If we pacify the crystalline entities, it would be nice to eventually get a rare tech drop for Crystal-Forged Plating

[TrotBot]

I would rather not be wiping out all the beautiful creatures of the universe, but also, I want that sweet sweet Crystal-Forged Plating. This results in a gamey little thing I have to do. Wipe out something big enough to get the tech. Then research the pacification. I'd rather have a peaceful way to achieve this. I get that it would then leave the skillcheck of fleetpower out of the equation. So what if instead of granting it to you without a fight, you get attacked when you try to claim their home system or whatever, so you're forced into a fight in that system even if you do have the pacification research (semantic satiation is killing me man) anyways. BUT if you win the battle it opens an event screen which you can decide whether to wipe them out or let them graze or whatever it is they do as something about them shows they've been pacified or some shit but WOOP here's the anomaly that is the forged plating and hey you didn't have to wipe them out or whatever thanks to your access to the pacification tech which had a hiccup.

Or we can skip the forced battle, let me research pacification and then grant a rare tech option at some point down the line with a sufficiently high research time. Either way, let me not kill the crystals as much

Some sort of option to let them recover from the battle if there is a forced battle would be nice.

 

[Spaceception]

This should be in suggestions, but I agree.

 

[legionof1]

Not that getting the 2nd version of plating is critical given how fast we can get repeatables and end up in oops my BB gets instagibbed regardless of hp amount and type territory, but i do agree not haveing any chance at it at all is weird. Like we get all the other "monster" toys why is this one special, aside from being equivalent to base t5 plating.

 

[TrotBot]

Not that getting the 2nd version of plating is critical given how fast we can get repeatables

i want shiny, gib shiny

 

[Empire of Terra Nova]

they're absolutely my favourite

whenever i manage to colonise the system where they've got several fleets and a spaceport i would just simply zoom-in and watch them (like i also do with black holes and space battles); especially late-game when the game gets a bit laggy it's a life saver

 

[Lykus Cerebros]

I disagree since that would remove the choice. It's already possible to get the advantages of pacification and the crystal plates as you said.

In fact I would rather have it that pacification becomes unavailable after you attack them.

 

[Critical Ethics]

Make it an event that fires after a few years of owning their system or a rare tech that can only spawn if you own their home system. Keeps it rare but available. Maybe gate it behind a certain game year.

 

[Franton]

It's not just empires that prefer pacification. Even after deciding to hunt them down, I sometimes never get the opportunity to fight the larger crystal entities which drop the plans. Half the time I do not discover the systems they're in before another empire wipes them out. And sometimes I simply can't reach such systems because they're beyond an FE or other powerful neighbour, and other empires destroy them before I can get there.

I'd suggest to make the higher tier crystal armor tech a rare tech dependent on both the lower tier tech and the rare battleship hull tech.

As for the peaceful route, I don't see any reason to not give acess in the same way, assuming that pacification unlocks the lower tech (IIRC it already does).

 

[GloatingSwine]

I'm pretty sure you get the option just for entering the system with the crystal nidus in.

 

[TrotBot]

I'm pretty sure you get the option just for entering the system with the crystal nidus in.

you do not. you have to kill big crystals to get the red crystal plating. there is no scientific way to get it, only murder.

 

[Lykus Cerebros]

you do not. you have to kill big crystals to get the red crystal plating. there is no scientific way to get it, only murder.

I mean thats what I would call a trade-off. You either get the tech or acces to whatever is in that system before later early game. I really don't get why you want to remove that choice other than because you play in a specific way every time.

 

[TrotBot]

I mean thats what I would call a trade-off. You either get the tech or acces to whatever is in that system before later early game. I really don't get why you want to remove that choice other than because you play in a specific way every time.

that's not a choice. that's "oh you're a xenophile? here's inferior tech for not being a genocider killing everything you see".

 

[klopkr]

I wish there was an expansion to what we can do with space fauna.

A rancher civic letting you harvest them for food, an origin to have a nursery in your starting system, options to breed them and bring them into your army, becomes one with nature and pacify all space creatures to your empire, take on the mantle of protector of space fauna and fight empires killing them, etc.

 

[RabbaDooDabba]

Have you tried just killing the Nidus after pacification ?
Crystal Beings are just neutral to you and if nothing has changed you can just order a fleet to attack the Crystal Nidus which turns only it hostile, at least that has worked for me countless of times.

Edit: No longer possible.

 

[TrotBot]

Have you tried just killing the Nidus after pacification ?
Crystal Beings are just neutral to you and if nothing has changed you can just order a fleet to attack the Crystal Nidus which turns only it hostile, at least that has worked for me countless of times.

really? i found that they all turn hostile if you attack a nidus after pacifying them, but maybe things changed at some point. are you sure? i'll have to turn off ironman mode next game so i can give it a try.

 

[RabbaDooDabba]

really? i found that they all turn hostile if you attack a nidus after pacifying them, but maybe things changed at some point. are you sure? i'll have to turn off ironman mode next game so i can give it a try.

If you are willing to wait a day, I am going to test this in a sandbox-game "tomorrow". Right now it is too late for that.

 

[TrotBot]

If you are willing to wait a day, I am going to test this in a sandbox-game "tomorrow". Right now it is too late for that.

nice thanks, i've already got an ironman game running so take your time. also, i wonder if an archeological digsite might be the way to resolve this for the pacification route. and it can trigger a defensive battle anyways and be treated as separate from pacification and therefore doesn't break it, kind of like a shard like event in the system or something halfway through the digsite so you can't finish it and get the tech without winning it. that would be cool. like i don't mind being forced to fight, then make it feel like i had no choice so that it fits with the xenophile roleplay instead of making me feel like ahab lol.

 

[RabbaDooDabba]

nice thanks, i've already got an ironman game running so take your time. also, i wonder if an archeological digsite might be the way to resolve this for the pacification route. and it can trigger a defensive battle anyways and be treated as separate from pacification and therefore doesn't break it, kind of like a shard like event in the system or something halfway through the digsite so you can't finish it and get the tech without winning it. that would be cool. like i don't mind being forced to fight, then make it feel like i had no choice so that it fits with the xenophile roleplay instead of making me feel like ahab lol.

You were right, seems like it was patched out. Every Crystal being turned hostile to me after I attacked the Crystal Nidus.
To be honest, it was a bit of an exploit.

So I guess the best way to have your cake and eat it too is to destroy the Crystal Nidus before pacification.

 

[Dire]

I just pass up on the tech, but I face same conundrum every time.

 

[TrotBot]

I just pass up on the tech, but I face same conundrum every time.

i usually pass up on the tech too, but in multiplayer against my authoritarian friends i need every edge i can get.