Stellaris Dev Diary #376 - Announcing BioGenesis and Stellaris: Season 09

[Swarm lover]

A lot of the shroud is ripped from 40k. While I haven't read the last books of the Horus Heresy series from what I understand the Chaos gods were perfectly happy to engineer a situation where a new god rises that would destroy the galaxy. Since they exist outside of time and not tied to any particular galaxy, or even universe, it doesn't matter to them.

Same could be the answer for the become the crisis. I don't remember who but a dev has said that their interpretation is that the engine doesn't work properly. All it does is smeer the debris of the ascending species across the shroud and blow up a galaxy in the interim.

Which is one of the reasons I'd like Galactic Nemesis to get a rework. Make it more about the shroud and take out the scrappy ship stuff. Have there be a clear link of menace along the lines of your species observing the effect of death, and then gigadeath, on the shroud. Then by studying the ripples it causes and the thinning of the veil they develop a means to engineer a galactic sacrifice big enough to punch a hole into it.

that would make it more interesting. I also dont like the idea of the crisis not working "period" like the cosmogenesis implies a good end unless you dumb enough to go into the black hole of the dimensional horror or into the shrroud without a patron

 

[SS Boss]

It happened !

I hope the living titan/juggernaut is a leviathan.

 

[Warboss Efan]

THIS PLEASES THE FLESH!!!

IT WRITHES IN ANTICIPATION!!!

 

[Kurohsi]

The new megatruture is a gigastructure which can be built more than one or a simle megastructure with one per empire? If its for defense its better if we can build more.

 

[DarkHelmet110985]

Hah, called it. I suspected there would be a Genetic DLC, a Psionic DLC and then something else to justify Season 9. Yet I do have a couple comments. Firstly, I might be in the minority when I say this, but I am quite displeased we are getting more "Advanced Authorities". It's bad enough trying to remember the 14 Cybernetic + 10 Synthetic Authorities that came with Machine Age and I'm not even counting Cybernetic Creed authorities either. I strongly recommend detaching Advanced Authorities from Ascension and instead have them unlock with the 3rd Civic via Galactic Administration. Furthermore, we could customize our Governments such that the only thing set in stone is the Election mechanism. Everything else, the player could choose, including what to add when Advanced Authorities are unlocked.

The other thing I'd like to see is new Characteristic Traits and the means to upgrade them. Lithoids get royally shafted since there's no remedy for their Pop Growth or better yet Assembly malus. If I were to Genetically Ascend, I'd like to see a means of mitigating or removing that outright. As for Characteristic Traits, you mean to tell me there's no difference between a Human and other Biological lifeforms? I mean yeah we have "Traits", but a Human should be different than a Mammalian species type in some manner. Be it a Habitability malus on certain climate types, CG usage or something to set them apart.

 

[aadf97799c]

long awaited bioship

finally here

 

[Harkinian's Dinner]

This all seems really cool, just a shame it comes with the gameplay changes that will probably leave the game in a horribly buggy and unbalanced state for at least most of the year. Not going to buy it yet with the expectation that this will be the case.

I also worry about the Psionic ascension overhaul, as the dev team has a tendency to replace chaotic, interesting systems with more rigid, predictable and "gamified" ones. The "playing with fire" aspect of Psionic ascension is the biggest appeal, and it will suck if they remove all the risk from it and turn it into yet another level-up progression system where nothing can go wrong unless you choose the End of the Cycle.

 

[rubert]

This guy gets it.

Is there a vegan option?

 

[Idle America]

But 4.0 isn't even out yet! Are you trying to spoil us rotten?!

 

[Questionable]

Holy cow I wasn't expecting anything like this so soon, wahoo!!

 

[Mech_infect]

PURE DELIGHT. mini-hope - not only bio ships, but also bio-stations can be grown. + we need to have more than 3 civics with so many civics in the game

 

[Paspinall]

They look interesting, Im more amused by the fact that this... mess of a beta.. is going to be ready for launch in six weeks... im not ordering this until i see what a mess that release is LOL

 

[Orain]

I doubt this is the plan but I really hope the

• Portraits that change based on pop strata and leader level

are applied to existing portraits instead of being exclusive to new ones like in Machine Age. The features can be locked behind the DLC, sure, but I'd bet most people, like me, have a favorite portrait already they'd like to see expanded upon. For example, it'd be nice if the new features worked on the UNE instead of a separate human like the cyborgs.

 

[Tannhäuser Cake]

A meat-focused expansion, made by a Swedish company, needs to include at least one reference to Swedish meatballs.
Going by the words of citizen G'Kar, they are a universal hallmark of sentience.

Edit:
"Sweetish Meatballs" is one potential, on-the-nose name for an anomaly or digsite...

 

[A2ch0n]

Can't wait for Shadows of the Shroud

But i really hope that we get an espionage rework along with it. Any hint?

 

[Swarm lover]

This all seems really cool, just a shame it comes with the gameplay changes that will probably leave the game in a horribly buggy and unbalanced state for at least most of the year. Not going to buy it yet with the expectation that this will be the case.

I also worry about the Psionic ascension overhaul, as the dev team has a tendency to replace chaotic, interesting systems with more rigid, predictable and "gamified" ones. The "playing with fire" aspect of Psionic ascension is the biggest appeal, and it will suck if they remove all the risk from it and turn it into yet another level-up progression system where nothing can go wrong unless you choose the End of the Cycle.

For the psionic they did say there would be more moral choices and risk involved with patron allegiances. Tbh the current psionic ascension had nothing of "playing with fire" was far too safe and boring. Was basically roll a slot machine every few years for some minor boost.

 

[Swarm lover]

I doubt this is the plan but I really hope the

• Portraits that change based on pop strata and leader level

are applied to existing portraits instead of being exclusive to new ones like in Machine Age. The features can be locked behind the DLC, sure, but I'd bet most people, like me, have a favorite portrait already they'd like to see expanded upon. For example, it'd be nice if the new features worked on the UNE instead of a separate human like the cyborgs.

I think i recall reading about progressive portaits like the machine and cyber ones but from what i read they evolve as they level up.

 

[Kataclyszm]

Yet, AoW4 and Stellaris have made a hypocrite of me. This is a sweet roadmap, I actually would want everything in it.

Bear in mind they'll likely be with 4.0 and upward, which as it stands, may very well prove itself unplayable.

 

[Foxosaur]

Ok, after looking at all of this information, only one question dominates all the others in my mind. Will there be any Mick Gordon inspired tracks, with a Stellaris twist to go with the Infernals species pack?

oh my god, yes. This would be amazing.

 

[Masked Ermine]

From what I've seen in the 4.0 beta threads...it is not going to be ready for release in that time, never mind ready concurrently with a new mechanics/units changing set of DLC. You're just adding more tires onto the tire fire. Like...look I get it, you have to monetize this whole...*waves hands at the beta tire fire*... But...the primary problem I've found with Paradox developmental is that they bust into a burning room with a singular half-exhausted extinguisher, that 30% of the time is the wrong extinguisher for the fire they're fighting, but also like...a platoon of flamethrowers...like fix the fires you've set first before lighting new ones.

I'd be more positive about these announcements if, the 4.0 release was a standalone, free update....and then after the month- 6 months of bug fixing that always comes from these overhaul updates, THEN and only then we'd start getting new mechanical DLC stuff...