Hi!
This week is a short one in Sweden due to holidays, so instead of a normal dev diary we've got a transcript of the Stellaris Q&A session we held on the Official Stellaris Discord Server on May 5th.
We answered the following 108 questions:
Whew.
Next week our concept artist Lloyd will take over with an in-depth diary on how to make a station.
We've got a video preview of this dev diary on our Youtube Channel (I didn't read all 108 questions, sorry) if you want to meet Mirror Universe Stephen.
Have a great week!
This week is a short one in Sweden due to holidays, so instead of a normal dev diary we've got a transcript of the Stellaris Q&A session we held on the Official Stellaris Discord Server on May 5th.
We answered the following 108 questions:
| Question by Belauem |
| This question is about the new mercenary enclave. If you create one how are its admirals treated? Do you get some for the rented fleets and if so does it eternaly keep your original admiral or will a new one be created out of your species when the old one dies and do traits like psionic etc are applied afterwards to them if your species gains them? |
| Answer |
| The admiral that was the leader of the fleet when you released it will become the "ruler" of the Mercenary Enclave. They should hire admirals of their species to lead the fleet. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Jeff, GigaCorp™ CEO |
| Is their any chance of getting a farming designation for habitat? It’s a fairly common scifi trope, so I’m kinda surprised it isn’t a thing yet. |
| Answer |
| I was discussing hydroponic habitat designations with Offe the other day regarding automation improvements. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Cape/008/GBSC (DO NOT PING) |
| Will we be able to make mercenary fleets out of the swarms from the Prethoryn Brood Queen relic? |
| Answer |
| I haven't personally tried it, but it should work as long as you have a fleet of size 50 or larger and an admiral in charge of it. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
Question by not dead  |
| how tall are the foxes compared to the humans |
| Answer |
| Shorter, ears and all! |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by QuicksilverDragon |
| how does AI choose which vassal type to be in Imperial Fiefdom |
| Answer |
| Only player empires get to pick a specialism for the origin. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Money LLC CEOverlord |
| any plans to rework branch offices, especially regarding having more than one corp per planet? |
| Answer |
| We don't have any current plans to rework branch offices, but it'd be interesting to explore some sort of competition mechanics. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by MathyM |
| Are we able to influence how Mercenary ships are designed, so they synergize with our preferred weapon choices? Do they take up our navy cap once hired? |
| Answer |
| They are not designable, though you can share your tech with them. Once you hire them, they will use up your Naval Capacity. |
| Answered by GruntsPlayground |
| Question by Muhrks |
| Could you provide a complete list (with links) of the streamers in the upcoming weekend event? Also: Are all streams in english? |
| Answer |
| We'll be announcing the full lineup tomorrow |
| Answered by MrFreake (Stellaris CA) |
| Question by Crazy Mordrid the Xeno-Compat |
| Bubbles Plushie when |
| Answer |
| I think I can safely say if it was up to the devs in this QA session, this wouldn't even be a question. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by Seraph |
| Dev diary states: "Hyper Relays can be built in your own space, or that of your subjects." Can subject build hyper relay in his overlord's space? As a scholarium i should have access to hyper relays tech much faster than my overlord and both networks are needed to utilize it's full potential. |
| Answer |
| Currently subjects cannot build relays in their overlord's space. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Epsylon-02Y Lakdav-built |
| Regarding origins, what factors are being considered when coming up with the limitations on what kind of empire can or cannot take them? Asking for a machine friend. |
| Answer |
| I'd say the first thing we want to try and keep in mind is the narrative of the origin. If there's an obvious theme to the origin, we will limit it thereafter (e.g a pacifist origin probably couldn't be taken by militarists). Besides that, we want to try and appease most playstyles, and give everyone some toys to play with. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Jeff, GigaCorp™ CEO |
| Is there any chance of a subsidiary type subject type, or is that vanishing forever with overlord. |
| Answer |
| The subsidiary subject type (added in MegaCorp) is still present in Overlord |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Cape/008/GBSC (DO NOT PING) |
| Is there any way we can gain singular pops from vassals without integrating them? I'm planning on playing a RS that aims to collect pops from every major species in the galaxy so this would be really helpful. |
| Answer |
| There may be a holding that does this... |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Ben the Fox |
| This might be a silly question, but after watching the Overlord release date reveal trailer, I feel like I was left on a bit of a cliff hanger, do the foxes eventually free themselves from the evil humans (and potentially the robots too) and get a happy ending? |
| Answer |
| Depends on how the battle goes, doesn't it? |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by shadoWarbird |
| Hello, I’m super excited about the Overlord expansion, it looks really great! Speaking of expansions, I was wondering if the custodians have any motivations, goals or plans they would like to share in regards to improving older expansions? I think the way Species Packs was handled was absolutely amazing and I would love to see older expansions generating the same kind of hype that Utopia and Overlord have/has generated. |
| Answer |
| I can't speak for the whole team, but personally I would LOVE to just reread all old content and add new event options here and there, where it makes sense - a task other content designers already started! Stuff like adding more special options to robot-related events if you play machine empires, extra interactions you meet plant aliens as a plantoid, etc. Adding extra civics/features to old DLCs can be great, but I believe small surprises can make old content feel fresher as well. |
| Answered by CheerfulGoth (Content Design) |
| Question by amphibia ended |
| have you considered making a species pack of purely alien creatures, such as energy beings or Lovecraftian abominations? |
| Answer |
| The art team considers many things we as levitate above the ground using the power of our minds during our daily meditation sessions. Stay tuned! |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by MathyM |
| Will Subsidiaries be completely merged with the new Vassal system? In other words, will Megacorporations finally be allowed to integrate their vassals? |
| Answer |
| Subsidiaries will be part of the new vassal system, but cannot be integrated (the term is locked for that vassal type) |
| Answered by Rose (Expansion Programmer) |
| Question by RedOwl |
| Any chances we might see more types of special vassals eg for the Scion origin and have an incentive to bring others into the fold besides rp? |
| Answer |
| We would like to take a look at more specialists in general. As was mentioned by our Game Director in a recent interview, several specialist subject empires were left on the cutting floor throughout Overlord's development, and there's plenty of room to give them a second go. As for Scion in particular? We don't have anything particular in mind as far as I know. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Siper |
| Any plans to rework hive civics? And make them match things such as technocracy, Like having "Expertise traits have double effects on tech choices". |
| Answer |
| Civic reworks and rebalancing, including hive civics will continue in future Custodian patches. |
| Answered by GruntsPlayground |
| Question by Amphithere Majesticon |
| Are there any mods that the Stellaris team play with often? Also great work on Overlord and good job Custodians for being awesome. |
| Answer |
| I barely have the time to play the base game and keep up with all the new content my colleagues are adding to the base game. I SEE the data on how many of you are playing the big Azur Lane mod, though, and I comment you for your tastes. |
| Answered by CheerfulGoth (Content Design) |
| Question by MellowJacket |
| Has the Scion Origin undergone any changes to account for the new vassal system? Similarly, have Fallen Empire vassals or Khanate Satrapies been integrated into the new vassal system? |
| Answer |
| They have been adapted to the new vassal system, but you can't negotiate your contract with FEs or the Khan |
| Answered by Rose (Expansion Programmer) |
| Question by un-vincible |
| I love branch offices being replaced with the more general "holdings" system! Do any of you have any other interesting ideas for ways the ability to have buildings on other empires' planets could be used? I'd love to see something like the establish embassy action actually placing an embassy building down, things like that |
| Answer |
| We've been discussed internally using the holdings system for more than Overlord-Subject interactions or Corporate stuff, such as diplomatic holdings (where embassies are the obvious choice), but don't have anything concrete planned yet. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Zhainong |
| [Will there be a ground combat rework any time soon?] |
| Answer |
| There are no current plans for changing how ground combat works. |
| Answered by Monzun (Code Custodian) |
| Question by El Raymondo |
| I am very excited for the new possibility to plan out transport infrastructure, I think this is a really cool addition to the game. Any future plans on doing more structures like these, or expanding the new/existing mechanics, so that we can do a galactic equivalent of a "Cape to Cairo railway"? |
| Answer |
| There have been many comparisons between Hyper Relays and space railroads. Just being a transportation system felt insufficient (especially after you got gateway technologies), which is why we added the ability to project effects through the network. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Azaken |
| What made you decide to focus on mobility in this update so much? I know how much iv wanted more mobility stuff since gateways unlock far too late I think and im aware others have wanted it as well, and we really needed more mid game and even some in the early/mid game, but im curious on what reasons you had to finally do it in this update? |
| Answer |
| Some of us just really like trains, okay. |
| Answered by CheerfulGoth (Content Design) |
| Question by The Muted Man |
| Have you ever thought about adding a FE hivemind?(praise iggy for the hivemind content and praise Beals for the amazing art) |
| Answer |
| I've not heard anyone talk about it. But it is a bit curious how certain elements of the game doesn't have any kinds of hiveminds, be that Enclaves, Fallen Empires, or Primitives. It's a pretty neat idea though, and it would make sense to consider it, if we ever took a second look at Fallen Empires down the line. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Hot Coffee |
| are we getting a new story pack at any point? I like anomalies |
