Stellaris Dev Diary #218 - Plantoids Gameplay

[The_Draco]

I really like older DLC getting additional content.

Regarding the new traits:
-> Phototrophic is flavorful, but it doesn't strike me as particularly useful. Even for 1-point traits, there are considerably better options.
-> Radiotrophic might actually be pretty good if you have an easy way to terraform planets into tomb worlds. Still not among the best 2-point traits though.
-> Budding sounds like the strongest of the new traits. Actually worth picking maybe, but I don't think it's strongest on hives, because they already have a pretty high base growth.

Regarding the new civics:
-> Catalytic processing *might* actually be pretty good, especially for hives.
-> From what I can see here, idyllic bloom is just a more expensive version of the world shaper AP, which doesn't sound all that strong to me.

exapt the part that you can build that building from the beginning and have to wait for the AP, so, why not, one AP saved

 

[blacksmith]

If rock people can use 100% minerals instead of food, why not also let plant people use 100% energy instead of food? The 50% strikes me as odd.

 

[Kaoru Sen'nin]

If rock people can use 100% minerals instead of food, why not also let plant people use 100% energy instead of food? The 50% strikes me as odd.

That would just be the same as machine

 

[Blayze]

This all seems nice and thematically appropriate.

Speaking of thematically-appropriate content, I'd like to see Tree of Life become available to all Plantoids and Fungoids, and I was hoping for something that lets me convert Food into Minerals.

But what we're getting is excellent, especially for free.

 

[The_Draco]

You don't get what I meant.

You can't make a void dweller necrophage for example. Scion Necrophage ? Nope dude. Apocalyptic ? Go away bro. Ring world ? Not on my watch mate.
Sure you can use any portrait but that doesn't change the game.

Meanwhile you are not forced to play calamity birth for Lithoid.

Sure some origin are locked for some kind of gameplay but Necroid lock you out of all of them.

well, necroid is its own gameplay, what you want is free combinable origins for certain aspects to get something like necrophage mechanists on a ringworld with gateway in system being a scion... i mean why not, it could be possible, even with more combinations wich theoreticaly wouldn't conflict ... but yah, i think it is ok like it is atm, only thing i would like to see is, if you are a scion with deathcult civic, your FE overlord should be Necrophage, that would be awsome xD but yah, however

 

[Kapi96]

Great to see new stuff actually making some races unique!
Any chance of biological ships too though? Been wanting them for awhile and a Plantoid update seems like a good time. Make them available to plantoids, fungoids and bugs. Could use society research to make that actually more worthwhile too. Honestly I'd just like more ship types generally, but a biological ship type definitely fits here and sounds interesting.

 

[th3freakie]

Why do Phototrophic races need energy when living in planets? Did they evolve under light-bulbs?

The Catalytic Processing text specifically mentions a Megacorporation. Is the civic unique to plantoid megacorps, or is the text just coincidence?

 

[Reedstilt]

If rock people can use 100% minerals instead of food, why not also let plant people use 100% energy instead of food? The 50% strikes me as odd.

Honestly, I was hoping for a generic "Autotroph" trait that just gave a basic -X% food upkeep cost with no shifting of the remainder to another resource. You're getting a good chunk of your energy from ambient sources - sunlight, radiation, chemicals in the environment, etc. - so you don't need as much food and you don't need the investment of other resources. There could be some restrictions on it, like tying the reduction to how habitable the planet is (bigger reductions on more habitable planets), similarly to how Radiotrophs currently remove their energy requirements on Tomb Worlds. As separate traits, Phototrophs could get their energy costs reduced based on the star they orbit (Red stars require more Energy upkeep, blue stars require less, yellow stars in the middle).

 

[Reedstilt]

Why do Phototrophic races need energy when living in planets? Did they evolve under light-bulbs?

The Catalytic Processing text specifically mentions a Megacorporation. Is the civic unique to plantoid megacorps, or is the text just coincidence?

While I largely agree with you regarding the Phototrophic trait, I think the idea is that the energy requirement is there to compensate for the portion of your species that currently works in all those buildings and mines you've been constructing, where they can't get all the sunlight they would normally receive outdoors.

Also, regarding Catalytic Processing, that's a development artifact. It's available to all types of empires. It was shown off on Tuesday and that question came up then as well.

