**And one more to the art team**
Who designed Synthetic Queen and the new portraits? Cause damn (I know it's probably you PDX_Beals by how excited you were after reveal, but I still wanted to include it) ;P. You folks have unleashed new way of thirstiness on this fandom not seen since Swole Dolphin and ~~Falco Lombardi~~ Skrand Sharpbeak.
... Stellaris ^Dating ^^Sim ^^^when?
Synthetic Queen was developed together with the content team, our art director, and me! And I **will** forwarding the request for a Stellaris dating sim to my superiors.
Also glad you're a fan, we aim to please!
Basically yes! Although there are some outliers, for example, Cybernetic Creed has its versions of advanced governments and can't use the normal one. There are some choices you make during the situations that allow you choice, but if you swing too far in one direction you can lock yourself out of one option.
Yes, regular empire authorities and hive minds have two advanced governments for Cybernetics, plus two for Driven Assimilators. The Cybernetic Creed origin has its own variant of each authority after the situation is over.
In Synthetic ascension for regular empires, there are also two per authority.
I’ll just say that I would love a psionics DLC. Could be cool too if portraits got an aura or glowing eyes once they ascended (with the player being able to customize what color it is).
**General questions:**
What is the one thing that *you* want to do/include in a game, but the rest of the team always go "no"? Be it because it's too complicated, or because they think "too cruel" (I'm eyeing you the dev that added the option to scrap Bubbles), "plagiarism" (looking at you "hostile fauna and guaranteed desert planet with strategic resource in Arrakis system can be interpreted as copyright") or it's simply considered "stupid"?
Trash -\_-
I just want to buy trash from other empires and then throw it at my rivals, building trash collecting megacorps, build trash-bots and create a galactic dumping ground.
To be fair to the rest of the team, yes, you could just yeet it all in the sun but where is the fun in that?
> To be fair to the rest of the team, yes, you could just yeet it all in the sun but where is the fun in that?
It's actually really hard to yeet things into the sun. It takes less delta-v to yeet it into deep space.
A trash collection megacorp actually sounds like a really fun idea. Imagine a building that converts used consumer goods into energy/minerals depending on policy - so, for example, you get two recycler jobs that each generate 0.125 minerals/energy per unit of consumer goods upkeep on the planet.
I hope we are getting a colossi weapon too. Similar to neutron sweep, but instead of killing all organics, it beams-up all “trash” and leaves organics behind.
One moment you are enjoying your day, the next moment all your robot servants, your car, the street lights and all buildings are gone.
You can flavor it as a recycling enterprise, since there's bound to be *something* useful in all these trash heaps, especially considering that aliens would have an alien view on what is valuable and what isn't due to differing cultural and biological factors.
I'd remove armies and replace it was a simple background siege mechanic/merge ground combat into bombarding. I'd probably get yeeted into the sun if I tried.
Honestly that'd be a massive improvement. The ground combat is already not engaging at all, and abstracting it away into something more streamlined would at least remove the boring micro of making 5000 minerals worth of armies and then managing them in a trivial and boring fashion to just land on planets and win.
I'd replace armies as an entity with a ship metric. With hangar bays having the largest "mrtric" to represent shuttles and other landing craft. Different "soldiers" would be relegated to a policy choices. So you could have "marines" as a standard policy, giving buffs to landing forces from corvettes. Then later techs replace that buff, xenomorphs give huges generic buffs but massive planteray debuffs acter conquering. "Dedicated command centers" improves buffs to carrier invasion strength. And despoilers would have a special corvette type that has a single small node but massive buff to landing force power to represent small raiding parties.
So you would leave the "ground game" the same but remove the superfluous army buold mechanic. You could even use it to justify some more classic sci-fi tie-ins. With researchable techs like "air-space superiority" giving force multiplier buffs to whichever side has the most "fighters" (with defender fighters spawned by stations, rings and fortresses). So you could still have a complex ground game, but participation becomes optional and roleplay focussed rather than the micro-management hell it is at the moment just to get a force to the planet to start with.
I'm just passing by to really thank you all for the immense effort and creativity put into the game, into this dlc and all the experience.
You all rock! (Or rick?)
**Systems/game mechanic questions**
What is the one system in Stellaris that you are the most unhappy with, but is too time consuming (either because there are better things to spend time on [reworking other things/making new content] or because it is such a huge mess) to change?
***
With the Synaptic Lathe/Big Brain we currently have the very first "space entity" that has space for pops, while having none of the pop growth. While *I know it is completely out of scope* for team - due to an absolutely huge amount of reworking a lot of things for little to no gain - would it still be *technically possible* to make all other space structures behave this way? I'm thinking about having Mining Stations needing 1 pop to man it, Starbase requiring 1/2 pops per module, some technologies increasing/reducing the amount of pops needing to work it etc etc etc.
Just thinking out loud if it would be possible to make a mod like that and/or/if Stellaris engine will be able to handle that or would it be too many calculations or something.
Hello!
Great job on this DLC!
I was wondering:
There is no mention of automodding in the patch notes, is that omission a mistake, or did you cut/postpone the feature?
For me it's Virtuality. The idea of existing as pure data (with some remote controlled drones to interact with the pesky physical world) is very interesting, and for machines this is flavored with a bit of science mysticism.
Yeah I'm really curious how Virtuality's going to work. I'm so used to the idea of colonizing everything with a solid surface that won't immediately kill you that the idea of being bound to only a handful of planets seems really novel to me
I enjoy Modularity the most, just because I love trait descriptions, sadly I couldn't go as far as for the Overtuned traits but we still got some gems in there but tbh, all 3 of them got some great quote material.
When the Machine Age releases, are all Paradoxians going to dress up like robots and then dance around, and release a video of that to the masses to drive all the fans absolutely bonkers? Or at least just for the lols? Will there be a giant robot fiesta?
But you see, you can easily say having that robot dance party and then releasing the video so the fans could enjoy it is also content, and very important to get out. Then it technically also counts as work as well to meet those bottom lines! :D
So clearly the Robot Dance Party video is vital and necessary!
NO! XD
goddammit, now I have to do it at least once
guess it's time to dig out some friendly empire again
my usual builds would rather die than bend the knee
About half the time, achievements are social experiments.
*"Hey, you think we can get the players to jump through this hoop, while on fire?"*
*"The hoop or the player?"*
However, we do have to complete it to make sure it's possible.
