Stellaris Dev Diary #246 - Announcing Overlord

[Ikael]

Wow, I really did not see this coming a vassal expansion, damn. That is a mechanic that I rarely use.

I am more excited due to the new origins and megastructures, to be honest. Give me something cool to build and I will be happy.

Still, I hope that this might herald some much-needed improvements to diplomacy and empire interactions in general. I would love to see more things to do as a pacifist, like improving the lives of my loyal vassals by making them willingly join a better-ruled empire, such as my own, ahem.

More primitive interactions could be something great to see too. Still, this looks cool!

 

[Arcvalons]

I hope there's a special vassal for Rogue Servitors, like in the award winning mod 'The Twilight State'.

 

[Spaceception]

This looks interesting. I wonder what kind of vassals unique Empires will get, like machines, hives, and megacorps. Could necrophages (and maybe certain other types like servitors) get a vassal where some of their population are offered every year?

The megastructures look interesting, is that a redesigned gateway, or something new? How does if differentiate? And is that ringed structure like an orbital ring or something similar, to expand your planetary capabilities and output? Something unlimited like habitats?

 

[Dsingis]

And suddenly, a Stellaris expansion. Wow I did not see that coming at all. But it is a pleasant surprise. I hope we will get more announcements of DLC when they are closer to release.

 

[Toybasher]

Interesting premise. Too little details to say much now.


The only/most relevant question I have at this time is- is vassal-integration gone entirely?


If it's not, it'd be hard to justify forcing other empires into non-integration forms, though offering it would make sense. If it is gone entirely, that's a considerable (but generally welcome) change, since vassal-integration is the most effective form of wide-conquest for most builds. It'd give claim-wars a greater boon, but claim wars also tend to wait a good deal into the game (due to early expansion eating claim influence), meaning less snowballing early. It'd also extend the diplomatic play dynamics such as 'support independence' when the window of relevance isn't just one short decade before integration. Further, since defeated empires get claims on the sysems they lost, is supports revaunchist wars- or rather, you can support revaunchist wars against an enemy by making common cause with their defeated vassal, rather than facing them and thier vassal.

I hope vassal integration is heavily reworked personally. I think it should still be a thing but require heavy investment and likely require a cooperative subject. (Maybe once the timer is up, the vassal gets a choice to kick off an independence war if they refuse the integration. If they win, they either remain a vassal and you have to wait before trying again to integrate them again, or they become fully independent. If the liege wins, the annexation occurs.)

One big massive gripe I have currently is the AI is very integrate-happy on vassals. Becoming someone else's vassal is a death sentence. (And worst of all there's no notification for the vassal. Literally everyone else is notified but the actual vassal, you know, the player that's at risk of getting knocked out of the game.) Also note if the overlord is in a war, you often can't start the independence war and have to wait for their current war to finish before you can try the independence war, and during which the integration timer continues.

I've also had excellent relations loyal vassals vote against me in the galactic community. I know there's some weighting to encourage the vassal to vote your way but I feel they should always side with the player 100% of the time if they're loyal. (I was very cranky and integrated him out of spite for this.)


EDIT: Also, I feel the feudal society "Vassal can expand their territory!" mechanic should just be a base ability for most vassals, maybe depending on vassal type, etc. Sadly this means we have to find some other ability to replace Feudal Society's vassal thing with. (I know it got buffed recently and it changes how leader cost and upkeep works, but the "Vassals can expand" was the main "point" of the civic, so we have to give it another buff to make up for losing it's main ability.)

 

[jose2534]

I hope integration is gone and now there is a good reason to be or create vassals other than let's expand my empire by paying influence :V

 

[sk065]

See you next year for the internal politics rework/expansion.....hopefully.

 

[Tamwin5]

Spawn more overlords!

…wait wrong game

 

[Obeliskkai]

Five new Origins.

From the icons, left to right I am guessing

1.) An origin where you begin as a vassal (maybe within a hegemony?)

2.) A Psionic origin, probably you start off as naturally telepathic and are locked to psionic ascension (does this mean psionic will get it's long awaited overhaul?)

3.) This one looks like you start with the space ring megastructure already in place.

4.) I am guessing this is a subterranean origin, your species likes to dwell under the ground.

5.) The Hive origin; best I can think of is that your species isn't naturally a gestalt but a single mind absorbed the entire civilization.

 

[Obeliskkai]

See you next year for the internal politics rework/expansion.....hopefully.

Yeah I am very surprised that the internal politics expansion wasn't selected this time. All the hints, and admittedly there weren't a lot, seemed to be pointing towards it and it was the one I think a lot of players wanted.

Perhaps internal politics has been deemed not worth doing an expansion for and they'd prefer to work at that through the custodian team instead?

 

[Traxium318]

In case someone missed there is a video on the new Stellaris channel giving more context and info about the DLC

 

[Ferrous Will]

Have a few screenshots from the steam store page

 

[G S Palmer]

Do I spy a new AI personality (on the Steam page)?

 

[utavionblade]

Great stuff as always. This gets up hyped! I just really wish that you guys will have time and energy to put some effort into domestic policies and the megastructure dedicated outliner that we've talked about before. Keep up the good work <3

 

[Toybasher]

View attachment 819475
View attachment 819476Have few screenshot from the steam store page

Are those "Flags" new? Well, not "new" but you get what I mean. They don't really look like the emblems we can currently create, especially how there's a red and blue one in the galaxy in the top image. Hoping we get improvements to the emblems. (Ability to change our emblem, etc. because I want to make my empire purple after I grab Become The Crisis.)

 

[Eled the Worm Tamer]

Given how annoying being galactic emperor is, ( 5 of my 7 wars with fallen empires across 3000 hours of pay are from the same Galactic emperor save) I'm not actually too interested in this. More contact with the AI, is not a better experience atm.

 

[Ridixo]

Federation, Nemesis and now Overlord would be the diplomacy trilogy?
They change how empires interact with each other. I can totally see them more like a single big DLC than individual pieces

Looking forward to it. Hope specially if tributaries change since they are my favorite vassals
Oh, and the new origins

 

[Foxosaur]

In case someone missed there is a video on the new Stellaris channel giving more context and info about the DLC

@Liggi It looks like it may suit us nice game empires afterall maybe.

 

[Imiona]

Really nice, but can we get a rework of the Factions someday?

 

[FleetMaster]

Paradox is my overlord.

Loving the continued development of this game as a console player, plenty of good stuff to come.