Stellaris

[Martok]

Dev Diary #245 gives players their first look at the upcoming "Situations" system: 


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/stellaris-dev-diary-245-we-have-a-situation.1514701/




Still not sure what to make of this yet.  It *sounds* good in theory, but all we're really seeing right now is a framework.  Until the system is actually implemented, I think it's going to be difficult judge how Situations will impact the game (for good or ill). 

Hints were also dropped that Stephen is working on something big, and that he'll share it in next week's dev diary.  I can only presume it's whatever the next DLC is going to be(?)... 

[Barthheart]

I'm really digging the latest patch. The Unity re-work is really good.

[Martok]

Patch 3.3.3 has dropped: 

Spoiler: ShowHide

Balance

    - Planetary Ascension Tier costs have been adjusted. The effect the number of Ascensions has on the cost has been dramatically reduced, but the effect Empire Size has on the costs has been increased.
    - Colonists now only produce 3 amenities to be more in line with other amenity producing jobs. Reassembled Ship Shelter produces 7 to make up for it.
    - Embracing a Faction now costs Unity rather than Influence.
        ** Promoting and Suppressing Factions intentionally remains free, other than causing the factions distress.
    - Edicts no longer increase empire size from systems or pops.
    - Sacrificial edicts now increase the unity output of death priests by +3 Unity while the edict is in effect.
    - Galactic Memorial now provides 3 Unity per Ascension Perk instead of 2.


Bugfix

    - Fixed starbase modifiers not updating when ruler dies, picking ascension perk and researching new technologies.
    - Fixed an issue where edicts would get disabled if the player had a deficit of any resource.
    - Fixed timed edicts expiring one day after being enabled.
    - Death Chroniclers and Chronicle Drones now correctly provide both Amenities and Stability.


AI

    - Fixed an issue where AI empires would not upgrade their mineral purification plant building.
    - Fixed an issue where AI would get stuck in a loop building and destroying the food processing plant for void dweller empires.
    - Fixed an issue where AI empires would put too many planets on the factory world designation.

An addendum from the devs: 

We are currently investigating reports that some users are experiencing issues with certain setups when running on 3.3.3. We have enabled a 3.3.2 rollback branch for those of you experiencing stuttering and performance issues after the latest hotfix.

To roll back (on Steam) right click Stellaris, Properties, Betas tab and choose "3.3.2 Libra Rollback" from the drop-down.

I'm really digging the latest patch. The Unity re-work is really good.

Agreed.  It appears to have had positive effects for the game across the board. 

[Martok]

As predicted, today's dev diary discusses Overlord, a new DLC/expansion pack.     


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/stellaris-dev-diary-246-announcing-overlord.1515008/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889490/Stellaris_Overlord/

Major features include: 

1.)  Complete rework to vassalization mechanics, with new options/ways to play as a subject empire. 
2.)  5 new Origins, including 1 for Hive Minds. 
3.)  New Enclaves (3 of them, I think?). 
4.)  3 new Megastructures, at least 1 of which is hinted at being especially powerful. 



I'm trying to not get too worked up for this one (especially with so little hard info released thus far), but I'll admit it's difficult to not be at least a little excited.  Overlord looks like it could be the most interesting DLC since at least Federations. 

EDIT:  Forgot to add...  The one aspect that disappoints me is that the DLC appears to do nothing to address internal politics or faction mechanics -- something that has long been requested by the community (as in, pretty much since Stellaris first released). 

[Martok]

On a more minor note, the also released a small patch (v3.3.4) as a hotfix for the previous update: 


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/dev-team-3-3-4-hotfix-released-checksum-67b9.1515900/

    Fix to address performance impact on mid- to late-game saves.


Known issue

    Under certain circumstances Starbase modifiers may not immediately update, such as after the death of a ruler or activating edicts like Fortify the Border. Saving and loading or queuing a starbase module will refresh and correct the modifiers.

[Martok]

Wow!  Dev Diary #247 is substantial, and has me even more stoked for the 3.4 update and Overlord DLC than before. 

Today's dev diary also comes in video format, for those who prefer that to reading/scrolling down down the page: 

There's lot of good stuff to chew on here.  In general, though, the concept of negotiating "contracts" with your vassals/overlord -- and the versatility it offers -- seems pretty damn cool.  Also, being able to build "holdings" on your vassals' planets -- what's not to love?   


Finally, I can't wait to find out about Specialist Empires next week!  Check out those new vassal types in the attached screenshot...   

[Martok]

Dev Diary #248 takes a more in-depth look at the Prospectorium, one of the new Specialist empires/vassals coming in Overlords, along with a further look at Holdings: 


https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/stellaris-dev-diary-248-special-prospects.1517982/

This bit gives a brief overview/description of each Specialist empire type, along with the key to how they play: 

We are introducing three Specialist Empire types in Overlord.

