Stellaris Dev Diary #276 - Death is the Beginning

[Abdulijubjub]

As someone who has experienced a lot of Paradox jank over the years, my first instinct is to just rename my capital system "Tiyana Vek"

Thankfully, it doesn't seem to work. It would have been very funny if it did, though.

However the biggest problem with this is late game is two necromancer jobs for the building slot seems underwhelming.

What about making necromancer's ruler
Class and take some
Politicians jobs instead?

Yup. I wish necromancers or their building could be upgraded. They're a great job (essentially specialist researchers with half a soldier tacked on), but the fact that you're limited to 2 per planet makes the civic feel less and less relevant as the game goes on. If you could unlock higher tier versions or build multiple per planet, that would fix the issue.

 

[CWJameson]

I just wish the devs would make some changes so it would he relevant in the late game.

 

[BorbiBoy]

I got the feeling new origins, species and civics became the main selling point of the game... And im afraid it will eventually harm, instead of improving, the game.

But if its just a single civic, with a lot of love put into it, like new visuals, event chains and outcomes, as well as having a lot of flavor... I can not complain.

Looks great!

 

[TheGrinningMan]

Those zombie models are beautiful! It's kind of a shame they'll only see use for a few very specific civics, but I do now have another reason to try that reanimator game I've been meaning to play...

 

[Bitzo]

IMO now we just need an origin that gives people a bio shipset with a few unique features and maybe give them a city background that reflects their mastery of biology to such an extend before FTL. Done right it would be unique from the reanimator civics, so that taking those further augments the theme, while adding the pros and cons of the reanimator civic to the mix. Maybe it could be a way to save an AP, by letting empires with the origin be to access biological accession without the AP required for it.

This also would open up the option to add a new AP that could also be accessed by Cordyceptic Drone empires that improves bioships and space fauna, perhaps even give them access to some unique ship related techs.

Honestly, I'd prefer it if bioships got tied into genetic ascension so it gets something besides added Pop-modding micro.
Would also mean you wouldn't have to choose between, say, living ships and Overtuned, or living ships and Shattered Ring, and Cordyceptic Drones would still be unique in making you start with bioships and the ability to make more.

 

[Ohirra]

So we can't reanimate lithoid space fauna? I want some crystalline zombies.

 

[Primarch Victus]

The Game of Thrones episode in which the Night King kills a dragon with his spear then raises it as an undead dragon. Technically, it was not transformed by the spear but the DD made me think of it.

I never watched Game of Thrones -- I am not that fan of the Fantasy genre. I prefer Science Fiction.

 

[hermithill]

I never watched Game of Thrones -- I am not that fan of the Fantasy genre. I prefer Science Fiction.

It's not too bad, although a little bit slow (the books and the serie) and the serie has been a little bit overstated to my opinion.

 

[RhoxOS]

Oooh it will make you monster achievement easier. NICE.

 

[Nevars]

However the biggest problem with this is late game is two necromancer jobs for the building slot seems underwhelming.

What about making necromancer's ruler
Class and take some
Politicians jobs instead?

The necromancer job isn't even that great in early game tbh.

You sacrifice engineering research for a little bit of physic and society research and a little bit of naval cap when engineering is essential.

So the job is not even a straight upgrade but a sidegrade that's situationally useful.

 

[Primarch Victus]

Not if you are trying to create a undead biofleet...

 

[malakhglitch]

Mmm... machines repurposing dead biologicals. Sounds interesting.

 

[secretagentguy]

@PDS_Iggy
I love this, and yet I don't think you've taken it far enough! The major issue with the organic fleets is the sublight speed. The undead tiyanki and ameoba are just too slow. The speed of those creatures should be buffed by at least 50%. I think this civic should be like barbaric despoilers and not be removable after the game start. In addition, it would be great if instead of shipyards, you had nurseries, and could train various tiyanki & amoeba after encountering them and trainable using food. It would be great to have this be a full overhaul making it a truly unique playstyle. This would also mean the hive could not produce regular ships, and instead would research only technologies that would buff fauna weapons. Not having shields and being limited to fauna weapons would be very cool. Instead of building a juggernaut, building a Grand Dragon or Voidspawn would be amazing.

All in all this is a great start, that could be taken so much farther to add much more depth to the game. Please consider it, thanks!

 

[PDS_Iggy]

@PDS_Iggy
I love this, and yet I don't think you've taken it far enough! The major issue with the organic fleets is the sublight speed. The undead tiyanki and ameoba are just too slow. The speed of those creatures should be buffed by at least 50%. I think this civic should be like barbaric despoilers and not be removable after the game start. In addition, it would be great if instead of shipyards, you had nurseries, and could train various tiyanki & amoeba after encountering them and trainable using food. It would be great to have this be a full overhaul making it a truly unique playstyle. This would also mean the hive could not produce regular ships, and instead would research only technologies that would buff fauna weapons. Not having shields and being limited to fauna weapons would be very cool. Instead of building a juggernaut, building a Grand Dragon or Voidspawn would be amazing.

All in all this is a great start, that could be taken so much farther to add much more depth to the game. Please consider it, thanks!

