Distant Worlds: Introduction of the alien races.

[Wade1000]

Yay. We got this thread stuck to the top of the forum and it's reached over 10,700 hits/views. Credit to the developers, publishers, and mostly the alien race portrait artist for this thread popularity.

[Wade1000]

The Atuuk, Dhayut, Gizurean, Mortalen, and Naxxilian have been consolidated to the top of this thread.
Yay! All 20 races have been made previewable now.

[Gargantou]

ORIGINAL: Wade1000

I think I read it somewhere on this forum, I don't remember.
-Will a new faction split consist of the original race, the majority race, or a mixture of the races of a "parent" civilization? A mixture seems better.
-How are the new factions named?

IMO the split, seeing as it will be as I've been told, composed off specific planets etc from your empire, it should only contain the specific populations of those planets.

I.e. if the faction that splits gets two planets with 50% humans, 50% slukens, then that empire should get 50% humans and 50% slukens, rather than say 10% slukens and 90% humans which is the empire its splitting off from's total population makeup.

[Wade1000]

Oh yeah...heh. I failed to even think of that. Thanks.

[Baleur]

ORIGINAL: Duckfang

ORIGINAL: Baleur

lol yeah the Humans and Altarian Resistance in Galciv2 are pretty cheap. Not to mention the Drengin and Korath.

Korath and Drengin are the same race. Humans and Altarians looking similar was mentioned in the backstory, I believe. [:'(]

I know, but its cheap from a game-variety standpoint.

[Baleur]

ORIGINAL: Webbco

A friend tried to break my mind the other day by sending me this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDaKzQNlMFw

I was thinking about a race that exist in the 4th dimension. I don't know what their characteristics would be like but I think it would be quite an original idea. Possibly quite humorous too!

The funny thing is, a 4th dimensional race would be sooooooo hard to design in a game based around 3 dimensional space
I mean, we're busy exploring stars and planets, while they explore in another direction too. As in, all the planets and stars and everything else would appear / be different to them.

So how do you play vs them? If you blow up their planet you only blow up 1 miniscule 3d slice of their world, and its the same if you blow up one of their ships lol.
It would be like an atom-thick knife slicing through our planet, wouldnt make any difference what so ever. We'd be totally invulnerable to it, as the 4d species would be for us XD

Omg im overanalyzing here but thats what happens with Carl Sagan youtube clips [:D]
I do wish more games had truly fantastical ideas though. The whole humanoid-klingon encounters are a bit old now.
One thing i really loved was in Nexus: The Jupiter Incident, the wierd glowing 4d objects in a few missions. Now THATS what sci-fi is about

[Webbco]

I'm laughing as I read your post, because those were the things going through my mind too. Just imagine...you destroy a 4D entity's base, you celebrate your victory over the colony, the 4D race counter-attacks and obliterates your empire....but you're not sure how. The intercom buzzes to life and a strange voice says "I didn't go forwards, backwards, left, right, up or down...........I went ACROSS". Then your brain explodes.

I really enjoyed Nexus too, not the sort of game I usually like but it felt like an adventure. In fact I felt a bit like JL Picard, exploring the weirdness of outer space etc. It had quite a Star Trek feel to it.

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: ASHBERY76

 It seems the only good insect is a dead one in the DW setting.[:)]

Not much different from real life, eh? [;)]

[Gargantou]

ORIGINAL: Baleur

One thing i really loved was in Nexus: The Jupiter Incident, the wierd glowing 4d objects in a few missions. Now THATS what sci-fi is about

Nexus was a great game, and in fact was originally intended to be a 4X game titled "Imperium Galactica 3"!

Shame the sequel to Nexus got cancelled.

ORIGINAL: Shark7

Not much different from real life, eh? [;)]

I beg to differ, bugs have very important uses in breaking down certian materials and carcasses, as well as pollinating flowers etc.[:'(]

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: Gargantou

ORIGINAL: Baleur

One thing i really loved was in Nexus: The Jupiter Incident, the wierd glowing 4d objects in a few missions. Now THATS what sci-fi is about

Nexus was a great game, and in fact was originally intended to be a 4X game titled "Imperium Galactica 3"!

