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Author Topic: Stellaris  (Read 100393 times)

Martok

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Reply #405 on: September 17, 2021, 08:02:28 PM
It wouldn't surprise me.  It sounds like there's a couple different exploits with the new Clone Army origin that need to be addressed. 



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Martok

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Reply #406 on: September 24, 2021, 12:33:53 AM
Today's dev diary is mainly about the patch notes for the 3.1.2 hotfix. 


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/stellaris-dev-diary-225-3-1-2-lem-patch-update.1492090/

Quote

#################################################################
######################### VERSION 3.1.2 ###########################​
#################################################################

######################
# Performance and Stability​
######################

* Fixed a crash where releasing a vassal as a Clone Army could cause an invalid species.

######################
# Bugfixes​
######################

* Fixed the Clone Army origin tooltip not having a matching ship upkeep reduction with their admirals. Also changed the bonus to scale in a cleaner way, the upkeep is now 5/10/20% based on the Army's decisions.
* The Genetic Crossroads special project will now abort if a species completes Synthetic Evolution before finishing it.
* Fixed habitability of planets that clone armies have abandoned through lack of clone vats being locked at 0% for them.
* Ancient Clone Vats can now only assemble Clone Soldier pops.
* Going into a food deficit when using the Catalytic Processing civic will now give a -50% production penalty to alloy production. This penalty is in line with the penalty non-catalytic empires suffer from a mineral deficit
* Fixed players being able to move their Science Ship to blow up systems using the “Elder One” event.
* Fixed exploit where AI acceptance from Eminent Diplomats tradition also applied to trade deals.

######################
# Known Issues​
######################

* The penalty to alloy production from a food deficit in catalytic empires is not shown in the deficit tooltip.
* Mastercraft Inc. Civic does not change Artisans into Artificers on an Ecumenopolis.
* Some inconsistencies in the number of jobs exchanged by Foundry Station designation for empires with the Catalytic processing civic.
* It’s possible for the Nivlac species to be created without the Radiotrophic trait in certain instances.
* Party Aftermath event can create crossbreed species between caravaneers and an infertile clone pop.
* Shattered Ring World can turn into a planet due to takeover or devastation.
* Mechanical pops with a Decadent Lifestyle have no pop upkeep.
* Awakened Empires don't use traditions properly.
* Machine empires can spawn with the necrophage origin





(That last one is my absolute favorite.  I can't decide whether it's terrifying or hilarious. :applause:

The patch addresses some, but certainly not all, of the major bugs & exploits found in the Lem update:  The Clone Army origin should now be working as intended (more or less), and the Catalytic Processing civic has received some fixes/balances, although the devs concede the latter are more stopgap measures than true long-term fixes.  More permanent solutions to addressing the Catalytic Processing civic will apparently need to be looked at in a future update. 



Incidentally, the devs did mention last week that another update (albeit smaller and more modest than Lem) is still planned to be released before year's end.  (I forgot to include that bit in the DIscord Q&A material.)  I still won't fully believe it until I see it, but it sounds like the Custodians team really are committing to releasing smaller, but more frequent updates going forward.  Fingers crossed... 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

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BanzaiCat

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Reply #407 on: September 24, 2021, 10:11:29 AM
On a whim, I reinstalled this yesterday and tried it, but then I realized why I uninstalled it. The tutorial is not very good, at least, not in my opinion - it gives you instructions but leaves you to explore, which I suppose is okay, but it would have been a lot better if it just locked things into one single progression. As in, first let's show you how to move a ship. Now this is how you explore. Let's colonize that system. Then here's research, building, and so on. It feels more like a regular game that's rather overwhelming since it's fully open to you in the tutorial...though the tutorial in this is just kind of an overlay to the main game.

I just had no idea where to click or what to do or what my priorities were, so I uninstalled it again. It's definitely a pretty sight, though. When I have time I might try some of the tutorial videos.

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Martok

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Reply #408 on: September 24, 2021, 08:01:13 PM
Just about all Paradox games suffer from a lack of a proper tutorial, unfortunately -- which is maddening, given that they all have a rather steep learning curve.  The weak/non-existent tutorials remain a huge weak spot for them. 

It says something when Stellaris is probably their easiest game to get into, believe it or not (although I've heard Crusader Kings 3 is relatively user-friendly).  I think it took something like six months of start-stop attempts before I really began to figure out this game. 


« Last Edit: September 24, 2021, 08:03:30 PM by Martok »

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Martok

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Reply #409 on: October 09, 2021, 04:44:41 AM
Last week's dev diary (#226) talked about a few different things, with perhaps their short- and medium-term plans for the future being the most interesting. 


