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Stellaris Dev Diary #335 - Announcing The Machine Age

It is time to leave our flawed biological vessels behind.​


It’s my pleasure to announce that The Machine Age major expansion will be released alongside the Stellaris 3.12 ‘Andromeda’ update.

Focusing on cybernetic, synthetic, and machine themes, The Machine Age will begin during the second quarter of 2024.

In pursuing the divine calling, we shall achieve the fusion of the exalted body and sacred cybernetics.​


The Technophants and Haruspex of the Cybernetic Creed will guide their flock to the perfect union of flesh and machine.

Cybernetic Creed

Cybernetic augmentation is not solely the province of the materialists.

Playgrounds stand empty. In time, we will cease to be.​

For now, our salvation lies in the digital realm…​


A doomed species races against extinction to reach the virtual world in Synthetic Fertility.

Synthetic Fertility

Blur the lines between the physical and virtual worlds.

Our planet is barren, but our home system is a bounty of riches.​

To exploit them, we must build bigger than ever before.​


Originally designed to build mighty constructions in space, the Arc Welders must utilize that advantage to the fullest to overcome the deficiencies of their homeworld.

Arc Welders

These masters of Mega-Engineering began exploiting their home system before discovering faster-than-light travel.

The things that make me different​

are the things that make me, me.​


The creators may be gone, but society endures. Your chassis may have begun identical to trillions of others in your empire, but you are no drone - you are an individual.

With The Machine Age, you can explore the game as non-Gestalt, Individualist Machine Empires!

Individualistic Machines

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.

A transformative age is upon us,​

sparked by innovation and oiled by opportunity.​


The Machine Age explores how Cybernetic and Synthetic Ascension affect society within your empire.
Advanced government forms are available to empires that navigate the process.

Advanced Authorities

The Cybernetic Creed Origin has an additional variant for each standard Authority.

Become better than you are.​


Six new civics provide additional choices for your empires.

Civics

Corporate and Hive Mind civics require MegaCorp or Utopia respectively.

Filling out Form 42-A on a Bureaucratic World


Build a better future.​


Two mid-game structures are introduced in The Machine Age - exploit systems with the molten world Arc Furnace, and start your work towards a Dyson Sphere early by building the Dyson Swarm.

Dyson Swarm

And so we came forth and once again beheld the stars.

Ignorance shackles us, putting the universe’s secrets out of reach.​

No matter the price, we must break free.​


Building upon the system introduced in Nemesis, The Machine Age introduces a second player crisis path, focused on technological ascendancy at any cost.

Something Greater

The time has come to be part of something greater.

My children, at last I am returned to you.​


For the first time since the Contingency was introduced in the Stellaris 1.8 “Čapek” release, a new end-game crisis has been unleashed.

An ancient threat, sealed away for countless millennia, has returned.


The Machine Age logo

The Machine Age expansion includes:​

  • Individualistic Non-Gestalt Machine Empires​
  • Gestalt Machine Intelligence Empires (also unlocked by the Synthetic Dawn Story Pack)
  • Three new Origins​
    • Cybernetic Creed​
    • Synthetic Fertility​
    • Arc Welders​
  • Civics​
    • Guided Sapience​
    • Natural Design​
    • Obsessional Directive​
    • Protocol Droids​
    • Tactical Cogitators​
    • Augmentation Bazaars (Requires Megacorp)
  • Two Mid-Game Structures​
    • Arc Furnace​
    • Dyson Swarms​
  • New Ascension Paths for Machine Empires​
  • Cybernetic and Synthetic Ascension (also unlocked by Utopia)
  • Exploration of the effects of the cyberization or synthesization of society, with Advanced Government Forms for those who complete it.​
  • New Species Traits for Cyborgs, Machines and Robots​
  • Cybernetic portraits that change based on advancement through cyberization​
  • Synthetic portraits with both organic and synthetic variants that changed based on synthesization, usable by either organics or machines​
  • Two new Shipsets, Diplomatic Rooms, and City Sets​
  • 7 new music tracks synthetic and cybernetic inspired music tracks​
  • A new Player Crisis Path​
  • …And a new End-Game Crisis.

