Gestalt Empires could still require the Gestalt Ethos to unlock the Hivemind and Machine Intelligence authority types, but it should not consume all 3 of your ethos points.
Hiveminds currently feel vary same-y, only being distinguished by if they are devourers or not; Machine Intelligences have it slightly better by coming in 4 varieties; base, Servitors, Assimilators, and Exterminators.
If we could pick an additional Ethos would not only add flavor to playing them, but also to encountering them when exploring the galaxy due to having different "personalities" and thus behaviors, and different Civic locked behind defend Ethos could allow for some new and interesting options.
for example "One Mind" could be made exclusive Fanatical Authoritarians, with a far stronger buff like even more Admin cap, and maybe even cheaper leaders, but a stronger malus to diplomacy on top of the typical Hive Mind difficulties.
on the reverse side a Fanatical Egalitarian could have a "Consensus" Civic that made it a collective of individuals, with better diplomacy, to the point that if they are also Assimilators(the only machine empire that should be able to take this, considering the lore we have for Machine Intelligences say they have to be made from networked drones due to being made from less advanced AI/computing technology) or a Hivemind with the needed Bio Engineering techs you could even sign migration treaties that go both ways between your empires, but at the cost of having Factions that are way more demanding and imbue far more severe penalties for failing to meet their demands.
Fanatical Spiritualist Hive Minds could have a "God Complex" Civic that allowed them to subjugate non-Gestalt POPs as Worshipers or tributary states.
and maybe there'd even be some flavor stuff in policies and the like; for example a Xenophobic Rogue Servitor that only takes care of its original creator species, and wants nothing to do with anybody else(besides maybe turning them into food or other exotic goods, maybe slaves if their creators were decadent).
Hiveminds currently feel vary same-y, only being distinguished by if they are devourers or not; Machine Intelligences have it slightly better by coming in 4 varieties; base, Servitors, Assimilators, and Exterminators.
If we could pick an additional Ethos would not only add flavor to playing them, but also to encountering them when exploring the galaxy due to having different "personalities" and thus behaviors, and different Civic locked behind defend Ethos could allow for some new and interesting options.
for example "One Mind" could be made exclusive Fanatical Authoritarians, with a far stronger buff like even more Admin cap, and maybe even cheaper leaders, but a stronger malus to diplomacy on top of the typical Hive Mind difficulties.
on the reverse side a Fanatical Egalitarian could have a "Consensus" Civic that made it a collective of individuals, with better diplomacy, to the point that if they are also Assimilators(the only machine empire that should be able to take this, considering the lore we have for Machine Intelligences say they have to be made from networked drones due to being made from less advanced AI/computing technology) or a Hivemind with the needed Bio Engineering techs you could even sign migration treaties that go both ways between your empires, but at the cost of having Factions that are way more demanding and imbue far more severe penalties for failing to meet their demands.
Fanatical Spiritualist Hive Minds could have a "God Complex" Civic that allowed them to subjugate non-Gestalt POPs as Worshipers or tributary states.
and maybe there'd even be some flavor stuff in policies and the like; for example a Xenophobic Rogue Servitor that only takes care of its original creator species, and wants nothing to do with anybody else(besides maybe turning them into food or other exotic goods, maybe slaves if their creators were decadent).
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