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Stellaris Dev Diary #286 - Fear and Archaeotechs in First Contact

Hello everyone! I am PDS_Iggy, and I’m here to tell you all about Fear of the Dark!

This new narrative origin for First Contact focuses on a people divided. After a planet in your solar system blew up, fear and xenophobia spread to such a degree that a large portion of your population decided to flee your homeworld. Their goal? To hide from the rest of the galaxy.


Incoming Transmission:​

You mean, “The sane individuals of our species took the only prudent action possible when being attacked by an alien force capable of destroying planets!
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This split in your population is reflected in the effects of the origin. With a sizable section of your empire living on a neighboring world, your research alternatives and choices for leaders are reduced. Yet, even more inquisitive than a regular empire, you will have no difficulty discovering more anomalies as you explore the void.

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No doubt you’ll return from your galavantings the next time we reach a breakthrough! Our scientific research is one of the few way we can even hope to delay you from dooming us all. Once you lead the aliens back to our home, it will all be over.

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Additionally,Fear of the Dark starts with quite a unique system, one that will have you starting with binary planets - your ‘cousins’ are living just a rocket jump away. (a Sol start will have them placed on Mars).

It will be up to you to make the best of this situation. Your partner planet can be a powerful ally, yet they are also very skittish. Ensure that they don’t torpedo your entrance on the galactic stage.

Perhaps you will stop treating the alien threat so lightly when our upcoming study of ‘the Divider’ is finished. Just you wait. We won’t be hunted.



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Whatever happens, remember that you are one people and you are stronger together. Oh, and your partner planet has cloaked ships.


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Now off to MrCosmogone and his wondrous archaeo-technologies for this patch's custodian update!



Did you ever think, as you pass by an old laser cannon in a glass case, that not everything belongs in a museum? That perhaps, the Irassian tractor beam could be used for your cause instead of gathering dust?

Well, so do I. And if you own Ancient Relics, I have good news!

Excavated dig sites will now sometimes generate minor artifact deposits that can be exploited by orbital stations, or by colonizing the planet.

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There could always be more trinkets to find!

Your income in minor artifacts can then be put to good use with the new archaeo-technologies that will unlock buildings, starbase modules and ship components, all costing minor artifacts to build.
There are several ways to acquire these archaeo-technologies. Completing the Secrets of the [PRECURSOR] special projects will now give you a research option to unlock some unique archaeo-components:
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The power of a precursor in the palm of your hand.

Several of our dig sites can now grant you access to one of the new technologies. This is a very reliable way of acquiring them.

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Get to work, Oxygal, I want this research on my desk by the end of the week!

All these new technologies are found in the society field, in an all new “Archaeostudies” category which is all about fitting ancient tech into your machines and weapons. Discovering these archaeo-technologies by yourself is a long and hard process, but luckily, you can be assisted by dedicated researchers who share your interest in ancient things.

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They largely just make old things go boom.

Should you decide to pick the Remnants origin that starts you on a relic world, you will now start the game with the Faculty of Archaeostudies unlocked and replacing your starting research lab.

And if this still does not quench your thirst for specialization in archaeo-technologies, if you still want to dig deeper, we even have a new ascension perk for you!

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For all you history lovers!



With increased minor artifact generation, the scale of the existing economy needed to be increased, but we also took this opportunity to now display artifacts in the topbar alongside the other strategic resources.

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Bigger numbers mean better game, right?

And while you still can’t buy them on the market, you can trade them to other empires!

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It belongs in MY museum!

I don’t really have the space here to show you ALL the things, but here, have a tease.

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Archaeotitan go brrrrrrrr

Oh and one last thing before we wrap things up. I might have made a Devolving Beam for colossi, to return those pesky humans from the UNE back to their origins:

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Return to Monke!

8rA6Cq62fXkJkMccZdGfylOhAhq4l0nX32rI_9cwX0vKVEqAAOUdct0_K4LlI7f4PN_nh695KKAzuHd7n2ek6iGXswUu9Bl-dZWll9tSXAD-pFuiFRuf9u2AkYC-AJwJ6eoKyqjhO5ruMoSOQhRAuaI

They’ll make good pets.
 
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Will you get 500 influence by re-evolving the pops after you hit them with the Devolving beam just like normal pre-sapients?

No, because we rebalanced the amount of influence you get due to there being more pre-sapients in the galaxy nowadays, since they're spawned on galaxy generation instead of by anomaly.
 
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So, the relic changes look very fascinating, the origin seems interesting as well. But I gotta be honest, the way the Cybrex Tech is worded...it sounds kinda worthless, unless it also affects the Matter Decompressor. Boosting Mineral stations is not overly useful, since most systems typically have like 10 mineral production at most? Sometimes you get really mineral rich deposits in systems but still never anything really large. So 100% of 10 minerals (on average) hardly seems even worth researching
Just put the Cyberic one on your anchorage stations to make more resources.
I think it is just as good as a Nebula Refinery but can be built anywhere like a Hydroponics Bay.
 
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Will there be any archeo-techs without ancient relics?
As in, is archeo-techs exclusive to those who own ancient relics, or will it be like digsites where most of them are DLC-exlcusive, but a few is in the base game?
 
It's not about the minerals, it's for your mining stations over deposits of nanites, living metal, zro, and other rare resources!
To add to this, with orbital rings being a thing. It's possible to get those online in systems that have mining stations around things that you want to boost production of, without having to go over starbase cap or forgo putting a starbase at a more ideal location. I'd be surprised if they were left as starbase only.

Actually, it would be kind of awesome if that technology created a scenario where taking grasp the void ascension perk or the Megacorp Trading Post civics decent choices. It probably won't. On the other hand, it does mean that the unyielding tradition tree will be slightly better if chosen, assuming one isn't so wide that they need all their starbases as chockpoints or so tall that they can place a starbase in each of their systems without the tradition.

Still means that you can significantly boost the benefit of economic starbases and ideally orbital rings, if you have a building slot to spare or good enough deposits, that it make smore sense to boost mining station output in the system, over buffing a job on the planet.
 
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Precursor tech however are precursor exclusive. I think your only other shot at getting them is by spying on an empire that has them.
How likely is it, that other empires in single player will find Irassia after / before I had found Cybrex?
 
Wait, this means that enegmatic engineering is, in a way, buffed.
 
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Precursor tech however are precursor exclusive. I think your only other shot at getting them is by spying on an empire that has them.
Is this multiplayer specific, or implying that AI Empires will get precursors with this update?
 
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If the planet changes class for whatever reason, you will lose the bonuses yes. Better not bulldoze everything and encase it all in concrete if you want to study the ruins of old in peace ;)
But doesn't Former Relic Worlds get the Former Relic World deposit that indicates that there are still ruins to explore/artifacts to dig up?
Screenshot 2023-02-10 083136.png

Mexico City is paved over, but people still find relics from its Aztec past almost yearly.
 
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But doesn't Former Relic Worlds get the Former Relic World deposit that indicates that there are still ruins to explore/artifacts to dig up?
View attachment 946238
Mexico City is paved over, but people still find relics from its Aztec past almost yearly.

Yeah, given that relic worlds are ruined ecumenopoli, restoring them seems less like paving over everything and more rebuilding and reactivating things to restore them to their former glory. If anything you should find more relics as you explore and restore the ruins.
 
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Yeah, given that relic worlds are ruined ecumenopoli, restoring them seems less like paving over everything and more rebuilding and reactivating things to restore them to their former glory. If anything you should find more relics as you explore and restore the ruins.
Well, that would be a massively increased chance during the restoration project, but then there'd be way less afterwards.
 
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Well, that would be a massively increased chance during the restoration project, but then there'd be way less afterwards.

Sure, but if we're deciding there is a finite amount there shouldn't be an infinite deposit on the relic world in the first place. And the restoration project doesn't really restore the whole planet all at once, if it did you wouldn't need to build the districts afterwards.
 
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Sure, but if we're deciding there is a finite amount there shouldn't be an infinite deposit on the relic world in the first place. And the restoration project doesn't really restore the whole planet all at once, if it did you wouldn't need to build the districts afterwards.
a billion or infinite artifacts scattered around the planet, meaning you only find 2 at a time, what's the difference? Or are you one of the rare players that play until year 2912392?
 
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Sure, but if we're deciding there is a finite amount there shouldn't be an infinite deposit on the relic world in the first place. And the restoration project doesn't really restore the whole planet all at once, if it did you wouldn't need to build the districts afterwards.
The thing is that a finite amount doesn't match with what's happening with the rest of the update, where completing a dig site would have the possibility of giving you a set Minor Artifacts deposit. At the very least, the Former Relic World deposit should also provide a small income of Minor Artifacts.
 
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a billion or infinite artifacts scattered around the planet, meaning you only find 2 at a time, what's the difference? Or are you one of the rare players that play until year 2912392?

Well I'll happily take the lump sum of a billion for restoring the relic world, but that seems a bit more unbalanced than just letting it keep the deposit.