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  • Locked thread
Mazz
Dec 12, 2012

Orion, this is Sperglord Actual.
Come on home.
You could realistically validate this with the size of the models in game as well, since they are drat near the size of a moon already. It would be interesting to see fleshed out and balanced, not sure what would really work in practice.

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Glass of Milk
Dec 22, 2004
to forgive is divine
If I were designing it, I'd tie the ability to form fleets to admirals, and have each admiral be able to command x number of points of ships plus whatever combat bonuses. Technologies to get better admirals (acadamies or whatever) would come along and eventually you'd get high quality admirals from the get go.

This would be pretty skin to EU4 where if you rolled a fantastic general it could mean you could fight above your weight and might cause you to be more bellicose than normal.

Kitchner
Nov 9, 2012

IT CAN'T BE BARGAINED WITH.
IT CAN'T BE REASONED WITH.
IT DOESN'T FEEL PITY, OR REMORSE, OR FEAR.
AND IT ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT STOP, EVER, UNTIL YOU ADMIT YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT WARHAMMER
Clapping Larry

Glass of Milk posted:

If I were designing it, I'd tie the ability to form fleets to admirals, and have each admiral be able to command x number of points of ships plus whatever combat bonuses. Technologies to get better admirals (acadamies or whatever) would come along and eventually you'd get high quality admirals from the get go.

This would be pretty skin to EU4 where if you rolled a fantastic general it could mean you could fight above your weight and might cause you to be more bellicose than normal.

Unless your idea includes the absurd notion that you can't have two fleets attack one fleet this will just mean instead of a doomstack consisting of 1 fleet you have a doomstack consisting of many fleets.

I honestly think part of the problem is what another poster mentioned which is there's basically no reason to worry about leaving even your capital undefended. War is such a slog that even if you capture the capital world of an empire and have your soldiers marching around the planet and presumably having captured the leadership you get like 20% warscore and because there's no war exhaustion equivalent it makes no difference.

I actually think it would be interesting to make war less like EUIV and more like HOI4 where you occupy territory and it actually changes hands.

So like if I capture a world, it's not just "occupied" taking it away form my opponent, but actually giving it to me, and I could do things like build space ports which would then increase my naval cap. It also boosts my resources which means even if you are stuck in a war you're obviously winning but the AI refuses to surrender least you're getting some benefit.

As I've also said before I think ground wars need to last much longer than they do now to mean both sides get to try and reinforce planets, meaning controlling the space around the planet denies reinforcements.

Even if you just take those ideas there, you can't have 1 fleet because if you fly your fleet in and take their capital world and park your fleet above it, their fleets will just capture smaller, less defended worlds, build space ports, and then suddenly have a bigger navy than you.

canepazzo
May 29, 2006



How about some Banks/Utopia patch notes?



quote:

#################################################################
########################## VERSION 1.5.0 ########################
#################################################################

###################
# Expansion Features
###################

# Megastructures
* Habitat stations added to the game. Requires Voidborne ascension perk. Function like planets once built, but they have their own set of buildings
* Ring Worlds added to the game. Requires The Circle of Life ascension perk. Buildable in multiple stages around most stars and function like four size-25 Gaia planets, but consume all other planets in the system
* Dyson Sphere added to the game. Requires Galactic Wonders ascension perk. Buildable in multiple stages around certain stars
* Science Nexus added to the game. Requires Galactic Wonders ascension perk. Buildable in multiple stages around planets
* Sentry Array added to the game. Requires Galactic Wonders ascension perk. Buildable in multiple stages around planets

# Ascension Perks
* 20 ascension perks have been added to the game. An ascension perk slot is unlocked whenever a tradition category is finished. In addition, one ascension perk slot can be unlocked through technology
* Ascension perks have 3 major paths that are exclusive. One path focuses on psionics and establishing contact with The Shroud, a second path focuses on biological mastery and genetic modification, and the third path focuses on turning your species into fully synthetic androids

# Indoctrinate Natives
* Observation Stations have a new mission type that will attempt to change primitive civilizations' ethics, over time, to mirror your empire's

# Unique Civics
* Fanatic Purifiers is a civic that gives you significant military bonuses, but will automatically purge any alien Pops in your empire and make most diplomatic options unavailable
* Syncretic Evolution is a civic that allows you to start with a second, "workhorse" species on your homeworld
* Mechanists is a civic that allows you to start with a few robot Pops, and the technology to build more

# Hive Mind
* This special ethic prevents you from having any other ethics, but will also mean that none of your Pops will be affected by happiness. Pops with the Hive-Minded trait ethic may only live in Hive Mind empires, and will slowly die out if they find themselves in a non-Hive Mind empire

# Technology
* NEW: Ascension Theory technology added to the game
* NEW: Mega Engineering technology added to the game

# Components
* Psionic Shields component has been added to the game

# Buildings
* Habitat buildings added to the game

# Additonal Species Rights
* Added 3 new Purge types: Processing, Neutering and Forced Labor. Processing kills a species at a moderate speed, with each Pop being purged producing a fixed amount of food. Forced Labor kills a species slowly, but allows them to continue producing resources as though they were enslaved. Neutering kills a species very slowly, with only moderate happiness and production penalties
* Added 3 new Slavery types: Domestic Servitude, Battle Thralls and Livestock. Domestic Servants get moderate penalties to all production types, but provide happiness for other Pops on the planet. Battle Thralls get small penalties to energy production and moderate research penalties, and can be used for special slave armies. Livestock do not produce any minerals, energy or research, but produce extra food per Pop

###################
# Free Features
###################

# Important
* Added Authoritarian ethics
* Added Egalitarian ethics
* Removed Collectivist ethics
* Removed Individualist ethics
* Government system has been completely reworked and Civics have been added to the game, allowing for far more customization when creating your empire's government
* Traditions and Unity added to the game. Unity is a new resource that is used to unlock Traditions
* Food is now stored and distributed empire-wide instead of being local to individual planets. When food reaches the empire storage cap, surplus food contributes to increased Pop growth across the empire
* Pops now have a monthly mineral cost called Consumer Goods. How large this cost it depends on what living standards are set for their species in the empire
* Reworked ethics attraction. Pops now only have a single ethic, and their attraction to different ethics depends on a wide variety of factors such as their traits, the empire's governing ethics and policies, the local conditions on their planet, and so on
* Reworked the faction system. Factions are now political movements with specific issues rather than rebels, and have a happiness level based on how well your empires' policies and actions fulfill those issues. Faction happiness determines their member Pops' base happiness, and factions with high happiness will provide an influence boost to the empire they are a part of
* Unrest is a new mechanic that affects planets. Unrest is generated by unhappy Pops and slaves, and can reduce productivity and in extreme cases spark rebellions. Unrest can be lowered by certain buildings or by garrisoning armies
* Added the ability to Displace Pops as an alternative method of Purging, this forces them to move out of the empire instead of killing them
* Pops that are being purged will now sometimes manage to escape to other empires
* Added a policy for whether an empire accepts refugees (Pops that are being Purged or Displaced) from other empires
* Added a new policy for which Pops are allowed to live on an empires' core (non-sector) planets
* Added a policy that determines whether an empire tolerates pre-sentients living on their planets
* Added a music player that lets you select which tracks you want to play, play specific tracks on demand, and toggle shuffle mode on and off

