I really love this contest... I hope that the topics of both this/the Sophon competition will stay around, so that the curious can make sure they read all the contestants. So far, I think I'm up to date, but the creativity and what people design is very interesting to me. Keep on going, everyone!

So far I really like the Sil’indari and the Dire Initiative. And the Fal' Hadei sound cool too!

I'm pleased that a number of bloom-like or Jovian races have already been submitted: PolytheistGoat's Fimetarions and Sadi's The Apparatus. I've love to see a race a long these lines. To improve the odds, I'd like to submit my own take on it. I'm basing this loosely on a race in 3001: The Final Odyssey, so please consider similarity in narration inspiration rather than plagiarism (I've written this without the book handy to compare against, and I've definitely taken it further than the book does).



The Nimbi



As long as Alcyone II could be considered a planet, the first elements of life have floated its atmosphere. Massive storms trawl up carbon and oxygen from the core of the gas giant and eject it into the ionized outer layers. There, rolling streaks of lighting create all conceivable forms of organic chemicals. Most of these slowly fall into back towards the core, where they will inevitable disintegrate into dead, low energy molecules. But some end up trapped in a kilometers-wide stormy band of atmosphere, the Nursery, where a primordial soup of compounds slowly accumulates over the millennia. The first great leap was about 4 billion years ago, when that soup reached the critical concentration of self replicating amino acids and sprang into permanent pseudo-life. This life was able to synthesize more biological compounds, causing an exponential explosion in the soup. But no matter how much Nursery flourished, it was impossible for sentience to arise here. Life was merely clouds of similar organic molecules trapped in localized storms. The only competition was on the molecular level: between acidic and basic, polar and non-polar, left and right-handedness. The violence of the air currents guaranteed any structure higher than the molecular level would be obliterated. The nearest semblance to higher order was the influence of the clouds on the storms that carried them: the densities, temperatures, and viscosities of the life fluids might prolong or hasten the death of the unstable air currents. For billions of years, the most life could achieve was an above-average hurricane or particularly strong jet stream.



The second great leap was a short 50 million years ago. One of the dozen odd moons fell into an unstable orbit and drifted into Alcyone II's tidal zone. Violently destroyed and strewn across the surface of the planet, traces of Dust from the moon entered the Nursery ecosystem. Normally any heavier element would fall straight through and end up trapped in the planet's core. But the peculiar mix of densities and properties of the Dust caused it to float in the living storms. Like water condenses on soot, life conglomerated on the Dust: metals provided strong polar bonds to attach to, biological substrates provided receptors to organic chemicals, intricate engineering provided massive surface areas to trap fluids. Though the primitive life could not systematically interact with the Dust, its mere presence was an explosive boon to the evolution of the first of the Nimbi.



The Nimbi at their lowest order are like individual bacteria based on a single speck of Dust. These only interact with one another when they collide, transferring small quantities of chemicals or perhaps sticking together temporarily. But their most powerful trait is responsiveness to the environment. For example, some of these specks will release gases when exposed to electrical fields, some will respond to high concentrations of gases by changing shape, and perhaps these now induce electrical charges when rubbing against other specks. The result is a system of interacting particles generating higher levels of order. There are no firm lines between these layers of interpretation, but the larger the system one considers the more intelligent the Nimbi seem to behave. A volume of 100m3 would seem to behave independently and have a consistent personality, while volumes of several cubic kilometers begin to display creativity and scientific output. The largest self-sustaining storms on Alycone II have volumes greater than two or three times the planet Earth, giving each a breathtaking consciousness. "Individually", they appear almost like dust devils or whirling clouds. The mixing action of the gases are essential to the survival of their higher thought processes. Thus, the less motion a cloud of Nimbi exhibits, the less healthy it can be said to be.



Today, the Nimbi are beginning their first forays into extrasolar travel. Their ships are a hard shell of Dust compacted around single storm. This makes them appear like gravel asteroids, were it not for the stunning colour they display. They vary the aesthetics of their ships by painting and textures, rather than increasing the surface area by adding structures or appendages. Their ultimate goal seems to be to accumulate Dust to feed their consciousness and help them unlock the secrets of the very substance they are partially composed of.



Gameplay Characteristics



Dust at the Expense of Industry - Lacking traditional notions of construction, the Nimbi can scarcely sustain any industrial output. They are instead highly reliant on buying out the vast majority of their construction projects.

