it works! It's balanced with a focus on realism—no overpowered structures or starting technologies. This mod list is all about striking the right balance of complexity and gameplay, which is something I personally love when playing Stellaris."

Important INFO
For Save game crashes please perform the following:

• 1. Exit Game.
  
• 2. Exit Paradox Launcher.
  
• 3. In this webpage unsubscribe from all my collection.
  
• 4. In your documents folder go and delete Cache files and contents.
  EG: "C:\Users\your username\OneDrive\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Stellaris\cache"
  
• 5. In your documents folder go and delete Crashes files and contents.
  EG: "C:\Users\your username\OneDrive\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Stellaris\crashes"
  
• 6. Verify integrity of game files from right clicking on the game on steam in Properties, Installed Files.
  
• 7. Subscribe again to the entire collection with the same load order.
  
• 8. Start the game WITHOUT PRESSING ALT TAB.
  
• 9. Load the game WITHOUT PRESSING ALT TAB.

REQUIREMENTS:

• 1. At least 1920X1080 resolution
  
• 2. Both Stellaris and SteamLibrary Workshop installed on the same SSD
  
• 3. All DLC's from Stellaris
  
• 4. Use vanilla mod organizer from Paradox
  
• 5. DON'T Alt+Tab when game loads since this will crash it

LOAD ORDER
Just chose one of these two options

• 1. Download the JSON File here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Iw_ecB_VPILgnE_vX0DfESHY5lHLzCac/view
  
• 2. Subscribe to the mods from top to bottom in the list you see here.

Issues Identified until now with what I am testing

• I've done some testing with the modlist, and it appears that Stellaris is once again struggling to allocate resources properly. This might explain why the game crashes in the late stages—not necessarily due to the mods, but rather because of the limitations of the game's older engine and the strain caused by population recalculations.
  
• StellarCam feels a bit too limitless, and in some cases, it may switch the view or flip the image unexpectedly. However, this doesn’t affect gameplay, as you can easily switch back to your desired position.
  
• In the first year of the game there will be a massive game stutter. Have patience game didn't crash, it just has some computing things from the mods that he has to process.

Mandatory Settings Before Game Start:

• Make sure to set the game to Full Screen first and then switch it back to Windowed Fullscreen. This helps resolve an issue with the mouse cursor, as it resets properly after making this change."
  
• Mid Crysis Year start, minimum 2320
  
• Late game Crysis Year start, minimum 2370

Gameplay Update 13 January 2025:
I’ve played for 150 in-game years, and the experience has been both amazing and awesome. Early and mid-game performance was smooth, with minimal stuttering thanks to my settings, where I reduced population growth. However, I’ve only started experiencing significant stuttering now, in the year 2363.

The game is extremely well-balanced, especially in terms of the AI combat system. Despite having a solid understanding of ethics, civics, and other mechanics, the AI does an excellent job of keeping up in both military and research. Only in the late game does the AI begin to fall behind in research and access to powerful weapons. However, this is mitigated by the introduction of events like the “War in Heaven,” where the factions involved bring immense power, with fleets of up to 100 million in strength.

I haven’t played a game like this in a long time, and the only thing keeping me from continuing now is the late-game lag, which has become almost unbearable.

The only unbalanced aspects of the game are the terraforming mechanics and the density of habitable planets. Even with the number of habitable planets set to the lowest possible, their distribution still feels disproportionate.

What I would like in terms of mods:

• 1. A mod that significantly reduces the terraforming capacity since its kind of OP in early midgame because you can spam multiple planets easily.
  
• 2. A mod that reduces starting habitable planets to 400% since having more planets makes the game unplayable at the end.

Recommended Gameplay:

• Start Game:
  Focus on exploration and planetary expansion. Prioritize propulsion technologies, as ships move slowly in Real Space System Scale. Build automated factories, but only after adopting traditions that preserve districts. Alternatively, construct factories on multiple Spaceports
  
• Mid Game:
  Focus on technology that speeds up hyperlane travel (you'll recognize it when the research option appears). This significantly reduces travel time between star systems. You just have to build one in each star system in order to create lane fast travels.
  
• End Game:
  Prioritize alloy and consumer goods megastructures, as well as gigastructures—enough said.

If you like the mod list please rate it. It helps a lot in making others finding the list easier.