Stellaris Dev Diary #355 - It Belongs in a Vivarium: Announcing Grand Archive

[DarkSafire]

After releasing two back-to-back dlc's, poor devs will be looking at bug reports for next 2-3 months straight.

 

[_Gulag_]

Love this. Not only can I do my job irl, but I can do that same job in game lmao

 

[Troyen]

If past year was done by outsourced work, what is the PDX team working on in the mean time?

Machine Age was done internally, wasn't it? If so, the Crisis team is likely working on next year's major DLC.

The Custodians are working "on something big." I think it was hinted to be Q2 next year, but we'll learn more after Grand Archive releases.

 

[mrt1212]

There's gonna be a fauna repellant right, specifically to help Merc Enclaves not freak out all the damn time, right?

Or, if you wanna give me Steam Wallet credit for accurately predicting this won't be available and Merc Enclaves will become more functionally impaired, I'll take that I guess.

 

[mrt1212]

I know most would argue against the 8th tradition slot though, and I'm perfectly fine with that, but I really want my fourth civic now! There's so darn many of those things it's crazy. Traditions are in a fine, strategic choice kinda place, I admit. Although, 8 traditions and 4 civics sounds much nicer in my head, even numbers and all.

I have never heard better arguments for a Story Painter mode and a Gameplay mode than the persistent desire to have a 4th Civic. I'm not saying it can't be done, and it shouldn't be done, but the impact of your 3rd Civic is so profound and it's blowing my mind at how much players don't think this will basically have them effortlessly riding around on a palanquin merely to tell a story with the aesthetic parts now officially there.

(I am assuming the desire is to start with 3 and unlock 1 rather than start with 2 and unlock 1 by mid-game and unlock the last by end-game. There's maybe two players out there who would be fine with a 3rd act Civic being taken)

 

[Ajacoba]

Unless you take three civics that can only be picked at game start I don't see how there's any difference in your civilization starting with three civics or growing into its third civic and growing as a society upon reaching that step

 

[mrt1212]

Unless you take three civics that can only be picked at game start I don't see how there's any difference in your civilization starting with three civics or growing into its third civic and growing as a society upon reaching that step

Rather than derail a thread not dedicated to the subject of 'time value of money' massaged into Stellaris economics, I'll leave it at 'you really don't think getting things earlier makes gameplay differences over time?'

 

[Beauty Nova]

I have never heard better arguments for a Story Painter mode and a Gameplay mode than the persistent desire to have a 4th Civic. I'm not saying it can't be done, and it shouldn't be done, but the impact of your 3rd Civic is so profound and it's blowing my mind at how much players don't think this will basically have them effortlessly riding around on a palanquin merely to tell a story with the aesthetic parts now officially there.

(I am assuming the desire is to start with 3 and unlock 1 rather than start with 2 and unlock 1 by mid-game and unlock the last by end-game. There's maybe two players out there who would be fine with a 3rd act Civic being taken)

I personally don't want a fourth civic very much. But I would be very happy with getting to fully flesh out my empire at the start with a third instead of having to note which one to take later. Always feels so weird having to leave one off.

But then I'm also a weirdo who thinks all civics should be locked or at least harder to change and finds it really gamey how people talk about planning to reform out of civics or swap ethics and whatnot.

 

[mrt1212]

I personally don't want a fourth civic very much. But I would be very happy with getting to fully flesh out my empire at the start with a third instead of having to note which one to take later. Always feels so weird having to leave one off.

But then I'm also a weirdo who thinks all civics should be locked or at least harder to change and finds it really gamey how people talk about planning to reform out of civics or swap ethics and whatnot.

I forget who I was talking to about it, but it might be interesting if you had two paths with this

1. Character is Character and you start with 3 Civics but you can not ever change them (and this is basically a nice freebie for everyone that doesn't want to develop a character over time or laughs in my face when I insist maybe that is some kind of rooted Dev intent we're supposed to play along with)

2. Character is Adaptable and you start with 2 but can swap in and out as you want over time (how it is and how some players pursue it. My own example is a rote jaunt into Naval Contractors to get additional Merc enclaves and build ships to found them faster, which hits some very fluffy notes, before going to Refurbishment Division or Letters of Marque depending on one of the original two civics being Letters of Marque. Some of the DLC Civics have me do it backwards where I become a Pirate Haven by 2300)

Either way though this is not quite the same can of corn that a 4th Civic is and I don't know how to articulate that a lot of design decision up to this point with Civics has mostly been on the assumption that players would not get 4 Civics easily and by default, otherwise they might not be so damn good in effect.

 

[HFY]

I'd like a lot of the locked civics to be turned into modular Origin components instead of taking up a Civic slot.

That would allow mix-and-match with appropriate components, and free up Civic slots for things that can be swapped as my empire evolves.