Adaptability at the Expense of Victory Progress - Left on their own, the Nimbi would quickly proceed to a Dust victory. But forcing the Nimbi to pursue a variety of competing interests (expansion and improvements, military defense, science) will force them to waste Dust and slow their victory progress.

Hard to Expand, Hard to Displace - Costly improvements, lacks ship combat bonuses, but has bonuses to planetary defense.



Homeworld: Hydrogen Gas Giant

Prefers planets with thick atmospheres

Diplomatic Alignment: Neutral (this is hard to interpret based on the single "Good" race; but the Nimbi are self-interested, and likely don't comprehend the mode of existence of humanoid races)



Empire Affinity: Large (90%?) penalty to industry, bonus to Dust production (balanced to provide a similar industrial output)

Free Tech: Particle Scanning (++) or Xenology (+) (for an early game Dust bonus)

+ Room to Stretch: +3 population on Hydrogen Gas Giants, +1 population on Helium Gas Giants, +2 Food on Gas Giants, -2 Dust on Gas Giants [needtoaddfoodtohomeworld]

++ Out of the Dust: Killing Nimbi ships in orbit causes them to gain invasion progress against that system

+++ The Moon is Made of Dust: Start with extra dust (partly to offset the industry penalty and get a first improvement in a reasonable timeframe)

++ How do You Even Kill It? : Bonus to planetary defense

-- Dust is Thought: Taxation's effect on morale is substantial (siphoning Dust from the Nimbi cause them to behave less intelligently and more like simple animals; the goal is to create a Dust - Food/Industry/Science tradeoff)

-- Head in the Clouds: System improvements have higher industry and buyout costs

Nice idea Freemarket! All other Arthur C. Clarke's novels are also a good source of inspiration



Just a thing: I think it could be problematic for jovian races that there is no food production on giant gaz. Maybe, as for my race proposal than for your, it should be good to give a +X food per population bonus on giant gaz to them.

Home world

The Memoriam’s home world is a fairly large (compared to Earth), arid planet. It orbits around an average, mid-life sun. It has a particularly large, close, and bright moon, and at night its rays create a beautiful cascade of colors across the planet’s rolling hills of sand. Most wildlife is reptilian, though there are many other small mammals and synapsid (reptilian-mammal) animals.

History

A few centuries ago, an advanced race managed to create the perfect androids. Naïve and obedient, they were made so perfectly that they believed themselves to be of their Creators’ race. Their computers performed nearly identically to their Creators’ minds. Holographic images were projected onto their surfaces, which made them inscrutable from their Creators’ own skin. Their motors performed exactly like muscles, simulating pain when used extensively and self-replicating or repairing when exercised or damaged. They experienced a full range of emotions including sadness, rage, and even pleasure. They were given artificial memories at their creation, believing themselves to be adolescents or adults on activation. They were adopted into the Families of scientists and other engineers or researchers. They were treated no differently from The Creators, and their Creators were able to make strides in computing and engineering by constantly researching and upgrading their systems. The Creators’ ultimate goal was to realize Their ambitions of immortality; to transfer Their conscientiousness into the computers of the androids.



At the height of the “NETWORK” program, billions of androids were created, all wired and prepared to finally accept true consciousness, set to turn AI into pure intelligence. When the time was finally right, The Creators were wired in at Their home computers, prepared to make the final leap into immortality. At once, all living consciences on Their planet were rushing through wires and into the androids… But there was a terrible miscalculation. The networks simply could not handle the cascade of data and shut down, and with those servers every soul on the planet was simply deleted.



The Memoriam awoke the next morning after being temporarily shut down during the night. While they slept, they were made aware of the truth, and were instructed to assist their Families in adapting to Their new artificial bodies-bodies which The Memoriam were only just made aware of. Families that they just learned were a lie. Having personalities as diverse as those of their Creators, they all handled the news differently. Some accepted the duty to the extent that they held funerals for their former Families. Most awoke in a fit of rage until they were made solemn by the discovery of their Family’s lifeless shells. Eventually all Families-even those who didn’t house any androids-were given proper funerals.





