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

[Masked Ermine]

oh my god, yes. This would be amazing.

And slightly miraculous if the whole thing doesn't come out the door, immediately trip over its own feet and then vomit profusely over its barnacle infested flesh...

 

[Marmelado]

I'm a sucker for Spiritualist/Psionic content, but reading the description of the planned expansion, there is one thing that rubs me the wrong way, always has with Psionics in this game actually. Namely, your reliance on outside powers, of having patrons, of enslaving yourself, of being the eternal victim, the lesser partner, the pitiful vassal eating scraps from under the table.

All ascensions are ultimately about taking your destiny into your own hands, about shaping and forging your own future, overcoming all shackles and limitations set by reality (to the point of Cosmogenesis changing reality itself). Yet, when it comes to Psionics, it's always the same: randomness, chaos, becoming a slave to the whims of some wannabe gods, and all flavor text makes it clear that the Zroni are always better than you could ever be, taunting you over and over.

I don't mind whoring myself out to the Shroud on my way to the top, but I don't want servitude be the final stop on that road. I want the same theme that bio and machines have: ultimate mastery of your chosen craft.

I also think that Psionics content should not be chained to the idea of the Shroud because it is too limiting. There are many different forms of psionics in sci-fi, WH40k is just one of them, no need to make it default.

From a writing standpoint: what if the Shroud was just one of several reservoirs of psychic force? Maybe there could be psychic powers and entities that exist outside it, maybe even have conflict with the Shroud and entities that live there. It would make sense, considering what we know of Zroni.

At the very least, there should be an option for psionic species to outright reject all alliances with the Shroud entities and carve their own path without missing on content. A separate event, perhaps.

 

[Calvax]

I also think that Psionics content should not be chained to the idea of the Shroud because it is too limiting. There are many different forms of psionics in sci-fi, WH40k is just one of them, no need to make it default.

From a writing standpoint: what if the Shroud was just one reservoir of psychic force, not the entirety of it? Maybe there could be psychic powers and entities that exist outside it, maybe even have conflict with the Shroud and entities that live there.

At the very least, there should be an option for psionic species to outright reject all alliances with the Shroud entities and carve their own path without missing on content. A separate event, perhaps.

I definitely think the 40k elements should be toned down and 100% agree there should be entirely patron-free options, but adding multiple sources of psionic abilities seems convoluted and a bit incoherent. I would like to at least have the breadth of pops that use the shroud for abilities that are mostly focused on the material world (telepathy, telekinesis etc) while also allowing for people that dive deeper for the more esoteric things.

And my pet wish: for an egalitarian society to be able to establish some sort of domain/ability where power's are shared. Perhaps some form of collective belief warping reality as a counter to a more authoritarian creation of a chosen one.

 

[LizardCommander]

I must say, I really like the direction that this year's set of DLC is exploring, and I hope we see a similar vision for future years.

The Machine Age was easily the best expansion that we've seen in a number of years, I do think that Nemesis overall was a great step towards that, although some were more conflicted, the introduction of the first Crisis was great. Cosmogenesis also delivers really well on what it is.

Glad to see that there will be more coming.

I'm still hoping that in the future we can get even more diverse options from a Fleet Standpoint too, like having empires evolve differently from each other, like a version of the Commonwealth of Man that went with a Mobile Suit Style of units backed up with a smaller array of traditional Ships. And then another option that consists of perhaps Corvettes, Cruisers, Battlecruisers, and Super Titans (or similar), for a non-standard Empire. Honestly I'd like to see an entire rework of the fleet system, as the years have gone on I basically never look at them in-system anymore, very rare I actually watch their battles.

 

[SS Boss]

Another year with a terrible war system, no internal politics, no good diplomacy, and dead espionage.

None of these things are to be fixed through DLC content.

