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Stellaris Dev Diary #193: Signal Discovered

Hello everyone!

This week we are going to talk about something new that we’ve been working on - namely improving first contact and extending the exploration aspects of the game. All of this is work in progress and may not accurately represent what the game will look like once all of this work is finished. A lot of UI is very much work in progress, so don't pay too much attention to icons or such.

Background
Exploration has always been one of the best parts of Stellaris, and it is perhaps what sets us apart from other games that follow similar themes. Looking back, Stellaris has mostly revolved around the physical exploration of space, discovering an ancient galaxy full of wonders. We believe that exploring and uncovering the galaxy is such an important and fun aspect of the game that we really want to dive deeper into those experiences. We intend to take the next steps by improving the means by which you can establish communication and make the process of learning more about alien civilizations a part of the exploration gameplay.

In this dev diary we will be outlining some of the changes and additions that we are currently working on, so that you can get an idea of what to expect from our next big update.

First Contact
The first steps we are taking is that we are changing how first contact works. First contact is now a much more engaging process with interesting choices that are supported by great narrative.

When you first have an alien encounter you are able to set a policy for what your approach will be. First Contact Protocols is a policy option that lets you dictate your stance when it comes to dealing with newly discovered alien civilizations. Each option has different effects that should suit different types of diplomacy.

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Friends..?

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First Contact Protocol Policy options.

First Contact Investigation
In order to establish communication with the alien contact, an Envoy will need to be assigned to the First Contact Investigation. The investigation will then be able to begin, and it will run through stages and will contain events similar to an archaeological dig site. The reason why we chose a system similar to archaeology is because its a great way of letting a process run over time in a way where it can also deliver some narrative along the way. The difficulty of the first contact investigation will be affected by things like how friendly the target is, or how difficult it is to translate their signals.

Since First Contact now uses an Envoy, that also means that it no longer pauses Society Research, and it is possible to run multiple first contact investigations simultaneously as long as you have the Envoys required.

(Envoys do still currently not have traits or levels, but it is something we are actively discussing.)

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The events that you can get depend on the type of empire you are, and on the type of alien you are trying to contact.

There are friendly/peaceful paths as well as ... less so.

As a xenophobic empire with an aggressive first contact protocol it is possible to secure a couple of specimen for a closer look.

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The choices you make during first contact can also have long-term effects on your relationship with the alien empire. Choose wisely and decide which trade-offs you are willing to make. Are you perhaps a materialistic and xenophobic empire that values scientific progress above all?

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Stay on your side of the galaxy and all can be well.

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Let’s agree to disagree.

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That is all for this week! Next week we’ll be showing you some new features that allow you to explore maps like the one posted here below.

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If you don't do the first contact, you don't get the influence if it's a normal empire or an enclave. It's possible to get setups where you have lots of normal empires and enclaves you just came in contact with that you want to get that first contact stuff done for the influence.

Yes, they can change those bonuses, but that is actually easier said then done. Right now the things that give envoys are considered pretty good. If you make that pointless, you have then have to come up with something that continues to make those worth taking. Yes, some will still have the diplomatic weight bonus but the current one will only get you so far. Also IMO I find the envoy setup more interesting as a finite resource because it means having to make trade offs. Do you boost your clout in the GC or federation even more, but risk having the jerk neighbor be more keen on going to war with you? Do you pop an ambassador out of your federation to boost you GC clout so you can kill or help a bill. Do you pop one out of the GC or off of improve relations so that you can stop your federation's cohesion from tanking? There are a few other things you can do. Yes, most will probably just throw every envoy they have into the GC, but that doesn't remove the fact that we have some interesting decision making with the current finite envoy setup. I bring this up because I know the obvious solution people will suggest if increased envoys won't matter and let's be honest, you'll never have zero envoys kind of implies infinite number, would be to increase diplomatic weight or add it in the case of xenophile ethics. Yes, diplomatic weight is strong and useful, but it lacks interesting decision making choices and IMO that would make that route a step back overall.

I'm leaning towards we get finite envoys for what we currently have and first contact works off it's own thing because I'm pretty sure if the devs were going to scrap the current system, they'd come out and say it now. Maybe not give us the details, but given the lack of confirmation despite people asking, it seems like an overhaul of the current system isn't in the cards.
Alternately, you could just not have inward perfection remove an envoy, which would solve the issue completely, no?
 
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I'd really like to see a system where first contact can be delayed or outright terminated, I like the idea of my empire being this unknown threat in the galaxy that no one has been able to contact and have been having a load of difficulty gaining intel on. This would be really good for inward perfectionist empires too.

