Stellaris: Ancient Relics DLC belongs in a spacemuseum
Dig into ancient alien ruins, what could go wrong?
The far future will rummage in the distant past in the next Stellaris, named Ancient Relics, as spacemen develop a new fondness for archaeology and go wild digging up ancient cities and ships from long-dead civilisations. Sure, that sounds like it'll go fine. We'll uncover wee stories poking into two long-dead precursors--a plantoid hivemind and some superpsionics--as we conduct multi-stage digs and uncover old pots and bangles and supertech to fuel our growth. Yup, that's a nice flavour I'll be glad to see more of in Stellaris. It can't go much worse than some of the artefacts I've dug up before.
On our spacetravels, we might find traces of the two new Precursor civilisations, learning about them as we uncover 'Relic Worlds'. Here we'll find ruins where we can set up dig sites to uncover artefacts boosting tech and such. Digs go across multiple stages, with potential hazards lying in wait and, presumably, consequences if we cock it up by sending in some rookie scientist.
Paradox classify Ancient Relics as a 'Story Pack', same as Leviathans, rather than a full-on expansion like Utopia or Apocalypse. Expect curios adding interest and some wee bonuses rather than anything huge. I'm always keen to have more unique events in Stellaris, lest they grow repetitive. I play infrequently enough that DLC adds new things as quickly as I encounter them, really.
As is the Paradox strategy way, the patch launching alongside Ancient Relics may be just as--or even more--important. Paradox have so far detailed patch and DLC features across one, two, three, four, five, six developer diaries.
They talk about a fair bit, though they do note that all this might not make it into the next patch and end up coming later. Basic megastructures like the Interstellar Assembly and Mega Art Installation will become technologies any player can research, whether they have the Galactic Wonders perk or not. Space Habitats will no longer be limited to empires with the Voidborne perk either, which will instead improve Habitats. Ring Worlds should no longer be "feeling like a vast farm." We'll get to designate roles for planets and choose which are automated whether they're in sectors or not. Sectors are overhauled with capitals, budgets, less tedious micromanagement, and more.
Stellaris: Ancient Relics is coming to Steam "soon." Story Packs are cheaper than expansions, typically costing around £7/€10/$10, though Paradox haven't announced a price for Ancient Relics yet.
