Stellaris Dev Diary #289 - Hide and Seek

[MrGuyPerson]

What about colossi? Can you sneak a colossus in and nuke someone’s primitives?

Looks like nothing larger than a titan can be cloaked.

 

[Bloodbat]

Now that Espionage is becoming more relevant and powerful, can Police State give +1 Encryption? There are currently multiple civics that give extra Codebreaking.

 

[StellarisFan1]

I really liked the new disguise idea!! developers you are super

 

[Ryuplaneswalker]

There are no laws that forbid cloaking as of now. It is something we have added to the custodian backlog however.

If that is going to be a thing in the future, could they also look at how the AI votes for Laws? every playthrough seems to just end up with almost every law getting put on the books. After the Mercenary Laws were put in place I had to stop participating in the GC entirely because of the penalties to Fleet Cap that not having Merc fleets during war inevitably impose.

 

[Alfray Stryke]

Okay then, a lot of questions, so answering what I can, as best I remember everything!

I'm guessing army transports can't be cloaked?

Nope

I forgot to ask something on my main post, but as alfaray stryke mentioned on twitter the Whispers will give Cloaking Detection with its sanctum
does it also give Cloaking strength as well?
will the Mark of the Whisperer give extra cloaking strength for example?

The Mark doesn't, but having a Covenant with Whisperers will grant increased cloaking strength empire-wide.

Do fleets have natural cloaking detection or components that give that ability?

Due to performance reasons, cloaking detection was required to be static.

Do we see cloaked ships from subject empires or military allies or federation members?

Yes.

Is there a resolution for the Galactic Emperor to outlaw cloaking for anyone but himself?

No, but it's on my wishlist for the future.

Excited for cloaking. Can you tell us where cloaking and anti-cloaking tech is first researched in terms of a timeline within a playthrough? Is there a hard limit on how many ships can be cloaked? I can forsee most people just cloaking their science ships as a matter of course as there is no disadvantages it would appear.

Tier 1 cloaking requires Tier 2 shields.

Is there a reason for making them civics instead?

We know players wanted to play a "pre-ftl start" and this seemed like the best way of granting that player fantasy and being able to combine it with other origins (e.g. Void Dwellers or KotTG) is fun.

This sounds super fun.
But did i miss it or was there only little info on how combat with a cloaked fleet works? Do you have to decloak to engage? Do you get high Evasion Bonuses? Or is it just a tool to be able to pick favorable fights, but doesn't impact the fights directly?

You get the stat maluses, but does it otherwise not affect combat?

You're forced to decloak when you attack. Additionally bonuses were experimented with (and can be added back in by modders) but were deemed to be too strong during development.

GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is that a new AI personality or a new component - like conqueror = yes - of the AIPs? I wish the latter.

New AI component. Modders can also specify that AI should prefer a given ship role for certain ship types now.

Can you use a jump drive while cloaked?

Yes!

Does a Star bases cloak detection apply to it's entire sensor range?

Yes!

Can Juggernauts detect cloaking? They are starbases after all.

Nope!

Also did they or titans get cloaking related auras?

No.

is First Contact coming with a new soundtrack like all the previous story packs?

No new soundtrack

Are there any space monsters that have some kind of natural cloaking?

No space fauna that have cloaking or detection.

How does the Sentry Array interact with cloaking?

Cloaked fleets are hidden from it, but the Intel it provides may give you enough to see them anyway.

Any effects on claoking from galactic storms?

The speed penalties will stack.

Any consequences, diplomatically or otherwise, if you're caught somewhere you shouldn't have been?

I can't remember.

Do cloaked ships count towards diplomatic weight from fleet power? Or more specifically, can you undervalue your power rating by cloaking some of your fleets?

All ships count towards your fleet power and diplo-weight.

Will the ships with Psionic Shields but not Psi-Phase Field Generator will still suffer for Shield Nullification?

Yes.

And the other question - how does Active Reconnaissance work? Will that science ship orbit one planet and stay there (similarly to the Assist Research) or will it go around scanning inhabited planets/habitats in a system? And a follow-up if it orbits one planet, can I send another Science Ship to perform AC on the same planet to gain bigger bonus or will I have to go for another planet?

Only one science ship conducting active recon above a planet at a time. You'll only get the increase to Max Intel from whichever gives the highest bonus, but the increase to Intel Speed should stack.

What was behind the decision to make the Eager Explorers, and the equivalent civics, civics instead of Origins? They seem like shoe-ins for Origins.

Answered above!

Are there any detector boosts in Traditions? In Unyielding or Discovery, maybe?

Nope!

Also, are you able to put the detectors on an orbital ring? Do they stack with other detector modules in the system, or is it per station?

Nope!

have you considered adding a subterfuge-equivalent ascension perk?

@PDX_Cosmogone wants to add one.

Can you share what tech draw requirements / weighting is for cloaking?

Eh, here's the entire script for the first tech.

