Giant Space Monster Visits

[Elimdur]

Someone who has already played Master of Orion will know what happens, when a giant space crystal or a giant space amoeba attacks one of your colonies.

Now we should make something like this in stellaris.

To make sure it happens at a time when the player can not just shoot everything into oblivion we should start the event at game start with a randomizer happens at all or not and a second randomizer that fires the event with a set timer.

The event should only happen if the player has atleast one colony and the colony will be the target (never the homeworld).

When the spacemonster is able to overwhelm the defenses it will bombard the planet. Once it is finished the planet gets a negative modifier and the monster will disappear again.

In case of the amoeba the planets atmosphere will be poisoned and slowly degrading to become a toxic world (atleast this is what your scientists believe at first) further investigation leaves them unclear about what is really going on. There are contradictory findings some of which suggest a different outcome of the atmosphere's change which indeed may improve the planets habitability in the long term.

So you have 3 choices:

1 just let it progress and hope for the best which may result in either a gaia world or an even worse modifier 2 try to influence the changes and therefore speeding up the process which may result good chances for success, but also low chance of catastrophic failure destroying the colony and turning the planet into toxic. if successfull get gaia transformation tech option 3 stabilize the atmosphere with a project costing some bio tech science and changes the modifier after finished to add bio science on this planet while keeping the slightly negative modifier. but no danger of it becoming worse after time passes.

for the giant crystal, look at the Origins of the Dead part of the Extinct abductors chain. This event could happen similarly but with the player being more advanced he may find a way to deal with the problem without loosing the colony. Also harvesting ord studying the crystals as in the orila chain to boost the planets output in form of modifiers might be an option.

could end up with two different planet modifiers. one boosting researth but lowering mineral yield and the other one boosting minerals doing nothing do sesearch. in the end this is good for specialising the planet. this will in any way feel beneficial for the player after the initial problems.

[Elimdur]

For giant crystal event:

The planet has been bombarded with small crystals and they now are all over the planet's surface pulling minerals out of the ground slowly growing similar to tiberium in command and conquer.

First there is a study on what these crystals are doing, describing their short term effects, with hints on possible long term consequences.

The player now gets multiple choices how to deal with these things - resulting in different outcomes (no catastrophic ones).

1. Completely remove the crystals for a short term boost in minerals at the price of a temporary modifier reducing general output on the planet ( negative modifier for a time and when it disappears the player gets a message and the minerals)
2. Study the minerals. The planet gets a modifier adding 50% society reserach but also reducing mineral production by 50%. Some time later the planet gets the bleak modifier as a result of the crystals robbing the soil of its minerals. The player now has the choice to: 2.a Remove a part of the crystals to strenghten the ecosystem again to remove the bleak modifier (after some time) while also reducing the research bonus ( mineral malus stays ) 2b Ignore the changes to the ecosystem and keep on going which results in the ecological problems getting more dire with farming getting an even bigger malus and pop happiness reduced.
3. Harvest the Minerals for a 50% bonus on mineral production while the planet turns bleak some time later. folloup events similar to 2a and 2b.

[Elimdur]

mem_space_monster_attacks.1.name:0 "Crystalline Entity Approaches" mem_space_monster_attacks.1.desc:0 "Our colony's long range sensors picked up an alarming signal approaching from out of deep space. A quickly sent probe revealed it to be a giant crystalline structure. A communication attempt through our vessel was followed by an intense energy spike and the loss of contact with the probe.\n\nWe have to assume the crystal is hostile. The fleet has been put to high alert" mem_space_monster_attacks.1.a:0 "Why is it here?"

If crystal is defeated before bombarding the colony: "Our fleet has been victorious. Only broken shards are left of the crystal entity. Why it came here and attacked might never be revealed but our colony is safe once again.\n\nA brief scan of the crystal's remains showed them to be composed of highly valuable minerals. Nearby freighters have already been ordered to gather them. While most of these shards will be scraped for ressources, the more interesting pieces will be kept for further study.\n\nSome of our scientists already fantasize about possible applications like selfrepairing hulls while others point our that there is much foundational research to be done first before we can even hope for a big breakthrough."

If crystal is defeated after bombarding the colony: "Our fleet has been victorious. Only broken shards are left of the crystal entity. Though we might never know where it came from and why atleast through its destruction the victims of its brutal attack have been avenged.\n\nA brief scan of the crystal's remains showed them to be composed of highly valuable minerals. Nearby freighters have already been ordered to gather them. While most of these shards will be scraped for ressources, the more interesting pieces will be kept for further study.\n\nSome of our scientists already fantasize about possible applications like selfrepairing hulls while others point our that there is much foundational research to be done first before we can even hope for a big breakthrough."

Project to investigate the crystal remains: "The recovered crystal shards show remarkable similarities to the smaller specimens we have encountered before. Yet there is a striking difference in its behaviour. Whille the beforementioned crystals act aggressively their actions have always been limited to their territory. Also its enormous size leads our scientists to the conclusion that it has to be a new though related species.\n\nThe material which makes up almost the entirety of its mass possesses astonishing selfrepairing abilities. A property that may be applied to our ship's armor plates given some more time and research. A new research option has been added to the project pool."

Colony has been bombarded: "The colonial defense force stood no chance against the crystal entity. Immediatly after the battle had been decided it started to shower [planet name] with small crystal shards fired at high velocity. First reports speak of hundrets of thousands of casualties.\n\nWhile these numbers still rise by the hour the crystal has left the planet's orbit flying back into the void."