 

[joe876]

Most agreements are useless. Improving relations with another empire comes down to pressing four buttons: Improve Relations, Establish Embassy, and two other random agreements. After these actions, you’ll have +500 relations. Tech trade gives too small of a bonus and is implemented in a very basic way. A migration pact can let you colonize new planets, but beyond that, due to the lack of internal politics, new citizens of another species don’t have any real impact.

There’s no real incentive for trade beyond the limited system currently in the game or for cooperation. You can’t create a shared economic zone with another state. Honestly, if the entire galaxy outside my borders were deleted and only appeared when I pressed the "Diplomacy" button, the game wouldn’t lose anything. The player spends most of their time inside their own empire, developing planets, researching anomalies and archaeology, or waging wars. Diplomacy takes up less than 1% of the player's effort.

The Galactic Community is too slow and pointless. 90% of the resolutions have no real impact. Forming the Galactic Imperium is cool in theory, but in 90% of cases, the player only does it after already conquering half the galaxy.

I want the game to have situational alliances with unique mechanics, alliances that could remain temporary or evolve into something greater. I want diplomacy to actually change borders. The simplest example is that I should be able to demand a planet inhabited by my primary species. Right now, your species can literally be enslaved in a neighboring empire, and the only way to deal with it is through war, either by ideology shift or full conquest, which also feels like a very limited solution.

the game is slowly improving and if this season is anything to go by I think diplomacy will be addressed in the future. It was already hinted at that espionage will be changed in the future and currently in the beta federations is now a tech, so perhaps diplomacy will be getting some improvements (at least the tradition)

Definitely agree that many of the pacts lack depth or consequence and many of the resolutions don’t justify the wait time for how much impact they have.

But there is room for improvement, we finally getting meat ships along with a full bio rework and psionic rework. I’m sure diplomacy, piracy and warfare will be looked at soon enough

 

[khazit66]

​

• Revamped End of the Cycle: The ultimate deal with the devil—can you delay the inevitable?

Please be Shroud crisis path!
Also, about damn time. It's so funny that the galaxy would be pissed because you unleash something that's weaker than the Khan at 25x crisis .

 

[SupremeGodEmperor]

Will Shadows of the Shroud also grant psionic empires THREE ascension paths, as with machine and biological ascensions (that also get three ascension paths)? Please, I beg of you to give three ascension paths for psionics as well.

 

[BaliorPal]

None of these things are to be fixed through DLC content.

So, these issues will never be fixed, and these systems, at best, will go from bad primitive to just primitive, or maybe even decent primitive. The amount of work needed is too large to allocate resources for it outside of a DLC.

And I have to disagree with you on one thing. Machine empires were added to the game with the Synthetic Dawn DLC. Then we got a second DLC on the same topic. I don't see why espionage couldn't get a Nemesis 2.0.

 

[Dr_Macunayme]

PRAISE THE SHROUD!!
PRAISE THE SHROUD!!
PRAISE THE SHROUD!!

 

[MadCow94]

Please be Shroud crisis path!
Also, about damn time. It's so funny that the galaxy would be pissed because you unleash something that's weaker than the Khan at 25x crisis .

*laughs in Player at 0.25 Crisis*

 

[BaliorPal]

the game is slowly improving and if this season is anything to go by I think diplomacy will be addressed in the future. It was already hinted at that espionage will be changed in the future and currently in the beta federations is now a tech, so perhaps diplomacy will be getting some improvements (at least the tradition)

Definitely agree that many of the pacts lack depth or consequence and many of the resolutions don’t justify the wait time for how much impact they have.

But there is room for improvement, we finally getting meat ships along with a full bio rework and psionic rework. I’m sure diplomacy, piracy and warfare will be looked at soon enough

*looks at the game's release date*
Yeah… the game is improving really slowly. Maybe I’m being too pessimistic - all three new DLCs look interesting, but they expand the game horizontally rather than adding depth.


I’m not sure how active you are on the forums, but maybe you've seen discussions about how the rework of the construction system feels strange, and it's unclear what problems it’s supposed to solve. I agree with that sentiment, and it bothers me that they decided to rework one of the best systems in Stellaris instead of fixing the ones that actually have issues.