Spoiler: Basic Cloaking

tech_cloaking_1 = {
    cost = @tier2cost3
    area = physics
    tier = 2
    category = { field_manipulation }
    ai_update_type = all
    is_rare = yes
    prerequisites = { "tech_shields_2" }
    weight = @tier2weight3

    potential = {
        has_first_contact_dlc = yes
    }

    # Unlocks Active Reconnaissance
    feature_flags = {
        active_reconnaissance_unlocked
    }

    prereqfor_desc = {
        hide_prereq_for_desc = component
        custom = {
            title = "TECH_UNLOCK_CLOAKING_1_TITLE"
            desc = "TECH_UNLOCK_CLOAKING_1_DESC"
        }
    }

    weight_modifier = {
        modifier = {
            factor = value:tech_weight_likelihood
            OR = {
                research_leader = {
                    area = physics
                    has_trait = "leader_trait_expertise_field_manipulation"
                }
                research_leader = {
                    area = physics
                    has_trait = "leader_trait_curator"
                }
                research_leader = {
                    area = physics
                    has_trait = "leader_trait_fotd_scientist"
                }
            }
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = @ap_technological_ascendancy_rare_tech
            has_ascension_perk = ap_technological_ascendancy
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = @federation_perk_factor
            has_federation = yes
            federation = {
                has_federation_perk = rare_tech_boost
                any_member = { has_technology = tech_cloaking_1 }
            }
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = 5
            has_tradition = tr_subterfuge_adopt
        }
    }

    ai_weight = {
        modifier = {
            factor = 1.25
            research_leader = {
                area = physics
                has_trait = "leader_trait_expertise_field_manipulation"
            }
        }
    }
}

What model will the new starbase modules use?

The old science module.

Eager Explorers and the other new civic seem to be pretty weak

They're intended to be a bit of a handicap.

Can cloaked fleets use the Quantum Catapult or will that decloak them? Would be pretty cool to be able to catapult your wolfpacks into the heart of the enemy empire, position them and then wreak havoc...

You can yeet cloaked fleets.

Will we be able to cloak planets/habitats
similar to a Chameleon Field Archeotech?

No, you can only cloak ships or observation posts.

Wait a minute - just had a thought. Wont cloaking completely break fighting against the end game crisis?
In order to reach and destroy dimensional anchors, dimensional portal, machine worlds and prethoryn hives, all u have to do is cloak ur fleets, ignore all crisis fleets on the way and head straight for the target.

Good thing the crisis factions have cloaking detection.

Can we put subspace drives on another ships besides starting ones? How they combine with hyperdrives (will they lose ability to jump)?

You can put the subspace drives on any designable ship that can equip a jump drive.

 

[HFY]

I love the Nullification change, that means passing through a nullification weather system will have an impact if you get jumped right outside it, too.

Not really sold on needing to build six module stations to see spies. Could you have the sensors be a building which scales with starbase size instead? Or maybe tie it in with the Listening Post building?

Very nice to see Psionics getting something cool.

 

[SeraphAscending]

Due to performance reasons, cloaking detection was required to be static.

Static in the spatial sense, right?
Is it feasible to make/mod a triggerable effect that de-cloaks with detection strength X in a region as a sort of one-time-sweep?

You can yeet cloaked fleets.

Would be quite the dissapointment if i couldn't yeet my cloaked ships whereever i wanted. That's the whole purpose of those two things!

Good thing the crisis factions have cloaking detection.

To what extent, though? I am assuming you won't tell us, yet.

 

[Marcus Junge]

Too many people already wrote something, so I'm probably No. 120 asking this, but anyway:

Do inhibitors / fortress worlds prevent cloaked ships from passing?
Can a cloaked ship use a wormhole / gate / L-Gate?
Can a cloaked ship just jump into my territory?

If cloaked ships can do this, FTL-inhibitors and fortress worlds become useless, you basically have no static defences anymore.

And when do we get more building slots on starbases? Or at least an unlimited research option for more starbases?

 

[EulersApprentice]

Cloaked fleets are hidden from it, but the Intel it provides may give you enough to see them anyway.

Unless you've changed something, even with a Sentry Array, you can only hit 90 base intel (90 intel is required to see military fleet locations) if you're Psionic or have two Sentry Arrays. With no psionics and only one Sentry Array, there's just no way to exceed 80 base intel, which means your Sentry Array is completely useless for spotting enemy cloaked ships.

So much for """""all-seeing""""".

 

[Ixalmaris]

Too many people already wrote something, so I'm probably No. 120 asking this, but anyway:

Do inhibitors / fortress worlds prevent cloaked ships from passing?
Can a cloaked ship use a wormhole / gate / L-Gate?
Can a cloaked ship just jump into my territory?

If cloaked ships can do this, FTL-inhibitors and fortress worlds become useless, you basically have no static defences anymore.

And when do we get more building slots on starbases? Or at least an unlimited research option for more starbases?

