Heck, their Dreadnoughts were featured in artwork a while back.

Link?

Crixler wrote:

I think her appearance is entirely consistent with Frogsquadron's recent suggestion that the United Empire is descended from the Mezari. Her clothes are reminiscent of both.

Wait... aren't the Vaulters (and basically every other human faction) descendent from the Mezari as well ? 

And where do the Mezari come from? Earth?

And where is Earth?

vahouth wrote:

And where is Earth?

Could be in another galaxy for all we know. I always thought that humanity in ES did not originate in this galaxy, kind of like the Homeworld series.

BTW another hint IMHO that she is UE and that they are definitely in as a major faction, is this screen from the senate.

If this is not a UE city, I don't know what is.

vahouth wrote:

BTW another hint IMHO that she is UE and that they are definitely in as a major faction, is this screen from the senate.

If this is not a UE city, I don't know what is.

OMG you're actually right! The architectural style matches that of the UE in ES1!

But then again, the devs might just be trolling us and it is actually the Sheredyns!

Navec wrote:

All of the game's artwork features a majority of humans.  I would not be surprised if we have both a major and minor human faction.

I do expect the Pilgrims to show up as a Minor Faction at some point.

UndeadPuppy wrote:

vahouth wrote:

BTW another hint IMHO that she is UE and that they are definitely in as a major faction, is this screen from the senate.

If this is not a UE city, I don't know what is.

OMG you're actually right! The architectural style matches that of the UE in ES1!

But then again, the devs might just be trolling us and it is actually the Sheredyns!

To tell you the truth I don't even know if we're even gonna see the Sheredyn in this game. Even from the start they were meant to be an bonus race for those that purchased the Empire edition, and if I'm not mistaken their lore actually suggests that they are part of the UE, much like the Adeptus Astartes are part if the Imperium of Man in W40K.

I think her appearance is entirely consistent with Frogsquadron's recent suggestion that the United Empire is descended from the Mezari. Her clothes are reminiscent of both.

UndeadPuppy wrote:

Crixler wrote:

I think her appearance is entirely consistent with Frogsquadron's recent suggestion that the United Empire is descended from the Mezari. Her clothes are reminiscent of both.

Wait... aren't the Vaulters (and basically every other human faction) descendent from the Mezari as well ? 

And where do the Mezari come from? Earth?

The idea is that the Vaulters are descended from the survivors of a crashed Mezari prison ship, and while the Vaulters were doing their thing on Auriga, the rest of the Mezari were becoming the United Empire (or at least part of the United Empire).

While ES1 had a few references to Earth, that has since been retconned. There is no Earth in the Endless galaxy (and probably not even the entire Endless universe). The Mezari (or at least some of them) come from a planet called Mazen.

The origins of the other EL human factions are a bit more ambiguous. The Forgotten are descended from the Vaulters, and thus the Mezari. The Sisters of Mercy were already present on Auriga prior to the crash of the Success (the ship from DotE). But the Roving Clans and the Ardent Mages? It's not really clear. There are some Roving Clansmen in DotE (the merchants), but it's unclear whether or not they were also survivors of the Success, or if they were already on the planet.

Where did the Sisters of Mercy and possibly the RC/AM come from, then? Maybe the Success wasn't the first Mezari expedition to Auriga. Or maybe the Endless brought them there ages ago.

I hope we get more information on that some day.

I don't think we'll be seeing the Pilgrims again as their own distinct faction (or even as their own distinct minor faction). The Pilgrims were an offshoot of the UE who loved science, the Endless, and tattoos. The Vaulters are an offshoot of the Mezari (thus essentially the UE) who love science, the Endless, and tattoos. I think they will be combined into a single minor faction, possibly being promoted to a major one in an expansion (but not at launch).

Let me also speculate a bit. I guess there will be at least 1 major faction for each political ideology. We've got the Lumeris for the pacifists, the Cravers for the militarists, the Sophons for the scientists, and the Vodyani for religious zealots. So the ideologies we're missing are at least ecology and industrialism according to https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/forum/66-game-design/thread/20676-community-gdd-5-update-politics-senate

The United Empire in ES1 was definitely an industry-based ideology, so it would indeed fit the bill. I guess we'll at least get 1 major human faction judging from all the art evidence in the game, so unless all humans somehow converted to treehuggers with food fetishes or we get something at least partially new, the UE is quite a good guess, I reckon.

iDrunk wrote:

IcedVenom wrote:

Also, is the game going to be released with only a total of 6 major factions instead of the 8 it was previously going to be released with?

