• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.

Stellaris Dev Diary #20 - War & Peace

Hello everyone!

For today’s dev diary, I thought I’d talk about a crucial part of Stellaris; waging wars and making peace, because as you know, not all ETs are nice... The system is different from most strategy games out there, but should be familiar to anyone who has played a Paradox Development Studio title. In fact, it is probably most reminiscent of how these things work in the Europa Universalis games.

Let’s start at the beginning. When you declare war in Stellaris, you have to state what your aims are; what the war is actually about. You simply choose from a list of possible goals, where each one is listed with a certain cost. The total cost of your picked goals cannot exceed 100. If you have a good reason to take something, the cost will be reduced. This might be the case if, for example, members of your founding species happen to live on a planet, or if it has previously been a part of your empire.

If you are a member of an alliance, the other members will need approve your list of selected goals before you can actually start the war. This is of course more likely if you are not too greedy and want to take everything yourself. That is, you will probably want to assign some goals to other alliance members to get them to approve the war.
stellaris_dev_diary_20_01_20160208_declare_war.jpg

When a war has been declared, the defending side is allowed to add war goals in the same manner, but they have an important advantage; they have a one-year grace period, and can thus choose targets depending on how the war is already progressing.

You need to gain “war score” in order to win, just like in our other games (-100 to 100.) At any time, you can negotiate for peace by selecting specific goals from your own list or that of the other side, very much like in Europa Universalis (except that you are limited to the stated war goals.)

Of course, wars are not always waged simply to seize territory: Other valid goals could be vassalization, for example, or securing a treaty of some kind. Sometimes, you might not really care about your stated goals at all, but just going in there and destroying the enemy’s space ports and stations...
stellaris_dev_diary_20_01_20160208_war_overview.jpg

Like in most of our games, occupying a planet with your armies does not mean it immediately becomes yours, of course; you need to demand it in the peace talks. There is a notable exception to this rule though; so called “first contact wars”. Before you have established communications with another civilization, it is possible to simply attack them and even take one of their planets (but once you take a planet, communications are immediately established.) Of course, such early hostility will never be forgotten, and will sour your relations for the rest of the game… There are other exceptions to how wars are waged, in the form of special types of civilizations, but that will have to wait for another dev diary.

That’s all for this week folks, stay tuned next week for “Administrative Sectors”!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • 128
  • 54
  • 1
Reactions:
is it possible to be at war with a race you can't communicate with - like the formics from enders game or the reavers from mass effect - can that war end via total annihilation or something other than negotiation ?

Doomdark does specify that some civilizations will operate by different rules, but we don't know yet what the exceptions are and whether you can play as them.
 
  • 1
Reactions:
@Doomdark What happens in a situation like this?
Let's say there are three empires, call them A, B, and C. I'm A, and I declare war on B for planets 1 and 2, and on C for planet 3. Then, B also declares war on C, and names planet 3 as one of their wargoals. If B is able to finish their war with C before I can, and takes planet 3, is there a way for me to take 3 as part of my war with B? What happens to my war with C, as they no longer have 3?
 
  • 8
Reactions:
@Doomdark What happens in a situation like this?
Let's say there are three empires, call them A, B, and C. I'm A, and I declare war on B for planets 1 and 2, and on C for planet 3. Then, B also declares war on C, and names planet 3 as one of their wargoals. If B is able to finish their war with C before I can, and takes planet 3, is there a way for me to take 3 as part of my war with B? What happens to my war with C, as they no longer have 3?

Good questions!
 
Looks good. My only question is how big is the penalty for a first contact war? There are all kinds of examples in science fiction of early contact war type of events where the opposing sides become close allies generations later. It would add a nice role playing element if that could happen in game.
 
  • 2
Reactions:
Will it be possible to ask races to stop their uplift or observation projects for non-spacefaring species?

Can you fight to liberate formerly independent empires (or liberate new ones, i.e. factions within other empires?)

Can you fabricate claims on other planets?

I'm excited to think about the special CBs -- really hoping space swarms are a thing! Would be awesome to meet (for example) an avian flock who refuses to communicate and just declares war as their flocks swarm over your borders-- would be a good challenge for an aspiring space empire.
 
I am not sure how i feel about the limit on war goals.

On the one hand, when i last played endless space i reached a point where i had destroyed an enemy's fleet so i just steam rollered their whole empire taking over everything, then it was a case of rinse repeat against all other empires. it ended up being an easy galactic victory...

but if I'm honest it was not that satisfying, if there was a way to stop my onslaught it might have given the opposition a chance to get it together enough for it to be a challenge.

I think what i want is the option to steam roller an enemy but for there to be reasons why i might not want to. eg a massive war expansion issue leading to civil unrest or all the other empires really really not liking me for a very long time.

In the end i am going to place my faith in you guys because i would rather have an interesting game than one which is easy to "win".

Oh and its my 40th birthday next friday (19th) so if yo could release the game for me that would be super.
Thanks
 
  • 6
Reactions:
Very interesting, but I feel there ought to be some sort of "total war" system. Victoria 2 done it nicely, where you could add war-goals as war went on. Rather than hard limit on peace negotiations, perhaps a soft limit, where things are simply more expensive if weren't part of initial war goal? I think fanatical militarist or fanatical xenophobes ought to have special "final war" cb, where they can declare war of complete conquest regardless of size of enemy, but risk severe stability/prestige loss in event of failure to reach those goals.
Also, the perpetual penalty for pre-communication attack seems odd choice. You'd think they'd let it slide after century or two, especially if relations were peaceful since then. If both sides want close relations, they'd downplay initial "problems with communications".
 
  • 4
  • 3
Reactions:
Hey Paradox, what are the chances that we could negotiate a neutral zone? A stretch of space acting as a buffer between empires?

And further to that, if a planet exhances hands in a border dispute, is there a chance that same planet under new rule would lead to it's population becoming separatists and even terrorists?

Basically I'm thinking of the dynamic between the Cardassians and Maquis from TNG & DS9. I think it'd be fantastic to have to negotiate a neutral zone and the like, and having to handle fringe factions at the edges of your territory!
 
  • 6
  • 1
Reactions:
So if your empire believes that you must always start a first contact war in order to prove communication is worthy, this game will punish you for the entire game?
Would you like your neighbor if he blew up your car, killed your children, and burned part of your house to see if you were "worthy" of him talking to you?
 
  • 18
  • 1
Reactions:
Nice DD! I really like the sound of this system
 
  • 2
Reactions:
This is a frikkin sweet DD! I'm so pumped for Stellaris!
The game is basically becoming EU4 in space, but in a good way. :p

Also I see the system "Arrakis" in the first screenshot, haha!
 
  • 2
Reactions:
Nice, so wars pretty much work as they always ave with the exception that your allies need to approve your targets correct?
 
Soooo we "have" to create a race that do have some kind of diplomacy (to negotiate peace at least) and we cant create a zerg like race which only consumes its prey and do not have any understanding of other intelligent races? would be fun... dlc maybe? ^^

and while i speak about wishful dlc thinking... alsooooooo robots! and space wizards.. and how about a microscopic race who only tries to infect all species and only manipulate its host species to a certain degree to spread even further and borg.. cause.. sounds swedish!
 
  • 1
Reactions: