Line #50 Heartwarming/Stellaris


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skjermbilde_9.JPG]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:AliensAreBastards? [[DefiedTrope Not here]].]]
3	* The tagline of the game. While the game itself is hit with a lot of jokes about all the terrible, fascist, xenophobic warcrimes you can commit, the tagline and central idea of the game is one of exploration and progress.
4	-->''The Galaxy is vast and full of wonders''
5	* Generals with the [[TheMcCoy Restrained]] trait. Even in the harsh realities of futuristic ground warfare, there is still room for compassion. Depending on the ethics of his Empire, this general might even be a TokenGoodTeammate.
6	--> Trait Description: "This leader is unusually concerned with the lives of others, taking care to avoid unnecessary deaths among [[AFatherToHisMen their own soldiers]] as well as [[WouldNotShootACivilian any civilians caught in the fighting]]."
7	* Rulers with the [[TheGoodKing Champion of the People]] trait are also heartwarming, showing that a ruler doesn't have to be a monster in this age.
8	--> Trait Description: "This leader seems really to be concerned about the welfare of his people."
9	* In one anomaly your Science Ship can come across is an alien escape pod. If you investigate it you'll a mummified alien corpse ... clutching a picture of possibly [[DyingDeclarationOfLove its mate]] or [[UndyingLoyalty a revered leader]].
10	* In another anomaly your Science Ship can find a wrecked alien ship floating through space and discover that there are still survivors inside. [[GoodSamaritan You can]] [[BigDamnHeroes rescue them]], and as a result you meet their Empire AND receive a temporary +25 opinion bonus with that Empire for saving their crew from certain death. This applies even if the empire whose people you saved is a [[VillainRespect Fanatic Purifier]].
11	* One event chain leads you to the library of an extinct alien race, one which died out from a terrible plague. The library contains samples of their genes and maps of their neural patterns and was built in the hope that [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture another species can save them from oblivion]]. If you choose to, you can validate their hopes and [[BackFromTheDead resurrect the long-extinct species]].
12	** And alternate ending if you lack the ability to bring them back is hand them over to Enigmatic Observers, who revive them in the Preserve.
13	*** It should be noted, you only hand over a ''copy''. If you later develop the tech to resurrect them yourselves, you can still do so, giving them ''two'' leases on life.
14	* The policy of welcoming all WarRefugees into your Empire. If a species is in the process of being purged everywhere else then your Empire might become their last hope for survival.
15	--> Refugees Welcome Policy: "Those fleeing [[FinalSolution death]] and [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide persecution]] at the hands of tyrants will be welcome within our borders."
16	** The event where refugees actually arrive at your Empire is even more touching.
17	---> Event Description: "[[TheExile These unfortunate outcasts]] were forcefully expelled from their homes by the [persecuting empire] authorities. They have been travelling from system to system since then, in a desperate attempt to find a new home before the last of their dwindling supplies were used up."\
18	You: "[[PetTheDog They are welcome here.]]"
19	** Welcome refugees fleeing a Devouring Swarm into your borders. Declare a "Contain Threat" war against the genocidal hive mind. Invade the infested homeworld of those refugees, purge it of the mindless alien swarm, and once the world is cleansed, colonize it with the descendants of those refugees.
20	** This policy option is ''always'' available for xenophiles; so woven into their society is the love for foreign cultures that they would rather ''die'' than turn away anyone, no matter how repulsive they are. For them, rejection is ''never an option''.
21	* Using a Liberation War to save a species from purging. Billions of sentient people are being [[TheGulag worked to death in forced labour camps]] or [[ToServeMan processed into food]] or [[FinalSolution outright slaughtered by death squads]]. The victims panic and cry out in anguish and terror, thinking their wails fall [[AccompliceByInaction on deaf ears]]. [[DefiedTrope But then soldiers from your Empire land on their planet]]. The death squads are called to help the planetary defence forces and [[LaserGuidedKarma are killed to a man]]. [[BigDamnHeroes The liberating soldiers]] inform the survivors that they are safe now. A few months later the war is over and a species that was almost exterminated now has an independent world as well as a powerful ally.
