Shattered Ring and the Interloper (2024)

First and foremost I would like to say that I am well aware of the fact that Shattered Ring is strong already and needs a balancing factor or two before doing anything like what I am about to suggest.
Now, that said let's get on with the suggestion!
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The fact that with the Shattered Ring start I can never do anything about the Interloper and the final shattered ring segment even though I could build an entirely new ring from scratch bothers me.
So I would like to suggest a way to restore the ring.

To the best of my understanding the reason the segment is irreparable is twofold:
1) The damage sustained by the Interloper's collision has destroyed the structure of the segment it hit beyond the extent of damage to the segments of a ruined Ring World.
2) The Interloper's gravity well extends to the irreparable segment of the Ring World and would rend asunder any attempt to repair the segment regardless of the skill of those constructing it.

So as the problem is twofold the solution should also be twofold:
1) The empire must know how to build a Ring World, ie have the Ring World tech (meaning the Galactic Wonders perk is a requirement to do this).
2) The empire must be able to move or totally destroy the Interloper. There's no techs in the game that explicitly give the ability to do either but the closest would be Juggernaut or the Colossus Ascension Perk. I'm not sure which would be more thematically fitting &/or game-play balanced.

Once a player has the requirements how do they do it and what does it cost?
First the player must have a Colossal Ship Assembly Yards or a Mega Shipyard to assemble a construction ship large enough to handle the Interloper. I would put the cost of this Mega-Construction Ship at 17500 Alloy, the cost of a Ring World Site and Frame + 2,500 Alloy.
Second they fly the Mega-Construction Ship to the Shattered Ring, if it isn't constructed in-system (yes, I believe it should be an actual ship vulnerable to attack if an enemy player knows about it and has the means to catch it).
Upon arrival of the Mega-Construction Ship the ship can be consumed, along with 5,000 Energy Credits, to move/destroy the Interloper. The process isn't perfect and the Interloper is still either close enough to strain any new ring or there's enough debris from the destruction the new segment would need to be armored.
Finally with the Interloper gone the player can construct the Ring Segment for 12,500 Alloy, the cost of a normal Ring Segment + 2,500 Alloy for the necessary reinforcements/armoring.

As a final idea on top of this I'm considering the idea of the Ring Segment being special. Coming with a unique and irremovable blocker that gives mineral and unity income (or a irremovable district if that'd work better logically). The minerals coming from the Interloper (or its remains) and the unity coming from your society's joy at having fully repaired their Ring Home.
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As a reminder I am aware that the Shattered Ring is a powerful start and should have a balancing factor before anything like my suggestion is implemented.

Dr_Gentech said:

I wouldn't be opposed to the final segment becoming repairable once the player empire has already constructed another Ring World from scratch. So you know how to do it and have experience doing it, and as a result you can repair even the crazy levels of damage caused by the Interloper.

Click to expand...

Part of OP's idea revolves around the fact that the Interloper is still there, blocking the rebuilding of the segment. Thus, it would take more than just the knowledge of how to build a ringworld to fix that particular segment.