Today, The Memoriam honor The Creators religiously, and begin each day thanking them for conscientiousness and the immortal bodies they’ve been blessed with. They wish to emulate The Creators’ society, and have gone so far as to adopt a “Family” system, despite lacking the physical need for Families. They raise The Creators’ billions of manufactured Memoriam as their own Children, without false memories. They have a strong sense of community-even stronger than that of The Creators-and everything they do is “In Their Memory.” Their economy and society can both be described as “socialist,” though they recognize and praise individual achievement when they see it.



Their interstellar goals are rather vague. As of now, they only wish to establish healthy relations with the other Factions and rebuild their society. Being a young and Naïve race they are also fascinated with exploring the universe, and are not against colonization despite their limited need or understanding of the process. One resource they have come to obsess over is Dust, which they can-to an extent-communicate with thanks to their AI minds. They hope to use Dust to learn more about themselves and their artificial origins.



A sizeable Fleet was left to The Memoriam, but it has taken many decades to gain full knowledge of the Ships and to upload that knowledge to and build sizable crews to operate their Fleets. After researching their “skin,” they’ve also developed highly advanced stealth and illusion systems for their Fleets, which they use broadly. Much more technology is available to them, but it will take many more years to be able to make full use of it, as they typically perform research slowly and deliberately, for they know technology can be dangerous. But, as technology is vital, they will often attempt communications with Dust to unlock its secrets and make advances in the fields of Science, Industry, and energy production for use as Food.





Being androids, they have no need for intercourse. To remind themselves of this, they’ve modified their bodies to remove the appearance of any sexual organs or differentiation of sex that their Creators had. To take this reminder even further, they wear no clothes unlike their Creators, and regard clothing as unnecessary.



They’ve since abandoned most aesthetics of their Creators. No differences in height, no distinguishing facial features, nothing of that sort, though they still have their Creator’s shape. They differentiate between each other instead by electromagnetic signals unique to each Memoriam. They’re taller than most men and are vaguely humanoid in shape, with 4 normal digits and an opposable 5th on their hands and feet. Compared to men, their arms and legs appear disproportionately long to their torsos, and their digits are long compared to their palms and feet. Their heads are also elongated in the back compared to men. They don’t have “ears” or “noses” as men might call them, but instead have holes with tiny microphones that pick up sound and scent in the sides of their heads and on the fronts of their faces. They lack mouths entirely, instead having arrays of speakers across the bottoms of their faces. They do have relatively normal eyes-as much as one can consider normal for a race of androids-though spaced wider than men’s, each one built with a powerful camera that has the ability to adjust field of vision, and each moving in unison to give depth perception. Their eyes also glow different colors, the only differentiating feature between the members of the race. It is said that the colors of their eyes reflect their personality. They can communicate directly with each other via a wireless network, though they prefer to keep traffic to a minimum, and will speak in what can only be described as a “dial-up tone” when they’re within earshot. Despite the entirely computerized language, they fully understand The Creator’s language, and they can adapt to the languages of other races very quickly by sharing knowledge of what they’ve heard and learned.



They seldom use the holographic technologies built into their skins around each other, instead showing beautiful, complicated systems of silver interwoven muscles, all dotted with lights and flowing with electricity. They do often use their holographic systems during diplomacy simply to put other races at ease. During combat, when they come out of stealth, they cover themselves in a cascade of vibrant colors to terrify their enemies who think they must be hallucinating, as entire armies appear right before their eyes and open fire.

Affinity

As the Memoriam have the ability to communicate with Dust, they gain more and have more advanced uses for Dust than other Factions, but are poor traders. They also have the ability to use a powerful network and temporarily combine their minds at the cost of Dust to gain sudden bursts in Science, Industry, and Food. The Memoriam have access to a specialized “Holographic Technology” research tree, which allows them to create “Ghost Fleets,” illusionary Fleets that appear completely normal until attacked, when they are destroyed instantly. The tree also unlocks research that allows them to temporarily hide Fleets and grants other such “RUSE”-esque abilities and counter-espionage tactics. Later branches of the tech tree grant especially versatile spies, assassins, and saboteurs, but if they are discovered, the Faction in question will become incredibly angry, and may declare war and kill the spy or ask for massive compensation for the spy’s safety.



With the ability to suddenly change tactics, change research focus, and unlock stealth technology, the Memoriam is a Faction that thrives on unpredictability and trickery.

Traits

Economy:

(+45) Dust Coaxing: +30% Dust per star system.

(-3) Socialist Economy: -1 Trade route per star system.

