Stellaris is one of the finest strategy games on Steam. It adapts developer Paradox’s grand strategy roots into something that, pacing wise, is closer to 4X as you build and manage an empire of aliens. It’s got exploration, it’s got diplomacy, and it’s got explosive warfare. But one aspect that has never really felt as satisfying as it should is espionage. As such, the studio is soliciting feedback from players as it looks at a potential rework in the future.
Sending out spy networks to gather intel and infiltrate your enemies ought to be among the coolest things you can do in any strategy game. Yet in Stellaris it feels like a minor benefit at best, and a waste of your time and resources at worst. In an ideal scenario, you can use it to ascertain the location and types of ships found in enemy fleets, which can open the door to ensuring you have the right units to counter them. The Nemesis DLC offers more options to sabotage or steal from your foes, yet it still typically falls short of providing sufficient value for your investment.
As one user on the Stellaris forum succinctly puts it, “Espionage in Stellaris is a lot like a wish fountain. It’s just that instead of throwing in coins, you throw in influence, and instead of a fountain, it’s a bottomless well that does not grant wishes.” Game director Stephen ‘Eladrin’ Muray agrees: Espionage “isn’t satisfying its promise currently,” he writes in Dev Diary 364, “It’s difficult to keep track of spy networks, is generally of low impact, and has no real counterplay.”
So what does it need? How can espionage transform the space game into a star-crossed spy thriller? Perhaps you particularly enjoy the ability to steal great works in Civilization 6, or the counter-spy play in Rome Total War? If you’ve got thoughts, Paradox wants to hear them. “We’ve often talked about an espionage rework, and know that many of you find espionage rather lackluster outside of certain circumstances,” community specialist ‘MrFreake’ writes.
“Here’s your chance to let us know what you think.” The new user survey includes questions about how impactful you want it to feel, why you think it falls short of that mark, and how the enemy AI could handle it better. There are also considerations of the system’s role-play potential, any features that you feel are particular pain points, and things you like that you’d be upset to see changed.
If you want to take part, just fill out the feedback form via the Paradox Forum. MrFreake notes that the team has collected “some excellent feedback so far, with over 8,000 responses to date on the two feedback forms to date,” one covering combat and the other discussing pirates and crime. There’s still a few days to fill out the latter of those, if you missed it over the holiday break, so be sure to give your thoughts there as well.
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