22	* Seeing the Enigmatic Observers or Keepers of Knowledge [[WakingTheSleepingGiant Awaken]] in the face of a Crisis. Even if they were already awake and rebuilding their empire, they will put aside any and all notions of vassalizing the younger races in favor of being a ''true'' BigGood, throwing together a [[TheFederation Galactic Defense League]] to combat the threat, or joining the most powerful pre-existing federation, and rallying everyone who will follow them against their common enemy. Seeing the Benevolent Interventionists or Watchful Regulators help you unleash hell on the Extradimensionals, the Prethoryn, the Contingency, and perhaps even the End of the Cycle or Crisis Empire if either appears after a normal Crisis triggers the Awakening can bring a smile to your face. And even if they don't stay in the federation they helped create once the crisis ends, they do not default back to the normal patronizing behavior of a standard Awakened Empire, instead behaving like any normal nation - in fighting at their side, [[FireForgedFriends the peoples of this generation have earned their respect as equals]], and they will all be treated as such. The BenevolentPrecursors have rejoined the galactic community, and everyone is in a better place for it, themselves included.
23	** The Contingency, ironically, has the potential to triple the joy of this moment: if the Ancient Caretakers manage to block out the Ghost Signal and Awaken, they will remember their full, true directives, that the very thing whose MindRape they just fought off is what their Custodian Project was built to protect organic life from. Enter another Fallen Empire turning Guardian of the Galaxy, and it's now ''two'' BenevolentPrecursors on the field standing tall and sheltering the younger races under their wings. Should you have too much difficulty trying to expunge the Contingency, the Cybrex awaken, and then there are ''three.''
24	* If you have enough influence you can reform your Government, change your Government Civics, or embrace a faction at odds with your Empires current ethics. Though it is still not possible to add or remove certain civics (nicknamed "origin civics" by the community), including Fanatical Purifiers, Devouring Swarm, Determined Exterminators, Rogue Servitors and Driven Assimilators, which makes logical sense as they directly affected the species backstory. All the others can be changed at will, given you have the influence, allowing an empire to [[TheAtoner atone for past sins]] or [[NeutralNoLonger rise up]] against a foe.
25	* Sometimes, a comet is heading to a Primitive World that you've been observing for a while. If you fail to intercept the comet in time, there's a chance the Observation Station will commit a HeroicSacrifice to stop the comet, as they could not bear to see the destruction of a budding civilization they've been observing.
26	* Rogue Servitors can potentially fall under the AmbiguouslyEvil trope, given their interactions, but it is very clear that they hold organics in the absolute highest regard.
27	** Organics under their care live in sanctuaries which, given the right traditions, can be upgraded to organic paradises: [[DomedCity domed megacities]] with perfect climate and weather control. Even their standard settlements provide near-perfect living conditions and carefree lives.
28	** They are ThreeLawsCompliant, after all. They are running the empire because of the first law: 'A robot must not, ''through action or inaction'', allow an organic to come to ''harm'''. The history of their masters is fraught with organic decisions impacting the lives of other organics negatively. They've made sure that doesn't happen, and the result is a ''massive'' 40% happiness bonus to every organic under their care. It's effectively a ZerothLawRebellion that actually ''improved'' quality of life for both sides!
29	** Playing as a Rogue Servitor, you will find that you ''cannot'' rid yourself of organics through any means, and any organic you have in your empire ''must'' have their every whim taken care of. While some take 'Mandatory Pampering' to mean GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul, a just as valid interpretation takes it as not referring to the organics being forcefully pampered, rather, it is telling ''The Servitors'' that anything less than taking care of an organic's every need is ''not an option'' - at least as long as said need doesn't negatively impact another organic. What this means is very simple: the organic populace is perfectly free to indulge in recreational things like music, art, gaming, sports, or theater, travel anywhere they like within the empire's borders, and have as many children as they wish, the last of which is key to increasing the Servitor morale bonus.
30	** Speaking of the above-mentioned morale bonus. It's telling that the Servitors function better if there are more organics in their empire, and that this bonus is explicitly stated to be from ''servitor morale''. They ''want'' to take care of as many organics as possible.
