I suppose Craver babies, if shown affection and given food so that they don't have to rely on violence and cruelty from very early on, would experience an immediate impact on what kind of hormones the body is producing, thereby affecting their aggression levels.



So while biology is an important factor in Craver aggression, biology is never rigid and set in stone, and it can be altered through different behaviours and environments (something we observe through numerous experiments on animal species). Indeed, the Craver proper are consciously bending their nature towards aggression through a deliberate policy.



So it is not inconceivable to have Cravers become part of a multi-racial society. And it is not inconceivable for them to develop individuality and become citizens if such a state of being is promoted within the polity.

What a cruel destiny...

Crude selection, slavery, cannibalism and half of them dies at 6...

That sure is an effective insect strategy to produce a numerous and strong population.

BTW: "They have little sense of individuality or concept of self-worth, and accept being treated as cogs in a greater machine"... i still don't see how a slave or a drone Craver will have the will and the coscience to make a vote anyway...

I mean, if not instructed, the whole chain of the Craver society falls apart... without the proper command hierarchy, i see the Craver will die, or make another one that can instruct them, as the queen of the beehive is replaced as soon as she dies...

No one can rule a Craver beside another Craver...

Hi all,

I am opening the doors into some Top Secret/Eyes Only/Format-C:-After-Reading stuff from the design and lore archives. The paragraphs below should help give a better idea of how the Cravers society could actually be a functional civil organism.

The Cravers' is a hive-based insectoid race, something between ants and bees. They are large, however, taller than humans, and though certainly sentient they maintain the habits and culture of a eusocial insect. They have little sense of individuality or concept of self-worth, and accept being treated as cogs in a greater machine.



For a historical analogy, they are between plagues of locusts and hordes of invading barbarians. Like locusts they are not open to discussion or negotiation; they are driven by biological need and will simply keep going until they die or succeed. However, like a barbarian army they do have some level of coordination and hierarchy.

As a general rule, somewhere around 2/3 of Craver society are some level of slave/worker that simply do what they are told. 'Democracy' is an alien concept, and on any planet with a significant Craver population there would be a wide discussion on what Cravers, at what age, are considered close enough to the ideal of a "sentient individual" to have the right to vote.



Here is some information on the roles in their society:

...

Cravers are hatched, not birthed, and as such they lack any sense of parent or family. Eggs are plentiful in a high-tech society, so massive numbers of young are produced. Those who appear to be less than perfect are killed as soon as they hatch, and eggs that take too long to mature are destroyed. Queens whose eggs fall regularly outside the norm are destroyed as well. Nurseries are crowded, and the groups of young are never given quite enough food. They learn at a young age to fight; the weak or timid die quickly.

As soon as their exoskeletons are strong enough they are put to work. Though it takes years for one to reach maturity, most of what we would call childhood/adolescence passes in slavery. Slavery will continue until death, unless the Craver shows aptitude for management, science, architecture or warfare. All other functions in the society -- food supply, infrastructure, construction, transport -- are handled by slaves. The slaves die quickly but that is not important; dead slaves are a viable food source and more are always being hatched.

At maturity (roughly six standard Earth years), the Craver goes through a significant change. Slaves are fed for a week on an accelerated diet; at a time in the past it was the equivalent of 'royal jelly' but in this society it is a steaming and dangerous cocktail of prions and amino acids. This generally has one of several effects:

[LIST=1]

The Craver passes from sterile to hermaphroditic, and becomes a full-time egg-layer ( a fraction of one percent )

The Craver passes from sterile to female, and becomes a bishop ( 1 - 3% )

The Craver passes from sterile to neuter, and becomes a technician or engineer ( 3- 5% )

The Craver passes from sterile to drone, and becomes a soldier ( 12 - 15% )

Nothing happens ( 30 - 40% ) and the Craver retains a slave status, though grows larger and smarter, moving up the hierarchy to become a 'worker' and direct other slaves. Culling, selection, and assignment of job roles is nevertheless handled by others.

The Craver dies ( 40 - 50% )

[/LIST]

Spitballing here since I'm not Jeff (Slowhands), but what if the reason the Cravers have no independent thought is not that they're unable to develop it, but that having these higher subtypes around inhibits or overrides Cravers thought processes?



This could lead to interesting subquests when a peaceful planet-side Cravers population starts getting "agitated" by the presence of an orbiting Cravers fleet... 3

Democracy is general makes little sense in the context of Endless Space. You'd think that most races exploring the stars have long since left behind such an inefficient system or never developed it.

I think the most people imagine an Hive like a Swarm of Borgs from Star Treck but nobody think that a bee swarm could be more like an "Hive Five" (High Five)because your friends are everytime on your side. I think Craver wouldn´t live in their society if they have an bad feeling with it. And i think elections are the Human biggest step in the direction of an Hive.

...Human swarm intelligence :

Himmelslicht wrote:
I have watched the entire series, and pretty much all 'races' there are humans in different costumes.

That's mostly because we only have human actors though.

I have watched the entire series, and pretty much all 'races' there are humans in different costumes.

People here should watch Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. You can, quite easily, have species co-exist with one another even when one or both have inherent weaknesses that harm co-existence.

No matter what explanation they come up with, it's just not reasonable for all the species in Endless Space to be able to co-exist peacefully and will always feel off and forced.

The only way I can imagine Cravers and Humans living together on one planet is with a gigantic wall between them.

I think alot about that topic too.



Or how could the Cravers integrate other species which are actually their "food" into their society?



Is it like? "Welcome to the Craver Swarm here is your election ballot to vote our new Queen?"

Like 2 Wolfs and a sheep vote what is gonna be their next meal.



Though we dont know much about the just in a sentence mentioned "government types" and I am sure the Devs will come up with a lore friendly explanation. For example "Cravers evolved via Dust and space magic into more or less reasonable beings".



And if not...well then we have to accept it as a game machanic and use our own imagination.



Also there will be already a pacifistic Craver Queen as a Hero in the Game (G2G) vote.