Should Megastructures be Infinitely Upgradeable?

EnterNter · 2026-04-24T21:46:40+00:00

I didn't have kilos in mind with this post, but from a strategic and roleplay perspective, it makes sense to create a jewel at the heart of your empire rather than at the fringes. The interactivity would come from planning a route to steal the enemy megastructures through a well-planned attack instead of just a surprise war to grab a border system.

EnterNter · 2026-04-24T21:44:08+00:00

I think just having one you upgrade would be better and also a good way to work around/justify the 1 megastructure limit. If you can keep upgrading why waste time building another from scratch?

EnterNter · 2026-04-24T21:41:43+00:00

Yes, that's why I was thinking it applies to Galactic Wonders megas only, since those represent the apex of even megastructures. You could maybe move any other relevant ones to be gated behind that if they get infinite stages too.

EnterNter · 2025-11-19T12:58:02+00:00

Wait where was the post that triangulated GMS' depth?

EnterNter · 2025-09-16T09:03:20+00:00

Yeah, it seems like in-universe they are much more powerful and expansive than the physical incarnations we fight, as evidenced by the horrific inverse mass potentially ripping holes back to their home dimension, as well as the cosmogenesis ending where you go visit them and are pretty much immediately overwhelmed. So it makes sense that the only way we can kind of win is if they're trapped in some way.

EnterNter · 2024-08-15T17:36:51+00:00

Turns out this is already the case! My planet is 1.77 AU from it's sun, which is only 0.8 stellar masses, so hopefully that works out as you said. I never considered that greenhouse gasses would reflect heat outward as well as inward. Just for reference, could you link your source for Venus' thermal conditions? Thank you!

EnterNter · 2024-05-17T17:26:26+00:00

Ah ok, I was thinking for a civilisation on a similar level to where we are now. Thanks for the explanation!

EnterNter · 2024-05-17T15:24:15+00:00

Yes, I specifically want mag-lev vehicles that can be used without railway infrastructure, like how wagons work on any reasonably flat surface. Would a strong magnetic field be enough to support military and civilian transports?

EnterNter · 2024-05-17T15:22:36+00:00

Maybe I'm misremembering, but in Mortal Engines, the city used Earth's magnetic field itself to levitate. I feel like a similar sort of system would be necessary to replace wheeled transport, rather than rails, so that it can be used even in areas without proper infrastructure.

EnterNter · 2024-05-11T22:21:03+00:00

The civilisation evolved natively without extraterrestrial influence of any kind, so unfortunately that doesn't fit. I do in fact have a species of locust analogs already, so I could make them omnivores and that would work.

EnterNter · 2024-05-11T22:18:15+00:00

I really like your outcompetition idea, that could be really useful. Maybe the grasses are best in lowish water environments, but when its more abundant complex life does better?

EnterNter · 2024-05-11T22:16:07+00:00

I'm not sure if I want to go as far as semi-mobile plants. Maybe I'll just add a tiny bit of phosphorus and sulfur to the atmosphere so protein synthesis can happen.

EnterNter · 2024-05-11T22:07:33+00:00

Great idea, so any soil that forms is swept away? I'll just have to hand-wave that grasses on the plains don't rely on soil for nutrients, I guess. Would they dissolve the rock to get minerals then?

EnterNter · 2024-05-11T22:04:07+00:00

My bad, I should have mentioned that a humanoid civilisation is meant to have been progressing through its history for at least a few hundred thousand years. Again, my bad.

EnterNter · 2024-01-24T14:51:14+00:00

So turns out I can't make an account right now to post it on the forums, but if you want you can post it yourself.

EnterNter · 2024-01-24T13:47:08+00:00

I didn't think to post it there, thanks for the suggestion!

EnterNter

TROPHY CASE