[PalmettoExplorer14]

Whelp, just got confirmed I'll have to get a mod that allows both Psionic and Biological Ascension at the same time. XCOM Ethereals, here I come!

I'm with you!

Btw since Gene Warriors can be researched normally if we don't have Utopia, if we research them normally and then build a few Gene warrior armies, save the game, enable Utopia DLC, reload the game, will we still be able to use Gene Warriors even if we don't take the Biological Ascension Path?

Still not sure how Paradox DLCs work.

 

[SRM]

View attachment 244308

That sounds like something that wouldn't go over well with some pops.

 

[mackau]

People whined and moaned about not being able to play as a synthetic race since the game released.

Now it's here and people are whining about how it's not OP according to them as opposed to Psionics or Biology, even though it completely removes one of the key resources this game requires you to manage.

 

[TheDungen]

So any chance for half robot-half species portraits?

No just no, if you have the technology to augment a life form you have the technology to make it not look like the Borg because of it.
In fact the likeliest version of cybernetic enhancement is the use of medical nanobots.

Awesome stuff! My only hope is that we get more synth portraits. At the very least, have there be one for each phenotype so we can differentiate the former humans from the former reptiles

Or atleast the option not to change it. Why would you want to look like a machine anyway?

One question: Will we be able to keep the old species portrait if we go full robot? Just because I want to become an immortal machine, doesn't mean I want to LOOK like a machine.

Exactly! In fact the robots of stellaris have always looked very low tech to me.

On one of the screenshots Mars is shown as habitable and colonized planet - is this a new feature of this expansion? Sol system with 2 habitable planets?

Weird, the best candidate for terraforming in or solar system is Venus not mars.

Some barren worlds have the ability to be terraformed into habitable ones, Mars is one of them. This has been mentioned a few times already.

Again, why Mars? Venus would make a lot more sense.

Maybe you could add new synth portraits? Maybe one for every species type so one for Humanoids one for Avians one for plantoids ect so when you become synths you can look at least somewhat like how you did before. It never made sense that a plantoid would create humanoid robots. It would be great if they created more plantoid looking robots instead.

Or just keep using the potraits of your primary species, maybe with a hue added, heck the most advanced robots should always be like that.

These two ascension paths felt alittle lackluster or unutilized especially the biological one, am I missing something maybe?

I would say especially the cybernetic one. The genetic one look decent but the cybernetic one. The first level is way cooler than the second level. I would much rather the second level be a full merger between machine and biological being above and beyond either. But I would settle for android bodies rather than robot ones.

Cyborg actually say what it is though while augmented would be terribly non-specific (augmented in what way? Are not the other paths of ascencion ways for you to augment your species?).

Except there's nothing called a cyborg, it's just one of those stupid sounding sci-fi words that some author made up long ago.
The technical term is transhumanism (and that does not make a difference between cybernetic and genetic because dividing those is actually pretty stupid, most suggested solutions will actually require both), but that doesn't work since these often won't be human. I think it's fairly obvious what augumented means, but if you prefer it Cybernetically Ehanced is fine by me, just not Cyborg. That word reeks of the worst king of "sci-fi" (or rather space/futuristic horror, cyberpunk, dystopia or whatever).

Looks good. The mechanical ascension is (as advertised) not super exciting, rather a simpler way to play an all synth empire. The biological at least seems to be normal gene modding on steroids.

Would be cool to see more techs related to these though. At this stage it is mostly limited to pop bonuses.

Yeah the cyberentic one seems a bit lacklustre.

 

[grandad1982]

Another question. If you go full synthetic will sector AI replace all food buildings with other buildings (power plants)?

 

[Caspoi]

People whined and moaned about not being able to play as a synthetic race since the game released.

Now it's here and people are whining about how it's not OP according to them as opposed to Psionics or Biology, even though it completely removes one of the key resources this game requires you to manage.

And makes another even more necessary, let us not pretend that the benefit of not having to consume food is that important, and one of the greatest reasons why the synthetic ascension is of dubious benefit is because if it does not actually improve the synths then you might as well have built them in the first place and not bothered with two ascencion perks and probably a ton of resources to convert your pops into them as nothing have been said about you not being able to build them without the perks.

 

[DredMorte]

This deep into the thread I doubt anyone will read this but i'll try:

FIX ROBOTS IN SECTORS!

I love these changes, really do! But Synthethic path will not viable if you don't make sectors aggressively build Synth POPs. I have tried this in the current build and most sectors either don't build robots, despite huge stockpiles, or at best they rarely do. I really hope these amazings new mechanics aren't ruined by old problems!
Another potential problem is not replacing farms and/or building enough energy buildings.
Good luck.