Some time after the planet has been bombarded: "As the colonists on [planet name] were still recovering from the devastating attack, worrying reports about crystaline fragments starting to grow on various locations around the settlements came in.\n\nFurther investigations revealed that the spreading of these crystals is not limited to the vicinity of the colony. Instead they can be found in varying concentrations across the planet slowly extracting minerals from the soil during their growing process. It is hard to tell at this point to which degree this will affect the planet's ecosystem.\n\nThere are multiple possible courses of action to be taken. The colonists could either try to root out the crystal infestation, periodically harvest them or study their growth."

Options & tooltips: option 1: "Let them root out the crystal infestation." tooltip 1: "The colonists on will focus on removing every last crystal spawn. All minerals gained during this process will added to the empire storage at the end of this process. The productivity of this colony will be reduced by 50% as long as thisi s going on."

option 2: "Let them harvest the crystals regularly." tooltip 2: "Periodical harvests of these crystals will increase these colony's mineral output by 50%,but our scientists are not yet sure about possible long-term effects on the planet's ecosystem."

option 3: "Let them study the crystals." tooltip 3: "The study of these crystals will increase these colony's society research output by 50%,but our scientists are not yet sure about possible long-term effects on the planet's ecosystem."

a few years later the ecosystem collapses: "Despite the colonists' constant efforts to contain the crystal infestation the spreading has now reached a critical extend. The damage to the planet's ecosystem is now undeniable. Farming outputs are at record low and vegetation in general is in a state of steady decline as the crystals exhaust the soil.\n\nThough our scientists are confident to be able to prevent the planet from becoming completely lifeless they doubt that this process can be reversed without extensive terraforming." planet gets the bleak modifier.

more follows...

[Elimdur]

Giant space amoeba flies to one of your colonies to die. a special blocker "Amoeba Grave" is added to the planet (-1 district, +20% society research, +1 scientist +1/20 pops). Some time later a situation starts concerning the effects the carcass has on the environment. Multiple approaches:

situation starts at 25

1. remove the carcass (goes left)
2. try to contain the effects -> slower progress to end lower casualties (goes right)
3. try to adapt to the effects -> faster progress to end higher casualties (goes right)

1 removes the blocker after some time ending the situation 2+3 see the effects getting stronger to the point where the player gets a choice to evacuate (approach change made in event option and locked)

[Elimdur]

Amoeba approaches colony from system outskirts

title: "Enormous Space Amoeba Approaches" desc: "Our colony's long-range sensors have picked up an alarming signal approaching from out of deep space. A hastily-dispatched probe revealed it to be a giant space amoeba. A communication attempt from our vessel did not yield any response.\n\nWhile this specimen appears quite passive in comparison to its brethren, it is heading straight for our colony. Our fleet has been put on high alert." desc_gestalt: "Our colony's long-range sensors have noticed an alarming signal approaching from out of deep space. A quickly-dispatched probe revealed it to be a giant space amoeba. A communication attempt from our vessel did not yield any response.\n\nWhile this specimen appears quite passive in comparison to others of its kind, it is heading straight for our colony. Our fleet has been put on high alert."

Amoeba splashes on colony

title: "Planetfall" desc: "Ignoring our defenses the amoeba reached [this.GetName] descending into its atmosphere. Pulling behind itself a burning trail clearly visible from our main colony, it crashed in a sparsely populated area.\n\nWhile evacuation procedures were still ongoing first reports from the crashsite confirmed the creature's death as a result of the impact. Did it come here to die?\n\nThe immdediate vicinity has been cordoned off to allow for closer investigation."

adds blocker to the planet that adds scientist jobs and society research bonus and maybe a rare gas job? (there needs to be an incentive to keep it even if the bad stuff happens)

Situation starts

title: "Festering Wound" desc: "Incoming reports describe concerning developments surrounding the amoeba carcass on [this.GetName]. Its decomposing biomass releases previously unknown toxic substances which already negatively affect flora and fauna within its proximity.\n\nStudies of the carcass itself revealed that it was the oldest specimen of its kind yet encountered by us and likely near the end of its life cycle. Why it chose this planet to die on remains a mystery however.\n\nThe more immediate question is, how to deal with the remains."

start at 25 of 100

option 1 remove it -> goes left option 2 try to deal with the effects -> goes right option 3 embrace the change -> goes right

idea for how different phenotypes react to it: machines, lithoids and toxoids unaffacted by the changes but don't profit from bonus trait others suffer losses in option 2 and 3 but in the end get a bonus trait for their species on the planet (+ gaia habitability)

carcass removed

title: "Carcass Removed" desc: "The amoeba remains have finally been cleared and previous damage to [planet_name]'s ecosystem appears to be temporary in nature with no lasting effects to be expected.\n\nThe carcass itself provided us with a sizable amount of rare gasses and material for further study."

add x amount of society research + rare gasses

milestone 50 title: "State of Decay" with option 2 desc: "The arrea affected by the decomposing amoeba's toxins is growing steadily. Flora and fauna are slowly succumbing to the toxin's effect. Measures taken to slow the spread were successful to some degree, but do only delay the inevitable. For now our colony is still outside the affected territory, though it may not stay this way for much longer." with option 3 desc: "The arrea affected by the decomposing amoeba's toxins is growing steadily. Flora and fauna are slowly succumbing to the toxin's effect. For now our colony is still outside the affected territory, though it may not stay this way for much longer."

milestone 75 title: "Mutation" with option 2 desc: "" with option 3 desc: ""

end 100 title: "Regeneration" desc: ""