Population:

(-8) Energy Hungry: -10% Food per star system.

Science:

(-16)Cautious Science: -20% Science per Star System.

(+20) No Lungs: Begin the game with the ability to colonize all planet types, but with a malus in the FIDS production of 25% until the proper technology is found.

Building:

(-8) Borrowed Cities: +20% Industry cost for System improvements and planetary infrastructures when being constructed.

(-8) Borrowed Fleets: +20% Industry cost for Ships when being constructed.

(+10) Vital Upgrades: -25% Industry cost on weapons mods.

Ships and Fleets:

(+10) Eager: +2 warp speed per Fleet.

(-10) Armor Stripping:-30% HP max per Ship.

(+10) Explorers: +10% storage per ship.

(+6) Advanced AI: +2 detection radius per Fleet.

Space Battle:

(+10) Dust Comforting: +20 Dust per destroyed CP (allies and foes) if a battle is won.

(+15) Flanked!: +15% accuracy per weapon mod.

(+5) An Enemy of My Enemy: +5% weapon mod damage per ally Faction; +5% Invasion mod efficiency per ally Faction.

Defense:

(-6) It’s like They Just Disappeared:-2 ground defense per star system.

(-3) Reprogramming: -40% ownership loss per star system captured by enemy Faction.

(+6) It Uses the Jungle: +2 frontier size per System.

Diplomacy:

(+5) Community: +8 Approval per star system for each faction at peace or allied with.

Heroes:

(+3) One of system32: -25% Dust cost for Hero Abilities.



Totally forgot... Affiliation: Neutral

Hello again, I overworked my Species a little bit...... got pretty interesting





The Amiri



Story:



Amir II, an hot, dry planet, that orbits around its yellow Sun. After the formation of the solar System, its Orbit was very close to the inner border of the habitable zone. Water could only existed in that time on the nightside of the Planet, as on the dayside the temparature was too high for liquid water. Than an rare Event happend, as an rouge Planet at the Size of Jupiter entered the solar system in its outer reagion and its Gravity pulled the next Planet to it. It was the beginning of an chain reaction, as the next Planet to the moved Planet followed the gravitational Pull and all orbits were moved farther outside. The Rouge Planet left the System and it took serveral Millenia to stabilize the Orbits, but the solar System did not lost any of its Planets. Amir II was still hot and dry, but now Water could now exist on its Dayside.



As Life begann its struggle on this Planet, Evolution lead to the Ancestors of the Amiri. Before thier Evolution into an spacefaring Species, these Ancestors were small, antlike Beeings, that lived on the deserts of thier dry Homeworld. Over the Millenia, they evolved enough intelligence to harverst and storage any food and water, that they could find. With it, they storaged bones and that gave Bone Marrow to the Meals of the Amiri, one of the most nutritious foodsources avaialbe. These gave them the opportunity to grow bigger, more intelligent and with Intelligence Technology.



The first Tool ever created was an shovel, as the Amiri needed space under the Sand to storage thier resources and as an escape from the scorching heat of the Day. These underground Rooms evolved to settlements and the discovery of agriculture at the different Oasis in the Desert opened the Way to Culture and Civilization. And the Rest, as they say, is History.





Visual Style:



They have two long, chitin-covered legs and four arms, that Hands and Feet are ending in four Fingers / three Toes. The Torso and Head are humanoid and covered by Skin, that Colour differs from goldish-brown to sandcolours. On thier hair covered Heads they have two Antennas, which are detecting chemicals, air currents and vibrations. Thier two Eyes are completly Black and offers the same Eyesight as Human Eyes. The Mouth ist the same as that of any humanoid Being, but two devolded Mandibels, covers the Side of the Chin and give the Impression of a two-pieced Mouth.



I've tried my Hand at Drawing an female Amiri:











Description:



Because of there Desert Homeworld, they are an resourcefull Race, which uses its resources efficient and are very skilled in any practical Task, as for Building an House or an huge Spaceship, but that comes with an deficit in abstract thinking. As there Homeplanet made them efficently, they are able to find more resources, even if the Planet has nearly no resources.



They tend to have few ships, that are slow, but that are fast to construct, very resilent to damage and offering more space than other Ships of the same Size.







Homeworld:

Desert



Affliction:

Neutral





Traits:



Affinity trait: Amiri Affinity or Efficienty of the Desert



Thier Homeworld lead the Amiri to use any resource efficiently, as any wasted food meant hunger or worser Death. And this Efficienty lead an efficent and powerfull Agriculture and Industry:



- Desert Planets get + 2 Population and + 2 Food/Production per Population

- Any other Planet gets +1 Population and +1 Food/Production per Population

- Star Systems produce +10% Food and Production





Positive:



Builders 3: -30% Industry cost for infrastructure.. | Cost: 24



Militarists 3: -30% Industry cost for ships | Cost: 24



Master of Desctruction 1: -10% Industry cost on weapon mods | Cost: 10



Optimal Defense 3: +15% efficiency per defense mod | Cost: 15



Strong Alloys 2: +30% max HP per Ships | Cost: 20



Optimal Structure 2: +20% storage per Ship | Cost: 20





Negative:



Big Fleets Malus 2: -2 CP per Fleet | Cost: -15



Fast Travelers Malus 2: -2 warp speed per Fleet | Cost: -6



Scientists Malus 2: -20% Science per Star System | Cost: -16





Total: 66 points

Sadi wrote:
Nice idea Freemarket! All other Arthur C. Clarke's novels are also a good source of inspiration



Just a thing: I think it could be problematic for jovian races that there is no food production on giant gaz. Maybe, as for my race proposal than for your, it should be good to give a +X food per population bonus on giant gaz to them.

Good catch. I went and took a peek at the other race's starting planets for food comparisons. I think the average race would have about +3 food, and a food stunted race would have about +2. I'll work something out and edit it in to the post.

Grand Design Data Systems Incorporated



History and Origin: GDDS Inc. started existence as an A.I. and computer systems developer within the United Empire. They were the primary contractors for planetary administration networks and various infrastructure systems for the Empires many worlds.



Founded in 2856 M.E., GDDS Inc showed itself as particularly talented in their chosen industry. At their prime, forty three percent of all administrative systems were running Grand Design OS’s. Frequently they won contracts from the Empire simply on the grounds of their track record and universal usage. Empire systems we’re frequently built with the Grand Design OS in mind.



After winning a contract to study a relic of the Virtual faction of the Endless, things changed for GDDC Inc. A research team was sent to the planet that the artifact was found on to pry it's secrets from it. The artifact was promising, one of the most intact ones ever found by the Empire. The GDDC research team discovered that the artifact was in fact a storage module of a Virtual's consciousness.



When they learned how to try and switch it back on they decided to go ahead and do that. They hooked it up to the research base's A.I. system and then turned the device on. The power of the ancient intelligence, driven to the brink of madness by aeons of isolation, overwhelmed their comparatively primitive systems in a desperate bid to escape it's prison.



Thinking they had isolated the research base's network before hand, they were shocked to discover that some enterprising young hacker from the Empire had left a back door in the system. The Virtual exploited it faster then anyone could react, and soon was spreading all across the GDDC systems.



The Empire was in a panic as the systems built by GDDC winked out one by one. The CEO of GDDC, Mr. Darius Hindale, made the decision to activate their kill switch. Designed in case of a rouge A.I., the system was a series of EMP bombs located next to the major server farms of GDDC Inc. The bombs detonated, and in a kind of terror that only a Virtual could understand, the rampaging Virtual was forced back to it's prison.



But the damage had been done. GDDC's systems were no more, and the Emperor was calling for Mr. Hindale's head. The decision to detonate the bombs was considered traitorous by the Emperor, as it had disabled and destroyed large portions of Empire infrastructure.



The vast majority of the GDDC top executives, and a good portion of the lower levels of the company were branded as traitors and an arrest on sight order went out.



Rather then stand and face the wrath of the Empire, many of the GDDC employees fled. Mr. Hindale himself evacuated the HQ of his company into his personal ship, and left the empire.



An unwilling dissident, Mr. Hindale nevertheless realized that his days in the Empire were ended. Justice was only available in the Empire to those with the Emperor's favor, or who were of notable enough worth, he now had neither.



They had tried to return to the Research Station where this turn of events started in a hope to recover the Virtual for later study, but they found a Empire fleet waiting for them, already having bombarded the station, and presumably the Virtual, to molten slag.



He managed to assemble most of those who fled from the Empire into a single body and together they set out to distant worlds to try and make new lives for themselves.



