In a galaxy defined by exodus, exploitation, and extinction, the Vasari have always been in motion. As part of this year’s updates to Sins of a Solar Empire II, we asked ourselves:
What happens when some Vasari stop running?
That question became the foundation for the Vasari Hive Asteroid, a rare planetary gravity well that flips expectations. Not a base built on an asteroid, but one burrowed deep within it. A city inverted. A colony that reflects not hope or conquest, but resignation and adaptation. The Sins design team worked closely with our Art Director Craig Fraser and concept artist Mike Doscher to bring this idea to life in the Sins universe.
Concept Origin: Subterranean Sovereignty
We began with the idea of a Vasari splinter group choosing to settle—trading mobility for security. These Hive Asteroids would appear in remote gravity wells across former Trade Order space, representing a point of no return for their occupants.
Early sketches explored silhouette and surface character: craggy rock forms pierced by irregular geometric patterns. We were drawn to asymmetry and depth. The asteroid itself needed to feel aged and organic, while the architecture embedded within it had to reflect the sharp, gothic elegance of Vasari technology.
As the design progressed, we focused on a multi-lobed central structure. The architectural language moved toward long, angular columns that plunge inward, creating a sense of downward growth. The city doesn't sprawl; it descends.
A rough sculpt phase helped us define the massing of these sunken structures. The forms felt like claws or hive vents, angled inward toward some unseen center. This shift emphasized the Vasari mindset: efficient, self-contained, and utterly indifferent to human aesthetics.
With this stage, we introduced directional emissive elements. Not overt lighting or decorative glow, but pulse-like indicators of interior activity: cloning bays, assembly corridors, and compliance chambers pulsing with the dull red of living industry.
Final Design: The City That Digs
The final concept art presents a Hive Asteroid as it might appear in deep space: an unassuming rock at first glance, but riddled with heat blooms, energy flickers, and structural shadows that suggest a nightmare within.
The glowing cavities are the only visible signs of the Vasari presence, shaped like inverted spires and arranged in precise, unnatural patterns. It's not just alien—it’s intelligent darkness.
Lore Function: Why the Hive Exists
Hive Asteroids are not just visual showpieces. In-universe, they are:
Cloning centers: Producing the vast numbers of pilots needed to sustain the Vasari war machine—especially strikecraft like Heavy Fighters.
Industrial forges: Linked to Nano Assembly factories, refining and processing resources in closed-loop systems.
Cultural dead zones: Places without dissent or deviation, where compliance is engineered, not requested
When a TEC admiral encounters one for the first time, the incident is often logged as a sighting, like someone stumbling upon a massive termite mount in a place it doesn’t belong.
In-Game Presence: Strategic and Specialized
Hive Asteroids are fully colonizable gravity wells designed for players who want more than just a foothold—they offer a deeply integrated platform for Vasari long-term occupation, cloning, and orbital production. While initially fragile compared to traditional planets, Hive Asteroids gain significant durability and deployment flexibility through investment in their unique infrastructure and specialized planetary items.
At their core, Hive Asteroids excel not because of what they are, but because of what they can become. Planet items like the Cloning Vats dramatically boost population growth and max capacity, transforming the interior into a cavernous breeding ground for clone-born labor and strikecraft pilots. These aren’t temporary colonists—they are grown to serve, and Hive Asteroids are built to grow them.
Production is another pillar of the Hive's power. The Closed Cycle Exotic Refinery repurposes matter at a molecular level, allowing the asteroid to function as a self-contained exotic refinery. The Industrial Nanoforge, meanwhile, ties the planet’s internal nanite grid directly into orbital shipyards, reducing build times and reinforcing the planet’s identity as a forward-operating war factory.
To maintain control of such a vital site, the Compliance Inducer ensures that all population, Vasari or enslaved, is focused, obedient, and resistant to external culture. Subsonic manipulation and architectural pressure fields allow the Hive to bend minds as well as steel.
Hive Asteroids thrive on internal scaling. Their income and output grow with their population, and their infrastructure is tightly wound to the needs of the Vasari war machine. When fully developed, a Hive Asteroid is more than a colony. It is a hardened organ of an empire, pulsing out ships, soldiers, and materiel.
Closing Thoughts: A City Without a Sky
The Hive Asteroid is not just another alien structure. It is a statement about what the Vasari have become. Once defined by their movement, some Vasari are now defined by what happens when they stop.
The asteroid doesn’t pulse with life. It hums with intent. Every chamber, every buried corridor, every flicker of red light is a reminder that the Vasari no longer need open space. They only need stone, obedience, and time.
We hope your first encounter with one surprises you. And we hope, for a moment, you wonder just how long it's been there, watching.
