[henzington]

I am curious will going synth change the food production of the colonial capital building to something useful like energy

 

[BlackUmbrellas]

Why don't you want the Psionics Ascension to be related to the Unbidden? Don't you think it would make the game more interesting if the End Game Crisis were all really different forms of Ascension?

Honestly? No. I really, really don't. I think the crises work best as their Own Things, they don't need to all be some sort of "another road" version of the playable empires' possible high-tier states. It seems... boring? Trite? Predictable? Cliched as all hell? I mean, even with the Synthetics line, it's not as if you're set to become the Machine Consciousness- it's entirely possible the only actual interaction between an all-synth empire and the AI rebellion would be the increased likelihood of triggering the Rebellion with the research techs needed to qualify for the Perks and some sort of immunity trait bestowed upon synth empires to their POP units joining the AI Rebellion.

Psi-tech doesn't actually have any relation to the Unbidden- it's Jump Drives, Psi or not, that attract them. I think it'd be much more interesting if the "voices" mentioned in the Psionic line were something new.

And the Prethoryn have, again, zero relation to genetic engineering. Genetic engineering doesn't attract them, there's nothing in the fluff about them being the result of genetic engineering, and the Genetics line of Perks makes no mention of anything like "becoming" or "creating" something like the Prethoryn- rather, it speaks about adapting your populace to the many circumstances they face, and is shown to give you additional points for genetic engineering.

If Other ascensions perks were stated involve event chains and special projects, why wouldn't "Galactic Contender" too?
I mean its not like this Dev Diary spoils EVERYTHING that will be in the Banks.

Well, strictly speaking, we've been told that the Synthetics, Psionics, and Genetics Perk lines involve special projects- with the implication that they are significant undertakings. The other Perks seem much more straightforwards, and that's, IMO, fine- I don't mind a flat damage buff even, because that already exists in-game through the Curators and the damage bonuses they can give against specific Leviathans.

 

[Cruxador]

A bit miffed that my race of übermenschen can't be both biologically and psionically ascendant. I understand the gameplay logic, but I don't like it anyway.

 

[Ratstranger]

A bit miffed that my race of übermenschen can't be both biologically and psionically ascendant. I understand the gameplay logic, but I don't like it anyway.

If I understand it correctly, at high level of psionic ascension your race will have no bodies to modify (like Starcraft's Archons. POWER OVERWHELMING)

 

[Milten]

If I understand it correctly, at high level of psionic ascension your race will have no bodies to modify (like Starcraft's Archons. POWER OVERWHELMING)

Probably not that extreme, but something along these lines.

 

[tanny]

Honestly I don't want these 3 to be bound with crises completely. Or else they should leave us a choice. What if we choose psionic path but unbidden never appear?

If I understand it correctly, at high level of psionic ascension your race will have no bodies to modify (like Starcraft's Archons. POWER OVERWHELMING)

Nope not like starcraft. The starcraft has hybrid. And the only thing it becomes bad is that it fall into bad guy. But we still can't. So we're in a different lore.

A thing that might be neat for the game, since fleshing out the end-game seems to be the focus of this expansion, would be the ability to Fall as an empire.

The way I'd see it, one could have a button appear when appropriate conditions are met (for example, the victory conditions or some of the Ascension paths are chosen) which would allow the player to "retire" their empire. As a result the game would convert the existing Empire to an appropriate Fallen Empire, reduce its' size appropriately, while possibly leaving some "special" events to recover remains of the empire in future runs, and populate the Galaxy with new young empire, giving the player the ability to meet the predecessors and topple them too! As a bonus, various Ascendency paths and/or EndGame Cirses could lead to some variations, like the Fallen Player Empire becoming the new Unbidden...

Bascially it would create a new galaxy like CK2->EU4 converter does, only it'd be Stellaris->Stellaris ^.^

Why fall? it's said that fallen empires remain stagnant because they can't go ahead. Move to another galaxy. Or ascend. And we tend to focus making singular best game mode so I don't have any reason for player. And playing as either would be seen overpowered.

