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

[Swarm lover]

Binding yourself forever to a giant ravenous space pet also doesn't feel like "ultimate power"

And the original crisis, nemesis, is all about listening to silly voices from the shroud and spreading death and destruction in their name to learn more and more secrets until you can join them

Voices that are in opposition to the end of the cycle, since it will offer its powers to their enemies

Well we dont know exactly how the behemoth crisis works, for all we know it could be an immensely growing bioship that can devour entire planets or something. I see that as a form of ultimate power especially if its completely obedient. (Think xeno titan from beyond earth, that thing is a monster but has zero will of its own and obeys whatever instructions it is given.)

 

[Swarm lover]

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.

I always felt they should make the "unaligned" chosen one your ticket to a "free" shroud playstyle where you try to carve out your own piece of the shroud. but yeah i agree adding different "sources" of psionics is a bad idea.

 

[Swarm lover]

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.

I would take inspiration from the machine one, one path is the mind over matter kind of thing, one is all about ascending to being only thought or energy, the third one im not sure mind control maybe?

 

[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.

I do fully agree that galactic nemesis needs a rework especially in its identity. Its the "shroud crisis" but you just go around killing things, your ships and special megastructure are just previously used assets that dont fit it at all. Would rather they give it all a brand new coat of paint in terms of looks but also how it works (as in how you collect menace points).

Also i really dont see how the end of cycle can be the crisis path as all crisis path currently need an ascension perk that can be access by "everyone" like as a hive mind im not locked out of cosmogenesis or galactic nemesis so there would have to be a way for machines and such to communicate with the end of the cycle. On top of that it would feel odd how you pick an ascension perk and all of a sudden you get contacted by the end of the cycle and you automatically sign a contract with it, like really wouldnt fit in my opinion. Could be its own thing but doesnt have the making of a crisis path in my opinion.

 

[cryptkeeper]

With all the focus on ascensions.
Are there any plans to improve the machine ascensions and bring them to a similar standard as the rest.

They feel kind of dull in comparison att the moment.
Nanites dont even have leader trait.
(And yes, i am still pissed that synths gott all the modularity traits without giving anything in return).

Not trying to sound spoiled or anything.
I appreciates the hard work the devs do, and the direction the game is currently taking.

I am sure virtual is getting a update in 4.0, But I think modular is good where it's at. However nanite is so unfinished feeling, no pop trait, no leader traits, no bigger nanite ships, nanotech planets are not that useful.

You really should feel like a mini crisis as a nanite, it be awesome to see some sort of starbase module that creates a swarm of nanites through the system as a defense. It should have a pop trait that makes your people into nanite beings. Nanite worlds should be resource extraction worlds, should focus on pulling as much basic resources from the planet so energy and minerals, eventually cracking the world and making it a major mineral or energy extraction point for habitats.

Nanite pop trait should be 100% minimum habitability on all worlds, and at least a 10% worker bonus.

 

[Swarm lover]

I just remembered something so SPOILERS for those that havent beaten the prethoryn and got a queen as a psionic empire.

Spoiler: Potential Little detail concerning the new crisis and prethoryn

But after you beat the prethoryn you get a flavor message where the galaxy where the prethoryn came from "vanished" they specify either all stars went out or something gargantuan is blocking the view. What if the behemoth crisis path is that, a giant living space ship that eats galaxies.

 

[Azar]

- That one-eyed beholder looks like a psionic pethoryn, just saying. A psionic hivemind, perhaps?

I honestly thought it was new portrait for the Prethoryn Queen, not something related to the Shroud.

 

[Swarm lover]

I honestly thought it was new portrait for the Prethoryn Queen, not something related to the Shroud.

Eh i prefer the old portait more organic, but looks too eldritch to me. Honestly could be wrong as when it opens its eye it looks like the eye of the overmind from starcraft 2

 

[MadCow94]

Looks exciting but no new bio portraits?

I want my all tomorrows horrors! Give me a portrait of a living wall! Give me creatures turned inside out!

There are a set of MOAR MAMMALS releasing with 4.0

 

[Calvax]

I just remembered something so SPOILERS for those that havent beaten the prethoryn and got a queen as a psionic empire.

Spoiler: Potential Little detail concerning the new crisis and prethoryn

But after you beat the prethoryn you get a flavor message where the galaxy where the prethoryn came from "vanished" they specify either all stars went out or something gargantuan is blocking the view. What if the behemoth crisis path is that, a giant living space ship that eats galaxies.

