UPDATE: I now own the alpha. Updated some stuff below. And this is just me brainstorming. Also, I'll try to "explain" them from an outsider's point of view.



They are a bipedal race with 2 arm and 2 legs, with skintones varying from yellow to light brown color. Their face resembles squids, with short and multiple tentacles that look like facial hair. They seem not to possess gender, and their community seems to be very connected. They have no known hierarchy which leads other races to believe that they possess a single shared mind; some call it perfect democracy, some call it perfect slavery. Most of them seem to lack verbal skills, or they just prefer not to talk with outsiders. They are probably capable of communicating with each other without the need of verbal skills; telepathy in other words. This also supports that they may share a single mind.



As each race is dependent on one or multiple substances, this race seems to be dependent on the Dust itself. They seem to avoid any planet where they cannot get Dust. While other races fabricate/replicate it, this race seems to possess unique lifeforms that can produce the Dust naturally (in other words, this race doesn't produce food, but they produce more dust, and they consume it aswell...).



They are the closest race to the Endless. They think them as their gods, and worship them as so, even in their absence. They think the Dust is their creation, and thus, they are their creation. Hence the name, Children of the Dust the others call them. No one knows their exact relevance to the Endless, or what they call themselves.



They are oddly primitive compared to other races. They seem not to possess any complex technologies, but maybe they don't need them. Their buildings, ships... They look like living animals/ Maybe their symbiotic relationships also exceed what we've seen; and these are actually living beings that are being tended by the Children. Maybe everything are from the same race with different shapes, goals, and functions, but no one is sure.



-----RECAP-----

-This race is called Children of the Dust.

-They do not have any food buildings, nor they require any. They consume the Dust itself, so they have access to more +dust buildings than the other races, also some unique +dust% buildings to level it out with other races.

-They possess all positive Dust related traits, but they cannot colonize any planet where they have no access to Dust, and they suffer heavy population growth penalties.

-Their buildings doesn't have a Dust upkeep, but population does. On my last game, I was able to achieve +600 food with +40-50 dust income, so need to do calculations to level it out. Or we can just rename food to "edible dust" for them.

-They do not suffer population or planet penalties affecting influence/approval.

-Their tech tree differs from the others to a degree; they do not need to research different colonization technologies, they need to research just one. Later on they get access to outpost technologies, one for each planet type, where they can colonize those planets they weren't able to before, up to half of the planet capacity. A special building occupies another slot on these outposts however. Estimated access to this building is short-to-mid gametime.

-They have special plating & weapon types, as their ships are actually living beings (maybe one of their own?!?). They can research/adapt & use other technologies too however, but to a degree (for example, lets say adamantite alloys are the last coating type, they do not get it, but they can apply a lesser grade with their special regenerative plating on it as reinforcement)

-They have their own versions of technologies like AI, computing and such. They never required to develop such things, as their brainpower is combined exponentially.

-They have no caste, no leader, or anything. They are like a hive mind - but not where one controls & directs all, instead they all act as one. They suffer minor diplomacy penalties due to not understanding other cultures and races, due to them not having or seen a similiar hierarchy.

-They do not build ships/buildings they want, whenever they want, as they are also "living beings". In other words, a template is generated once in a while, and you shape it, choose its function, choose the ship/building. You can get whatever you have on it however.



Trait wise, I'd need special traits just for them. Some traits are being locked from the start, some unique ones available. Research/building wise, diversity in a 4X game works very well in my opinion, as it did with SotS Prime, and GalCiv2.



Reminds any of you a mixture of Zerg/Protoss, or a character called Vilgax, or something from Farscape anyone? Or Dune? What an idea isn't it :P Yeah I know, my brain over-works sometimes, when it comes to brainstorming.

It's an interesting concept, though you should probably play the game and see how it would fit in with the actual game mechanics; currently, this race would have to have tons of mechanics centered entirely around them in order to function properly.

post there: /#/endless-space/forum/28-game-design/thread/13099-official-amplitude-studios-endless-space-faction-creation-competition



Just make sure you define your faction in terms of parameters as well.

I did, but I need the full/complete list of stuff to pick them.



Also, I know it would require a lot of different mechanics, just trying to come up with something that completely plays different.

Augur wrote:
It's an interesting concept, though you should probably play the game and see how it would fit in with the actual game mechanics; currently, this race would have to have tons of mechanics centered entirely around them in order to function properly.

By description of the Cravers, I feel that their planets should have a very high production and dust output but over time, gradually become barren planets and/or, possibly, completely hollowed, useless planets to all and that cannot be transformed. Course, this is me feeling that every race should be unique in somewhat extreme ways, I was even disappointed a little when I saw that the tech trees are more or less the same.

lyravega wrote:
I did, but I need the full/complete list of stuff to pick them.



Also, I know it would require a lot of different mechanics, just trying to come up with something that completely plays different.

As you wish. Here's the list: /#/endless-space/forum/29-archives/thread/13124-design-creating-your-own-faction



You can also take a look at the official competition thread to see how others included their own affinity trait for the faction, which equals that races special mechanic: /#/endless-space/forum/28-game-design/thread/13099-official-amplitude-studios-endless-space-faction-creation-competition

Reminds me of Dune... just saying.

Remscar wrote:
Reminds me of Dune... just saying.

Oh yeah! I completely forgot about the Dune

KaiserTom wrote:
By description of the Cravers, I feel that their planets should have a very high production and dust output but over time, gradually become barren planets and/or, possibly, completely hollowed, useless planets to all and that cannot be transformed. Course, this is me feeling that every race should be unique in somewhat extreme ways, I was even disappointed a little when I saw that the tech trees are more or less the same.

I believe the race trees will be expanded in later stages. As far as I can tell, there aren't any race-specific stuff right now, which should be there on the release. Race specific buildings, ship modules/weapons/etc..., exploitation options. These make a 4X very good one in my opinion. Like the last GalCiv2 expansion, a completely different feel. Or, just some stuff being different, rest are common, like SotS did.

Good luck to you and your race