Story Theories...

[Fluffy]

C'on. There has to be a story we're all missing. I know I'm not all that good at searching so I may be completely missing if there's an actual place to guess this stuff, but with as long as I've been playing, it feels like there's an underlying story that is slowly evolving as the game is developed.
My ideas/theories are not really fleshed out, just a view from someone who has mostly just done basic research and theorized a bit with a friend.
I'll give some of my ideas and theories;

- FLT being changed to hyperlane only > Interdimensional Trade they use the old FTL methods and fight the "Warp Beasts".

- The Shroud seems to be more than just a strong reference to Warhammer's Warp/ChaosDimension. Considering the Aetherophasic Engine end-game, method as well as the Patrons.
In my opinion, it feels like there's more to the Shroud than just a bunch of possible boons. It feels like there are more than just 5 Patrons. Perhaps the few we see, are just the weaker Patrons, trying to gather followers to get more strength to fight the higher-ups.
The Aetherophasic Engine, in my opinion, seems semi-vague that it sends us to the Shroud. That we get "Full power of everything" there. But what if instead, we become one of the lower Patrons? Or we tapped into the power of a unnamed Patron and stole what they owned to forcibly take their place.

- VLUUR. As far as i know of, so i may be wrong, i recall VLUUR being a probe that you could talk to for some vague info on a empire that no longer exists. Now he's a Void Cloud that can't be talked to anymore. But VLUUR still seeks. VLUUR still finds. But what is he looking for exactly?
Maybe, VLUUR was sent from another galaxy to survey ours? One day to return home with the info, but programmed to give false information to hopefully seem harmless?

-The Prikkiki-Ti, and their shield world. As far as I know of, the only way a player can create a shield world is through a Colossus with the Global Pacifier weapon. But nothing lasts forever, right?
So following this, the Prikkiki are an empire that may have had much of their technology stolen before being forced to their homeworld. Many years later, could even be a cycle later, the shield eventually starts to run out of power. As any option you pick from the event with Gish, will cause the empire to rise up. (Though, interrupting the loop has a 50% chance to kill them and turn the world into a tomb world)

-The Veil, without looking too much into this one, as I've been seeing the event quite alot in the past few years, I've come to the conclusion that it seems like the Shroud cannot keep a grip on everything. The world shifts between a Gaia world and a Shrouded World.
The Veil seeming to be losing their control over a system they did not want to give back. While you can get a special project to break the world from the Shroud. Would it than be possible, at one point eons ago, the Shroud held more than just one world.. And planets like The Veil show that they lost territory without showing how.
Or maybe someone became a Patron to the Eater of Worlds and that was their only world. The Shroud would strip the world of anything unnatural and over time lost control due to not having the strength to keep it shrouded?

-The "Head of Zarqlan" relic, in a way can show that the Spiritualist FE was once a much bigger empire that had a living God, perhaps another "Chosen One" that had more power than anyone as of currently. Once you get the relic, the FE will allow you to colonize nearby Holy Worlds. Perhaps those were the worlds that Zarqlan lived on or most visited with the most loyal of followers?


Well that's just some personal theories that I've come up with on my own through mostly just playing and randomly reading stuff on the wiki. There's alot of other things I would like to possibly talk on as well, but for now I'll leave it at that. I should really make a Reddit account for stuff like this lol

[ChaffyExpert]

I'm sure if people can find lore for Minecraft they can for anything.

Although, for Stellaris it is implied that there is a long history, and that something wiped out the galaxy long ago, barring a few Fallen empires.

Otherwise, the game would start more like that of CK II, and less like Civ 5. It doesn't make any sense otherwise why the galaxy is empty.

Also, why is it 2200 all the empires spring up at once? why isn't there an advanced, but less than Fallen empires, that has been around for a centuries or so.

Also, Fallen's mention that they have seen many civilizations rise and fall, but none of them are still around?

The only exception to this, is the marauders, the totally not ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ caravaneers, and the guild things like the curators (forgot name). All of which don't need planets.

I think all of this has more to do with gameplay than anything else, but it's still kinda bizarre that it's like there is a history, and then nothing, until 2200 and a bunch of ragtag empires spring up.

[Alphaslayer]

My head cannon is that every session is a part of an infinite cycle. The empires all reach space around the same time because life on those planets got knocked back to the stone age during the last end game crisis. The top members become fallen empires when they reach there ideological end goal and gradually shrink in there borders as they need space and population. The smaller nations become the enclaves and only survive by using the resources they hoarded from helping the new empires ascend. The marauders and caravans where the nations displaced by the end game crises and had to turn to either scavenging or raiding each other to live. And since it wasn't a natural even that seeded life across different planets is plausible that the vast majority would reach space at the same time

[xycotta]

引用自 Traror：

I'm sure if people can find lore for Minecraft they can for anything.

Although, for Stellaris it is implied that there is a long history, and that something wiped out the galaxy long ago, barring a few Fallen empires.

Otherwise, the game would start more like that of CK II, and less like Civ 5. It doesn't make any sense otherwise why the galaxy is empty.