| Answer |
| Likely! It's been a while since our last Story Pack. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Zach856 |
| I want my hyper relay network station close to wormhole or star gate, can we integrate these structure together into one? |
| Answer |
| You can't exactly merge them, but I like building my stargates right next to the hyper relays for extra-fast zooming around the map personally means the ships don't have to cross the system to get to them from the relay |
| Answered by Rose (Expansion Programmer) |
| Question by sobran |
| will there be big update for traits? Right now there are few meta traits which are clearly superior to all the others, and you if you pick anything else it hurts you hard. I know stellaris is hard on roleplay but majority options in trait department are strictly unfun and very underpowered to meta. We need rebalance and diversification in traits, can we expect it? |
| Answer |
| Species Traits will be looked at in the future. We are well aware that they can get a bit stale. |
| Answered by GruntsPlayground |
| Question by Saluki |
| Might it ever be possible to play as a Fallen Empire? It would definitely be a different experience. |
| Answer |
| I cannot imagine that ever to be the case. The Fallen Empires are incredibly particular in how they are created, and it would be impossible to make that be playable in a good way. Even if you tried to clone the looks of a Fallen Empire (both literally and how they act) onto a playable empire, I think we would have to change them so much that they wouldn't be like Fallen Empires anymore at the end of it. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Luke5Arman |
| Being able to build gateways in subject territory is amazing! But if we can do that, could we also terraform subject planets into gaia worlds if we take the world shaper perk? I wanna grow a galactic garden of amazing planets, dang it! |
| Answer |
| The Idyllic Bloom civic allows you to build Gaia-Seeder holdings on your subjects' planets to turn them into Gaia Worlds. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Deer |
| Will machines ever get their own shipset? Besides them just using the shipset that their portrait most resembles, I think it would be interesting if they had their own. Robots would probably build differently than organics which would be an interesting thing to see. |
| Answer |
| I think everyone here can agree that we always want more, and as someone on the art team I think it's a great chance for some non-standard ship designs (we have definitely discussed the differences of machine built ships vs organically built ships). As always unless it's been specifically announced I can just give you a big nice non-committal 'stay tuned!...and a hug. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by Spatz |
| will overlords be able to sign commercial and research pacts with their vassals now? Previously they couldn't due to the vassal not being "an independent recipient" |
| Answer |
| If the vassal doesn't have their diplomacy blocked by the vassal agreement, I believe they should be able to. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Comrade of Xenonion News Union |
| when you put ‘expansion prohibited’ does it mean that the AI cannot colonise planets already in the space they own |
| Answer |
| No, Expansion Prohibited means that they cannot claim new systems, much like regular vassals in 3.3 and earlier. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Saluki |
| What will the price of the DLC be? |
| Answer |
| Overlord will be USD 19.99/GBP 15.49/EUR 19.99 or regional equivalents. |
| Answered by MrFreake (Stellaris CA) |
| Question by Azaken |
| Will there be new options regarding the Overlord DLC for the Galactic Custodian/Imperial Core? |
| Answer |
| Not specifically for the Galactic Custodian or Emperor, no. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Iron Lotus |
| why can’t we put all of our 3 points into one ethic or at least have just one ethic? |
| Answer |
| The Gestalt Consciousness ethic costs 3 points |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Specknik - Reject Flesh |
| are you satisfied with the mechanist origin? sometimes i think that you should be able to customise your robots like in syncretic evolution. |
| Answer |
| I'd like to give them another look, if I get the time to. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Helicopter200 |
| Will the "become the crisis" ships, and the aetherophasic engine ever get a unique model? |
| Answer |
| This is a fascinating question because it brings up some of the points we are always having to consider. Some players might love that, others want to see their specific empire's ship set become the crisis ship set (Necroids and Imperials are already pretty menacing in my opinion). We would then also have to consider is it a single ship set, or a modification of every ship set currently in the game and an additional feature we would then have to account for in future ship sets. All I can say is that ship sets are quite expensive to make and that factors highly into what we are able to do. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by Kiwibaum |
| Stephen Murray said in the interview with Aspec that he wished that all origins are more story focused rather than mechanically focused. I think origins that don't have a very set story allow you to be more creative with the story you come up with by yourself. Is the freedom for the player to write their own story a big concern when designing origins currently? |
| Answer |
