Stellaris Dev Diary #323 - 3.10.1 "Pyxis" Beta and Next Steps

[Theodotus1]

I see your points and they are valid, but ultimately they do not amount to anything or contradict my speculation. All of your points can easily be boiled down to bad integration of outsourcing partners to either cut costs on meeting hours or bad communication from the outsourcing partner on how fast or when they can deliver. The major flaw I see was errors with the integration of the third-party DLC (Ownership bug).

So to an outsider, this seems to be all heralded with the new structure of DLC production Paradox pushed for and laid off, or transferred, staff from PDX Arctic to close the studio.

One thing that speaks against that theory, as grommile pointed out, seems to be that errors are mostly with the free patch. But this could also be a result of the outsourcing, as the freeze could not happen before the DLC dropped, and if they were in a hurry, testing was cut short, if any was even conducted, due to time constraints.

I'm sure we will never know the exact 'whys' and 'hows' – that's why I referred to it as speculation, and yours is too – just that.

I wanted to express my sympathy and clarify that I don't see the blame for the poor product as lying directly with the people who pour their heart and soul into developing the game, only to be undermined by flawed upper-echelon strategies. Because that's what I'm speculating here, as I see this as a classic example of an outsourcing project.

I think you may not have been playing the game long enough to have experienced the day some years ago when they released a patch on a Friday that very literally made the game unplayable (no hyperbole there, it's just been so long that I don't actually recall the details of how they broke it, other than it was something that rendered warfare impossible in some way).

And since they released it on a Friday, there was literally nothing they were able to do about it until the following Monday. Which is why they now release patches before Fridays.

This game, much as I love it to death (it's the only thing I play these days, with about 2000 hours invested), has always been plagued by quality control issues, since long before anything was ever outsourced.

There's literally no evidence whatsoever to support your outsourcing theory, while there is evidence, including an admission by a party to the events at issue, that this situation is a result of internal Paradox failures.

I've been a fan of Paradox since Europa Universalis I, but that doesn't mean I think they should get a complete free pass every time they screw up. Nor are they asking for one. Hopefully this episode will strengthen their organizational practices.

But the fact that they still haven't fixed either the ship cost reduction bug or the archeology site bug is not a good sign. I mean, they themselves, by their own admission, broke it, so how is it they aren't able to already have fixed what they themselves broke?

Not good.

 

[Theodotus1]

This is accurate.

While we did not have procedures in place to prevent some of the problems we've never previously encountered (we do now), we're making some changes internally to the pacing of Custodian Team work. (Specifically, an earlier feature freeze and different branching structure.)

3.11 will be a "spring cleaning" sort of update focused primarily on just fixing stuff.



The producers and me.



Going to be a little direct here, and I really don't mean to offend - but Alfray's job is Systems Design. While he enjoys dialog with the community, and it helps improve his designs and track down issues, I don't want him spending his time tracking down such a status report during this particular post-release patch phase. I need him fixing bugs.

I can provide that status though:

• In MR: [Bugfix] Fixed ship build cost modifiers not being applied.

So it'll likely be in 3.10.2.



Tomorrow's release will be identical to the current Steam Beta branch. (It's the branch that got sent out for certification.)

We'll likely put 3.10.2 into a Steam Beta the same way once that build is ready.

Appreciate the update.

I know from experience (in a different industry) that overseeing the work of a large team of people is devilishly difficult.

But, seriously, how did you all really not have sufficient systems in place to avoid what happened here? Is it a situation that is specific to the Custodians, which admittedly is a relatively new organizational structure, as things go and as compared to other parts of the company?

If so, why weren't quality control structures applicable to other parts of the operation simply put into place when the Custodian structure was created?

It's not that I'm trying to be critical, but in the current era of review bombing (among other lovely behaviors in the marketplace) I don't perceive there's the leeway for error in production that there may once have been.

I love you all with all my heart. I want you to still be elaborating on the game 10 years from now, when I'll finally get to retire and devote full time to the game. I just find the extent of breakage in this patch very disturbing, for some reason I can't quite put into exact words.

 

[MadCow94]

@Eladrin - Could you confirm for us what, exactly, the new outliner features look like?

There seems to be rampant speculation based on the screenshots and I feel like that is a recipe for disaster and unhappy people when the hype doesn't perfectly match the result.

1) Will there be a way to create custom tabs (such as a "Show me Everything" tab)?
2) Will there be ways to adjust the ordering of things per-tab (the infamous "Let me organize my fleets")?
3) Will we be able to move things between tabs at our discretion (For example, I have no idea why observation posts are in the tab they are in by default)?

I'm not trying to be demanding, I'm trying to temper my expectations as someone who has been unable to play 3.10 because the outliner ruins the experience for me. (And yes, I understand that's probably a very limited issue and most people are able to clinch through it).

 

[archej243]

I can provide that status though:

• In MR: [Bugfix] Fixed ship build cost modifiers not being applied.

So it'll likely be in 3.10.2.

Sweet. Appreciate the hard work by the dev team. We can survive another week or two waiting for the cost reduction fix. Can't wait to try out the new Astral features!

