Where's all the "content pack" DLC?

[gbromios]

One thing I've noticed about Stellaris is the lack of visual DLC. Seems like every time there's a major patch for EUIV or CKII, there's an accompanying DLC with visual enhancements and new, varied assets. I always buy them too, even if I'm unlikely to ever play as a faction that uses them, just because I appreciate the richness it brings to the worlds.

Seeing as Stellaris takes place in a purely imagined universe, it seems to me that the sky is the limit for things like this: new ship models, new portraits, new flag options, etc, etc. I'm sure there are mods, but I'm also happy to pay for quality art and flavor enhancements, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Have the devs mentioned anything about this? I'm really curious since it seems like such a diversion from their other titles.

 

[Milten]

50% of DLCs we have available at the moment are purely "visual" (i.e. 1 out of 2), I wouldn't call that lacking.

 

[gbromios]

50% of DLCs we have available at the moment are purely "visual" (i.e. 1 out of 2), I wouldn't call that lacking.

ya know, I actually somehow completely missed that there was a plantoid pack. Hoping for more stuff along those lines!

 

[ranma100]

There are dozens of mods with that sort of thing on steam, if you want something now.

 

[smjjames]

It's also really early in development, compared to other Paradox titles like Crusader Kings. They've been more focused on improving and adding mechanics than pure art content atm.

 

[Nyrael]

Most of those cosmetics came together with a full-pledged expansion. and we are still waiting for the first Stellaris expansion, which is why there are still not many cosmetics.

 

[Cordane]

There was also a lot of fuss raised when the last ribbons & bows DLC came out, mostly because of the price point that was set (and maintained for the most part).

 

[SuiciSpai]

Also, it seems that the plantoid DLC was very time consuming, and maybe is not worth the work (beacuse of this, DLC has an higer price that usually the averageuser would be willing to pay for a cosmetic DLC, but with a lot of whining about it)

 

[grandad1982]

I'm sure I've seen somewhere the devs talking about folding the 'content pack' into the mechanics DLC more in stellaris and hoi4 than previous titles. It's a way to tackle the huge list of DLC on steam I believe.

 

[Scourgeclaw]

large walls of DLC can be daunting and frustrating to someone trying to learn a new pdox game

Speaking as someone who semi-recently picked up CKII to play with some friends, I can attest to this.

 

[Fourthspartan56]

large walls of DLC can be daunting and frustrating to someone trying to learn a new pdox game

Speaking as someone who semi-recently picked up CKII to play with some friends, I can attest to this.

Why? The DLC are modular and it's more than possible to buy some or none of them. I know that I played EU4 for quite a while before buying any expansions, heck I still haven't bought a few.

 

[iniudan]

Why? The DLC are modular and it's more than possible to buy some or none of them. I know that I played EU4 for quite a while before buying any expansions, heck I still haven't bought a few.

I think he means that all the DLC make it even more of a learning cliff, as he's getting all the expansion mechanic thrown at him at the same then learning the basic game.

 

[Scourgeclaw]

Why? The DLC are modular and it's more than possible to buy some or none of them. I know that I played EU4 for quite a while before buying any expansions, heck I still haven't bought a few.

Because personally, I mostly prefer to play these kinds of games in multiplayer- and to learn the game for myself, I'll usually try to spend a few hours in singleplayer to get to know the game.
In this scenario: having just spent $60 on a new game I'm already uncertain of, and being presented an entirely separate interface, set of rules and mechanics and told "you can't have what you had in multiplayer until you fork over another $35" isn't exactly conducive to my continued enjoyment in the learning experience.

This is normally the part where I'd offer some insight as to how I believe this issue could be fixed but honestly, I'm uncertain as to what could be done to alleviate it. I just hope it isn't a problem for Stellaris in a year or two when I try introducing the game to any future friends/signifigant others/family members

Also what iniudan said.

 

[Ezumiyr]

It's also really early in development, compared to other Paradox titles like Crusader Kings. They've been more focused on improving and adding mechanics than pure art content atm.

They added a lot of visuals and sounds too, I wouldn't say that they are focusing on adding content or mechanics.
And that's not how it works anyway, as the artists aren't going to become coders and programmers all of sudden.

There was probably more work done for the graphics and the sound in Stellaris than in any of their other strategy games. Just compare the models they need with their other games at this stage of their development : everything is in 3D, you need plenty of illustrations, the portraits are animated, there are sounds for each type of weapon... I even wonder if there isn't already more of that in Stellaris than in EU4. They have probably more artists working on Stellaris than on EU4 and CK2, and just look at all the new models Wiz teased recently. They know their game is beautiful, so yeah they won't stop "focusing" on that aspect, and they are right to do that. This is one of the core assets of Stellaris.


To the OP: yeah, I'm sure we'll have more visual DLCs in the future. New portraits, new ship models, etc. The question is: how will they do it? There's a big demand for "meaningful" portraits with an associated gameplay rather than just cosmetic portraits.

 

[Fourthspartan56]

Because personally, I mostly prefer to play these kinds of games in multiplayer- and to learn the game for myself, I'll usually try to spend a few hours in singleplayer to get to know the game.
In this scenario: having just spent $60 on a new game I'm already uncertain of, and being presented an entirely separate interface, set of rules and mechanics and told "you can't have what you had in multiplayer until you fork over another $35" isn't exactly conducive to my continued enjoyment in the learning experience.

This is normally the part where I'd offer some insight as to how I believe this issue could be fixed but honestly, I'm uncertain as to what could be done to alleviate it. I just hope it isn't a problem for Stellaris in a year or two when I try introducing the game to any future friends/signifigant others/family members

Also what iniudan said.

So what can be done? Developing the game costs money and each expansion is accompanied with a large free patch. Just make sure that your family/SO/friends understand the modular nature of the DLC and how they don't need them to have fun.