| Generally I'd like them to have at least some ongoing narrative focus alongside mechanical benefits. We usually attempt to give you enough freedom to interpret your story the way you want - leaving enough gaps that you can fill how you wish. (Example: Are the necrophages vampires? More like xenomorphs? What happens in those Ascension Chambers? We won't say, you decide that detail.) |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Azaken |
| If an enemy takes control of a system, do they also take control of the Hyperlane? Also can Hyperlanes be used to help provide trade protection across systems, and also therefore prevent pirates from spawning in those systems? This is especially important for me to ask after having one game where despite everything a pirate enclave spawned in the same system four times, so I am determined to get whatever I can to stomp out those pirates! |
| Answer |
| To use a hyper relay, both ends need to be non-hostile, so yes, if you occupy both systems you can use their space highways. |
| They don't help piracy suppression from starbases, but they do mean your patrolling fleet is faster! And personally, I can often go crush the pirates with my Home Fleet before they destroy my starbase thanks to the faster travel from Hyper Relays |
| Answered by Rose (Expansion Programmer) |
| Question by Liggi |
| Would Stellaris ever consider expanding to include more "Characters"? Not talking Space CK, but all great sci-fi has important characters (Darth Vader, etc.) |
| Answer |
| Yeah we think having some sort of characters would be cool! If we could find a way to fit them into the current sandbox nature of the game it's for sure something we would consider. |
| Answered by Monzun (Code Custodian) |
| Question by Cape/008/GBSC (DO NOT PING) |
| Without spoiling anything, will you judge people for getting the 'You Monster' achievement (the one with a sushi icon)? I feel like I know what it is and I don't like that. |
| Answer |
| You. Monster. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Zach856 |
| Will the orbital ring be destroyed after the battle or will it be disabled like the star base. Can you make the orbital habitat and orbital ring can be attacked and bombarded by the fleet as well, can not be destroyed by the space fortress is seems strange. |
| Answer |
| Orbital rings are normally disabled and then control flipped when they are defeated as per normal starbases, but some factions (e.g. the Khan) can destroy them. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Saluki |
| Are we going to see more fallen empire content in future? |
| Answer |
| We have nothing planned right now, but I'd say there's a lot of room to do something more with them. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Ben the Fox |
| Why do spiritualists hate robots so much? |
| Answer |
| They're coarse and rough and irritating and they get everywhere. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Sutopia |
| is there plan to allow picking the precursor at game start just like we can pick crisis? |
| Answer |
| We are internally discussing the option but no promises for now |
| Answered by GruntsPlayground |
| Question by Deer |
| Any plans for hive minds, specifically machines to be able to un-gestalt? Or the ability to make a non-gestalt machine empire? |
| Answer |
| A gestalt empire becoming a collection of individuals would be a very interesting story to explore, but there's no current plans for this. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Crazy Mordrid the Xeno-Compat |
| Are there any Mass Effect 2 references in Overlord, since you know...there is a DLC of the same name in that game |
| Answer |
| Hyper Relays |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Artik |
| Will we see new ship design in organic style for hivemind? and some origin or civic which allow build ships and buildings from food? |
| Answer |
| I think that's a natural progression of any major hivemind expansion, and something I've at least discussed. Currently there is nothing that I can comment on, but some of what you asked is definitely easier to do than others if we do decide to go in that direction. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by amphibia ended |
| are Primitives being considered as a theme for an upcoming DLC? They really need love (Primitive Hive Minds ftw) |
| Answer |
| We are aware that primitives are in need of some love, and that there is a lot we could do with them. But that is, sadly, the case for more elements in the game as well. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by MathyM |
| Are there any improvements to the UX planned? Specifically, new hotkeys being added to cycle between idle Science Ships and so on. |
| Answer |
| On the Custodian side, this is something we will always try to do in each patch and what you have there is a good suggestion, make sure to get it into the suggestions forum! |
| To answer your question more specifically, yes we have some plans that we are yet to reveal |
| Answered by Monzun (Code Custodian) |
| Question by Rynn Y11K |
| Will the exhaust trail from starships ever be fixed to come out their actual engines? |
| Answer |
| If the trails aren't coming out of them how can you even be sure they're exhaust ports? |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by PAO | CrimsonBlade2 |
| About habitats, can there be a way to put again them back to max buildings like it was before the rework that put them under 10? Without using void dweller, or the functional architecture civic, since some authorities like gestalt or megacorp can't use the civic, and not everyone is void dweller origin, maybe one expand habitat decision that costs some influence and alloys to get one building slot until you get to the maximum of 16 slots like an arcology ( but that one gets it for free all at once) if you get the void dweller perk, would that be possible? |
| Answer |