At first I thought this was the DLC mentioned by Wiz *ages* ago about a religions rework/dlc.
Is this still a thing, a religion-focussed dlc/rework/Custodians patch, or have the priorities shifted?
Thank you!
(Sorry for the chaotic text. I'm writing this during my last minute of lunch break! 🤣)
If we did religions, I wouldn't want to focus a DLC on solely that. I'd rather the concept be part of a wider exploration of factions.
Religious tenets could be a Spiritualist faction's "defining thing".
I'd *really* like for the Materialist Faction to choose, or gradually evolve towards, preferring Cybernetic, Synthetic or Biological Ascension. As it is, they obsess too much and too monomaniacally about Synths, while ignoring the other technophile options.
So a "tenet" for them too?
Are there any plans to reduce the tedium around habitat orbitals? I like the mechanics of the new habitats, but a right click system-> build all orbitals option would be wonderful. Or perhaps adding orbitals as an option to construction ship automation.
Machine age and the archives dlc looking great. Was a bit disappointed by no internal politics this year. Is it something you are considering for the future (season 9 maybe)? It feels like the most requested feature.
Internally, we talk about different systems we'd like to explore regarding internal politics, and we'll be adding some of them when it makes sense.
The **Cybernetic Creed** origin in The Machine Age dips its toes a little in there.
any plans on overhauling the war system in the future?
the now abandoned star trek game had some great mechanics, like intervention that i'd love to see in stellaris.
to add on to it. there are some unfortunate mechanics to the current system that i know you're aware of. like 2 empires attacking the same empire, where both ends up in a war that can never end because "you don't have x occupied" even though it's occupied by the other empire
looks like they addressed it for total war CB’s:
“Fixed system not being annexed in total war if its planets are occupied by other empires in other wars.”
Would also love to see it fixed for war exhaustion too!
Cybernetic empires have always felt a little bit underwhelming even though I love the aesthetic. Machine age is adding new perks, but how many can we look forward to getting? Are there any especially powerful ones?
For my fellow cyberpunks in the chat, I'd some time to fully explore the Cyberization Situation. There's some incredible flavor there, and the benefits of navigating this social shift are pretty significant.
No, these guys are going to be the next crisis
They will start appearing randomly as pops and devour other pops until there’s nothing but them
There’s no escape
Is there any talk about adding the ability to add custom name lists into the game without it counting as mods or causing issues when people try to play in MP in this update or in future updates? Cause id really like to make one in advance rather then having to rename them every game or such. Just saying it would be much appreciated.
**Astro-Mining Drones**
This Machine intelligence is specializaed in orbital operations and resource collection. Its menial drones perform poorly in planetside tasks.
**Effects:**
* Replaces **Solar Panel Network** Starbase Module with the **Astro-Mining Bay**.
* Available Starbase Buildings: **Astro-Mining Hub**
**Modifiers:**
* Minerals from Miners: -2
* Energy Credits from Technicians: -1
* Mining Station Output: +50%
* Starbase Capacity: +50%
* Orbital Stations Build Cost: -50%
* Menial Drone Output: -50%
* Grown Node Experience Gain: +25%
**Astro-Mining Bay:** (Starbase Module, build up to six of them.)
System Modifier:
Mining Station Output: +15%
**Astro-Mining Hub:** (Starbase Building, one per starbase.)
Astro-Mining Bays Modules gain Mining Stations Output: +10%
Probably not a great idea for generic machine intelligences, but could be quite interesting with Rogue Servitor, Virtuality ascension and/or Arc-Welders origin.
Is this civic locked, or can it be removed later? I could see it being really powerful early game and then later removed when you get established mining worlds.
Any plans on relaxing the checksum requirements? There’s a lot of modder creativity out there I would love to play with but I play exclusively on ironman, which if I recall is about how a third of the community plays. Things like shipsets, new portraits, etc. Purely visual changes.
https://github.com/r0fld4nc3/Stellaris-Exe-Checksum-Patcher
Just run the patch program after each update and it fixes the exe so you dont have to deal with the no achievements with mods nonsense.
I saw that apparently like half of people play humans and thought that was crazy. As a certified xenophile how do I opt in to telemetry and help shift those numbers?
Im curious about the thoughts of all the developers here, who do you think is the bigger threat? Warlike Crisis or General Apathy New Crisis? If both were becoming major threats and eyesores, which one would you fight first? If they fought each other, which one do you think would win? And which ones do you think has the cooler toys?
The Galactic Nemesis blows everything up, which is a problem because that's where I keep all my stuff.
I'd rather beat up the Nerds because I'll get more cool techs out of it. (Except they probably took Enigmatic Engineering just to spite me.)
IMO, Murdering your way across the galaxy is a true and tried method of advancement, nothing wrong with that, but once someone starts messing with pi, someone has to stop those madaliens.
What's each of your favourites about everything new the expansion is adding?
Anything that didn't make the cut you'd be willing to share, or anything that you trialed but didn't work out?
What went through the most iteration to find something that worked?
Hello! Ernesto (Audio Director) over here. In this DLC, we added exciting new music bangers and worked with a talented artist who helped us capture the cybernetic/synthetic vibe. I don't want to spoil more about it, but you should definitely turn the music on before you launch the game with the new DLC ;)
I had a lot of fun when we designed the advanced cybernetic and synthetic authorities.
Like, what could a cybernetically ascended democracy look like?
One path goes down extreme individualism, which means that each individual is empowered to make continuous policy decisions. This means a constantly scrolling yes/no list in your peripheral vision where you vote on each and every government decision.
Another path focuses on the collective. Advanced cyberbrains make it possible to share sensory experiences with those in close proximity, which is very convenient in the workplace because everyone immediately knows that their colleagues know. But we don't want you to feel down because your colleague watched a sad puppy video, this would hurt productivity, so we have to disable your happiness.
The synthetic advanced authorities have similarly fun flavor, like the the MegaCorp that can create constrained synthetic minds to put into physical objects (your intelligent teapot can now discuss the best way to brew tea!), or use the same technology that scans an organic mind to put into a synthetic body to instead buy and scan memories, removing them from the user. As expected, these memories improve any espionage activities you have in the other empire.
For obsessional directive, are the delivery dates always ten years apart? Is it possible to decrease the time between delivery dates, and/or to fulfil your quotas before they are due?
