Stellaris: Synthetic Dawn unveiled
One of our final appointments at Gamescom was to check out the DLC coming to Stellaris, the aptly named Synthetic Dawn. This upcoming story pack for the sci-fi 4X is looking like an essential purchase for anyone who's ever wanted to rise up with a race of machines and dominate the galaxy.
Players will be able to assume control of a robotic civilisation from the very start of the game, and computer-controlled AI empires will also rise up from time to time and give you something to think about (and there might even be an erratic and unpredictable robotic fallen empire to discover hidden in the stars).
It looks like Paradox has drawn influences from a lot of sci-fi sources in crafting this content, and there is a multitude of different AI-types, from peaceful robots looking to work with their flesh and blood neighbours, to machines who see us as nothing but meat bags to be destroyed. Whether you want to take control of a dominant AI like Skynet, a Borg-like culture looking to assimilate its neighbours, or peace-loving AI that keeps its organic creators living in the lap of luxury, it sounds like there'll be plenty of options.
We especially liked the options being added surrounding the rise of AI in existing cultures, where synths and their former overlords become locked in a total war where there can and will be only one winner.
There are going to be AI-specific features (such as new planetary building options and perks) and new story events popping up during the course of the campaign, and players will be able to choose from robotic designs based on existing character portraits and new synthetic voice recordings.
There's no word on the release date for Synthetic Dawn, but we're expecting it to land soon, certainly before the end of the year.
<bild></bild>