    The Bulwark: A bastion of defense that leaves basic resource acquisition to others.
    The Prospectorium: Excels at resource acquisition but has weaker research.
    The Scholarium: Specializes in research but relies on their allies for military support.

Similar to how Federations advance or degrade based on Cohesion, Specialist Empires improve based on loyalty, gaining additional perks and strengthening their bonuses and penalties as they level up through three tiers.

In other words, it appears Specialist vassals operate on a sort of rock-paper-scissors model, with each type improving their abilities as they "level up" via improving loyalty.  I imagine it's supposed to work best for an overlord to maintain a "balance" of vassal types; I'm curious to see if that's how it'll actually work out in reality.   




The dive into the Prospectorium is pretty damn cool.  A lot of perks await this vassal type, even if they must suffer a research penalty as a result.  I suspect the trade-off(s) could be worth it, however... 










In the dev team's further reveal of Holdings, they mention that any of those that provide benefits for the overlord are like Criminal jobs, in they cannot be de-prioritized by the vassal.  So you don't need to worry that constructing that slave facility on Anteres V will get shut down by the local government.   

In  addition, we get a look at some of the Holdings for Necroids, Machine Empires, and...others. 


A couple of the "normal" ones:   




Necroids:




Rogue Servitor: 




Lithoid with the "Calamitous Birth" origin (I would *not* want this one on my planet!): 






Speaking of Origins, they also revealed that the five included in the Overlord DLC are Imperial Fiefdom​, Teachers of the Shroud​, Slingshot to the Stars​,
Subterranean​, and Progenitor Hive​.  Sounds like each one will get a detailed preview from various content creators (one each week), with them also being summarized in that week's respective dev diary.  I'm especially interested in the "Slingshot to the Stars origin, though I'm intrigued by Subterranean as well. 

[Martok]

One (other) thought I meant to add... 


The more of Overlord that gets revealed, the more I suspect/realize that Murray and the dev team are working to address the mid-game, which I feel is still where Stellaris is weakest.  Apocalypse, Federations, and (to a lesser extent) Nemesis have all attempted to address the problem, with varying results.  Given those outcomes, I don't want to hope too much with Overlord, but I'm glad they're at least still willing to plug away at it. 

[Martok]

A bit of a closer look at the "Imperial Fiefdom" origin: 

In essence, choosing this origin puts you in the position of a vassal of a more advanced empire.  More specifically, you play as one of the new Specialist empires, where you choose the specialty (Bulwark, Prospectorium, or Scholarium), and your overlord then subsidizes you accordingly.  One of your (probable) eventual end-goals is to gain independence from your overlord. 

I'll be curious to see how often this origin gets used, as I have a hard time imagining a lot of folks voluntarily starting the game as a vassal.  (Granted, the "Scion" origin technically counts as this already, albeit in a different flavor.)  Could be an interesting origin for someone who wants to focus on a particularly play-style, whilst receiving subsidies/protection from a more powerful empire in the meantime. 

[ojsdad]

Wonder if it will be better to have vassals than sectors with Overlords?

[Martok]

Wonder if it will be better to have vassals than sectors with Overlords?

The devs have hinted this is indeed one of the things they sort of had in mind with the new vassal features.  Goodness knows it could be a good/interesting way to address the Sector system, which -- while a cool feature in concept -- remains abysmal in implementation. 

Of course, it would also be nice if we could go back to something resembling the old (pre-MegaCorp) sector system.  Unfortunately, I don't know if that will ever happen at this point. 

[Anguille]

Why would anyone want to start as a subject?

[Martok]

Well to quote myself from earlier: 

Could be an interesting origin for someone who wants to focus on a particularly play-style, whilst receiving subsidies/protection from a more powerful empire in the meantime. 

Now I'm not saying that's necessarily a *good* reason, mind you; but some folks would probably find it appealing. 


I mean, it's likely that at least some players will enjoy the challenge of starting out as a vassal of someone else.  And if you're going to do that, why not then have the ability to at least select what type of vassal you're going to be, *plus* getting an extra boost from your overlord at the start to boot? 

I'm not claiming that would be for you or myself, no, but I can certainly see the appeal. 

[Anguille]

I do find the concept interesting in Star Dynasties (or Crusader Kings) but the gameplay is already so limited in Stellaris, i can't imagine how this can be fun. Stellaris offers tons of options to play but the problem is that most of them are just terribly boring and limiting (like playing a xenophile pacifist....done once, never again  ).

[Martok]

Setting aside that you and I have very different experiences playing Stellaris, I do wonder if the the Fiefdom origin is intended to be a bit more MP-oriented, as the devs have said that if multiple players choose that origin, they'll all be vassals of the same AI empire...