making the aliens look less 'human'

lethean: As for Sophons - I concluded that based on description of some heroes. Particularly:
http://wiki.endless-space.com/academy/asaroenni-dzumalran
http://wiki.endless-space.com/academy/uthassum-rhamoezz
Those heroes are referred as she. Other two Sophon heroes are referred as he. That means that they have distinct sex. 

As for Endless - well, it`s just my speculation. Based on look of Endless monuments on Auriga, other 'humanish' arts and love story between Spotora Ortaam and Icarael :)

Thanks for the information, I based my information only on what i saw on the main page of ES2 as I did not remember the art in ES1 much anymore.  It remains a mystery to me what the Sophons actually look like under their suit and I quite like it and their background. I do not know enough about the endless to say anything about their appearance(s). To make it a bit clear: I do not have an issue with sexual dichotomy, whether you want to call it he/she or whatever pronoun is used, is not my issue. sexual reproduction has many advantages for species and is therefore prevalent on earth. The issue is about their appearance. Like is/was done with the Sophons: it does not necessarily need to be shown to be good, but showing dichotomy could be as easily done by skin colour (patterns), feathers, or asymmetry like with the fiddler crabs. There is a plethora of choice.

Don't get me wrong - I would also like to see addiitonal factions which don't fall under usual humanoid template. But I don't feel that any of existing races should be reworked in any way as well.

My issue is mostly with the art of Vodyani and Lumeris. Before seeing them i did not notice and pay attention to any of it in endless space/legend, but now it's quite difficult  to think of them as anything different than humans with a different suit/skin.

I like the way It is, but that is just my opinion :)

I think exactly the same thing. ES 2 aliens are too human. They look like they came out of star wars. Especially the Lumeris, which are uglier than a pain.

iDrunk wrote:

You guys can associate/imagine yourself as a ruler of space telepathic amoeba nation? Wow, mad skill.

Do you listen to yourself? You're roleplaying as self-insert, lowest form of roleplaying. Imagining yourself as something different is fun. And you're too lazy to even use imagination.

I'm sooo angry right now

Agreed.

Make the races less 'human in rubber suit'.

Just because our bodies represent a set of 'two arms, two legs, two-of-most-everything-else', doesn't mean that other aliens aren't more based upon 3's, or even 4's.   (liked recent movie where aliens were more of 7's)

Or, the Amoeba, where it's more of a cellular 'blob', that (I suppose) extends pseudopods for manipulation digits.

maurodelia wrote:

Sotnik wrote:

I really want all the Lumeris elite look like that:

http://wiki.endless-space.com/academy/jenhaestra-drev-meos

^^

+1

Higher the rank, higher the fat :)

It's not just fat! It is an extension of their brain responsible for calculations and scheming!

Sotnik wrote:

I really want all the Lumeris elite look like that:

http://wiki.endless-space.com/academy/jenhaestra-drev-meos

^^

+1

Higher the rank, higher the fat :)

While I do appreciate a certain level of fan service, I would rather like to see "aliens" being more.. well, "alien". Something like Shivans from Freespace 1 & 2, weird things like crystals, amoebas or some of the non-humanoid species in mass effect for example. 

Thus, supported!

That would save on artwork :P

I really want all the Lumeris elite look like that:

http://wiki.endless-space.com/academy/jenhaestra-drev-meos

^^

Thank you so much for this submission. The first thing I disliked in ES2 was how Amphibian (!) Lumeris look. I would say it is still the worst thing in the game

to me it appears that your point about the vodyani just  transfers the issue. Why would the endless have sexual dimorphism with breasts. Whether or not the Vodyani manufacture their 'shells' to emulate the endless is not my issue. Also, looking into the sophons; if you say that they have two sexes, how do you see that? I figure you are basing this on the art of the sophon triumvirate and if that is so, it seems again that they are making this dimorphism clear again by human standards (if you consider the one on the left more feminine).

lethean: As for Sophons - I concluded that based on description of some heroes. Particularly:
http://wiki.endless-space.com/academy/asaroenni-dzumalran
http://wiki.endless-space.com/academy/uthassum-rhamoezz
Those heroes are referred as she. Other two Sophon heroes are referred as he. That means that they have distinct sex.

As for Hissho: http://dungeon-of-the-endless.wikia.com/wiki/Hikensha 

As for Endless - well, it`s just my speculation. Based on look of Endless monuments on Auriga, other 'humanish' arts and love story between Spotora Ortaam and Icarael :)



Don't get me wrong - I would also like to see addiitonal factions which don't fall under usual humanoid template. But I don't feel that any of existing races should be reworked in any way as well.

teadesu: to me it appears that your point about the vodyani just  transfers the issue. Why would the endless have sexual dimorphism with breasts. Whether or not the Vodyani manufacture their 'shells' to emulate the endless is not my issue. Also, looking into the sophons; if you say that they have two sexes, how do you see that? I figure you are basing this on the art of the sophon triumvirate and if that is so, it seems again that they are making this dimorphism clear again by human standards (if you consider the one on the left more feminine).

I agree with dragons111888, and as for the space amoeba: it is an example of an interesting alternative and great contrast to the more humanoid forms. Ofcourse some suspense of disbelieve is necessary, but in their case it showed a broader range of possibilities. They are really different from the human form, while for the Lumeris you might as well just look at humans. 

And yes, the same could be said about endless legend (for the non-humanoid races): the Allayi  'suffer' the same issue, but at least it wasn't obvious (i just had to look for it) and I never paid any attention to the windwalkers anyway. But considering all the freedoms in making an sf game and the immensity of the galaxy, it is possible that some species show similarities due to convergent evolution but all having the same sexual dimorphism is taking it a bit far.

teodesu wrote:

I don't think that this is big issue. 

Well it's not a big issue, but it would be nice to have some diversity in the Factions besides variation of humanoids! Something besides two arms, two legs, one head.

don't take my spaceboobs away ^^

You guys can associate/imagine yourself as a ruler of space telepathic amoeba nation? Wow, mad skill.

I don't think that this is big issue. 

In defense of Vodyani I can say that they haven't chosen their form. They just used what they found - 'shells' which virtual Endless have left. 

Most likely, Endless themselves had sexual type of reproduction - very similar to humans. And it is not surprising that virtuals could have created 'shells' which fitted their beauty ideals.

If we look on other known humanoids (for ex. Sophons or Hissho) - we can tell that they have male & female individuals but they don't have 'humanish' characteristics to distinguish them.

As for Lumeris - I agree that they are weird ones. But at the moment they are the only example which is hard to explain. In fictional world, it is justifiable. Although it would be great to have some logical background for them

Sotnik wrote:

Thank you so much for this submission. The first thing I disliked in ES2 was how Amphibian (!) Lumeris look. I would say it is still the worst thing in the game

Completely agree!

Sotnik wrote:

Thank you so much for this submission. The first thing I disliked in ES2 was how Amphibian (!) Lumeris look. I would say it is still the worst thing in the game

Completely agree!