Also, why is it 2200 all the empires spring up at once? why isn't there an advanced, but less than Fallen empires, that has been around for a centuries or so.

Also, Fallen's mention that they have seen many civilizations rise and fall, but none of them are still around?

The only exception to this, is the marauders, the totally not ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ caravaneers, and the guild things like the curators (forgot name). All of which don't need planets.

I think all of this has more to do with gameplay than anything else, but it's still kinda bizarre that it's like there is a history, and then nothing, until 2200 and a bunch of ragtag empires spring up.

It is a never ending cycle, empires rise and fall. Those that don't completely dissolve are the FEs. Those that do, well, they are ruins. The FEs realize that taking over just leads to their collapse, so they keep small borders. The reason so many empires rise at once, those are pre-sapients the last empires left before they collapsed. The ones you see now are the ones that will arise when this current batch collapses.

As for the other NPC groups, notice they survive by being small as the FEs. Growth leads to collapse.

History may not repeat, but it often rhymes.

[Fluffy]

引用自 Alphaslayer：

My head cannon is that every session is a part of an infinite cycle. The empires all reach space around the same time because life on those planets got knocked back to the stone age during the last end game crisis. The top members become fallen empires when they reach there ideological end goal and gradually shrink in there borders as they need space and population. The smaller nations become the enclaves and only survive by using the resources they hoarded from helping the new empires ascend. The marauders and caravans where the nations displaced by the end game crises and had to turn to either scavenging or raiding each other to live. And since it wasn't a natural even that seeded life across different planets is plausible that the vast majority would reach space at the same time

This could also explain why you can have your own custom empires show up as an FE.

[ChaffyExpert]

引用自 xycotta：

引用自 Traror：

I'm sure if people can find lore for Minecraft they can for anything.

Although, for Stellaris it is implied that there is a long history, and that something wiped out the galaxy long ago, barring a few Fallen empires.

Otherwise, the game would start more like that of CK II, and less like Civ 5. It doesn't make any sense otherwise why the galaxy is empty.

Also, why is it 2200 all the empires spring up at once? why isn't there an advanced, but less than Fallen empires, that has been around for a centuries or so.

Also, Fallen's mention that they have seen many civilizations rise and fall, but none of them are still around?

The only exception to this, is the marauders, the totally not ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ caravaneers, and the guild things like the curators (forgot name). All of which don't need planets.

I think all of this has more to do with gameplay than anything else, but it's still kinda bizarre that it's like there is a history, and then nothing, until 2200 and a bunch of ragtag empires spring up.

It is a never ending cycle, empires rise and fall. Those that don't completely dissolve are the FEs. Those that do, well, they are ruins. The FEs realize that taking over just leads to their collapse, so they keep small borders. The reason so many empires rise at once, those are pre-sapients the last empires left before they collapsed. The ones you see now are the ones that will arise when this current batch collapses.

As for the other NPC groups, notice they survive by being small as the FEs. Growth leads to collapse.

History may not repeat, but it often rhymes.

There's a flaw though, what about surviving civilizations half as old as Fes? Why is space totally empty except for Fes?

[Fluffy]

引用自 Traror：

引用自 xycotta：

It is a never ending cycle, empires rise and fall. Those that don't completely dissolve are the FEs. Those that do, well, they are ruins. The FEs realize that taking over just leads to their collapse, so they keep small borders. The reason so many empires rise at once, those are pre-sapients the last empires left before they collapsed. The ones you see now are the ones that will arise when this current batch collapses.

As for the other NPC groups, notice they survive by being small as the FEs. Growth leads to collapse.

History may not repeat, but it often rhymes.

There's a flaw though, what about surviving civilizations half as old as Fes? Why is space totally empty except for Fes?

Maybe after some time while the FE's shrink their territory towhat it is, they put the relics they found back for other civilizations to refind. Maybe the Shroud or another force is replacing what was once taken from the land so life, and the cycle, can continue. So in a way 'resetting' what the FE's don't own.
Even bringing back the requirements for the Caravaneers to exist, even though they're (usually) a different species in every new game, so things like the Reliquarry can be potentially found by another empire for a cycle.

[ChaffyExpert]

引用自 Fluffy：

引用自 Traror：

There's a flaw though, what about surviving civilizations half as old as Fes? Why is space totally empty except for Fes?

Maybe after some time while the FE's shrink their territory towhat it is, they put the relics they found back for other civilizations to refind. Maybe the Shroud or another force is replacing what was once taken from the land so life, and the cycle, can continue. So in a way 'resetting' what the FE's don't own.
Even bringing back the requirements for the Caravaneers to exist, even though they're (usually) a different species in every new game, so things like the Reliquarry can be potentially found by another empire for a cycle.

Another thing, Crisis are rare, literally trying to end all life, and evolution takes millions billions etc. years.

Also, entropy i think applies, if every planet is frequently losing all it's life or being nuked, eventually id think you would run out of habitable worlds with life.

