I'd like to explore the possibility of adding new material to what the game engine uses when generating the galaxy map and provisioning star systems with planets and other celestial bodies. Imagine special systems or special bodies that occupy a "planet" slot in a system. Some examples:

• A pirate base that could be captured by the player.
• Derelict space stations from ancient races that could be "colonized" or captured, increasing research / production etc.
• Special systems that provide bonuses to neighboring systems, like bonus trade routes to all neighbors (ie Mass Effect's Citadel).
• Galactic anomalies that damage any ship passing through them, like a hazardous nebulae system.
• Ancient capital ships / dreadnaughts, floating derelict in space, with amazing power waiting to be claimed with the right technology.
  
  

Just some ideas. Granted, they would need models created to have them display in the universe and system views, and have appropriate stats generated for them. Some of the events that trigger would need to be placeholders. Perhaps you found an ancient dreadnaught from a long lost civilization, and it displays as a planet in a system. You research the appropriate technology and "colonize" it, the planet disappears and you instead gain a powerful new unit at that system.



Let me know what you think, and what might be plausible with the ES engine once we have the tools?

Derelict ruins would definitely fit into the whole Endless backstory.