Stellaris Dev Diary #318 - Announcing Astral Planes

[Kuzma Minin]

Any changes/additions to end game crises?

 

[Varren]

Is it a purely event-driven expansion, or does it include new mechanics?

 

[Metallichydra]

Not what I expected, but not a disappointment in any way!

 

[Eladrin]

Is it a purely event-driven expansion, or does it include new mechanics?

Astral Actions are new, and Rifts behave somewhat differently from Archaeology Sites due to their more branching nature.

 

[Pale Blue]

With more and more direct proof of the shrouds existence ingame the stance of the materialists makes less and less sense.

 

[Obeliskkai]

A story pack? I would have bet money on it being a species pack.

Well that is a surprise, but a welcome one.

An interesting idea to try and bring back exploration in the late game. It is one of the most fun aspects of the early game.

Can't wait for more!

 

[Abdulijubjub]

Story pack! Story pack!

 

[glee8e]

are they bypass (like wormhole, lgate) leading up to completely new systems (as suggested by the name Rift) or arch site thing that is local to the POI?

EDIT: from the screenshots on steam page it looks like it's the later.

 

[Panzerslothen]

HELL YES.

 

[Silens]

Woohoo, when the Galaxy isn't big enough anymore, let's explore other planes of existence!

Question, though, as a Psionic-enjoyer: can I expect content that caters to my favorite Ascension?

And another question, will those additional planes of existence somehow connect to the Unbidden, the dreaded Class-30 Singularity, the Shroud-Gods and other bizzare entities?

 

[IntoTheStars]

Late game exploration/story stuff is like my #1 current request so I’m retry pumped. Love more narrative/story content.

 

[InsidiousMage]

I'm curious so the exploration part is going to work since I can't image there will be new "maps" to explore.

EDIT: Based on the images on Steam, it looks like rifts work the same as archeology sites.

 

[Falloutknight31]

We warping now boys

 

[Lorenerd11]

With more and more direct proof of the shrouds existence ingame the stance of the materialists makes less and less sense.

I mean, the difference would be what, some lines of flavor text?

I suppose the flavor text could be adjusted to take a more methodological approach instead of dismissing the notion outright.

But the difference is still that Spiritualists ascribe spiritual significance to the Shroud, while Materialists do not.

 

[Necron123]

…as well as some insights into some old friends and enemies.

The one that really, really loves us and the ones that are really, really hungry?

 

[Navar]

Oooooh, Riftworld Origin? Can't wait to see what that's about!

 

[HaukHans1]

"[...] the Rifts you explore will lead to completely different realms of existence [...]"​

When you say "Rifts you explore" and "realms of existence", does this lean more towards an Archeology/Situations type system with a unique interface that we interact with through clicking on option boxes, or is it more akin to the L-cluster in that it is physically explorable with systems that we send our ships to?

 

[Ezumiyr]

I know Abrakam for Faeria, which isn't exactly a narrative game, so it's a bit surprising to find them on a story pack.
Well, more exploration will never be bad in Stellaris, and it's interesting to see the game gets more of its own "lore".

 

[Eladrin]

A story pack? I would have bet money on it being a species pack.

We've categorized this as a Narrative Expansion due to the amount of content within the rifts. Bigger than a normal Story Pack, but not a Full Expansion.