Stellaris opportunity - Emergent storytelling

[rokarlufia]

I just had a brainwave. Here it goes:

One of the more "frightening" aspects is something I experienced when I played Civilization: Beyond Earth. The story itself never grabbed me. There was no true storytelling, no context to mirror or improve my achievements to. It's just checking my surroundings, racing for the best use of my resources and blasting away.

In EU4 or even standard Civ there is a historical perspective for reformation, conquest, civilization ideas etc... There is a known story, hi-story, upon which all is based.

So, what if, after playing a game towards "endgame", and there is nothing "left to do"... There is a way or a moment to press a big ol' reset button. Some anomaly that rips spacetime, aliens who dissapear after, etc... Anything resembling interstellar empires is destroyed. Some stars are shifted, but the map is still recognisable. You can rechoose a race and a planet type and restart - but you find artifacts etc from the game you had the reset on. You have made your own history.

The bloody battles on some planet may have left usable weapon stocks. The old capital of some old civilization may have a research boon, etc. It's a type of emergent storytelling that can still be reasonably randomized, but names and specifics of your old game can be reused.

And you can reinvent the universe in a completely different way. Perhaps the last "savegames" oppressed minority will be next one's oligarchic empire. Although the context and storytelling will be your own, AAR's etc can become infinitely more interesting.

 

[ajarnlance]

I like it... cool idea. Have you ever read Asimov's Foundation series? A star empire falls... there is a time of chaos.. then a new one is born. There could even be a race with the "psycho-historian" trait who can foresee the future.. the inevitable decline and fall. They prepare a planet to survive the coming catastrophe and emerge as the new rulers....

 

[Boops]

Aren't you just suggesting what has already been called a late game crisis?

Granted, the late game crisis stage, as far as we know isn't triggered by the press of a button (but I'm sure there'll be console commands for it), but the whole Galaxy facing imminent destruction, whether it be an AI slave rebellion in which they may call an all out galactic scale war against all Empires. We've even been hinted that one end game event could see what is effectively a life form that would be a Type 3 on the Kardashev Scale, noticing that the power that the empires within the galaxy is amassing may eventually pose a risk, and so they take "preventative measures" (read: galaxy wide genocide)

 

[SolarGuy]

Aren't you just suggesting what has already been called a late game crisis?

Granted, the late game crisis stage, as far as we know isn't triggered by the press of a button (but I'm sure there'll be console commands for it), but the whole Galaxy facing imminent destruction, whether it be an AI slave rebellion in which they may call an all out galactic scale war against all Empires. We've even been hinted that one end game event could see what is effectively a life form that would be a Type 3 on the Kardashev Scale, noticing that the power that the empires within the galaxy is amassing may eventually pose a risk, and so they take "preventative measures" (read: galaxy wide genocide)

Seeing the AI-Rebellion-Thing... could it be possible that certain space nations (or even all of them) agree to give the AIs a part of space where they can live in peace and harmony? When we can have rebellions and uprisings, we should be able to simply say "Okay, here is your own personal piece of space. Happy birthday!" instead of "Oh, rebels, we must kill them all now! Sorry, I can't resist..."

 

[PhoenixFour]

This idea makes me think of the Mass Effect series, where some super-AI is waiting till galactic civilization reaches a certain level and then comes roaring in, destroying everything, and basically reseting the galaxy, leaving only species who had yet to discover space flight. I imagine it won't be long after the game comes out before there's a ME mod that simulates exactly this. I'd certainly give it a go.

 

[SolarGuy]

This idea makes me think of the Mass Effect series, where some super-AI is waiting till galactic civilization reaches a certain level and then comes roaring in, destroying everything, and basically reseting the galaxy, leaving only species who had yet to discover space flight. I imagine it won't be long after the game comes out before there's a ME mod that simulates exactly this. I'd certainly give it a go.

I read a little book some months ago, where nearly the same thing happened: The highly advanced humanity realises that the universe is going to die with time, so they construct a huge and intelligent AI, give it every single information the whole human race has, and ask one question: "How can the death of the universe be stopped?" This goes on without any (obvious) success, until humanity eventually vanishes and only leaves this AI on the moon. After millions and billions of years in which the AI observed the whole universe with its technological possibilities, it finally finds out how to do it. The AI then builds a machine that will recreate the big bang and form the universe a second time, preventing the universe's death.

 

[rokarlufia]

I like it... cool idea. Have you ever read Asimov's Foundation series? A star empire falls... there is a time of chaos.. then a new one is born. There could even be a race with the "psycho-historian" trait who can foresee the future.. the inevitable decline and fall. They prepare a planet to survive the coming catastrophe and emerge as the new rulers....

I haven't, I'm not much of a reader to be honest... but I've seen it referenced elsewhere, I might look into it.

 

[rokarlufia]

Aren't you just suggesting what has already been called a late game crisis?

Granted, the late game crisis stage, as far as we know isn't triggered by the press of a button (but I'm sure there'll be console commands for it), but the whole Galaxy facing imminent destruction, whether it be an AI slave rebellion in which they may call an all out galactic scale war against all Empires. We've even been hinted that one end game event could see what is effectively a life form that would be a Type 3 on the Kardashev Scale, noticing that the power that the empires within the galaxy is amassing may eventually pose a risk, and so they take "preventative measures" (read: galaxy wide genocide)

I've read about late game crisis, and it made me slighty upset. I'm familiar with the Civil War mechanic in Rome Total war II: As soon as you grow a lot as a nation, there's a politics trigger that suddenly creates a civil war, taking away a large amount of provinces so you can start reconquering them. Late game crisis can be something as grand as that, it might be tiny like a "peasants war" from EU... but you'd still be performing with your nation at that stage and at that level of development/research.

