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Stellaris Dev Diary #60: Psionics and The Shroud

Hello everyone and welcome to another Stellaris development diary. Today's dev diary is going to be about psionics and one of the three ascension paths mentioned in Dev Diary #56: the Psionic Ascension Path.

Psionics
First, before we start digging into the way psionics will work Utopia, we should clarify that we are not removing any features from the free version of the game. If you have the Banks update but do not own Utopia, psionics will continue to work the same way they currently do: As technologies that you unlock. The only difference is that psionics can now only be researched by Spiritualist empires, though it is entirely possible for an empire that does not start out as Spiritualist to acquire psionics by shifting their empire ethics to Spiritualist over the course of the game, and once you start down the Psionic path it is possible to continue along it even if you stop being Spiritualist. This Spiritualist requirement applies whether or not you own Utopia.

If you *do* own the Utopia expansion, most of the psionic features will no longer appear as technologies. Only Psionic Theory, the very first psionic tech, is still researchable. To get access to the rest of the psionic path you will need to pick the 'Mind over Matter' Ascension Perk to start your empire on the Psionic Ascension Path. Picking this Ascension Perk will unlock latent psionic abilities among your primary species. A certain percentage of your leaders will have the 'Psychic' trait that grants a variety of advantages for the different leader classes, you will get access to Psionic Armies and also the special Psi Corps building. As with all Ascension Paths, you will need to have at least two Ascension Perk slots unlocked to pick 'Mind over Matter'.
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After picking Mind over Matter, you will need to continue amassing Unity and working your way through the Tradition trees. Once you have unlocked your fourth Ascension Perk slot, the 'Transcendance' Ascension Perk becomes available. This is the second stage in the Psionic Ascension Path and represents the full Psionic awakening of your species. From this point on, your entire species will get the 'Psionic' species trait and all leaders from this species will be full-fledged Psychics. In addition to the advantages granted by these traits, from now on there is also a chance that other species in your empire will psionically awaken, first as latent Psychics and then as fully awakened ones much like your own.
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The Shroud (Paid Feature)
Not long after fully awakening, your species will become aware of The Shroud. The Shroud is the realm from which psychics draw their power, a strange dimension very unlike the material universe, a place of opportunity and danger alike. To begin exploring The Shroud, you will need to complete a special society research project that once completed will give you access to The Shroud in the contacts view. Each time you wish to enter The Shroud you will need to expend a considerable amount of energy (in the form of Energy Credits), though this cost can be reduced by having access to the Zro Dust Strategic Resource.
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As for what can happen while exploring The Shroud... quite a few different things. We will not give them all away here, but some examples include unlocking psionic technologies, asking the spirits that dwell there for a boon, or even forming a Covenant with one of a number of particularly powerful spirits... a pact that will give great benefits, but may come at a terrible cost.
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That's all for today! Next week we'll be coming back to Factions and how you can use them to change your Empire Ethics. We'll also be talking about Indoctrination. See you then!
 
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"Young man, what have I told you about consorting with the devil!?"

"B-But, Mom! The voices in my head tell me stuff!"
 
Cannes said:
As an alternative path for the materialistic empire, I think an idea would be to look at Peter F. Hamilton's commonwealth saga.
the majority of humanity in these stories is highly materialistic, but instead of going full cyborg, they go deep in bio engineering, perfecting humanity on DNA level, making humans immortal and have various tech implants with which to interact with the digital world parallell to the physical.
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Isn't that kind of what the Biomastery Path does?
 
Finally, the galaxy shall fear the combined psionic potential of the Zuhl!
 
...actually, my problem with Psi locked into Spiritualist Ethos is that there is used so many B5 references, and B5 humans are not spiritualists, even if you looks into all that religious remaining. I mean, Minbari are spiritualists, sure, but not humans.
One more problem (gameplay problem I mean) I see - what is the chance with materialistic or fanatic materialistic to have spiritualist faction to change ethic?
Maybe it's better not to lock Psi to everybody but Spiritualists, but made every psionic pop very likely to join spiritualist (psionic) faction, who wants to live in spiritualist empire, so you should find a way to make them happy or turn spirit, and also rise a spiritualist ethic pressure in empire? Then it's not locks a ascension to one ethic, and in the end psionic empires will be spiritual kind of naturally (or somehow else managed to make their happiness). Same for materialists and robots - you can have materialists cyborgs in non-materialist empire, but they tend to join materialistic faction. Not "you must be spiritualist/materialist to do psi/cyborg stuff", but "if you're doing psi/cyborg stuff you became spiritualist/materialist".
 
