Stone Age, primitive start option?

[Lorenerd11]

I think the more reasonable take on this would be starting in early space age, and starting by developing your system (starbase, stations) and your planet's buildings before inventing FTL travel.

Many of the otherwise starting techs wouldn't be researched. But it would also mean being stuck in your system for a while, and at a huge disadvantage.

And the earlier stage you'd be looking at (stone age?), the more limited your options are, limited to a single planet. Sure, there could be special buildings and maybe districts, like the current primitive buildings, to reflect the civilization stage.

But, it'd end up being a lot of work for what seems to be a purely roleplay feature with little gameplay purpose.

 

[Dementor4]

A while ago I there was a thread about origin ideas: I posted one which was "Atlantis" inspired. The basic premise is that the vast majority of your planet is a bronze-age civilization, but there's a single enclave with highly advanced technology that secretly runs things. This is represented by your homeworld being extremely reliant on your planetary capitol building (which represents the advanced enclave) for most of it's advanced resources via a number of highly efficient ruler-caste jobs. You will probably want to integrate your two civilizations eventually, which occurs either by conquest or infiltration with all the drawbacks inherent to either approach. But if you choose not to you have the weird advantage of having your capital world be hard to find: your advanced enclave is hidden and the rest of your homeworld is by all appearances just a normal bronze-age primitive world.

 

[ZomgK3tchup]

As i said sir, "super fast" and generic gameplay.

That sounds like an extension of empire creation.

It sounds like you want something that would determine how your empire handled its version of the Cold War or the Industrial Revolution and then start with buffs/debuffs based on those choices. That's effectively an extended empire creation.

It's not a bad idea, tbh, but it does assume every empire developed the same way, which is something the current origins try to avoid.

 

[OnyxAbussos]

Have you tried playing SPORE?
You guide the evolution of your species from single cell to sentience. Then you guide a small camp of them. Then a tribe. Then you become a city state that does like an abbreviated and simplified version of like a CIV game. Once you unify the planet and reach space tech, you play a little UFO guy and then a space empire, and eventually become a bioengineering sandbox God.

The decisions at each stage dictate your starting traits at the next stage. Do like if you go full carnivore, when it comes to being a tribe, you'll likely start with military bonuses. If you unite the camps diplomatically, then when it comes to being a city state you'll likely start as pacifists.

This really might be the kind of thing you're looking for. Play SPORE until you unify the planet. Then build your species and traits and civics based on how you ended up doing that whole thing.

 

[ZomgK3tchup]

A while ago I there was a thread about origin ideas: I posted one which was "Atlantis" inspired. The basic premise is that the vast majority of your planet is a bronze-age civilization, but there's a single enclave with highly advanced technology that secretly runs things. This is represented by your homeworld being extremely reliant on your planetary capitol building (which represents the advanced enclave) for most of it's advanced resources via a number of highly efficient ruler-caste jobs. You will probably want to integrate your two civilizations eventually, which occurs either by conquest or infiltration with all the drawbacks inherent to either approach. But if you choose not to you have the weird advantage of having your capital world be hard to find: your advanced enclave is hidden and the rest of your homeworld is by all appearances just a normal bronze-age primitive world.

I had this idea recently for a Men in Black origin. You'd start off with a bunch of primitive pops on your homeworld and limitations on what you could build, what blockers you could clear, etc. You'd play with these limitations until your primitive pops are "ready" to learn the truth about alien life, at which point you gain access to all your homeworld's pops and resources.

There's definitely potential for primitive origins, but there still needs to be a way to interact with the rest of the galaxy.

 

[Orphalesion]

I think the more reasonable take on this would be starting in early space age, and starting by developing your system (starbase, stations) and your planet's buildings before inventing FTL travel.

Except for FTL already being present...isn't that how the game used to work when it was first released? I could have sworn in the early versions of Stellaris you had to survey your home system first and then went on to other planets?
I don't really miss that part, and don't want it re-implemented, but I can still remember it.

Of course if they ever make a Stellaris 2 they could avoid many of the current troubles by focusing on a smaller scale (like, a section of the galaxy rather than the whole one) which would make individual systems more important and could lead to more in-depth system and planet management.
Then something like that (surveying and exploiting your home system before venturing out into interstellar space) could be valid again.