| We want habitats to deliberately feel cramped, so we don't want you to be able to unlock too many building (or district) slots on habitats. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Periodotic |
| Do you ever plan on expanding on Machine empires? The experience has really been limited for them with less events, archeology sites, relics, diplomatic options, and whatnot. It’d be really interesting if you’d pay attention to it as much as hiveminds |
| Answer |
| We're trying! Writing from the point of view of a gestalt intelligence is fascinating, but it's a content-intensive task and we don't always have the means to do it. Having said that... 01010100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01110111 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01100101 01110110 01100101 01101110 01110100 01110011 00100000 01100101 01111000 01100011 01101100 01110101 01110011 01101001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101101 01100001 01100011 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100101 00100000 01100101 01101101 01110000 01101001 01110010 01100101 01110011 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101110 01100101 01110111 00100000 01110000 01100001 01110100 01100011 01101000 00101110 00100000 01001000 01101111 01110010 01110010 01101001 01100010 01101100 01100101 00100000 01101111 01101110 01100101 01110011 00101110 |
| Answered by CheerfulGoth (Content Design) |
| Question by transie |
| how much bugfixing can we expect after the release of the patch before the team goes on summer vacation? |
| Answer |
| We have plans for post launch support as needed for a few weeks after the release, and we have an entire team dedicated to fixing things. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Ben the Fox |
| Were there any inspirations for the progenitor hive origin, if any? P.S. I love the new hive origin by the way! ^w^ |
| Answer |
| I am not Iggy, who sadly couldn't be here, so I am not going to say something specific was his inspiration. But I'd say that Hive Queens is a pretty well known stereotype. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Tudor |
| Any plans for more AI personalities? |
| Answer |
| This is something we would like to do, but there is still more work to be done on the AI side before we get there! |
| Answered by Monzun (Code Custodian) |
| Question by Zodenticz Nexian |
| Could we have like, i dunno, randomly generated events/anomalies using AI? Like Ai dungeon? |
| Answer |
| Look, I got this job six months ago and I don't wanna be replaced by a robot, so no |
| Answered by CheerfulGoth (Content Design) |
| Question by Zodenticz Nexian |
| Could we get a hyperdiversity origin that starts you out with multiple species? Like the event/anomaly? |
| Answer |
| No promises, but it is a cool idea and we haven't done anything like that yet. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Skrzynix |
| I don't think it's been completely explained, so might as well ask. How will the new "subjugation contract negotiation" interact with the subjugation CB? Will you have to make a contract beforehand and the loser will have to accept it? Or will winning force them to negotiate a contract that they'll be forced to accept? Or is there simply no contract to begin with? |
| Answer |
| There's an empire policy that sets the default terms for aggressive vassalization, and you can renegotiate the terms after the dust clears. (If you're planning on being an oppressive overlord, you'll want to set it to the harsher base terms since renegotiating influence costs are based on how different the new terms are from the old one.) |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by amphibia ended |
| are there any plans to expand what Ascension Paths can do? Such as making yourselves into godlike shapeshifters for the Biological one or becoming virtual entities with an alternate Synthetic Path |
| Answer |
| I am personally interested in revisiting ascension paths and have many ideas that we could explore. No idea if/when this could be explored though. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Cloudread |
| The DLC is looking great! Likely to become my favorite, since I always wanted more content for Feudal Society, which is my personal favorite civic. But are there any current or future plans to add more interestingnatural* features to the galaxy map? Much like wormholes and the L-Cluster.* |
| Answer |
| More things that could spice up the galaxy would be really neat, but we have nothing planned right now as far as I know. If you have any ideas though, feel free to post them on the forum and we will take a look at them. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Rynn Y11K |
| Planets in sci fi are often characters in themselves, wherein Stellaris they are primarily economic units. Are there any plans to flesh out planets in ways that make them unique and tell a story? |
| Answer |
| This is something many people here also feel strongly about, I think as more and more events and stories are added to this game the living nature of planets will only go up. There is a lot of energy at the moment by some incredibly talented people across multiple departments to tell some great narratives via planets, systems and those inhabiting it. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by HUM9_xxCheesemongle_ORD |
| How deep can a mine be dug before it is considered "too deep?" (Is there a technical limit to the Prospectorium's prospection?) |
| Answer |
| One prospectorium excavation per planet. Digging too deep and [REDACTED] is based on [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. You should [REDACTED] before you do that. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Azaken |