This is how devouring swarms and similar should operate.
 
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I am not sure if this has been mentioned here by anyone else, but I really think it would be awesome if the archeology style events which you are using for first content could be applied to uplifting or infiltrating primitives.
 
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you'll never have zero envoys kind of implies infinite number
There are in fact an infinite amount of numbers between 0 and infinity. I have a hard time seeing how 0< implies infinity.
 
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There are in fact an infinite amount of numbers between 0 and infinity. I have a hard time seeing how 0< implies infinity.

That's because you're thinking like a mathematician and not like a programmer. ;)

I've seen plenty of games where the code (or script) used negative numbers to signify an infinite supply of something.
 
There are in fact an infinite amount of numbers between 0 and infinity. I have a hard time seeing how 0< implies infinity.

The mis-interpretation is that they considered sending off an envoy to a task as "losing" it, so if all your envoys were sent out doing something you'd be at 0 and so the only way to never be at 0 would be to have infinite envoys.

It's based off a flawed understanding of the premise, but the logic itself is sound after that.
 
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It may be interesting to have a Scientist with Expertise: Statecraft give a bonus to first contact somehow.
On a small tangent, there are so many different classes of anomaly at the moment, why not have different Expertises give bonus to different types of anomalies?
 
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It may be interesting to have a Scientist with Expertise: Statecraft give a bonus to first contact somehow.
On a small tangent, there are so many different classes of anomaly at the moment, why not have different Expertises give bonus to different types of anomalies?

Except it's Envoys who make first contact. If envoys do end up getting expanded to full leaders, then they'll almost certainly have a trait (or maybe more) related to first contact.
 
Sad how exploration is touted as one of the best aspects of the game but rarely has any relevance outside of the early game, would have definitely liked to see more done in general exploration.
 
I like the way this is going. Making elements that used to be boring busywork more engaging and deep is a good course of action. I'm not seeing this as a real gamechanger so far, but from the looks of it, the overall focus seems to be on making peacetime interactions with other empires more interesting, and I'm all for that.

Finally, we can learn from the Minbari and decide not to make "greet them with gun ports open" our first contact protocol (unless we are massively overpowered and the other guys don't happen to be humans).
 
(Envoys do still currently not have traits or levels, but it is something we are actively discussing.)

This is a small thing, but what about giving envoys species-related traits? So one envoy might be exceptionally skilled at communicating with mammals, while another might be better at building relationships with fungoids?

It would make some intuitive sense, and as an added bonus would give species classes a role in the game beyond aesthetics.
 
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I hope that "counter espionage" is handled differently to how it is like in EU4, where you need one of your diplomats permanently assigned to each of your enemies. Hopefully you don't need one envoy per adversary.
 
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This is a small thing, but what about giving envoys species-related traits? So one envoy might be exceptionally skilled at communicating with mammals, while another might be better at building relationships with fungoids?

It would make some intuitive sense, and as an added bonus would give species classes a role in the game beyond aesthetics.
Now that is clever, like how you could hire agents from different countries in HOI4
 
This is a small thing, but what about giving envoys species-related traits? So one envoy might be exceptionally skilled at communicating with mammals, while another might be better at building relationships with fungoids?

It would make some intuitive sense, and as an added bonus would give species classes a role in the game beyond aesthetics.
Maybe modify by the target empire's ethics?

Xenophile targets might give a bonus for a more alien species type -- e.g. Blorg envoy to UNE, which is a different species type, might get a larger species bonus than a Space Elf, which is a humanoid like the UNE's primary species.

'Phobe targets might give a penalty to more alien envoys, and only a bonus for having a envoy of the exact same species as their primary species.
 
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Request for the Devs, whom I hope are still watching this thread:

With the revamping of how FIrst Contact works and the new Intel system, I wanted to request an option for Custom Empires for those of us that like to force spawn our custom creations.

What I am asking for:

- When creating a Custom Empire, set it as a Template, so that all names (including species), as well as species portrait and type are only determined when the game starts.
- We would still create our Custom Empire normally, but when we set it to forcibly spawn for the AI we can set it to be used as Template rather than exactly as is,


Why:

- Being able to forcibly spawn empires is important for my enjoyment as it guarantees certain types of empires, such as Barbaric Despoilers and Devouring Swarms are present to help shake things up.
- But without this randomization, I think it would invalidate a large part of the whole First Contact and Intel system if I can immediately tell "Oh, this is one of my creations, I know everything about it."



Suggestion thread
 
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