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Stellaris Dev Diary #229 - Aquatics Species Pack

Hello everyone!

Today we’re back to talk a little bit about the recent news that has no doubt sent ripples throughout the community by now, namely the newly announced Aquatics Species Pack!


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
Remember to w(f)ishlist it on Steam right now!

For many years now, I have been forced to play Stellaris without dolphinoids... but no more! I can proudly say that we’ve made the perhaps greatest additions to Stellaris yet!

Dolphinoids have finally been added to the game, and the future is looking brighter than ever before. Dolphinoids have been used in narrative examples during design meetings for many years, even prior to the release of Stellaris back in 2016, so I am particularly happy to see them finally becoming a reality. I hope you will enjoy playing them as much as I will!

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Tidal Wave of awesomeness.

I’m sure you’re all excited to take a look at the gameplay details, so let’s dive right in!

Anglers Civics
This new Civic will allow you to harvest the bounty of the ocean, by replacing your Farmer jobs with Anglers and Pearl Divers on your Agricultural Districts. The Anglers Civic is also available to empires with a Corporate Authority.

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Under the sea, there’s plenty of shinies to see!

Hydrocentric Ascension Perk
One of our first ideas related to the aquatic theme was to be able to mine ice and bring it back to your Ocean Worlds, to make them larger. The idea originally bounced between being a Civic or an Origin, but we realized it would make much more sense as an Ascension Perk. This is the first time we’re adding an Ascension Perk with a species pack, which in itself is also fun.

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If you live underwater, raising the sea level can be quite useful.

As you could see in the trailer, the Deluge Colossus Weapon can be unleashed to create a watery grave for your enemies! Ice Mining stations will increase mining station output in a system, as well as enable the Expand Planetary Sea decision, which will increase the planet size by 1.

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Aquatic Species Trait
We’re adding a new (zero point cost) Aquatic species trait. It doesn’t require you to have an Aquatic portrait, but it will require your species to start on an Ocean World. We hope that this covers those of you who want more freedom of choice for your species portraits, while still keeping the aquatic theme intact. The trait also gains additional bonuses whenever the Hydrocentric Ascension Perk has been selected.

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From the deep we come!

Ocean Paradise Origin
The ultimate watery start, Ocean Paradise allows you to start on a chonky size 30 planet filled with a plentiful bounty of resources. When combined with the Aquatics Species Trait, and the Hydrocentric Ascension Perk, the Ocean Paradise origin gives significant advantages to starting with an Aquatic species. You will want to keep your friends close, and your anemones closer.

You will also start in a nebula and with ice asteroids in your home system.

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Where there is water, there may be life. Where there is lots of water, there may be lots of life.

Here Be Dragons Origin
Perhaps the most unique Origin yet, Here Be Dragons starts you off in a unique symbiotic relationship with an Ether Drake. Without spoiling too much, the drake will essentially protect you while you keep it happy. The drake is not controlled by you, but can rather be seen as a guardian ally, as long as you keep it happy.

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Hostile neighbors? No problem, ol’ Hrozgar will scare them off (at least from your home system)! This unique ether drake features a unique aquatic-inspired appearance.

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That is it for this week! I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the gameplay features. Next week we’ll submerge ourselves even deeper into the Aquatics Species Pack by taking a look at the art behind the aquatic ships and the unique model for the ether drake.

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Isn’t she a beauty? Come back next week to learn more about the art in the Aquatic Species Pack.
 
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Hi, can I get some clarification on Anglers Civic?

What is the correct combination of jobs when you construct an agriculture district on a wet climate?
1. 1 Farmer, 1 Angler, 1 pearl diver
2. 1 Angler, 1 pearl diver
3. 2 Angler, 1 pearl diver

Thanks!


EDIT: Forgot pearl diver Thanks @Reedstilt
 
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Ah, yeah I didn't read this well, sorry about that, my bad.

Anyways that could make coral boys a possibility and undead coral possible too, we'll need to wait for the portraits.

Yeah, a coral-themed addition to the lithoid pack would be pretty ballin'. Not even as part of Aquatics, just add it to Lithoids.
 
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This all looks so good! I'm really excited for this species pack. The last pack I liked was the Plantoid ones, and I still usually end up using Avian ships and different portraits. But I love the look of the aquatic city design and I like the ships and portraits seen so far. Might actually end up remaking a couple of my custom empires.
 
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Could we at least add a galaxy generation option "only Aquatic Aquatics"?
Even in a limited form, Molloscoids and a few other portraits (Penguins, Crabs, Shrimps) here and there should be able to get the Aquatic trait, rathe than Aquatic portraits only.
What is the correct combination of jobs when you construct an agriculture district on a wet climate?
1. 1 Farmer, 1 Angler
2. 1 Angler
3. 2 Angler
It seems like the correct combination is 1 Angler and 1 Pearl Diver.

EDIT: Re-reading the Civic, it Looks like I misjudged this a bit. It should be 2 Anglers, and 1 Pearl Diver. I initially read the "replaces Farmers with 1 Angler" part of the Civic as referring specifically to Agricultural Districts, but later clarification indicates that this is referring to all Farmers, including those from Hydroponic Farms. So that seems to mean an 1:1 conversion rate.

