[2023] Stellaris - [3.7.3 (462f)] First Contact process against non-empires (e.g. crystals) sometimes ends with no pop-ups

Description
[3.7.3 (462f)] First Contact process against non-empires (e.g. crystals) sometimes ends with no pop-ups

Game Version
[3.7.3 (462f)]

What version do you use?
Paradox Launcher

What expansions do you have installed?
Utopia, Distant Stars, Ancient Relics, Federations

Do you have mods enabled?
Yes

Please explain your issue is in as much detail as possible.
I had already conducted several first contact processes against AI empires, as well as against the Tiyanki and Amoebas. I started a first contact with an entity that appeared at my homeworld, although I didn't see anything on the map or in the system. Months later, I then got an audio message saying that communications have been established, but I didn't get any pop-ups. I didn't realize that it was with the crystals until I came across them years later. After that, I tried to complete first contacts with the Wanderers (the nation that is traveling across this galaxy to go to the next one) and that had the same audio-only result.

I just recently started a first contact against the Void Clouds, and did get a pop-up for the success of the first part of that first contact chain, but then months later got an audio message saying that communications have been established with no pop-ups. My success percentage when starting all of these first contacts was at 10% without any insights because of various buffs. The annoying part of not getting the first contact popups is that I missed out on the Crystal and Void Cloud choices for those events. The attached save game is a few days after the contact with the Void Clouds was established. I did exit and save the same before encountering the Void Clouds, so reloading the save didn't fix the issue.

Steps to reproduce the issue.
Using mods Tiny Outliner v2, UI Overhaul Dynamic, UI Overhaul Dynamic + Tiny Outliner v2. I don't know if the issue can be replicated in this save because I didn't realize it was going to be more than a one-off problem until now.

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File(s) attached  

Refuel said: I'm getting this same issue with space fauna and especially enclaves/mauraders. It is super noticeable early game where first contact will begin with the blue envoy project above my capital (?) but I see no entities on the galaxy map except my own ship. I tried a hive mind stargazer (eager explorer jump ships) build for the boost to sensor and hyperlane range and this problem got 100 times worse when i was jumping to explore the galaxy.

Previously in the early game when I would explore in the first ten years of the game I would see the stations and ships in a maurader empire with the first contact event on their owned system but now I am getting first contact events at my capital with no ships on the map. I will then assign an envoy and it will mention "signs of barbarism" so i know it's a maurader. Then when i explore a bit further out (before envoy completes) I will then run into them.

I think something is off with the sensor ranges somehow. Everytime i get a contact event at my capital, the actual contact is always one more jump away. For fun i went back to 3.6 and just moved a single sci ship around the galaxy on fastest and all the contact events showed in the system where I found the ship/station/fauna but 3.7 it is initiating contact with nothing detected.

The posters picture in this thread about the same issue is exactly what i continue to run into and it's aggravating.

Stellaris - Random First Contact event in Fear of the Dark [3.7.2] [e793]

Description Random First Contact event in Fear of the Dark [3.7.2] [e793] Game Version 3.7.2 What version do you use? Steam What expansions do you have installed? All of the above, checkmark does not work. Do you have mods enabled? Yes... forum.paradoxplaza.com

Looks like a similar thing, yeah. I wonder if attaching your save game would be useful for debugging.  

I just reached another first contact situation, although I can see the ship that triggered it. This might lead to another quiet completion of the first contact process, so I'm uploading the save here now.  

It is in a Federation, and I don't recall having these issues when it wasn't in a Federation. That's an interesting insight - I wonder why that's part of the issue.  

Starfire Breeze said: My guess would be that it's likely one of the various breakages with Federations & first contacts then. These are the problems that I know about, for reference :

- Special first contact actions for non-"regular empire" entities only happen for the Fed member empire that finishes the first contact (problematic for space creatures & cripplingly bad for the Hrozgar first contact events, just an annoyance for mercantile-type enclaves)
- On founding of the galcom, Fed members get the first contact influence award for *every pre-existing galcom member* (which often will fill up everyone's Influence storage to maximum - that is clearly not supposed to happen).

Could you log these as bugs? I looked for them to upvote their priority, but didn't find anything.