The Crystalline Wall

[Frogshackle]

I've launched a couple of test games under the 2.02 beta and of the three that I started each game has had me completely encircled by a wall of crystalline wankers that are usually 2 to 3 jumps away from my homeworld.

It's such a clearly defined circle each time that I am wondering whether this is deliberate.

On the one hand, it's put a big damper on exploring beyond my backyard but it's also served as an early warning system to let me know if anybody bigger and nastier has pushed through before I'm strong enough to finally punch through the wall.

Anybody else seeing this happen?

[galadon3]

Nope but yea certain types of neutrals tend to concentrate on an area, so if you have one system with crystals its most likely that there are more nearby. That you got completely encircled in several games is most likely a freak coincidence. Ofc if you play on a smaller galaxy and with less starlanes the chances for something like that are higher.

[tempest.of.emptiness]

Originally posted by Frogshackle:

It's such a clearly defined circle each time that I am wondering whether this is deliberate.

There is probably a limit during galaxy creation that prevents crystals from being placed within a certain number of jumps of a starting system. So, the clear area around your home system is deliberate, but putting you right in the middle of the crystals is just random bad luck.

Originally posted by Frogshackle:

Anybody else seeing this happen?

I have started games in 2.0.2beta in which I was not near any crystals, if that is what you are asking.

[Steve-O]

I had the same thing happen to me with void clouds in a couple of false-start games I started.

[Takamiki]

i wish i start near crystalline entities spawn area more often. since i came back for 2.0 i noticed it you don't meet almost every spaceborne entities at the early game as much anymore. which sucks cause i like when there is alot of crystal entities near me cause they are easy source of early minerals :3

[DarkM4773r]

OP, same here. It had me expand into a different direction. Similar to what you've said, good that comes out of it is having a goal for economic and military growth, then blow them away for spoils. *rubs hands together*

[Frogshackle]

For each of those games I was playing the same pre-built faction: the Earth one that isn't a dictatorship (can't recall the name) but generating a new galaxy each time. I thought that might possibly be a factor (something "story" or lore related that was specific to Earth dudes...).

[Cian]

It's completely random what you get. One game you might have nothing but creatures, and another you might have just empty space.

I always just play around whatever I'm given and see what happens. In one game I spawned at the end of a little leg of hyperlanes, and the only path out was blocked by the crystalline entity home system 3 jumps out, and the dimensional horror in the next system 4 jumps out. I turtled up in those systems big time. The system next to mine had the given colony you start with and another cross-type world, so I settled one for science and the other as a mine with droids and converted my homeworld into science and just researched like crazy. I ended up building 14 habitats and a science nexus in those two systems, a dyson sphere and 5 habitats in the next system, and once I killed the crystals a ringworld in the next system - so despite only having 4 systems I had 26 colonies. When I finally got a big fleet and killed the dimensional horror I found a huge devouring swarm empire on the other side with inferior tech but overwhelming naval strength and capacity (I was playing on insane) who immediately attacked me and my dimensional horror weakened fleet. I barely survived, and it turned out the rest of the galaxy was just as crazy hostile. Half the empires were killers - purifiers, exterminators, devouring swarms - and the other half hated me - zealots, crusaders, etc. Not one friendly empire in the bunch. So I did the only logical thing and got a collossus and started blowing everything up.

It turned out to be a pretty fun game.

[Takamiki]

Originally posted by Cian:

It's completely random what you get. One game you might have nothing but creatures, and another you might have just empty space.

