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Stellaris Dev Diary #144 - Megastructures, Habitats and Minor Artifacts

Hello everyone!

First of all, I’d like to follow up on last week’s dev diary by sharing some more things we’re trying out with Megastructures (and habitats!).

After all of that, we also have something new to talk about!

Let’s start from the beginning – which of course leads us to the Mega-Engineering technology itself.

As always, numbers may not be final and temporary things may be sighted.

Mega-Engineering
Mega-Engineering is still a rare technology, but will now be more likely to appear as you build more Habitats and Citadels. This means it is way more likely to appear if you are performing actions in the game that would lead you towards the route of building larger and more powerful structures.

Master Builders
The Master Builders ascension perk no longer unlocks mega-engineering or adds size to habitats, but instead increases the number of megastructures you can simultaneously build by +1. What about increased habitat size you ask? Well, keep on reading!

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Habitats & Voidborne
Habitats are no longer locked behind the Voidborne ascension perk but is rather a technology that branches off from the Star Fortress technology. Habitats now have a default of 80% habitability. We’re also experimenting with that some of the habitat’s districts will depend on which planet they are built over. In case you build one above a planet with mining deposits, this could happen:

upload_2019-4-18_12-11-1.png

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Voidborne ascension perk now increases habitat size by +2 and increases Habitat habitability by 20%. This should mean it becomes more of a choice for specialization, rather than feeling it is a non-choice.

As a final note on habitats, it might be worthwhile to reiterate my thoughts that I eventually want to add different levels/sizes to habitats. It is however not something for the immediate future, but a little further down the road.

Ring Worlds
We didn’t quite like how Ring Worlds ended up feeling like a vast farm, so we’re making some changes. Instead of being a size 50 with regular districts, we’re changing it to a size 5 with a unique type of districts – segments. A Ring World, as you know, has 4 planets. Each planet can now build 5 segments, which are very powerful districts with many jobs and a lot of housing.

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Minor Artifacts
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Some of you might recognize the icon for what was supposed to become arcane technology, that partially got into 2.2. It was something that I was personally working on, but that didn’t work out as I had imagined it, and that I didn’t get enough time to finish with other things taking priority.

In the next upcoming DLC, you will be able to come across Minor Artifacts. “Minor Artifacts” is a broad term that includes any smaller and nameless artifact left behind by ancient civilizations. They are never gained passively every month, but will rather have to be found.

What are they used for, I imagine you asking? Well, the basic functionality is that they can be consumed in so-called artifact actions. There are a bunch of different actions that can be performed by consuming Minor Artifacts, with varying effects for each.

Some of these actions will be locked behind a technology, which some may also recognize.

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Arcane Deciphering allows you to consume Minor Artifacts for a random technology-related bonus.

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That’s it for this week! Happy Easter everyone! Next week we’ll be back again :)

P.S. Attaching an Easter present

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I have a little question: Are u guys still focused on fixing the late game stutter or did you continue working on new projects mainly and not focusing on the stuttering and slowing down issues?

Sorry if I'm a bit out of topic here
 
Maybe allow multiple construction ships to work on it simultaneously?
I do want me some production fleets that can have Engineer admirals running the fleet, different size construction fleets with different equipment adding to ships efficiency, speed, capability (ie you need a Titan sized production ship running the show if you want to build Ringworlds/Dyson Spheres), requiring access to supplies (and lower efficiency if it's not good access), interest for pirates/monsters/neighbors, and so on.
 
Mega-Engineering
Mega-Engineering is still a rare technology, but will now be more likely to appear as you build more Habitats and Citadels.
This seems to be OK ...

Master Builders
The Master Builders ascension perk no longer unlocks mega-engineering or adds size to habitats, but instead increases the number of megastructures you can simultaneously build by +1.
From 1 to ... "WoW" ... 2 ... is underwhelming and this a-perk shares the same "flaw" like many others: It doesn't scale. Why not to remove the restriction entirely, but the more megastructures are builded "in parallel" the more their costs will scale ? Furthermore, currently, there're "just" up-front-costs, but why not to have up-front-costs (to start the construction) and monthly costs (until the construction is finished) ? Monthly costs (until the construction is finished) has also the advantage, that the "+50% megastructure-build-speed"-modifier is more "worthy" since it will not only spare 50% time, but 50% of these monthly costs as well ...

Habitats & Voidborne
Habitats are no longer locked behind the Voidborne ascension perk but is rather a technology that branches off from the Star Fortress technology.
This seems to be OK, too ...

Habitats now have a default of 80% habitability.
This seems to be OK, too ...

