Stellaris Dev Diary #305 - Midsummer Festivities

[DeanTheDull]

We dug up some Lithoid previews…

View attachment 998024
The newly clarified Calamitous Birth tooltip.

View attachment 998025
The home crater gets a bit of a boost.​

+50% lithoid traits effects... but on one planet only?

Lithoid itself would seem to be mostly a nerf. Lithoid is +50 leader lifespan, but I doubt that's what's being modified on a per-planet basis. Army health is, uh, modest. Habitability +50 seems wasted if the world is already at functional 100. Meanwhile, pop growth/assembly -25%... if this an additive +50%, such that they have +25% growth/assembly, or is this a multiplicative, in which they're -37.5% growth/assembly?

The current silicate traits are the +.01 strategic resource traits, and the not-budding Crystalization +0.02 pop assembly. 50% on these is, well...


These are nice, but... probably (hopefully) imply new lithoid traits!

...which will likely struggle with the current species trait issues of being so underpowered compared to the available early-game +20% techs that the main ones are growth, science, and any interesting strategic openers / possible mid-game modification projects. Which would synergize well with turning that +6 district homeworld into an Ecumenopolis, where all those lithoids can be packed into.


Which could be nice. But this...

View attachment 998026
A miner tweak to the craters makes a big difference.​

Yeah, I think this last one almost single-handidly salvages the origin from bottom tier to viable once you're not negating your own species' primary benefit. Between much cheaper colony ships (500 minerals versus ~1000 minerals in inputs), speed of colonization (travel speed and set-up time), and starting blocker-pops, this will probably be a pretty strong Lithoid starter, especially for Xenophobe lithoids who can expand further on the early influence budget, or hives who have that much more to expand with and can leverage their growth dynamics.

This origin will likely be extremely strong on larger/empty maps with space to spread and planets to fill, and very much fit for an early game dominate-or-die meta, like militarist builds, or multiplayer. It may lack the mid/late game bonuses of other origins, but the advantage of speed and early pops will be very considerable.

What's especially interesting is the multiplayer meta dynamic of the growth penalty to non-organics. That means your territory will be considerably less, well, apitizing to potential enemy players who have to consider who to attack first. The AI won't be that smart, but players will tend to avoid obvious poison-pills, and using a meteor colony ship on the planets they might consider going to war for if you cut them off is a way to change that cost-benefit calculation, especially if they know you have another 500 minerals worth of potential corvettes per colony.

View attachment 998027
What do Lithoids eat?
​

Does this suggest that any lithoid can consume worlds, or does this just apply to terravore?

If the former, that would be a huge buff. If the later, I can see the merits of a system, but it seems likely to be a bit of a downgrade to the genocidal if the situation is any slower than the process, and most genocidals are in a tough place right now.

 

[Alfray Stryke]

Good, now change that +25% pop growth speed to +25% Lithoid pop growth speed (lithoid_pop_growth_speed) and it will all make sense.

You mean like this?

 

[PDS_Iggy]

Does this suggest that any lithoid can consume worlds, or does this just apply to terravore?

If the former, that would be a huge buff. If the later, I can see the merits of a system, but it seems likely to be a bit of a downgrade to the genocidal if the situation is any slower than the process, and most genocidals are in a tough place right now.

Eating planets is still limited to being a Terravore. The situation does clever math when it starts eating worlds so it will take the same amount of time like it would normally take to fully consume a planet- Give or take a few weeks.

 

[September_90]

I thought you were going to take our survey feedback and use it to workout what type of NEW content would be best to invest in When are we going to see ship and city pack skins for insectoids and hiveminds, the arthropods need a rework or add a new skin and portrait bundle, I want to have ship and building skins like the Prethoryn Scourge

 

[Velh0_]

Where do you download the free client? I am trying to look for it to send it for my friend.

 

[MrFreake_PDX]

Where do you download the free client? I am trying to look for it to send it for my friend.

the free to play doesn't start until 7 PM CEST (UTC+1). So about three and a half hours from now. Then you'll be able to get it on the store page here.

 

[ladydzra]

Where do you download the free client? I am trying to look for it to send it for my friend.

Free to Play will go live on Steam later today -- check there in about 4 hours.

 

[ladydzra]

the free to play doesn't start until 7 PM CEST (UTC+1). So about three and a half hours from now. Then you'll be able to get it on the store page here.

Jinx!

 

[Dsingis]

Finally! Yessss, finally I can start playing as a Lithoid Devouring swarm, you made it playable! No longer do I have to manually click every single freaking planet every year to queue up another instance of eating the world. Thank goodness, a very VERY welcome change.

 

[owtfox]

Hi! I don't think anyone has mentioned this, though if anyone does get the time... Please could they look into Criminal Heritage?

I'm specifically thinking Subversive Cults, though, the issues are definitely born out of Criminal Heritage and their Branch Office interactions/effectiveness.

 

[Tannhäuser Cake]

We will return with dev diaries on July 27th with Habitat discussions, and start going into detail regarding what’s planned for the 3.9 Caelum update.

Like 3.1 Lem, 3.3 Libra, and 3.6 Orion, Caelum will be a Custodian update focused on revisiting old packs, catching up on technical debt, and generally improving the game.

