HCDX is a standalone companion to Hybrid Colony Designations - experimental where HCD is prudent, niche where HCD is mainstream. This mod introduces unique colony designations for edge-case optimization, thematic consistency, and play-style exploration. Built for modding connoisseurs, roleplayers, and fearless min-maxers alike. HCDX just goes a bit further.

• 9 new designation archetypes + 6 thematic variants:[list]
  
• Fortified Arsenal - Alloys + Planetary Defense (For Xenophobes, Isolationists, and turtles)
  
• Seed & Steel Cooperative - Food + Alloys (for Agrarian Idyll & Utopian Abundance)
  
• Biofoundry Complex - Food + Alloys (...but with Catalytic Technicians)
  
• Tidal Commons - Food + Consumer Goods + Trade (specifically for Anglers)
  
• Synthesis Sector - Advanced Resources + Strategic Resources (you already build this)
  
• Industrial Cloneworks - Biological pop production (the one Paradox doesn't want you to have)
  
• Sanctuary Beacon - Unity + a moderate biological pop bump. A galactic "Ellis Island".
  
• ...and more!
  

Not just hybrids, anymore. These are tailored colony roles, each optimized around a distinct gameplay theme.

Fully localized for: English, Español, português (Europeu), português brasileiro, Українська, Русский, 简体中文, Français, Deutsch, and Polski

Works fine with a mid-game install. At least for me.

Designed for compatibility and immersion in a vanilla+ setting[/list]

Because the galaxy doesn’t always deal in neat resource parcels - and sometimes, neither do you. Maybe you’ve got a planet with extra food districts, an alloy bonus, and nothing resembling a coherent identity. Maybe you just have a crazy dream. HCDX doesn't judge.

Hybrid designations in HCDX are built for the odd ones. The mashups. The roleplayers with vision and the min-maxers with spreadsheets. These specialized archetypes give you meaningful bonuses for mixed or eccentric development - when your colony isn’t sure what it wants to be, or when you have something very specific in mind.

Perfect for empires that play tall, think sideways, or refuse to conform. Whether you’re chasing alloy output from a fortress world, consumer goods from a farm, or something you can only describe with hand gestures, these designations give you options where vanilla just shrugs. Everyone will find at least one designation that they'll never be able to play without, again. And maybe five that makes them wonder what kinda freak would use something like that.

These designations won’t fix your strategic mess, but they will celebrate it, optimize it, and name it something stylish.

• AI empires won’t use these. That’s on purpose. Balancing for AI usage introduces more opportunities for unexpected consequences than something this niche could justify. That said, weighting for automated colony designation was implemented.
  
• Does not support automated build queues. I have not written an AI build plan for these designations. This is doable, but not currently on the project map. For now, only use this mod if you intend to manually set your build queues.
  
• Access limitations are inherited. Hybrid designations honor the restrictions of their vanilla parents. For example, Farming designations are unavailable to empires that don’t consume food, so the Biofoundry Complex (which combines Farming with Alloy production) will be restricted accordingly.
  
• Bonuses are balanced. These combos may be out there, but they aren't cheaty. They are generally neither better nor worse than vanilla designations. Just different. Very different.
  
• It's Complicated. Some of these have multiple prerequisites and triggered modifiers. If you aren't in the mood for mystery, I've laid it out in a Google Spreadsheet. How Paradox of me.
  

• Not Iron Man / Achievements Compatible - This mod alters gameplay mechanics, which is its entire point.
  
• No DLC required – Designations from official DLC (like MegaCorp) will only appear if you own the corresponding content, but the mod runs cleanly either way.
  
• No other Mods required – Not even HCD. You can run with both, either, or neither.
  
• Vanilla-safe implementation – Does not overwrite any base game files. All designations are added via standalone scripted triggers, ensuring compatibility with Stellaris updates.
  
• Mod-friendly architecture – Designed to run alongside other mods that add empires, districts, buildings, or gameplay mechanics. No hard dependencies or shared file conflicts
  
• Load order recommendations - Place below major overhauls (like Gigastructural Engineering, ACOT, or NSC). Place above UI mods or visual tweaks - they don’t interact with designations.
  
• Mod triggered effects may skip hybrids. Traditions or events from mods that reference specific designations (like how Adaptability gives technicians a bonus on Energy Designation planets) may not affect hybrid colonies unless manually patched by you or another modder. The vanilla ones, however, are baked in.
  

HCDX will be run with less restraint than HCD. There are literally thousands of colony modifier combinations possible (some more sane than others) and multiples beyond that of thematic variants. If one catches my fancy or has a constituency or an interesting narrative, I'll probably eventually add it. The designation list could get long, and it might include a lot of options that the average player won't care for very much. This mod is about fun and experimentation. If you have any good ideas, post them in the comments.


These suggested designations have made it into the mod:
Biofoundry Complex : CoolingRoom1644, Cyph the Terrible
Tidal Commons: Loose_Change
Fortified Arsenal: gadgetboy3

HCDX is not for everyone. But if it’s for you... it’s perfect!