Despite its success so far, Paradox Interactive still believes that there’s more to add to its grand galactic strategy title, Stellaris. A few days ago, the development team announced Stellaris’ next expansion, Overlord. Ruling the galaxy as the dominant Empire has always been possible, especially for players that managed to make themselves Emperor of the Galactic Imperium. However, Overlord seems to allow for Empires to solidify their power, and display or exert it in a variety of ways. The expansion is planned to release alongside the free 3.4 “Cepheus” update, though the exact launch date is still unknown.
The expansion will rework interactions and relationships between Empires that are considered unequal to one another, be it economically, technologically, or militarily. To this end, the mechanics for making other Empires into vassals is being reworked so that each vassal can be specialized. Negotiations can also be made between the subject and overlord Empires that dictate the terms and conditions of vassalization. This could mean that the vassal could provide a percentage of the resources, research points or naval capacity to the ruler Empire. It might also mean that a vassal must fundamentally change some of their defining aspects, such as authority type, traits, and civics.
In addition to all of that, Overlord is set to introduce five new Origins for Empires. There will also be three new kinds of Enclave organizations with which to interact and trade. It’s likely more info will be available on both of these new additions, their functions, and how they fit into the general theme of Overlord closer to launch.
At least three new Megastructures are being added, and although their names are thus far unknown, fans can speculate what roles they will play. One of these megastructures is implied to be a new kind of superweapon to combat threats to the Empire. Another is a planet-encompassing ring structure, which could be a shipyard, a transit station for pops, or even a planetary defense station.
The final structure appears to be a new artificial portal through which ships can travel. It’s currently unknown if or how this functions differently from Gateway Megastructures already present in the game, which are capable of transporting ships anywhere in the galaxy as long as there’s one built at the intended destination. Regardless of what’s included, Overlord already is shaping up to be a major and welcome change for a game that’s been holding the attention of its loyal playerbase since 2016.
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