The Growth has formed symbiotic bonds with local fauna, namely giant bees, to the benefit of both sides. The Growth faction is divided in two sides, the flora and the fauna. Over time, giant Mothernode clusters formed on these planets, which serve as central hubs for the Growth and are seen as the main source of the Growth’s sentience.Ĭoncepts of the Growth, not all of these concepts made it into the final game! Intelligent life was equally affected, there are stories of colonists disappearing into the wilds, lured by pheromones, never to return as they are absorbed into a symbiosis with this alien Growth.Īfter the Collapse, planets seeded with Growth were left to grow unchecked and the Growth thrived, rapidly evolving and growing into maturity. On some planets however, the Growth grew out of control and developed too much, taking over large parts of the planet and forming symbiotic bonds with the local wildlife through the use of pheromones and mind-altering pollen. The Growth allowed for rapid development of local flora and fauna, as long as it was kept under control. They deployed the Growth to their terraforming colonies, with varied success. This was dangerous to developing colonies, so efforts were made to always keep the Growth in check.

The Growth was unique in that, if it was allowed to grow big enough, its sentience became more sophisticated and it would be able to form symbiotic bonds with wildlife. They developed a new strain of this plant life, which has a long and complicated scientific name, but is simply referred to as the Growth. Seeing the value of this hardy, rapidly expanding plant species, they started cultivating and genetically altering it to use in their terraforming efforts.

This jungle formed a single entity, all plants interconnected into a massive collective sentience, reacting and even predicting the actions of the scientists that studied it. This faraway planet was completely covered in alien jungle, a jungle that appeared alive beyond the normal capabilities of plant life.

During the expansion of the Star Union, expeditionary forces stumbled across a planet unlike any they had discovered before.

Age of wonders planetfall dev diary 41