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Isn't this the perfect time to also include some form of Spying or infiltration?
I think it'd be much more interesting to have to spy on our neighbors in order to figure out army size, science focus, etc. As well as These new additions would make it so we have more information to obtain.
I do however understand that making a good spy-system is really hard (EUIV has a fairly bad one..) But it'd be nice and well, fun.
 
Will we be getting new synth and cyborg portraits for different species? Like robo plants? Cyber Cats?
Ideally each species will have slightly modified portraits representing the 3 paths or even each step in the path (for example a normal version, one as a cyborg and one as synth, depending how far you got with that ascension path)
Or at least give modders the option to change the portrait depending on the ascension perks even when you do not implement it yourself.
 
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Ideally each species will have slightly modified portraits representing the 3 paths or even each step in the path (for example a normal version, one as a cyborg and one as synth, depending how far you got with that ascension path)
Well, that's way too much work with Stellaris portrait system, there's already dozens of them and always more to come. I expect a few phenotype/posture based portraits at best, unless changes to existing portraits will be minimal.
 
Ideally each species will have slightly modified portraits representing the 3 paths or even each step in the path (for example a normal version, one as a cyborg and one as synth, depending how far you got with that ascension path)
Or at least give modders the option to change the portrait depending on the ascension perks even when you do not implement it yourself.

That should be relatively easy actually. It was mentioned somewhere there would be events associated with the species ones implying there is a way to differentiate empires based on path. You would just tie an event to one of the flags and have it trigger once that changes the species portrait. Easy peasy if you can art which I cant :(
 
Ideally each species will have slightly modified portraits representing the 3 paths or even each step in the path (for example a normal version, one as a cyborg and one as synth, depending how far you got with that ascension path)
Or at least give modders the option to change the portrait depending on the ascension perks even when you do not implement it yourself.
Honestly I don't think all the Ascension paths should have portrait mods.

From what we know, the Genetics path in particular is less about directing your species in one direction and more about making genetic modification for specialized sub-species way, way easier- and I don't know about you, but that seems like an idea counter to all your POPs having the same visual changes.

Hell, the Synthetics path could well just replace your POPs with a recolour of robot.

For that matter, I kind of doubt the Psionics path will turn your population into energy beings- and glowing eyes just seem tacky. Not to mention redundant for a number of species.
 
Well, that's way too much work with Stellaris portrait system, there's already dozens of them and always more to come. I expect a few phenotype/posture based portraits at best, unless changes to existing portraits will be minimal.
Could possibly address it the same way clothing currently functions - an additional layer that sits on top of the portrait. There are a number of generic doodads that could be added to standard portraits fairly easily that way, I'd wager.

I would find that rather boring as then so many species would look the same during the endgame. And I assume you still need to differentiate between them as they keep their traits (or?).
Take the 1950s B Movie route: spray paint them all silver and call it a day. :p
 
I would find that rather boring as then so many species would look the same during the endgame. And I assume you still need to differentiate between them as they keep their traits (or?).
We don't have a lot of details, I'll admit. Considering that this seems like a "canonized" version of the all-synth playstyle some people undertake, I think it could be conceivable that you get the traits of Synthetics- i.e., immune to radiation, 100% habitability across the board, a massive bonus to all forms of production minus food, and immortality- at the cost of your original traits.

As for how common that becomes... well, that depends how the AI is coded to interact with Ascension Perks. They might only very rarely go after them, or be restricted to certain AI personalities.
 
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Could possibly address it the same way clothing currently functions - an additional layer that sits on top of the portrait. There are a number of generic doodads that could be added to standard portraits fairly easily that way, I'd wager.

Exactly. You wouldnt need completely different portraits but just some clothes. And even whem you do a new portray you can simply do a retexture of the basic one instead of drawing a completely new one. A new Photoshop layer with some implants/mutations/glowing psi things so to speak.
 
From what we know, the Genetics path in particular is less about directing your species in one direction and more about making genetic modification for specialized sub-species way, way easier- and I don't know about you, but that seems like an idea counter to all your POPs having the same visual changes.
I don't think it's exactly like that. First step in each path seems to just add flat bonuses in certain areas (at least juding by genetic engineers path), however second step seems to be much more than that. If synths get immortality and presumably 100% habitability I expect others to be just as good.
 
I don't think it's exactly like that. First step in each path seems to just add flat bonuses in certain areas (at least juding by genetic engineers path), however second step seems to be much more than that. If synths get immortality and presumably 100% habitability I expect others to be just as good.
I expect them to be different things- I think Ascension Perks would be radically more interesting if they represented divergent paths rather than fully equivalent ones.
 
I think it could be conceivable that you get the traits of Synthetics- i.e., immune to radiation, 100% habitability across the board, a massive bonus to all forms of production minus food, and immortality- at the cost of your original traits.

That would make sense for physical traits but not for social ones like decadence
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Besides I cant imagine that an ascension will rob you of your species identity. It would also be hard to balance compared to genetics which lets you add even more traits.
 
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That would make sense for physical traits but not for social ones like decadence
http://orig04.deviantart.net/8720/f...___los_angeles_lakers_by_sprgrafx-d7t7njj.jpg

Besides I cant imagine that an ascension will rob you of your species identity. It would also be hard to balance compared to genetics which lets you add even more traits.
Decadent has always been more or less the odd-trait-out- it's, as far as I can remember, the only one that a biological justification feels shaky for (although arguments can still be made).

As for "robbing you of your species identity", well... I imagine it'll give your particular brand of (presumably) AI-Rebellion-immune Synths a special name. But really- the whole point is to abandon your stupid inferior squishy forms and become perfect, immortal machines... like m- sorry. But yeah, the Synth traits are very, very powerful; contrasting those with increased freedom to mix-and-match-and-modify traits for Genetics seems fair.
 
Excellent additions.

Would you consider changing the mutual exclusives to highly unlikely incompatible? (Ergo that it would be very difficult, but possible to have them like the aliens in Xcom?)
 
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