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If these whisperers aren't the Unbidden, I hope they at least tie together somehow. And maybe to the Worm-in-Waiting/Dimensional Horror as well.
The 'Whisperers in the Void' certainly sound like the Unbidden, but if they are, it's going to have to be explained how they are different from the usual Unbidden. In general though, they sound something like the Elder Gods or eldritch abominations of Lovecraft.
Unless they are just regular Unbidden and are using you as a harbingers of their comming or unwitting pawns. F.e. you became their thralls when they finaly get throu.
Or perhaps Unbidden are those who already paid this "trifling price".
I wonder if the whispers' power source can be disrupted by introducing a great enough heat signature, and if the body sacrificing itself gets to ascend out of existence and see the bottom of the universe.
Judging by the resource bar, it appears as if that Immortal Empress is around pretty early in the game. Is the Immortality trait something you can start with, something you can get whenever from an event chain or was she conjured through console commands?
This psychic angle could be interesting depending on how they implement it. Hopefully, it's not something that is so scripted and linear that nearly every empire ends up with their own "Chosen One" immortal leader. This fantasy stuff is okay in small doses, but it's really the dark and gritty aspects of Stellaris (purging primitives, enslavement, genetic abominations) that keeps me coming back. Think movies -- I want to see more realistic "Aliens" type content and less "Star Wars" in my game!
More likely they spawned it in early with a console command for the screenshot.
Wiz has said that not ever empire will go down the end-game ascension perk paths, and the fantasy ship has sailed. We already have almost literal jedi knights and mage armies, not to mention the soul eating demonic invaders (i.e unbidden).
I deduce this super leader is a perk of the Psionics ascension path. I especially love that the super trait is a 3rd trait, not a replacement for the other two. I just hope we get some kind of control over what the other two traits are. Even if its just to select who gets it from the current leader pool.
However we are assuming the ascension perks are late game. From what I saw they are something we start to get into quite early. Look at the devstream. I get they probably aren't playing super optimally however one of them has two tradition upgrades and he has barely established his first colony (they pause a lot so we can't go by "how long"). It takes 6 perks to complete a tree and Ascension perks come into play from completing tradition trees. This means to me the first ascension perk will land probably around the time we start to access mid tier techs. That is a big deal. It makes what we are all assuming is an end game system to be something that will affect the majority of the game. Of course its worth noting according to the dev diaries some ascension perks are tied to late game techs.
However we are assuming the ascension perks are late game. From what I saw they are something we start to get into quite early. Look at the devstream. I get they probably aren't playing super optimally however one of them has two tradition upgrades and he has barely established his first colony (they pause a lot so we can't go by "how long"). It takes 6 perks to complete a tree and Ascension perks come into play from completing tradition trees. This means to me the first ascension perk will land probably around the time we start to access mid tier techs. That is a big deal. It makes what we are all assuming is an end game system to be something that will affect the majority of the game. Of course its worth noting according to the dev diaries some ascension perks are tied to late game techs.
Considering the trait is explicitly psionic I would assume so.
Ascension perks may or may not be but I think that the end game paths will absolutely be late game.
Ascension perks aren't the same thing as the end-game paths, Wiz has mentioned that they involve projects and event chains so it may start in the mid-game but it could take a while before it takes effect so to speak.
Doesn't this solve the possible problem with it occurring in the mid game? With being tied to late game techs it will have to occur in the late game.
You assume much, especially about my meaning. I don't speak in absolutes because I am not an idiot. So by taking my inclusion of exceptions as disproof of the point I am trying to make you are being dishonest. You even support my point by bringing up that the "end-game paths" will involve projects and event chains. We also know that completing them will require investment of more than 1 ascension perk. To somehow say this disproves starting it pretty early is a complete abdication of deductive capacity. In fact the rise of a super psionic leader is something we'd expect to happen well before the "ascending to another plane and greater form of existence" part of the path.
Also why is it a problem if things like the super leader occur mid game? I'd say the opposite is true. For it to be a meaningful bonus we'd want it to happen early enough to actually matter. Not be something we get while in the final "winning now" stage. Especially considering the bonuses on the leader. Empire Ethics attraction, bonus influence and bonus unity. All of those bonuses require time to build up to something useful.
You're assuming too much. It takes 5 Traditions to get a complete tree in and a single Ascension Perk. In the stream (unless I missed something) Wiz had four Traditions, in under two hours. Even if it was hot code, it makes sense that you can unlock a few Traditions pretty fast, since plenty of them give bonuses to building cost and colony cost and such. With that speed, you could get your first Ascension Perk in a few hours, depending on your playstyle. If you are either lucky enough to draw the necessary tech or if the first part of the Species Endgame perks don't require any techs, you could be joining the Shroud or rocking a God-Emperor in a few hours (assuming either of them are doable on the first stage). The Dev Diary noted that the second stage perk has a number or prerequisites, but there's no mention of the first having any prerequisites, other than the general note that all Ascension Perks have prerequisites. We'll see, I suppose.
Of course, while your guys are busy bending spoons in your little corner of the galaxy, another empire might be terraforming like nuts or preparing for a Ringworld or something. More than 20 ordinary Ascension Perks in the lot means that there are bound to be delicious bonuses or gameplay perks among them.
E: Re-read the Dev Diary in question. It noted that one of the possible Perk prerequisites is already having X Ascension Perks unlocked. My guess is that at least the second stage Species Endgame Perks have like a four Perk requirement or something, so you won't get them anywhere near as fast. They could also have the first stage locked until like the second or third Perk slot, if getting one early game is a problem.
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Hitler was notorious for pursuing occult artifacts. The Spear of Destiny, that pierced Jesus, is one notable example. He even established an archeological agency with the intent of uncovering forbidden knowledge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahnenerbe
The nazis in Indiana Jones are based on this group.
Perhaps I misunderstand the intent of Stellaris. But I've always understood it as a typical PDX grand strategy but the source material (like previous games used medieval europe, age of discovery, WW2 information) is popular sci-fi. Not direct rips but about topics most commonly covered by sci-fi. Interdimensional monsters and psionics are common troupes.
*Himmler. Hitler made fun of the Ahnenerbe's occultism (weird even for Nazis!) at a rally and had no love for the occult beliefs of the more eccentric SS men.