 

[cryptkeeper]

I wonder how all of this is going to interact with current features that interact with space born creatures.

I'd like a lot of the locked civics to be turned into modular Origin components instead of taking up a Civic slot.

That would allow mix-and-match with appropriate components, and free up Civic slots for things that can be swapped as my empire evolves.

I need to know what you mean by this, because there are many locked civics I enjoy mixing with origins.

 

[Ajacoba]

Rather than derail a thread not dedicated to the subject of 'time value of money' massaged into Stellaris economics, I'll leave it at 'you really don't think getting things earlier makes gameplay differences over time?'

I just think it makes no difference from a roleplay perspective and potentially is outright worse than properly unlocking it

If anything it just makes your build more rigid and therefore has less narrative value because most people never reform their government anyways, at the current point your empire goes through at least some growth, so you will always have the exact same three civics, rather than picking a third civic that fits your current playthrough

Just like it's a major milestone that represents your journey so far to unlock the civics for being Emperor, Fear of the Dark purifiers, Rogue Servitors enforced by the Galactic community or even the civic for making an immortal God-King your eternal ruler

It would be boring to start with everything unlocked on Day 1

 

[HFY]

I wonder how all of this is going to interact with current features that interact with space born creatures.


I need to know what you mean by this, because there are many locked civics I enjoy mixing with origins.

Basically, turn a lot of the currently locked Civics into "component" Origins which can be mixed together, and mixed with current Origins, when the components are not in opposition to each other.

Turn some current Origins into components, too, so you can be a Necrophage and a Void Dweller, for example. You'd lose your guaranteed habitables (and therefore lose the primitives on them) but otherwise you just get the effects of both.

 

[Archael90]

So I assume, that new space fauna, vivarium, fauna cloning, breeding and refitting will not interact with neither fruitful partnership, reanimator empires and cordyceptic drones, which makes shadow nerf for the latter.

 

[Ajacoba]

So I assume, that new space fauna, vivarium, fauna cloning, breeding and refitting will not interact with neither fruitful partnership, reanimator empires and cordyceptic drones, which makes shadow nerf for the latter.

At the very least you get to use your damage buff to all space fauna weapons

And by hunting them the old fashioned way you can get a headstart on getting beast fleets

Also if you can find one of the two home systems or the graveyard you can still mass produce them for free

Meanwhile Fruitful Partnership always had the ability to feed their pets and then make the pets intentionally spread the seeds over specific worlds

You can probably also just pokeball all space fauna that comes to eat a snack at your starbases, just keep some scientists at the ready

Edit: It would be kinda scary if you can reanimate enemy fauna - like when necromancers find a here be dragon empire and commit the greatest of all heresies

 

[Archael90]

It would be kinda scary if you can reanimate enemy fauna - like when necromancers find a here be dragon empire and commit the greatest of all heresies

Not enemy. Reanimator empires can resurrect Bubbles if it dies, it would be (maybe OP) consistent if they could give second chance to all their fauna, not only Bubbles.
Cordyceps should use their breeded fauna as reanimated fleets, and be able to refit killed fauna.
Fruitful partnership should be able to release breeded and cloned fauna as their allies or neutral fleets at least.
But I'm afraid (based on previous interactions) that noone thought about that.

 

[EMPwarrior]

When are we going to have info about the new origins? I can't tell that clearly from the dev diary schedule.

 

[lxlTiagolxl]

With those new Space Fauna capture, breeding, and modification systems i can't help but wonder if old mechanics that are needing some boost will get any new effect:

• Xeno-compability perk allowing crossbreeding?

• Considering that there is genetic modification Genetic Ascension Traditions could give something? getting better modifications might be unlikely, but maybe some reduction to Space Fauna modificantion costs or faster breeding?

not really?
they are as different as robot assembly and ship assembly

Somewhat different yes, but not really that much.

Robot and ships are both Machines, but one is a being, or at least a emulation of one, and the other a vehicle.

Space Fauna and pops are both living beings, it’s just that one is small and adapted to planets and the other huge and adapted to space, as far as Space Fauna goes genetic ascention has Leviathan Transgenesis which mean it not unrelated to space creatures.

Plus genetic ascention has Leviathan Transgenesis which mean it not unrelated to giant space beings.

 

[Ajacoba]

not really?

they are as different as robot assembly and ship assembly

 

[Ajacoba]

Somewhat different yes, but not really that much.

Robot and ships are both Machines, but one is a being, or at least a emulation of one, and the other a vehicle.

Space Fauna and pops are both living beings, it’s just that one is small and adapted to planets and the other huge and adapted to space.

Plus genetic ascention has Leviathan Transgenesis which mean it not unrelated to giant space beings.

Well, ships can eventually become sentient too - psykers can even turn them into an extension of their bodies

And robots also have the special leviathan traits, just for mechanical leviathans (which include a literal starbase and an automated ship)