| How soon do you think we will see espionage improvements? Its not like they need to be absolutely essential, but they are barely if at all worth doing and its kinda sad. Id also like to see some more operations and also the operations we already have getting stronger. |
| Answer |
| We have plans for espionage in future custodian releases. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by enerG_ |
| can we have more stupid cute portraits? I want to destroy more civilizations with bulging puppy eyed aliens. |
| Answer |
| This is a much more contentious topic than you will ever realize, and goes up higher than you can possibly imagine. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by alphadragon2 |
| Can Orbital Rings be built around habitats, and if not, do void dwellers or Voidborne AP change that fact? |
| Answer |
| No building orbital rings around habitats or ringworlds unfortunately. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Chuunibyou Khalagari |
| Does the Overlord's payments to their vassals apply before or after their taxes from other vassals? For example, if an Overlord gives one of their vassals a 75% base resource bonus (which I believe lowers the Overlords base resource income), and if the overlord has 3 other vassals that are givingthe overlord* base resources, will the Overlord only give the vassal their original base resource production and then still have a decent income from the taxes on their other vassals? Or will the Overlord give the vassal the boosted base resource income after the other Vassals have raised the Overlords income 2. What happens if an Overlord gives all of their vassals 75% bonuses towards the same resource. Does it evenly split the Overlord's resource production to all, or does it go in order of operations based on first come first serve, with the first one getting 75% of the original amount and then the others getting a decreasing 75% of the remainders? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the Overlord / Vassal resource and tax system entirely. It seems really neat if you can subsidize your economy by taming some wild Pokempires and turn them into the resource type you are lacking, and use your own base resources to pay the various ones to grow up big and strong while you still have a decent income from the other vassals Basically like building an empire made out of sticks all leaning on each other, where they are strong united but explode if someone kicks one stick out* |
| Answer |
| the taxes and subsidies are always based on the subject's income, so that's not an issue. So for 1, the taxes won't affect the other vassal's subsidies, and for 2, they each get an extra 75% of their before-overlord-subsidies income Just be careful to not run yourself into massive debt by subsidizing too many strong economic vassals, would be a shame to experience the new deficit situations prematurely |
| Answered by Rose (Expansion Programmer) |
| Question by Helicopter200 |
| 1. What happen if an empire with subterranean origin meets subterranean civilization |
| Answer |
| Diplomacy or violence, I guess |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Liggi |
| Any plans to reorder fleets in the Outliner? Or split Patrols from regular fleets? |
| Answer |
| We have been looking at what we can do to improve the outliner as a whole. Megastructures and changing how fleets are shown is part of what we have looked at. There is currently no timeline for these changes, but it's something I personally want to work on! |
| Answered by Monzun (Code Custodian) |
| Question by Sutopia |
| I’ve heard rumors about fleet combat rebalancing, is there a timeline or ETA of when it will happen? |
| Answer |
| We have plans to do combat balancing as well in future custodian releases. (I expect to be doing a lot of experiments with this in particular over the summer, but that kind of summer experimentation doesn't always lead to anything immediately. Sort of like Dev Diary #152 explains.) |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Saluki |
| Will that annoying bug where borders have holes in even when one empire surrounds the entire area ever be fixed, or is that more of a USP? |
| Answer |
| If we fix the map bugs then people will have less reasons to share funny/annoying screens and that would be sad, let's admit it |
| Answered by CheerfulGoth (Content Design) |
| Question by enerG_ |
| do you ever plan on adding more psionic ship components to the game? it would be cool to have a psi weapon of some sort. |
| Answer |
| Similar to Hive and Machine empires, if we decide to expand these in a major way I think there is at the very least the desire to see more visual representation for these specific playstyles. As I've mentioned prior though, these are also some of the most intensive parts to make and can scale in a terrifying way depending on how they are implemented. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by Onimorphus |
| Any plans on expanding the 'holdings' mecanics for more cooperative (non-vassalized) empires and fedarations? That gives so many potential ideas to explore! |
| Answer |
| We are curious about what else we can do with the 'Holdings' mechanic, but we have nothing planned right now. They, similarly to branch offices, add a layer of depth to the game where you can affect foreign planets/empires in a way you cannot usually do (except if you are a Megacorps/Overlord), but they are suffering from a UX problem where they can be really hard to navigate and see in a good way. I'd expect more holding categories to be added down the line though, where they make sense. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Jack Cyber |
| any plans to add more AI personality like the fanatical befrienders or the metalheads? |
| Answer |
