Megastructures

Version

This article has been verified for the current PC version (3.0) of the game.

Humanoid Empire constructing a Dyson Sphere

Megastructures are colossal constructions. Expensive and time-consuming to build or repair, these remarkable feats of engineering are nonetheless important wonders that provide large bonuses, demonstrating the technological and economic primacy of the builders' empire.

Construction[edit]

A construction ship is required to build the first stage (construction site) of any megastructure. If it has multiple stages, the following stages do not require a construction ship. All megastructures have a different texture depending on the empire that built or repaired them.

Construction speed bonuses[edit]

A few bonuses affect megastructure construction speed. These are highly desirable considering the great time requirements of such projects:

Master Builders ascension perk increases the build speed by +50%
Living Metal Mega-Construction edict increases the build speed by +50%
Architectural Renaissance unity ambition also increases the build speed by +50%
Using the Isolated Contingency Core relic greatly increases the build speed by +300% for 10 years

Gateways[edit]

Real scale of a Gateway

While exploring the galaxy, empires can find abandoned gateways that were once part of a massive, galaxy-spanning network. The number of abandoned gateways can be scaled by galaxy settings. Owning a system with an inactive Gateway drastically increases the chance for the Gateway Activation technology to appear, which is required to reactivate them.

Reactivation of an abandoned gateway takes 2 years and costs 6000 energy and 2500 alloys. When a Gateway is reactivated for the first time in the galaxy, another random Gateway will also reactivate along with it.

Empires can build their own Gateways by researching the Gateway Construction technology, which requires the Empire to have encountered any pre-existing Gateways, so if Gateways were disabled during galaxy creation, it is impossible to build any new ones.

Each system can only have one Gateway. They can be constructed even in a system with an L-Gate or a wormhole. The construction site must be built outside the system gravity well and is built in 3 years and costs 100 influence and 2500 alloys. Upgrading it into a fully functional Gateway takes 3 years and costs 6000 energy and 2500 alloys.

Gateways can travel to any other gateway, so long as the empire that owns the gateway has its borders open and is not at war with the traveling fleet's empire. Due to the unique system of the L-Gate, you can jump through one to the L-Cluster, then onto another L-gate so long as its borders are open, or you are at war. Regular empires cannot close their borders to Fallen Empires, therefore regular empires' Gateways can always be accessed by the Fallen Empires, except while at war with them. Claims can be extended through gateways, however only if the borders are open on the side that's getting claimed. Sectors don't extend through gateways.

Gateways are able to greatly enhance and simplify trade routes.

Gateways can't be deactivated or destroyed once they are fully activated or constructed.

Habitats[edit]

Mammalian size 8 habitat

Artificial planets in all but name, habitats have a 70% Base Habitability for all species and can be built above planets. Habitats have a unique set of Districts distinct from normal planetary ones. Up to 3 Districts are shared among all Habitats, with a fourth one being available if the Habitat is built above a planet with a resource deposit. Its appearance is dependent on the builders' empire appearance. They still require colonization but the colony develops 3 times faster on a Habitat.

Habitats can be researched and built by any empire if Utopia DLC is installed. Otherwise, it's only available to empires with the Void Dwellers origin, which requires the Federations DLC.

Habitats can be built by a construction ship around any regular Planet without an anomaly. Unlike other megastructures, habitats do not require a construction site and are finished in one go by the construction ship. Habitats start from 4 size, which means they can hold up to 4 districts. They can be upgraded via Decisions once all district slots were filled, and goes up to 8 size.

Size	Cost	Time	Housing buildings	Required technology
4	150 1500	1800 days	Gestalt Consciousness only	Orbital Habitats
6	1000	720 days		Habitat Expansion
8	1500	1440 days		Advanced Space Habitation

In addition, the Voidborne Ascension Perk increases their Habitability by +20% (resulting in 90% Habitability without other modifiers) and unlock 2 building slots.

Habitats can be destroyed by a Colossus as well as Crisis factions and cannot be rebuilt once destroyed.

If the Apocalypse DLC is installed, empires created by the Horde breaking up start with the technology to construct Habitats even if neither of the required DLCs is installed. These Habitats can be captured by other empires.

Multi-stage megastructures[edit]

Multi-stage megastructures are constructed in multiple stages that require the technology of the same name before they can be constructed. Empires lacking the technology can use it if they conquered one from another Empire, but they cannot upgrade it before they researched the technology. They start with a construction site that provides no benefit, however each subsequent construction phase will bring increasing bonuses, culminating with the end of the megastructure construction. Habitats and gateways can be built in the same system as multi-stage megastructures.

It is only possible to build, upgrade, or restore one multi-stage megastructures at a time. The limit can be increased by +1 for each of the following:

Master Builders ascension perk
Architectural Renaissance ambition edict
Level 5 Research Cooperative president

Multi-stage megastructures can only be built once per Empire and cannot be rebuilt if the existing one is lost control of, except for the Ring World. However, the ones conquered from other Empires as well as the ruined and restored ones found in the galaxy do not count against the limit and a conquered incomplete megastructure can still be upgraded. A system can also only host one of them.