 

[malakhglitch]

Dangit. I have to work on Saturday... I guess I have to wait until Sunday to play.

 

[SpankinHead001]

Increases to defense platform capacity are bugged. (They don't work)

 

[luxeritib]

We'll likely put 3.10.2 into a Steam Beta the same way once that build is ready.

I love it!!!

 

[SillyWyrm]

Is there any chance that we will be able to switch to an old outliner? Or set it up so it looks in the same way? Hotkeys really doesn't resolve my issue with the new outliner...

 

[jmxd]

Just to be clear, the new outliner in the future patch, you can put whichever item in whichever tab you choose? Because i don't hate the idea of the tabs but the current implementation has me constantly switching tabs during the game because often used items are in different tabs. I'd much rather put less often used items in another tab, like megastructures and factions, and have the useful ones like planets and ships together in 1 tab

 

[Eladrin]

@Eladrin - Could you confirm for us what, exactly, the new outliner features look like?

There seems to be rampant speculation based on the screenshots and I feel like that is a recipe for disaster and unhappy people when the hype doesn't perfectly match the result.

1) Will there be a way to create custom tabs (such as a "Show me Everything" tab)?
2) Will there be ways to adjust the ordering of things per-tab (the infamous "Let me organize my fleets")?
3) Will we be able to move things between tabs at our discretion (For example, I have no idea why observation posts are in the tab they are in by default)?

I'm not trying to be demanding, I'm trying to temper my expectations as someone who has been unable to play 3.10 because the outliner ruins the experience for me. (And yes, I understand that's probably a very limited issue and most people are able to clinch through it).

Let me show you some screenshots from my machine, where the new customization is working:

I've taken the first tab an turned everything on, so "Yes" to your 1st question. (Actually, I currently have "planets" off because it's duplicated by "sectors". But that's the same behavior the 3.9 and earlier.)

My ships tab has Shipyards, Military Fleets, and Armies on it, because I felt like picking those.

My Politics tab has all sorts of random stuff on it. Here I have the planets showing differently from the first tab.

No changes have been made to the sections themselves, so no fleet sorting. Other than that, you can pick and choose whatever you want on whatever tabs you want, including having everything on every tab if you desire. Or making tabs specific to peacetime, war, or whatever. We have not added support for changing the names or icons of the tabs though, so your "Ships" tab could very well actually be your "Megastructures, Factions, and Shipyards" tab.

 

[Elrawien]

Let me show you some screenshots from my machine, where the new customization is working:

I've taken the first tab an turned everything on, so "Yes" to your 1st question. (Actually, I currently have "planets" off because it's duplicated by "sectors". But that's the same behavior the 3.9 and earlier.)
View attachment 1054077

My ships tab has Shipyards, Military Fleets, and Armies on it, because I felt like picking those.
View attachment 1054078

My Politics tab has all sorts of random stuff on it. Here I have the planets showing differently from the first tab.
View attachment 1054080

No changes have been made to the sections themselves, so no fleet sorting. Other than that, you can pick and choose whatever you want on whatever tabs you want, including having everything on every tab if you desire. Or making tabs specific to peacetime, war, or whatever. We have not added support for changing the names or icons of the tabs though, so your "Ships" tab could very well actually be your "Megastructures, Factions, and Shipyards" tab.

Thank you so much for these wonderful improvements.

Also, I would like to make 2 suggestions:

• Please consider adding the ability for multiple tabs to be shown at the same time (stacking from right to left possibly). Many players have wide/ultrawide monitors, there are so much unused space on the sides of the screen. Even with all 4 tabs shown together, it still wouldn't come close to the centre of my screen or hinder other parts of the UI. This would be a huge quality of life change for wide/ultrawide monitor users.

• Have the tabs layered in a way that the icons from the lower layer(s) are shown (like bookmarks sticking out of a book). For example, if the civilian ships are on the second tab and I have 1 working and 1 idle construction ship, I can see 1 blue construction ship icon and 1 red idle icon. If clicked on these icons, it should bring that tab to top. The icons might need to be shrinked. Also, maybe only show the icons that demands the player's attention (i.e. the idle construction ship only). Some flair can also be added such as rotating animation for the tabs? Or make the outliner looks like an actual journal of sort, like a to-do list for the galactic emperor (but probably won't fit the aesthetic of the default UI). -- This should give player useful and important information as well as reducing the number of clicks needed.

Thanks again for listening to player feedbacks on the outliner tabs. Can't wait to play with the 3.10.2 patch.

 

[Corpus Festerheart]

Let me show you some screenshots from my machine, where the new customization is working:

I've taken the first tab an turned everything on, so "Yes" to your 1st question. (Actually, I currently have "planets" off because it's duplicated by "sectors". But that's the same behavior the 3.9 and earlier.)
View attachment 1054077

My ships tab has Shipyards, Military Fleets, and Armies on it, because I felt like picking those.
View attachment 1054078

My Politics tab has all sorts of random stuff on it. Here I have the planets showing differently from the first tab.
View attachment 1054080

No changes have been made to the sections themselves, so no fleet sorting. Other than that, you can pick and choose whatever you want on whatever tabs you want, including having everything on every tab if you desire. Or making tabs specific to peacetime, war, or whatever. We have not added support for changing the names or icons of the tabs though, so your "Ships" tab could very well actually be your "Megastructures, Factions, and Shipyards" tab.

