Terraforming Gas Giants.

[Salad_Mask]

Should it be a thing? I mean dont we already get to terrafom enough planets? And if so how to do it?

PS I have few ideas how it can be done with tech.

[Cat®]

I'd terraform a gas giant by creating a little platform that hovers just above the edge of the atmosphere and then I'd stir it with a spoon.

How do you terraform without any terra?

[Salad_Mask]

Originally posted by Cat®:

How do you terraform without any terra?

All Gas giants still have core made of solids, or melted rocks. I was thinking of maybe use one of the super weapons which we use to 'role play as Darth Vader' and blow off the gas leaving only the core. It will probably be a molten rock planet so still need to go through the usuall steps of terraforming.

[Groo the one]

I tend to rely more on "magic of mods", instead of tech or other ideas ^^

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2354996134

[Salad_Mask]

Mods are gift from the Old Gods, let us pries their mercy that didnt erize us from the face of reality, yet

[Sabaithal]

Originally posted by Salad_Mask:

All Gas giants still have core made of solids, or melted rocks. I was thinking of maybe use one of the super weapons which we use to 'role play as Darth Vader' and blow off the gas leaving only the core. It will probably be a molten rock planet so still need to go through the usuall steps of terraforming.

Said core is still much more massive than any terrestrial planet, meaning much higher gravity, meaning unless you plan to blow most of that up as well it would still be uninhabitable.

[Salad_Mask]

hmm true, still, depends on what size is the core, still doesn't sound like realistic game mechanic. More realistic than how you can speed up terraforming with influence alone thou.

[Tat011]

I'd like it if you could terraform gas giants into other types of gas giants (turning a warm gas giant into a burning one for example) but terraforming gas giants into rocky planets sounds like dumb idea to me.

[Singularity's Marauder]

Originally posted by Salad_Mask:

Originally posted by Cat®:

How do you terraform without any terra?

All Gas giants still have core made of solids, or melted rocks. I was thinking of maybe use one of the super weapons which we use to 'role play as Darth Vader' and blow off the gas leaving only the core. It will probably be a molten rock planet so still need to go through the usuall steps of terraforming.

The deep "metallic" core you are talking about is usually gaseous substances that have been squized by pressure to a degree that they are kinda existing in a different realm of physics. The "metal" you may refer to is actually Hydrogen. And Hydrogen is a very common gas that exists in air throughout our planet, but inside the Jupiter the physics are so weird that things that are gas turn to not gas, because the pressure, heat... Overall amount of energy... Things happening... It's complicated.
The thing is though that we aren't even sure exactly what is down there. We can theorize, but the atmosphere of Jupiter at some point becomes so impossible to explore. The gas giant Jupiter can contain within itself over 1200 planet Earths and in order to go through its clouds you would have to be able to deal with the pressure generated with the traversal that you would have to commit to in order to fly through this incredibly dangerous land of air.
So, no...
No, science says that's impossible.
But if you were to create an ES explanation for that question, I'd ask Deyuvians... Is that how they are called? Can't check, very busy. I have to eat this sandvich you see. Anyway... Deyuvans might understand how to do it, after all we got a whole tech in ES1 named after them called something like... Deyuvian Physics? Can't remember. Won't check. You can find it above the Gas Colonization tech. Yes, you could terraform gas giants in ES1, and that tech was named after Deyuvians.
I think that the way how you would do it is by creating some sort of synthetic particles out of gas found throughout the giant of over a large period of time and gigantic surface of the thing, and over time you would end up with a massive rock or some ♥♥♥♥. I dunno, it's some sci-fi garbage I made up. In ES1 the process is just explained like this "the process of terraforming gas giants is hard", so whatever. They didn't care to actually explain that either. I think... Now, that I think about it. I'm not sure. You should go check.

Long answer - Maybe
Short answer - Wait, this is supposed to be the other way... You could technically do it with the power of sci-fi garbage, but at the same time, who cares.

AUTHOR'S NOTE - Whilst terraforming gas giants would greatly take away from the game in my opinion, because these platforms can be used to generate FIDSI in a unique way, there are ways to make them more habitable for your population. These end game technologies which you can find at the top of the Science & Exploration tree and Industry & Dust Production tree allow you to house MANY MANY MANY more people in these gas giants. And gas giants are really good at producing things. For example... I think that a gas giant produces 20 dust per population unit. Or like... With the upgrade in science a gas giant may produce like upwards to 35 science per population unit. Add the two upgrades I've mentioned and you can house like 10 people up there... And you are producing 350 science which is more than you get from the Anomaly Research University or something like that... That 50+ per system level, +10 per every anomaly.

That's it...
Huh...
So, what...
We some sort of United Empire?

[Salad_Mask]

Originally posted by Randomized Randomizer:

Thanks man, this is very good and informative answer. And yeh I agree, it maybe a big MAYBE about how I suggested to terraform the gas planets. Still I think it can be done with some planets.

