Day One Patch Madness on Stellaris
4.0.10 as of May 16, and the 4.0 patch was released on 5th with the new expansion.For the record, the newly released expansion wasn’t a free update. It’s priced at $24.99 as a standalone, $44.99 with a season pass, or $9.99 per month with subscription to all expansions. The 4.0 overhaul affects base game stellaris, and it is technically possible to play the game in previous, known to have late game performance issues, versions. The problem lies with the expansion packs, both new and old — how quickly it will be supported again and how quickly it will be playable again.
Take, for example, Necroids Species Pack, priced at $5.99. Part of the DLC includes a new origin, selectable origin of your stellar empire, Necrophage. Due to the radically changed pop system in 4.0, Necrophage origins suffer from insufficient pop growth. The issue has not been addressed as of 4.0.10. For one time purchase buyers, they can technically ride it out. The DLC was released back in 2020. But for expansion subscribers, waiting for the developers to update the game playable once more is a choice that would have costed a good two weeks from monthly subscription.
Day one patches or any level of emergency patches can only fix so much when the game is sold with different pricing models and has been a long-run franchise. Again, anyone who is subscribing to the game will not be able to play the intended 4.0 experience while the work is in order. For anyone who has purchased expansion packs, Biogenesis and some previous DLCs, that are affected by the changes has effectively lost access to them. The only practical solution would be to refund the latest expansion, and that is a big if with whether or not the store is willing to accept the longwinded argument.
At this point what Stellaris is going through is no longer a Day One patch — it’s a streak of patches dating back to day one. And the Paradox Forum is already hinting the possible 4.0.11, though I could not find an official staff response on the matter yet. The gripe I have with the status of current Stellaris is its unintended beta testing nature; the loyal players who have already paid for and have been playing the game are given an unfinished game. Was version 4.0 ready for May 5 launch? Certainly not. Was Biogenesis expansion pack ready for May 5 window? It’s been nearly 2 weeks since, I don’t think so. Looking at precedents such as Cyberpunk 2077, the gamer audience does seem to have higher tolerance for delays, but it is undoubtedly an ill-timed release and ill-prepared released one as well.