Stellaris Dev Diary #228 - New Content & Features in 3.2

[Harkinian's Dinner]

I was going to suggest that terraforming should use the archaeology system, and it seems I'm not the only one. I'm sure Paradox must have thought of that as well though. Maybe the reason they haven't done it is that terraforming tends to be done all at the same time when you get the tech, and it would lead to way too many archaeology minigames at the same time causing a huge clutter. The espionage system has already kind of shown this when you're running operations on many empires at the same time.

I still think archaeology event terraforming is a good idea, but it would require some more changes to terraforming as well - namely spacing out the availability of terraforming more, so you don't do it all at once. Which already used to be the case in earlier versions of the game - the Terrestrial Sculpting technology used to only unlock terraforming within the planet's existing category (wet, dry or frozen). I think Paradox should add more terraforming techs back in, and make it a more substantial part of the game again. There could also be terraforming limits the same way there are megastructure build limits, which could be increased via techs and traditions. There's a lot of potential. But at least these new terraforming events will go some way to make it more interesting again.

 

[grommile]

I think Paradox should add more terraforming techs back in, and make it a more substantial part of the game again.

The problem with terraforming-in-general is that "conquer aliens of a different preference group", "sign migration treaty with aliens of a different preference group", and "genemod a branch of your species to a different climate preference group" all exist, and only the last one requires technology.

So unless your wmpire build precludes those, terraforming collapses to "make candidates habitable" and "make normal planets into gaia etc planets".

 

[sillyrobot]

The problem with terraforming-in-general is that "conquer aliens of a different preference group", "sign migration treaty with aliens of a different preference group", and "genemod a branch of your species to a different climate preference group" all exist, and only the last one requires technology.

So unless your wmpire build precludes those, terraforming collapses to "make candidates habitable" and "make normal planets into gaia etc planets".

There's also "get synths and colonize with them" and "make all citizens synths" as further ways to negate non-Gaia/non-candidate terraforming too! Or even "found a tomb-world preference race? Make them adaptable cyborgs!"

 

[mirco297]

It is very nice to see more playstyle options for the xenophobic ethic.

I have a question about this civic though;
How will Pompous Purists effect diplomacy with other civilisations of the same species?

Generally in fantasy; elves hold other elves, even those belonging to different civilisations, in higher regard compared to entirely different species.
Considering the elven fantasy on which thic civic is based, will Pompous Purists treat the diplomatic requests from their seperated kin differently to those of other species?

Even Fanatic Purifiers are able to have diplomatic relationships with other civilisations of the same species, regardless of how many aliens live freely inside said civilisation.

Again, it is very nice to see the options of xenophobic playstyles getting expanded.

 

[Critical Ethics]

Anomaly Variety
Hello everyone! I am Victor, a Custodian Content Designer that you might have seen around on the weekly streams these past few months.

Back in 2018, we removed anomaly failure from the game. This meant that every single time you encountered the Gigantic Skeleton anomaly category, you would always get the Gigantic Skeleton anomaly, for it was the only one in the category. No longer! As one of my tasks for this patch, I decided to simply go through every single anomaly category and add new anomalies to orphaned categories that I could for the development cycle.

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This is not only limited to new anomalies, but I also revisited some old classics adding options to events that previous designers created before a lot of the resources we now use were added to the game.

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While this is not anything that will revolutionize the game, it is a great and interesting direction for a Custodian content designer to explore, which we are still establishing on the team. I do hope you enjoy your (slightly) more exciting and varied early game!

Terraforming Events and AI behavioral changes
Yes, hello, I am still here. My other task for this patch was to create a few varied random events for terraforming. These events vary in power and complexity and mainly break the monotony of pressing a button and getting a better planet. These bonuses vary from getting more districts of a chosen type to perhaps uncovering a dig site left by a species to enamored with war.

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Before you start thinking, you will sit there and terraform a planet back and forth between two different types and fishing for events. Do know that you can only get events the first time you terraform a world, and it’s never guaranteed. Terraforming is quite the unexplored space for Stellaris events, and these were a lot of fun to create.

Finally, @Caligula Caesar has managed to restore the AI’s terraforming hunger! Previously the AI needed to gather an absurd amount of energy credits even to consider terraforming, but that has now been rectified. The AI has been spotted changing and creating optimal planets in our internal testing. They also are more likely to pick terraforming techs and appropriate ascension perks in certain circumstances.

