Whole/Mid/End Game Crisis: Colonizers

[ViolentBeetle]

Inspired by reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Stellaris/comments/b9si50/new_crisis_idea_intergalactic_colonizers/

The general outline.

Invaders from distant galaxy. Use recolour of event ships, color probably grey-white. Favour big ships with devastating weapon, never go below cruiser.

Initial Setup

A grey-ish wormhole ambient object appears in black hole system or is present on game start. The ships appear nearby. Invaders do not have a portrait, hiding behind a banner with their emblem (Symbol selection pending).

Crisis ships

• "Tower Ship" - irreplaceable motherships based on eventship_09 (Or was it 08? The one that is also Grim Portent from "convict" chain) They stay away from border systems if possible. They carry out the final phase of the planetary conquest by touching the planet transforming it to colony world. Destroying all tower ships ends the crisis.
• "Blade Ship" - titan-esque based on eventship_04 (Or whatever it is falling out of Matriarch) serving as the main attack ships with highly accurate powerful long range weaponry. New Blade Ships can be built but rarely, in the upgraded starbases.
• Escorts (Need name) - cruiser-tier ships based on that event ships that are tubular. Beside being attached to Sword Ships, the entire fleets are formed out of them, covering crisis' territory. Usually such fleets idle unless they need to intercept the incursion.
• Pioneers - construction ships carrying out missions to build outposts, primarily.

Crisis mechanics

[Need to study ordering fleets to execute special projects to see if they can be used to time their actions better.]

The crisis faction expands through unclaimed space until it hits the neigbors. During the process they might demand concessions from them, sometimes offering technology or weapons. Although universally hostile, they will not deliberately cross into territory claimed by Normal Empires unless directly attacked in their home territory by them or their demands refused. They attack marauders normally and generally avoid non-awakened empires unless there's no better targets.

Those who repeatedly conceded to invaders might be forcibly vassalized into "Reservation". At this point hostilities will cease unless Reservation breaks away.

Attacking fleets will bombard planets with armageddon bombardment. Once devastation reaches 100% and/or all pops are dead the planet is turned into green "Contaminated World" (Could a better name be used?) Provisionary art of the planet:

Those who reclaim a system with such planet might unlock a tech to decontaminate them [?]

After such planet is created, an order is issued to one of the Tower Ships. They position in orbit of the planet and transform it into one of their colonies, unfit for normal life at all. Very provisionary planetary art:

Such planet can be bombarded back into the tomb world and reclaimed by normal means.

Viral warfare

Crisis faction might attempt to weaken neigbours by spreading biological weapon or similar robot-busting agent against neigbouring planets, making them more ripe for colonization.

Current challenges:

• Deciding on their place in hierarchy and balancing them, including reservation mechanic, as to avoid frustration
• Deciding whenever scripted triggers for colossi should be changed
• Coming up with a functional response mechanic against incursions
• Researching special projects
• AI decision making on whenever they choose to submit
• Deciding upon planetary entity, editing textures into something decently-looking, creating necessary projectiles