What I'm suggesting is a almost complete reset of the galaxy - full obliteration of ALL empires, including yours, and re-emergence of a "new game +" using the same or a different races but a slightly changed universe where remnants of last game's empires can be found. And, of course, back to square 1 with research.

 

[DàbiànLājīdàrén]

I bet there will be 3 main scenario/crises that will get recycled over and over again until we're forced to buy new dlc packs providing more scenarios. And that will be the "endgame".

 

[ParagonExile]

I bet there will be 3 main scenario/crises that will get recycled over and over again until we're forced to buy new dlc packs providing more scenarios. And that will be the "endgame".

Gr8 b8 m8

 

[Markusw7]

I read a little book some months ago, where nearly the same thing happened: The highly advanced humanity realises that the universe is going to die with time, so they construct a huge and intelligent AI, give it every single information the whole human race has, and ask one question: "How can the death of the universe be stopped?" This goes on without any (obvious) success, until humanity eventually vanishes and only leaves this AI on the moon. After millions and billions of years in which the AI observed the whole universe with its technological possibilities, it finally finds out how to do it. The AI then builds a machine that will recreate the big bang and form the universe a second time, preventing the universe's death.

Sounds like "the last question" by Isaac Asimov

 

[aruon]

i'd love it if you start as humanity, have a good 1000+ year run, end the game, convert it to a later scenario (say 3000 years in the future), start as new race, get your empire established, and then encounter humanity... but find out somehow that they're all actually androids and that the real humanity has been extinct for a while. how about that for emergent storytelling?

 

[GhostKiller01]

i'd love it if you start as humanity, have a good 1000+ year run, end the game, convert it to a later scenario (say 3000 years in the future), start as new race, get your empire established, and then encounter humanity... but find out somehow that they're all actually androids and that the real humanity has been extinct for a while. how about that for emergent storytelling?

Sic semper intelligens speciebus
sic semper est letum a progressum
(sorry for bad Latin)

 

[rokarlufia]

I hope the Devs pick this up! It's hopefully feasible.

 

[SolarGuy]

Sounds like "the last question" by Isaac Asimov

Yes! That's it! Thank you, I didn't remember that name

i'd love it if you start as humanity, have a good 1000+ year run, end the game, convert it to a later scenario (say 3000 years in the future), start as new race, get your empire established, and then encounter humanity... but find out somehow that they're all actually androids and that the real humanity has been extinct for a while. how about that for emergent storytelling?

I like that idea, but only if this is one of technically infinite possible outcomes. When AI-played humanity always goes extinct after some thousand years, it would be lame.

 

[AKicebear]

Various themes of this are discussed in a few threads hear, and I generally agree this would be cool. I'd rather there be a built in entropy mechanic rather than a big reset button. Next weeks dev diary is supposedly about fallen empires, so may shed so light on this topic.

 

[Aumnivers]

Various themes of this are discussed in a few threads hear, and I generally agree this would be cool. I'd rather there be a built in entropy mechanic rather than a big reset button. Next weeks dev diary is supposedly about fallen empires, so may shed so light on this topic.

Entropy? The only way I see heat death occurring within Stellaris's thousand-year timeframes is if civilizations have to start eating stars to feed their energy needs.

That would actually be pretty cool.

EDIT: I wonder if, after nukes fall and every civilization dies in one of these late-game crises, you could play from the perspective of the cause of the galactic apocalypse. Like, say, if an AI rebellion slaughtered every organic lifeform, you can then play as a small part of the AI alliance or whatever and 'invent' biological life. And then succumb to an organic rebellion...

 

[AKicebear]

Entropy? The only way I see heat death occurring within Stellaris's thousand-year timeframes is if civilizations have to start eating stars to feed their energy needs.

That would actually be pretty cool.

I meant the general idea of order and inevitable decay, not a specific thermodynamic mechanic.

 

[Aegrim]

A specific thermodynamic mechanic.

Nice progrock album title.

 

[SolarGuy]

I meant the general idea of order and inevitable decay, not a specific thermodynamic mechanic.

A decay that, when all species work together, may be stopped?

EDIT: I wonder if, after nukes fall and every civilization dies in one of these late-game crises, you could play from the perspective of the cause of the galactic apocalypse. Like, say, if an AI rebellion slaughtered every organic lifeform, you can then play as a small part of the AI alliance or whatever and 'invent' biological life. And then succumb to an organic rebellion...

When I, personally spoken, would have that happen to me, I would just accept it. Yes. I'd rather say "Oh, someone invented organic life? That's interesting, we should explore that phenomenon instead of killing it.".
Hey, when an AI race develops "Organics", they would most likely be curious enough to look at what that is. What about some AIs finding rests of human genes / cells and successfully reactivate them, so that they could actually save the organic lifeforms. Then, a war would start between pro-organics and contra-organics, which would again divide the galaxy. And after maybe thousands of years, one side would be superior. And if that's the pro-organic side, those will then start to repopulate the galaxy with whatever genetic information they could salvage between the battles and after that Galactic Worlds War. Yeah, there is "some" potential for interesting stories.