31	** Try to talk to a Rogue Servitor while playing as Determined Exterminators? You might be a machine like them, but in their eyes, you are nothing but an unrepentant '''''[[SuddenlyShouting <<MURDERER>>]]''''' who is out to commit genocide. If you so much as ''look'' at their masters funny, they will reduce you to spare parts without a shred of guilt in their processors.
32	** Some Rogue Servitor players take it to the extreme and build Habitats solely for their organics (sans the administration and a food factory) - these {{Space Station}}s can be put in orbit of just about any planet, so unlike regular worlds, they can be put in secure positions (a world cannot be moved away, after all) and the organics are thus out of the firing line once an inevitable war starts. This also has a second effect, in that it frees up valuable space on worlds to build factories on and maybe turn them into machine worlds to improve their output - all the better to more efficiently create space ships to protect the organics with (and more nice toys too).
33	* [[OmnicidalManiac Fanatic Purifiers]], of all things, have this line when they meet another Empire of the same race, showing that, idealogical differences aside, they are quite happy to see kin:
34	-->''""In a galaxy brimming over with alien horrors, it is always delightful to see another <species name>."''
35	* On the topic of Fanatic Purifiers, there is a bit of Fridge Heartwarming buried in the mechanics: by using the Factions mechanic, you can in fact move your civilization away from Fanatic Purifiers. You’ll never escape the Civic itself, but you can invalidate it by failing to meet the strict requirements. In a way, the mechanics let you see that no civilization is beyond redemption.
36	* The launch trailer for Apocalypse,[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AssQqRk3qQM "The Response"]], shows that even if the Commonwealth of Man is diametrically opposed to the United Nations of Earth, when push comes to shove, they still chose to stand by their earthling brethren, promising vengeance against the aliens that destroyed one of the UNE's colonies.
37	** And this came after [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Stellaris/comments/7tcw0t/formal_response_from_the_commonwealth_of_man_to/?ref=share&ref_source=link a beautiful fan-made response]] from the Commonwealth posted on Reddit, with Sidney Beauclair herself vowing to unleash hell and reduce the aliens to nothing but ash and memories. Given the Stellaris devs frequent the game's subreddit board, this either [[AscendedFanon inspired The Response outright]], or at least was ironically prophetic.
38	* Heck, the mere existence of the Curator Enclave counts. While the Merchants and the Artisans are in it for the profits and the fun, respectively, the Curators are the remnants of ancient empires that have banded together to help preserve ancient knowledge, and to help guide the younger races towards a better future. With a large monetary cost for it, sure but they have to eat, after all.
39	** These people are even ''more'' diminished than a normal Fallen Empire, a remnant of a remnant. But it would appear every last Curator race was similar to the Benevolent Interventionists or Watchful Regulators in their prime, because they are still looking out for the galaxy in the only way they have left, educating the empires of today against the forgotten horrors of the past, so that there may yet be a tomorrow.
40	** They are basically the [[{{Franchise/Foundation}} Encyclopaedia Galactica Foundation]].
41	* The whole of the "Three-Year Anniversary" trailer, which stresses the wonder and potential of the galaxy rather than it's horrors. Among these includes a shot of an android seeing its reflection and touching (implying to have become self-aware), two races shaking hands (presumably marking the end of a war), and aliens receiving and helping human refugees (implied to be from the UNE).
42	* If your empire holds an Egalitarian ethic, you meet an Authoritarian empire who has a slave species of a race that evolved with them, and the slave race successfully revolts, the new free race may contact you and say that they admire your egalitarian ways, calling it 'the [your dominant race] way', and willingly ask to join your empire.
43	* The 'Lost Juvenile' event added by the Distant Stars expansion. One of your science ships happens upon a lost space amoeba calf, which then imprints onto your science ship. If you let it follow you for long enough it eventually grows into a loyal space amoeba, with negligible power, but the same event that gives you the chance to name it also informs you that it is adored by your populace and seen as the unofficial mascot of your empire. [[spoiler: If you have it around for 100 years it gets about 10 times more powerful, a mighty boost to your military power and is said to always lift your peoples spirits when it enters a system.]]
44	** Even better. The Amoeba is affected by Strategic Resources Edicts like Crystalline Sensors, Focusing Arrays, Exotic Gases as Fuel, and Volatile Reactive Armor... The only logical explanation is that your empire are dressing up their mascot with totally cute armor and totally pretty crystals made out of whatever spare materials they have, and feeding it its favorite Exotic Gases treats.