 

[Kapi96]

Not a fan to lock traits to certain portraits. It limits a player's imagination and creativity. Why can't I build a species of rocks that sustains itself of radiation? Or a post apocalyptic one that evolved that trait? Why limit things artificially to a certain portrait? Just because the most common stereotype for a trait like that is a plant?

Strongly disagree. I wouldn't be opposed to an option to unlock these kind of things, but one of my biggest criticisms of Stellaris is how generic everything feels and that there's so little differentiation between the different phenotypes. I'm delighted to see some finally being added. I want playing as say a mammal or a plant to feel different and I also want the randomly generated AI races to feel different rather than for everything just to be available to everyone.

Honestly I'd like them to go much further and would even like some techs and stuff to be exclusive to certain races.

 

[Reedstilt]

I want playing as say a mammal or a plant to feel different and I also want the randomly generated AI races to feel different rather than for everything just to be available to everyone.

I think a fair compromise here would be to have certain traits locked during species creation, but once you start dabbling in genetically engineering, you can make Photosynthetic Space Foxes if you really want to.

 

[Kapi96]

I think a fair compromise here would be to have certain traits locked during species creation, but once you start dabbling in genetically engineering, you can make Photosynthetic Space Foxes if you really want to.

Would still prefer an option to prevent that from happening though. Sure I could not do it, but I don't want the AI doing it either. I like that there's an option to turn off xeno-compatibility (I always have it off), so would want the same here too.

 

[Kaoru Sen'nin]

Strongly disagree. I wouldn't be opposed to an option to unlock these kind of things, but one of my biggest criticisms of Stellaris is how generic everything feels and that there's so little differentiation between the different phenotypes. I'm delighted to see some finally being added. I want playing as say a mammal or a plant to feel different and I also want the randomly generated AI races to feel different rather than for everything just to be available to everyone.

Honestly I'd like them to go much further and would even like some techs and stuff to be exclusive to certain races.

I agree to everything.

For plantoid I think an unremovable 0 trait (like Lithoid) should also be there.

 

[Reedstilt]

For plantoid I think an unremovable 0 trait (like Lithoid) should also be there.

Even here on Earth, not all plants are phototrophic. I'm glad alien plants aren't obligated to be either.

 

[Kaoru Sen'nin]

Even here on Earth, not all plants are phototrophic. I'm glad alien plants aren't obligated to be either.

I never said the phototropic should be the one.

 

[Reedstilt]

Idyllic Bloom: This Civic lets you transform planets into Gaia Worlds by building Gaia Seeders and upgrading them. The Gaia Seeders have 4 phases, with the 4th and final phase triggering the terraformation of the planet to a Gaia World. Available to regular empires as well as Hive Minds.

View attachment 745717​

Based on the text of the Civic, I'm not sure why this is restricted just to Plantoids and Fungoids. It looks like a cultural goal to create garden worlds, which anyone could have.

That aside, I've got a couple questions regarding its current form. First, does it require a planet that matchings your starting one to get the ball rolling? I hope not, because should be a go-to Civic for Lifeseeded empires, allowing them to start transforming other planets early on.

Second, will the Maweer Caretakers be swapping out Agrarian Idyll for Idyllic Bloom? It seems like it'd be a perfect fit for them, and I enjoy when the preset empires get some attention.

 

[scriptkiddy]

Restricting these new mechanics to fungoids/plantoids is a terrible idea. It blocks off a whole range of potential species ideas for no gain whatsoever. Why can't I make a species of photosynthetic avians? Why can't I settle a tomb world and genetically engineer the inhabitants to be radiotrophic? Why can't a mammalian species care for the environment of their planets and turn them into gaia worlds?

I very much welcome further differentiating the species as right now the main difference is just in their names and their portraits.

 

[Reedstilt]

I never said the phototropic should be the one.

What do you think the unremovable 0-Cost Trait should be then? I assumed, based on the context, that phototrophic would at least be part of it.

 

[StellarXe]

It's really a good update, but I hope this won't be the first and last of planetoid update. I hope in future will have more revisit to DLCs when you have more ideas sir.

 

[Kaoru Sen'nin]

What do you think the unremovable 0-Cost Trait should be then? I assumed, based on the context, that phototrophic would at least be part of it.

I don't have any specific idea.
It is just that Lithoid / Necroid both have 0 points traits that change how to play without making you sacrifice base traits. So I think it would be better that Plantoid / Fungoid follow the same design.