Speaking of anomalies and terraforming, how about adding "Terraforming Candidate" to the Grimacing planet on a failure?

Speaking of suggesting very minor changes to anomalies and events, what's the best place for those? Feels weird dropping a single line suggestion with a body of "see title" into the suggestions forum.

 

[Critical Ethics]

The problem with terraforming-in-general is that "conquer aliens of a different preference group", "sign migration treaty with aliens of a different preference group", and "genemod a branch of your species to a different climate preference group" all exist, and only the last one requires technology.

So unless your wmpire build precludes those, terraforming collapses to "make candidates habitable" and "make normal planets into gaia etc planets".

If terraforming candidates were more common then I'd be more than happy with an engaging terraforming system designed primarily with terraforming candidates in mind. Still allow the player to use it on existing habitable planets if they want but put the real meat into ~creating new worlds~.

 

[Kapitalisti]

I love the idea of the civic. But as currently implemented, even for wanting to RP that style of empire I'd still go with Diplomatic Corps.

You know, then do so? I don't see why every civic should be for every taste and player. Not everyone is 100% into min-maxing.

 

[Ferrus Animus]

I was going to suggest that terraforming should use the archaeology system, and it seems I'm not the only one. I

I gotta ask: What would be the benefit of that?
Most archaeology sites are already clickthrough, once you know them. All you'd add to terraforming this way would be more clicks.

 

[Primarch Victus]

Even if roleplay exists it's always better to also be mechanically useful.

Not everyone has interest in min/max their empires -- many of us are just interested in the RP aspect of Stellaris. Everything else is just an additional bonus.

If I want to role-play shutting down any pathetic Xeno attempt at diplomacy, I don't need a civic, I can just right click all the notifications directly. Plus, the +10% diplomatic weight of Diplomatic Corp better represents my inherent superiority over them, as opposed to making them trust me faster (not trust more. Just get to that level of trust a little quicker).

I love the idea of the civic. But as currently implemented, even for wanting to RP that style of empire I'd still go with Diplomatic Corps.

You don't want to engage in diplomacy? Go and play as a Fanatic Purifier instead. The Pompous Purists Civic was created to people that want to RP Pompous and Arrogant Space Elves or any other species with a similar mindset. If this Civic is not good to you, ignore it or wait until the Custodians to come with an "No! And stop asking" option like the one in Civ 6.

 

[Zagreb 887]

As there is some work done about the ship browser (sorry, but IMHO that's a really useless thing to do) can we hope to have some improvement for the disaster of ship designer and fleet manager in the near future?

Because yeah... It's nice to put some efforts into a menu you spend like 7 second into at best per game, but having a fonctionnal fleet manager seems kinda like more important, maybe?

 

[Critical Ethics]

Not everyone has interest in min/max their empires -- many of us are just interested in the RP aspect of Stellaris. Everything else is just an additional bonus.

This is a very short sighted attitude. Mechanics do influence RP. If you take a civic called Ultimate Science Mans that is much worse at boosting ultimate science mans gameplay than another civic not called Ultimate Science Mans then that's going to negatively impact your RP of playing the ultimate science mans. If you're in a position where the civic with the right RP name is just flat worse than another near identical civic then that's a problem and the solution isn't to stick your fingers in your ears and complain about filthy min maxers rargle bargle. Good mechanics and good rp are not opposite ends of a line and increasing one doesn't automatically mean reducing the other, and shutting down discussion with the same fake min-max vs RP tribalism nonsense is not cool.

That said, the civic itself is absolutely fine.

 

[BakedPotato]

It is very nice to see more playstyle options for the xenophobic ethic.

I have a question about this civic though;
How will Pompous Purists effect diplomacy with other civilisations of the same species?

Generally in fantasy; elves hold other elves, even those belonging to different civilisations, in higher regard compared to entirely different species.
Considering the elven fantasy on which thic civic is based, will Pompous Purists treat the diplomatic requests from their seperated kin differently to those of other species?

Even Fanatic Purifiers are able to have diplomatic relationships with other civilisations of the same species, regardless of how many aliens live freely inside said civilisation.

Again, it is very nice to see the options of xenophobic playstyles getting expanded.

Xenophobes and non-adaptive species should also have their AI heavily weigh in favor of terraforming. I've always noticed in my games that it's the xenophobic civilizations, especially wit non-adaptive species, who struggle most with expanding into new worlds and improving their economies. Xenophile and more "good-guy" type civilizations are usually able to make migration treaties to make use of those off-climate worlds in their territories.

