Hi G2G! Just a question about the odd population icon used for the Kalmat. I'm not sure if it's just a bug on my end that's causing it to use a Tamil language pack instead of the actual icon? It's just really hilarious to me that the icon for Kalmat pops is literally a Tamil letter. 

It's like if some new alien primitive species was added and its icon is literally just the letter 'A'. Tamil is my mother tongue, so it's a little immersion-breaking to see it associated with a race of rugged cybernetic lava worms (and also disorienting, since I don't immediately associate that letter - or any letter - with that race.)

So, what were the design reasons behind this, if it was even intentional at all? Is this a bug on my end? If it is, how do I fix it? I would double-check it against the wiki, but seeing as it's been abandoned completely, I've got nowhere nearly official I can look it up.

If it isn't, then just... why? I don't want to say someone got lazy and decided to just literally take the first letter of a foreign alphabet and chuck it in there. :|

No, the problem is not on your side, it is indeed the icon for the Kalmat population. I find it aesthetic, I think it looks cool. I can't tell you how to feel about it but I think the best you can do is to get on with it because it's not gonna change. I guess you could mod it if you are capable of doing so if it so bothers you.

I can absolutely relate to this since I've found out that the lead writer Jeff Spock's wife is Hungarian so a lot of weird-sounding names are actually coming from the Hungarian language (hero ships, some Vaulter names, Vaulter ship classes).

I could say it is immersion breaking but I actually find it hilarious and it makes me proud that a small nation such as mine gets representation in one of my favourite games.

And at the end of the day letters are just that, letters. No need to work yourself up about them.

Hi everyone,

The Kalmat icon is indeed based on the Tamil alphabet ! 

For a few faction icons, mostly those who looks more "natural" or manuscript, I used shapes coming from different cultures alphabets. most of the time by blending shapes from different origins together, and modifying by hand afterwards to add or change what looked less interresting...

I have to admit that for this one, there was no significant reason for using an « a », except the fact that the shape was quite beautiful by itself, 

But as the Kalmat are masters of survival (we considered them almost as « space tardigrades » when designing them ^^) it is quite logical that they are a kind of « Class A » specie afterall, right ?!