Stellaris is going to gain more customization options for empires, with 'Tradition trees' and 'Ascension Perks'

Stellaris [Official Site] is going to get a bit more feature-heavy with the next updated and DLC going by Paradox latest updates. They have detailed 'Tradition trees' which will be free and 'Ascension Perks' which will be in the next DLC.

Unity and Traditions - click for dev diary

You have a new resource named "Unity" which is used for unlocking items on the Traditions tree. You gain unity each month, from government buildings such as monuments, mausoleums and temples.

The trees are:
- Expansion: Focuses on growth through rapid colonization.
- Domination: Focuses on maintaining control over your population and subjects.
- Prosperity: Focuses on economic growth.
- Harmony: Focuses on maintaining a happy and diverse population.
- Supremacy: Focuses on growth through military conquest.
- Purity: Focuses on strength through homogenity and dominion over other species.
- Exploration: Focuses on exploration and scientific discovery.

Ascension Perks - click for dev diary


They are essentially unlocks for your empire, that will allow you to tailor the end-game to your liking. It follows directly on from the above Traditions feature. You unlock an Ascension slot by completing a Tradition tree. It's also possible to unlock a slot from rare technology.

They currently have 20 perks down for the Ascension tree, but it's possible more will be added.

They have also detailed new end-game evolutions for your species:
- The Biological Path focuses on mastery over biological evolution. The first level of it gives access to more gene points and significantly cuts the cost of genemodding projects, while the second level expands the options available during genemodding in addition to further providing more points and less cost.

- The Psionic Path focuses on developing the psionic potential of your population. The first level unlocks new psionic technologies and benefits, while the second level allows your empire to reach a higher level of existance and communicate with the beings present there.

- The Synthetic Path focuses on the replacement of biology with machinery. The first level allows you to turn your population partly synthetic through the use of cybernetics, while the second level replaces your biological pops with robots, turning your empire entirely synthetic.

All sounds really good, but what I really want in the game are more events for the early-mid game. As currently each play-through is far too similar in the early game. Some more strategic abilities during space battles would be welcome too, instead of the sit back and watch mechanic right now. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.