We’re also experimenting with that some of the habitat’s districts will depend on which planet they are built over.
Honestly, I'm not a fan of the design-decision, that buildings become districts (in the cases of habitats, ring-worlds and ecu(s)), so that this solution (at least for habitats, but not for ring-worlds), that a habitat exploits the natural resources (food / minerals / EC(s)) of the celestial body it's placed, makes more sense ...

As a final note on habitats, it might be worthwhile to reiterate my thoughts that I eventually want to add different levels/sizes to habitats.
This is how the (better) starbases work, so that I would take the next step: Habitats are / count as (better) starbases, too ...
01. To be clear, habitats are colonies, but they should be (better) starbases as well, so that they would get a serious buff: Access to the buildings / modules, defenses and function as shipyard(s) of the (better) starbases ...
02. They get a reasonable restriction aka the "starbase-capacity" in regards to their numbers to deal with any "habitat-spam"-problem ...

Edit:
(Better) starbases are all ones with the exception of outposts ...

Voidborne ascension perk now increases habitat size by +2 and increases Habitat habitability by 20%.
I recommend, that you specialize the a-perk-system towards the ... well ... (biological / synthetic / psionic) ascension of POPs since most of the buffs of the a-perks have "better" spots as technologies, traditions or what-ever ...

Ring Worlds
Instead of being a size 50 with regular districts, we’re changing it to a size 5 with a unique type of districts – segments. A Ring World, as you know, has 4 planets. Each planet can now build 5 segments, which are very powerful districts with many jobs and a lot of housing.
Can't you make these 4 "planets" into 1, so why not a sequence like this: You build the 01. ring-world-section, 5 segments become available, 5 segments are builded, the 02. ring-world-section becomes available, the 02. ring-world-section is builded, 5 segments become available, but you get a consolidated colony of 5/10 segments, ... repeat this until the ring-world is finished ...

Furthermore, I see no reason, why ring-worlds shouldn't be / count as (better) starbases, too ...

Besides that, good idea to implement better, but fewer districts since they're less impactful in regards to the empire sprawl and therefore good for what I consider as a "tall" gameplay.
 
the game is getting less and less about roleplaying an empire and more and more about.... tedium
 
snip
From 1 to ... "WoW" ... 2 ... is underwhelming and this a-perk shares the same "flaw" like many others: It doesn't scale. Why not to remove the restriction entirely, but the more megastructures are builded "in parallel" the more their costs will scale ? Furthermore, currently, there're "just" up-front-costs, but why not to have up-front-costs (to start the construction) and monthly costs (until the construction is finished) ? Monthly costs (until the construction is finished) has also the advantage, that the "+50% megastructure-build-speed"-modifier is more "worthy" since it will not only spare 50% time, but 50% of these monthly costs as well ...

Snip

This is how the (better) starbases work, so that I would take the next step: Habitats are / count as (better) starbases, too ...
01. To be clear, habitats are colonies, but they should be (better) starbases as well, so that they would get a serious buff: Access to the buildings / modules, defenses and function as shipyard(s) of the (better) starbases ...
02. They get a reasonable restriction aka the "starbase-capacity" in regards to their numbers to deal with any "habitat-spam"-problem ...

Snip

I actually made a similar suggestion about monthly costs on page 7 in more detail. I suggested that big/small megastructures would have higher/lower upfront costs, and higher/lower monthly costs.
I was thinking something like 30 to 50 alloys/energy a month for the duration of the construction, and this could be increased with build speed modifiers, giving you a trade-off.

That could be interesting... So then starbase buildings would now have jobs? Would habitats only be able to be built on top of starbases, or could you build them anywhere, and would act like a starbase in some of its base functions?
I'm imagining that the starbase buildings would now be like a regular "planetary" building giving some jobs, and certain modifiers. Is that what you had in mind?
 
I have a little question: Are u guys still focused on fixing the late game stutter or did you continue working on new projects mainly and not focusing on the stuttering and slowing down issues?

Sorry if I'm a bit out of topic here
So a few things.

One: Late game is always going to be slower. That's just what the actual laws of physics demand.

Second: Paradox's programmers are not a homogenous blob of coding power. They are capable of doing multiple things at once.

Third: They are literally always working on performance. He probably didn't think he needed to mention it, but here we are.
the game is getting less and less about roleplaying an empire and more and more about.... tedium
You have a very... interesting definition of tedium.
 
thought wonder if be able to improved on them habitants by upgradeing them so can increases size? hmm..
He did say he's looking at the idea of there being 'tiers' of habitats you can 'upgrade', but there's nothing solid. Though imo? Habitats have always been "Smaller planets that you build because they're better than nothing".
 
One: Late game is always going to be slower. That's just what the actual laws of physics demand.
I... what?