[Fluffy]

引用自 Traror：

引用自 Fluffy：

Maybe after some time while the FE's shrink their territory towhat it is, they put the relics they found back for other civilizations to refind. Maybe the Shroud or another force is replacing what was once taken from the land so life, and the cycle, can continue. So in a way 'resetting' what the FE's don't own.
Even bringing back the requirements for the Caravaneers to exist, even though they're (usually) a different species in every new game, so things like the Reliquarry can be potentially found by another empire for a cycle.

Another thing, Crisis are rare, literally trying to end all life, and evolution takes millions billions etc. years.

Also, entropy i think applies, if every planet is frequently losing all it's life or being nuked, eventually id think you would run out of habitable worlds with life.

The Prethoryn Scourge attacks from a possible different galaxy. I personally believe them to be a hive-mind similar to Halo's Flood.

The Extradimensional Invaders, or the Unbidden, do attack from another dimensional.
Though there are also the Aberrant and the Vehement. I personally believe them to be a subject to one of the Patrons of the Shroud, including one that may not be named for the player to see. As over time they may have gone mad in attempts to get more power, they attack other galaxies to use whole planets as fuel for the war effort. And with the fact there are three factions of them, it may be they have a common goal but for a different Patron.

The Contingency, by how I've always seen this Crisis (even from what I've read on the wiki), they seem to be one of the few big things that could be caused by a mad scientist working with rebels of FE's and deviant synthetics, though I doubt it and believe they also have the technology to jump between galaxies. Taking robotic life and turning every world they capture into a machine-based world (Sterilization Hub AI). They could also be brought in from an empire similar to the one that could be hidden behind the L-Cluster.
As the Cybrex can also "return" to the galaxy during this Crisis in attempts to put an end to what I believe to be their mortal enemy.
As well as it seems that this is the only time that the Ancient Caretakers can be 'hacked', albiet the hack can fail and turn to help the galaxy instead.

And finding a full list of the "midgame crisis" all seem to just be RNG as they can always not happen.
Great Khan requires an active space raider tribe to come from. AI Rebellion requires an empire to have synthetics without rights (and i believe they need to be unhappy too). The multiple possibilities behind the L-Cluster are just RNG, as i've gone multiple games with it being nothing aggressive. FE's waking up are the only ones i'm a bit iffy on. I've seen them wakeup within 200 years of a game start, with midgame being set like 400-600yrs after the start and endgame set about 400yrs before the endyear (so around 2600-2800 and 2800-3000, endyear of the max of i believe 3200 without being disabled), and the latest i've seen a FE wake up was about 50yrs before the game's "victory year". Albiet by that time everyone has enough power to stomp over them.

[xycotta]

引用自 Traror：

引用自 xycotta：

It is a never ending cycle, empires rise and fall. Those that don't completely dissolve are the FEs. Those that do, well, they are ruins. The FEs realize that taking over just leads to their collapse, so they keep small borders. The reason so many empires rise at once, those are pre-sapients the last empires left before they collapsed. The ones you see now are the ones that will arise when this current batch collapses.

As for the other NPC groups, notice they survive by being small as the FEs. Growth leads to collapse.

History may not repeat, but it often rhymes.

There's a flaw though, what about surviving civilizations half as old as Fes? Why is space totally empty except for Fes?

Any new surviving civ would of shrank like the FEs or fall apart. They would be indistinguishable from the older FEs, the FEs are just a collection of empires from different time periods that have survived by shrinking.

As an example, take the CARE event. They were highly advanced, but pretty much killed themselves. Or there was a plague that swept the universe. Also the event where the entire core of an empire was some isolated asteroid that cut off then collapsed. It cuts down on empires.



Now, why there aren't other huge empires atm. I got into this earlier but will try to rephrase. It takes tens/hundreds of thousands of years to evolve from pre-sapient. So let's say 300,000 years ago there were 8 FEs, and a dozen empires running around. During the chaos 3 of the FEs were wiped out and 8 of the emerging empires died. Any sapient creatures were put into sancturaries or killed off. So we have 5 FEs and 4 Empires. Over the next 100,000 years 3 of the Empires fell apart, were wiped out by plagues, or died from infighting. Maybe even one was an exterminator and the FEs wiped them. Regardless, the last surviving Empire shrank down to a few core worlds and became an FE. So now 200,000 years ago we have 6 FEs and a bunch of pre-sapients. Over the next 100,000 years a few evolve and reach the stars, or maybe not, and died off. Now, the time we start in, another batch of pre-sapients has evolved and we start a new cycle.

Who knows, maybe there is another storyline element that has not been introduced yet :)

I would love to see some empire destroying life form that travels the galaxy. The equivalent of galactic locusts or hunters. What were those creatures from the portal the other you is fighting? Hyperdrive beasts?

[Feargilius Caesarus]

Would it not be awesome to start all over again after you et off the aetherophasic engine that destroys the galaxy? Maybe make new worlds, option to choose a planet become a fallen empire, etc, or maybe godlike beings? They should make the next expansion about this.

[malthric]

all of these ideas sound like the plot of mass effect,
but if i must contribute we've all seen the federations trailer what about the bit involving an alien feeling resentment and hatred against a whole federation for Geo galactic political reasons and launch attack on the federation HQ in a ww2 germany style what do you think

[malthric]

also what about the gray tempest are they crisis or not