Hello again, Gary from Abrakam Entertainment here to talk some more about the upcoming expansion, Astral Planes. If you haven't yet, you might want to read the first two posts: Rifts and Scars, and Astral Actions. Astral Planes will release on November 16th for US$/19.99! Buy before November 27th for a 10% discount! [previewyoutube=QlNR1ey4bpk;full][/previewyoutube] Astral Planes includes:

• Core Mechanics
  • Astral Scars
  • New Site Type: Astral Rift
  • New Resource: Astral Thread
  • Astral Harvesting - Technology to harvest Astral Threads
  • Rift Sphere - Technology to explore Astral Rifts Rifts
  • "Rift in Space" Situation - Unlocks Rift Sphere tech.
  • Random Stage 2 Rift Situation Events
• 30+ Rift Sites - Each site contains branching narratives, featuring multiple potential endings and a chance at powerful new rewards.
• New Relics - Astral Planes features new Relics, from the Infinity Root to The Continuum, featuring 8 new Relics in total.
• Astral Actions
  • 10 New Astral Actions
  • 4 Additional Astral Actions (requires Overlord)
• The Formless
• Riftworld Origin - start with an active Astral Rift in your home system
• 4 New Civics
  • Hyperspace Speciality
  • Dimensional Worship
  • Dark Consortium
  • Sovereign Guardianship
• New Sounds, Music and Visual Effects
  • 3 New Music Tracks from Andreas Waldetoft
  • 70+ New Event Pictures
  • 80+ New Sound Effects

* Some content may require DLC sold separately So far, we've covered a lot of the basic mechanics of the new content, and now we'll wrap everything up by covering the new Origin and Civics that we've developed - as well as any other loose ends we can think of.

New Origin - Riftworld

Riftworld is what we consider our 'launchpad' Origin for this expansion. If you want to get right into what Astral Planes is all about, this is where you might want to start. Riftworld is the only way that a full-blown Astral Rift will appear at map generation. As you may remember, all other Rifts are formed from Astral Scars that open over time throughout the course of the game. In the Riftworld, you have had one looming over your home planet as long as your society can remember.
Why is it there, and what significance does it have? You'll have accelerated access to Astral Rift technology with this Origin, so you'll be able to find out. Being so closely connected to worlds beyond the Rifts, you'll also possess some general attunement to the planes and enjoy several bonuses that make exploring them both more likely, and less dangerous.

Hyperspace Specialty Civic

Debug tooltips intentionally left on so you can read the Council position descriptions. Hyperspace Specialty encompasses one of the core themes of the Astral Planes: the manipulation of time and space. Gotta go fast? This might be for you. This civic will set you on the fast track for Hyperlane research, provides some extra sublight speed, and boosts your Physics research. Physics research is another recurring theme in the Astral Planes - observing many of the phenomena inside of the Rifts will give new insights to your scientists. You'll also have a boost to planet sensor range, which will start you with some greater understanding of your initial surroundings.

Dimensional Worship Civic

There is a spiritual aspect to the Astral Planes that can be ignored, but not if you choose this Civic. At each place you discover a weakness in the boundaries between dimensions, you have the opportunity to build a shrine to other worlds. You'll also get a bonus to Astral Rifts appearing (which stacks with the Riftworld Origin), One area we enjoyed in developing this new content was getting the chance to explore the new design space introduced by the systems in Galactic Paragons, which in this case can gear your priests to have an additional affinity toward Physics research.

Dark Consortium Civic

Dark Matter is a material which makes up 'the nothing' throughout various dimensions, and we thought it interesting to include an option to play as a society which is deeply attuned to its utilization. The Dark Consortium is a type of Civic that cannot be removed* after the game starts, as it adds some significant changes to your society. Not only do you begin with a Dark Matter deposit in your home system, you already have the capability to harvest it. *Edit for clarification: Dark Consortium is a bit unique here. If you start with the Dark Consortium Civic, it can never removed. However, you can add it once you research Dark Matter Drawing, but once you use its Council Agenda to obtain Dark Matter technologies, it can then never be removed. Sorry about any confusion there. First, you'll have access to a set of new Edicts which have Dark Matter as a cost.
Dark Matter Forging and Dark Matter Unravelling are global production benefits which will increase your monthly Alloy and Energy generation, respectively. Baryonic Insight is yet another way to boost your monthly Physics research. Investing in Shadow Matrix provides advantages in Encryption, Codebreaking, and Infiltration Levels. Toward the late-game, you'll also have the opportunity to activate a Council Agenda which will unlock one of the Dark Matter technologies at random, a privilege previously only available if you were able to 'borrow' it from one of the Fallen Empires. Its Council position provides a way for you to generate even more Dark Matter, without having to find new sources of harvest.