While it may be late to make wishes for tweaks in 3.9, here are some nevertheless:

• Trivial to implement, if desirable?
  • L-Gate Activation should be marked as a Dangerous technology
  • Omega Theory should be marked as a Dangerous technology
  • Racket pops should be Cybernetic instead of Psionic
  • Embassy Complex should add 1 Politician job
  • Colonist should be a Worker job
  • Atmospheric Hallucinogen should give a bonus to Unity
  • Shadow Council should add +1 Encryption (and perhaps Police State also should)
  • Isolationist diplomatic stance should add +1 Encryption -1 Codebreaking
  • Move "Bureau of Espionage" to the Subterfuge tradition tree
  • Pacifists should be able to create Trade League federations
  • Natural species traits should not affect specific ethics' attraction
  • Servant jobs from Luxury Residences
  • Moons should not get the modifier "Tidal Locked"
  • Psionics research field should be moved to Physics
  • L-Gate Insight should be moved from Engineering to Physics or Society
• Seemingly relatively easy to implement, if desirable, but could need more consideration?
  • Ruler jobs should generally produce Edict Funds instead of Unity
    • Specialist-level Unity jobs would become much more important
      • (would thereby potentially leave fewer pops for other jobs, and thus slow down traditions and the economy overall, which would be good)
    • Ruler-level jobs could more easily be made more distinct from each other
    • The ruling class would feel like it actually is a ruling class
  • Ruler leaders should be allowed to hold field positions when appropriate
  • Slavery option for Natural Servitude Only (Serviles, Zombie, Nerve Stapled, Docile Livestock)
  • Give "Defensive Wars" Influence from guarantees of independence while discouraging/blocking declarations of rivalry (both ways), and/or change "Defensive Wars" to "Restricted Wars"
  • Unyielding tradition tree: gets at least the "Defense in Depth" War Doctrine, move "Fortify the Border" here, and rename the tree with a nice noun - perhaps "Vigilance"?
  • Psionic Death Cults should have a sacrificial edict for turning pops into Zro
  • Death Cults should get a covenant sacrificial edict
  • Philosopher King should allow Dictatorial and Imperial to use otherwise blocked civics
  • Pop upkeep effects should affect job weights
  • Ascension Perk picks should never require technologies to pick

 

[Calvax]

If we're making requests for QoL please can someone work on how multiple wars on the same target interact. Virtually every game I will end up in a war where the enemy is also being invaded by another empire. The loser will be fully occupied but because neither invader occupies 100% of the territory the loser does not surrender, which can drag wars out for decades or longer.

 

[Methone]

Have a good summer!

(Can I pretty please ask for more unique AI Personalities? Like a special Terravore one?)

 

[Pale Blue]

The Bonus to Lithoid traits could be 100% and apply to each normal crater too and it would still not make the rare resource traits useful. The amount they produce is so pitiful compared to your empires demand. You get more rare resources if you get eg. the energy production trait and buy them on the market.

Their main purpose is to unlock edicts and tech draws earlier. And while I like the option for that I don’t think that was their intended purpose. I would suggest buffing them by direct resources produced or give them something like +25% of the corresponding rare resource produced if the pop works a job. Something that grants the trait some mid and late game value.

 

[ValinShadow]

similar to what Dean said above can you confirm or deny if the new +50% lithoid traits from massive crater affects only the home world (since the feature is only on the home world) or all worlds AND if this +50% will modify the -25% pop growth speed from the lithoid trait itself to -37.5% pop growth speed?

if the above is true and it gives -37.5% pop growth speed on only the home world then I feel like this particular change is a nerf rather than a buff since all the other effects of lithoids are largely irrelevant on the home world.

 

[StellarXe]

I'm more shocked that Overlord and Galactic Paragons are that low on the list and even more that Nemesis is completely missing...

since everyday I have been stalking you on any espionage mechanism discussiond and nemesis related posts I can deeply understand your shocking,

I hope this summer experiment things could do something about nemesis dlc it is the most lacking expansion dlc compare to other expansion.

 

[AlphaAsh]

Apocalypse is #3? Baffling. That one is the last one I'd recommend. It has nothing in it that adds anything to the game, I feel. Titans especially.

My guess is that it's primarily due to the strength of the Colossus player fantasy, and the mechanical benefit of having a relatively easily accessible Total War. That frees up Influence for other stuff.

Ah okay, maybe that then.

 

[ValinShadow]

also if I could wish list something, can you please please add some sort of Steal Vassal casus belli that would (as the name suggests) force another empire's vassal to become your vassal instead?

currently you can gain a new vassal from a not yet vassalized empire via diplomacy (propose subjugation) or war (vassalize CB)

for an already vassalized empire there is only the Secret Fealty diplomacy option (which itself can get locked out if they already swore the fealty to another empire which the player has no way to request them to switch) but the only war options are a regular conquest war which may not be ideal for several reasons (hive mind empires, civics, origins)

hope this makes sense and you will consider it!

 

[A2ch0n]

since everyday I have been stalking you on any espionage mechanism discussiond and nemesis related posts I can deeply understand your shocking

I'm honored! I'll keep on my fight in return.

 

[DrewDidIt]

• Philosopher King should allow Dictatorial and Imperial to use otherwise blocked civics

If I may add, I'd also love to see an exclusive living standard for PK.

Same upkeep as Utopian Standard, same increased happiness, unemployed have no happiness malice and increase ruler experience gain (capped at like 30% bonus?)

However, political power distribution is the same as stratified living.

Benevolent rulers are my jam and PK should be the best pick for such a build.