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Stellaris Dev Diary #15 - Fallen Empires

Hello and happy new year! I’ll be your substitute Doomdark for today and in this week’s dev diary we’ll take a closer look at Fallen Empires.

The galaxy is vast, old and unknown. New species constantly flare into existence and some are even able to take their first cautious steps towards other stars. Of those that do some are arrogant enough to assume that they are the first and only chosen. They fail to realize that others may have taken those same steps before them, others who have found amazing wonders and unraveled their secrets, others who reached the furthest edges of knowledge only to crumble away. Those others are called Fallen Empires.

These are once-glorious empires that for unknown reasons have stagnated and often fallen to infighting or crippling apathy. That which once covered hundreds of systems have shrunk to a fraction, barely held on to by superior technology and what little remains of a once glorious fleet. Fallen Empires are isolationist and will look at newer species with disinterest or outright contempt. Diplomatic attempts are futile and they will most likely attack any unknown ships entering one of their remaining systems.

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The response of Fallen Empires vary greatly when approached. It is rarely friendly though.

Design Reasoning

We’ve added Fallen Empires to the game for a couple of reasons. They have the potential to enable some really cool stories and there is a bunch of different directions we can take to ensure players get a different experience from game to game. Players should never feel confident in how a Fallen Empire may react to different events in the galaxy. If left alone they might resurge as a reaction to a galaxy-wide threat or become outraged when their most holy planets are colonized by lesser races.

Gameplay-wise the Fallen Empires can act as a potential source of advanced technology for players willing to invest the military forces required to defeat one of their fleets in battle. In Stellaris, all ships destroyed in combat will leave debris behind and through reverse engineering a player may discover the technologies required to build the weapons and components equipped by those ships. Players can also invade planets belonging to Fallen Empires, allowing them to utilize whatever advanced buildings placed there. This of course means dealing with a new species within the Empire.
While the rewards may be tempting, players may want to consider the risks before attacking a Fallen Empire. Who knows what horrors they have unearthed during the ages, what forbidden secrets their planets hold within, what captives might be unleashed should their wardens be struck down.

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Fallen Empires will use a separate series of models for their ships and stations.

Next week the good Goosecreature will be back with a dev diary on the events and mishaps that may befall colonies and their inhabitants. Until then!
 
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Awesome :) btw does that precourser look like a prothean or is that just me?

Question: can states that start the game as normal empires become fallen empires in the late game?

edit: first :p

Seconded: including PC states? Or, what other scope is there for decline/decay/renewal in a single session?
 
I see that symbol on many fascist countries in Victoria 2 but what does it mean?

It is a "Faisceau" in French, dunno the English word. It was a symbol of the Lictors, the personal guard of magistrates. The axe inside the "Faisceau" was used to represent the right of life and death of magistrates over the Roman People during the time of the Republic.
Later it was used as a symbol of authority by Italian Fascists (hence the name) and other Fascists.
it is also a symbol of the French Republic (look at a French passport)
 
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I see that symbol on many fascist countries in Victoria 2 but what does it mean?
Fasces were ancient Roman symbols of magisterial power, and can be traced back to the Etruscans.
 
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The bit about unearthed horrors makes me ask the obvious question. Can we stumble upon planet-devouring locust hordes or mind-invading parasites that force a galaxy-wide response?
 
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Support for the Foundation universe confirmed.

In all seriousness, though, will it be possible for the player to play as a fallen empire? Either by becoming one or from game start?

Can you play as a fallen empire? Or atleast tag switch?

Byzantium in space confirmed.

Sorry, I felt compelled to say it.

But it sounds really neat. What a great idea!
 
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Huh. It seems that alliance with this old arrogant dust bags will not be possible........ah well, let's kill them all....
 
The response of Fallen Empires vary greatly when approached. It is rarely friendly though.
Kosh-Naranek-babylon-5-10955700-438-648.jpg


"u wot m8"
 
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So it is slightly possible for the Fallen Empires to not reject our diplomacy. Will these Fallen Empires always be militaristic, or can we find a Fallen Federation or Fallen Trade Corporation?

For that matter, can Fallen Empires form over the duration of the game? If we keep defeating a massive empire, can they become a Fallen Empire?
 
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Will anomalities found by scientists/Explorers be dynamic with respect to the fallen empires generated at game start? So if there is a fallen empire in the game planets in there general area will have increased chance of certain anomalities tied to that fallen empire.
 
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Why are aliens using such a specifically designed Terran symbol? I mean, stars and shields and other generic things like that could be common enough, but an axe behind a bundle of sticks like that? It seems a bit odd.
 
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The bit about unearthed horrors makes me ask the obvious question. Can we stumble upon planet-devouring locust hordes or mind-invading parasites that force a galaxy-wide response?

I assume those would be some of the possible late game crisises that can happen.