Currently, the next update (3.2) is planned to be released next month.  This update is anticipated to contain mostly "safe" improvements, with the caveat that it will also include some major enhancements to the AI (more on that below).  AI improvements may not be "sexy", but they'll certainly be welcome. 

Perhaps a bit more interesting is the 3.3 update planned for February:  It sounds like it will include (among other things) the rework to Unity and Empire Sprawl.  The devs are considering an open beta for this, which would probably be a very good idea (given the significance of the systems being changed). 


The devs speculated that in general, they may aim to alternate between releasing "safe" and "spicy" updates, at least when it comes to the Custodians Initiative releasing patches/free content.  (Presumably, this cycle would be interrupted by updates that drop alongside new DLC.)  However they do it, I'm just glad there appears to be a plan in place for not just long-term support, but for addressing old/longstanding issues with the game as well. 


Which leads (more or less) into the next topic... 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

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Martok

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Reply #410 on: October 09, 2021, 04:45:09 AM
Dev Diary #227 - Looking after the AI




The short version is that the 3.2 update coming in November will see some (hopefully) significant improvements to the AI, specifically with regards to how it manages its economy.  It may not be exactly exciting news, but it should go a long way towards allowing AI players to better compete with human players, and for far longer, than they ever have before.  Even the best military AI in a strategy game can only do much, if the empire it's defending cannot afford to build the ships & fleets it needs... 



On a further note, the dev team had this to say regarding AI development going forward: 

Quote


You probably have heard about the Custodian Initiative by now which has been created to keep improving the game on a more regular basis and in order to be quicker when reacting to player feedback. A part of this initiative is also to put some more love and attention to the AI of the game going forward - an AI initiative inside the Custodians, basically.

For this, we have set some goals for ourselves going forward:

    1. Always work on AI-related topics, regardless of what else is going on
    2. Move the AI towards being challenging to players in an entertaining way, rather than be optimized to min-max its way to victory
    3. Move the AI towards being more distinctive, so that not all empires feel strong in the same way
    4. Support future DLCs from the get-go
    5. Constantly make small improvements to the AI
    6. React quicker to player feedback
    7. Occasionally make a push for more significant improvements




I wholeheartedly approve of these goals, even if I'm not sure how practical/realistic they all are (such as points 2 and 3).  However, I also find it a bit mind-boggling this list implies that at least a couple of these (such as points 1, 4, and 5) weren't a priority from the beginning.  (Perhaps that's the difference between having Anward vs. Moregård at the helm of this game...) 

Either way, though, this dev diary appears to bode well for the future.  Fixing/improving the AI is something that Stellaris players have badly wanted for years now; it's nice to see them finally doing something about it. 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Martok

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Reply #411 on: October 14, 2021, 11:06:26 PM
Dev Diary #228 talks about some of the new content being added in the 3.2 update: 


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/stellaris-dev-diary-228-new-content-features-in-3-2.1494598/




First off, we have the "Pompous Purists" civic (think arrogant High Elves ;D ): 

(This one is being added to the Humanoids species pack.  It was originally planned to be included with the 3.1 update, but it wasn't quite ready in time:) 





An improved ship-browser screen is being added to the empire-creation setup: 





The Custodians team has also made a pass through the anomalies -- new ones have been created, and some older ones have been revised/refreshed: 










Honestly, the revisiting of anomalies is probably my favorite bit from this dev diary.  Anomalies & events are probably the single biggest reason Stellaris' exploration phase is as good as it is, so it's great to see them going back and taking another look at them. 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

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Martok

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Reply #412 on: October 18, 2021, 09:37:53 PM
The devs appear to be hinting that an aquatic species pack in the works: 


https://twitter.com/StellarisGame/status/1449012480315957261



I'll be curious to see if Mulluscoids benefit from this DLC, similar to how the Fungoids can now take advantage of the new abilities added in the Plantoids species pack. 



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Martok

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Reply #413 on: October 19, 2021, 02:56:40 PM
Aquatics pack confirmed! 


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1749080/Stellaris_Aquatics_Species_Pack/


EDIT:  Forgot to add, the DLC drops next month alongside the 3.2 update. 







I'm definitely interested.  Looks like they might be able to terraform planets to ocean worlds more quickly/easily as one of their unique mechanics.  Fingers crossed! 


« Last Edit: October 20, 2021, 04:27:12 AM by Martok »

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Steelie

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Reply #414 on: October 19, 2021, 05:01:44 PM
That update has my interest. I've been considering reinstalling Stellaris for some time now but you never know when they are done tinkering. Might be time to "dive in" (with apologies for the groaner. No, not really).

Somewhere, somehow, I woke up in the wrong timeline. I'm pretty sure this isn't even my dimension.


Martok

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Reply #415 on: October 20, 2021, 04:55:38 AM
but you never know when they are done tinkering.

I think the short answer to that is "never".  ;D 

I mean, the devs were already releasing a couple updates a year (on average), usually alongside whatever DLC had just come out.  And now with their Custodians Initiative, the rate of major updates/patches is probably going to increase to at least four times a year. 

...Which is a great thing overall.  But yes, it can get to be a bit much with trying to keep up with all of it.  You're essentially forced to either start a new game whenever an update drops, OR roll back to the previous version until you've finished your current game (and miss out on all the cool stuff added in the latest update).  It's undeniably a pretty little conundrum. 



Might be time to "dive in" (with apologies for the groaner. No, not really).

I would say now's as good a time to check it out again, yes.  Stellaris is in reasonably decent shape at this point.  (I mean, hell, it was good enough to get me to finally update from playing v2.1 the previous two years -- and y'all know how much I bitched about iterations 2.2-2.8.)  Granted, there's still a *ton* of things that could -- and should -- be fixed, improved, or otherwise addressed, but the 3.0 and 3.1 updates have made the game the most fun it's been to play in quite some time. 

(Of course, I could play devil's advocate and argue why you may want to wait until the 3.2 or even 3.3 update, but I can feel the melatonin starting to kick in. :P



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Martok

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Reply #416 on: October 21, 2021, 03:25:29 AM
Apparently Paradox mistakenly included all the features of the Aquatics DLC when they first made the announcement on Tuesday.  Some helpful soul took a screenshot of the features before the product page was edited (see below). 

I believe the dev diary coming out later today is going to discuss the species pack in more detail, so I'm momentarily holding off on talking about the features listed in the screenshot until after I've read the dev diary.  It looks pretty cool, though; this could be the most interesting species pack they've done yet (granted, that's not necessarily saying much). 


« Last Edit: October 21, 2021, 03:34:23 AM by Martok »

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Bison

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Reply #417 on: October 21, 2021, 05:11:27 AM
I really should play Stellaris again as much as I enjoyed my last campaign.



bbmike

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Reply #418 on: October 21, 2021, 08:13:33 AM
Apparently Paradox mistakenly included all the features of the Aquatics DLC when they first made the announcement on Tuesday.  Some helpful soul took a screenshot of the features before the product page was edited (see below). 

I believe the dev diary coming out later today is going to discuss the species pack in more detail, so I'm momentarily holding off on talking about the features listed in the screenshot until after I've read the dev diary.  It looks pretty cool, though; this could be the most interesting species pack they've done yet (granted, that's not necessarily saying much).

'Mistakenly'.  :hehe:

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Martok

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Reply #419 on: October 22, 2021, 06:01:57 AM
As expected, this week's dev diary looks at the features in the upcoming Aquatics pack: 


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/stellaris-dev-diary-229-aquatics-species-pack.1495333/


Quote

The Aquatic Species Pack will include:

    15 new Aquatic Portraits
    1 aquatic-themed Robotic Portrait
    Water themed Ship Set
    Here Be Dragons Origin
    Ocean Paradise Origin
    Anglers Civic
    Hydrocentric Ascension Perk
    Aquatic Species Trait
    Aquatic Advisor, inspired by high seas adventure fiction
    4 Aquatic Name Lists






To start off with the obvious, the Aquatic race trait costs 0 points, and only requires that you start the game with an Ocean world.  The trait bestows some nice bonuses for when living on Ocean planets, but at the cost of higher penalties for living on cold & dry planets. 





The Anglers Civic looks kinda cool, if not necessarily earth-shattering.  Of note is that this civic will also be available to empires with the Corporate authority. 





(I'm excited about this one... :D )  Aquatics is the first species pack to include an Ascension Perk.  If you take this ascension perk, your Aquatic trait bonuses for living on Ocean planets are significantly increased...as are the penalties for living on cold/dry planets.  You'll also gain access to the "Deluge" Colossus, if/when you take the Colossus Project ascension perk. 





The Hydrocentric ascension perk also enables you to construct the Ice Mining Station on your Starbases, which...helps you do things.  To be honest, I find this one a bit off (for a couple reasons), but hey, it improves your Ocean worlds, so sure. 





The "Ocean Paradise" Origin essentially boosts your homeworld up to eleven.  I imagine that using this in conjunction with both the Aquatic trait and the Hydrocentric ascension perk can make for a nice bit of synergy. 





The "Here Be Dragons" Origin is...  Well, how would you like your home system to be guarded by a sometimes-demanding Leviathan?  >:D 







"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike