Hello Stellaris Community!
Welcome to our second #MODJAM2022 update! This week we have more teasers to share, and we’ll delve a little bit more into just how the Mod Jam mod will work in practice.
The last time we did one of these things – all the way back in 2020 – one of our biggest challenges was how to keep the Mod Jam updated in the face of a game that updates every 3 months, sometimes with drastic changes to how the game is played and changing or evolving gameplay and how to reconcile that with the content that the modders originally wrote.
Should we change certain origins in order to make them work better with the reality of what Stellaris currently is in the latest version, or update it just enough to make it so that the origin runs, and call it a day? Do we even have the ability — ethically, to change a modder’s contribution so that it works in a way that we feel “is better”? What happens if a modder is dissatisfied with our changes? Who tests these things to be sure that they work as designed? At this point, whose design are we even using?
At the end of the day, when all of these questions were put into context of the daunting task of updating, testing and maintaining 20 different modders codes, with different styles, etc, the hard decision to not update the Mod Jam 2020 mod was made, with the caveat that we would do better next time.
Well, it’s next time! sweating intensifies
In order to get around how to maintain the Mod Jam mod past the initial release and into the first update, we have decided to switch tacks. Instead of providing a complete mod with multiple mid-game crises in it (that one missing update to a single mod might cause to become hopelessly out of date), we have decided to have the modders publish their crises themselves as individual Steam workshop items. We will distribute a launcher that allows turning on/off of specific crises, as well as several launch options: from “single crisis” to “spawn a crisis every 15 years”.
We also will have this all arranged in a mod collection, so you can hit that “Subscribe to all” button and a launcher playlist that you can download and load into your launcher. While this is a few more steps than just subscribing and loading a single mod, in the long-term, this will allow the modders to maintain and continue to develop their crises after the event is over (if they choose to do so), as well as to continue to update their crisis so that it continues to work well in the larger context of how Stellaris works in whatever iteration of Stellaris that we are currently in. Moreover, this allows modders to:
1) Get Steam points and rewards for their contributions. While this is a minor thing, having Steam points and getting that “You have x awards this week!” email is a great encouragement to keep making Stellaris mods.
2) Modders maintain creative vision over their mods and can continue to develop them, should they choose to do so. Since the Mod Jam is a limited-time thing, and many modders have ended up cutting content in order to be able to deliver a playable final version, this setup allows (for those that want to) the ability to continue developing and iterating on their mods and realize their full vision.
3) Each crisis works as its own standalone mod. Don’t want to mess around with playlists and collections and things, you can run each crisis by itself, and play through the new content that way. Note: the Mod Jam standalone mods will not be compatible with each other.
The Mod Jam mod itself is currently targeted for release on January 10th, be sure to keep your eyes peeled, because that’s when you’ll be able to vote for your favorite #MODJAM2022 contribution!
But enough about past Mod Jams, and harsh realities, let’s move onto the crises we’re featuring this week!
It’s important to remember that these images are based on design documents, submitted by each modder, and are not based on what is currently playable in-game. As such, some or all of these details may change before release, some modders may not finish their contributions in time, etc.
On a more eye-opening note, we received 31 design document submissions (so far), and 25 of these images are currently in some form of production. With the 2 we released last week, and the 8 this week, that means there’s up to 15 more crises left to show off!
Modders should soon be ready to start looking for testers, and we’ve opened up the public #MODJAM2022 section on our discord! If you’re interested in getting some early access to some new Stellaris content and want to help out our modders, join us on discord!
That’s enough from me for this week, lets’s get to the mid-game crisis teasers for this week:
An enclave that sells dangerous technologies. What could go wrong?
One of the non-combat crises that have been proposed by Modders for #MODJAM2022
Read this one in the voice of a scientist with the Maniacal trait
I had way too much fun writing this one.
Give thanks for the Harvest Engine
The Prime Flesh just wants to ensure everyone has a wonderful day.
Take your next vacation in the Storm Cluster!
The natural conclusion of the Tiyanki Death Ball
That’s it for this week, we’ll have one more update next week with the rest (hopefully!) of the teasers. And don’t forget, the #MODJAM2022 will release on January 10th, 2023! Thanks for reading and happy holidays!