 

[Swarm lover]

One thing I do hope there will be is events based on the asenscions. For example the psionic has the shroud but the bio and synth don't have something similar (which is fine) so I am just hoping the there will be events or special projects for the other 2 asenscions to compensate, because right now the psionic path seems to be the most interesting asenscion by far (at least for me). It would be a shame if the other 2 asenscions were never selected because the psionic path is far more interesting.

 

[moglus]

Another question. If you go full synthetic will sector AI replace all food buildings with other buildings (power plants)?

God i'd hope so... the sector ai is already wonky enough (though they say it's gonna get better in this patch, they always do tho...)

 

[Milten]

People whined and moaned about not being able to play as a synthetic race since the game released.

Now it's here and people are whining about how it's not OP according to them as opposed to Psionics or Biology, even though it completely removes one of the key resources this game requires you to manage.

People wouldn't whine if it didn't cost two ascension perks to get handful of synths which you already can build at this point.

 

[Saviour of Galaxy]

One thing I do hope there will be is events based on the asenscions. For example the psionic has the shroud but the bio and synth don't have something similar (which is fine) so I am just hoping the there will be events or special projects for the other 2 asenscions to compensate, because right now the psionic path seems to be the most interesting asenscion by far (at least for me). It would be a shame if the other 2 asenscions were never selected because the psionic path is far more interesting.

Wich can easily change if one of the two became much more efficient than psionic path. People like to talk about flavour but when the balance hits, they often take more powerfull instead of more interesting.

 

[Spidee]

+1 for the SMAC reference!

One question: Will we be able to keep the old species portrait if we go full robot? Just because I want to become an immortal machine, doesn't mean I want to LOOK like a machine.

I feel embarrassed....what was the reference???

 

[TheDungen]

Wich can easily change if one of the two became much more efficient than psionic path. People like to talk about flavour but when the balance hits, they often take more powerfull instead of more interesting.

Except there's nothing interesting about cybernetics right now, it is a thing which does what genetic can already do (Longer life spans and immortality) except genetics can do loads of other stuff too.

 

[Saviour of Galaxy]

Except there's nothing interesting about cybernetics right now, it is a thing which does what genetic can already do (Longer life spans and immortality) except genetics can do loads of other stuff too.

I didnt say its cybernetics more powerfull of the two.

 

[CocoCincinnati]

Regarding the synthetic evolution, do we have the choice to change the species portraits or not. There are many examples in Sci-Fi of synthetics who look like the species that created them (BSG or Star Trek for example). I doubt a species would make a bunch of "robot looking bodies" to inhabit unless there was no other option. It makes sense that if a species is advanced enough to transfer their consciousness into an artificial body they would have the technology to create a body that looks like they want it to. I would like my artificial humans to continue looking human.

 

[grandad1982]

I feel embarrassed....what was the reference???

Nerve Stapling

 

[Parokki]

Awesome!

So what happens to the traits of your species when you turn into synths? Will they all be replaced by the regular synth trait, or do some of them remain?

Also, what about races other than your primary starting one? Do they remain biological, do you get a choice, or is it like the psionic path where they too adapt eventually?

What about if some members of your primary species migrate to a neighbouring empire, aren't under your control when you do the initial switch to synthetic forms, and come under your control later. Do they stay as meatbags, or will they be upgraded?

 

[Arsonide]

@Wiz : I was kind of dismayed to see the synthetic ascension line's perks ending in the exact same art that synths use. Here are the various options that could happen there, prioritized by order of awesomeness, and therefore inversely prioritized by ease of implementation...

1. Each species portrait has an alternate synthetic version that activates when you ascend, so bird people have robots that look like robot bird people.
2. When you ascend, you get a choice of a few different synthetic "models" to use for your species.
3. (Idea from indalecio248 further down in the thread...) Your people have all uploaded their brains to a computer. So your species still looks it once did, its just now transparent, like a hologram.
4. When you ascend, you get a static model, but it is different than the regular robotic synthetics. You are an ascended synthetic.
5. When you ascend, you look exactly like a regular robotic synthetic.

 

[Novacat]

So....

Not sure if I am the only one who noticed this, but, the 5 trait limit has been applied to genetic engineering as well, which is actually a pretty huge nerf.

One of the questions I have, though, and was never answered definitively, is weither or not the Ascension paths are mutually exclusive. As it stands, seems like the only one that would cause compatibility issues would be the Synthetic second evolution.

 

[Spidee]

Nerve Stapling

So obvious, thank you....