Matrix Games Forums

I recently found out about this game and was pleasantly surprised by the variety of races there are to choose from.

I do however have some questions about the insectoid races since they interest me the most [;)]

Are all of them true arthropods in the technical sense of the term? Like for example do they only have an exoskeleton or do they also posses an endo one?
Anatomically how close are they to Earth's insects?
How big are they since none of the art really gives any impression of size?

I hope you can answer this questions before I explode from curiosity [:D]

Ahahahaha.
Your interest in instectoids is disturbing

The insectoid races have a significant place in the story line - as do several other 'types' of species. I agree withh the above post. Your interest in these insectoids is quite disturbing. Are you sure you are ok?

So this question bugs you LOL?

Lonnie Courtney Clay

Hmmm...

My interest in the insectoid species is really limited to knowing whether or not the industrial strength insecticide I'm using is effective or not. [;)]

Game wise, the bugs are actually quite advanced and fairly intelligent. And the insectoids are some of the more challenging empires to deal with. One can assume that you wouldn't be able to simply step on them and deal with the problem.

I guess there are no bug lovers here [8|]

None of you like to speculate on your favourite race's biology? I find it quite interesting [;)]

My favorite race is humans, and there are enough pictures available I don't have to speculate ;p

LOL....

ORIGINAL: InsectoidHumanoid

I recently found out about this game and was pleasantly surprised by the variety of races there are to choose from.

I do however have some questions about the insectoid races since they interest me the most [;)]

Are all of them true arthropods in the technical sense of the term? Like for example do they only have an exoskeleton or do they also posses an endo one?
Anatomically how close are they to Earth's insects?
How big are they since none of the art really gives any impression of size?

I hope you can answer this questions before I explode from curiosity [:D]

You the offspring from the film The Fly?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nt75Wf6k7s

Terminex for termites commercial

Lonnie Courtney Clay

Well... I think the insect classification is a rough one, as with all of the classifications in the game. Insects as we know them need a very oxygen rich atmosphere to grow large. Since many of the insect races live on volcanic worlds, this suggests to me that they have a significantly altered metabolism from earth based insects. While they do procreate at a somewhat higher rate, it isn't higher enough to really differentiate them from other species in the game, and they certainly don't breed at the rate most insects do on Earth. The argument could be made that they procreate and die off quickly, but this isn't reflected in the characters screen. Further, several insect races have 5 year cycles during which their behavior is altered. This suggests to me that each individual insect lives a number of decades, probably between 30 and 120 earth years.

Anyway, insect life in the game generally seems to be human scale, long lived, and really quite different than insects on Earth. They do exhibit some insect behaviors, but no more really than humans act like lesser primates.

You can gain some insight to their anatomy and construction practices by viewing the troop and tank/mech images of the various races in the game files, they're a little small though. You can also view a handful of what seem like mugshots on the Distant Worlds site. Not much different from the profile pics available ingame but they do show a little more. Not sure if there's one available for each race.

@dostillevi, you're correct to theorise their biological differences however as they are not called 'insect' but 'insectoid' which means 'any creature or object that shares a similar body or traits with common earth insects and arachnids' they're actually perfectly classified.

we don't like bugs.
hell,no one like bugs !
people familiar with SOTS2 have hatred towards bugs which even THE satan would envy.

ORIGINAL: necaradan666

You can gain some insight to their anatomy and construction practices by viewing the troop and tank/mech images of the various races in the game files, they're a little small though. You can also view a handful of what seem like mugshots on the Distant Worlds site. Not much different from the profile pics available ingame but they do show a little more. Not sure if there's one available for each race.

@dostillevi, you're correct to theorise their biological differences however as they are not called 'insect' but 'insectoid' which means 'any creature or object that shares a similar body or traits with common earth insects and arachnids' they're actually perfectly classified.

Safe to say that just stepping on them won't work. And since I got bit/stung by an insect or spider a couple of days ago, I have a renewed hatred for all things that crawl on more than 4 legs. [:@]