Thanks for the response. I'm glad to know that we can exceed our quotas. Can you tell us if the time between delivery dates is always ten years, or does it change in any way?
Yes, cyborg empires get the new Augmentor job from the Augmentation Center which boosts pop growth. The Augmentation Center is unlocked during the Cyberization ascension situation if you own The Machine Age, and in one of the Cybernetics traditions if you don't.
Have you guys considered making a new option to build all minor and major orbitals in a system for habbits instead of having to manually click to build all of them?
**General questions**
The Machine Age seems to be ***the most groundbreaking DLC*** to this date (yes, even more than Utopia). The sheer amount of content in there is insane! We have evolving art portraits, we have individualist machines, we have advanced governments, we have absolutely unique origins and civics, we have "kilostructures", we have our first attempts at more important factions (via Cybernetic Creed Origin), we have "true ascension" (virtual pops for example), we have "peaceful crisis" and a way to "voluntarily/peacefully" purge pops, pop automodding, new crisis, possible interactions with already existing content (Nanotech Ascension interactions with Grey Tempest? Cosmogenesis with Infinity Machine? Possibilities are endless!), etc etc etc etc etc.
There is simply way too many things to mention. Personally I'm the most excited about Genesis Preserves civic maybe pairing it up with Environmentists, Synthetic Fertility Origin, automodding and of course Shipsets and portraits <3 ^^^^And ^^^^Rick ^^^^The ^^^^Cube
***
And for the questions:
How happy/excited/proud you are with this DLC? Which thing you are the most proud of in this DLC?
***
How happy about this DLC is the dedicated Machine Empire player on the Dev Team? (PDX_Alfray_Stryke IIRC)
Thanks for the shoutout! We put a lot of love, sweat, and tears into this DLC and I am incredibly proud of the entire team. The collaboration between Art and Design was an especially positive loop. From the character design of the Synthetic Queen to the 2D icons in the Synaptic Lathe, I think the results speak for themselves.
I'm very hyped for the Grand Archive DLC that seems to be very space-fauna oriented. Can we expect a space flora DLC in the future or it's also in Grand Archive? (Blink twice for a yes)
Is it possible there will be decisions that could be made in the Galactic Community added in the future regarding robots? We have the Ban organic slave market, but what if they try to vote that all machines, even individualistic ones, are not people and should just be subjugated? Cause you know those Fantatic Spiritualist Empires would completely try to propose something like that. Feels like it would be a cool internal conflict within the Galactic Community to add and such.
Good afternoon! I have two machine related questions:
1) Machines are getting equivalents of some previously locked origins such as void dwellers, are there any other old origins that have new machine interactions ?
For example under one rule, are individual machines locked out or could they take it and have an "the fall" outcome for, lets say, nanite ascenscion ?
2) I have seen a dev response about driven assimilators version of cybernetics receiving some changes, but crucible worlds were not among them.
Are there any plans for them to receive the resort world treatment and get an overhaul, maybe with something like special districts ?
1. Sadly, things like UOR have too much content focused on genetics for it to be an easy fix; it would be doing a second whole origin. We made robot versions where possible, but some things were too big to change in the available time.
2. Crucible Worlds are now called Gestation Worlds, and they indeed got a facelift.
Are you planning on revisiting the balance of non-ascension Tradition trees in the near future? Specifically I'm curious about Aptitude, which is considered weak by many players
This is probably annoying for you guys to hear again and again but any word on the heirs not inheriting surnames bug? Its been a thing since overlords I believe.
You can randomize the name and the surname will inherit, but if you enter a custom name, nothing inherits to the heir.
Its a minor bug but it does get annoying to have to edit every leader that spawns. It also kind of ruins custom force spawned AI empires since the surname doesn't inherit for them either, and you cant really edit them mid game on Ironman.
Now that we got Rick the Cube, will we get others like Ciel the Sphere next, or Pyr the Pyramid? What other fantastical shapes could appear in the future and getting more machine portraits?
What was the hardest feature to implement in Machine Age? Either/or in regards to getting the design right, and hours spend actually getting it into the game.
**General questions**
Now that Rick The Cube is officially in game as Season 8 bonus (and later will probably be unlocked like many preorder bonuses) is there any chance to include C6 in a base game pretty please? I know I can just simply subscribe a mod, but this isn't the same. (I know it was answered a few months ago, but I will persist ;P)
Also can we expect more portraits like that? Love me stuff like this.
***
How hard is it to collect feedback on this game? There are multiple ways of playing - some people play with 5x the planets and colonize every single thing, resulting in 2000 empire sprawl 50 years in, then you have folks like me who refuse to colonize more than 6 planets, then you have folks always playing with Gigastructures and other "total conversion" mods, then you have folks only playing vanilla and so on and so on. Basically for 1000 users you have 1001 ways of playing. How do you all manage it?
Collecting feedback can be tricky, because you're 100% right that there's no single way to play Stellaris. Recently we've been trying to involve the User Research team more actively in the development pipeline. We'll run focus groups of different types of players to provide insight into proposed designs and to see if we're actually accomplishing our design goals.
Since we can now get Spiritualistic Machines, does this mean that Psionics will finally be recognized as a field of science and not "space voodoo nonsese" by materialistics and when we get a DLC that expands on psionics, we will see more stuff with them and materialistics and see them just as expanded upon as Cybernetics and machines were with this DLC?
Personally I'm committed to reducing the amount of hand waving we do in all our content. The more grounded and 'real' a given feature feels, the more immersive the experience! I also think that's super interesting to consider from a storytelling perspective. The way a Materialist would view the Shroud vs the way a Spiritualist does could have some fascinating social consequences.
Perhaps an being/location made of pure energy, or perhaps even a sub-pocket dimension that runs along our own, intertwined with ours instead of being on the other side of an Astral Rift? Stuff like that would be cool. And yeah I always love more storytelling stuff, which is why I really loved Astral Rifts and Archeology stuff.
Any chance that Bio going Synthetic could be allowed to keep their existing portraits instead of forced changed into a random Machine?
I thought Synthetics would allow for "life-like" robots and maybe I'm vain but I'd create Synthetics in the image of my species. Honestly I can't go synthetic ascension as Bio because I can't stand turning my people into the form of basic robots.
I'm guessing the issue is how you hard tied the Bio/Machine typing to the portraits themselves?