Tindalosihound said:
The ethic itself doesn't imply that. But the governments it allows certainly do. Divine Mandate (This government is a spiritualistic form of autocracy, where the ruler is treated as a divine symbol. Organized religion is widely employed in support of the state apparatus.) Theocratic Oligarchy (This government is a spiritualistic form of oligarchy, where a divinely guided council made up of clergy controls the state. No division exists between the state and the dominant organized religion.) and Theocratic Republic (This government is a spiritualistic form of democracy, where a religious council supervises the democratic process and serves in an advisory role.) for the basic ones.

So while this doesn't mean that all Spiritualists are religious, all Religiously dominated societies are Spiritualists.
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Lol, well I mean yeah, theocracies would indeed be spiritual. But just because theocracies are spiritual does not mean spiritualists are all theocratic or religious.
 
Heretic Saint said:
Perhaps bio-engineering should be locked behind the Authoritarian Ethos. Just to be fair with these restrictions, and to make the Ethos more distinctive. :p

... come to think of it, that might actually be a good argument. Messing with genetics is something that Egalitarians may be skeptical about as it could split the populace into normal people and folks with biomodded advantages. Meanwhile, an Authoritarian Ethos would be chiefly concerned with improving its military and the bloodline of its leaders, at all costs.

Of course it could be justified for Spirituals and Materialists, too, but that's the same issue as with psionics.

In the long run, I suppose Paradox may try to add unique Ascension mechanics for each Ethos. These are just the first three, and the most obvious ones, and as such a logical first step on a longer road.
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This is the same expansion pack that's giving Authoritarians the new Slavery and Purge options.

And in my experience, Libertarians have no philosophical problem with selling genetic enhancements, they assume that so long as it's not the government enforcing it it's okay.

I wonder if the Collectivist hostility to Leader Enhancement techs and policies will be dropped when the ethos name is changed. Selected Bloodlines sounds like it would fit in perfectly with a caste system.
 
Arkangilos said:
And how exactly does a spiritualist empire change that? Just because it falls under spiritualism doesn't mean there isn't science behind it. Hence the, "Our SCIENTISTS have discovered..."
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Exactly. That's just one more reason why I disagree with the decision to lock it behind the Spiritualist Ethos.

Arkangilos said:
Bad example. One: The Imperium is incredibly spiritualist. Two: Psykers rely on their soul (spirit). Three, they draw from the warp, which has beings of immense power that are worshipped. Four: those without souls literally physically hurt psykers. Five: Faith can act as a literal deterrent to warp based powers. Six: any race that has any presence in the warp is described as having a soul. The list goes on.
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I'd say it's a perfect example for the disconnect between culture and psionic ability. In Warhammer, too, being a psyker is a question of genes -- which is why psykers were around long before the Imperium became spiritual, which in Stellaris would have been impossible. In fact, psykers are so obviously not part of the Imperium's dogma that its religion has to weasel around the issue by marking them an exception from their usual genetic purity cult.

And yes, faith acts as an innate shield against psychic influence, but this goes back to the (not necessarily religious) mental discipline I outlined earlier. It's why I adocated opening up the 1st tier of Psionics to everyone, and keep the 2nd tier exclusive to Spiritualists, as I agree they'd have an edge. But having an edge does not justify this exclusivity.

Arkangilos said:
Which has autonomy, and has several times acted with sovereignty. If anything, the Galactic Republic is more like the UN on steroids. And even though they were spiritualists, they also had scientific explanations.
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The Galactic Republic is a federation, and ever since they'd established their headquarters on Coruscant have been an integrated organization subject to Republic law, in turn receiving support by the Republic government in terms of funding and the legal right to conscript Force-sensitive children.

By the time of the Galactic Triumvirate in 138 ABY, the leading Master of the Jedi Order even held a seat on the unified government, on equal terms with Empress Marasiah Fel as head of state and Admiral Gar Stazi as supreme commander.

Arkangilos said:
Which this game has never implied. Spiritualism in this game is simply the emphasis that your species believes there is something more than the physical. You can make that religious, or you can make it not religious, like the Jedi (who for the most part, don't worship anything) or the Sith (who don't worship anything). They just put more emphasis on yourself and your "spirit".
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And yet there are various factors associated with the Spiritualist Ethos that seem to belie this level of artistic interpretation, such as all Spiritualists disliking robot Pops (explainable only by religious dogma).
 