| I'm unsure if we currently have any plans to make music fans their own AI but if we do at least you specified the best genre. (After Weather Channel music, of course) |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by Deer |
| Any plans to making chaining ship actions easier? If you try to chain invading planets, the fleets lose the queue after invading the first. |
| Answer |
| This sounds like a bug to me. We've had similar bugs with things resetting when disembarking/embarking armies before and they are often relatively straightforward to resolve. Submit a bug report to get it into the pipeline |
| Answered by Monzun (Code Custodian) |
| Question by The5lacker |
| Will we ever get more early/general-use uses for more exotic materials like Zro, Nanites, etc? I frequently find myself staring at a half-dozen Liquid Metal income and wondering what I should do with it. |
| Answer |
| We are actively discussing special resources and their uses or lack thereof, its an issue and we recognize it, but no promises on how soon we can get to that. |
| Answered by GruntsPlayground |
| Question by Cape/008/GBSC (DO NOT PING) |
| Currently, you can only ask empires of Inferior or lower relative power to be your subject. Will it be possible to ask equivalent empires to be your subject in Overlord now that being a subject has more benefits? |
| Answer |
| Subjugation remains a diplomatic exchange between unequal empires. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by amphibia ended |
| what is your favourite sci-fi trope that hasn't been represented in-game? |
| Answer |
| Grox Empire. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Chuunibyou Khalagari |
| was there any thought on letting a bulwark build defense platforms in their Overlord \ allied vassals space as well? This would give them a lot of use even if they are not positioned on the front line and save the Overlord alloys on having to build platforms |
| Answer |
| There are opportunities for bulwarks to indirectly assist in the production of defensive platforms for their overlord already. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Deer |
| Any plans for a food or consumer food producing megastructure? Possibly large bubbles in space for agriculture? |
| Answer |
| Your desire to harvest the greatest and most innocent creature in the entire Galaxy has been noted. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by Sutopia |
| Is there plan for pet economy or pet DLC? My citizens should be able to keep pets right? |
| Answer |
| Actually, yes. We called it Overlord. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by dusty |
| do orbital rings count towards the upgraded starbase cap? Or do they have their own cap / no cap at all? |
| Answer |
| No cap on orbital rings, aside from the number of colonised planets you have and how many you can afford. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Saluki |
| Are Steam Deck support improvements planned for the future? |
| Answer |
| I've tried Stellaris with my personal Steam Deck, and I thought it runs quite well I'm not aware of any plans to support the Deck better atm, but I'd be all for them myself! Feel free to suggest specific Deck-friendly improvements on the forums if you think of anything, though |
| Answered by Rose (Expansion Programmer) |
| Question by Iron Lotus |
| when can we expect to get pet tyinaki just like we have amoeba |
| Answer |
| Tiyanki are free, majestic creatures and do not fare well in captivity, let them roam the stars unrestricted by galactic laws |
| Answered by CheerfulGoth (Content Design) |
| Question by Zodenticz Nexian |
| Could the other crisises get buffed to be on equal level with the contingency? Like, planets turning into gateways for the unbidden, unbidden cults, or scourge cults similar to genestealer cults from 40k? |
| Answer |
| I can't say what, I can't say when, but we have had some VERY fun discussions about something very similar. Programmers are still recovering from the implications of it though I believe. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by Gaspi2 |
| any plans to rebalance precursors? |
| Answer |
| We added a little something to the Yuht in Overlord. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Onimorphus |
| With the additions of ever more Origins (and really great ones on that, keep them flowing), do you feel that it will reach a point like Civics previously, where they will need to be split into others systems? What comes to mind is how some are more about the planet/system starter location, and others about the 'society' or 'biological' history of a species. |
| Answer |
| I don't think so. I think we're more likely to add origins that do a bit of both, and possibly even revise some older origins to do a bit of both and add some more spice to them, rather than revising the origin system. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by TREQUN |
| is there a way for overlord to decide their vassals decision? for example cloud overlord block some empires having migration treaty and allow some? |
| Answer |
| the "independent diplomacy" subject contract term lets you decide for each subject whether they can or not do diplomacy (including migration treaties), but it doesn't let you pick and choose what sort of diplomacy the subject can do, no |
| Answered by Rose (Expansion Programmer) |
| Question by Azaken |
| What sort of tier is the Hyperrelay and Planetary Rings technologies, and what prerequisitives are required to unlock them? Will this also allow us to make incredibly fortified defensive systems as well? Because as someone who often plays a defensive style in strategy games, I would love defense becoming more viable and optimal so this would be great to know how soon I can get them and how viable they will be. |
| Answer |