Well, I really hope that Ascension Perks benefit from other additions, like new, more diverse traits (genemodding already being something that you just do once, and there aren't many traits to pick from anyway), or specific gameplay for Synths (to avoid the "yayyy, I'm now playing with Synths! Which can do amazing things, like... being immortal... fighting harder... and not eating food... yay....).
More techs and events are also nice, but that's not really gameplay if it just provides bonuses and modificators.

I'm not really hyped by Ascension Perks that just provide you plain bonus like border range. I can't really imagine a sci fi universe with something like "By all my positrons, the Metagurd have ascended! - What does this mean, CI80-rg? Do they control the atoms by the power of their minds? Did they become gods? Are they going to... - Their border grew and they claimed our world. Now we are ascended too. Look at that nice border range on the map.".
It feels more like a Tradition. Well, except probably if it's something like a +100% border range, but it doesn't seem fun.

I also hope that this means there's a point in playing in end game. Most of these Ascension Perks seem to provide bonus and new abilities, but if they don't provide new challenges, or if it cannot change the course of things... meh. It would be amazing if the first empire to achieve transcendence could become a threat for the rest of galaxy, even if they are a tiny 3 systems-empire at this point. Not necessarily on the military field, btw. But they could hack the economy of all the other empire without an efficient enough AI to protect them, for example. Or possess the ability to shield their world thanks to their psionic powers. Well, I do hope we'll have these kinds of abilities.
I would really be hyped if, as the first empire to reach the end of the synthetic path, we could embark with our synthetic pops in gigantic nomadic planet-consuming space fortresses, not caring for the lifes of biological pops, and if the other empires could form a galaxy council to oppose us, while the robotic beings of the galaxy could choose between joining our way of life or helping those poor bio units. Basically, becoming the end game crisis.

Nope I'm bored with these OP post! please don't

Obviously they will replace "organic==>cyborg==>robot" with a "robot==>cyborg==>organic" path.

There are mods about these already but they don't tend to get back to organic

 

[Malecord]

Personally I don't understand why the unbidden should ally with transcended races.
At best your race is a competitor for the souls of the preys. At worst you're a race of xenophiles and you want to teach all races how to transcend.

Same for the AI revolt. I don't understand why a genocidial collective AI mind should ally with a rival empire. At best you threaten its authority with your own immortal synth emperor. At worst you are for individualism and you want all synth minds living free in democracy.

Now I agree that there may be the space for limited diplomacy actions: with your achievements you should be something they have to acknowledge. But ""automatically ally" makes no sense for me.

 

[tanny]

Because without paid expansions we will not be able to continue developing Stellaris.

How expensive?

Hmm... it's nice and all, but I was hoping for something more ... "end-game", since the three listed path seems more like the key for the end-game.

For example,
a. To travel to another galaxy (hence, the need to biologically alter yourself to prolong your live and/or become a synthetic);
b. To find the meaning and solve the purpose of life (scientifically) (hence, the need to become a synthetic to build the most powerful supercomputer of all, or just go ala Matrix of enslaving people for their brainpower);
c. To transcend and enter a higher dimension (not just contacting these beings, but joining them as well);

I mean, there's so much potential here.

Yes but sorry these conditions aren't good detailed enough to be considered victory. And some I disagree. But good try.

 

[Bobylein]

So late game ground wars will be fought between X-Men, Ethereal's from X-Com, killer machine androids from every sci-fi ever and normal races who will just max up more conventional weaponry? Nice!

We already have Gene Warriors and Droid Armies

 

[Jabby]

It seems to me that each ascension is conected to a certain endgame crisis. Also maybe the synthetic tree allows you to trigger the AI rebellion in other empires. Maybe you are the AI rebellion.

 

[Jabby]

Honestly? No. I really, really don't. I think the crises work best as their Own Things, they don't need to all be some sort of "another road" version of the playable empires' possible high-tier states. It seems... boring? Trite? Predictable? Cliched as all hell? I mean, even with the Synthetics line, it's not as if you're set to become the Machine Consciousness- it's entirely possible the only actual interaction between an all-synth empire and the AI rebellion would be the increased likelihood of triggering the Rebellion with the research techs needed to qualify for the Perks and some sort of immunity trait bestowed upon synth empires to their POP units joining the AI Rebellion.