I think that’s unlikely. The devs have said that nothing they write could be as interesting as the mystery and that 100% makes sense.

Having it ambiguous means we can imagine several answers. Perhaps it’s another swarm that hunts its own, perhaps it’s an hostile entity of even greater power, perhaps it’s an intergalactic coalition formed by the survivors of scourge incursions.

 

[Ajacoba]

Yeah, the Hunters will never be added, nor should they

 

[homenkovs]

All this fun discussion of DLC features is, of course, good. But we shouldn't forget about 4.0. At the moment, the beta is in such a bad and broken state that the release on May 5th seems like a terrible flaw. The economy doesn't work, a lot of mechanics are broken and each new iteration looks like a drop in the ocean of problems. Also, origins, civil models and everything else related to the economy and the new model of planet management / development are not interpreted.

I'm not even talking about balancing this darkness of content in the new system. But that's half the trouble, comrades. This part of the work will be finished someday. It seems to me that the problem is in the new concept of planet management from 4.0.

So far, the following trend is emerging from the beta's curve. Due to the peculiarities of the new system with zones and districts, the planets turn out to be very, very similar to each other. Full specialization of planets is difficult, if not made impossible. For example, when you need one position in large quantities, and you can only get it together with the same number of positions that you don't need here and now.

Exaggerating, ordinary planets will differ very little from each other. Well, the new system of zones and districts in the current iteration does not look better than the current one. You have less control and regulation.

 

[Ajacoba]

If every planet is a weird Frankenstein abomination of different parts wouldn't that be more diverse than the previous meta of "if you have more than one job type per planet you're playing the game wrong and wasting modifiers"?

I rather have a system where no two planets are the same than one where I build the exact same line ups every time

 

[Wenla]

Looks good.

 

[Masked Ermine]

If every planet is a weird Frankenstein abomination of different parts wouldn't that be more diverse than the previous meta of "if you have more than one job type per planet you're playing the game wrong and wasting modifiers"?

I rather have a system where no two planets are the same than one where I build the exact same line ups every time

From what I understand of the Beta threads the problem is you're just mass producing the same Frankenstein, rather than having a fleet of divergent Frankensteins. IE your 'alloy worlds' are very nearly identical in look and feel as your 'Mineral worlds' or your 'Agri worlds' or your 'Factory' or 'Energy' Worlds. This on top of the fact that Energy is now...basically Food since Trade has taken over the use of Energy as the resource of market transition.

IE you're better off just making every colony the same since they're designation and planning will by writ of the zones/districts have to be the same since you're disallowed not building anything different more or less.

 

[Ajacoba]

But your basic resource worlds would obviously differ from your city worlds with the heavy infrastructure?

 

[Masked Ermine]

But your basic resource worlds would obviously differ from your city worlds with the heavy infrastructure?

Only slightly it seems, basically colonies have the same initial build up, which I presume are then difficult to spec out of, or are so basally necessary that you can't. IE you end up building the same districts and zones on all your worlds because if you don't the whole thing collapses on itself.

 

[odinthegreat]

Personally, I am really excited for the Psionics expansion. Communist space witches is my favorite playstyle and I hope we can get some cool flavor in the new shroud UI and mechanics

I know you devs are reading this, so please consider a massive diplomacy rework for the next DLC! Right now, diplomacy feels too gamey—empires don’t behave like they have real goals or desires beyond scripted rivalries or ‘ally/vassalize/destroy’ binaries.

The trust mechanic and empire personalities were great steps forward, but I’d love to see:

• Dynamic, narrative-driven diplomacy (e.g., empires shifting priorities based on crises, internal factions, or galactic events).
• Non-transactional relationships (e.g., ‘frenemy’ pacts where cooperation and tension coexist, not just +100 or -100 relations).
• More ways to interact beyond ‘send envoy’ (e.g., espionage-driven diplomacy, proxy wars, or ideological ‘soft power’ struggles).

Right now, diplomacy often feels like a means to an end (vassal swarms, federation snowballs) rather than a story generator. With how much Stellaris has improved in storytelling, I’d love to see that same depth applied to how empires talk, not just fight."

 

[mreading247]

MEAT SHIP

Your signature makes this particularly funny.

 

[Ch4rybde]

Your signature makes this particularly funny.

cout >> WHAT IS <FUNNY> ?
cout >> WE ARE JUST <HAPPY> TO HAVE *MEAT SHIP* TO <BURN> THEM !!

I had ABSOLUTLY NOT forgotten about my signature by the way.