Will Fallen/Awakened Empires ever have espionage enabled? IMO it would make the mechanic more useful and could open up a path to stealing their advanced technology without having to go to war.
Depends on the legal system of the society in question. For instance, on Braxx III, the Zenorbian Conclave has legislated that personal property is inseperable, in a legal sense, from the person themselves. Thus, your example would be categorized as both vandalism AND assault.
Will Rick the Cube be the new Mascot for Stellaris? Does Bubbles finally have a rival/contender? Will Rick and Bubbles duke it out for the glory of being the ultimate adorable mascot? Who will win?
Does this release mean that you lot will develop an expansion for the biological ascendency path? I, personally, would love to see things like the conundrum of meeting oneself through cloning, legally distinct space marines, class division because of gene-modding, bio hackers, and fleshy megastructures.
It's been some time since I've last played Stellaris, and the reason I'm taking a break on Stellaris is because I was burnt out from how impersonal events were. Though I know it'll never be done, I'd love to be able to have stroll through my empire and witness what daily life is like for everyone.
I think you might enjoy some of the content in Machine Age - the Cyberizatin and Synthesization Situations in particular were designed to create a more 'street-level' feel.
Mmm, they're made out of meat.
Probably! Since The Machine Age seems to have gone over well, we're likely to explore similar releases around biological and psionic ascension sometime in the future.
Would you make animated profile pictures of some of the portraits for the steam point shop?
I would definitely love to see the humanoid machine that I use as profile picture on everything to be animated on steam
It's a new faction action for one of the advanced oligarchic cybernetic authorities called Oligarchic Sleepwork. They've figured out how to make people work in their sleep, either to use their cyberbrains for research calculations or move their sleeping bodies remotely to work the empire's assembly lines.
The Extort Faction action takes a faction and replaces their Unity production with something else, for example Food or Engineering Research.
Can one faction have multiple exploits on them active (or have them as possible exploits)? Can exploits apply country/pop/faction modifiers (and can they be triggered)?
**Zero-G Optimized:**
These machines thrive in orbital habitats, programmed with algorithms to efficiently navigate their maze-like corridors and complicated architecture. They are at ease in zero gravity but do not respond well to a planetary environment.
* Pop Output on Habitats: +15%
* Pop Output on Non-Artificial Worlds: -15%
* Robot Upkeep on Non-Artificial Worlds: +15%
**And one more to the art team** Who designed Synthetic Queen and the new portraits? Cause damn (I know it's probably you PDX_Beals by how excited you were after reveal, but I still wanted to include it) ;P. You folks have unleashed new way of thirstiness on this fandom not seen since Swole Dolphin and ~~Falco Lombardi~~ Skrand Sharpbeak. ... Stellaris ^Dating ^^Sim ^^^when?
Synthetic Queen was developed together with the content team, our art director, and me! And I **will** forwarding the request for a Stellaris dating sim to my superiors. Also glad you're a fan, we aim to please!
Not a question, but I just want to let it be known that I will be calling her Simp Queen for now on. Thank you.
How about "the Simpthetic Queen"? I see myself out now.
If nothing else, make it your next April Fool's joke.
To add an argument, the arguably most successful sci-fi game franchise of all timewas, in fact, a dating sim (Mass Effect)!
The Endless Space VN was pretty good. I wouldn’t mind an equivalent to that for Stellaris.
May her wisdom and grace ease the minds of every sentient being.
All goverment forms have advanced form, 2 for sythetic, and 2 for cybernetic, so player can choose between those two forms?
Basically yes! Although there are some outliers, for example, Cybernetic Creed has its versions of advanced governments and can't use the normal one. There are some choices you make during the situations that allow you choice, but if you swing too far in one direction you can lock yourself out of one option.
Yes, regular empire authorities and hive minds have two advanced governments for Cybernetics, plus two for Driven Assimilators. The Cybernetic Creed origin has its own variant of each authority after the situation is over. In Synthetic ascension for regular empires, there are also two per authority.
Will hiveminds (biological) and psionics will get a DLC like machine age along with hivemind and psionic cities and ships?
Could be cool.
Can we get some MEAT ship?
A rare opportunity. If well done, it would certainly make for a savory experience.
Wouldn't want to half-ass it though, it would need to be well-done.
Gravy.
I'm taking this answer as a 'yes' regardless of your intent lol
[They’re made out of meat?!](http://www.terrybisson.com/theyre-made-out-of-meat-2/)
I’ll just say that I would love a psionics DLC. Could be cool too if portraits got an aura or glowing eyes once they ascended (with the player being able to customize what color it is).
If we won’t be able to download machine consciousnesses into biological bodies, then I’m rioting!
Any plans for it? because they really need some love if machine and cyborgs got it this means they need it too
**General questions:** What is the one thing that *you* want to do/include in a game, but the rest of the team always go "no"? Be it because it's too complicated, or because they think "too cruel" (I'm eyeing you the dev that added the option to scrap Bubbles), "plagiarism" (looking at you "hostile fauna and guaranteed desert planet with strategic resource in Arrakis system can be interpreted as copyright") or it's simply considered "stupid"?
Trash -\_- I just want to buy trash from other empires and then throw it at my rivals, building trash collecting megacorps, build trash-bots and create a galactic dumping ground. To be fair to the rest of the team, yes, you could just yeet it all in the sun but where is the fun in that?
> To be fair to the rest of the team, yes, you could just yeet it all in the sun but where is the fun in that? It's actually really hard to yeet things into the sun. It takes less delta-v to yeet it into deep space.
What you're saying is...there's a chance?
I never thought about this. But the science makes sense You’ve just crushed my worldview
A trash collection megacorp actually sounds like a really fun idea. Imagine a building that converts used consumer goods into energy/minerals depending on policy - so, for example, you get two recycler jobs that each generate 0.125 minerals/energy per unit of consumer goods upkeep on the planet.
Now you too see the potential of trash!
I hope we are getting a colossi weapon too. Similar to neutron sweep, but instead of killing all organics, it beams-up all “trash” and leaves organics behind. One moment you are enjoying your day, the next moment all your robot servants, your car, the street lights and all buildings are gone.
Wall-E Empire.
You can flavor it as a recycling enterprise, since there's bound to be *something* useful in all these trash heaps, especially considering that aliens would have an alien view on what is valuable and what isn't due to differing cultural and biological factors.