They can jump and catapult, rest was not answered.
Static defenses still work you just need to detect the enemy, then they cant bypass them.

The current system might be a bit too binary. Maybe the detection strength of bases should increase in the system they are in.
Remember that high cloak fleets are very restricted in how they can be build until late game with high tech. So building a hunting/counter fleet would be easy.

 

[zZander56]

Third: Why is there no option for cloaked sabotage, thievery or cloaked BO's for Criminal Syndicates? That would be the real deal for me. Cloaked Sabotage vesseld similar to a science ship with a envoy to limit them. The only similar action going in that direction is what the science ships now can do, but everything here has at least open warfare or recon in mind. I really miss the option for doing some damage undetected and blame someone else for this.

This right here.

Even outside of Syndicates or branch offices, som sort of cloaked piracy would be nice to see.

 

[Muellhaufen]

Unless you've changed something, even with a Sentry Array, you can only hit 90 base intel (90 intel is required to see military fleet locations) if you're Psionic or have two Sentry Arrays. With no psionics and only one Sentry Array, there's just no way to exceed 80 base intel, which means your Sentry Array is completely useless for spotting enemy cloaked ships.

So much for """""all-seeing""""".

Active Recon has been added, you could get I think theoretically +30 intel base per ship involved in AR. So 2 ships and a few other sources of intel and you will see their military ships.

EDIT: not to mention the intel boost from completing the intel gathering operation, it really shouldn't be that difficult to get at least a temporary sight of their ships.

 

[wisecat]

Cool stuff!
But a lot of questions arise:
1. Looks like basic question, but I don't see an answer anywhere: can I turn cloaking on/off for each ship / fleet?

2. What happens if cloaking-able and cloaking-unable ships are mixed in one fleet? I can just see luring a mid-size enemy flotilla with a puny fleet of a dozen corvettes and then springing the trap with my cloaked cruisers (come to think this can be done by splitting fleets into decoy and hunter fleets).

3. How will cloaking affect fleet detection by starlane detectors? Will cloaking allow to mass invasion fleets without detection?

4. If anti-cloaking devices have to be put on stations - please give us more station component slots. It is already a trade-off between shipyards and weapons for border /chokepoint stations. Now it will be even more difficult.

5. If an observation post can be cloaked - can we build one in foreign territory? Can be a great intrigue - build a cloaked observation post at a soon-to-achieve spaceflight planet in foreign empire and indoctrinate the locals to go over to your empire once they are space-capable.

6. Big support to cloak + hostile acquisition bombardment thing - please make it possible to snatch aliens without war declaration

7. Will there be false-flag operations using cloaking - i.e. attacking Empire X and making them sure that it was not you, but Empire Z or just random space pirates?

8. Regarding "basic jump-drive" - will this drive be able to access stars that are currently accessible by wormhole only?

9. Now there are space station components that make it impossible for an enemy ship to exit through any starlane except one they arrived through. How will these components affect jump drive?

 

[Yurichenko]

@PDS_Iggy could you answer this question I asked earlier, I can't seem to find the answer for this yet?

Most logically, the cloak will not affect the inhibitors.
By the comment about "place a fleet next to a starbase before declaring war on it" he probably means that you won't be able to go further inside closed borders when there is a system with a station with an inhibitor even while cloaked.
I don't know if this will affect all ships or just military ones.

 

[EulersApprentice]

Active Recon has been added, you could get I think theoretically +30 intel base per ship involved in AR. So 2 ships and a few other sources of intel and you will see their military ships.

EDIT: not to mention the intel boost from completing the intel gathering operation, it really shouldn't be that difficult to get at least a temporary sight of their ships.

Active Recon is a separate category of intel. If you have 80 base intel and 80 intel from active recon, your overall intel is 80 and the enemy fleets will still be hidden.

Intel gathering operation is a fair point, but I'm still a little salty.

 

[Nikolai301000]

I really love the design of these exploration and engineering vessels! However, my question (don’t know if it’s been addressed already) is will we have an entire ship set with that design or does it only apply to the exploration and engineering vessels? It’d seem a little odd if the ship design of our main ships/star bases are an entirely different design than the exploration and engineering vessels.

 

[Yurichenko]

Simple question. Was or will the tradition tree "Subterfuge" be revised to add bonuses to cloaking and recon?

 

[Madgt123]

Got to say, i find the civics distasteful unless they are part of the free update.
this is NOT new features, this is more or less part of the old FTL options, which you REMOVED for the sake of Balance.

 

[Fjolsvid]

In the video, Enigmatic Engineering gives +2 Cloaking Strength, a most awesome buff to that perk

Criminal Heritage civic gives +1 Cloaking Strength from the start
Subterfuge Finisher gives +1 Cloaking Strength. I.e It's moderately easy to be able to cloak destroyers and cruisers once you have the initial tech

 

[zZander56]

How will mercenary enclaves interact with the cloaking system? Will we be able to direct their ship designs to be stealthy? (Please)