Superior Species

Description:

Superior Species is an overhaul mod for species traits, leaders, and other pop mechanics. Its aim is to provide further depth and customisation to these features of the game without causing radical gameplay imbalances.

• An additional 30+ species traits for use during empire creation, with modifiers and point values that follow the precedents set by Stellaris’ existing species traits.
• Almost all organic traits are now available during empire creation and have been rebalanced when appropriate, but any traits of a value higher than +2 or lower than -2 require genetic ascension to add or remove.
• Robot and machine traits are slightly more impactful than organic traits and can be altered at any time, but they receive fewer trait points overall and have fewer angles for customisation.
• An additional 40+ leader traits, many of which are derived from their species traits.
• Rulers are twice as likely to receive these traits, as befits their station.
• Additionally, all rulers start with 3 traits (up from 2), and all leaders with 2 traits (up from 1).

• Very Strong, Strong, Weak, and other traits with similar strata-based mechanics now work correctly for Gestalt Consciousnesses.
• Leaders can now have up to 20 levels, up from 10. You still need to acquire these levels through traditions, technologies, and traits, but if you can, you can now benefit from those advanced leaders.
• Species Assimilation now occurs more gradually on a monthly basis, rather than once every year. No more crippling your economy after acquiring dozens of useless Hive Minded pops or because you’ve decided that The Flesh Is Weak.
• The Horizon Signal event chain now culminates in a unique species trait, just like the Alien Box events, to save you time trying to optimise your genemodding points.
• Many more traits now effect slave prices if it would be appropriate to do so.
• Presapient traits like Conservative, Earthbound, and Natural Intellectuals can now be crossbred through Xeno-comptability, if you get lucky, and come with their own distinct icons.
• The yearly ethics shift chance of pops has been raised to 5% (from 2%), making modifiers like Governing Ethics Attraction or actions like Suppressing a Faction significantly more impactful.
• Genemodding and Robomodding has a lower initial base cost, but higher cost per pop and per trait point, making minor alterations to small population pools less of a pain in the neck.

This mod is unlikely to be compatible with any other mod that adds or removes species or leader traits, or modifies the existing ones. Consider this your warning. This mod overwrites the following files:

• Everything in common/traits
• 00_species_archetypes
• utopia_on_action_events
• horizonsignal_events

• Simple Leader Skill Icons will provide graphics for leader levels 11-20.
• A UI Overhaul Mod of some description should help with genemodding and empire creation while using these new traits. If you’d rather keep everything else the same, use Cadence’s Genemodding UI.

This mod is heavily based on the excellent Xenology mod by Devious. There are some issues with his latest version of the mod and he isn’t so active lately; if and when he comes back and tells me to take this down, I will. I just wanted a good pool of relatively balanced traits to use in multiplayer games with my friends.