[suggestion] Endless Journey DLC

[Radix_Sal]

Hey there, this here is an attempt to create an idea for a mechanic that would enable an endless play where you can take your people through an endless number of galaxies.

Why? Well once you reach a point where you have beaten an end game crisis, you have wiped all of the ancients and conquered or otherwise subdued the rest of the galaxy... it is over. It is like you have kicked all the children from your sandbox and now you are alone. Boring. You can start a new game even with the very same empire you have been playing with (because you got attached to them!) but you will only get the same thing - having to grow your empire from scratch, try to survive, research techs and so on. Boring. But what if we could start in an already well developed galaxy with an already well developed empire (technologically) and we could keep going like that, challenge after challenge. Each new galaxy you would get new star systems to explore, new empires to deal with, new set of events and crises.

But that is only the beginning. A standard galaxy would be only one of the options, you could also end up in an empty galaxy (okay, boring), galaxy with all empires being already at end-game technological levels or a galaxy that got completely overrun by exterminators/purifiers/devouring swarms or taken over by crises. Or maybe even conquered by an awakened ancients. Or a galaxy full of wraiths or other leviathans. All randomly generated so each time you take your people to a new galaxy it would mean something cool and unknown.

Having the ability to start with a technologically advanced empire enables many new options.

But how would an empire go to a new galaxy? Well I suggest implementing an Arc Habitat (for machines Core Habitat, for hives Main Hive Cluster) - a habitat capable of warping to different galaxies. Arc's would initially be very small - like only 3 surface buildings, takes on-board 10k fleet power, max 3 modules and warps maximum every 50 years with 15 pops max. This would be of course a mega structure requiring an end-game tech and it would be upgradeable with further techs. So eventually you would reach a 20 surface buildings, 50k fleet power, 10 modules and warps every 10 years max 100 pops max. There would be also an emergency warp out in case you end up in an unbeatable situation but it would need to charge somehow too. The Arc would act as a starting planet in each new galaxy.

There is more, when you warp to a new galaxy, your Arc will travel through intergalactic void for some time. And it does not have to be empty - it can have many different events and encounters. Rogue planets, rogue tiny star clusters with some powerful monsters or other mysteries to uncover, nomads and other threats.

I would make a cap on the late-game future tech - like lvl 5 tops so you do not become OP at some point (boring). After reaching the cap further research would just convert into energy, unity and minerals. Another alternative would be to use the research points to probe the space in search of a next galaxy to warp to - the more research the more we know about potential candidates we can warp to.

And I would add new playable empire type - galactic nomads with three flavours:
- last survivors - you start out over a tomb world with a small Arc and small fleet. This is a default flavour, there are penalties to colonization but bonuses to border expansion.
- outcasts - you start in a small Arc a few hyperlanes from your mother empire that had thrown you out for having opposite ethics. You of course hate each other and have containment/final war casus beli on each other. You have a choice to conquer them back or just travel on. But if you do not conquer them then they might follow you to the next galaxy to finish you off.
- seekers of the promised land - you start in a random star system in an Arc in a first galaxy of a greater journey. You need to search for clues in every galaxy you visit as to where is the eden planet - the promised land. Once you find it you get some fun bonuses and you revert to default nomad empire mode.

What do you think guys? Imagine how fun it would be to be a devouring swarm that devours galaxy after a galaxy, Like the prethoryn almost!

 

[JodelDiplom]

Sounds fascinating. I would love to see unconventional game play options like that.

 

[Arutar]

While it sounds interisting, they should focus on improving the midgame and fix the endgame before they add edngame +, which only a fraction of players will probabaly see anyway.

 

[SteelCrow]

That would be totally rad, dude.
Warp into a single star system in the new galaxy, probably on the outskirts, but not necessarily (because galaxies are usually shaped like a disk), and try to establish territory there.

It should be possible to add a whole new galaxy to the game, with UI support to flip between them. For UX's sake, though, I think it would be best to abandon the old galaxy entirely when doing this. Keep those Arc Habitats and a number of fleets to start with in the new galaxy.

But how would an empire go to a new galaxy? Well I suggest implementing an Arc Habitat (for machines Core Habitat, for hives Main Hive Cluster) - a habitat capable of warping to different galaxies. Arc's would initially be very small - like only 3 surface buildings, takes on-board 10k fleet power, max 3 modules and warps maximum every 50 years with 15 pops max. This would be of course a mega structure requiring an end-game tech and it would be upgradeable with further techs. So eventually you would reach a 20 surface buildings, 50k fleet power, 10 modules and warps every 10 years max 100 pops max. There would be also an emergency warp out in case you end up in an unbeatable situation but it would need to charge somehow too. The Arc would act as a starting planet in each new galaxy.

We need nomad mechanics in the game. Mods have added them to a limited extent, but they would add a lot of dynamic to the game. Maybe an Ascension Perk could add an Arc Habitat, and nomadic starts have it automatically but have problems living on planets.

 

[Orphalesion]

That very idea (going to new galaxies for the endgame/ a new game+) suggested with some frequency on these forums, and I always have the same issues with it:

1)If they somehow manage to cram in a second galaxy while keeping up performance, I'd rather have them make the starting galaxy bigger instead, since right now it's too small for my tastes.
2)Unless they make it a *gigantic* expansion, there would be nothing/very little, gameplay or lore wise, to distinguish this "new" galaxy from the old ones. You'd encounter the same aliens, you'd discover the same anomalies. Why go to a new galaxy if all you're gonna find there are the Blorg, the Horizon Signal and the Sun Eater?
3)If you are playing an multi-species empire with up to dozens of species....which one do you get to take along to the new galaxy? "Your starting species" is not a good answer imho, unless you were playing a monospecies/xenophobic empire.

To make me interested in going to a new galaxy they'd have to make that new galaxy really exotic and alien from the first and that difficult 1)with just an expansions worth of content 2)the random map/species generation 3)the fact that as far as we know space, from a large perspective, is pretty much the same everywhere.

 

[Shirasik]

Some time in the past, probably, there were an option for pre-scripted galaxies, as an option for modding. Heard about it here on the forums. Not sure if it was implemented, never saw it myself.

 

[Derp]

i'm not a fan of the notion that games should never end

 

[VerKer]

Actually, your thread title is kinda clickbait - i sincerely thought you were refering to PDX release and patching policy

 

[Vanhal]

Some time in the past, probably, there were an option for pre-scripted galaxies, as an option for modding. Heard about it here on the forums. Not sure if it was implemented, never saw it myself.

Some mods have them, like one of the Star Wars or Warhammer mods. I think i also saw the Sol sector starting world option in one mod which not only generate Sol system as you start, but also its neighborhood while leaving rest of the galaxy random as usual.
Idk if those still works though.