Distant Worlds 2 first DLC is out

[Jarhead0331]

Second DLC is out with two new races.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2409480/Distant_Worlds_2_Factions__Quameno_and_Gizureans/

The Galaxy Expands! The second Distant Worlds 2 expansion brings two new playable factions – the introverted puzzle-solving Quameno and the numberless and ruthless Gizureans!

The Quameno mostly prefer to be left alone to focus on their research and their societies are often organized like war-time economies, but with a focus on research instead of military matters. They value puzzle-solving and the discovery of new knowledge above almost everything else, certainly more than distractions such as diplomacy, war or espionage. They also have a natural aptitude when it comes to energy technologies and because of the abundance of energy in their ships, stations and cities, they use energy fields where many others might use solid materials.

Their governments are typically based on a Geniocracy, which uses unique facilities such as the Enigma Maze to determine which are the most worthy to lead and the Transcendence Hub, a wonder which will trigger a singularity of sorts, which will free them from their physical limits and allow research to continue through eternity.

The Gizureans are legion, with an incredible reproduction rate, along with a ruthless focus on gaining and consuming enough resources to keep their burgeoning populations happy enough to stave off their tendency towards tribal strife. They also have a mysterious past, as the hive mind they once had was broken and a more limited shared consciousness is all that remains. They engineer their ships through partially organic processes, which allows them to be tougher, but their real focus is in their numbers. Gizureans tend to focus on numbers and tactics based on quantity in space combat, specializing in many smaller ships and large quantities of hive starfighters for their ships, stations and colony defense with the earliest access of any faction to planetary starfighter bases.

Each of these new factions also comes with their own special storyline and unique story locations, adding to the possible exploration events and to your knowledge of galactic lore. The Quameno will give you some additional insights on the Ancient galaxy and some of the mysteries the Ancient Guardians left behind, while the history of the Gizureans is connected with that of the Hive threat as well as the ancient enemy known as the Shakturi!

Quameno Unique Features:

Geniocracy Government starts with better Research Labs and provides the largest research bonus of all government types, at the expense of other areas, including being unable to fund bonus colony growth. Also has the option for additional benefits whenever a research breakthrough or research critical failure happens.

The Quameno also are the most gifted researchers in the galaxy, though their single-minded focus also means that they are limited when it comes to concurrent research

Additional bonuses when they find new research locations or build new research stations

Some temporary penalties due to distraction when treaties are signed or populations are unassimilated, preventing the Quameno from focusing as fully as they are normally able on their research puzzles

Novacore Reactors, the best reactor in the game, along with Bubble Shields which have the highest Shield Resistance of all shield types

The Transcendence Hub, an end-game victory condition wonder which allows the Quameno to transcend their physical forms
Larger Research Stations

Special exclusive Leader and Scientist Traits focused on Research

Special conditional events Alien Distractions, Integration Studies, Puzzle Solved, Building the Future, A Piece of the Puzzle and The Answer reward them for thematic play

Their unique story gives them an advantage when it comes to finding the new Ancient Guardian Vaults scattered throughout the galaxy and recovering the knowledge and artifacts within.

Gizurean Unique Features:

Cell Hegemony government type is a form of limited shared consciousness, which includes some of the benefits and fewer of the disadvantages of a full hive mind. Starts with better sensors and command control, more inspiring characters and a generally reduced rate of luxury resource needs.

Excellent at boarding combat and gain extra bonuses from salvaging and retiring captured ships
Swarm Targeting systems make their ships more accurate the more ships there are in a fleet.

Hive Hangars and Hex Armor allow them to build and repair starfighters more quickly and cover their ships with partially organic armor that is stronger than normal alloys.

Hive Fighter Bases are available to defend their planets from the very early game

Internecine Tribal Conflicts can hold them back at times and they will need to supplement their slower research through reverse engineering and conquest

Larger Carriers

Special exclusive Leader and General traits focused on improving their collective consciousness and increasing the size and resiliency of their armies

Special conditional events, such as Waste Nothing and The Scouring, give them extra bonuses when retiring ships or conquering planets. The Rivalry event means that their characters periodically engage in power struggles to eliminate the weak and Breeding World allows them to choose to boost their own growth rate further by using other species as food.

Also, don't forget the Discovery update was released late last month. Game might be worth hopping back into now?

[CJReich46]

It is. There's a lot of QOL improvements that was done as part of Discovery update. Some are in the game settings, others are in automation improvements, and even in graphic improvements such as how shields look when hit.

Not to mention the DLCs do add two very unusual races. This IS the last DLC that was planned. What is to come is an Expansion and according to Erik I think...beta testing starts December or January 2024? But I do know there's rework on the humans to come next, and the Shakturi are part of this expansion just like they were in DW1.

[FarAway Sooner]

Yeah, the game's quite polished and MUCH more playable than it was previously.  The interface is better than DW 1, and the overall game play experience is pretty similar--if a bit more circumscribed due to lack of quite as many races (including the Shakturi), lack of pirate options, etc.

It's not utterly polished yet, but it's much more polished!

[Sparhawk]

The game is becoming more polished. I already prefer it over the original. I really want the Kiaden race though. They were my favorite in DW1 and I've played enough DW2 to want them sooner than later.

[ArizonaTank]

The game is becoming more polished. I already prefer it over the original. I really want the Kiaden race though. They were my favorite in DW1 and I've played enough DW2 to want them sooner than later.

I will pick up the DLC and try again. Somehow the new game did not connect with me like the old one...and I can't really explain it. So maybe the DLC will turn that around.

[undercovergeek]

The game is becoming more polished. I already prefer it over the original. I really want the Kiaden race though. They were my favorite in DW1 and I've played enough DW2 to want them sooner than later.

I will pick up the DLC and try again. Somehow the new game did not connect with me like the old one...and I can't really explain it. So maybe the DLC will turn that around.

The new spider race with all the swarm bonuses looks great - capture pirates and take their stuff apart for tech bonuses

Basically tyrannids in dw2