What features are you most looking forward to a DD on?

[FieldMarshalFacile]

As the threat title says, what feature's would you kill for a developer diary on? And how do you think/hope those systems will go?

For me, some of what I am looking forward to:

- The ship designer. I haven't really played a 4x game since GalCiv 2 so I'd be interested to see Paradox's take on the feature. Especially since different species types are supposed to have different aesthetic feels to them (from an earlier DD).

- Speaking of the different species types. The genetic traits of your starting species and the background events when you create your Empire are something I'm excited about. On the background's especially it would be cool to have a system like 1) Choose a species type 2) Choose a planet 3) Choose a government type with each of these providing a series of background options. Something like 5 or 6 choices that impact starting technology or something.

- Like everyone else I'd love to get more details on the pop system.

 

[ParagonExile]

I'd sacrifice my firstborn to have a DD devoted to the tooltips.

OH GOD

SO MANY UNKNOWN TOOLTIPS I NEED TO READ A THOUSAND TIMES

Also terraforming :3

 

[valergain]

I bet quite a few people are eagerly awaiting the DD on pops. Me I am excited for DD's about internal politics.

 

[FieldMarshalFacile]

Also terraforming :3

What would you like the terraforming system to look like? Personally, while I've seen the button in the screenshot I would prefer for terroforming to only come about in the very late game if at all. Makes competition for inhabitable planets that much more intense.

Me I am excited for DD's about internal politics.

The governors/breakaway sectors/factions thing has seemed pretty cool so far. Almost like an inclusion of the faction/rebellion system in Crusader Kings in space. What other things are you hoping for as far as internal politics? I haven't played enough Vic2 to understand what I'd like included from it's reform system into Stellaris yet.

 

[ParagonExile]

What would you like the terraforming system to look like? Personally, while I've seen the button in the screenshot I would prefer for terroforming to only come about in the very late game if at all. Makes competition for inhabitable planets that much more intense..

I'd like it to be incremental and "staggered".

Clicking the button begins a long, involved and expensive process of transforming the surface to your ideal conditions (i.e. Humanoids get a terran planet, Molluscoids get an oceanic planet etc). At first only planets already marginally livable would be able to be transformed (at the expense of the life already there), then later barren planets like Mars or the Moon. Later still hostile planets like Venus would be viable. I'd prefer gas giants be unalterable.

I'd also hope that terraforming is restricted to planets at a reasonable distance from the star, so no earthlike planets past the frost line, and no tundra worlds orbiting at 0.1 AU and so on.

Realistic in the sense that it would be expensive, time consuming and limited at the start, but much more fantastic in that very dangerous places could be altered. I'd also hate for there to be too many livable planets at the end of the game.

 

[ForeDaMole]

Terraforming - I freaking love terraforming in science fiction. Something about taming an inhospitable world really calls to me. I especially want to hear if it's just "here's a tundra planet, here's a terran planet, here's a desert planet" or they'll put the effort in and make each planet more detailed (and therefore more editable!).

Ship-building - I'd like to be able to design ships for all different purposes, especially if that purpose is to counter a technology an enemy has that I don't.

Different Species - I would really want to see more about this. It's very obvious we've only seen about a third of it (the ethics system), so getting a good look at the backgrounds and genetics of the races would be very eye-opening.

 

[CptWilly]

This sort of bridges both POPs and Internal Politics, both of which are great topics, but I'd be very interested and (depending on how robust the system is) possibly very excited for a DD on how elections work for those government types that conduct them. Playing politics with a democratic system is still one of my favorite things about Vicky.

 

[robbiow]

I'm very interested in the economy / finance / trade models and functionality. And interfaces. I love all the political / diplomatic / science / military stuff too, but the game economy really adds to the 'immersion' in my view.

In CK2, the actual information managed in the game is great, but naturally has to fit limitations of the historical period. Natural economic evolution in Vicky 2 which i really enjoyed.

