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Lightspeed - Delayed Expansion

Lightspeed is a game pacing mod, designed to slow down the early game rush in a reasonable yet fun way. Things in space are very far apart, and that distance, even with faster than light technologies, creates a significant barrier for expansion. I've been searching a long time for a mod that extends the early game and slows down expansion without making the game boring, and I think I finally have an answer to that.

I've tinkered around with changing FTL speeds, but the game doesn't operate well with it. AIs don't upgrade components very often, some groups spawn with low level drives, etc. It just seems to create unnecessary chaos, and it leaves the player with a persistent advantage. But I really enjoyed playing with the delayed expansion components that I added to lengthen the early game, so I've decided to upload them as a separate mod.
You can get the full mod at: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1877485716

Features:
1) Early game expansion is extremely expensive, both for the player and the AI. The earliest outposts will cost 900 influence, with early techs that allow you to reduce that cost to 250 and later 100. Locking expansion behind some early research targets (which the AI will prioritize) helps keep the galaxy free for exploration, and moves the border explosion to the end of the early game. There is no longer an additional cost for placing outposts further away, so everyone should be more inclined to grab the best systems.

2) The automated exploration feature has been added as a start tech for quality of life.

3) Gateway Activation now activates ALL normal gateways in the galaxy, establishing a galactic network. Additionally, Gateway Activation is now a tier 2 technology that is very likely to fire for anyone with a gateway under their control. This helps to counteract the slower movement speeds, and will bring most of the galaxy into contact before the mid-game.

Compatibility:
Overwrites -
- megastructures\05_gateways.txt
- technology\00_megastructures.txt