Heretic Saint said:
Be it Mass Effect biotics, Warhammer psykers, Babylon 5 telepaths, StarCraft Ghosts, Dune's Bene Gesserit, .
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The source of the biotics in Mass Effects the Asari have been historically a very spiritual species, for the longest time believing the Protheans that are responsible for increased element zero on their homeworld were Gods. Warhammer psykers tap energy from the warp, very much a topsie turvy world of the immaterium where pure thought, consciousnesses, and psychic energy reign supreme, time is non-linear and its ruled by literally 4 GODS. I just started watching babylon 5. Protoss has a spiritual society. Bene Gesserit is literally a religious organization, Spice Melange is a psychotropic drug that gives users prophetic powers.

I mean you can be wrong, just don't be this wrong.
 
Xoatl said:
The source of the biotics in Mass Effects the Asari have been historically a very spiritual species, for the longest time believing the Protheans that are responsible for increased element zero on their homeworld were Gods.
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Asari isn't one and only biotics in ME galaxy.
Also no, they wasn't very spiritual in Stellaris sense. They had religion, sure, but they were iconic Fanatic Xenophiles+Egalitarian.
 
Arkangilos said:
Lol, well I mean yeah, theocracies would indeed be spiritual. But just because theocracies are spiritual does not mean spiritualists are all theocratic or religious.
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But should Theocracies have to be spiritual? If they are, then it implies link between the two. (As does the Materialist ethic's opposition to such things) In the same way as Militaristic governments and the Militarist ethic.
Should you be able to claim a Divine Mandate without caring for other universes? Can you not have a Theocratic Republic that includes Synthetic life?

Of course, it may be the case that in the next update religion and spirituality will be less intrinsically linked. Which I admit I'd prefer.
 
Ornlu Wolfjarl said:
"Telepathy has already replaced most verbal communications"

See, this is what I don't like in Stellaris sometimes, that could be massively improved without a whole lot of work: A lot of the descriptions on how your people react force themselves into roleplaying. What if I don't like my people to replace verbal communications with telepathy? What if a portion of my population wanted to do that but others didn't feel comfortable doing it because they fear losing cultural ties to their past? In fact, this sounds very much like what materialists would certainly do. This and other similar things could easily become event chains that add a little more depth to roleplaying, by virtue of giving the player more choices than just reading a piece of text and clicking the "OK" button.

For example: Now everyone's a psionic. What does it mean for privacy? Do we become more collectivized? Do people become more empathetic to others? Do people suddenly start using telepathy for nefarious purposes? Are a lot of people scared and confused? Does this shake society because telepaths were considered saints in our theocracy, and now everyone is either a saint or the previous dogma was false? Why not create a storyline akin to what the Humans went through in Babylon 5? Give me the chance to create a story out of what is supposed to be a big event. And don't turn it into something that always happens like a lot of other events. Make 2-3 scenarios and have 1 appear at random.
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There should a portion of your POPs who refuse and cause trouble when you go down the 2nd stage of ascension for any of these. Maybe based on ethos.

aono said:
Asari isn't one and only biotics in ME galaxy.
Also no, they wasn't very spiritual in Stellaris sense. They had religion, sure, but they were iconic Fanatic Xenophiles+Egalitarian.
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Unless I'm mistaken Asari were the first FTL species and were spiritualists on their planet for the longest time. They evolved on a planet heavily filled with the substance that gives them biotic powers by the Protheans which they considered Gods and built temples to them all around their planet. But yes, they went through ethos drift like the Vulcans in Star Trek did.
 
Soooo:

Utopia: The Shroud for the spirituals, the AI consciousness for the materialists, the biological evolution for everyone else
Next expansion: Federation victory for the pacifists and egalitarians, trans-galactic migration for the xenophiles?
Next next expansion: Halo-esque doomsday device that purges every species in the universe except from your race for the xenophobes and totalitarians, improved combat for the militarists?

In any case, I am in love with how much flavourful the game is becoming. I love how the psyconic path is only open for spiritualists, how it depends now on unity and psiconic traditions rather than tech, and how the shroud has lots of para-normal identities inside. I am not too sold on the decisions showed so far (too binary for my tastes), but knowing that we will be able to step into this realm many times does indeed excite me!

Now, bring on the reeducation camps and the hive-minds!
 
Tindalosihound said:
But should Theocracies have to be spiritual? If they are, then it implies link between the two. (As does the Materialist ethic's opposition to such things) In the same way as Militaristic governments and the Militarist ethic.
Should you be able to claim a Divine Mandate without caring for other universes? Can you not have a Theocratic Republic that includes Synthetic life?

Of course, it may be the case that in the next update religion and spirituality will be less intrinsically linked. Which I admit I'd prefer.
Click to expand...

Without a fleshed out religion system we are dealing with a lot of abstractions. However, it's a pretty common trope that robots can't into psionics because they lack the whole, you know, soul thing.
 
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