I'm done with pdx updating the game every week or so with useless bugfixes that introduce new bugs, thus breaking the mod times and again. I'd suggest to try the original phi with a downgrade of the game to have a very intense experience of what the game could actually be ;-)

Idk is it? Is it dead, my fellow stellaris enjoyer?

is thihs mod dead?

I'm releasing an updated and slit up version of the PHI mod. Easier to maintain at the cost of the most advanced feature, but still better than nothing. You'll find the "pieces" into this collection: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2829840495

@hugo: no, it's not broken, but it's not yet ported to 3.3.1
pdx took some pain in rewriting most of the code so any mod written pre 3.3.1 (including this one) is not working anymore. If you wish to try the mod, revert back to 3.2.2 - or wait for it to be updated (but i need to have spare time + will power to do it, so it could be a long wait)

Is it broken?

Stellaris 3.3 will be released on February, 23. I expect this mod to be badly broken in every aspect (wouldn't even expect for it to be loaded without crashes) until I fix it - expect it to be "down" for roughly 2 weeks.

I've published a mod called Statistics: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2736635838

It makes possible to see, in a human-friendly way, all the stats about your game's galaxy. Try it out!

PHI 1.6a is now online.

AIs are really (really) better at not getting pwnd. Beware!

**** MAJOR RELEASE COMING UP ****

PHI 1.6a to be released next week - if you have an ongoing campaign and need more time to finish it, let me know and we'll arrange a new time schedule.

@RamonG: we'll adapt and rework. Paradox going a step in the right direction doesn't mean we're going to be out of work... :P

Main philosophy shall remain:
1. planets should be rare and special
2. there should be many "meta" builds in order to see real diversity
3. choices have consequences
4. a game shall be interesting and full of things, not just looking at a screen for 100000 hours

Stellaris is going to rework unity. Do you think this mod will get impacted by that, considering the empire sprawl buff? https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/stellaris-dev-diary-237-reworking-unity-part-one.1506491/

PHI 1.5c has been released. Not too many changes (and none breaking saved games), but a first taste of the new AI. Enjoy!

PHI 1.5b is now out. Menu is available at game start, and also let people know about some "hidden" mechanics/opportunities offered by the mod. Hope you enjoy!

Next release (1.6) will probably be all focused on improving AIs, in order to make them uber stronk / a challenge even for sp games...

Ok, so removing it doesn't make it unplayable. Just very very difficult. So unless you want hardcore (from my perspective at least), then don't remove the mod halfway through a game.

@RamonG: tonight we'll probably end a campaign, and tomorrow morning PHI1.5b will be pushed online

@An old Zed: probably yes, the only way to know is by trying ;-) (just copy somewhere else the savegame file before attempting it...)

"I'm going to try it out on multiplayer" I meant when the menu update comes along! Already been using it on multiplayer

@MarioMinaccia ok that's great to hear! I'm going to try it out on multiplayer, been playing only with this mod, really enjoying it a lot, diplomacy does feel WAY more valuable and the victory conditions feel very proper, really enjoying it, a must to have in my opinion

Does it break a save game if I remove it?

@RamonG: I have to actually thank you a lot, as the introduction of a "PHI Start Menu" improves a lot my players understanding of the mechanics of the mod. The menu, with rules opt-in/opt-out is now available for testing (along with some changes due for the full 1.5 implementation) using the phi-dev mod, which now enters pre-release stability (no savegame breaks).

Anybody can test it here: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2274421915

@RamonG: the mod was at first created to eliminate all the "written rules" we had on the discord server I played Stellaris on, and "Thou shall not border-gore" was one of them... so it was quite natural to implement it.

From a "lore" perspective: think about a miner working on a deep space mining station. Somehow he needs to get supplies delivered in order to survive, and maybe a place with actual ground below his feet to spend some quality time on holidays --> ergo the need for any system to be connected to at least a fully colonized planet...

Nonetheless, about your request: I'll work on it asap. It is totally reasonable, and I hope to be able to implement it asap. I'll let you know it it makes to the 1.6 version!

Hey mario, thank you for this amazing mod!

Question tho, what is the motivation behind the "border gore" issue? Isn't it strategic to jump a system or two to close the borders at a chokehold for an increased influence cost? Is there any way you could make this mod configurable so I could disable the border gore situation, for example?

Other than that thank you for your great work!

@Exovi - yes, it was originally designed to work with nsc2 + guilli's planet modifiers + stefan's balance, but since it was more work to maintain their compatibility (and some issues in the nsc2 case like the explo cruiser debacle....) we removed any external reference and PHI is now standalone.

you can find an image and a better explanation on the diplo stance rework here:
https://stellaris.paradoxwikis.com/Phi_mp_balancing/Phi_policies

Wow, this looks great! Am I reading between the patch notes correctly that this was designed to work with NCS2? (I understand it is no longer a requirement)

Could you explain what this change means?
> Diplomatic stance completely reworked: now you have a step-by-step change process as you ready up or dismantle your industrial-military complex

WARNING: ON JUNE 9th 2021, PHI 1.1 WILL GO ONLINE. IT IS NOT SAVEGAME COMPATIBLE!

@saasabasdasd: i'm still lagging a bit in writing up the documentation, as phi1.1 is being developed (and i'm managing a 1.0 campaign). basically every planet has a modifier on it (quite bad at the beginning). it could be "less amenities" or "more build cost" or "high energy maintenance". Researching "terraforming", and later "ecological adaptation", unlocks planetary decisions that "upgrade" the modifiers, lessening the maluses and increasing the bonuses. You can look at it if you open the decision panel from the planet view.

Is every colonisable planet supposed to have a negative quirk that gives you -50% amenities, -25% food from jobs and +10 society research? It looks like it's intentional but I don't see anything about it in the documentation of the mod.

Hehe, thanks, looking forward to it

@saasabasdasd:

for the other settings:

tech/unity = 1x
it will make the game quite fast (hence the "mp" part of the mod name), by reaching 2220 with more or less 1k tech / month and 2k by 2230. feel free to push it to 2x if you find it too fast, but i usually prefer having players complaining about "the game ended too soon" than people getting bored out to death ('cause you can always host a NEW game, while forcing a player to slug on is like committing torture and ensure no-return of the customers ;-) )

mid game/end game = 2250/2300
crisis = 1x
with 1x tech you'll find it difficult but not impossible to face the perils of the galaxy.

two main features of the mod are "player based" crises that speed up the game-ensure no boredom... read more about them on the official pdx wiki here [stellaris.paradoxwikis.com]

@saasabasdasd: let me try to delve into the topic a bit ;-)

***growth***
logistic growth/max scaling: i usually loathe any system in which things seems "unnatural". As an example, i really hated the "old" system in which by simply colonizing a planet you could achieve a pop growth comparable to that of an old established colony (like once we go to mars with 2 people, the year after we have a billion humans born there...). The same applies now, but in the other sense: if you have enough space/pops and sexual libido, pop should growth as naturally intended, not being capped artificially at any given value...

mod-wise, setting higher the logistic growth prevents the latter problem, while putting base growth to 1 ensure that the former problem is negligible.

Thanks for the tips!

Regarding logistic growth and growth scaling--why those settings? Is it to speed up the game? I'm generally a fan of the changes to the pop growth mechanics since 3.0.

For the following settings, what do you recommend?
-Tech/unity speed
-Mid-game year
-End game year
-Crisis strength

Most of my players are pretty new to the game and I don't want the game to end with everyone getting automatically wiped by the crisis!

@saasabasdasd: ai is generally slightly better than vanilla, as resources and starts are more balanced (and i've put in place some "cheating"). i've started working on ai since 2 weeks ago (and plan to improve on that) - rn ai is VERY strong at senate politics (they vote to kick your ass and inflict maximum pain). if you use higher difficult levels, it should be a funny game.

the mod was originally intended "for-humans" only, but i've founded myself playing it even sp :D

also: i usually let ais on my hosted games when i need to show new changes/teach how to play to players, as ais can be used as cannon fodder...

finally: when you start a game, be sure to have 3 fallen empires / maxed out logistic growth (25x) / minimized growth scaling (0x)

Very interested in using this mod for my semi-regular MP games with friends.

How do the AI hold up? Or should we only have human players?

This mod made me re-evaluate Stellaris as a game. Mp tends to be unbalanced and pretty boring, but this mod implements a lot more mechanics and balancing factors. I'd suggest anyone to try it out at least once!

Probably the best total overhaul mod around. It fills the game designing gaps left by paradox in such a way you will never want to go back. Ever felt the fact that stellaris isn't at its full potential? Try this mod and you'll see what I'm writing about

Try this in multy, you'll never wanna go back

A mod that keep on updating and that balance a game that otherwise would not be balanced. A great job made for the multiplayer of the stellaris community. So many thanks!!