Interestingly that means you get jobs for 3 pops, but only housing for 2, when you build an Agricultural District - assuming I'm reading the Civic right this time around.
 
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This seems to be even better than necroids. And I love Necroids.

The dragon looks nice but if it never leaves the home system it might not be a huge deterrent. Unless I play tall, that’s it.
 
Damn, I was hoping to combine Agrarian Idyll with Anglers, but at least we still have Catalytic Processing. I suppose the job swaps made it play badly? Or it was a balance choice?

Will there be any new features for dry and cold worlds in the future? Were there discussions of harvesting habitable cold worlds for your oceans? Or would that have overlapped too much with the habitable planets system?

But this looks really fun, I'm considering using the Aquatic trait for oceanic space plants, using phototrophic as well. And with thrifty, Merchant Guilds looks like an excellent civic choice that would work really well. Since you're adding civics which give trade value to other jobs, could the mercantile tree give +1 or +2 additional trade value to those jobs as well as clerks?
 
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Oh and a few more questions.

Seeing as Aquatic Species Pack will have a trait/origin that gives benefits on Wet+Warm planets (Oceanic Worlds) will it mean that there is a chance we will have some more bonuses to other types of planets as well? For example Alpine or Desert?

And a follow-up to previous - where will it out Gaia Worlds on the map? Seeing as it is "ideal world" it should also receive bonus for Oceanic planets for the trait/origin purpose (and possible other bonuses in the future), am I correct?
 
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Anglers Civics
This new Civic will allow you to harvest the bounty of the ocean, by replacing your Farmer jobs with Anglers and Pearl Divers on your Agricultural Districts.

View attachment 766729
Under the sea, there’s plenty of shinies to see!

Can we have a similar civic for hive minds too? Currently it looks like aquatic is just worse hive worlds for them and they can't take the civic :c.

Oh and pearl divers seem awful at first glance. Why can't we at least pick whether to focus on anglers or pearl divers? This civic will make it harder to produce food, not easier.
 
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Really exited to see this, one question though.
with ice mining does the source have to be in the same system as the planet or can you take ice from one system to build up another? Also the 30 planet size cap still applies yes?
 
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Unless I play tall, that’s it.
Pick Here Be Dragons + Aquatic + Hydrocentric once you get unlock the Perk. Build up a single gigantic Ocean world in your home system for your dragon to protect.
I suppose the job swaps made it play badly?
Yeah, Agrarian Idyll alters the output on Farmers while Anglers completely replaces Farmers (on the appropriate worlds) with new Jobs.
 
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Really exited to see this, one question though.
with ice mining does the source have to be in the same system as the planet or can you take ice from one system to build up another? Also the 30 planet size cap still applies yes?
From what it sounds like, it has to be in the same system, then you can use it however many frozen worlds/asteroids are in it. Once you've exhausted resources, only the passive mining station output modifier remains? But I wonder if it's boosted once that happens i.e. now that you're no longer focused on harvesting water, that infrastructure can be better used for the rest of the system.

Will the building be greyed out if there are no frozen worlds/asteroids in the system?
 
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Already exited for the new DLC. A few questions:
Is it all available to megacorps, hives and machines?
Will resouce deposits be destroyed upon ice-usage?
How this new dragon will react to the Worm event chain?
>It doesn’t require you to have an Aquatic portrait, but it will require your species to start on an Ocean World.
Since Custodian team emerging I was wondering. Can we somehow have lithoid spicies portraits without lithoid trait?
 
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Anglers Civics
This new Civic will allow you to harvest the bounty of the ocean, by replacing your Farmer jobs with Anglers and Pearl Divers on your Agricultural Districts.

1634806983165.png

Under the sea, there’s plenty of shinies to see!
Why is this civic unremovable? It doesn't strike me as too gameplay-altering. Well, maybe except for the uncapped agriculture districts, but those could always be demolished if the player reforms out of it.

Also, will there be a Megacorp version if this civic? Feels like there should be a Megacorp version of this civic.
 
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Even in a limited form, Molloscoids and a few other portraits (Penguins, Crabs, Shrimps) here and there should be able to get the Aquatic trait, rathe than Aquatic portraits only.
It's all fun and games until the inevitable first game with Aquatic Elves, Dwarves, Porcupines, Dragons, Parrots, Peacocks, Butterflies, Spiders, Radishes, Cacti, Holograms, Skeletoids and semi-robotic Zombies.

With huge number of other portraits, it is obvious that without any limitation the odds of find an actual Acquatic Acquatics are going to be extremally slim.
 
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I have to admit Here be Dragons puts in the mind a fascinating picture - imagine a civilization that every once in a while sees an enormous creature fly through the sky. It would almost certainly worship it as a divine creature. And then after centuries of burning people alive to appease the dragon god, they eventually discover that its just a creature and for eons it did not even that they existed. But now they can reach it.

Shame that every time the AI will roll this origin, I will kill their dragon for whatever loot it gives.
 
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How many times can a planet's size be increased? Can the size 30 planet be increased in size? What is the upper limit?
I hope so! I eagerly await the return of the one planet challenge wet edition.

It also kind of makes sense. Water is not very dense, so a planet consisting mostly of water could be considerably larger than a rocky planet with the same gravity at sea level.