Like, I think I get your meaning, but... no. No, the laws of physics do not demand the game slow down over time.

Does calculating more things cost more processing power, and do computers have a cap for how much processing power they can bring to bear at a time? Sure. But game speed is more a question of optimization and what's being calculated in the first place. The game "inevitably" slowing down is contingent on assuming that at its early-game speed its using all the processing capacity in the first place, and that the late game adds enough things to be calculated that the computer's cap is reached.

Neither of those are demanded by physics.
 
I... what?

Like, I think I get your meaning, but... no. No, the laws of physics do not demand the game slow down over time.

Does calculating more things cost more processing power, and do computers have a cap for how much processing power they can bring to bear at a time? Sure. But game speed is more a question of optimization and what's being calculated in the first place. The game "inevitably" slowing down is contingent on assuming that at its early-game speed its using all the processing capacity in the first place, and that the late game adds enough things to be calculated that the computer's cap is reached.

Neither of those are demanded by physics.
I don't have the patience to respond to pedantry in detail today. You know perfectly well what I meant, and typing this up was purely for your own benefit and you know it.
 
Can't you make these 4 "planets" into 1, so why not a sequence like this: You build the 01. ring-world-section, 5 segments become available, 5 segments are builded, the 02. ring-world-section becomes available, the 02. ring-world-section is builded, 5 segments become available, but you get a consolidated colony of 5/10 segments, ... repeat this until the ring-world is finished ...
That would be good only if combined ringworld also has the building slots of the 4 separate ringworlds. Otherwise you lose quite a lot of buildings.
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but with ringworlds, they seem to basically provide the same result, but cost less minerals? Before, for example, a 50 district ringworld could provide 100 farmer jobs. In the upcoming update, a 5 district/segment ringworld provides 100 farmer jobs because the farming segment provides 20 jobs instead of the usual 2. If I haven't missed something, my question would be: why?
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but with ringworlds, they seem to basically provide the same result, but cost less minerals? Before, for example, a 50 district ringworld could provide 100 farmer jobs. In the upcoming update, a 5 district/segment ringworld provides 100 farmer jobs because the farming segment provides 20 jobs instead of the usual 2. If I haven't missed something, my question would be: why?
The big thing is Empire sprawl. Right now, all 200 districts would add 200 points to it, increasing research cost, tradition cost, and leader cost/upkeep. In this, it'd be the same exact thing as we have now (in terms of jobs/housing), but with 20 points of sprawl. Far less points. Plus, you get an automatic 5% output per job it looks like.

Now, on its own, this makes those districts very powerful, but there is an argument for making megastructures buildible earlier so you can really take advantage of this earlier in the game.
 
Uh, you are buffing the output of dyson spheres and matter decompressors?

. . . w- why? I already curb stomp Grand Admiral AI(with glavius AI making them less stupid). This is going to throw a lot of balance out of wack in multiplayer games and single player is going to be a snoozefest and now galactic wonders will be even more of a must-have.

Go home paradox you're drunk.
 
Uh, you are buffing the output of dyson spheres and matter decompressors?

. . . w- why? I already curb stomp Grand Admiral AI(with glavius AI making them less stupid). This is going to throw a lot of balance out of wack in multiplayer games and single player is going to be a snoozefest and now galactic wonders will be even more of a must-have.

Go home paradox you're drunk.
Given "Megastructures don't feel mega enough, a farming world can be used to earn more energy than a Dyson Sphere wtf" is a pretty common sentiment around here...

You may be in the minority.
 
Mining/Research platforms to Habitats.
Thinking about it i came up with a proposal for an alternate way to manage Habitats: rather than (or perhaps in addition to) just building them outright,
make them an extension of mining platforms and research outposts. This would give you a starting point for what special sectors or buildings you would have available.
My crude thought was that a habitat built on conventional resources (minerals, energy, research) would get a scaling bonus to that type of production. Exotic materials
(gases, living metal, dark matter) would give access to harvesting buildings like (and on a similiar scale to) their related habitable world deposits.
 
Uh, you are buffing the output of dyson spheres and matter decompressors?

. . . w- why? I already curb stomp Grand Admiral AI(with glavius AI making them less stupid). This is going to throw a lot of balance out of wack in multiplayer games and single player is going to be a snoozefest and now galactic wonders will be even more of a must-have.

Go home paradox you're drunk.
If you're that good at the game, does it really matter at that point?

As for balancing them more, I posted about giving monthly cost while constructing, and about adding more steps, with smaller outputs in each for the final overall output. If the AI can be taught to make these as well, and these structures given some more balance passes as the devs refine this, it could work out well.