PS platform terraforming might work if the said platforms dont need outside help to maintain the flouting. Like if its some crazy anti gravity rocks or giant flouting gas-shrooms, but there are no such thing sin the game setting (yet).

[Singularity's Marauder]

Originally posted by Salad_Mask:

Originally posted by Randomized Randomizer:

Thanks man, this is very good and informative answer. And yeh I agree, it maybe a big MAYBE about how I suggested to terraform the gas planets. Still I think it can be done with some planets.

PS platform terraforming might work if the said platforms dont need outside help to maintain the flouting. Like if its some crazy anti gravity rocks or giant flouting gas-shrooms, but there are no such thing sin the game setting (yet).

I was thinking about this on my way back home when I was moving on foot, and this is what I came up with.
Upon reaching a certain fairly large population on gas giants that is supposed to be had during the later stages of the game you will receive a quest called something something... I dunno... "Living the Gaseous Dream: Part 1". The quest will be about how the increasing population of gas giants has lead to some rumours about there being an ancient genetic engineering technology that allows for the creation of special lifeforms that thrive in the hazardous environment of the gas giants. This tech can be found during a questline by reaching some condition of further increasing the gas giants' populations.
Upon reaching this... You will receive a once per empire improvement that would be called the "GGL University" aka. "The University of Gas Giant Lifeforms". Building this improvement will complete the "Living the Gaseous Dream: Part 2" receiving you the Empire Improvement "Aerial HEV Environment Lifeforms". This empire improvement will grant you the effect of "ALL GAS GIANTS OWNED BY THIS EMPIRE ARE TURNED TO FERTILE".
Fertile gas giants will now receive bonuses from things like xeno-industrial network... Something something... That study of evolution science improvement that gets +2 per fertile on a population unit. You get it... Fertile gas giants will now receive bonuses for being a fertile planet.
Then... There comes the "Living the Gaseous Dream: Part 3". This quest will end with the reward of... Well. You get a choice. You can either choose between being able to terraform gas giants into intensfied gas giants or synethetic gas giants. Depending on whether you chose the former or latter, you will receive the ability to create intensfied or synthetic.
More of what that means later.
Then you will receive "Living the Gaseous Dream: Part 4" in which no matter what you chose earlier, you will be attacked by a Juggernaut. This Juggernaut will roam your systems destroying all ships and occassionally blockading a system. Destroying it will yield an empire improvement "Studies in Gas Giant Habitats"... This empire improvement will add +2 to max population on gas giants.

Now... To what all of this means.
FERTILE GAS GIANTS WHICH YOU WILL RECEIVE AFTER COMPLETING "Living the Gaseous Dream: Part 2" WILL HAVE BONUS TO FOOD PRODUCTION. THE FOOD PRODUCTION ON A GAS GIANT WILL BE CHANGED FROM 0 to 6.
AFTER COMPLETING "Living the Gaseous Dream: Part 3" YOU WILL BE ABLE TO CREATE SYNTHETIC OR INTENSFIED GAS GIANTS.
SYNTHETIC GAS GIANTS RECEIVE BONUSES TO ALL FIDS EXCEPT THOSE IN FOCUS AND FOOD.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, YOU ASK?
A HOT GAS GIANT WITH 6 FOOD (BECAUSE IT IS NOW FERTILE) 0 SCIENCE 20 INDUSTRY (or something) 0 DUST and 0 INFLUENCE... Will receive +4 TO SCIENCE and +4 TO INDUSTRY.
A COLD GAS GIANT WITH 6 FOOD, 20 SCIENCE, 0 INDUSTRY AND 0 DUST, 0 INFLUENCE... WILL RECEIVE +4 TO DUST AND INDUSTRY.
A GAS GIANT WITH 0 INDUSTRY 10 DUST AND 0 SCIENCE WILL GET LIKE +4 TO INDUSTRY AND +4 TO SCIENCE...
etc. Etc...
INTENSFIED GAS GIANTS INSTEAD RECEIVE +8 TO A GAS GIANTS' MAIN STAT. AKA... A HOT GAS GIANT WITH 20 INDUSTRY WILL GET IT SET TO 28...
Listen... If you don't get it... I dunno... It's okay, I guess. This is just an idea after all.

So, anyway. That's just what I was thinking about this.

Author's note. Yes, I am aware that many gas giants are more complex that 0 0 20 0 0. But that is all out there for balancing. This idea will never get implemented anyway, or at least not this raw. So this is just all theoritical.

The reason why you get attacked by a juggernaut is beause this is an actual quest chain with a semi-story that I made up, I just didn't describe it here, because who cares and it's kinda bare-bones.

[the_charch]

terraformer mod, couple others also just add more terraforming options.