Shame the sequel to Nexus got cancelled.

ORIGINAL: Shark7

Not much different from real life, eh? [;)]

I beg to differ, bugs have very important uses in breaking down certian materials and carcasses, as well as pollinating flowers etc.[:'(]

True, but they aren't accomplishing any of that buzzing around the lamp inside my house...in that case, they are just annoying. [;)]

[lancer]

Goodaye,

Naxxilians normally live on the tundra wastelands of Ice Glacial planets, but can sometimes also be found in the polar and mountain areas of Continental planets.

Characteristics
Race Family: Reptilian

A small point but reptiles, likely even Alien reptiles, don't tend to function in the cold. I'm curious as to how they find the heat necessary to jack up their reptilian metabolisms into first gear.

Try sticking your pet lizard in the freezer. Stand well back and watch how lively he becomes.

Perhaps they (Naxxilians) can park their bum over a convenient volcanic vent way up high in the polar mountains.

Cheers,
Lancer

[Wade1000]

It says about the Naxxilians: "Although they are reptilian, Naxxilians are covered in shaggy fur."
That seems like a very alien reptile. Thus they have evolved a metabolism to deal with extreme cold. Recent evidence shows that some dinosaurs evolved to survive in harsh cold climate in the now Antartica as the continent slowly drifted south. At a certain threshold though, the other life including vegitation died out due to the climate getting too cold. The cold adapted dinosaurs thus died out.

Of course, dinosaurs were not reptiles they were of similiar scientific classification as birds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird We are surrounded by the descendants of dinosaurs: birds...or evolved dinosaurs.
Maybe the Naxxilians are more like dinosaurs but are listed as "family" Reptillian for the diplomacy aspects. They certainly look like our dinosaurs.

research: "polar dinosaurs"
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/polar-dinosaurs-200712.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0225_0225_polardinos.html
http://www.livescience.com/animals/081204-polar-dinosaurs.html

[Wade1000]

ORIGINAL:  Baleur
...Omg im overanalyzing here but thats what happens with Carl Sagan youtube clips [:D]...

Dr. Carl Sagan is and was great.
http://www.carlsagan.com/
I still love to watch his 'Cosmos' shows that have been updated with new images, animation, and graphics. I sometimes get relaxed and unintentionally fall asleep listening to his voice and the 'Cosmos' piano music. Of course, when I watch it, it's often at night.

YouTube: Carl Sagan, previews:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... type=&aq=f (YouTube list)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lm6pEhykhs (Great Minds: Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot [new HD version])
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7n71pm0K04 (Carl Sagan - Cosmos Intro)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlikCebQSlY (Carl Sagan - Cosmos - Drake Equation)

Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' FULL EPISODES free:
http://www.hulu.com/cosmos
-----

Dr. Michio Kaku is great too.
http://mkaku.org/

He's been on many shows on The Science Channel, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, the news, etcetera.

Previews of Michio Kaku:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... type=&aq=f (YouTube list)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw8dcb8iKSM (YouTube - Michio Kaku On Aliens On Physics ...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXqbi3kaYxg (Michio Kaku: WIll We Ever Be a Galactic Civilization?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4IqpjD3 ... re=related (Dr. Michio Kaku on The Day the Earth Stood Still and more)
-----

I appreciate them both.

(Yeah, I know I made many links. There are so many more great videos.)

[Xmudder]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Kiadians are shrewd and sensible. They carefully evaluate and plan for potential repercussions from any course of action they undertake. They also make some of the most loyal allies known.

Kiadians are deep thinkers with an absorbing culture of profound subtlety. They love to ponder the abstract complexities of advanced mathematics. They are also a very practical people: they apply their sharp intellect to developing sophisticated technology.

Their advanced technology includes the ShadowGhost ECM 2000, an exceptionally capable countermeasures component. These powerful countermeasures make Kiadian star ships very difficult for enemies to target, allowing them to avoid a lot of enemy weapons fire.

