[2023] Mod Highlights #3 - Learning to Love your Neighbors

A lil somethin somethin: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page here.

written by: MrFreake, Mute, Risker34, corsairmarks, michaelmakesgames

Hello again Stellaris Community,

Welcome to our third mod highlight! It’s been quiet around the office this week, as most of the devs are off enjoying the 15 minutes of Swedish summer. So we’re back with another Mod Highlight on Thursday! We expect to see weekly Dev Diaries start up again in this spot on July 27th.

In the meantime, because we like talking about Stellaris, we’ve been doing these Mod Highlights – with the assistance of some of our Modders – to show off some Community-made mods that might not necessarily show on the frontpage of the Stellaris Workshop.

This week’s mod highlight is themed around diplomatic mods. These mods will allow you to perform new diplomatic actions against the empires around you, build new things, new ways to generate trade, and new ways to conquer enemy worlds (obviously the ultimate form of diplomacy).

Let's get into it!

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Galactic Politics by Mute​

Features:

• New Traditions (Cooperative, Combative, Convictionative, Rebellious, Imperial, Subservient)
  
• New Federation Types (Closed Circle, Social Commonwealth, Intergalactic Soviet)
  
• New GalCom Resolution (Galactic Solidarity)
  
• New Ascension Perks (Machiavellian Machinations)
  
• New Espionage (Slander, Support Opposition, Backstab, Set Trap, Coup de Grace)

Summary:
Plays into the themes of DLCs such as Federations, Nemesis and Overlord. Offers some roleplay potential and interesting gameplay options for the Galactic Community, Federations, Overlords, Subjects and Espionage.

Cooperative, Combative and Convictionative Traditions are mutually exclusive and grant Players additional Bonus based on their Federation Type and more.

Imperial, Subservient and Rebellious Traditions explore what the relationship between Overlords and Subjects can look like. Subservient Empires have special interactions with their Overlords such as choosing to adopt their Traditions for free or joining them in Defensive Wars unrequested. (This is basically the loyalist fantasy of serving dutifully and fighting side by side with your leader/s until the very last breath).

On the other hand, the Rebellious empires are the complete opposite, constantly displeasing their overlords and gaining a massive bonus whenever they are facing a stronger empire. (the opposite, disregarding authority, attempting to topple dictators throughout the galaxy)

Machiavellian Machinations unlocks Espionage Operations; these focus on manipulation and ruthlessness, allowing players to initiate wars in new ways, such as entering wars uninvited or performing a mercy kill against pathetic empires.

This also pairs well with the Closed Circle Federation, a highly exclusive secret organization where only members willing to adopt the leader's authority are welcome. Perks focus on Espionage, Diplomatic Weight, Sensors and Cloaking. (it's the Illuminati)

The Galactic Solidarity Resolution is a socialist utopia, increasing worker happiness, political power, helping with the recovery of recently attacked empires, banning being unfederated or being uncooperative and enabling the founding of a unique Federation with which redistributes a percentage of resources each month equally amongst all members.







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This next mod expands what you can do with branch offices, offering several upgrade paths to unlock bonuses and has the potential to amplify a planet’s specialization.

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Moar Branch Offices by Risker34​


Summary:
Here at Moar Branch Offices we want to provide you with a wider array of buildings to help you expand not only your economy, but the galactic economy as a whole! We do this by creating new buildings for you to build, including a new system that allows you to tailor your branch offices to the specialization of the planets that they're on.

Features:

• 20 New Branch Office Buildings for both Megacorps and CrimeCorps
  
• System to Specialize Branch Offices via the Buildings on them
  
• Ability to provide goods and services on planets with Branch Offices
  
• Ability to be a thorn in the side of planets with branch offices

Inspiration:
I was playing as a Megacorp with a friend and was having a hard time making enough strategic resources since Megacorps generally want to keep their planet count low and strategics scale off of planets. I got frustrated that I could gain just about every resource I needed from branch offices except the strategic resources I needed, so I decided to add strategic producing buildings. My friend came up with the idea of having lower level buildings unlock the ability to make bigger cooler versions, in lieu of actual upgrading, with it being balanced off the fact you have to dedicate an entire office to gain the highest level of each path.










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Specialist Subject types are something we’re excited to see more of. Dial your trade game up to 12, with this next mod.

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Specialist Subject: Mercatorum by Corsairmarks​


Summary:
This mod adds a brand-new specialist subject type - the Mercatorum! As an overlord, you can now charter one of your subjects as your very own megacorporation. Unlike other other specialist subject types, overlords are limited to a maximum of one Mercatorum, however that Mercatorum subject does not count for purposes of Divided Patronage (the loyalty penalty for having multiple subjects).

Features:

• Adds a new Specialist Subject type: the Mercatorum
  
• Charter your very own megacorporation - Mercatorums are converted into megacorporations and must remain so as long as they are specialized as a Mercatorum
  
• Includes all features of a Specialist Subject:
  
• Custom specialist perks
  
• A new overlord holding
  
• Special leader traits (specialist level 2)
  
• Special trade actions between Overlord and Subject
  
• Selection of agreement presets for the AI
  
• Updated agreement terms apply standard specialist restrictions (e.g. no integration)
  
• Specialist-specific diplomatic background
  
• All-new icons relating to the specialist subject type, themed on the Energy Credit symbol
  
• AI personalities for Mercatorum subjects - they prefer to avoid war, alternate flavor allows slavery
  
• Mercatorum subjects are heavily integrated into their overlord's economy
  
• Maximum of one Mercatorum subject, but does not count for Divided Loyalty
  
• Overlord can choose to bail out their subject in the event of a resource deficit (the AI knows how to use this)
  
• If a Mercatorum subject defaults on their debt, the overlord suffers penalties as well
  
• Overlord periodically receives special dividends (similar to Mercenary Enclave dividends) and the Subject keeps a percentage as commission
  
• New trade-related edicts available for regular empires, unlocked by existing technologies
  
• New branch office building exclusively for Mercatorum subjects: National Corporate Headquarters, which can be built once in their overlord and each of the overlord's other subjects
  
• Built-in compatibility with four flavors of Ethics & Civics (Bug Branch, Classic, Redux, FunEFork)
  
• Sub-mod to add compatibility with Vassals Expanded and Reworked (FunEFork)
  
• Works with all other mods by corsairmarks, including additional gameplay interactions

Inspiration:
I built this mod as a challenge myself to understand as much as I could about the new subjugation features introduced by Overlord. It also fills the economic niche that I feel the three built-in specializations did not cover. I hope that other modders can use this mod as a framework to help build their own specialist subjects.






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This next mod adds new mechanics to conquering planets. I assure you our blockade is completely legal.

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Under Siege by michaelmakesgames​

Features:

• When a starbase is occupied, all planets in that system are considered Under Siege
  
• Besieged planets must produce their own resources
  
• Planets that don't produce their own resources face worsening shortages
  
• Stockpile resources on a planet to delay shortages when besieged

Summary:
Shortages are tracked separately for Energy, Minerals, Food, and Consumer Goods. The effects of the shortage are fully dynamic based on the species on the planet and the empire's civics. Out of minerals? Your lithoid pops will be unhappy and stop growing. Catalytic forge world out of food? It won't be producing many alloys.

Critically, both Energy and Mineral shortages affect orbital bombardment damage. A self-sustaining fortress world will last much longer!

As an alternative to self-sustainability, you can transfer resources from your empire's stockpile to a planet's local stockpile. During a siege, planets will use resources from their stockpile before they face any shortages. And if that sounds like micro-management, fear not! You can set a monthly budget to stockpile resources on your highest-priority planets, based on the population, local production, and how long the current stockpiles would last. The AI understands all of this, and will stockpile resources appropriately too!

Anecdote:
Sometimes, the simple things are the hardest. At about 2000 lines of script, the tooltip is the most complicated part of this mod.




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Why about.. all of them?​
Yes, Mod Enjoyer. I see you. No conflicts detected this week! All of these mods should be fine to use with one another.

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That’s it for this week’s Mod Highlights. Next week we’ll be talking to the people who ought to know, and they’ll tell us how it ought to be!