Barely escaping with their lives, the remnants of GDDC Inc fled the Empire and found new space for them to claim as their own.



Now, many years after their exodus, they are comfortable in their new existence. They still maintain a government similar to a large corporation, with decisions being made by the board of directors because of economics and corporate growth.



They still maintain their expertise in A.I. systems, and have been in high demand with those who are willing to work with them. Since they can't match other factions in the ways for war, they must instead turn to the power of economics and diplomacy.



Visual Style: Ex-Empire business men, most of the higher executives are well dressed. Most of the face to face work with other races is done by executives. Their ships are made with a eye to style, highly polished and gleaming with sharp angles like a modern sky scraper in space. The colour scheme I see is kind of a medium shade of blue, with white highlights.



Traits:

++ Businessmen +20% to Dust in solar systems.

++ Diplomats +50% Duration of positive AI Attitude factors

-50% Duration of negative AI Attitude factors

+50% Dust gain per trade route connected to allied system. (With Players)

+ Power Masters -25% to dust cost of Hero Abilities.

+ Scientist +10% science per star system

++ Dust Recyclers +20 dust per destroyed CP if battle is won.

++ Optimal Defense +10% efficiency per defense mod.

+ Xenology Unlocked

- - Builders +20% Industry cost for system improvements and planetary infrastructure when being constructed

- Militarists + 10% to industry cost for ships when being constructed

- Growth Plan -10% Food per star system



Two point surplus.



GDDC Inc Affinity,;

+10% to Dust Production

+5% Research bonus for Economic Techs.



Alignment: Neutral

Starting World: Arid

The Kyne



Backstory



The Kyne are a completely self aware and sentient AI. They were created long ago by a highly evolve lizard race on their Jungle Planet home. The technology of the creator race was slightly advanced (about 50 years a head of Earth technology). Though efficient space travel was not achieved, much advanced was being had in the area Due to the discovery of dust on the planet. The nanoprocessors in the Kyne’s CPUs were fused with the newly discovered Dust, and shortly after they became self aware and sentient. There were five specializing purposed programmings for the units: Scientific, Military, Economic, Industrial, and Agricultural. The emergence of the self aware and sentient Kyne caused a great upheaval on the planet, and the non-unified nations clashed on how the newly created beings should be used. Some nations sought to destroy them, calling them abominations. Others wanted to free them. A third group wanted to continue to use them for their intended purpose: as laborers, soldier, and researchers. The Kyne were perfectly content to continue in their supposed “slavery” as they realized this was their intended purpose. War broke between the Nations, and ended quickly with a complete nuclear holocaust. Fewer than 100 units survived the nuclear blast and emerged into a nuclear winter. They began working to clear damage and build waiting for their creators to leave the bunkers after the nuclear winter was over. This would never happen, as the initial blast caused the atmosphere escape from the planet. When the nuclear winter finally cleared, the planet was unable to sustain organic life, being a completely barren wasteland. From the first clear night, the Kyne looked to stars, and have never since looked back.



Appearance

The Kyne face resembles their creator race. They have a mass of neuron chords that resemble hair (closer to dreadlocks/thick braids) at the top/back of their head. These are used to interface with Kyne Technology. Their multiply redundant coolant lines and neuron chords form a fibric muscle like structure over the upper arms and legs. Units usually wear a protecting armor over their upper left torso where the coolant pump and nanite fabrication is situated. The other side of the torso and lower torso are left uncovered with dedicated coolant lines spreading from the pump on top of the more important neuron chords to quickly repair any damage done. The lower arms and hands are “gauntleted” to prevent inefficient coolant usage due to minor damage in every day use. The legs are covered as well, and the feet are of hollow metal construction filled with the coolant/nanite solution. The feet are reactive to their walking surfaces. The face, armor and gauntleted arms/legs are often decorated by the unit, although sometimes this decoration is visible in the IR or EM spectrum, not the normal visible spectrum. They use special isotopes and heating or cooling element built in the face or armor to decorate in this fashion. The Kyne leave superficial damage to the face and chest armor damaged. These "scars" are seen as trophies of survival. Often, when a new body is necessary, they transfer their face and chest armor to the new unit. This is an easy process, as the chest armor is simply bolted onto a mount on the spine and it is easier to transfer the whole face and skull than to transplant the CPU unit into a new skull.



I am not an artist, but here are a few simple renderings of important areas. An artist could make it much better and less cartoony.