Any info on release date for outliner changes?

 

[Jorlem]

Or something else, possibly Espionage. I don't really know, TBF.

I’m personally of the opinion that an internal politics expansion should go hand in hand with an espionage expansion/rework. That way, you’d be able to interact with your empire’s internal factions, and use espionage to mess with other empires’ internal factions, and vice versa.

 

[Panzerslothen]

3.11 will be a "spring cleaning" sort of update focused primarily on just fixing stuff.

I for one am REALLY glad to hear that. A focus on a tune-up, a clean, and a fix, without major content additions. I think it will really be to the game's collective benefit.

I’m personally of the opinion that an internal politics expansion should go hand in hand with an espionage expansion/rework. That way, you’d be able to interact with your empire’s internal factions, and use espionage to mess with other empires’ internal factions, and vice versa.

Yeah I reckon so too, and one of the 'most ideal' or 'best case scenario' hopes I have for it.

I still think that a war pass is probably more of a priority, but that's not to say I wouldn't jump at the chance for features like that, or be delighted by them (which I would!)

 

[yurshenko]

I doubt that at this point my opinion is worth anything to others but I'm going to say what I think anyway. I don't like that soldier jobs no longer generate +2 stability points for each level of the Governor Commander. Although I admit that +2 was too much and that you very easily countered the penalties on specialist and ruler jobs with pure stability strength. But a value of 0.5 for the planets and 0.25 for the sector would not have been bad. Currently, soldier jobs are quite useless, since the stability they generate isn't better than that generated by enforcers (not to mention that the latter also reduce crime and add defensive armies) I am using Sovereign Guard and Citizen Service and even so the unit I earn from soldiers' jobs does not reach the one generated by priests or bureaucrats (although on the other hand they hardly consume consumer goods) My point is, that soldier jobs really aren't very good in and of themselves, since even in planetary defense the most common thing is to simply use assault armies to defend yourself, naval capacity can be increased from starbases, and Populations are a valuable enough resource to waste on a job that doesn't really benefit you compared to others. Conclusion, I would like the Commanders to stay as they are, but add +0.5 stability per soldier job for each level of the Commander.

 

[AllYourPopsAreBelongToUs]

Let me show you some screenshots from my machine, where the new customization is working:

I've taken the first tab an turned everything on, so "Yes" to your 1st question. (Actually, I currently have "planets" off because it's duplicated by "sectors". But that's the same behavior the 3.9 and earlier.)
View attachment 1054077

My ships tab has Shipyards, Military Fleets, and Armies on it, because I felt like picking those.
View attachment 1054078

My Politics tab has all sorts of random stuff on it. Here I have the planets showing differently from the first tab.
View attachment 1054080

No changes have been made to the sections themselves, so no fleet sorting. Other than that, you can pick and choose whatever you want on whatever tabs you want, including having everything on every tab if you desire. Or making tabs specific to peacetime, war, or whatever. We have not added support for changing the names or icons of the tabs though, so your "Ships" tab could very well actually be your "Megastructures, Factions, and Shipyards" tab.

It's beautiful, thanks so much! <3

Qick question: will these settings be saved on a "per save" or general manner? If i change my UI and then load an older save file or start a new game, which UI settings are getting loaded?

I have the feeling most players will basicly use your shown setup:
1) planets & civ ships
2) shipyards & military
3) Anything else

You might want to think about making this the default after everything has settled and people had time to test it a bit
Right now the Tabs are based on what things ARE not what they do, your Setup is based on what they do which seems more organic to use

 

[MadCow94]

@Eladrin Thanks for the answers, that's all good news!

 

[Shark7]

It's beautiful, thanks so much! <3

Qick question: will these settings be saved on a "per save" or general manner? If i change my UI and then load an older save file or start a new game, which UI settings are getting loaded?

I have the feeling most players will basicly use your shown setup:
1) planets & civ ships
2) shipyards & military
3) Anything else

You might want to think about making this the default after everything has settled and people had time to test it a bit
Right now the Tabs are based on what things ARE not what they do, your Setup is based on what they do which seems more organic to use

Hmm, being able to save UI/outliner templates might not be a bad thing. In the early game, I really do access my civilian ships and planets a lot, but in mid-game I tend to switch to accessing sectors, military ships, and armies the most. Be nice to have a template saved where I could start the game with "exploration outliner" template and just change it by loading the "mid-game outliner" template when the time is right.

Overall, liking the outliner changes though. More control over it is always better, as I can set it up to suit my own playstyle.

 

[yurshenko]

@Eladrin

Usable ruler!

Hello, it has happened to you that the ruler of your empire barely has level 3 at the time of the elections and your best scientist already has level 5 or 6 because you have already used it to analyze many anomalies, special projects, probe...

forum.paradoxplaza.com

 

[Harvey_James]

i hate elections in this game... cost way too much too rig and whoever is leader gets half their skills disabled and removed from any useful post they are in.. please change this for the love of the game devs !!!!!