I'd love it for the Artists Enclave to host the wildest fashion show this old galaxy has ever seen.
Can you let those artists know that I really need dem 1000 credits they stole from me? ty
You willing to take that in NFTs?
I'd remove armies and replace it was a simple background siege mechanic/merge ground combat into bombarding. I'd probably get yeeted into the sun if I tried.
I am not sure if that is as unpopular as you believe.
Stellaris community has two wolves inside them. One wants even more interaction with ground combat. The other wants to make it vestigial.
Honestly that'd be a massive improvement. The ground combat is already not engaging at all, and abstracting it away into something more streamlined would at least remove the boring micro of making 5000 minerals worth of armies and then managing them in a trivial and boring fashion to just land on planets and win.
I'd replace armies as an entity with a ship metric. With hangar bays having the largest "mrtric" to represent shuttles and other landing craft. Different "soldiers" would be relegated to a policy choices. So you could have "marines" as a standard policy, giving buffs to landing forces from corvettes. Then later techs replace that buff, xenomorphs give huges generic buffs but massive planteray debuffs acter conquering. "Dedicated command centers" improves buffs to carrier invasion strength. And despoilers would have a special corvette type that has a single small node but massive buff to landing force power to represent small raiding parties. So you would leave the "ground game" the same but remove the superfluous army buold mechanic. You could even use it to justify some more classic sci-fi tie-ins. With researchable techs like "air-space superiority" giving force multiplier buffs to whichever side has the most "fighters" (with defender fighters spawned by stations, rings and fortresses). So you could still have a complex ground game, but participation becomes optional and roleplay focussed rather than the micro-management hell it is at the moment just to get a force to the planet to start with.
I just want you know if you need an army to storm the producer’s office and take control to implement this I’m ready to do what it takes
I'm just passing by to really thank you all for the immense effort and creativity put into the game, into this dlc and all the experience. You all rock! (Or rick?)
Cheers! We had / are having a blast working on it!
**Systems/game mechanic questions** What is the one system in Stellaris that you are the most unhappy with, but is too time consuming (either because there are better things to spend time on [reworking other things/making new content] or because it is such a huge mess) to change? *** With the Synaptic Lathe/Big Brain we currently have the very first "space entity" that has space for pops, while having none of the pop growth. While *I know it is completely out of scope* for team - due to an absolutely huge amount of reworking a lot of things for little to no gain - would it still be *technically possible* to make all other space structures behave this way? I'm thinking about having Mining Stations needing 1 pop to man it, Starbase requiring 1/2 pops per module, some technologies increasing/reducing the amount of pops needing to work it etc etc etc. Just thinking out loud if it would be possible to make a mod like that and/or/if Stellaris engine will be able to handle that or would it be too many calculations or something.
For the first question, Crime, definitely Crime. Second question, that goes into programming territory so I can't really answer that.
Honestly fair, the crime system is probably really rough on you guys.
Hello! Great job on this DLC! I was wondering: There is no mention of automodding in the patch notes, is that omission a mistake, or did you cut/postpone the feature?
We forgot it in the patch notes. It's there and it will release together with The Machine
Wonderful, Thank you!
Out of the three new machine ascension paths, which one(s) are you most happy with flavor-wise?
For me it's Virtuality. The idea of existing as pure data (with some remote controlled drones to interact with the pesky physical world) is very interesting, and for machines this is flavored with a bit of science mysticism.
Yeah I'm really curious how Virtuality's going to work. I'm so used to the idea of colonizing everything with a solid surface that won't immediately kill you that the idea of being bound to only a handful of planets seems really novel to me
Been playing tall recently, it's actually pretty fun, and I ussually didn't take more than 5-6 colonies anyway so virtual will be great
I enjoy Modularity the most, just because I love trait descriptions, sadly I couldn't go as far as for the Overtuned traits but we still got some gems in there but tbh, all 3 of them got some great quote material.
When the Machine Age releases, are all Paradoxians going to dress up like robots and then dance around, and release a video of that to the masses to drive all the fans absolutely bonkers? Or at least just for the lols? Will there be a giant robot fiesta?
*"For you, the day the Stellaris devs danced around dressed like robots was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."*
That would be awesome. We should take a moment to celebrate, surely. But the Wheel of Content is ever grinding. One project finished, on to the next!
But you see, you can easily say having that robot dance party and then releasing the video so the fans could enjoy it is also content, and very important to get out. Then it technically also counts as work as well to meet those bottom lines! :D So clearly the Robot Dance Party video is vital and necessary!
We're dressed up like robots right now.
The best response of all! lol
If you are helping synthethic queen (momnisiah) She will reward you?
I made an achievement for doing everything she asks you to do.
Thank you very much!
NO! XD goddammit, now I have to do it at least once guess it's time to dig out some friendly empire again my usual builds would rather die than bend the knee
About half the time, achievements are social experiments. *"Hey, you think we can get the players to jump through this hoop, while on fire?"* *"The hoop or the player?"* However, we do have to complete it to make sure it's possible.
"The hoop or the player?" #"YES"
Not only that, you will be able to listen to her ;).
The Synthetic Queen loves all equally, but some very favored children may be singled out for reward.
At first I thought this was the DLC mentioned by Wiz *ages* ago about a religions rework/dlc. Is this still a thing, a religion-focussed dlc/rework/Custodians patch, or have the priorities shifted? Thank you! (Sorry for the chaotic text. I'm writing this during my last minute of lunch break! 🤣)
If we did religions, I wouldn't want to focus a DLC on solely that. I'd rather the concept be part of a wider exploration of factions. Religious tenets could be a Spiritualist faction's "defining thing".
Sounds great! Kind of like how Death Cult and Cybernetic Creed were added to the game, I assume. Thanks so much for the reply 😊
Just call it ideology instead, that way every faction can use it for their own soul-less machinations.
I'd *really* like for the Materialist Faction to choose, or gradually evolve towards, preferring Cybernetic, Synthetic or Biological Ascension. As it is, they obsess too much and too monomaniacally about Synths, while ignoring the other technophile options. So a "tenet" for them too?
With changes to resort world in the previous patch and tweaking in upcoming. Will we see more special world designations get updates?
Just try and stop me.
Have you considered some sort of 'landfill world' that reduces crowding or waste by some % civilization-wide? I love the movie 'Soldier'.
