First contact falls apart as soon as you meet the Galactic Community

[The Wolf with the Dragon]

I really like the new First Contact-system. It makes the game much more mysterious and it's really fun to try and establish contact. But this whole experience completely falls apart when you join the Galactic Community.

In my first game of 3.0, I really struggled to meet someone. I had by the year 2040-ish met about two empires and I was really looking forward to meeting more. Then I suddenly got a notification asking if I wanted to join the Galactic Community. And in an instant I had just met the entire galaxy. With no notifications at all of who they were and who I had established contact with.

Especially the complete lack of dialogue is what makes the experience fall apart. Usually I'd say you get a pop-up saying "We have established communications with X", and you get to choose what type of welcoming you'll give them, but I received no such messages. I even had the Lost Colony origin, and met them, without any dialogue or acknowledgement at all that they were my fellow species.

To a new player, playing for the first time, this must seem quite absurd. You're going about your way very gradually establishing contact and then suddenly boom, you've met the entire galaxy. The Galactic Community should feel like the greater galaxy reaching out to you, and there should be dialogue or events to go with this.

You've made contact with a few people, but now you've suddenly realized that there is a whole established Galactic Community out there and they're reaching out their hand (or appendage) for you to join them, and what feelings might go with that. At least in my game, where the Galactic Community was already established.

So yes, adding a few pop-ups or events, and making any contact you establish actually trigger the window where you can send a hello, should be done to not make this whole thing completely break the flow of the game and overwhelm new players.

 

[GOLANX]

I honestly think they should push back the requirements for galactic community start so that it takes longer a single empire should have discovered the required number of empires to propose, xenophiles should be quick to share communications but noone else, xenophobes should close borders so that you can't explore through them and learn about other empires. In my current game the GC had passed several resolutions by the time I made first contact with my first empire

 

[The Founder]

a single empire should have discovered the required number of empires to propose

That is how it always worked. Current code requires one empire to know of at least 70% of the other ones

# Proposal to form the Galactic Community (HIDDEN)
event = {
    id = galcom.1
    hide_window = yes

    is_triggered_only = yes

    trigger = {
        NOR = {
            has_global_flag = galactic_community_founded
            has_global_flag = galcom_founding_begun
        }
        count_playable_country = { # minimum 3 countries
            limit = {
                is_homicidal = no
            }
            count >= 3
        }
        any_playable_country = {
            perc_communications_with_playable >= 0.7
            is_homicidal = no
            is_gestalt = no
        }
    }

    immediate = {
        set_global_flag = galcom_founding_begun
        random_playable_country = {
            limit = {
                perc_communications_with_playable >= 0.7
                is_homicidal = no
                is_gestalt = no
            }
            country_event = { id = galcom.2 }
            every_playable_country = {
                limit = {
                    NOT = { is_same_value = prev }
                    has_communications = prev
                    is_homicidal = no
                }
                country_event = { id = galcom.2 }
            }
        }
        random_country = {
            limit = { is_country_type = global_event }
            country_event = { id = galcom.3 days = 360 }
        }
    }
}

The issue might be small galaxies with few Empires. With 7 Playable Empires, one of them only needs to contact 5 Empires. Which it why it is so quick.

 

[GOLANX]

Huh, I'd add limits to xenophobe empires but not servitors. Half the empires in my playthrough are xenophobe, they shouldn't be eager to start the community.

 

[ReshyShira]

Could always add a limitation that the galactic community must wait X many years after the conditions are met before the community can be made, be it 10 or 50.

 

[The Founder]

Could always add a limitation that the galactic community must wait X many years after the conditions are met before the community can be made, be it 10 or 50.

I think there used to be one, but with how long it can take to get to Tier 5 of any Resolution chain it was abandoned.

Huh, I'd add limits to xenophobe empires but not servitors. Half the empires in my playthrough are xenophobe, they shouldn't be eager to start the community.

That is the code to query all existing Empires for a Aye/Nay. You need at least 3 "Aye" votes to form the GC:

option = {
    name = galcom.2.a
    custom_tooltip = galcom_2_aye
    hidden_effect = {
        set_country_flag = galcom_form_aye
    }
    ai_chance = {
        factor = 15
        modifier = {
            factor = 3
            has_ethic = ethic_xenophile
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = 10
            has_ethic = ethic_fanatic_xenophile
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = 10
            OR = {
                has_civic = civic_diplomatic_corps
                has_civic = civic_public_relations_specialists
                has_civic = civic_hive_empath
                has_civic = civic_machine_servitor
            }
        }
    }
}
option = {
    name = galcom.2.b
    custom_tooltip = galcom_2_nay
    hidden_effect = {
        set_country_flag = galcom_form_nay
    }
    ai_chance = {
        factor = 5
        modifier = {
            factor = 3
            has_ethic = ethic_xenophobe
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = 10
            has_ethic = ethic_fanatic_xenophobe
        }
    }
}

 

[ReshyShira]

I think there used to be one, but with how long it can take to get to Tier 5 of any Resolution chain it was abandoned.

Could always make the Galatic Community operate a bit more quickly to offset the first-contact phase of the game?

 

[GOLANX]

Could always make the Galatic Community operate a bit more quickly to offset the first-contact phase of the game?

Anything for votes to not take littleral years, AIs also have a nasty Habit of flipping vote last minute and failing resolutions you thought would pass.

 

[GOLANX]

I think there used to be one, but with how long it can take to get to Tier 5 of any Resolution chain it was abandoned.