Ring Worlds can have their habitable segments overran by a Colossus as well as Crisis factions and cannot be repaired again. All megastructures with the exception of Gateways are destroyed by Star Eater firing upon the system's star and are also no longer repairable.

Megastructure	Stage	Production	Upkeep	Time	Cost	Notes
Ring World	Site	None	−5	5 years	300 5000	Cannot be built in systems with black holes or multiple stars Cannot be built if there are habitable planets, anomalies or stations present Can be built in system with Habitats. Habitats are destroyed once Stage I (frame) is complete All habitable segments feature 100% habitability for each species, can build up to 10 unique Districts and have their own unique Designations Upon completion of the frame all planets are removed from the system Multiple segments can be built at the same time if the empire has the capacity to work on more than one megastructure simultaneously
	Stage I (Frame)	None	None	13.3 years	10000
	Stage II (1 Segment)	+1 Habitable Segment	None	10 years	10000
	Stage III (2 Segments)	+2 Habitable Segments	None	10 years	10000
	Stage IV (3 Segments)	+3 Habitable Segments	None	10 years	10000
	Stage V (Completed)	+4 Habitable Segments	None	10 years	10000
Dyson Sphere	Site	None	−5	5 years	300 5000	Can only be constructed around regular stars Cannot be built if there are habitable planets, anomalies or stations present Upon completion all rocky planets and moons in the system turn into frozen or cold barren worlds If the star has a mining station it is removed when the megastructure is completed If any planet has the Terraforming Candidate modifier it is removed
	Stage I (Frame)	None	None	10 years	10000
	Stage II (Partial 25%)	+1000 Energy	None	10 years	10000
	Stage III (Partial 50%)	+2000 Energy	None	10 years	10000
	Stage IV (Partial 75%)	+3000 Energy	None	10 years	10000
	Stage V (Completed)	+4000 Energy	None	10 years	10000
Science Nexus	Site	None	−25	5 years	300 5000	The final stage of a Science Nexus can be upgraded to produce 50 more Research through an event that has a 30% chance to trigger a short time after the Megastructure is finished
	Stage I (Hub)	+100 Research +5% Research Speed	−50	10 years	15000
	Stage II (Research Wings)	+200 Research +10% Research Speed	−75	10 years	15000
	Stage III (Completed)	+300 Research +15% Research Speed	−100	10 years	15000
Sentry Array	Site	None	−20	5 years	300 5000	Until finished the Sentry Array cannot see through nebulae As no system will have low intel level a completed Sentry Array will prevent space creatures from respawning
	Stage I (Sentry Hub)	+20 Hyperlane Scanner Range +10 Base Intel	−40	5 years	10000
	Stage II (Sentry Spire)	+40 Hyperlane Scanner Range +20 Base Intel	−60	5 years	10000
	Stage III (Sentry Aerials)	+60 Hyperlane Scanner Range +30 Base Intel	−80	5 years	10000
	Stage IV (Completed)	Entire Galaxy Hyperlane Scanner Range +40 Base Intel	−100	5 years	10000
Matter Decompressor	Site	None	−5	5 years	300 5000	Can only be constructed around black holes Cannot be built if there are habitable planets, anomalies or stations present If the black hole has a research station it is removed when the megastructure is completed
	Stage I (Anchor)	+500 Minerals	−25	10 years	12500
	Stage II (Lensing)	+1000 Minerals	−50	10 years	12500
	Stage III (Boring)	+1500 Minerals	−75	10 years	12500
	Stage IV (Completed)	+2000 Minerals	−100	10 years	12500
Mega Art Installation	Site	None	−5	5 years	300 5000	The final stage requires the Ancient Relics DLC A ruined Mega Art Installation will be repaired to stage 3 and can be upgraded to stage 4 as with the constructed version
	Stage I (Nascency)	+100 Unity +5% Amenities	−10	10 years	15000
	Stage II (Maturity)	+200 Unity +10% Amenities	−20	10 years	15000
	Stage III (Completed)	+300 Unity +15% Amenities	−30	10 years	15000
	Stage IV (Perfection)	+400 Unity +20% Amenities	−30	10 years	100
Strategic Coordination Center	Site	None	−5	5 years	300 5000
	Stage I (Hull)	+50 Naval Capacity +2 Starbase Capacity +4 Defense Platforms +5% Sublight Speed	−25	10 years	15000
	Stage II (Comms)	+100 Naval Capacity +4 Starbase Capacity +8 Defense Platforms +10% Sublight Speed	−50	10 years	15000
	Stage III (Completed)	+150 Naval Capacity +6 Starbase Capacity +12 Defense Platforms +15% Sublight Speed	−75	10 years	15000
Interstellar Assembly	Site	None	−5	5 years	300 5000
	Stage I (Locus)	+10% Diplomatic Weight +10 Opinion from all empires	−10	5 years	10000
	Stage II (Consul Ring)	+20% Diplomatic Weight +10 Opinion from all empires +1 Available Envoys	−20	5 years	10000
	Stage III (Forum Modules)	+30% Diplomatic Weight +30 Opinion from all empires +1 Available Envoys	−30	5 years	10000
	Stage IV (Completed)	+40% Diplomatic Weight +50 Opinion from all empires +2 Available Envoys	−40	5 years	10000
Mega Shipyard	Site	None	−5	5 years	300 3000	All ships start with 100 experience Can only be built around stars, in one-star systems, and if there is no research or mining station on them
	Stage I (Framework)	+5 Shipyard Capacity +33% Empire Ship Build Speed	−10	5 years	10000
	Stage II (Core)	+10 Shipyard Capacity +66% Empire Ship Build Speed	−20	5 years	10000
	Stage III (Complete)	+20 Shipyard Capacity +100% Empire Ship Build Speed Titan, Colossus, and Juggernaut construction	−40	5 years	10000

