Stellaris

[Steelie]

^^^Live footage....appears they are peaceful as well.

[Martok]

I confess I hadn't even though of the Horta.  But i suddenly know the first species I'm going to create/name once Overlord drops.   

[Martok]

Today's dev diary looks at the AI improvements the Custodians Initiative is bringing to the Cepheus update dropping alongside Overlord next month: 


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/stellaris-dev-diary-252-artificial-and-automated-intelligence.1521980/

I imagine we'll all be glad to see the zillions of individual tiny AI fleets should be going away, however much sense it might have made at the time.  We should also see better overall AI behavior during wars, especially against crisis factions.  I'm looking forward to (hopefully) more logical AI diplomacy behavior as well; I might just try forming Federations again... 

Perhaps most interesting of all, however (at least to me), is the new/improved Planet and Sector automation.  I'm really curious to try it out.  It would be beyond fantstic if it actually works, though I freely admit I'm not optimistic.  (I would be happy to be proven wrong, though.) 



I'm also sad to see Offe leaving the Custodians team, as he did a lot of good work with the AI, plus did a nice job of explaining what he did in layman's terms. Hopefully he's now working on the same project as Moregård...   

[Undercovergeek]

My only problem now with stellaris is the same as I had with elite - I’ve been out for so long I haven’t a clue where to begin!!

[Martok]

My only problem now with stellaris is the same as I had with elite - I’ve been out for so long I haven’t a clue where to begin!!

The beginning is actually not the worst place to start.   

Seriously, though, when I switched from version 2.1 to 3.0 last year, I pretty much had to relearn how to play the game all over again.  Not that I had to unlearn/relearn *everything*, but I did have to spend the time figuring out which parts of my Stellaris knowledge & experience were still relevant, and which parts had to be thrown out.  Such is the nature of this maddening game.   

[Martok]

Me when inviting other empires into my federation, or -- especially -- "inviting" an empire to become my protectorate/vassal... 

(Note:  This particularly applies to empires who have been a thorn in my side, and/or are generally being shits. ) 

[Undercovergeek]

Still loving the DW2 life but came across matrix’s wish list and bug thread - there’s stuff not working yet that I haven’t even started with

I loved every second I played stellaris but DW2 has taught me what I really love here is the feeling of an entire universe at work - just life getting on with shit

[Undercovergeek]

Me when inviting other empires into my federation, or -- especially -- "inviting" an empire to become my protectorate/vassal... 

(Note:  This particularly applies to empires who have been a thorn in my side, and/or are generally being shits. ) 

😂😂

[Martok]

I personally don't care much for ASpec, but his status in the Stellaris community as its #1 super-fan does mean he's able to get interviews with members of the dev team.  In this video (released yesterday), he sits down with new game director Stephen Murray and talks about Overlord's development, as well as the possible future direction of the game. 

[Undercovergeek]

right................

im £156 out of date on the DLC - i imagine i can do without ipad lore packs and the soundtrack - but would you recommend everything else Martok?

[Martok]

For those who like to play Hive Minds, this is probably the Origin for you!  (Looks pretty powerful...) 

The devs also gave us our first playthrough of Overlord: 


https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1473088860

[Martok]

right................

im £156 out of date on the DLC - i imagine i can do without ipad lore packs and the soundtrack - but would you recommend everything else Martok?

Not sure what you mean by the "iipad lore packs", but the short answer is yes. 


Of course, some DLC's have more value than others.  This is probably how I would rank them currently: 

S.) Utopia

A.) Distant Stars, Apocalypse, Leviathans

B.) Ancient Relics, Federations, Synthetic Dawn

C.) MegaCorp, Nemesis, Aquatics, Humanoids

D.) Lithoids, Necroids, Plantoids



I don't remember which DLC's you already own, 'geek, but I would at least try and grab those on B-tier and higher (preferably on sale, of course ).  The rest are also worth getting, but *only* at sale price IMHO.  (The species packs in particular are more a matter of personal taste/opinion.) 

[Undercovergeek]

Excellent - piggy bank shaking time

I’ve got utopia, leviathans, and synthetic dawn

All of S, A and B is £44 - it may well be upgrade time

[Martok]

This week's dev diary consists of the patch notes for the 3.4 "Cepheus" update: 


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/stellaris-dev-diary-253-three-in-one-3-4-cepheus-patch-notes-and-more.1523352/







Features list for Overlord: 

Selected excerpts from the patch notes that particularly caught my eye... 

Additional trade deal options between subjects and Overlords have been added.

Subjugation casus belli is now automatically granted towards inferior empires.

Defense Platforms now have increased range, fire rate, tracking, and hull points, and are faster to build.

dded a nanites deposit to the Scavenger Bot system so you can use the reward you get for killing it.

The outliner will now tell you about blockers you can remove if you are approaching the planet's carrying capacity and therefore suffering growth penalties.

Automatic scripted handling of resource output, trade and amenity bonuses and penalties from traits, i.e. pops with the better traits for the job will more reliably take the job.

Removed the requirement to have an upgraded capital building in order to build research labs or rare resource manufacturing buildings.

All of the above changes made me do the Happy Dance, but none more so than that last one.  It should go a long way towards making new colonies more useful.   

[Martok]

Incidentally, I did sit down and watched/listened to ASpec's entire interview with Muray (as opposed to just skipping around and catching bits & pieces).  It was a good talk, with Stephen discussing both the current state of the game, as well as a a few things he might like do with Stellaris in the future (of course he was careful to not make any promises!). 

I think perhaps the most important takeaway, however, is that he appears to be aiming to be a similar type of game director as Moregard -- that is, one who keeps the game on a steady, more evolutionary path, rather than reinventing it every six months just because he can.  At one point during the interview, Muray makes a comment that falls just short of throwing shade at Martin Anward, but it's still pretty clear he's not wild about making huge changes to a game unless it's genuinely warranted.  Thank goodness. 

Excellent - piggy bank shaking time

I’ve got utopia, leviathans, and synthetic dawn

All of S, A and B is £44 - it may well be upgrade time

Enjoy, buddy.