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Stellaris Dev Diary #355 - It Belongs in a Vivarium: Announcing Grand Archive

Stellaris Grand Archive Logo

I’m pleased to announce that the third Episode of Stellaris: Season 08, the Grand Archive Story Pack, will be released alongside the Stellaris 3.14 ‘Circinus’ update on Tuesday, October 29th, 2024. This release completes the Stellaris: Season 08 Expansion Pass.


"The Grand Archive preserves and exhibits the most valuable artifacts we have collected throughout the galaxy..."​


The galaxy is vast and filled with artifacts!

Grand Archive adds 151 specimens to the base game, but we have revisited all of the content ever created for Stellaris to add more. The overall total is over 240 unique specimens!

Collect them all and display the prize pieces in your own Grand Archive.

Specimens on Diplay

“This is no mere rock collection.”
​

“…Reserved within is also a dedicated Vivarium for live Space Fauna containment and observation.”​


Contained within your Grand Archive, the Vivarium is a controlled environment where wild space fauna can be cared for and studied. Space fauna in captivity will grow faster and breed more easily than in the wild. These creatures can then be dissected for research, resources, or their genetic material.

With the development of the Controlled Mutations technology, Space Fauna can be customized to form a fleet which will grow and become stronger over time.

Space Fauna caught by a Gravity Snare

“These non-lethal projectiles can safely capture and transport Space Fauna to our Vivarium, where they can continue to reproduce new specimens of their kind.”
​

The void is full of life.​


Two new forms of Space Fauna are coming in the Grand Archive Story Pack.

Cutholoids are ambush predators that lurk within asteroid belts, waiting for prey.

Cutholoid attack!

“Culling and dissecting these creatures will allow the harvesting of their Genetic Material for cloning purposes as well as other resources.”


Voidworms are a more active parasitic threat with a full life cycle that can grow into a mid-game Crisis if their populations are left to breed.

Voidworms on the move

"If this variant species were allowed to spread unchecked, it could upset the balance of the galactic ecosystem entirely."
​

“With the mysteries of the galaxy at our doorstep, there is everything left to learn.”​


The Grand Archive Story Pack comes with two Civics, two Origins, and two new Tradition trees, each focusing on either different aspects of coexistence with Alien Fauna or the hunt for the hidden mysteries and treasures of the universe.

Civic, Origin, and Tradition icons



The Corporate, Hive Mind, or Machine Intelligence versions of these Civics require access to their Authorities - MegaCorp, Utopia, and either Synthetic Dawn or The Machine Age, respectively.

Here there be treasure


​

Stellaris: Grand Archive includes:​

  • Space Fauna capture, breeding, and modification systems​
  • 151 Specimens to collect and display across events from Grand Archive and the base game
    • Over 240 Specimens total including those distributed across other Stellaris content​
  • 15 new Relics​
  • Two new Tradition trees
    • Archivism​
    • Domestication​
  • Two new Origins
    • Primal Calling​
    • Treasure Hunters​
  • Two new Civics
    • Beastmasters​
    • Galactic Curators​
  • Two new forms of spaceborne life
    • Cutholoids​
    • Voidworms​
  • A new possible mid-game crisis - the Voidworm Plague​
  • Three new music tracks​
  • Events, Anomalies, Archaeology Sites, Technologies, Galactic community resolutions, and more!​

Note: The Grand Archive Story Pack also unlocks access to the Curator Order Enclave, which is also unlocked by Leviathans or Distant Stars.


Dev Diary Schedule​
Sept 26​
Announcing Grand Archive​
Oct 3​
Building a Grand Archive and Displaying Your Collection​
Oct 10​
The Care and Feeding of Tiyanki​
Oct 17​
New Life in the Galaxy​
Oct 24​
3.14 “Circinus” Preliminary Release Notes​


The Grand Archive Story Pack can be purchased as part of the Stellaris: Season 08 Expansion Pass, or as a standalone purchase for $14.99 (regional pricing may vary).