| Hyper Relays are a rare Tier 2 technology that require the Hyperlane Breach Points technology and access to Rare Crystals to discover. Orbital Rings are a Tier 3 Voidcraft Engineering technology requiring Starholds, Galactic Administration, and Ceramo-Metal Infrastructure. Yes, you can make incredibly thorny systems with them, especially with the buffs we've given Defense Platforms. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Gaspi2 |
| are hiveworlds sentient? |
| Answer |
| Yes that one person is sentient |
| Answered by Iggy (Content Design) |
| Question by katastrofa02 |
| I'm extremely happy with all these updates and new DLC, one of my must beloved games, but is there any plans for how long it's gonna happen? I imagine it's would last forever, so, basically, does anyone from devs have ideas, how long stellaris gonna be updated and official content from devs would be created ? |
| Answer |
| There are still so many sci-fi tropes to explore that we've got plenty of things to do for years to come. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by alphadragon2 |
| Which one of the new songs added is your favorite? |
| Answer |
| I'll get back to you on that when I get to them in my playlist. – Currently Playing "Fish in the Sea - 1000 hours" by Stellaris -- |
| Answered by Monzun (Code Custodian) |
| Question by Rynn Y11K |
| The galactic imperium is explicitly pro authoritarian, while the community is morally flexible. Have you ever thought about a “galactic alliance” proposal that dismantles all federations and grants all empires one equal vote? |
| Answer |
| No, but that is a pretty neat idea. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Sutopia |
| any plan for new federation type? |
| Answer |
| There have been some pitches internally. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Luke5Arman |
| imperial cult + exalted priesthood makes so much sense, but it can't be done because exalted priesthood is restricted to only oligarchic and dictatorial governments. Imperial cult makes sense being restricted as is, but EP seems like it could be way more flexible for RP. Pretty please lift the government requirements for exalted priesthood? |
| Answer |
| Drop this as a suggestion on the forum and tag me in it and I'll bring it up in our next design meeting. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by RdV |
| will there ever be an option to a) have a Khanate based origin b) challenge the Khan for the leadership of the Horde c) marry the Khan and merge your two empires? |
| Answer |
| The Khan IS pretty dreamy. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by Saluki |
| Stellaris IRL when? |
| Answer |
| 64889 days |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Noobjo the dunce |
| Will you be able to start a federation with your vassal with the new rework? |
| Answer |
| If I recall correctly, you should be able to. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Xeegpa |
| with overlord, we have 6 expansions, 5 species packs and 4 story packs for stellaris. Does this mean we're getting another story pack next? |
| Answer |
| I am a creature of chaos. None can predict my whims. Just ask the rest of the team. |
| Answered by Eladrin (Game Director) |
| Question by Luke5Arman |
| Is there a way to make zro consistently accessible for psionic empires? Rolling shields is RNG enough by itself, but it'd be sweet if there was some way to bargain with the shroud for zro so you can make the shields even if you don't have a deposit in your territory. |
| Answer |
| I think the Shroudwalkers might be able to help you out here. |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Ben the Fox |
| Any plans on adding more total war civics to the game? |
| Answer |
| No plans currently. |
| Answered by Snow Crystal |
| Question by Cloudread |
| Will mercenary conclaves build there own ships? And if so, what tech/designs will they use? Is it linked to the overlord? And I presume event ships (such as ones that can't be merged) can't be made mercenary enclaves, but can you make a mercenary enclave from a dragon fleet (if you somehow get one)? |
| Answer |
| They will use the design of their creator at the time of their creation, which they will upgrade over time, if given resources and technology to do so. |
| Answered by GruntsPlayground |
| Question by Char |
| Will custom empires with the Imperial Fiefdom origin, that are force spawned in, all spawn under the same Empire? |
| Answer |
| Every empire with the Imperial Fiefdom origin will be under the same overlord |
| Answered by Alfray Stryke (Design) |
| Question by Onimorphus |
| Any plans to make the planetary strategic resources deposits more valuable? Right now they just unlock a few buildings less expensive than the synthetic alternative (no mineral upkeep and worker type jobs if memory serves). We don't get that 'the spice must flow' vibe from them right now as is. |
| Answer |
| Maybe you're just better at empire management then me, I've definitely gone to war over a 5 alloy system. |
| Answered by Beals (Concept Artist) |
| Question by Rynn Y11K |
| could we please have a shift click when building defence platforms to make 5/10 of them at once? |
| Answer |
| That sounds like a great QoL improvement for a Custodian like me Get a post in on the suggestions forum! |
| Answered by Monzun (Code Custodian) |
| Question by Helicopter200 |
| Can we have population system like in victoria 2 and get rid of current pop system? |
| Answer |
| Vicky 3 confirmed! |
| Answered by Rose (Expansion Programmer) |
Whew.
Next week our concept artist Lloyd will take over with an in-depth diary on how to make a station.
We've got a video preview of this dev diary on our Youtube Channel (I didn't read all 108 questions, sorry) if you want to meet Mirror Universe Stephen.
Have a great week!