Stellaris is the *future* , so theoretically there'll be an higher level of intelligent yet friendly information on this stuff. It has to work on a number of levels I think -
- financing 'government' across the empire, and making the overall economy work
- taxes... so many possibilities
- balance of trade, freedom/tarriffs, and agreements with other empires - has many possible interactions with rest of game
- investment, borrowings, central banks, money policy and supply??
- cross-section by system or planet?
- maybe even economic sectors - resources, agriculture, transport, production, social etc (think Vicky 2)
- corruption, smuggling, piracy, tax fraud, political contributions - lots of events but also "built into" a comprehensive economic system

Investing and managing that stuff well should matter a lot in this kind of game. "Complex but elegant" is hopefully how we all describe it.

 

[Kuschelflummi]

Spice! Need a DD on Spice! The Spice must flow!

 

[Super-Soviet]

Final dev diary before release.

 

[Wenla]

Trade.

 

[RebelScum88]

I would actually like to see a DD about diplomacy, how is it changed from earlier games. can we divide contested planets? Is there a Cold War type mechanic where another power and I compete with each other? Is there a Great Power list? Who can join my federation and why? Can only democratic states form federations? How will Casus Belli work?
Additionally, the most important DD of all... will Mirror Spock be playable?

 

[FieldMarshalFacile]

I'm very interested in the economy / finance / trade models and functionality. And interfaces. I love all the political / diplomatic / science / military stuff too, but the game economy really adds to the 'immersion' in my view.

In CK2, the actual information managed in the game is great, but naturally has to fit limitations of the historical period. Natural economic evolution in Vicky 2 which i really enjoyed.

Stellaris is the *future* , so theoretically there'll be an higher level of intelligent yet friendly information on this stuff. It has to work on a number of levels I think -
- financing 'government' across the empire, and making the overall economy work
- taxes... so many possibilities
- balance of trade, freedom/tarriffs, and agreements with other empires - has many possible interactions with rest of game
- investment, borrowings, central banks, money policy and supply??
- cross-section by system or planet?
- maybe even economic sectors - resources, agriculture, transport, production, social etc (think Vicky 2)
- corruption, smuggling, piracy, tax fraud, political contributions - lots of events but also "built into" a comprehensive economic system

Investing and managing that stuff well should matter a lot in this kind of game. "Complex but elegant" is hopefully how we all describe it.

Are you worried about creating a system that is too complicated and will turn off players? I know there is a lot of love for Vic2 among Paradox's most hardcore fan base, but among the more general gamer population the complexity of the economic system is offputting. I've sunk hundreds of hours into CKII and EU4 and I still cannot make heads or tales of the economy in Vic2 after 40ish hours of gameplay. I'd ideally like for systems dealing with things like government financing, trade, investment, monetary policy, etc. but I want them to be intuitive and add to the core game, rather than be the core game.

 

[robbiow]

Are you worried about creating a system that is too complicated and will turn off players?

It is a concern, and I agree Vicky 2 is just a bit too complicated, but this is possibly more a design issue. I think we all want something "pleasingly ingenious and simple" (part of the definition of 'elegant').

I don't think the finance/economy are the core game for everyone, but they definitely present a continuum of core challenges, that left unsolved, diminish success in all possible core strategic goals. For me, the core game is the whole empire: scientific excellence, exhaustive exploration, political stability, military autonomy, diplomatic influence, and... economic sustainability. (For me, none of these necessitate "squashing" someone else).

The economics are key to mechanics of the grand strategy game... Got a huge military budget? Or, did you overproduce a bunch of stuff? Borrowed a lot money to build those space stations? Completely strip that asteroid belt of resources?
How does that impact trade, GDP, tax rates, and .... corruption in government?

 

[aitaituo]

I want to read the complete list of ethics and effects.

 

[Krajzen]

I want to read the complete list of ethics and effects.

Yeah.

I'd love to see a DD fully devoted to ethics, governments and genetic traits.

 

[Draculdraconis]

Ground Combat and Governing Opions