It is also included as part of the Stellaris Expansion Subscription

Stellaris Grand Archive Key Art


Pre-purchase Stellaris: Grand Archive alone or with a discount as part of Stellaris: Season 08!​
 
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Lorenerd11 said:
Yeah, we got so may civics and traditions now that I honestly think an extra civic and tradition slot would be justified
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I would be okay with this but the cost to do it should be representative of the potential power available and maybe even cause a set back to science output as a result of being 'masters of none'. That is, if it were possible to get 3 picks at creation and 4th... whenever.

Or just keeping it as is and making the 4th pick a late game relic? Ok maybe doesn't have to be so penalizing.

Worth a considering I think for sure.
 
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Foxosaur said:
I would be okay with this but the cost to do it should be representative of the potential power available and maybe even cause a set back to science output as a result of being 'masters of none'. That is, if it were possible to get 3 picks at creation and 4th... whenever.
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Social or Cultural Ascension. Ascension Perk + Tradition tree giving another Civic slot at the end, and buffing your Empire's Ethics, rather than its pops directly. That's been my idea for a while, at least!
 
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Panzerslothen said:
I note that a couple of people are giving you fellas Red X's for this, and I'm really interested to know & understand the reasons why. Hopefully they will say.
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Didn't X anything but i'm not in favor of an extra slot - neither civic, nor AP.
Why? You are not supposed to get everything, if you do, every empire is the same. I think that's already a big problem with APs, i don't remember a playthrough where i had the feeling that i missed out on anything or where i had to choose. You basicly have a choice in the early game on what you want to focus on first (fleets, rapid expansion, unity - which usually wins) and then you'll get all worthwile late game APs (those that need 2 or more) in every single empire. I have also never looked at a full Ascension board and think "aw man, i whish i could take a few more starbases or slightly better leaders!"

I understand thats a problem if you use mods which add a bunch of cool new APs you want to take - and there's your solution: mods - there's a bunch that add more slots.
(normally i don't like the excuse of "let a mod fix it", but this is a problem that only appears with mods in the first place)

Civics slots have more grounds (to me) to be expanded, on the other hand the reform government panel is one of the very few where i have the feeling i'm making an actual decision and you can't just get everything worthwile for your build - and i wouldn't want to loose that.

For traditions it's kind of the same, most are just mild improvements that don't enable anything really (ascencions excluded). Would your experience improve if you (and all other empires) can choose a few more percentage increases in a field your empire doesn't even really focus on? If it was something your empire focuses or relies on, it would be one of your first anyways, the last ones are just nice to have.

So i really can't see how more slots add anything with the current setup of APs, civics & traditions.
If you use a mod that adds a bunch of stuff and you feel limited now, just use a mod that changes that limit.
 
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Think of all the different Prethoryn specimen you could store in your Vivarium! :D
 
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I really want to know how early we can build a grand archive and how we acquire specimens for it. I'm looking forward to this DLC and can't wait to learn more about it.
 
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Elfwind said:
Can we have the Predators from Alien vs Predator as a militarist fallen empire with this DLC? It would seem to fit!
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That sounds fun!

I'm on board.

Heck, the Predator species could be a Fallen Empire, and they send Alien pods around for their own entertainment -- er, to test the mettle of new empires. Yeah, it's not just for laughs, please ignore the livestream commentary.
 
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Unrelated Question.

Are there any intent to add more machine Civics to individualistic machines?

Feels like som pretty obvious picks where dismissed, like introspective, which made me really sad to realize.
 
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Got to say, my mind got kinda blown by that "15 relics".
Question: Is majority of those relics standart 3k unity/10y cd relics? Or are there more surveyor/cyberex kind of relics?
 
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Harkinian's Dinner said:
View attachment 1193743
These are definitely MEAT SHIPS. But we still need a type that is actually manned, I guess.
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There's dark matter in the resource cost. I wonder if you can modify them on the fleet designer?

Also, I wonder if making a Pact with the Composer of Strands will buff these creatures considering his dominion over flesh.
 
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What about if Civilian difficulty had the extra civic and tradition instead of all difficulties?

I bet the "respectful" disagreers never ever play on Civilian, so everybody wins.
 
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