I was excited to try out the new Idyllic Bloom and turn my planets into galactic oasis’ however I quickly found out that unfortunately Idyllic Bloom is currently a terrible Civic.
It can only be used on planets with the climate preference of the primary species. This means that if you want to play a Gaia world play through you will still need to unlock the terraforming techs and either terraform into your ideal climate preference to then use the Gaia Seeder buildings or you get the World Shaper ascension perk which makes the civic kind of redundant. As discussed below both options are far inferior to getting the World Shaper ascension perk.
Secondly the total resources to develop a Gaia world using Gaia Seeders (accounting for build cost and upkeep and assuming minimum build times) is 6960 Energy and 382 Exotic gases. This does not compare favourably to the World Shaper ascension perk of Energy 7500 (5625 with the 25% reduction accounted for) and no Exotic gases. This makes the ascension perk significantly better when you also have the added benefit that World Shapers can be used on any planet climate type and that 1 use of the Terraforming Gas edict costs less than the 382 Exotic Gases and can effect every planet being terraformed at that time.
Thirdly and probably most importantly the building upkeep is -20 Energy which is a huge drain on the economy in the early/mid game. This means that the building is unrealistic for most empire builds in the early game and can only really be done for one planet at a time. The significant upkeep also forces a player to rush through the development of the building rather than upgrade as your planet grows. Even worse is that it feels like you are penalised for every month that you are not upgrading the building because -20 Energy per month per planet is massive in the early game.
Also the building perks compare terribly to gene clinics which are significantly cheaper to build/maintain but also produce jobs that add amenities on top of comparable pop growth speed and habitability. This is also further compounded by the pop growth speed modifier of the Gaia Seeder building getting removed when the Gaia project is completed. This means you only get the benefit of the pop growth speed from the Gaia Seeder for a period of 48 months. Considering how much time and effort that has gone into building and upgrading the Gaia Seeder (and the artwork) it would be a shame to have the building be deleted once the Gaia project is completed.
Finally, the civic is also not compatible or ideal with a lot of origins. This further restricts the options that you have to play with.
Given the above what I would like to see to improve the Civic is the following.
Gaia Seeder building changed to the following:
Phase 1: +10% Habitability and 2 Gaia Seeder jobs
Costs: 400 Minerals, 1500 Energy
Upkeep: -2 Energy
Phase 2: +20% Habitability and 4 Gaia Seeder jobs
Costs: 500 Minerals, 1500 Energy, 50 Exotic Gases
Upkeep: -5 Energy, -1 Exotic Gases
Phase 3: +30% Habitability and 6 Gaia Seeder jobs
Costs: 600 Minerals, 1500 Energy, 100 Exotic Gases
Upkeep: -8 Energy, -2 Exotic Gases
Final Phase: +10% amenities (planet), 6 Gaia Seeder jobs, creates Gaia world
Costs: 800 Minerals, 1500 Energy, 150 Exotic Gases
Upkeep: -10 Energy, -2 Exotic Gases
Gaia Seeder job grants:
+7 Amenities
+5% Pop Growth Speed
+5% Organic Pop Assembly Speed
1 Consumer Good upkeep
The building upgrades bring the Gaia Seeder in line with a gene clinic however the habitability increase is tied to the building rather than the job. The Gaia Seeder job is in line with a Medical Worker for a Gene Clinic however trades habitability for additional amenities. This makes the Gaia Seeder building better then the Gene Clinic which is good because it is tied to an all important civic.
To add a bit of balance to upgrading the buildings you will have to research each of the building levels after the first building stage. The second stage is fixed as an option at the beginning of the game and each successive stage is unlocked and fixed as an option as a previous one is researched.
Research second level Gaia Seeder: 3000 Society Research
Research third level Gaia Seeder: 8000 Society Research
Research final level Gaia Seeder: 16000 Society Research
Also the following technologies get additional effects:
Terrestrial Sculpting also allows you to build Gaia Seeders on planets of the same climate group as your preferred climate type.
Climate Restoration also allows you to build Gaia Seeders on all natural planets other than Tomb worlds, Hive worlds and Machine worlds.
This will allow the species to Gaia Seed the worlds at a similar rate to other nations learning how to terraform.
I think the above changes will make Idyllic Bloom a much more interesting, attractive and stronger option. It takes the pressure off the player and the AI for having such a massive negative energy upkeep cost per building that it forces rushing the 4 stages of the building all at once. It will allow multiple instances of the building being built without crashing the economy. And probably the most important of all it means that the Gaia Seeder building artwork doesn’t go to waste when the Gaia project is complete.