Sovereign Guardianship Civic

Another Civic which cannot be added or removed, the Sovereign Guardianship may seem a bit out of left-field in the Astral Planes. It is very much the opposite of what you generally want to do regarding exploring the universe and other dimensions. This is for those who prefer to develop a 'tall' build, which should be clear by the heavy penalties introduced by expanding too much. Those penalties are offset by some juicy defensive bonuses, including a new Starbase Module called the Reloading Bay which improves the efficiency of Starbase weaponry. You'll also be given access to a unique Edict which can convert your potentially languishing Influence into Unity. We thought it important to provide as many playstyle options as possible with Astral Planes, even if it isn't necessarily themed to the new content. Feel free to turtle up, if you wish.

Pre-Scripted Empires and new species Portrait

Rounding out some of the extra content we've included in Astral Planes, we have two new pre-scripted Empires. Feel free to totally ignore these if you prefer to always make your own species, but you might be interested in a quick start into the new content. For that, we recommend: The Certeran Covenant (New Portrait)
When a Certeran dies, it is believed that their essence feeds back through a gateway into the astral planes. In this way, they are assured of a life after death, though what form that may take remains a mystery. A strict moral code is enforced to keep the population aligned in this belief; no pious Certeran wants to wander eternity alone. The bravest of their explorers now search for rifts in space and time, driven to answer their society's most important question: Where do you go when you die? Here we have a brand new Humanoid species portrait for you. This portrait will be available for use in any species you create, not just the Certerans. The Certeran Empire represents the ultimate 'jump start' into the Astral Planes. Their boosts to physics research will make it much easier to obtain requisite technologies for exploring Rifts, and Dimensional Worship will allow you to gain Unity while you do it. Notably, their Ascensionist Civic (previously from Utopia) will become available to anyone who owns Astral Planes as well. Guardianship of Nyrr
The typical Nyrrian lifecycle lasts nearly two hundred years. Incubating for decades in sanctuaries below the burning sands of their home planet, only one in a hundred eggs will hatch, and only one in a thousand hatchlings will crawl their way to safety. Upon coming of age, all Nyrrians swear a blood oath to protect their sanctuaries with their lives. To witness the death of another Nyrrian from unnatural causes is the greatest shame imaginable; the values of preservation and vigilance are etched into every facet of Nyrrian culture. To breach the walls of any city on Nyrra is nigh impossible, and none alive can remember when the last brick fell. The most stalwart defenders now carry this ethos to the stars. Here we are showcasing the new Sovereign Guardianship Civic in metaphorical turtle form. This will be a good way for you to test out this Civic without having to think too hard about exactly how you'd like to customize it. Pre-scripted empires are really one of the best tools for both casual play and roleplay, and we wanted to make sure we included a couple of those for this new content.

What is the story of the Astral Planes?

Well, first of all, yes there is an overarching story but we don't want to reveal too much. Of course, the Riftworld Origin has its own narrative to weave. Beyond that, regardless of your Origin, there is something else going on. Maybe you'll encounter it, and maybe you won't. If you continue to explore beyond the Rifts, it's sure to find you sooner or later. It will be your choice on how to handle what you find.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this far, and we're really looking forward to letting everyone experience what we've done with this expansion. We've poured an incredible amount of effort into its development, and Paradox has been with us every step of the way in making sure it meets the standards you expect from the game. We don't think you'll be disappointed. Hope to see you there - in the Astral Planes.

Next Week

Eladrin taking the mic. We're going to have another dev diary tomorrow, providing expanded details on some of the Custodian changes in the 3.10.0 "Pyxis" update. (Leader Consolidation, Council Legitimacy, the Additional Content Browser, the Tabbed Outliner, and Event Chain Subtitles.)

Astral Planes can be Pre-Purchased on Steam now!