I always just play around whatever I'm given and see what happens. In one game I spawned at the end of a little leg of hyperlanes, and the only path out was blocked by the crystalline entity home system 3 jumps out, and the dimensional horror in the next system 4 jumps out. I turtled up in those systems big time. The system next to mine had the given colony you start with and another cross-type world, so I settled one for science and the other as a mine with droids and converted my homeworld into science and just researched like crazy. I ended up building 14 habitats and a science nexus in those two systems, a dyson sphere and 5 habitats in the next system, and once I killed the crystals a ringworld in the next system - so despite only having 4 systems I had 26 colonies. When I finally got a big fleet and killed the dimensional horror I found a huge devouring swarm empire on the other side with inferior tech but overwhelming naval strength and capacity (I was playing on insane) who immediately attacked me and my dimensional horror weakened fleet. I barely survived, and it turned out the rest of the galaxy was just as crazy hostile. Half the empires were killers - purifiers, exterminators, devouring swarms - and the other half hated me - zealots, crusaders, etc. Not one friendly empire in the bunch. So I did the only logical thing and got a collossus and started blowing everything up.

It turned out to be a pretty fun game.

what you saw was a galaxy full of nothing but hostile out to kill you. what the rest of the galaxy saw was an empire who came out of the unknown and started blowing up their planets causing mass genocides xD

[tempest.of.emptiness]

Originally posted by tempest.of.emptiness:

There is probably a limit during galaxy creation that prevents crystals from being placed within a certain number of jumps of a starting system. So, the clear area around your home system is deliberate, but putting you right in the middle of the crystals is just random bad luck.

I just started a game and had crystals a system directly connected to my starting system. So there's no minimum distance, and the clear area around your starting system wasn't deliberate either.

[Takamiki]

Originally posted by tempest.of.emptiness:

Originally posted by tempest.of.emptiness:

There is probably a limit during galaxy creation that prevents crystals from being placed within a certain number of jumps of a starting system. So, the clear area around your home system is deliberate, but putting you right in the middle of the crystals is just random bad luck.

I just started a game and had crystals a system directly connected to my starting system. So there's no minimum distance, and the clear area around your starting system wasn't deliberate either.

really? pretty sure stellaris is set so the systems in the immediate vicinity of a home system are generally safe. only exception being events that spawn hostiles and any that can move between systems (damn Hunter Space Amoebas, stay still will you!)

[Chastity the Celibate]

Originally posted by Takamiki:

Originally posted by tempest.of.emptiness:

I just started a game and had crystals a system directly connected to my starting system. So there's no minimum distance, and the clear area around your starting system wasn't deliberate either.

really? pretty sure stellaris is set so the systems in the immediate vicinity of a home system are generally safe. only exception being events that spawn hostiles and any that can move between systems (damn Hunter Space Amoebas, stay still will you!)

I had space dragon come into my home system for 20 years couldn’t build any ships

[Takamiki]

Originally posted by xnadu27:

Originally posted by Takamiki:

really? pretty sure stellaris is set so the systems in the immediate vicinity of a home system are generally safe. only exception being events that spawn hostiles and any that can move between systems (damn Hunter Space Amoebas, stay still will you!)

I had space dragon come into my home system for 20 years couldn’t build any ships

it just wanted a 'hug' :3 totally not cause it came to say ♥♥♥♥ you and everything you stand for xD

[DarkM4773r]

Originally posted by Takamiki:

Originally posted by xnadu27:

I had space dragon come into my home system for 20 years couldn’t build any ships

it just wanted a 'hug' :3 totally not cause it came to say ♥♥♥♥ you and everything you stand for xD

Yeah, then hug the space dragons back with arms of your own, haha.

[Shad]

While crystalls can be irritating, spawning next to them is a massive boon.

1. It means the AI will not claim these systems for a while.
2. You get crystalline techs (regen hull, crystal armor, weapons)

The lesser entities (with <1k fleet power) can be taken out within 20 years (30 if you are taken your time), so they barely even slow down expansion. The crystal home is a "mini-leviathan" and can be left alone for a while longer.

[tempest.of.emptiness]

Originally posted by Takamiki:

really? pretty sure stellaris is set so the systems in the immediate vicinity of a home system are generally safe. only exception being events that spawn hostiles and any that can move between systems (damn Hunter Space Amoebas, stay still will you!)

I was surprised, but yeah, it really happened. There were other routes out of the system, so at least I wasn't blocked in.