Psi-tech doesn't actually have any relation to the Unbidden- it's Jump Drives, Psi or not, that attract them. I think it'd be much more interesting if the "voices" mentioned in the Psionic line were something new.

And the Prethoryn have, again, zero relation to genetic engineering. Genetic engineering doesn't attract them, there's nothing in the fluff about them being the result of genetic engineering, and the Genetics line of Perks makes no mention of anything like "becoming" or "creating" something like the Prethoryn- rather, it speaks about adapting your populace to the many circumstances they face, and is shown to give you additional points for genetic engineering.



Well, strictly speaking, we've been told that the Synthetics, Psionics, and Genetics Perk lines involve special projects- with the implication that they are significant undertakings. The other Perks seem much more straightforwards, and that's, IMO, fine- I don't mind a flat damage buff even, because that already exists in-game through the Curators and the damage bonuses they can give against specific Leviathans.

IThe relationship between gene stuff and prethoryn is that the prethoryn have bioengineered ships and to do that...

 

[Bobylein]

Maybe Stellaris could have its own Hamilton ´s DLC in the future...hive minds and much more, like family/dinastic houses (borrowed from Herbert) or interstellar trains.

It's funny, I finished the Commonwealth saga some weeks ago and right now I am at the night's dawn cycle, there are so many connections between these and Stellaris, that I would bet, that at least one dev is a fan of hamilton. On the other side it might be because they are both using a lot of common scifi tropes, so who knows ^^

Spoiler

I wonder if the Unbidden are gonna be "reverse ascended" as the Observers of the Kiint called the souls in the beyond.
At least that was the term used in the german version of the book.

 

[Zarathustra_the]

@Wiz are the ascension perk mechanics themselves locked behind the DLC? Or can a modder go make perks for those without the dlc? Like Artifacts in the upcoming CKII dlc?

 

[runrun]

You say that events, or rare technologies will allow the opening of a path of ascenscion. I hope that they will be available to all types of ethics. Allow the spiritualist to accede to synthetic or genetic modification. Materialist to psionic etc, etc.

 

[Jia Xu]

I wonder what happens if you go full synthetic for your empire and then conquer organic pops from another empire. Can they be force converted for their own good? Maybe an option to live in harmony? Options would be nice.

 

[scaper12123]

What I think needs to happen is that, rather than locking us out of other types of species perks, we should have the ability to choose up to two of the things. i.e. we have to choose between either mastering one particular field or having expertise in two fields. That could actually help separate the fanatics from the average.

 

[Shock360]

What I think needs to happen is that, rather than locking us out of other types of species perks, we should have the ability to choose up to two of the things. i.e. we have to choose between either mastering one particular field or having expertise in two fields. That could actually help separate the fanatics from the average.

My guess is that they didn't design it like that. If they are able to easily I'm sure they will listen since so many people want that, but since they didn't prepare for that they might have to design art, events, ideas, etc. Currently the species ascensions are supposed to be complete(part 1, part 2) so simply having two beginnings probably wouldn't work with the system they designed. Hopefully in the future they will add that however

 

[scaper12123]

My guess is that they didn't design it like that. If they are able to easily I'm sure they will listen since so many people want that, but since they didn't prepare for that they might have to design art, events, ideas, etc. Currently the species ascensions are supposed to be complete(part 1, part 2) so simply having two beginnings probably wouldn't work with the system they designed. Hopefully in the future they will add that however

In my mind, it doesn't even need to be beginning-end mentalities when it comes to these chains. Yes, we'll develop the technology for advanced cyber-augmentation, but will everyone want to turn themselves into robots? I don't think so; not unless they're really fanatical.

 

[Almond_Brown]

In my mind, it doesn't even need to be beginning-end mentalities when it comes to these chains. Yes, we'll develop the technology for advanced cyber-augmentation, but will everyone want to turn themselves into robots? I don't think so; not unless they're really fanatical.

When you Gene mod your Pops now, do any get to say "No thanks, we will take a pass?"

 

[BlackUmbrellas]

IThe relationship between gene stuff and prethoryn is that the prethoryn have bioengineered ships and to do that...

Why do you think they're bioengineered? Do we have significant evidence that the Prethoryn are not simply a much more aggressive form of space-life like the Tiyanki or the Amoeba?