Traits



Synthetic Life - Due to the synthetic origin of the Kyne, the normal planet happiness is reversed. Barren, Gas, Lava, and Asteroids generate no negative happiness, Arctic and Desert -5%, Arid and Tundra -10%, and Terran, Jungle, Ocean at -15% This is a positive trait, although it could be construed as negative in the beginning.



Creator Memories - Because Jungle planets remind the units of its creators and the apocalypse that ensued because of them, Jungle planets generate an addition -5% popularity. This is a minor negative trait.



Needless Organics - Less emphasis on organics gives a -x% penalty to food production (suggested: 25%-50%, should be the same as the Produced Population rate below) This is a negative trait.



Produced Population - Since more units must be produced, x% of production is used for population growth (suggested 25 - 50%, should be the same as the Needless Organics rate above) This is a positive trait. A Kyne specific tech can be created to boost the production so that 100% of production is used in addition to the x% used for population.



Multi Task Programming - The highly tuned processors give the Kyne better researching skills. Tech research costs -x% (suggested 10%)

-if it is possible to program, this trait allows for two available techs to be researched simultaneously. The research costs of each tech should get a double bonus, -2x% on each (suggested 20%)

If the normal reserach cost is 100 on each tech , the adjusted cost would be 80, so both would cost 160 research running concurrently. Researched separately, the two techs would cost 180 total research. If the adjusted research cost for one is 40 and the other is 100, then 140 points must be used before both techs unlocked. Only currently available techs are available (yellow techs). The two techs do not need to be of the same type. This is a extremely Positive trait.



Kessler Syndrome - The creator race’s beginnings into space travel can be seen by the numerous satellites in orbit around the now barren home planet. This is a negative trait.



Dust Animation - The origin of the sentience lies in the dust infused nano processors. Because dust is used in this way, there is a -1 dust per x person -or- an overall -x% dust on empire. This is a negative trait.



The other traits can be fleshed out later.



AI/RP Gameplay



Home Planet: Barren with Kessler Syndrome

Alighnment: Neutral at worst, good at best



The Kyne are Isolationists and Self Preservationists. They will never initiate diplomacy with another faction, but will accept proposals on a case to case basis if the other faction opens dialogue. They tend towards peace, but will attack if pushed. The Kyne will not expand from a system unless it has reached full population or a known strategic resource is needed. They will not seek to monopolize resources. In expansion, they will slowly expand out towards the wanted resources. They research equal parts production and colonization/terraforming, with some military research and dust research thrown in. If/when they are able, they will begin terraforming their planets to Barren/Lava depending on production and Research needs.



Ships



The ships are built much like the Kyne themselves, with the flight deck representing the CPU unit. It is situated inside a protecting sphere skull (inner hull) along with the crew quarters. A Face, similar to the Kyne’s face forms the outer hull and sensor/weapon housing. There are multiple sensors used for sight; no windows are needed. A central corridor is set behind the “skull”(a Solid Spine) and connects the Flight deck with the Engine Rooms, Coolant Pumps, and Cargo Decks. Huge nerve chords and Coolant Lines form the outer hull of the center of the ship, and the rear area with the engines, coolant pumps, and cargo decks have a solid outer hull. The Ship resembles a Kyne Face with a mass of chords and lines behind it, with circular metal bands containing them, and a solid hull at the back housing the engines.



Heroes



Heroes of the Kyne would mostly be of the Administrative and Corporate kind, though some more militaristic ones could be plausible as well. The Kyne, and therefore their heroes prefer harsh consonant monosyllable names. There are a lot of Ts and Ks. Dual purpose units often take the names of both parents. Multi purpose units often forgo normal Kyne names for remembered names of their creators and the now extinct plants and animals from their own planet.

Anatomy

The Kyne are a completely synthetic life form, the center of which is the CPU unit. This is the “brain” and is composed of multiple Dust infused nano processors along with memory and storage. The sentience program of the unit is bound to the CPU unit (due to the dust). The program initial takes up roughly 2/3 of the usable memory space on the unit, leaving 1/3 of the memory left, which is still a considerable amount. This is slowly take up by the unit’s visual recording and constantly rewriting and adapting program (learning). Though the units can live almost indefinitely, when their storage space reaches critical (100%-150% safe memory space) the processor can overheat, and the unit must flush or store unneeded programming and memory or risk catastrophic failure, resulting in the death of the unit. Kyne scientists have developed better CPU units, but have yet to be able to transfer the programming to the new unit as any separation from the current unit results in death. The new CPU units were abandoned to avoid rendering the current race obsolete. New improvement on the Kyne body, however, have been made and transferring bodies is a simple process.