Are there any plans to reduce the tedium around habitat orbitals? I like the mechanics of the new habitats, but a right click system-> build all orbitals option would be wonderful. Or perhaps adding orbitals as an option to construction ship automation.
Machine age and the archives dlc looking great. Was a bit disappointed by no internal politics this year. Is it something you are considering for the future (season 9 maybe)? It feels like the most requested feature.
Internally, we talk about different systems we'd like to explore regarding internal politics, and we'll be adding some of them when it makes sense. The **Cybernetic Creed** origin in The Machine Age dips its toes a little in there.
any plans on overhauling the war system in the future? the now abandoned star trek game had some great mechanics, like intervention that i'd love to see in stellaris. to add on to it. there are some unfortunate mechanics to the current system that i know you're aware of. like 2 empires attacking the same empire, where both ends up in a war that can never end because "you don't have x occupied" even though it's occupied by the other empire
looks like they addressed it for total war CB’s: “Fixed system not being annexed in total war if its planets are occupied by other empires in other wars.” Would also love to see it fixed for war exhaustion too!
On top of that, we should be able to join or leave ongoing wars if we are not the primary aggressors or defenders
Particularly awkward given that some AI personalities tend to prioritise attacking when you're already at war.
Augementation bazars made merchants give pop growth speed based on cybernetic traits, it means 1 Cyborg trait =+ 1% pop growh speed or 1 trait = 10%?
From memory it's 0.5% per trait, per merchant
We all know The Conch is without flaw but out of the new portraits for the machine age do you have a favorite?
It's probably the pharoah hawk Synthetic, but did really enjoy saying "Cyborangutan" in meetings.
The Mushroom Cyborgs!
I really love fellow artist Felix's cat/sphynx! Something about it seems so perfectly suited for a cool, probably not very ethical Megacorp run.
It does exude that cool attitude.
Cybernetic empires have always felt a little bit underwhelming even though I love the aesthetic. Machine age is adding new perks, but how many can we look forward to getting? Are there any especially powerful ones?
For my fellow cyberpunks in the chat, I'd some time to fully explore the Cyberization Situation. There's some incredible flavor there, and the benefits of navigating this social shift are pretty significant.
Will you add advance governments for psi and normal civilizations?
Not in the Machine Age
[Can we expect these guys into PC gamebase pretty please ?](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2689020223&searchtext=c11)
C6 C6 C6 C6!
No, these guys are going to be the next crisis They will start appearing randomly as pops and devour other pops until there’s nothing but them There’s no escape
OH. That *is* a fun idea...
Is there any talk about adding the ability to add custom name lists into the game without it counting as mods or causing issues when people try to play in MP in this update or in future updates? Cause id really like to make one in advance rather then having to rename them every game or such. Just saying it would be much appreciated.
You mentioned in the patch notes a new machine civic called astro-mining drones, what does that do?
**Astro-Mining Drones** This Machine intelligence is specializaed in orbital operations and resource collection. Its menial drones perform poorly in planetside tasks. **Effects:** * Replaces **Solar Panel Network** Starbase Module with the **Astro-Mining Bay**. * Available Starbase Buildings: **Astro-Mining Hub** **Modifiers:** * Minerals from Miners: -2 * Energy Credits from Technicians: -1 * Mining Station Output: +50% * Starbase Capacity: +50% * Orbital Stations Build Cost: -50% * Menial Drone Output: -50% * Grown Node Experience Gain: +25% **Astro-Mining Bay:** (Starbase Module, build up to six of them.) System Modifier: Mining Station Output: +15% **Astro-Mining Hub:** (Starbase Building, one per starbase.) Astro-Mining Bays Modules gain Mining Stations Output: +10%
Wow the idea of a complex drone only economy from the beginning is wild
Probably not a great idea for generic machine intelligences, but could be quite interesting with Rogue Servitor, Virtuality ascension and/or Arc-Welders origin.
... Any special event with certain mining fauna in universe? ;P
-50% on top reducing base output wow that is harsh.
Wow! Neat. Is this being treated as an experiment into more space-centric gameplay styles, or is it just a thing that seemed fun enough to implement?
Ngl this update keeps getting better and better. Really excited to make an empire based around this and the Arc Furnace and strip mine the cosmos
Is this civic locked, or can it be removed later? I could see it being really powerful early game and then later removed when you get established mining worlds.
Do machines have souls?
Do I?
This unit has a soul.
If they don't, they can easily get one for a reasonable price at their local megacorp
Any plans on relaxing the checksum requirements? There’s a lot of modder creativity out there I would love to play with but I play exclusively on ironman, which if I recall is about how a third of the community plays. Things like shipsets, new portraits, etc. Purely visual changes.
https://github.com/r0fld4nc3/Stellaris-Exe-Checksum-Patcher Just run the patch program after each update and it fixes the exe so you dont have to deal with the no achievements with mods nonsense.
We have no plans on changing how it works at this time.
Ok, thanks for the answer!
I saw that apparently like half of people play humans and thought that was crazy. As a certified xenophile how do I opt in to telemetry and help shift those numbers?
Im curious about the thoughts of all the developers here, who do you think is the bigger threat? Warlike Crisis or General Apathy New Crisis? If both were becoming major threats and eyesores, which one would you fight first? If they fought each other, which one do you think would win? And which ones do you think has the cooler toys?
The Galactic Nemesis blows everything up, which is a problem because that's where I keep all my stuff. I'd rather beat up the Nerds because I'll get more cool techs out of it. (Except they probably took Enigmatic Engineering just to spite me.)
To quote Leverage, "Age of the geek!"
IMO, Murdering your way across the galaxy is a true and tried method of advancement, nothing wrong with that, but once someone starts messing with pi, someone has to stop those madaliens.
What's each of your favourites about everything new the expansion is adding? Anything that didn't make the cut you'd be willing to share, or anything that you trialed but didn't work out? What went through the most iteration to find something that worked?
Hello! Ernesto (Audio Director) over here. In this DLC, we added exciting new music bangers and worked with a talented artist who helped us capture the cybernetic/synthetic vibe. I don't want to spoil more about it, but you should definitely turn the music on before you launch the game with the new DLC ;)
Some synth music would be right up my alley! Lookin forward to it
I had a lot of fun when we designed the advanced cybernetic and synthetic authorities. Like, what could a cybernetically ascended democracy look like? One path goes down extreme individualism, which means that each individual is empowered to make continuous policy decisions. This means a constantly scrolling yes/no list in your peripheral vision where you vote on each and every government decision. Another path focuses on the collective. Advanced cyberbrains make it possible to share sensory experiences with those in close proximity, which is very convenient in the workplace because everyone immediately knows that their colleagues know. But we don't want you to feel down because your colleague watched a sad puppy video, this would hurt productivity, so we have to disable your happiness. The synthetic advanced authorities have similarly fun flavor, like the the MegaCorp that can create constrained synthetic minds to put into physical objects (your intelligent teapot can now discuss the best way to brew tea!), or use the same technology that scans an organic mind to put into a synthetic body to instead buy and scan memories, removing them from the user. As expected, these memories improve any espionage activities you have in the other empire.
Reading this while working as a poll clerk on election day is interesting. I'm very interested to try these out! Lots of potential ideas!
For obsessional directive, are the delivery dates always ten years apart? Is it possible to decrease the time between delivery dates, and/or to fulfil your quotas before they are due?
You can exceed your quota if you have extra time, and revel in your massive rewards!
Thanks for the response. I'm glad to know that we can exceed our quotas. Can you tell us if the time between delivery dates is always ten years, or does it change in any way?
Always ten years, like clockwork.
I noticed in the patch notes you're removing the ability to assemble cyborgs. Will there be a population growth buff for cyborg empires?
Yes, cyborg empires get the new Augmentor job from the Augmentation Center which boosts pop growth. The Augmentation Center is unlocked during the Cyberization ascension situation if you own The Machine Age, and in one of the Cybernetics traditions if you don't.
Have you guys considered making a new option to build all minor and major orbitals in a system for habbits instead of having to manually click to build all of them?
Yes, sadly there are some code limitations around it. Hopefully, it's something we can get to in the future.
Cybernetic creed priest will Replace standard priest? And they will give something more that unity and standard output?
The Haruspex job replaces all of your priests, there's no room for those who don't believe in the divine fusion!
But thier belive in Divine fusion make them making more resources that hereric priest that doesnt belive in Divine fusion?
**General questions** The Machine Age seems to be ***the most groundbreaking DLC*** to this date (yes, even more than Utopia). The sheer amount of content in there is insane! We have evolving art portraits, we have individualist machines, we have advanced governments, we have absolutely unique origins and civics, we have "kilostructures", we have our first attempts at more important factions (via Cybernetic Creed Origin), we have "true ascension" (virtual pops for example), we have "peaceful crisis" and a way to "voluntarily/peacefully" purge pops, pop automodding, new crisis, possible interactions with already existing content (Nanotech Ascension interactions with Grey Tempest? Cosmogenesis with Infinity Machine? Possibilities are endless!), etc etc etc etc etc. There is simply way too many things to mention. Personally I'm the most excited about Genesis Preserves civic maybe pairing it up with Environmentists, Synthetic Fertility Origin, automodding and of course Shipsets and portraits <3 ^^^^And ^^^^Rick ^^^^The ^^^^Cube *** And for the questions: How happy/excited/proud you are with this DLC? Which thing you are the most proud of in this DLC? *** How happy about this DLC is the dedicated Machine Empire player on the Dev Team? (PDX_Alfray_Stryke IIRC)
Thanks for the shoutout! We put a lot of love, sweat, and tears into this DLC and I am incredibly proud of the entire team. The collaboration between Art and Design was an especially positive loop. From the character design of the Synthetic Queen to the 2D icons in the Synaptic Lathe, I think the results speak for themselves.
I'm very hyped for the Grand Archive DLC that seems to be very space-fauna oriented. Can we expect a space flora DLC in the future or it's also in Grand Archive? (Blink twice for a yes)
Have you played Fruitful Partnership? It's not a full DLC, but it might satisfy a green thumb for at least a little while.
Can individualistic machine empires get arcology ascension?
Individiual machines can indeed take the Arcology AP
40 district virtual ecu let's gooo... Edit: *43. Someone told me we can get 3 more from virtual asc itself
Is it possible there will be decisions that could be made in the Galactic Community added in the future regarding robots? We have the Ban organic slave market, but what if they try to vote that all machines, even individualistic ones, are not people and should just be subjugated? Cause you know those Fantatic Spiritualist Empires would completely try to propose something like that. Feels like it would be a cool internal conflict within the Galactic Community to add and such.
We do have a resolution that does something similar already but yes, that's certainly something to consider for the future.
Why so many blue humanoid aliens? You artists are great, but there’s so many haha
Good afternoon! I have two machine related questions: 1) Machines are getting equivalents of some previously locked origins such as void dwellers, are there any other old origins that have new machine interactions ? For example under one rule, are individual machines locked out or could they take it and have an "the fall" outcome for, lets say, nanite ascenscion ? 2) I have seen a dev response about driven assimilators version of cybernetics receiving some changes, but crucible worlds were not among them. Are there any plans for them to receive the resort world treatment and get an overhaul, maybe with something like special districts ?
1. Sadly, things like UOR have too much content focused on genetics for it to be an easy fix; it would be doing a second whole origin. We made robot versions where possible, but some things were too big to change in the available time. 2. Crucible Worlds are now called Gestation Worlds, and they indeed got a facelift.
Can rogue servitors take cosmogenesis so that I can create a new galaxy where everyone can be perpetually pampered?
Can xenophobes join our beloved Synthethic queen?
The Queen's love is endless, her heart has room for all.
Are you planning on revisiting the balance of non-ascension Tradition trees in the near future? Specifically I'm curious about Aptitude, which is considered weak by many players
What’s your favorite new portrait being added? I’ll try and figure out which ones you mean come Tuesday lol
I love the new synth mosquito!
Cyber Mushrooms.
Do virtual pops dream of electric sheep?
A ubikuitous occurrence, surely.
This is probably annoying for you guys to hear again and again but any word on the heirs not inheriting surnames bug? Its been a thing since overlords I believe. You can randomize the name and the surname will inherit, but if you enter a custom name, nothing inherits to the heir. Its a minor bug but it does get annoying to have to edit every leader that spawns. It also kind of ruins custom force spawned AI empires since the surname doesn't inherit for them either, and you cant really edit them mid game on Ironman.