Something I have learned here is keeping the scope of a feature confined to itself. What you are describing would be more relevant for an Origin that probably would headline a DLC, not a civic being added years after release. If you look at something like Necrophages it actually reaches too far into too many fantasies. It makes it harder to make vampires, parasites, zombies, and more content. I would rather leave the full "you can build organic ships" to whenever I finally manage to convince the team to make an organic ship set.

However, I do agree that we should probably speed up the reanimated fleets.

 

[secretagentguy]

Thanks for the response. I think you could avoid adding a new organic shipset if you allowed the player to build the different Amoeba & Tiyanki that already exist. The other thing that would be a minor tweak would be allowing repeatable tech to buff the associated relevant fauna weapons as well. I.E. Strike Craft repeatables buff Amoeba Strike Craft? Armor repeatables buff armor for Organics and so on? Eitherway, its a really cool civic and I've enjoyed playing it so far.

 

[PDS_Iggy]

Thanks for the response. I think you could avoid adding a new organic shipset if you allowed the player to build the different Amoeba & Tiyanki that already exist. The other thing that would be a minor tweak would be allowing repeatable tech to buff the associated relevant fauna weapons as well. I.E. Strike Craft repeatables buff Amoeba Strike Craft? Armor repeatables buff armor for Organics and so on? Eitherway, its a really cool civic and I've enjoyed playing it so far.

But I want an organic ship set!

 

[user192823]

Sorry but the civic seems just weak. Why not add more punch to it? At least give it the abily to reanimate ground troops in combat just like regular reanimators. All it needs is an extra icon for the parasitized troops created so, and the one from the civic itself would work fine. It also fits perfectly in the civic, flavour wise. For a bit of extra, give the ability to build these parasitized troops in any world where you have non hive mind pops, for energy cost, just like the undead for reanimator civic.

 

[Fas Est]

Something I have learned here is keeping the scope of a feature confined to itself. What you are describing would be more relevant for an Origin that probably would headline a DLC, not a civic being added years after release. If you look at something like Necrophages it actually reaches too far into too many fantasies. It makes it harder to make vampires, parasites, zombies, and more content. I would rather leave the full "you can build organic ships" to whenever I finally manage to convince the team to make an organic ship set.

However, I do agree that we should probably speed up the reanimated fleets.

It's quite simple to fix.
Dead fauna (and alive one too) as a rule just can get ressed multiple times, with a mounting cost and a mounting chance of "we tried but there's not enough left".
Add this for Reanimators, both versions Permanent Employment, Cordyceps and future Cyborgs. Thus these dead Leviathans and Guardians can get milked a few times...and if you fail to res them the first time, you can try again with better tech.

Thus those starting 3 Amoebas get 2nd life...a few times if Hive mind[or someone with above mentioned civics if resing them] is skilled enough. And 1-2-3 techs to boost the chances of succesfuly raising it and HP and such. Dressing it is getting better at it/Undead getting more Awareness.
It alone would satisfy most.

That's an easy and fast fix. Necros are not that strong compared to many other options, so there's no risk of OPing it accidentaly.

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Other addition is Machine Intelligence "Borgization" and you are working on it, separate from cyberization that species can underrgone willingly and not always equals gestalt.

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Other is adding tiers to undead, just like robots get 2 or 3. Thus further disseminating the "undead" along to other potential civs and integrating it into the game.
So Zombies - Ravenant - Ressurrected as a general trait names or going with flavour for machines e.g. along "augmented" lines.

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Going the DLC way, would be to make a Necromancy Origin and splitting the Necrophages into 3 Civics:

current Necrophages (so sacrifice and cult aspects) - Hive/normals [Goauld [cult], Necromongers, Necrophages[Unitarist], Classical Vampires, Classical Zombies etc]
Parasite (pragmatic, organic bodysnatching) - normals/Hive [Wraiths, Necrophages [infection], Xenomorphs, Modern Vampires, Modern Zombiesetc]
Assuming Direct Control (techno-necromancy, for the machines/) [Cyborgs, Mass Effect, Virus[movie], Ghost in the Shell, Cyberpunk]

Voila, half a CONTROL DLC done with goodies for both Hive Worlders, normals, necroguys and of course machines. [and roleplayers who can play BOTH or TRIPLE flavours of vampires, walking dead and parasites].
Cost? 1 Origin repurposed to 3 Civics, about 5 Techs total, a few traits [2 additional tiers of Zombies]..and whatever you guys want to add, like Portraits [Parasites and Cyborgs ].

Adding Hive World [basic] Origin to mirror Remnant (Relic) and Resource Consolidation (Machine World - is an easy Origin to add.

Adding a "Metazombie" Crisis, just like the Reapers' Husks in Mass Effects. Shroud also has viruses, no? Ontoviruses?

 

[JackTheGamer21]

In realtà parlando di macchine attente all'ambiente, sarebbe bello avere una Gaia Seeders civic. Chiedi loro di ottenere l'unità o altre chicche per terraformare i pianeti.

"environmentally conscious machines"... Like Wall-E!

 

[SeraphAscending]

whenever I finally manage to convince the team to make an organic ship set.

Definitely supporting you in that endeavour!
I would really like some fully organic ships.