The Kiadian honor code is legendary: they would prefer to die than break their word. Once a Kiadian commits to an agreement they will never break it.

They are also a very proud race, and they revel in undertaking impossible assignments that typically end in honorable defeat. This seemingly irrational approach can sometimes lead to astonishing accomplishments – Kiadians will struggle tenaciously in a situation that others would dismiss as hopeless.

The typical habitats of Kiadians are the mountains and low plains of Continental and Marshy Swamp planets.

Characteristics
Race Family: Humanoid
Default Reproduction Rate: 13%
Very Intelligent (+28)
Slightly Aggressive (0)
Very Cautious (+25)
Slightly Friendly (+5)
Extremely Dependable (+37)
Gifted Scientists: faster research +20%
Master Engineers: ship maintenance -10%
Special Technology: ShadowGhost ECM 2000 (Countermeasures)

I think I like these guys the most. Is +20% research the best you can get in the stock races?

I also wonder what these special government types do. But then again I wonder what all government types do

[Gargantou]

Some pterosaurs(which were reptilian) did in fact have a form of hair and fur, iirc.

Also, sometimes Michio Kaku is good but I feel he often oversimplifies science on his show so the 'simple man' can understand, and often these oversimplifications leads to getting these 'simple men' to believe that many of his theories are not in fact theories but proven concepts.

I recently saw a show where he discussed how we would be able to via a huge amount of energy rip a hole for us to travel into an 'alternate' universe or something like that so we could survive when our universe dies.

I can understand why Kaku is so popular though, because as I said, he makes science a lot simpler for the common people.

[Stardog]

I'm with Wade1000 on this

Perhaps an expansion, or even better an update, can add some more races like:
-a robotic/android race
-a cyborg race(part machine, part biological)
-a floater, gas giant planet dwelling race
-a feathered avian race

I sure wish there was some robotic/android race or cyborg's in this game.

The DogStar

WM

[Erik Rutins]

Many things are possible in the future, keep posting ideas and we will keep listening.

[Gertjan]

Good to hear!

[Wade1000]

ORIGINAL: Wade1000

ORIGINAL: EisenHammer

Wade1000 you're probably right. but as far as I know, cats like to kill rodents. so they should probably not be classify with them. It just doesn't sound right.

On Earth, each race "Family" of the game has predatory versions that like to kill others types in its "Family".
"Rodent" was the only viable "Family" option to change "Feline" to.

So now there are:
Amphibian: 3 races
Rodent: 3 races
Humanoid: 3 races
Ursidian: 3 races
Insectoid: 4 races
Reptilian: 4 races

Heh. Besides, other than the Zenox previously stated as "Feline", NOW no where in the original race portrait characteristic does it state that the Zenox are cats or cat-like.
Their portrait art can even be imagined as more intelligent and/or predatory rodents. For those that want cats then they can be imagined as alien cats that have evolved to coesist peacefully with (other) rodents. Perhaps their "cats"(rodents) had a different source of prey other than rodents on the planet that they evolved on.

I like cats. I like dogs. I also like squirrels. The Zenox can be squirrels in my imagination. The Zenox also can be dogs. They resemble some dogs, like Terriers. They even resemble wolves.
One Zenox empire can be cats and another be squirrels and another be wolf/dogs...in one game.

The Zenox can be imagined as several types of Earthly animals: cats, squirrels, or even wolf/dogs...or even more.
The Keterov also can be imagined as several types of Earthly animals: bears, dogs, or even cats,...or even more.

We should remember that all of the races are alien.

The Distant World developers are brilliant with these game design elements.
-----

-Upon more thought, maybe there needs to be another race "Family" to group mammilian races that do not seem appropriate for Rodent Family and Ursidian Family. Maybe call the Family...Therians!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theria
-----

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2414056 (from 'Chaos Cats in space. First impressions.')

[EisenHammer]

I would consider Zenox as Cats and Keterov as Dogs and they both hate each other. And cats should also hate rodents.