That is the code to query all existing Empires for a Aye/Nay. You need at least 3 "Aye" votes to form the GC:

option = {
    name = galcom.2.a
    custom_tooltip = galcom_2_aye
    hidden_effect = {
        set_country_flag = galcom_form_aye
    }
    ai_chance = {
        factor = 15
        modifier = {
            factor = 3
            has_ethic = ethic_xenophile
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = 10
            has_ethic = ethic_fanatic_xenophile
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = 10
            OR = {
                has_civic = civic_diplomatic_corps
                has_civic = civic_public_relations_specialists
                has_civic = civic_hive_empath
                has_civic = civic_machine_servitor
            }
        }
    }
}
option = {
    name = galcom.2.b
    custom_tooltip = galcom_2_nay
    hidden_effect = {
        set_country_flag = galcom_form_nay
    }
    ai_chance = {
        factor = 5
        modifier = {
            factor = 3
            has_ethic = ethic_xenophobe
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = 10
            has_ethic = ethic_fanatic_xenophobe
        }
    }
}

There are not 3 xenophile starts in my game the rest are xenophobe or Driven Assimilator, which I'm not sure why assimilators would be a yes either.

 

[The Founder]

There are not 3 xenophile starts in my game the rest are xenophobe or Driven Assimilator, which I'm not sure why assimilators would be a yes either.

"We want to get to know those that will soon be part of our mind."

 

[metatoaster]

I feel like the Galactic Community is anti-climactic as well, and as you say, it destroys the sense of mystery. It happens way too fast, it's like earth skipping straight from the early colonial era to the modern UN.

It also rapidly gets boring because it's predictable. The game would be more interesting if the GC creation wasn't a given. So far I haven't played a single game where it didn't get created after I meet 3-5 empires, when playing medium or large galaxies.

It would make more sense if nations first started organizing summits of three to five empires to try and agree on certain things, and if these meetings gradually grew bigger and eventually coalesced into the "space UN". Or not. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[GOLANX]

I feel like the Galactic Community is anti-climactic as well, and as you say, it destroys the sense of mystery. It happens way too fast, it's like earth skipping straight from the early colonial era to the modern UN.

It also rapidly gets boring because it's predictable. The game would be more interesting if the GC creation wasn't a given. So far I haven't played a single game where it didn't get created after I meet 3-5 empires, when playing medium or large galaxies.

It would make more sense if nations first started organizing summits of three to five empires to try and agree on certain things, and if these meetings gradually grew bigger and eventually coalesced into the "space UN". Or not. Variety is the spice of life.

The League of Nations and UN were created after all the exploring had been done, they were also responses to Global Wars.

Imo the vote should be repeatable with a threshold # of empires set by slider at galaxy creation. Vote must be initiated by an empire with influence cost, on Initial vote only Fan Xenophile, or Xenophile Pacifist should vote yes, all other no, as galactic conflict becomes more prevalent, crises show up, empires will change their votes. Diplomacy tradition may be required to start GC vote, being a federation member/leader will reduce the influence cost.

 

[Unseelie]

Well, I completely understand why the galactic community starts...someone, not me, on the other side of the galaxy, has collected all the communications.

But I agree with the drift of this suggestion as well. If that nation doesn't know me, I shouldn't be invited. Rather, I should be invited by a member that knows me, maybe more than once....but uh...

I'd really prefer if instead of a galactic community, you set up local ones. Maybe one becomes the galactic community, or maybe you end up with some smaller communities, and they form a pair of conflicting megablocks. So I guess I'm asking for the community to be a layer that any three nations can set up, and then have many run in concurrence, and uh...get into fights with one another.

 

[GOLANX]

Well, I completely understand why the galactic community starts...someone, not me, on the other side of the galaxy, has collected all the communications.

But I agree with the drift of this suggestion as well. If that nation doesn't know me, I shouldn't be invited. Rather, I should be invited by a member that knows me, maybe more than once....but uh...

I'd really prefer if instead of a galactic community, you set up local ones. Maybe one becomes the galactic community, or maybe you end up with some smaller communities, and they form a pair of conflicting megablocks. So I guess I'm asking for the community to be a layer that any three nations can set up, and then have many run in concurrence, and uh...get into fights with one another.

I don't really see the point if a mini GC, if you like your neighbors you can form a federation with them, adding more goodies to Federations is something I fully support. If you aren't friendly with your neighbors you can trade insults through the diplomatic lines with embassies.

 

[metatoaster]

The League of Nations and UN were created after all the exploring had been done, they were also responses to Global Wars.

Imo the vote should be repeatable with a threshold # of empires set by slider at galaxy creation. Vote must be initiated by an empire with influence cost, on Initial vote only Fan Xenophile, or Xenophile Pacifist should vote yes, all other no, as galactic conflict becomes more prevalent, crises show up, empires will change their votes. Diplomacy tradition may be required to start GC vote, being a federation member/leader will reduce the influence cost.

I do like the idea of the GC being created as the result of a galaxy-wide war or some other major crisis. The galaxy is a big place, and nations naturally tend to mind their business and worry about their neighbours and their network of allies/enemies rather than the fate of the whole planet (on earth) or galaxy (in Stellaris).

I could see the Grey Tempest or Great Khan lead to the creation and first emergency meeting of the GC, for instance.

I don't really see the point if a mini GC, if you like your neighbors you can form a federation with them, adding more goodies to Federations is something I fully support. If you aren't friendly with your neighbors you can trade insults through the diplomatic lines with embassies.

Federations and the GC are completely different things though. Enemies might be voting on the same resolution in the GC, while a Federation is an alliance. If people are willing to engage in galaxy-wide discussion on the all-important future of the space whales, it stands to reason that they would participate in smaller summits on those same issues. Those could be one-time events, possibly player-initiated, where you convoque your three neighbours of the 3rd galactic arm to take common action against pirates, or outlaw indiscriminate bombardment in future wars. This could lead eventually to the creation of the 3rd galactic arm committee where such issues are discussed, and eventually this can merge with other such committees to form the full-on GC once galactic-wide issues start appearing.