Stellaris’ new story pack has been introduced, and presents gamers with an entire new avenue for profoundly unethical behaviour. Specializing in pre-spaceflight civilisations, the First Contact pack consists of new origins, new methods to work together with species that have not reached the celebs but, and (when you actually wish to screw with their heads) cloaking expertise in your ships.
The brand new origins all hew to the pack’s first contact theme. There’s one the place your species was fairly actually kidnapped by aliens, however managed to forged down the subjugators; one other the place you solely discovered spaceflight by repelling an alien invasion (in some way) and utilizing their tech; and a closing one the place your civilisation is a form of galactic Sentinel Island (opens in new tab), with a lot of the inhabitants favouring staying at house and out of contact with no matter different polities may lie outdoors your photo voltaic system. Most likely good, contemplating prior Stellaris expansions have outfitted these guys with the means to show your planet to mud (opens in new tab).
I am most to see what sort of new mechanics can be found for interactions with pre-FTL civilisations, since that is all the time been a reasonably minor a part of the sport. So far, remark missions have typically simply been a option to nab some additional analysis factors, and possibly achieve a brand new ally when that society discovers FTL journey. The announcement would not go into a lot element, nevertheless it does say the interactions you will have obtainable will depend upon the goal civilisation’s “degree of expertise and their consciousness of your presence”. One of many screenshots appears to counsel that you’ll set your species up as gods if a selected society has the appropriate non secular bent to it, for instance.
Cloaking, in the meantime, helps you to “Equip your ships with cloaking units to survey in secret or catch a foe unaware,” and simply typically be the most important creep within the galaxy. You’ll hold tabs on much less superior civilisations with cloaked remark posts, and spy in your enemies with invisible ships. In fact, they’re going to have the ability to do the identical to you.
The First Contact pack will launch alongside Stellaris’ upcoming 3.7 Canis Minor patch, changing into the newest in an extended line of DLC for the sport stretching all the way in which again to 2016. Fortunately, we have now a information to inform you precisely which Stellaris DLC you should purchase (opens in new tab). I do not know whether or not First Contact will be part of that listing, however I am fairly into the concept of dumping laser weapons into historic Rome and seeing what occurs.