While everyone's busy arguing about the 2.2 update, I'm thinking of all the weird sci-fi concepts that will probably never be in Stellaris, but that would be bloody awesome if they were. Not realistic suggestions by any stretch of the imagination, but things that would be FUN. I don't think a lot of these things will really happen, but it'd be so cool if they did.
Bio-Ships
The ability to create bio-technology would be freaking awesome. I mean, the ability to gene-mod ships? A ship with a melee attack? Or just having biological self-healing ships that required massive amounts of food for upkeep. They could even eat words, a special bombardment stance where they eat pops and inflict devastation while greatly reducing their own upkeep.
Gateway Ships
Just take your regular old gateway, and put some thrusters on it. An immense ship (make it a Titan) that acts as a Gateway, allowing other fleets to instantly travel to it's location. Probably limit how many anyone can make, but it'd be so cool. Something for the really late-game, when you want ships that warp space and time to provide infinite reinforcements and constantly evolving battlefields.
Infiltration/Espionage
The ability to create spies designed to attack other people's infrastructure. A little menu that lets you select a mission, Leaders that have to be trained into expert Spies. Using gene modding to make your experts biologically identical to the victims, allowing them to blend in perfectly. Destroy Infrastructure to reduce the output of a rural world. Assassinate a leader. Poison a food supply to inflict massive penalties to pop growth. Sabotage their facilities, causing the next ship they build to be destroyed the moment it's finished. Authoritarian and xenophobe empires are harder to infiltrate, but destroying their leaders can inflict so much more damage.
Extragalactic Travel
The ability to move into new galaxies. Perhaps as an 'end-game' event, where you arrive as the leftovers of an extremely advanced civilisation into a newly generated map as the galaxy you came from is destroyed. Carry on the legacy of your wins. Allow the winners of previous games to arrive in your galaxy as a new Fallen Empire. Or as an Endgame Crisis! Face your own empire! Perhaps visitors from the next galaxy over, or perhaps visitors from another timeline. What was shall be, what shall be was.
Job-Automated Gene Modding
The ability to define gene mods by Job instead of by pop. Pops who move into that job switch gene mods after a certain period of time. Anyone who becomes a Miner chooses to get the strength-boosts eventually. The ability to get modify specific leaders. Could be just randomly generated extra leader traits for biologically ascended empires. This leader received the special regenerative mods, and is nigh-immortal! Or they got the full-body enhancement package, and add to the Strength of any army they're attached to as a living Primarch. Make gene modding easy, flavourful, and fun!
Opposition with Personalities
When a planet rebels, attach a face to that rebellion! Create a 'voice of the resistance' Leader who appears when a planet's stability drops too low. When they rebel, that Leader becomes their empire. If you quash the rebellion, choose to execute the dissident. Or integrate him, use his political influence and ideas to fix the problems of your empire, and make it a better place without violence! I have a hard time caring about billions, so attach one or two faces to those billions to make me care. Leaders with dialogue.
More Specialist Ships
Ark-ships that function as mobile habitats and shipyards. Everything a nomadic race needs to escape an all-devouring hive mind. Or a Repair ship that rapidly repairs the rest of your fleet, or even produces new smaller ships to reinforce your numbers. An armed science ship, capable of dealing with minor space pests themselves.
Bio-Ships
The ability to create bio-technology would be freaking awesome. I mean, the ability to gene-mod ships? A ship with a melee attack? Or just having biological self-healing ships that required massive amounts of food for upkeep. They could even eat words, a special bombardment stance where they eat pops and inflict devastation while greatly reducing their own upkeep.
Gateway Ships
Just take your regular old gateway, and put some thrusters on it. An immense ship (make it a Titan) that acts as a Gateway, allowing other fleets to instantly travel to it's location. Probably limit how many anyone can make, but it'd be so cool. Something for the really late-game, when you want ships that warp space and time to provide infinite reinforcements and constantly evolving battlefields.
Infiltration/Espionage
The ability to create spies designed to attack other people's infrastructure. A little menu that lets you select a mission, Leaders that have to be trained into expert Spies. Using gene modding to make your experts biologically identical to the victims, allowing them to blend in perfectly. Destroy Infrastructure to reduce the output of a rural world. Assassinate a leader. Poison a food supply to inflict massive penalties to pop growth. Sabotage their facilities, causing the next ship they build to be destroyed the moment it's finished. Authoritarian and xenophobe empires are harder to infiltrate, but destroying their leaders can inflict so much more damage.
Extragalactic Travel
The ability to move into new galaxies. Perhaps as an 'end-game' event, where you arrive as the leftovers of an extremely advanced civilisation into a newly generated map as the galaxy you came from is destroyed. Carry on the legacy of your wins. Allow the winners of previous games to arrive in your galaxy as a new Fallen Empire. Or as an Endgame Crisis! Face your own empire! Perhaps visitors from the next galaxy over, or perhaps visitors from another timeline. What was shall be, what shall be was.
Job-Automated Gene Modding
The ability to define gene mods by Job instead of by pop. Pops who move into that job switch gene mods after a certain period of time. Anyone who becomes a Miner chooses to get the strength-boosts eventually. The ability to get modify specific leaders. Could be just randomly generated extra leader traits for biologically ascended empires. This leader received the special regenerative mods, and is nigh-immortal! Or they got the full-body enhancement package, and add to the Strength of any army they're attached to as a living Primarch. Make gene modding easy, flavourful, and fun!
Opposition with Personalities
When a planet rebels, attach a face to that rebellion! Create a 'voice of the resistance' Leader who appears when a planet's stability drops too low. When they rebel, that Leader becomes their empire. If you quash the rebellion, choose to execute the dissident. Or integrate him, use his political influence and ideas to fix the problems of your empire, and make it a better place without violence! I have a hard time caring about billions, so attach one or two faces to those billions to make me care. Leaders with dialogue.
More Specialist Ships
Ark-ships that function as mobile habitats and shipyards. Everything a nomadic race needs to escape an all-devouring hive mind. Or a Repair ship that rapidly repairs the rest of your fleet, or even produces new smaller ships to reinforce your numbers. An armed science ship, capable of dealing with minor space pests themselves.