It can only be used on planets with the climate preference of the primary species. This means that if you want to play a Gaia world play through you will still need to unlock the terraforming techs and either terraform into your ideal climate preference to then use the Gaia Seeder buildings or you get the World Shaper ascension perk which makes the civic kind of redundant. As discussed below both options are far inferior to getting the World Shaper ascension perk.
Secondly the total resources to develop a Gaia world using Gaia Seeders (accounting for build cost and upkeep and assuming minimum build times) is 6960 Energy and 382 Exotic gases. This does not compare favourably to the World Shaper ascension perk of Energy 7500 (5625 with the 25% reduction accounted for) and no Exotic gases. This makes the ascension perk significantly better when you also have the added benefit that World Shapers can be used on any planet climate type and that 1 use of the Terraforming Gas edict costs less than the 382 Exotic Gases and can effect every planet being terraformed at that time.
Thirdly and probably most importantly the building upkeep is -20 Energy which is a huge drain on the economy in the early/mid game. This means that the building is unrealistic for most empire builds in the early game and can only really be done for one planet at a time. The significant upkeep also forces a player to rush through the development of the building rather than upgrade as your planet grows. Even worse is that it feels like you are penalised for every month that you are not upgrading the building because -20 Energy per month per planet is massive in the early game.
Also the building perks compare terribly to gene clinics which are significantly cheaper to build/maintain but also produce jobs that add amenities on top of comparable pop growth speed and habitability. This is also further compounded by the pop growth speed modifier of the Gaia Seeder building getting removed when the Gaia project is completed. This means you only get the benefit of the pop growth speed from the Gaia Seeder for a period of 48 months. Considering how much time and effort that has gone into building and upgrading the Gaia Seeder (and the artwork) it would be a shame to have the building be deleted once the Gaia project is completed.
Finally, the civic is also not compatible or ideal with a lot of origins. This further restricts the options that you have to play with.
Given the above what I would like to see to improve the Civic is the following.
Gaia Seeder building changed to the following:
Phase 1: +10% Habitability and 2 Gaia Seeder jobs
Costs: 400 Minerals, 1500 Energy
Upkeep: -2 Energy
Phase 2: +20% Habitability and 4 Gaia Seeder jobs
Costs: 500 Minerals, 1500 Energy, 50 Exotic Gases
Upkeep: -5 Energy, -1 Exotic Gases
Phase 3: +30% Habitability and 6 Gaia Seeder jobs
Costs: 600 Minerals, 1500 Energy, 100 Exotic Gases
Upkeep: -8 Energy, -2 Exotic Gases
Final Phase: +10% amenities (planet), 6 Gaia Seeder jobs, creates Gaia world
Costs: 800 Minerals, 1500 Energy, 150 Exotic Gases
Upkeep: -10 Energy, -2 Exotic Gases
Gaia Seeder job grants:
+7 Amenities
+5% Pop Growth Speed
+5% Organic Pop Assembly Speed
1 Consumer Good upkeep
The building upgrades bring the Gaia Seeder in line with a gene clinic however the habitability increase is tied to the building rather than the job. The Gaia Seeder job is in line with a Medical Worker for a Gene Clinic however trades habitability for additional amenities. This makes the Gaia Seeder building better then the Gene Clinic which is good because it is tied to an all important civic.
To add a bit of balance to upgrading the buildings you will have to research each of the building levels after the first building stage. The second stage is fixed as an option at the beginning of the game and each successive stage is unlocked and fixed as an option as a previous one is researched.
Research second level Gaia Seeder: 3000 Society Research
Research third level Gaia Seeder: 8000 Society Research
Research final level Gaia Seeder: 16000 Society Research
Also the following technologies get additional effects:
Terrestrial Sculpting also allows you to build Gaia Seeders on planets of the same climate group as your preferred climate type.
Climate Restoration also allows you to build Gaia Seeders on all natural planets other than Tomb worlds, Hive worlds and Machine worlds.
This will allow the species to Gaia Seed the worlds at a similar rate to other nations learning how to terraform.
I think the above changes will make Idyllic Bloom a much more interesting, attractive and stronger option. It takes the pressure off the player and the AI for having such a massive negative energy upkeep cost per building that it forces rushing the 4 stages of the building all at once. It will allow multiple instances of the building being built without crashing the economy. And probably the most important of all it means that the Gaia Seeder building artwork doesn’t go to waste when the Gaia project is complete.
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