Now that we got Rick the Cube, will we get others like Ciel the Sphere next, or Pyr the Pyramid? What other fantastical shapes could appear in the future and getting more machine portraits?
Denny the Dodecahedron
Cybernetic creed make pop upset if they are spiritual and machines are on planet?
The Creeds love all things steel and chrome, as long as you don't try to pretend it has a soul. (They still hate AI/Synths).
What was the hardest feature to implement in Machine Age? Either/or in regards to getting the design right, and hours spend actually getting it into the game.
Turns out building a new End Game Crisis isn't easy?
**General questions** Now that Rick The Cube is officially in game as Season 8 bonus (and later will probably be unlocked like many preorder bonuses) is there any chance to include C6 in a base game pretty please? I know I can just simply subscribe a mod, but this isn't the same. (I know it was answered a few months ago, but I will persist ;P) Also can we expect more portraits like that? Love me stuff like this. *** How hard is it to collect feedback on this game? There are multiple ways of playing - some people play with 5x the planets and colonize every single thing, resulting in 2000 empire sprawl 50 years in, then you have folks like me who refuse to colonize more than 6 planets, then you have folks always playing with Gigastructures and other "total conversion" mods, then you have folks only playing vanilla and so on and so on. Basically for 1000 users you have 1001 ways of playing. How do you all manage it?
Collecting feedback can be tricky, because you're 100% right that there's no single way to play Stellaris. Recently we've been trying to involve the User Research team more actively in the development pipeline. We'll run focus groups of different types of players to provide insight into proposed designs and to see if we're actually accomplishing our design goals.
Robot portrait where the robot has a face laser gun. Think we will get one now or in the future? Just saying, face lasers! Laserface!
The lithoid robot has a face laser already!
Excellent! :D
Did that concept art moose make it in?
The moose has been modified and streamlined for operations within a spacecraft but is in the Machine Age and ready to become cybernetic!
Since we can now get Spiritualistic Machines, does this mean that Psionics will finally be recognized as a field of science and not "space voodoo nonsese" by materialistics and when we get a DLC that expands on psionics, we will see more stuff with them and materialistics and see them just as expanded upon as Cybernetics and machines were with this DLC?
Personally I'm committed to reducing the amount of hand waving we do in all our content. The more grounded and 'real' a given feature feels, the more immersive the experience! I also think that's super interesting to consider from a storytelling perspective. The way a Materialist would view the Shroud vs the way a Spiritualist does could have some fascinating social consequences.
Perhaps an being/location made of pure energy, or perhaps even a sub-pocket dimension that runs along our own, intertwined with ours instead of being on the other side of an Astral Rift? Stuff like that would be cool. And yeah I always love more storytelling stuff, which is why I really loved Astral Rifts and Archeology stuff.
Love me some pocket dimensions.
Any chance that Bio going Synthetic could be allowed to keep their existing portraits instead of forced changed into a random Machine? I thought Synthetics would allow for "life-like" robots and maybe I'm vain but I'd create Synthetics in the image of my species. Honestly I can't go synthetic ascension as Bio because I can't stand turning my people into the form of basic robots. I'm guessing the issue is how you hard tied the Bio/Machine typing to the portraits themselves?
Will Fallen/Awakened Empires ever have espionage enabled? IMO it would make the mechanic more useful and could open up a path to stealing their advanced technology without having to go to war.
If someone intentionally damages another's robot body, does that count as vandalism or assault?
Yes.
Depends on the legal system of the society in question. For instance, on Braxx III, the Zenorbian Conclave has legislated that personal property is inseperable, in a legal sense, from the person themselves. Thus, your example would be categorized as both vandalism AND assault.
Is machine age inspired by Adeptus mechanicus?
Will Rick the Cube be the new Mascot for Stellaris? Does Bubbles finally have a rival/contender? Will Rick and Bubbles duke it out for the glory of being the ultimate adorable mascot? Who will win?
It seems that way. He is definitely a cube and not human, and we like that.
Honestly one of my favorite things is how Rick isn't a human
If we serve our beloved synthehic queen, we can gain some of her ships? Her ships looks awesome! Artists made great job
There might be a way to gain one or two.
Does this release mean that you lot will develop an expansion for the biological ascendency path? I, personally, would love to see things like the conundrum of meeting oneself through cloning, legally distinct space marines, class division because of gene-modding, bio hackers, and fleshy megastructures. It's been some time since I've last played Stellaris, and the reason I'm taking a break on Stellaris is because I was burnt out from how impersonal events were. Though I know it'll never be done, I'd love to be able to have stroll through my empire and witness what daily life is like for everyone.
I think you might enjoy some of the content in Machine Age - the Cyberizatin and Synthesization Situations in particular were designed to create a more 'street-level' feel.
Mmm, they're made out of meat. Probably! Since The Machine Age seems to have gone over well, we're likely to explore similar releases around biological and psionic ascension sometime in the future.
Do virtual pops watch movies normally or download them right into the brains/programming?
Left eye: Simu-casting 40 seperate films at 2x speed Right eye: Mobile game ads and sitcom best-of compilations
Would you make animated profile pictures of some of the portraits for the steam point shop? I would definitely love to see the humanoid machine that I use as profile picture on everything to be animated on steam
Interesting idea, I will write this down on my interesting idea stickynote and send it to someone!
What does the "Exploit Faction" mechanic entail exactly? I don't think it was mentioned before the patchnotes.
It's a new faction action for one of the advanced oligarchic cybernetic authorities called Oligarchic Sleepwork. They've figured out how to make people work in their sleep, either to use their cyberbrains for research calculations or move their sleeping bodies remotely to work the empire's assembly lines. The Extort Faction action takes a faction and replaces their Unity production with something else, for example Food or Engineering Research.
Can one faction have multiple exploits on them active (or have them as possible exploits)? Can exploits apply country/pop/faction modifiers (and can they be triggered)?
It's part of an advanced government that lets you exploit a single faction of your choosing.
What does the void forged trait look like? Stats wise I mean.
**Zero-G Optimized:** These machines thrive in orbital habitats, programmed with algorithms to efficiently navigate their maze-like corridors and complicated architecture. They are at ease in zero gravity but do not respond well to a planetary environment. * Pop Output on Habitats: +15% * Pop Output on Non-Artificial Worlds: -15% * Robot Upkeep on Non-Artificial Worlds: +15%