8 major factions at release, you can check here: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/forum/65-general/thread/21182-endless-space-2-improve-list-post-early-access

Also, the Unfallen were named as pacifists here: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/blog/461-faction-creation-contest-phase-1-starts-now "This faction's theme is Pacifist diplomats!". So, most people from forum thinks that doubled ideologies are confirmed. That means industrialists, ecologists and one doubled ideology still missing. It's just a popular opinion, but looks reasonable enough

We're probably going to get an Industrialist faction, an Ecologist one and another Militarist one, for those who don't like the Craver playstyle. After that, we might get doubles of other ideologies in DLCs or expansions.

I think if indeed UE are in, they'll be Industrialists/Militarists.

My guess would be UE as I don't see anything tying him/her to the other human factions.

She could be from the United Empire or the Vaulters, or even factionless (pirate).

The forum Profile Picture lets her Lining be more orange though, which was the faction colour of the vaulters if i am correct?

UndeadPuppy wrote:

vahouth wrote:

I agree. Her looks says that she's either UE or Pirate.

Pirates usually have tattoos or scars though.

Tattoos mean nothing. Pilgrims and Vaulters have them too.

But UE don't. Neither she.

Tingeltangelflo wrote:

The forum Profile Picture lets her Lining be more orange though, which was the faction colour of the vaulters if i am correct?

It looks like bright red to me.

Kinete looks to be human in appearance. Could Kinete be from a minor faction we haven't seen before, or maybe a major human faction yet to be unveiled. Also, is Kinete a guy or a girl? I can't quite tell. For all of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Kinete Muldaur is the person who you get by buying the deluxe edition of Endless Space 2 and who is my icon.

I do think it incoorparates some Vaulter design elements. So maybe the humans are a united empire in a sense that it has vibes of all human factions in ES1?

UndeadPuppy wrote:

Tingeltangelflo wrote:

I do think it incoorparates some Vaulter design elements. So maybe the humans are a united empire in a sense that it has vibes of all human factions in ES1?

That's not why the faction is called United Empire. It is more like a loose conglomerate of mega corporations that manage colonies/sectors, who pay taxes and are "loyal" to a central government, who controls the military.

She could also be an ABC pilot:

While military expeditions generally destroy these bands of pirates or raiders before they become too powerful, one syndicate of pirate-traders, known as ABC (the Autonomous Bastards' Collective), has grown sufficiently large and wealthy to constitute a serious threat to galactic development. -"Endless Space wiki"

Yes but no one ever said that the United Empire is the United Empire from Endless Space 1. I am just throwing my 3cents in. I would love to see a Feudal like Human Empire with different subfactions... Pilgrims, Vaulters, Those Crusadery dudes.

And yet my opinion stands, the grey linings and the blocky shoulderplates + the rather blocky helmet have a vaulter vibe. Imo. But maybe thats just my hopes screwing my vision. :D

Come on.It's the ES2 human faction.The UE.

BG123 wrote:

In regards to the 'light grey markings on her jacket' and lack (with exception to the red/Crimson colour which was synonymous with the UE in ES1) of a distinguishing UE design, I'd like to point out that heroes in ES2 are different to previous titles.

Essentially, they are mercenaries hired out by the Academy. I'd wager that during their time with, and working on behalf of the Academy, they'd pick up some exoticism they wouldn't have done elsewhere. Hence why I'd agree in saying that tattoos and the grey markings shouldn't be inferred as the sign of a Vaulter, or Pilgrim as the case may be. 

Actually, having said that the overall design isn't indicative of any particular faction (apart from the red lining), the coat strikes me as somewhat grimdark in the way it's cut. The collar is tall and wide, circling around the pilot's face; a lot like the cut of the UE's Leader's coat in ES1...

Well yeah, all Academy heroes are basically mercenaries and no longer hold alegience to their previous factions. However, she must have belonged to one before she was "touched" by Dust. She has a  background.