# Species Rights
* Added the ability to set Species Rights for individual species. Slavery and Purging is handled through this interface instead of on an individual Pop basis

# Misc.
* Added a war demand to dismantle Frontier Outposts
* Ship engine-trails will now be colored by their empire's primary color
* Kingdom of Yondarim prescripted empire has been reworked
* You are no longer at war with rebels when they take over a planet
* Stone Age Civilizations now work like other primitives and have Pops instead of simply being tile blockers
* Added "Yurantic Crystals", a new strategic resource that improves energy weapon damage
* Becoming a patron of the Artisan Troupe enclave now has an up-front cost
* Being a patron of the Artisan Troupe enclave now gives +15% Unity generation
* It is now possible to terraform barren planets that have the "Terraforming Candidate" modifier if you possess the Atmospheric Manipulation tech. Mars is such a world by default
* Pioneering Terminal spaceport module removed from the game
* You can now choose room background in the ruler customization view
* New shader for Stations that are under construction

# Events
* Being the first to find a Precursor homeworld now yields a significant amount of Unity
* Precursor anomalies are now player-only
* When your patronage ends, the Artisan Troupe will contact you for renewal
* Limbo event chain expanded

# Technology
* NEW: Interstellar Campaigns technology added to the game
* NEW: Galactic Campaigns technology added to the game
* NEW: Colonial Bureaucracy technology added to the game
* NEW: Galactic Bureaucracy technology added to the game
* NEW: Subdermal Stimulation technology added to the game
* NEW: Cultural Heritage starting technology added to game
* NEW: Heritage Site technology added to game
* NEW: Hypercomms Forum technology added to game
* NEW: Autocurating Vault technology added to game
* NEW: Holographic Rituals technology added to the game
* NEW: Transcendent Faith technology added to the game
* NEW: Assembly Patterns technology added to the game
* NEW: Construction Templates rare technology added to the game
* Assembly Algorithms repeatable technology now belongs to the engineering category instead of physics
* Frontier Initiatives technology removed from the game
* Frontier Traditions technology removed from the game
* Frontier Collectives technology removed from the game
* Frontier Commissars technology removed from the game
* Paradise Dome technology removed
* Manifest Destiny technology has been removed from the game
* Propaganda Transmissions technology has been removed from the game

# Buildings
* Symbol of Unity building now produces 2 unity and provides +5% happiness
* Visitor Center building now requires Alien Tourism tradition
* Paradise Dome building now requires Paradise Dome tradition
* NEW: Autochthon Monument is a new building that provides Unity
* NEW: Heritage Site is a new building that provides Unity
* NEW: Hypercomms Forum is a new building that provides Unity
* NEW: Auto-Curating Vault is a new building that provides Unity
* NEW: Temple is a new building that provides Unity
* NEW: Holotemple is a new building that provides Unity
* NEW: Citadel of Faith is a new building that provides Unity
* Grand Mausoleum removed from the game

# Traits
* NEW: Wasteful trait added to the game
* NEW: Conservational trait added to the game
* Decadent trait now requires authoritarian or xenophobe ethics

# Components
* NEW: Psionic Shields component has been added to the game

###################
# Balance
###################

# Important
* New Worlds Protocol is now a starting technology
* Core Sector Systems base value reduced from 5 to 3
* Planets still under colonization do not count against the Core Sector Systems limit
* When designing an empire, you must now always pick the full amount of ethics points
* Capital buildings no longer produce food and minerals, but instead produce energy and unity. Food production of Hydroponics Farms was increased to compensate
* Added Interceptor Ship Stern section for Destroyers
* The maximum number of armies garrisoned on a planet now depends on planet size, with 1 garrison slot per planet size
* (UTOPIA owners): Gene Warriors can only be unlocked if you have the Engineered Evolution ascension perk, still available through tech if Utopia is not activated
* (UTOPIA owners): Psi Armies can only be unlocked if you have the Mind Over Matter ascension perk, still available through tech if Utopia is not activated

# Misc.
* Anomaly Fail Risk is no longer set manually, but rather completely based on the level of the anomaly
* Abandoned mining/research stations will now decay and disappear over time
* Curator Enclaves can no longer spawn with broken ring worlds
* Pitharan Dust effect on food output reduced from +20% to +10%
* Talented trait point cost reduced from 2 to 1
* Most event-generated ships can no longer be upgraded
* Doubled likelihood of triggering Horizon Signal event chain when a science ship enters a black hole system
* Ship that are being repaired no longer have a mineral repair cost
* Strategic resources that affect weapon damage have had their effect increased to +15%
* Weapon windup does not get cancelled when losing target during windup (should fix XL weapons not being able to fire due to moving targets)
* Infiltration observation station mission now requires Gene Tailoring technology
* Infiltration observation station is now available with Active Interference policy
* When infiltration of a primitive world finishes, the planet now gets a large happiness boost for 20 years
* The amount of non-defensive armies you can build from a species is now limited to the number of Pops of that species that are in your empire
* Pops that are saved from slavery/purging via conquest are now grateful instead of upset at the conquest (unless you enslave/purge them afterwards)
* Fleets that are violating border access rights now instantly go MIA instead of trying to find a path home
* Rebels now become non-hostile after taking over the planet they spawn on

# Build Time changed into Build Speed
* Master's Teachings: The Greater Good edict now increases building build speed by +10% instead of reducing building build time by -10%
* Infrastructure Projects edict now increases building build speed by +33% instead of reducing building build time by -25%
* Governor skill level now increases building build speed by +5% instead of reducing building build time by -5%
* Architectural Interest trait no longer reduces building cost or building build time, but rather increases building build speed by +50%

# Ethics
* Ethics no longer apply modifiers to Pops, and instead only apply empire modifiers

Authoritarian
* Effect on faction supression cost removed
* Resettlement Cost is now reduced by -25%
* Slaves' effect on Unrest reduced by 10%

Fanatic Authoritarian
* Effect on faction supression cost removed
* Resettlement Cost is now reduced by -50%
* Slaves' effect on Unrest reduced by 20%

Egalitarian
* Effect on Policy Happiness effects removed
* Effect on Migration Attraction removoved
* Consumer Goods Cost is now reduced by -10%
* Influence from factions is now increased by +15%

Fanatic Egalitarian
* Effect on Policy Happiness effects removed
* Effect on Migration Attraction removoved
* Consumer Goods Cost is now reduced by -20%
* Influence from factions is now increased by +30%

Xenophobe
* Effect on number of rivals removed
* Planet Border Range effect replaced with Border Range and increased from +10% to +15%
* Influence from rivals is now increased by +15%

Fanatic Xenophobe
* Effect on number of rivals removed
* Planet Border Range effect replaced with Border Range and increased from +20% to +30%
* Influence from rivals is now increased by +30%

Xenophile
* Diplomatic Influence Cost is now also reduced by -25%

Fanatic Xenophile
* Trust Growth is now reduced from +75% to +50%
* Diplomatic Influence Cost is now also reduced by -50%

Militarist
* Effect on influence gain from rivals removed
* Effect on Ship Weapon Damage removed
* Ship Fire Rate is now increased by +10%
* Army Damage is now increased by +10%

Fanatic Militarist
* Effect on influence gain from rivals removed
* Effect on Ship Weapon Damage removed
* Ship Fire Rate is now increased by +20%
* Army Damage is now increased by +20%

Pacifist
* Effect on influence gain from rivals removed
* Effect on Diplomatic Influence Cost removed
* Core Sector Systems are now increased by +2
* Unity output is now increased by +20%

Fanatic Pacifist
* Effect on influence gain from rivals removed
* Effect on Diplomatic Influence Cost removed
* Core Sector Systems are now increased by +4
* Unity output is now increased by +40%

Spiritualist
* Unrest is now reduced by -10

Fanatic Spiritualist
* Unrest is now reduced by -20

Materialist
* Effect on building cost removed
* Research Speed is now increased by +5%
* Robot upkeep cost is now reduced by -10%

Fanatic Materialist
* Effect on building cost removed
* Research Speed is now increased by +10%
* Robot upkeep cost is now reduced by -20%

# Colonization & Migration
* Doubled the base time it takes to colonize planets
* When a Pop migrates to a new planet, it will now get a happiness boost for 10 years
* Only a single Pop can now be migrating to a planet at any given time

# Buildings
* Farms now produce more food due to capitol buildings no longer producing food
* Visitor Center mineral cost increased from 100 to 150
* Visitor Center now increases habitability by +5%
* Slave Processing Plant mineral cost reduced from 350 to 250
* Slave Processing Plant build time reduced from 720 to 360
* Slave Processing Plant now also reduces Slave Unrest by 50%
* Frontier Clinic now reduces growth time by -5% instead of increasing habitability by +5%
* Frontier Hospital now reduces growth time by -10% instead of increasing habitability by +10%
* Forlorn Ruins habitability modifier reduced from -50% to -20%

# Galaxy
* Primitive civilizations are now less common
* The Enigmatic Fortress system will now always have at least one potentially-habitable planet

# Fallen Empires
* Xenophobic Fallen Empires are now angered specifically by encroaching colonies and frontier outposts, instead of from border friction, meaning they won't declare war just over natural border growth

# Diplomacy & Subjects
* Subjects can now always colonize inside their own borders
* It is now possible to declare war on and conquer Protectorates
* Protectorates now work the same as vassals when it comes to diplomacy and colonization
* Protectorates can now be integrated without waiting for them to become a vassal

# Events & Modifiers
* Atmospheric Aphrodisiac planet modifier effect on growth time reduced from -33% to -10%
* Planet modifier-related events will now always trigger within the first year of colonization
* Made a number of colony events more common for the player

# Leaders
* Ruler skill now reduces edict influence cost and increase unity output
* Governor skill no longer increases happiness, but rather lowers Unrest
* Leaders will no longer start with the Iron Fist trait if Slavery is prohibited
* Leaders can only gain the Iron Fist trait by leveling up if Slavery is not prohibited

# Technology
* Pacifists no longer have a lower chance of rolling weapon-related technologies
* Everyone can now research and build Research Institute, Symbol of Unity, Ministry of Benevolence and Galactic Stock Exchange as rare technologies
* Nutrient Replication effect on food output reduced from +25% to +15%
* Tomb World Adaption effect on habitability reduced from +40% to +20%
* Automated Exploration Protocols technology now required Administrative AI instead of Self-Aware AI
* Technologies that increased influence now increase the influence gain from factions instead

# Components
* Missile cooldown reduced from 2.0-3.0 to 0.2-2.5
* Missile armor penetration changed to 0/15/30%
* Missile speed increased from 5 to 6
* Missiles now deal +10% damage vs. shields
* Missile HP have been adjusted slightly
* Weapon windup does not get cancelled when losing target during windup

# War
* The Liberate wargoal can no longer be used against Fallen Empires, Awakened Empires and Hive Minds
* Countries that cannot normally conquer planets are now able to conquer Fallen Empires, Awakened Empires and Hive Minds
* Planets belonging to subjects are now worth less warscore to occupy
* Planets belonging to subjects of Awakened Empires are worth far less warscore to occupy
* Removed warscore gain from blockades
* Planets that are part of the wargoals are now worth significantly more warscore


###################
# AI
###################

# Crises
* Fixed various issues with the Swarm and Unbidden crisis AIs getting stuck
* Swarm AI should now build fewer Infestors

# Diplomacy
* AI is now far more active when it comes to offering mutually beneficial trade deals
* AI now remembers rejected diplomatic offers for much longer and will not offer them again for a long time
* AI is now less likely to accept new migration treaties while under threat, which should fix migration treaty spam during crises
* Fixed an issue where the AI would not accept federation association status because the asker disliked one of the federation members

# Economy
* Major work done on AI exploration, expansion and economy that should allow AI to be more competitive in early-game growth

# Sectors
* Completely overhauled Sector AI budgeting so that it should now never unnecessarily accumulate resources when it has projects it could spend those resources on
* Added a new Agricultural Sector focus for Food production
* Added a tooltip in the sector view that tells you what a sector is planning to construct and how they are allocating resources to those projects
* Sectors will now put more focus on building robots, especially on planets with no biological Pops

# War
* Fixed a bug that was making the mid and late-game AI far less aggressive than it should be due to not correctly calculating when it was unable to peacefully expand
* Misc improvements to AI war logic and fixes for situations where it got 'stuck'

###################
# User Interface
###################

# Misc
* Added a list of terraforming planets to the outliner
* Should now be more clear what actually counts as differing war philosophy
* It is now possible to pan the camera by holding down both left and right mouse buttons
* Added mapmode option to toggle sector graphics
* Scrollbar in create new fleet will no longer reset when you transfer ships
* Scrollbar in expansion planer no longer reset when list is updated
* Galaxy map shows only claimable resources and colonizable planets while details map mode is off
* Remove unused space in planet view
* Updated appearance of edict tooltips
* Ships that are forced out of a system due to hostiles will now try to resume their remaining orders
* All military ships are counted in the ship size groups below the fleet power in system and galaxy view
* Clicking the "Change Research" button in the Research window will no longer cancel special projects
* Save the last used galaxy settings. Singleplayer and Multiplayer settings are saved individually
* Clicking the research resources in the top bar will open the Technology window
* Added game launch option -bajen

###################
# User modding
###################

# Misc.
* is_boss is now a fleet setting only
* Added functionality to support GetSpeciesAdj for Pop Scope
* Traits now have a randomized = yes/no setting that is used when randomizing traits instead of initial = yes/no. Initial now only controls what traits can be used in a custom species
* Support context switch from army to owner
* Removed defines for base resource income. You can now change this in the script files for each resource
* Replaced Pop_add_ethic with Pop_change_ethic, can still use Pop_add_forced_ethic to override 1-ethic rule
* Added pc_habitat planet class

# Effects
* The kill_leader effect now uses the scoped leader if no type is specified
* Added spawn_megastructure effect
* Added change_leader_portrait effect
* Added rename_species effect that can pick randomly from a list or prompt the player for a custom name
* Added add_ruler_trait and remove_ruler_trait effects
* every_owned_leader and random_owned_leader now include the current ruler
* Added support for army scope for is_same_species, is_exact_same_species triggers and change_species effect
* Added clear_ethos effect, takes Pop or country scope
* Added shift_ethic effect, adds the selected ethic to country ethos and then cleans up afterwards so amount of ethics points stays the same
* Added add_ruler_trait and remove_ruler_trait effects to change ruler traits for any leader, even if they are not currently ruler
* Added random_pool_leader and every_pool_leader list effects for leaders that are recruitable for a country

# Triggers
* Added count_species and count_exact_species triggers
* Added any_planet_army and count_planet_army triggers
* Added any_owned_army and count_owned_army triggers
* Added num_ascension_perks trigger
* Added former_<species right>_type triggers
* Added habitable_structure scripted trigger
* Added has_tradition trigger
* Added has_ascension_perk trigger
* Added num_trait_points trigger
* Added has_presence trigger
* Added excess_food trigger
* Added unrest trigger
* Added has_ruler_trait trigger
* Renamed random_army_within_country to random_owned_army
* Renamed every_army_within_country to every_owned_army
* Renamed random_army to random_planet_army
* Allow using a species 'who' target for the habitability trigger
* any_owned_leader now includes the current ruler
* Added any_pool_leader and count_pool_leader triggers for leaders that are recruitable for a country

# Modifiers
* Added slave_mineral_output modifier
* Added country_trust_cap_add modifier
* Added federation_naval_cap_contribution_mult modifier
* Added ship_home_territory_fire_rate_mult modifier
* Added country_vassal_naval_capacity_contribution_mult modifier
* Added subject_tribute_mult modifier
* Added country_subject_technology_sharing_mult modifier
* Added country_federation_member_resource_<resource>_mult modifiers
* Added leader_<admiral/general/scientist/governor>_influence_cost modifiers
* Added planet_building_upkeep_mult modifier
* Added megastructure_build_speed_mult modifier
* Added mod_megastructure_build_cost_mult modifier
* Added modify_species_cost_mult modifier
* Added country_government_civic_points_add modifier
* slave_production_output now affects all resources produced by slaves
* Added trigger support for opinion modifiers, allows creating new opinion modifiers without code support
* Removed support for common/triggered_modifiers
* Replaced Pop_radiation_happiness modifier with biological_Pop_happiness that only affects biological Pops
* All auto generated "resource_x_add" modifier types have been renamed to "tile_resource_x_add" as they were only applied to tiles
* The "country_resource_x_mult" modifier type is back! This one should be preferred over tile_resource_x_mult for empire-wide effects. Influence specific sources are not affected by this one (like influence from rivalries etc).
* The "planet_resource_x_add" modifier now works for all resource types, not just food
* Added faction_influence_mult modifier type
* Added subject_influence_gain_mult modifier type
* Added subject_integration_influence_cost modifier type
* tile_resource_x_add modifier type now adds resources regardless of what building is on the tile
* Added tile_building_resource_x_add modifier type that only adds its value if the tile's building already produces some of that resource

# On-actions
* Added on_megastructure_built on-action
* Added on_megastructure_upgrade_begin on-action
* Added on_megastructure_upgraded on-action
* Added on_ruler_back_to_pre_ruler_class on-action
* Added empire_init_add_technologies on-action. Used during galaxy generation
* Added create_capital_initial_Pops on-action. Used during galaxy generation
* Added empire_init_create_ships on-action. Used during galaxy generation

# Game Rules
* Added are_rebels_hostile game rule
* Added should_apply_neighbor_rival_modifier game rule
* Added show_notification_for_ground_combat game rule
* Added has_full_sensor_range game rule
* Added can_planet_support_orbital_station game rule

###################
# Performance
###################

# Misc.
* Improved performance when having one big fleet selected
* Improved performance of Pop migration by threading the calculations
* Improved performance of economy calculations
* General frame rate improvements in many gui views, especially in mid to late game
* Various AI-related performance improvements
* Fixed a severe lag spike that could happen in some rare cases when the AI was calculating diplomatic actions to propose

###################
# Bugfixes
###################

# Misc.
* Fixed AI and automatic exploration stopping completely due to bad distance calculations
* Fixed event countries such as Rampaging Titans making use of planetary fortifications
* Fixed Debris and similar projects not being able to be researched from the galaxy map when clicking project icon
* Fixed some ship components not auto-upgrading when new level was researched
* Wildcat miners anomaly can now only appear inside an empire's borders
* Remove tech in every case where the tech is completed. Techs no longer restart when finished
* Fixed crash when is_guaranteeing trigger was used with invalid scope
* Fixed a bug where Physics Lab 3 technology required the wrong technology
* Level 3 engineering lab tech now costs the same as corresponding physics/society lab techs
* Fixed weapons with limited firing arc choosing an ineligible target and therefore failing to fire at all
* Fixed a bug where buildings would not apply their modifier to the planet until the next monthly production pass
* Fixed a bug where cancelling terraforming of a planet within your borders was impossible if you didn't start the process
* Fixed issue with a ship destroyed VO sound not working
* Fixed an issue where country types, that would normally not have spaceports, could take them over from other empires
* Awakened Empires will no longer accept white peace in War in Heaven under any circumstances
* Fixed Artisan Enclave diplomacy breaking in some circumstances
* Fixed game freezing on a rare occasion when ending a war
* Fixed bug where colony ship cost modifiers were applied twice
* Starvation no longer makes robots unhappy
* Fixed issue with sound effects being played while loading save
* Changing a colonized planet into an uninhabitable planet class now destroys the colony
* Disbanded or destroyed observation posts will no longer save primitive civilizations from their doom in certain circumstances
* Ship costs can no longer be negative
* The Ship Cost modifier no longer affects station costs
* 'Likely to be purged' AI peace acceptance reduction now only triggers if you're demanding planets
* Fixed out-of-sync where cached values for ships and fleets were not updated after hotjoin
* Fixed out-of-sync where the radii of galactic objects were only recalculated after loading saves
* Fixed out-of-sync where the fleet size was not recalculated after hotjoin
* Fixed out-of-sync where modifiers were not properly recalculated after hotjoin
* Fixed out-of-sync where the galaxy map was not regenerated after hotjoin
* Fixed out-of-sync where custom fleet formations were not saved
* Fixed out-of-sync where commands could be executed during hotjoin
* Fixed out-of-sync related to deficit spending in the empire AI
* Fixed out-of-sync when client and host used different language settings
* Fixed situation where multiple Wraiths could spawn in a single galaxy
* Construction ships no longer get stuck trying to build stations if there is no valid path to the station's intended coordinates
* Fixed bug where the reclaimed ship obtained from Horizon Signal did not have a model in the ship view
* Fixed bug where is_boss setting could propagate to other ships
* Use move order to check if a colonization order is possible
* Fixed science ship trying to research anomaly in inaccessible system getting getting stuck
* Fleets that are already in combat will no longer get the 'hostile fleet engaged' sound effect playing for additional enemy engagements.
* Fixed a potential failure for an anomaly category to generate an anomaly
* Fixed debris sounds sometimes playing in galaxy map
* Fixed text/effect mismatch in Wraith event
* Fixed missing species names in events related to Shielded Planets
* Fixed agendas and mandates not being available for the first ruler, and rulers not clearing or generating agendas or mandates when switching between government types
* Fix ship designer sometimes trying to equip a component for the wrong slot size
* Fix some ship components not auto-upgrading after researching the next tier component technology
* Fix advisor sound volume not being saved between game launches
* Fix hostile intel persisting past the end of hostilities
* Fixed anomaly generation chance from scientist trait or ship components never getting applied
* Fixed Curator Archeology Lab's anomaly fail risk and research speed effects not working correctly
* Fixed Curator Archeology Lab's Anomaly Research Speed bonus effects not working correctly
* Fixed Curator Explorer Lab's survey speed effect not working correctly
* Fix science ship trying to research an anomaly in an inaccessible system getting stuck
* Fix weapons with limited firing arc sometimes not firing at all
* Fixed a bug where it was possible to move your capital to a planet that is under colonization
* Pops should no longer modify themselves on planets of the same type as their species' homeworld
* Fixed a bug where fleets could in some cases attack a disabled fleet
* Fleets cancel all orders when they are forced out of a system
* Fixed broken Manhattan-distance calculations for ship targeting
* Fixed issue with Support Independence not working
* Pops can no longer migrate away from occupied planets

# Sector
* Fixed so that spaceports in a sector have their maintenance paid for by the sector

# Events
* Fixed several cases where precursor anomaly generating events would not properly spawn anomalies
* Fixed a Horizon Signal event chain outcome not affecting Continental-preference Pops properly
* Fixed localization/scope issue in country.209 so that the radical_cult event target points to the cult and not your own empire
* Improved reliability of Old Gods event chain
* Fixed the second Horizon Signal chain not terminating correctly in all instances
* The Artisan Troupe Enclave will no longer ask you to take in Pops if they would have low habitability on your colonies
* Nomads will no longer ask you to take in Pops if they would have low habitability on your colonies
* Causing the Enigmatic Fortress to catastrophically explode will turn uninhabitable planets into Molten rather than Tomb Worlds (gas giants and asteroids will not change)
* Pops from a certain tomb world-related event now have their habitability traits set properly
* Fixed unintended behavior in the outcome(s) of the Syzygy fight in the Horizon Signal event chain
* Fixed the Redirected Delivery of Nomad ships not being delivered when appropriate
* Fixed missing event reward related to the ancient mining drones
* Fixed Primitives sometimes building certain structures on tile blockers
* Fixed missing species names in events related to Shielded Planets
* Fixed faulty event title in Enclave Trader menus
* Rogue covert infiltration agent can no longer appear on multiple planets

# Achievements
* Fixed Deus Vult achievement ignoring Spiritualist requirement

# Interface
* Added missing commas in Federation Association Status listing
* Fixed some cases where the warning that a planetary invasion was likely to fail showed up incorrectly
* Fixed a bug with fleet box health bars overlap icons when more than four designs in fleet
* Fixed faulty event title in Enclave Trader menus
* Fixed inconsistent naming of Swarm and Amoeba strike craft in localization
* Fixed a case where Automatic Exploration would fail due to incorrect pathfinding checks
* Disabled the expansion planner colonization button if the colony ship has no valid path to the planet
* Planet view: Rally point toggle now shows when it's enabled
* You will no longer close windows when you accidentally release mouse outside of the window (after drag)
* Fleet transfer window will no longer close when you release the scrollbar
* Fixed incorrect production and station energy income in budget view if there were sectors
* Fixed Using the X (or Esc) in top right corner of diplomatic dialog events leads to event having no effect
* Fixed a bug where Debris and similar projects would not be researched from the galaxy map when clicking project icon
* Fixed some inconsistencies in top-bar resource tooltips
* Fixed endless "Evading hostile fleet" if the fleet had additional orders queued up in the system with hostiles
* Fixed Both 'Decline' and 'No' in a two option dialog on sector deletion
* Don't show warning when invading allied planet occupied by hostile empire
* Fixed so that Pop maintenance is paid for by the sector and displayed in the planet and economy balance
* Fix incorrect production and station energy income in Government Budget window if the empire has sectors
* Federation Victory progress now shows up for all members of a Federation correctly instead of just the leader
* Technology screen: Fixed Swapping between "Researched" tabs causes low FPS when a large amount of techs are researched
* Fixed Victory screen shows TITLE and DESC
* Situation Log: Condition text overlaps finish time text
* Situation Log: Updated VO is always triggered on load
* Situation Log: Fixed Text overlaps with buttons when the list of components is long in debris
* Situation Log: Fixed "Requires science ship" text overlap for debris
* Fixed Crash to Desktop when clicking a fleet in the Federation Window
* Identical movement arrows no longer stack, improving performance and reducing the very bright bloom when having multiple fleets selected
* 'Would likely be purged' will no longer apply when all wargoals are liberation-type goals
* Create proper tooltip for is_same_species trigger if the current scope is a country scope
* Connecting to a server no longer freezes the game
* System name background shows correct diplomatic status color
* Fleet order list is visible again when overing over the icon in the outliner
* Fix new traits missing from the Leaders window
* Make it less likely that projectiles of big weapons are not visible
* System name background uses correct diplomatic status color in systems with only stations (instead of planets

# Launcher
* Fixed broken scrollbar for MOD and DLC list in launcher
* Fixed DoB field displaying incorrectly in Spanish Launcher when creating a Paradox account

canepazzo fucked around with this message at 14:00 on Mar 30, 2017

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

---FAGNER---
TEAM-MATE
Psionic shields as a ship component? Only confirms that I will play spiritualists in my first Utopia game.

Staltran
Jan 3, 2013

Fallen Rib
Well, -100% build time was fun while it lasted.

oddium
Feb 21, 2006

end of the 4.5 tatami age

what i'm really surprised to see, is my phone apparently has a limit to how much text can be copied at once. what the beans...

canepazzo
May 29, 2006



Curious to see that missile buff in practice. Is that simple enough to mod in on the current build? Would be interesting to test it.

Edit: there was a typo in fanatic pacifist, fixed - it's +4 core worlds, +40% unity.

canepazzo fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Mar 30, 2017

Staltran
Jan 3, 2013

Fallen Rib

canepazzo posted:

Curious to see that missile buff in practice. Is that simple enough to mod in on the current build? Would be interesting to test it.

Edit: there was a typo in fanatic pacifist, fixed - it's +4 core worlds, +40% unity.

I think the only file you need to edit is Stellaris\common\component_templates\weapon_components.csv

GunnerJ
Aug 1, 2005

Do you think this is funny?
Super glad the precursor events will now be player-only.

"Fleets that are violating border access rights now instantly go MIA instead of trying to find a path home" is going to suck when you're scouting and randomly stumble into a FE. On the other hand, gently caress yes: "Ships that are forced out of a system due to hostiles will now try to resume their remaining orders"

"Only a single Pop can now be migrating to a planet at any given time" - nice, no more new planet zerg rush of migrants.

Confused about the role of Protectorates now. They are vassals in all but name, but other empires can directly declare war on them?

"The Liberate wargoal can no longer be used against Fallen Empires, Awakened Empires..." - so much for that research agreement trick.

LogisticEarth
Mar 28, 2004

Someone once told me, "Time is a flat circle".

GunnerJ posted:

Super glad the precursor events will now be player-only.

Counterpoint: it's fun when the Cybrex homeworld suddenly pops up within you territory because the AI finished the event chain and you get the system for free!

Aethernet
Jan 28, 2009

This is the Captain...

Our glorious political masters have, in their wisdom, decided to form an alliance with a rag-tag bunch of freedom fighters right when the Federation has us at a tactical disadvantage. Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in the Feds firing on our vessels...

Damn you Huxley!

Grimey Drawer

quote:

Starvation no longer makes robots unhappy

Nice.

Missile buff doesn't look like it'll make them contenders, depending on how much the buff to hitpoints is. I'd have made point defence weaker. Will see how it goes in live.

Baron Porkface
Jan 22, 2007


Is fanatic purifieers still going to be an A.I personality?

Kitchner
Nov 9, 2012

IT CAN'T BE BARGAINED WITH.
IT CAN'T BE REASONED WITH.
IT DOESN'T FEEL PITY, OR REMORSE, OR FEAR.
AND IT ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT STOP, EVER, UNTIL YOU ADMIT YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT WARHAMMER
Clapping Larry

GunnerJ posted:

Super glad the precursor events will now be player-only.

"Fleets that are violating border access rights now instantly go MIA instead of trying to find a path home" is going to suck when you're scouting and randomly stumble into a FE. On the other hand, gently caress yes: "Ships that are forced out of a system due to hostiles will now try to resume their remaining orders"

"Only a single Pop can now be migrating to a planet at any given time" - nice, no more new planet zerg rush of migrants.

Confused about the role of Protectorates now. They are vassals in all but name, but other empires can directly declare war on them?

"The Liberate wargoal can no longer be used against Fallen Empires, Awakened Empires..." - so much for that research agreement trick.

Protectorates can't be integrated and do get the research bonus I guess. Plus you don't have to actually go to war to protect them, and they can declare war on other people.

Considering its always in your interest to do a research agreement with vassals anyway I'd suggest eventually it will be tributaries, vassals, and some sort of semi vassal, like a dominion, that has more leeway than a vassal but less than a tributary.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

---FAGNER---
TEAM-MATE

Kitchner posted:

Protectorates can't be integrated and do get the research bonus I guess. Plus you don't have to actually go to war to protect them, and they can declare war on other people.

Considering its always in your interest to do a research agreement with vassals anyway I'd suggest eventually it will be tributaries, vassals, and some sort of semi vassal, like a dominion, that has more leeway than a vassal but less than a tributary.