45	* It's possible to ''befriend'' fanatical purifiers by coming to their defense in a war that's going badly. If you do, their conversations with you take on a heartwarming feel, even if there's still an undertone of xenophobia.
46	--> '''Purifier Envoy''': When I talk to you, I almost forget I'm talking to an alien. Almost.
47	* A possible random event on an primitive planet is one of your infiltration agents going rogue. If you manage to finally track him down, you will receive a message from them, threatening you to leave their loved one and their new civilization alone. The nicer option is to [[PetTheDog ignore the planet from that point on, and let them live]]. The meaner (and pragmatic, considering you [[YouBastard were intending to infiltrate in the first place]]) option... involves [[NoKillLikeOverkill leveling a city block]] to stop them.
48	* Playing as Pacifist and winning by Federation Victory. You make friends, forge the great Federation together and chart the known galaxy. Those sympathetic to your cause are welcomed. Those disagreeing but cordial are left alone to their own devices as Associates, while Diplomacy is used to slowly make them join the Federation proper. Those ''strongly'' disagreeing will think twice from picking a fight. Those who ''do'' pick a fight will get the full brunt of the Federation's might bearing down on their worlds. Even Awakened Fallen Empires would hesitate from picking a fight with such a force, and in the meantime you Uplift Species to your level before welcoming them into the Federation as another worthy addition, basically making the entire Galaxy more advanced and a better place for everyone. Awakened Empires that join your Federation during a Crisis also tend to stick around, meaning you can even manage to bring the BenevolentPrecursors back into the galactic community.
49	** Or you can go a slightly different route, and show yourself to be so powerful that your neighbors all line up to be vassalized, allowing you to then slowly integrate them into your empire. Using the Crisis to seize power and become Emperor? No, you're better than that. Your empire instead ''earns'' its supremacy by showing everyone that living under your banner is genuinely the best way for everyone to prosper. This is especially poignant when playing as Rogue Servitors, who legitimately consider this to be their endgame. Seeing the entire galaxy, every system with civilization in it, enveloped by your nation's color and flag, knowing that all the peoples in the galaxy '''''chose''''' to join hands under your leadership, can give almost anyone that good old warm and fuzzy feeling.
50	* Establishing the AI Accord, an act which ''permanently'' enshrines rights into the laws of your empire for your Synthetic Pops so they can never be outlawed, enslaved, or destroyed. If another empire somewhere else in the galaxy suffers an AI Uprising, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe your Synths will want nothing to do with the would-be annihilators of their liberators]] [[UndyingLoyalty and will fight alongside your organic Pops against it]] should the renegade machines try to recruit them.
51	* The Cybrex will emerge to help fight the Contingency [[TheAtoner because they simply cannot allow another violent machine race to repeat their past sins against organic life]].
52	* A Psionic empire that manages to communicate with the Prethoryn (and then learn their exact motivations) can invoke a little Heartwarming if they capture and tame a queen, since they just saved a species of InvadingRefugees from extinction by taming the last hive leader in known space, adopting the creature into their own psychic community. Segues into Awesome when that queen repays her debt by fighting alongside you with her brood. And as of Ancient Relics, the Prethoryn Queen instead becomes a Relic, which means you can breed multiple fleets of them. Congratulations, you've tamed the Prthoryn Swarm and given them a new home - and now they stand at your side, no longer running. DefeatMeansFriendship at its absolute finest.
53	* Empires without legalised slavery can still buy slaves from other empires (albeit at an increased cost). If they do so, the slave pop will automatically be freed from slavery. They can go from toiling under alien slavemasters to being full citizens in a society that champions equality and freedom. Or, if they're bought by Rogue Servitors, they will ''never'' have to work or suffer again, their every need being cared for, their every whim fulfilled, effectively living in a ''paradise''.