I’m not saying the rework is bad, but I don’t see how it’s better than the old system - it’s just different. Now, if they at least separated the state and private sectors… Ah, dreams, dreams.

 

[SupremeGodEmperor]

I also think that Psionics content should not be chained to the idea of the Shroud because it is too limiting. There are many different forms of psionics in sci-fi, WH40k is just one of them, no need to make it default.

From a writing standpoint: what if the Shroud was just one of several reservoirs of psychic force? Maybe there could be psychic powers and entities that exist outside it, maybe even have conflict with the Shroud and entities that live there. It would make sense, considering what we know of Zroni.

At the very least, there should be an option for psionic species to outright reject all alliances with the Shroud entities and carve their own path without missing on content. A separate event, perhaps.

I agree. This is very doable and adds to variation (just look at the variation in the Machine Age DLC - the three ascension paths were VERY different from one another). Having all three ascension paths limited to a shroud covenant just seems way too similar on one level, and it limits empires that are rebellious.

 

[Marmelado]

adding multiple sources of psionic abilities seems convoluted and a bit incoherent

I think they can make it work, if they further differentiate Psionics and the Shroud. Basically, make it clear that psionic power is like a force of nature and it is present in various forms and doses throughout the universe. While the Shroud is a concentrated pool of that psionic power. Meaning that there is only one source of psionic power, but there are different manifestations of it, including the Shroud.

Then as a player you can make a gameplay choice on how to develop psionic potential of the species, whether to engage with the Shroud or not. Choosing the Shroud and communicating with its entities could be a faster way to access psionic powers and those powers could seem more powerful too. But there is the catch, the Shroud is full of malevolent entities and they don't provide help for free. While the alternative option would be to shun the Shroud and develop psionics straight from the source. Maybe at first powers would not be as powerful as those of Shroud-explorers and the learning would be slow, but you choose your own path and don't endanger your species. The good thing about it is that there is no need to explain what "the psionic power" is. Keep it vague, so players can interpret it similar to the Star Wars' Force, for example. They could create something similar to Jedi, without having to bring in the baggage of the Shroud/Zroni storyline.

 

[Commander Tobe]

Nice! I just hope Infernals will have a way of interacting with molten worlds, same as Toxoids should have gotten with Toxic worlds. I still think that was a missed opportunity

 

[TimelessWander]

BioGenesis is now available for pre-purchase for $24.99 or regional equivalent,
or with a 20% discount as part of the Stellaris: Season 09 Expansion Pass, which is available now for $44.99 or regional equivalent.​

44.99/57.97 = 0.77609108159392789373814041745731

24.99+19.99+12.99 = 57.97

Can Paradox Interactive please be mathematically correct to at least zero decimals? I get rounding is respected, but come on more than a 10% rounding error is literally unplayable.

Being charitable, some person in marketing went "24.99*0.8+19.99*0.8+12.99*0.8 = 46.376 is not a great price to sale at." I get it, marketing may have final say on the materials produced for media. Please be mathematically consistent.

 

[luanmameili]

Maybe bio-ships are somehow similar to beastmasters?

 

[AnonLima]

If we're getting new volcano worlds are we potentially getting updates to other worlds? I'd love to see Hydrocentric get a bit of a buff

 

[AnonLima]

So

44.99/57.97 = 0.77609108159392789373814041745731

24.99+19.99+12.99 = 57.97

Can Paradox Interactive please be mathematically correct to at least zero decimals? I get rounding is respected, but come on more than a 10% rounding error is literally unplayable.

Being charitable, some person in marketing went "24.99*0.8+19.99*0.8+12.99*0.8 = 46.376 is not a great price to sale at." I get it, marketing may have final say on the materials produced for media. Please be mathematically consistent.

So wait you're mad because they're advertising it as a 20% discount and not a 22% discount? Whats the problem here champ?

 

[minilla6]

fresh meat