I wish you could do something akin to the Unofficial Hive DLC's Living Structures civic, except it's nanite ships. In addition, the civic grants robots the ability to terraform planets into nanite worlds by pops being on a planet (Thus a pop on a planet starts slowly terraforming it immediately), but having a -150% habitability on any planet that isn't a nanite world. Any non-civic pop on a nanite world is consumed and converted into a planetary bonus that increases as more pops are converted.

@DragoonBlade
Living structure and terraforming using pop. Thanks for idea. :)

Your welcome!

I'd mention this before, but since this is an official Suggestions thread, I'll re-suggest it here: I'd like to see an option where, assuming the player has Distant Stars, the player can effectively take control over the Nanites of the L-Cluster. Maybe in the form of actually being able to build Gray Goo ships, turn planets into Nanite Worlds. It could involve attempting to seize control over the Nanite Factory instead of destroying it, assuming the Gray Tempest or Dessanu Consonance spawns. Seeing as how Nanites are just tiny machines anyway, and the player can already attempt to take over the Machine Fallen Empire, which I'd imagine has a much tougher firewall.

Other ideas:
Processing Capacity bonuses if you have Gigastructural Engineering or Planetary Diversity installed, given that both mods have computer planets (Planetary Computing Complex and Archive Worlds respectively).

A megastructure for Processing Capacity, if the above isn't feasible/desirable.

An ability to detect AI World locations for the Contingency crisis before it spawns, and build a firewall against (or even hijack) the Ghost Signal if you manage to successfully find one. Maybe the result of an Archaeology chain?

Special interactions with the Nomads and/or Caravaneers.

An attempt to hack the Ancient Mining Drones.

EDIT: As an addendum, the suggestion before mine is brilliant and I love it. The Gray Goo ships really are the most underrated vanilla shipset in Stellaris.

@Spider
1.Hacking Nanite / Ancient Mining Drones (Actually I have an idea of playable nanite / nanobot exterminator or something...)
2.Bonus or Megastructure for Processing Capacity
3.Find Contingency world and countermeasure against ghost signal (via Archaeology? That sounds unique.)
4.Interaction with Nomads or Caravanners (Not sure about this)
5.Hack the Ancient Mining Drones
6.I like that Gray Goo shipset too!

I think playable nanite empire (like playable nomad) would fun.

Anyway I got it, thank you for ideas.

That sounds awesome. Can't wait to see it!

Self-Aware Spaceships:

Can't colonize planets, ringworlds, or habitats.
Start with a Administrator Ship.
Start with an income of +10 Alloys, +50 Minerals, and +50 energy
Gain 10000% more from Stations.
Pops have have only an energy and mineral upkeep
Cannot build buildings

Administrator Ship Stats:

Planet Size: 10
Has +20 Housing
3000/3000 Hull
1000/1000 Armor
1000/1000 Sheilding
+15% Damage to all ally ship weapons
+15% Evasion to all ally ships
+15% Ship Fire Rate to all ally ship weapons
-15% Damage to all enemy ship ship weapons
-15% Evasion to all enemy ships
-15% Ship Fire Rate to all enemy ship weapons
Have 2 unique XL weapons
Ship Build cost: 500 Alloys 500 Minerals 500 Energy
Ship Build time: 2 Years
Naval Capacity usage: 15
Ship Upkeep: 20 energy 20 minerals
Speed: 250

New Districts:

Ship Core Stabilizers: Adds 2 "Core Stabilization" jobs which add +1% sheild
regen and +50 energy.

Hull Repair Drones: Adds 2 "Hull Rapair" jobs which add +1% Hull regen and +1%
armor regen.

Drone Command Center: Adds 2 "Administrator" jobs that produce 5
Administrative capcity and +1 influence.

The idea behind this is that you are a Self-Aware battleship with drones keeping you functional and boosting your regeneration, power generation, and ability to gain and hold territory.

Stations are the only way to gain research, unity, minerals, energy, and alloys outside of your initial starting income.

@DragoonBlade
Oh that's huge. I will summarize it find the way to adjust and implement those ideas.

If you find out a way to make a ship both a ship and capable of housing Pops please tell me how, I want to make a (Bio) Nomads mod where the population exists on a ship, mostly because all the nomad mods currently on steam don't do that.

Am currently looking through the code to figure out how to make that work, but I have no idea what to make of the coding language Paradox uses and will likely need to look at several online resources in order to puzzle it out. (Any sources that you would recommend?)

@DragoonBlade
Ships can't store pops, as far as I know. I heard that thing is hard-coded which means we can't mod it. (For now ships can't make ship too but I guess when 'Federations' dlc is released, they will be able to.)

And about modding guide or help I recommend these:
https://stellaris.paradoxwikis.com/Modding
https://discordapp.com/invite/bHVez2C (Stellaris modding den discord server, most of popular mod maker is here. e.g. NSC season 4 or Planetary Diversity)

Thanks!

@BHT-8525 Wellander

Originally posted by BHT-8525 Wellander:

I have considered what you said and I think I may have an interesting idea.

1. Give the ability to assimilate pop of other empire into your empire as machine pops. (Bonus)
2. Give opinion penalties when purging a pop (Penalties)
3. Having a technology to give engineering technologies probably a mid game technology. (Bonus)
4. Having another technology that reduce the time for a pop to be assimilated by 50% but maybe at the cost of energy ? Make it late game so that there is a balanced level between Early, mid and late game. In fact it'd be better for the late game because that way you get the most out of it.(Bonus)
5. Having other empire a flat negative opinion because I mean, you have robots that biological alter their subcounscious, their body to the point where they are part of your machines.

I have looked over the processing energy and to be honest with you, I don't really like the idea of having to take care of another ressources with potential negative outcome since in fact all I really want is the nano assimilator and some bonuses nothing too crazy. I literraly kept all the base game civics etc. Probably will consider the other thing but what would you advice me to get as a mod to reduce the robot energy upkeep ?

First we should move on to here.

I have nothing much to talk about 1. and 2. so let's start talking about 3.

3.Hmmm, not bad idea but I don't know how this could be involved with the civic.
4.I think this can be achieved without problem, but I have to test it. (How about exclusive policy for nano assimilator, to reduce purge time?)
5.Good idea, I can implement this easily when I want.

And I have a things to ask after reading your comment.
First, does 'processing energy' means 'processing capacity' or something else? If it means 'processing capacity', I want to tell you that you can turn it off at mod menu in edicts tab.
Second, does you last sentence means the question of ways, to reduce robot's energy upkeep?

Sorry but I'm not familiar with english :( Hope you don't mind it.

Thanks.

@BHT-8525 Wellander
By the way, I surveyed files of 'Improved Planet and Sector Automation', I think I have to edit themselves if I wanted the mod to consider my mod's buildings. Guess there is not much I can do for now. What a shame.

No problem, in fact my english as a whole is rusty, so to quickly answer.

3. In fact I forgot to add the situation that when purging pop it produces engineering, I say this because it would bring a balance and a different gameplay from the classic Assimilators. Instead of society it would be engineering that's all.
4. I believe that maybe it would be better as Edict that costs high amount of strategic ressources related to the phenomena of the nanobots, for roleplay haha. So exemple 25,50% reduction time at the cost of 500 or whatever. I am not good at balancing honestly. So we could have it mid-game but it would be a sacrifice ? Either way It is mostly end game because imagine in the mid game, would be so much easier to become a real monster within the galaxy.

I think I indeed meant Processing Capacity, I have set it off in fact just that I believe as a whole machine empire have such a monstreous endgame so I was seeking ways to balance, but I do think that it would be fine as it is.

About the other mod, in fact, if I don't use it it won't really matter, just that I am really lazy on planet management and I just want my sector to not hold a planet on negative 13 housing ... classic !

Thank you for your time gentleman !