You say potato, I say potahto.
I say progenitor, you say Fallen Empire.
Paradox Development Studio and the team working on Stellaris have released their first development diary of 2016; a short description of the Fallen Empire mechanic. In Stellaris, though it may it be tempting to think, you will not be the first species to ascend to the cosmos on wings of technology. No. There are entire galactic civilizations that have risen and fallen before your species was even a twinkle in your home planet’s eye.
These Empires will be relics of a bygone era of space domination — in that, they hold the keys to certain technological features that you could only dream of. But you can’t just walk up and ask nicely to give them up. They’re angry. These aged civilizations will be past their prime and they won’t be happy about it, so don’t expect them to be to kind to the new kid on the block. Remember, their empire has been drastically reduced for reasons unknown; a cautionary tale for any burgeoning civilization worth their weight in Dune-esque salt.
The idea behind having a permanent “grouch” in the solar block is nuanced and will change from game to game. As Jormungandur explains
We’ve added Fallen Empires to the game for a couple of reasons. They have the potential to enable some really cool stories and there is a bunch of different directions we can take to ensure players get a different experience from game to game. Players should never feel confident in how a Fallen Empire may react to different events in the galaxy. If left alone they might resurge as a reaction to a galaxy-wide threat or become outraged when their most holy planets are colonized by lesser races.
Even though these empires are reduced that doesn’t mean they will be bossed around so easily. Fallen Empires have some serious technological advances that keep them clinging to interstellar life; however, to attain their technologies, you might need to fight them over it. Don’t run rashly into battle, space cowboy, as you might not be ready to take them on if you are viewing their size and influence alone. These tricky curmudgeons have some tricks in their sleeves and Stellaris will punish you for thinking otherwise. Another interesting feature is the idea of debris: “In Stellaris, all ships destroyed in combat will leave debris behind and through reverse engineering a player may discover the technologies required to build the weapons and components equipped by those ships” write Jormungandur.
Interesting to the max. So, what do you think about the idea of a permanently disgruntled neighbor in Stellaris? Let us know in the comments below.
