Can we "naturally" research FE tech? (2024)

I understand we can research dark matter deflectors, dark matter power, etc. after analyzing FE ship debris, by why does this need to be a pre-requisite? Given that dark matter is a resource in the galaxy, I don't understand why empires with deposits of it within their territory can't "naturally" discover this tech by drawing it without engaging in combat with the FEs first. The power could be balanced by having it take a really long time to research, requiring certain science specializations, and other methods.

I think that it should be possible to naturally research all tech available to FEs eventually

I agree.
After all, the FEs did research these techs (or learned them from someone who did).

I would additionally add that the gateway building tech should also be researchable without encountering a gate.

The first gates were build by someone that did not see a gate before, after all.

Maybe put all of these under an advanced ascension perk, and add to it the abilty to create FE buildings (probably with extreme construction times and resource requirements).

IronFish said:

Maybe put all of these under an advanced ascension perk, and add to it the abilty to create FE buildings (probably with extreme construction times and resource requirements).

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Enigmatic Ascension. Add a second perk unlocking this stuff that requires Enigmatic Engineering.

Honestly FE's need more crazy technologies to be salvaged from them, not less. They've become less and less impressive as stellaris has gone on. They no longer feel like these super advanced relics of another age, but just players who got tired of microing and decided to abandoned all their planets.

FE's used to have things the player couldn't even make, like ring worlds, that clearly set them apart. Now the player can make all their stuff and more.

Hemothep said:

FEs are supposed to be millions of years old. The timeframe of the game is a little more than 200 years. I think it's good that FE-tech is hard to come by. This way it stays something special, which it wouldn't be if you could research it normally.

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In regards to the age of the FE.

Jasons073 said:

by why does this need to be a pre-requisite?

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To make them challenging to acquire.

No risk, no reward.

The FEs need MORE special stuff that we need to steal from them, not less.

I hate when the FE does not spawn on Tiny map with 6 other empires. Then you do not get the techs EVER! Why not have FE's have their own clusters in such a case?

Also more end game techs plz! Includign the FE ones.

BlackUmbrellas said:

The FEs need MORE special stuff that we need to steal from them, not less.

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Titans are inspired from FEs, according to the tech description iirc. It's a shame we can just roll them without any actual inspiration (like meeting one in battle.)

from a fluff perspective: FEs have been around for millennia, the only way your feeble baby brains could grasp their technology is by getting a massive headstart by stealing it

from a gameplay perspective: FE tech is a prize, and if you want the prize you need to earn it

Hansatron said:

Titans are inspired from FEs, according to the tech description iirc. It's a shame we can just roll them without any actual inspiration (like meeting one in battle.)

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Exactly - you can make Titans without a FE even existing in the galaxy. The flavour text is irrelevant, you should need to either study or reverse-engineer a FE Titan to get that tech.

Methone said:

Apparently there's this new event, I've never seen it ingame and don't know if it's an anomaly or a digsite. I don't even know if it's actually in the game.

Basically you find this abandoned system of Fanatic Pacifist solar-system sculptors called the Shallarians and have to find out what happened to them. One of the outcomes is that they were exterminated by the Fanatic Xenophobe FE back when they were, uh, not yet a Fallen Empire. The game specifically uses '1000 years', dating the Xenophobe FE - and potentially all other standard FE because anyone can be the Ancient Rivals - at becoming stagnant less then 1000 years ago.

I really don't like this, because it takes away a LOT of the FE's mystique.

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can't you tell us what it's about without spoiling it? or at least make the point you were trying to make? i haven't looked at the spoiler, and thanks for doing that

prismaticmarcus said:

can't you tell us what it's about without spoiling it? or at least make the point you were trying to make? i haven't looked at the spoiler, and thanks for doing that

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Edited.

Methone said:

Edited.

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interesting

While I agree that anyone who has collected a good deal of Dark Matter would want something to use it on other than selling it on the market I also feel underwhelmed by the FEs having just regular high tier weaponry anyone can research, so I am in fact against the proposal and would argue for the opposite solution and propose that getting Dark Matter Drawing technology as a research option requires you to have one of the FE techs first and that FEs use special combat computers and Dark Matter weapons and armor in addition to reactors, shields, and thrusters. Make them more distinct and stronger, but also increase the reward for fighting one.

Or possibly Dark Matter Drawing could be a tier 5 rare technology that unlocks access to primitive Dark Matter component techs and the FEs have Dark Matter component that are as superior to the ones you can research as Gamma Lasers are superior to Red Lasers.

In regard to the spoiler @Methone posted:

If this mod get an update one day, you should give a try to Zenith of Fallen Empire, it depict the passage from a regular Empire to a Fallen Empire.

This passage come with an Ascension Perk, lots of techs, projects and events. It was realy good for RP

precursors were the old ones. fallen empires came after the precursors and then got bored and stagnated. Then the 'new' empires arrive including the players.
Honestly, I don't the fallen empires deserve to be venered as much as they are by some people. From the sounds of it, some of the accolades that belong to the precursors are being given unjustly to the fallen empires.

edit: oh, and almost forgot. Of course, the players empire sometimes predates the precursors, if I understand the event chains of sleeping gods and the signal correct.

SpectralShade said:

precursors were the old ones. fallen empires came after the precursors and then got bored and stagnated. Then the 'new' empires arrive including the players.
Honestly, I don't the fallen empires deserve to be venered as much as they are by some people. From the sounds of it, some of the accolades that belong to the precursors are being given unjustly to the fallen empires.

edit: oh, and almost forgot. Of course, the players empire sometimes predates the precursors, if I understand the event chains of sleeping gods and the signal correct.

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Precursors are just very very old. They are not, actually, all that technologically advanced in many cases. They're also, y'know, EXTINCT, and thus have no living representatives of their technological capabilities, whereas the Fallen Empires do. Thus, the Fallen Empires should be much more powerful and imposing than the primarily backstory-providing Precursors.

Also Old Gods doesn't really imply YOUR civilization has been around for long, just that you had contact with some other civilization that played the whole "Ancient Aliens Pretend To Be Gods" game. And the Horizon Signal is... a weird case, given it's all about paradoxes.

Dragatus said:

While I agree that anyone who has collected a good deal of Dark Matter would want something to use it on other than selling it on the market I also feel underwhelmed by the FEs having just regular high tier weaponry anyone can research, so I am in fact against the proposal and would argue for the opposite solution and propose that getting Dark Matter Drawing technology as a research option requires you to have one of the FE techs first and that FEs use special combat computers and Dark Matter weapons and armor in addition to reactors, shields, and thrusters. Make them more distinct and stronger, but also increase the reward for fighting one.

Or possibly Dark Matter Drawing could be a tier 5 rare technology that unlocks access to primitive Dark Matter component techs and the FEs have Dark Matter component that are as superior to the ones you can research as Gamma Lasers are superior to Red Lasers.

In regard to the spoiler @Methone posted:

Perhaps the decline happened less than 1000 years ago, but that doesn't tell us much about how long they were active before that. They could still be millions of years old and it would just indicate that their 'age of glory' lasted hundreds of millenia.

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Regards to your regard to my spoiler: