MorallyGray wrote:

Ok here is an idea. following from Nasarog stating.....

Nasarog wrote:

No more human and biped factions. I want really "alien" Aliens. I love the Unfallen and Riftborn. I want more like those with even stranger gameplay mechanics.

Remember when the Harmony were in development? Remember how there was a space virus faction that ended up becoming a single hero? Think about it, intelligent space virus. Personally, i would love to "infect" planets.

Yea, they could be fun. With the talented dev's at Amplitude, I know they would make this faction very interesting.

Anything weird and interesting that isn't another human faction. Which leaves out the Vaulters I know, but they wouldn't be different enough from the UE to be interesting. Give us more weird aliens please.  

We don't have a true machine intelligence yet, so that's one option. It should be something we can negotiate and trade with. Not Saberhagen Berserkers or else they're too similar to the Cravers niche. Maybe another completely space-based faction like the Vodyani, but focused on resource harvesting and trade. Something like a robotic version of the migratory Outsiders in the Niven novels.

KyoPa wrote:

Starbound wrote:

vahouth wrote:

I'd say that Harmony is a good pic for the next faction. 

They are alien enough both in appearance/makeup and gameplay.

As  much as I'd love to see Automatons and/or Sowers in the game, I'm  afraid their niche is already filled as a completely artificial race,   and their attributes are divided among minor races. 

Harmony would fit for sure. Especially as they were in ES1, it'd give some nice structure to the established game universe.

According to the Pulsos lore, most of the Harmony have already left the Dust-filled galaxy.

Also, there's a quest where you get ambushed by a small force of Harmony. I don't remember the details, but the quest was particular about how the Harmony were an ancient race that should've disappeared from the galaxy ages ago, according to the narrator's/player's knowledge.

I don't think that the narrative of this particular quest would work if the player was a theoretical Harmony faction, or if the player has already encountered a major faction of Harmony.

Ah, but as a counterpoint, the quest as stands is strange due to the explicit reference to crystalline ships while (at least in the early access, I don't know about now) using Sophon ships. It's not impossible for them to add Harmony and simply add a check to stop the event from firing if a Harmony faction is present, in a manner similar to how several current events will only fire if a certain population type is present in your empire.

I remain of the opinion that this quest, and the Pulsos's reference to the greater Harmony as still existing out there somewhere, is meant to, if not tease the return of Harmony, at least leave the door open to bring them back.

Zenicetus wrote:

...

We don't have a true machine intelligence yet, so that's one option. It should be something we can negotiate and trade with. Not Saberhagen Berserkers or else they're too similar to the Cravers niche. Maybe another completely space-based faction like the Vodyani, but focused on resource harvesting and trade. Something like a robotic version of the migratory Outsiders in the Niven novels.

Well, maybe mix that with my desire for a Deep Space centric faction? Maybe a faction of asteroid carvers and miners, they could possibly use ships to directly exploit Nodes or something. I'm not really sure, I'm just an idea guy for lore and theme, not mechanics very much.

Dartonus wrote:

Ah, but as a counterpoint, the quest as stands is strange due to the explicit reference to crystalline ships while (at least in the early access, I don't know about now) using Sophon ships. It's not impossible for them to add Harmony and simply add a check to stop the event from firing if a Harmony faction is present, in a manner similar to how several current events will only fire if a certain population type is present in your empire.

I remain of the opinion that this quest, and the Pulsos's reference to the greater Harmony as still existing out there somewhere, is meant to, if not tease the return of Harmony, at least leave the door open to bring them back.

I don't see how that is a counterpoint. It is merely a discrepancy caused by the lack of a unique ship model for a single minor quest.

As for the stop-check idea, that is a completely different situation than the events that check for specific population types. It's not merely quest or no quest. It is effectively changing the history of the Endless universe itself before the game even begins from a history where the Harmony left and never came back to a history where they are still here in the galaxy. It's not like the other factions are absent in the Endless universe just because a player or AI hasn't chosen that specific faction. They would still be a current presence in the lore even if no one is playing them.

Rather than leaving the door open, it is more like they shot themselves in the foot if they ever plan to re-introduce the Harmony. Why would they ever come back? They have already stopped by the galaxy on their quest to the Core. Since they left, there wasn't anything of interest to them in this galaxy. Their repulsion towards Dust is even more of a deterrent that keeps them away. There's very little reason for the Harmony to ever return to the Endless galaxy. If there was a reason to stay, why would they even leave in the first place?

Here is an idea I've been tinkering around with:

Aesthetic wise, the faction would look like the Zerg or Tyranids. Their ships would be very organic and living just like they are. They would be an ecologist faction that is heavily dependent on food production. They wouldn't use science to research technology, instead they would use food as well. The reasoning I had with this is that they don't need science or technology, every adaptation they need would be through mutations.  Need to colonize/live in an ice planet? Evolve to do so! Need bigger ships? Mutate them! Need manpower? Mutate your population to be super soldiers! Maybe they would also infect other populations to be part of the hive mind. So when you assimilate a minor faction, you change their political ideology to fit yours.

If I could grab any faction from an Endless game, I'd kind of like to either see the Ardent Mages (Giant chained crystal ships firing out lightning across space) or the Shifters (Giant bio-organic ships that can alter their purpose, maybe a grand quest to return to Auriga?)

For Endless Space 1 I want my Sowers back :P

Daleks.

New faction would be great but if picking any from ES1 then sowers for sure :)

Yeah... there was a poll a while back and Sowers were surprisingly the most popular vote for a returning faction.

Truly alien is only nice if it is written well. I think the majority of my favorite sci-fi novels all entail humans and humans changes/ interactions into the future. 

I suggest sid meiers alpha centauri (very old 4x game) a classic and with fantastic human factions, which I think shows how well only human factions can work well. Here ideas from communism and capitalism are taken to the extreme in some factions. If you got the history of the spartan nation to build on, who need the hissho or cravers? Are aliens that feed on us more scary or are humans that kill all offspring with deformities more terrifying? 

The news today mentioned North Korea firing a missile into the japanese maritime zone, a totalitarian regime  of which we can hardly grasp how living in it would be like for us. Put across it:  South Korea, japan and the USA who now for decades maintained a policy of de-escalation. I doubt the current game AI could even remotely remain passive under such circumstances. 

So definitely don't rule out more human factions. 

KyoPa wrote:

According to the Pulsos lore, most of the Harmony have already left the Dust-filled galaxy.

This is true. I had missed their lore description and it indeed indicates that Harmony is gone. Pulsos is all that remains (well, for the most part at least). While there are ways to write a story about their return to me it seems that they're gone for good. Pulsos are there as a reminder of them.

Ozgwald wrote:

Truly alien is only nice if it is written well. I think the majority of my favorite sci-fi novels all entail humans and humans changes/ interactions into the future. 

I suggest sid meiers alpha centauri (very old 4x game) a classic and with fantastic human factions, which I think shows how well only human factions can work well. Here ideas from communism and capitalism are taken to the extreme in some factions. If you got the history of the spartan nation to build on, who need the hissho or cravers? Are aliens that feed on us more scary or are humans that kill all offspring with deformities more terrifying? 

The news today mentioned North Korea firing a missile into the japanese maritime zone, a totalitarian regime  of which we can hardly grasp how living in it would be like for us. Put across it:  South Korea, japan and the USA who now for decades maintained a policy of de-escalation. I doubt the current game AI could even remotely remain passive under such circumstances. 

So definitely don't rule out more human factions. 

True as well but it swings both ways. The success of any faction/race concept depends largely on the writing behind them. And, of course their gameplay style. I guess the appeal of alien aliens rests largely in the idea of a vast galaxy. It's a big unknown universe out there so it's natural to expect to encounter very strange creatures on the journey. It's a whole different story if you take the game setting on to a single planet, nation or such like. In EL it was quite natural to see Rovers, Ardent Mages, Vaulters (not related to Auriga though.. but they look pretty much like the rest!) and so forth as they all share the same world. Space, on the other hand, is vast.

For example in this thread there's been ideas about shadowy reptilians, organic mutators, living planets etc. Those kind of creatures hit the "wow what's this thing now" nerve with me. With UE and Horatio, I find humans to already have their corner of the galaxy covered. Been there, seen this, done that.

With all that said though, I don't loathe the idea of extra human factions. If it's well written, sure go ahead. Just a personal preference to see more alien aliens.

Nasarog wrote:

No more human and biped factions. I want really "alien" Aliens. I love the Unfallen and Riftborn. I want more like those with even stranger gameplay mechanics.

More or less +1.

While I don't get what's wrong with biped, I share the general sentiment.

We have UE which are as "normal" as it gets, we have Sophons and Lumeris, which are nearly as normal as it gets, and we even have Horatio which is not quite normal, quite ugly, and yet still technically human or at least very close to human. I don't see how we would need any more vanilla flavored factions than that in foreseeable future.

That said, it's not “normal” that bores me, it's typical. Give me another zerg faction, or another tentacled ones, and I'll be as uninterested in them as I am in UE. Being revolting doesn't by itself exclude you from being boring.

I like the Harmony faction. And while they may have lore reasons to not be here, something similar has no lore reasons not to appear.

I'd also like to see a nomad factions that is:

-Not required to suck the daylight out of other beings. (Let's face it – non violent essence collection is NOT how you play them.)

-Not fanatical and doesn't stink of a cult. Preferably not religious as well.

I also like the gene stealing (but I hate everything else about Horatio), and I'd like to see a version of it that:

-Doesn't require consuming population.

-Doesn't require amassing said population.

-Has nothing to do with a deranged and deformed baldie triying to destroy diversity in the universe. (thankfully that part can be dealt with via custom factions)

Get some other ways of getting gene samples (trading, stealing, capturing in war, using heroes) and don't make the faction unnecessarily freakish, and “I'll be sold” on it.

I also like the ideas of strong population factions in general. So far my 3 favorites happen to be the 3 strongest ones “per pop”. (I should probably note that I don't see Cravers as strong, more like uncivilized, desperate, and reckless, or maybe just genetically flawed. Didn't dig the lore, no idea if they mostly can't stop because of genetic traits or just mostly can't stop because they aren't bright enough for any self-improvement.)

Ozgwald wrote:

Every-time a science/ tech is unlocked you get to complete one system development (could tactically be used on wonders). 

It's arguably OK for developments, though I'd say it would only be ok if it's a development of the tech of the same tier or lower, and only the kind with unlimited numbers of them per empire, but never for wonders.

There are improvements that are SUPPOSED to be costly to build in their respective stages like the ones with +25 per system level, and even the normal ones are not meant to be build in earlier stages easily. This is reflected in both their production costs and buyout costs. And it's there for a good reason.

And wonders are simply out of the question no matter what. They are supposed to be competed for, not cheesed away.

Ikeaboy33 wrote:

hissho warmongers and some espionage faction

I do like to see some Polymorph espionage faction.

Without question, the Sowers and the Amoeba are the two factions I would most like to see make a return. I'm hoping that eventually the majority of the ES1 races will be added as major factions though.

I'm not against new factions - I like the Riftborn and Unfallen, and I warmed up to the Lumeris and Vodyani over time - but at this point in time I definitely think the priority should be with bringing back more of the classic factions.