But one of the patch notes is "protectorates can now be integrated"? :confused:

ulmont
Sep 15, 2010

IF I EVER MISS VOTING IN AN ELECTION (EVEN AMERICAN IDOL) ,OR HAVE UNPAID PARKING TICKETS, PLEASE TAKE AWAY MY FRANCHISE

Kitchner posted:

Protectorates can't be integrated and do get the research bonus I guess.

Negative, Ghost Rider.

Patch Notes posted:

# Diplomacy & Subjects
* Subjects can now always colonize inside their own borders
* It is now possible to declare war on and conquer Protectorates
* Protectorates now work the same as vassals when it comes to diplomacy and colonization
* Protectorates can now be integrated without waiting for them to become a vassal

e;f,b.

LordMune
Nov 21, 2006

Helim needed to be invisible.

Baron Porkface posted:

Is fanatic purifieers still going to be an A.I personality?

Yes.

Bloodly
Nov 3, 2008

Not as strong as you'd expect.

quote:

* Capital buildings no longer produce food and minerals, but instead produce energy and unity. Food production of Hydroponics Farms was increased to compensate

Hmm. Even with food being global now, I imagine it will be more difficult to avoid building Basic Farms than before. And upgrading the capital will also no longer immediately turn the planet truly productive. And you'll want to aim the capital onto energy squares....

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

---FAGNER---
TEAM-MATE

Bloodly posted:

Hmm. Even with food being global now, I imagine it will be more difficult to avoid building Basic Farms than before. And upgrading the capital will also no longer immediately turn the planet truly productive. And you'll want to aim the capital onto energy squares....

Which is the whole point? Build a few farms on the planet of the agrarian species you conquered to feed ten other planets that won't have to build a single farm.

Being able to make smaller planets run with only your capital and the frontier clinic was something of a failure in game design to me. Why not remove food and farms entirely? But with global food, you don't even need to dismantle farms anymore that made themselves superfluous through upgrades, you just don'g need to build any for the next few planets you colonize.

Kitchner
Nov 9, 2012

IT CAN'T BE BARGAINED WITH.
IT CAN'T BE REASONED WITH.
IT DOESN'T FEEL PITY, OR REMORSE, OR FEAR.
AND IT ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT STOP, EVER, UNTIL YOU ADMIT YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT WARHAMMER
Clapping Larry

Torrannor posted:

But one of the patch notes is "protectorates can now be integrated"? :confused:

Oh, in which case I really don't see the difference other than they can declare war on people (I think?) and you aren't forced to defend them.

EDIT: Oh an protectorates give you influence

Kitchner fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Mar 30, 2017

Jeb Bush 2012
Apr 4, 2007

A mathematician, like a painter or poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas.

Kitchner posted:

Oh, in which case I really don't see the difference other than they can declare war on people (I think?) and you aren't forced to defend them.

It doesn't look like they've removed the influence bonus

Wiz
May 16, 2004

Nap Ghost

Kitchner posted:

Oh, in which case I really don't see the difference other than they can declare war on people (I think?) and you aren't forced to defend them.

Protectorates get a tech bonus and give influence to their overlord. They do not join their overlord in war, but overlord has to defend them.

In short, for the overlord both are pretty similar but protectorates give passive benefits while vassals help you in war. The Domination traditions also let you get some perks from vassals, such as increased naval cap.

Wiz fucked around with this message at 16:26 on Mar 30, 2017

Kitchner
Nov 9, 2012

IT CAN'T BE BARGAINED WITH.
IT CAN'T BE REASONED WITH.
IT DOESN'T FEEL PITY, OR REMORSE, OR FEAR.
AND IT ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT STOP, EVER, UNTIL YOU ADMIT YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT WARHAMMER
Clapping Larry

Wiz posted:

Protectorates get a tech bonus and give influence to their overlord. They do not join their overlord in war, but overlord has to defend them.

In short, for the overlord both are pretty similar but protectorates give passive benefits while vassals help you in war. The Domination traditions also let you get some perks from vassals, such as increased naval cap.

Can you not sign research treaties with vassals though? Or was that removed ages ago and it just such how infrequently I vassalise people?

Wiz
May 16, 2004

Nap Ghost

Kitchner posted:

Can you not sign research treaties with vassals though? Or was that removed ages ago and it just such how infrequently I vassalise people?

Not in 1.5, but there's a domination tradition that gives you a permanent research treaty with all your vassals. It's not nearly as strong as the (one-way) tech discount protectorates get though.

Vassals are meant to be more useful than Protectorates, at any rate.

MadJackal
Apr 30, 2004

Zore posted:

Another option is just to make pirates and stuff an actual thing so you're forced to split your fleets. Having non-empire stuff that's actually dangerous wandering through at various intervals would mean 2 or 3 fleets would be useful.

Agreed. There should be some kind of penalty for having a sprawling empire that takes up 20% of the galaxy and the nearest fleet from your frontier planets is years away.

I'm so looking forward to booting up a new game after Utopia drops. I haven't touched the game since pre-Leviathan (even though I've read every single dev diary).

MadJackal fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Mar 30, 2017

winterwerefox
Apr 23, 2010

The next movie better not make me shave anything :(

So armies are getting reworked in this patch, adding a depth and width you can have.

Size 16 starting world can have 16 defensive garrisons.

It has a pop of 8. So 8 assault armies can be built and supported from there, like the titanic life allowing you 3.

You invade a primitives size 20 homeworld, and they are very strong and resilient. They have a pop of 4. you could have 20 resiliant defensive armies, but only 4 assault armies of their species.

Just want to make sure im understanding it. What about robot armies?

Mazz
Dec 12, 2012

Orion, this is Sperglord Actual.
Come on home.
The border range techs were removed, does that mean it's now tied to Unity?

Fintilgin
Sep 29, 2004

Fintilgin sweeps!

MadJackal posted:

Agreed. There should be some kind of penalty for having a sprawling empire that takes up 20% of the galaxy and the nearest fleet from your frontier planets is years away.

It might be interesting to involve this with sector management in some way. Like fleet strength in a sector reduces a 'piracy' penalty to your economy. Or a sector calculates it's 'security desire' based off what it borders. An internal sector not near any aliens might have negligible security desire, a sector bordering the fanatic purifier hivemind empire next door might need a decent fleet strength to keep the pops happy.

EDIT: Might be interesting with an eventual sector rework if every star you owned had to belong to a sector, so the mechanics applied everywhere, and you were only able to directly play with the tiles in your Core sector, the size of which varries by the current mechanic.

CrazyLoon
Aug 10, 2015

"..."