 

[Kaoru Sen'nin]

I gotta ask: What would be the benefit of that?
Most archaeology sites are already clickthrough, once you know them. All you'd add to terraforming this way would be more clicks.

Event on several stage leading to planetary modifier based on your choices (and some randomization).

It's my guess.

Also that would make use of your scientist after early game (right now at mid game you just park them over research planet to assist and forget about them until the end of time)

 

[Kapitalisti]

You know, then do so? I don't see why every civic should be for every taste and player. Not everyone is 100% into min-maxing.

Wow, didn't think this comment would strike such a nerve.

 

[Harkinian's Dinner]

The problem with terraforming-in-general is that "conquer aliens of a different preference group", "sign migration treaty with aliens of a different preference group", and "genemod a branch of your species to a different climate preference group" all exist, and only the last one requires technology.

So unless your wmpire build precludes those, terraforming collapses to "make candidates habitable" and "make normal planets into gaia etc planets".

I agree with your point, but there's an easy solution: Along with adding more terraforming techs, they could make the first one appear much earlier. Allow you to start terraforming pretty early in the game, before you have tons of other species to choose from when colonizing, but only a single planet at a time at first, and the process would be slow. Then later techs could make it quicker and allow you to terraform more planets at a time.

 

[Ferrus Animus]

Event on several stage leading to planetary modifier based on your choices (and some randomization).

It's my guess.

Also that would make use of your scientist after early game (right now at mid game you just park them over research planet to assist and forget about them until the end of time)

Without mods there aren't that many modifiers in the game.
And considering part of terraforming by now is the importance to maintain districts (due to terraforming inhabited planets), planetary featers aren't on the table either.

And finding a place for scientists that gives nothing isn't really an improvement.

I mean right now the archeology system is mostly 3-7 text boxes in a row, sometimes with a choice at the end and a randomized last step.
There is little value there, and applying that to terraforming wont make wither matter without a big planetary rework. And I don't think that is in the cards.

I agree with your point, but there's an easy solution: Along with adding more terraforming techs, they could make the first one appear much earlier. Allow you to start terraforming pretty early in the game, before you have tons of other species to choose from when colonizing, but only a single planet at a time at first, and the process would be slow. Then later techs could make it quicker and allow you to terraform more planets at a time.

The first terrafroming tech is tier 2, and its only prerequsite is a tech you start the game with. You can get it quite eraly, if you're lucky.

 

[MadCow94]

As a tangent to some of the comments here

1) I love the idea of terraforming using the archaeology system.
2) I've always felt that construction ships are underused and that Governors should be renamed "Government" or something, Envoys should be Government, and Government leaders are required to command Construction ships.

 

[Millbot]

Really confused with how people see the new civic and think it's going to be F tier. At worst it's a solid B. Again, 2 envoys and 30% trust growth are huge things in the early game; especially, given that you'll eat an opinion hit for being a xenophobe.

Like I do get the concern with not wanting choices that are traps, but I can see where a fair number of disgruntled RPers are coming from because if 2 envoys and 30% trust growth put something in F tier, well not sure how to make someone with that mindset happy with any civic that doesn't end up being an S tier one.

Though also think some of the dislike is that some players play rush builds and aren't happy that this civic really doesn't work with that kind of play style. Not every civic needs to play well with rushing to build a fleet to burn down the first empire you find.

 

[The Keeper of the Links]

This looks very good!
Regarding Anomaly Variety - is there any chance that we might get the option to decrease anomaly frequency in the galaxy setup? I always feel like there are too many to actually pay attention and read them, especially since you know most of them already anyway. As a future direction, it would be good to buff them, but make them a bit more rare and add a timer, so you cannot ignore that mysterious signal for decades and them come back and it's still there.

I agree with having the option for slightly less frequent anomalies, it can definitely be overwhelming.

 

[BrokenSky]

Civ 6 finally added a "no, and stop asking" option to their AI diplomacy proposals. I think Stellaris would benefit from that as well.

In Civ I don't think there's a penalty for denying / ignoring someone else's diplomatic requests?

In Stellaris there is genuinely a trade off to consider when your friendly neighbor keeps asking to join a federation with another empire who hates them - do you turn them down and suffer relations penalties or put it to the federation and suffer a cohesion penalty.