Dev Diary Schedule
Dev Diary Topic
March 14​
Announcing The Machine Age​
March 21​
The Origins and Situations of The Machine Age​
March 28​
Individualistic Machines and Machine Gameplay Updates​
April 4​
Civics and Structures of The Machine Age and Auto-Modding​
April 11​
The New End-Game Crisis​
April 18​
The New Player Crisis​
April 25​
The Art of The Machine Age - Ships and Reactive Portraits​

 
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In the civic options, please note the Paperclip Icon. Paperclip Maximizer confirmed!

Can’t talk, must make paper clips, more paper clips, convert your ships to paper clips.
That must be "Obsessional Directive" then. Judging from the icons, X-es next to robots, and the name "Natural Design", I suspect we're getting anti-robot civic as well
 
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looks great!
However, Im still a bit salty about the Player Crisis from Nemesis gaining reused pirate ships... will the new crisis get a unique shipset and will the old be updated?

It would be good if they could get menacing ships that matched the style of the starkiller. The crisis aesthetic is weird. With menacing ships it’s like you’re raiders that choose ruthless quantity over quality. Then you build an eldritch starkiller.

Always struck me as odd.
 
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looks great!
However, Im still a bit salty about the Player Crisis from Nemesis gaining reused pirate ships... will the new crisis get a unique shipset and will the old be updated?
And here am I, just happy to be able to construct pirate ships...
 
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if April 25 is the last scheduled perhaps the next diary after that is patch notes and the next after that the release so barring delays release would be somewhere in may?
That would put it on May 9th, 8 year anniversary of the release of Stellaris...
 
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Wow, I did not see this one coming, I was totally expecting a religion rework, not a Synthetic Dawn part II: Synthetic Bogaloo. This expansion kinda makes the original Synthetic Dawn look barebones in comparison.

That being said, there is a lot to love here. I have always wanted advanced civics for ascension paths and some way to show their societal impact for a long time, midgame megastructures are always nice to have, and is that a self-modification thingie that I am spotting? That might solve a lot of problems of the more micro-managey ascension paths. Very cool stuff!
 
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That must be "Obsessional Directive" then. Judging from the icons, X-es next to robots, and the name "Natural Design", I suspect we're getting anti-robot civic as well
Most likely, but I know what I’m playing first. Always enjoyed my devouring swarm, but a chance to convert the galaxy into some mundane trinket is hilarious. But honestly they seem to just be throwing a ton of fan favorites at us with this DLC, and I’m all for it.
 
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Are you, politely speaking, out of your god damn minds? What do you mean 'second'? What are Fanatic Purifiers, Devouring Swarms, Determined Exterminators, then? Chopped liver?

They are a set of civics, not a crisis path
as should be obvious by the fact that they predate the crisis ascension perk and can take it to further their own goals
 
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Wow, so many things I would have wished for! On the non-Gestalt synth start, it'll be interesting to see how they make it balanced: starting with a fully operational synth species would be OP, especially if the synth ascension traditions are also getting buffed.

Are you, politely speaking, out of your god damn minds? What do you mean 'second'? What are Fanatic Purifiers, Devouring Swarms, Determined Exterminators, then? Chopped liver?

It's presumably an alternative to Become the Crisis. BtC as it is now has a Shroud theme, which makes sense if you went for psionic ascension, but feels out of place if the empire taking it is cyborg/synth/machine. I doubt the new crisis path will be mutually exclusive with Determined Exterminators and so on.
 
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a bit interesting to see there are no mention of ascension paths. Will the cybernetic stuff (adv government, etc) exclusive to cyberneticascension path or is it possible for other empires to take it as well? (with cybernetic ascension obviously taking the most benefit) For the latter, it's obviously compatible with bio ascension, and somewhat compatible with psionic one, but it's hard to tell why/how a syth empire can make use of cybernetic stuff.
 
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I know it is not the theme of the DLC, but the free update tho, will it pamper a little to the organics that like to keep their flesh in any way shape or form? I will like new authorities for regular non-cyber/sinth ascended empires too like it was back in the 1.0 :D Well, maybe for the next DLC/free update, haha! Love the DLC idea :D
 
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