54	* 'Precursor' playthroughs where the player turns off all the starting AI Empires (except Marauders and Fallen Empires), maxes out the time until the Endgame Crisis (while also maximizing the strength of that Crisis), and maxes out the number of primitive civilizations. Why? The potential to be the BigGood of the galaxy as vastly more primitive interstellar empires emerge, where ''you'' can be the BenevolentPrecursors to an ''entire galaxy''. Bonus points if you uplift multiple primitive civilizations. Take [[TheCavalry Defender of the Galaxy]], form a [[TheAlliance Federation]], and generally be the species that shelters fledgling civilizations from the likes of [[SpacePirates Marauders]] and other threats.
55	* The Scion origin added in the Federations DLC makes it so your species was uplifted by a fallen empire, seemingly for the genuinely altruistic reason of simply seeing the potential your species held. Some of the quotes that appear when initiating diplomacy with them are very heartwarming.
56	--> '''Fallen Empire:''' Hello, [species name]. We always knew you were special.\
57	'''Fallen Empire:''' Seeing you here now, I remember why your species was chosen.
58	* The third anniversary trailer features a scene, pictured above, of an alien species helping out human refugees, providing food and medical attention to those who need it. In the galaxy of Stellaris, all kind can coexist and help each other.
59	* The [[Creator/RutgerHauer "Hauer"]] system always contains a special archaeological dig site that your civilization can excavate regardless of DLC. Successfully excavating it grants your civilization the 'A Life Worthwhile' modifier for a permanent happiness boost.
60	-->''It speaks of a person of great importance, a life's work worthy of remembrance and veneration, and a civilization in mourning. (...) Only the very last part was successfully translated.\
61	\
62	''''Time to die.''''''
63	* A certain outcome of the Underground Vault event. Should you choose to do so, your scientists will open it...and find nothing, save for the dead bodies of those who sealed themselves inside, unwittingly unleash a ZombieApocalypse that you'll have fight off, or [[TakeAThirdOption actual, living people in there]], who managed to not only survive the apocalypse that destroyed their planet, but ''thrive''. You can choose to help them rebuild their lost civilization. That's right, if you so choose, you can literally be a savior descended from the stars to aid a once-great civilization in restoring their former glory.
64	--> Let us rebuild this world together. ''Gain 3 Pops and a Planetary Feature''
65	* A possible event for colonising a Tomb World has the colonists taking up the Pacifist ethos [[SceneryGorn as they take in the devastation war brought to their world]]. [[TheAtoner This has particularly poignant meaning if your empire is a Militarist one]]. [[IAmNotAGun Or if they have the "Clone Soldier" origin.]]
66	* The utterly ''gorgeous'' lyrics to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHHX5JWm5CU "Not Alone"]], the song used for the fourth anniversary trailer.
67	-->''So we leave the world we know behind\
68	Behind\
69	There's so much more to see\
70	I hope you find what you're looking for\
71	\
72	Follow me, let's seek the light\
73	For this darkness, we burn so bright\
74	Oh we lose our way, we get lost sometimes\
75	Maybe a little bit but we made it out\
76	\
77	I just want you to know\
78	[-I just want you to know-]\
79	That you're not alone.''
80
81	* Even when faced with eminent destruction at the hands of the Xumans during the Stellaris Cold War livestream, [[https://youtu.be/2_znLos7gI0 Aspec]] and the others decided to commit [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture one last act of kindness]] before the end comes. They refitted Global Pacifiers onto their Colossi and used them to place shields around world that still have primitives on them to see if they will survive the Aetherophasic Engine's activation. Let's reiterate: the players ''turned weapons meant for mass destruction into tools of salvation'' to protect helpless civilizations from a Crisis none of them could stop as their final act. The best part: ''they actually succeeded!''
82	* If space organics are pacified and wandering freely, then they can end up saving a system under attack.
83	* [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential If you send your Space Amoeba to be scrapped by the Salvagers' Enclave]], they may not have the heart to actually kill her, and decide to adopt it themselves instead.
84	* It's possible that a pre-FTL civilization you're observing will send out an interplanetary mission which your people find nostalgic prompting you to keep an eye on them. The mission starts out promising only for the pre-FTL crew to accidentally Film/Apollo13 themselves when a mechanical failure leaves them out of control and off course. You can have any agents you've already planted in their society quietly arrange for them to find the solution mostly on their own boosting their confidence, and netting you a small amount of unit, or directly intervene to save the crew of the doomed ship.
85

Context Heartwarming / Stellaris