Artifacts' Impact: Sins' Planetary Influence Explored

Artifacts in Sins of a Solar Empire are unique and powerful technology improvements that can be acquired but not researched. They are found randomly on planets via the Explore Planet planetary improvement. Artifacts provide abilities and enhancements beyond those provided by standard items, and only one of each artifact can be present per playthrough. While the exact type of artifact is only known to the player who controls it, all players are alerted when an artifact is discovered and the planet is specially marked on the Galaxy Map. Artifacts can be found on any colonizable world, except starting homeworlds, and they work differently from planetary bonuses in that they cannot be constrained to specific planets. The likelihood of finding an artifact is defined for a given map in its .galaxy file as a single ArtifactDensity number, typically 15% for stock maps. Players can also edit maps or find maps with a high artifact spawn chance to increase the chances of finding artifacts.

Artifacts are technology improvements that cannot be researched

Artifacts in Sins of a Solar Empire are technology improvements that cannot be researched. They are powerful items with unique abilities and enhancements that surpass those of standard items. Artifacts are found randomly on planets via the "Explore Planet" planetary improvement and cannot be removed once installed. The player who owns the planet where an artifact is found receives its benefits automatically for every vessel or unit in their empire. If another player conquers that planet, the original player loses the benefit, and the new player only gains it by investing in "Explore Planet" themselves.

There are nine original artifacts in the game, including Relativistic Factories, Resilient Metalloids, and the Jump Field Generator. These artifacts provide a range of bonuses, such as increased damage, ship build rate, hull repair rate, and phase jump speed. Artifacts can also be found in the game's expansions, "Entrenchment" and "Diplomacy," which add new artifacts and improve the bonuses of existing ones.

The likelihood of finding an artifact depends on the map, with a 15% chance for most stock maps, resulting in an average of one artifact per 6.67 planets. Artifacts are not found on starting homeworlds but can be discovered on unused start positions. Players can increase the chances of finding artifacts by editing map files or using the Galaxy Forge map editor to set the Planet Artifact Density to 100.

Artifacts work differently from planetary bonuses as they cannot be constrained to specific planets, except for the rule that they are never found on starting homeworlds. The same artifact can be found more than once on very large maps, and players always find the same artifact at the same planet for a given game. Artifacts can be valuable, with some, like the Data Archive, providing significant advantages such as reduced research time.

They are found randomly on planets via the Explore Planet improvement

In Sins of a Solar Empire, artifacts are technology improvements that cannot be researched. They are found randomly on planets via the "Explore Planet" planetary improvement. The likelihood of finding an artifact depends on the map, with most stock maps offering a 15% chance of finding an artifact, or a 7.5% chance every time you explore. This means that, on average, you will find an artifact for every 13.33 planet explorations.

When exploring a planet, you will always find the same artifact in the same location, and you can find the same artifact more than once on very large maps. Artifacts can be found on any colonizable world, except for starting homeworlds. The Advent can explore planets more efficiently with Divination in the Harmony Tree.

When an artifact is discovered, every player in the game is alerted, and the planet is specially marked on the Galaxy Map. All players can see which explored planets have artifacts, but only the player who currently controls the planet knows the exact type of artifact.

If another player conquers the planet with the artifact, the original player loses the benefit, and the new player only gains the benefit when they invest in "Explore Planet" themselves.

Players that own the planet with an artifact receive the benefit for every unit in their empire

In Sins of a Solar Empire, artifacts are technology improvements that cannot be researched. They are found randomly on planets via the "Explore Planet" planetary improvement. When a player discovers an artifact, every other player in the game receives an alert, and the planet is marked on the Galaxy Map. While all players can see which planets have artifacts, only the player who controls the artifact knows its exact type.

Unlike other planetary resources, which only affect objects within the current gravity well, the player that owns the planet with an artifact receives the benefit automatically for every unit in their empire. This means that the effects of the artifact are not limited to a specific planet but extend to all vessels and units within the player's entire empire. For example, the "Resilient Metalloids" artifact increases damage by 12% and the "Hull Repair Rate" by 15% for all ships and structures with weapons. The "Data Archive" artifact provides a -25% research cost and a 5% faster research rate for the entire empire, regardless of the artifact's location.

If another player conquers the planet with the artifact, the original player loses the benefit. The new player will only gain the benefit of the artifact if they invest in "Explore Planet" themselves. Artifacts can be found on any colonizable world, except for starting homeworlds. The likelihood of finding an artifact is defined for a given map and is generally around 15% for stock maps, resulting in about a 1 in 6.67 chance of finding an artifact on a given planet.

If a player conquers a planet with an artifact, they only gain the benefit when they invest in Explore Planet

In the game Sins of a Solar Empire, artifacts are technology improvements that cannot be researched. They are found randomly on planets via the "Explore Planet" planetary improvement. When a player discovers an artifact, they receive the benefit automatically for every vessel or unit in their entire empire. If another player conquers the planet with the artifact, the original player loses the benefit. However, the new player only gains the benefit of the artifact when they invest in "Explore Planet" themselves, even though they know" the artifact is present.

For example, if Player A discovers the "Relativistic Factories" artifact, they will receive a 12% damage increase and a 25% ship build rate increase for their entire empire. If Player B then conquers the planet with this artifact, Player A will lose these benefits. Player B will only gain these benefits if they invest in "Explore Planet" on that planet, despite being aware of the presence of the artifact.

This mechanic adds an interesting strategic layer to the game, as players must decide whether the potential benefits of an artifact are worth the investment of "Explore Planet". Additionally, the random nature of artifact locations encourages players to explore multiple planets to maximise their chances of discovering these powerful bonuses.

It is worth noting that when an artifact is discovered, all players in the game are alerted, and the planet is specially marked on the Galaxy Map. While all players can see which explored planets have artifacts, only the player who currently controls the artifact knows its exact type and benefits. This adds an element of secrecy and uncertainty to the game, as players must adapt their strategies based on the presence of powerful artifacts without knowing their exact effects.

Artifacts can be acquired through Survey excavation or from Derelicts

In the video game Sins of a Solar Empire, artifacts are unique and powerful items that can be acquired through Survey excavation or from Derelicts. They are technology improvements that cannot be researched but are instead found randomly on planets via the "Explore Planet" planetary improvement. There are nine artifacts in total, and they can be found on any colonizable world, with the exception of actual starting homeworlds. The likelihood of finding an artifact is 15% for most stock maps, or a 7.5% chance each time you Explore.

When an artifact is discovered, every player in the game is alerted, and the planet is marked on the Galaxy Map. All players can see which planets have artifacts, but only the player who controls the planet knows the exact type of artifact. Artifacts provide benefits such as increased damage for all weapons, increased culture spread and resistance, and faster phase jump speed.

It is important to note that artifacts work differently from planetary bonuses. While specific planets can be defined to have certain bonuses, artifacts cannot be constrained to specific planets. Additionally, artifacts cannot be removed once installed. If a planet with an artifact is conquered by another player, the original player loses the benefit, and the new player only gains the benefit after investing in "Explore Planet" themselves.

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