Ruined megastructures[edit]

Ruined Dyson Sphere

A ruined version of a multi-stage megastructure can be found while exploring the galaxy, with the larger galaxies having a chance to spawn more ruined megastructures. Repairing them only requires the Mega-Engineering technology. If not yet researched, owning a system with a ruined megastructure also grants a x20 weight for Mega-Engineering to appear as a researchable technology.

While they upgrade from their broken to a fully functional state in one step, they do not count for any achievements. However, they do not count against any build limit for that particular megastructure either.

Ruined Megastructure	Time	Alloys	System notes
Dyson Sphere	7200	20000
Science Nexus	4800	15000
Sentry Array	4800	15000	Contains a Tomb World
Matter Decompressor	4800	20000	Always in a Black Hole system
Mega Art Installation	4800	20000	Is always a trinary system
Strategic Coordination Center	4800	15000
Interstellar Assembly	3600	15000	Contains deposits on most celestial bodies
Mega Shipyard	3600	10000
Ring Section	3600	10000	Shattered Ring Origin

Conquerable Ringworlds[edit]

Up to 8 ringworlds can spawn naturally in a game in various states. Damaged segments can be repaired with the Mega-Engineering technology for the same cost as finishing a new segment.

1 in the Sanctuary system. All 4 habitable sections are intact and each contains one pre-FTL civilization, none advanced beyond Steam Age. The system was abandoned by an Enigmatic Observer Fallen Empire but contains automated defense platforms totaling over 50k fleet power.
1 in the Cybrex Alpha system. It requires completing the Cybrex precursor event chain. The ringworld is completely ruined and requires repairs on each section.
1 in the Cybrex Beta system. It will only be revealed if the Contingency sterilizes 20% of the galaxy. A short time after the Contingency is defeated, the Cybrex will leave the galaxy, leaving the ringworld free for the taking.
1 in a random empty system if Utopia DLC is activated. It is completely ruined and each section requires repairing. If the Distant Stars DLC is activated as well the system has a 50% chance to contain a unique anomaly.
3 in the systems of the Ancient Caretakers if Synthetic Dawn DLC is activated. The ringworld in the home system has 3 intact and one ruined section while the other two ringworlds are completely ruined and require each section to be repaired separately. If the Contingency appears and the Ancient Caretakers awaken to defend the galaxy, they will also disappear like the Cybrex once the Contingency is defeated, leaving their systems free for the taking.
Each empire with the Shattered Ring origin starts in a ringworld system with an intact segment and two damaged ones. By default only one empire with the origin can be generated but force-spawning will ignore the limit.

Aetherophasic Engine[edit]

The Aetherophasic Engine is a megastructure that will appear in the capital system of every empire that reaches the final crisis level. Each stage of the megastructure requires gargantuan amounts of dark matter as well as 10 years to upgrade. If the system is conquered by another empire the megastructure is ruined and can be repaired if the original empire reclaims it.

Stage	Energy	Minerals	Naval capacity	Opinion	Dark matter required	Reward if conquered	Effects
I	+100	+250	+100	0	0	200 Influence if not crisis level 5 5000 Alloys if not crisis level 5 10000 Dark Matter if crisis level 5	None
II	+200	+500	+150	0	20000	300 Influence if not crisis level 5 7500 Alloys if not crisis level 5 15000 Dark Matter if crisis level 5	Entering the Shroud displays a new set of messages
III	+400	+1000	+200	-1000	30000	400 Influence if not crisis level 5 10000 Alloys if not crisis level 5 20000 Dark Matter if crisis level 5	Within 1-2 years 5% of the owned systems will be invaded by shroud avatars
IV	+800	+2000	+250	-1000	40000	600 Influence if not crisis level 5 15000 Alloys if not crisis level 5 30000 Dark Matter if crisis level 5	Within 1-2 years 10% of the owned systems will be invaded by shroud avatars Up to 6 pops with the psionic trait die Up to 2 leaders with the psychic trait die
V	-	-	-	-	50000	-	Game victory The galaxy is destroyed