MadJackal posted:

Agreed. There should be some kind of penalty for having a sprawling empire that takes up 20% of the galaxy and the nearest fleet from your frontier planets is years away.

An idea popped up recently, what with food becoming global and it becoming possible to strategically starve out an enemy by blockading their breadbaskets, of perhaps being given the option to blockade minerals production in a similar way by adding some form of interstellar trade/supply routes that are formed logically through your mining stations, via which large megaship mineral/energy transports automatically fly through. And if it gets destroyed along the way by a hostile force, that'd mean a temporarily stunted mineral income for a set number of months. That would give the pirates an actual trade route to patrol and harass and force your fleets to protect them, not to mention give another strategic goal for any attacker to weaken the defender with and starve them, other than just sieging down planets for the most warscore.

CrazyLoon fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Mar 30, 2017

Swedish Horror
Jan 16, 2013

Raiders in CK2 are already annoying as hell and they have to obey geography to raid you. I can't imagine the loving hassle it would be to fight off pirates in space, where they can just warp directly into the heart of your empire.

Splicer
Oct 16, 2006

from hell's heart I cast at thee
🧙🐀🧹🌙🪄🐸

Bloodly posted:

Hmm. Even with food being global now, I imagine it will be more difficult to avoid building Basic Farms than before. And upgrading the capital will also no longer immediately turn the planet truly productive. And you'll want to aim the capital onto energy squares....
...I somehow got it into my head that capital buildings suppressed tile resources, so I've only been putting them on blank tiles. Thanks to this post I get to find out that red/green tiles are absolutely amazing colony sites just before it gets taken away :negative:

It would be cool if capital buildings exploited whatever was on their tiles even if they don't produce that natively. Design the capital around a bigass farm or cool mine or what have you.

Baronjutter
Dec 31, 2007

"Tiny Trains"

Dang so capitals have to go on energy now. Ok.

GunnerJ
Aug 1, 2005

Do you think this is funny?

Mazz posted:

The border range techs were removed, does that mean it's now tied to Unity?

From stuff in the stream and some dev diaries, my impression is that a lot of those techs became things bought/unlocked with unity, yeah. Although it explicitly notes it in some cases but not others?

GlyphGryph
Jun 23, 2013

Down came the glitches and burned us in ditches and we slept after eating our dead.

Swedish Horror posted:

Raiders in CK2 are already annoying as hell and they have to obey geography to raid you. I can't imagine the loving hassle it would be to fight off pirates in space, where they can just warp directly into the heart of your empire.

Implement them as a pure numerical abstraction. A flat penalty to energy and minerals from "piracy" and "security countermeasures" that is countered directly by the size and distribution of your fleet, and then a button on your fleet that sets it to split up and occupy multiple systems and a "rally" button that makes them rejoin at a designated rally point back into one big fleet.

The tradeoff is that you get more production by using your army to guarantee "security" but when a war happens it will take them some time to get back on "war footing" and you risk the enemy fleet taking a chunk of them out before reinforcements can arrive.

Don't make it any sort of actual fight, the idea that pirates would be a threat to your expensive military ships instead of just opportunists preying on civilian trade is laughable anyway and also not terribly fun. Have some occasional graphics for your fleets passively engaging in blowing up tiny ships as they patrol their systems.

OwlFancier
Aug 22, 2013

ulmont posted:

Isn't that, for peer engagements (human-human or AI-AI), how every other Paradox game works? I mean, when the Ottomans declare war on Byzantium, you know they're hosed absent some incredibly exploitative play...

Whether it's normal or not, it isn't terribly fun. "Historical inevitability management simulator" isn't my idea of a very fun game and if Stellaris is going to feature a combat system I don't think it should be limited to that either. There are currently things you can do about it and things designed to allow smaller nations to punch above their weight (defensive pacts, etc) but they could use some expansion.

If anything I would say that fighting multiple nations in an entente is the best form of war in the game at the moment because it forces the enemy to bring split fleets and it promotes multiple front combat which encourages you to split yours.

OwlFancier fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Mar 30, 2017

GunnerJ
Aug 1, 2005

Do you think this is funny?
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea that planets getting bombarded and invaded should be a much bigger deal and something you might want more fleets distributed about to at least delay.

Baronjutter
Dec 31, 2007

"Tiny Trains"

Wiz do you guys have stats on how people are playing stellaris? I remember a while ago you or someone dumped a bunch of cool info about eu4 on us, most popular nation (custom!) and average game lengths and so on. Do you guys have that for Stellaris? I'd be curious what the most popular "builds" are and when people stop playing.

Ham Sandwiches
Jul 7, 2000

GunnerJ posted:

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea that planets getting bombarded and invaded should be a much bigger deal and something you might want more fleets distributed about to at least delay.

In other 4X games there's no actual difference between conquering a planet, or bombing a planet to remove the enemy colony and then recolonizing.

In Stellaris, not only do your fleets basically lack the ability to glass a planet unless you have the right ethic, your neighbors will hate you for it. Also your planets are rarely under threat. In SOTS you have scourges that can come by and destroy your planets. In Stellaris planets and pops are safe, they have to be, because pops are troublesome and something you need to "deal with" instead of simply eliminate.

It's one of the biggest things I noticed in the Stellaris early game. You can't beat up your neighbors in any effective way using your superior military. So the way it works right now is you'd spread your fleets out and they sit around doing the nothing that fleets currently do in war 90% of the time.

LogisticEarth
Mar 28, 2004

Someone once told me, "Time is a flat circle".
If we want to talk piracy, I would say that it should be abstracted a bit. Like, a ticking "control" rating for each system or something. As the rate grows, resource production suffers. Having ships in the system rapidly restores order and reduces these maluses. Stations eliminate it. If a system is within sensor range, deterioration of control is capped at 20% or something. If you the rating hits 100% you start getting the possibility of spawning a pirate base or other event. So you only have to play whack-a-mole if you really screw up and lose control over a bunch of space.

This would promote using smaller fleets for patrol (a patrol order would be nice anyway), and the development of a station network. Different governments affect how disorder spreads, and hive minds could be largely immune to it.

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Grizzwold
Jan 27, 2012

Posters off the pork bow!
Re: Fleets and junk, I think maybe a planning system like HoI4 would be decent . You have fleets you put your ships in and then you say "Ok, you guys patrol here", or "Hold the front here", or "Take these systems" or something and then it kind of automates a lot of the busywork? I dunno, I'm just throwing ideas at the wall on an internet forum while waiting for Utopia to release.

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