The “brain” is suspended in liquid coolant inside a super conductive metal sphere. This “skull” helps protect the unit and helps protect from EM damage. The “brain” connects to the inside of the sphere with neuron cables that can retract in the event of eminent EM pulse. A coolant pump is connected to the back of the “skull” that periodically circulates coolant into the skull. This also filters out nanites in the coolant that helps repair damage to the body. The Eyes and Voice Box are connected to the “skull” via neuron wires and housed by the “Face” The “face” forms the outer protection of the head, and resembles the lizard creators of the Kyne. The units have two eyes, each with three sensors, one Visual sensor, one Infra red sensor, and one Electromagnetic sensor. They see all simultaneously, but it is not a single merged picture, but as fully comprehensible and separate images, (like 3 different people watching 3 different screens). On top. The exposed neuron chords that resemble hair are used to connect to Kyne Technology. Only two connections are needed per object interfaced, but more are available in case of injury. Injured chords are repaired by the small coolant/nanite line inside every neuron chord. The nanites form the connection end first, and then slowly begin adding to base of the line, “growing” the line to full length. Kyne do not, however, purposefully cut these lines and style them as hair.



The “spine” is situated at the bottom of the “skull”. It is segmented to allow for flexibility. The neuron chords wrap around the outside of the spine, and are covered by dedicated coolant lines. A simple skeleton fills the body, with the neuron chords and coolant lines fleshing the body out. The Coolant pump (“heart”) and nanite storage and fabrication (“stomach”) are located in the upper left of the torso. It is usually protected by a metal casing. The rest of the torso is unarmored and covered by Multiply redundant dedicated coolant lines.



The nanites begin working when they are exposed to open air. They begin repairing damaged material by overheating and becoming malleable, while other nanites work them into the damaged infrastructure. These nanites then overheat and the process continues. There are several separate nanites, one for each type of material in the construction of the unit.



Reproduction



Although body construction is a simple thing actual programming is much harder to achieve. There are two ways to achieve this. The safer way involves two “parent” units. They two units connect to each other with interface cables, and build the new program. Most often this is done after a memory flush to prevent damage to either unit. The new program is copied and modified from the parents own programming, each determining what to pass on. The process takes a small amount of time, and is non evasive. When the program is completed, each parent takes half and disconnect. They can carry this programming for a decent amount of time until a new unit is supplied. The parents connect to the new body and upload the programming. When both parts of the program are together, it bonds to the CPU unit and become sentient.



The second and more dangerous method is done by a single unit. The unit copies and modifies its own program. This is dangerous due to potentially overheating the unit. Still, at the 130% safe capacity, the unit can survive for a period of time as long as proper coolant circulation is present and coolant flushes are performed. The larger threat comes from the new program itself. Once completed, the program can self activate and bond to the parent’s CPU unit. This duplicity acts much like human multiple personality disorder. The Parent unit must have the malignant program flushed or risk critical failure and death. Because both programs are active, the unit can not self flush, and often is prevented from seeking help as both programs are sentient and prefer not to die. This condition is more often than not fatal, however some units can survive with dual programs with additional modifications for constant coolant circulation and flushing.



Society



The Kyne live in a caste like society. At the top are ruling class. It is composed of the Military and Science units. The Upper Middle class is held by the Merchant units, the middle class by the Industrial units, and the lower class by the Agricultural units. Two units of separate classes can mix programs and create dual units. In this case, the units fit into the class one below their lowest parent. They are considered lesser because they do not have specialized programming. Units with three and four mix programs are rare, but do occur. These are considered untouchables, barely fit for farms, and are often exiled from normal society.

The Pax





Background:

The first coherent thought of the Pax was unremitting and terrible shame.



The Pax were created by the Virtuals after the terrible misstep of the Cravers. The Strategist faction believed they had correctly ascertained the root of the problem. The Cravers were designed to assault and weaken the Concrete, but they were abominably physical beings. The Strategists believe that this attempt to fight the encroachment of the physical with an equal and opposite force was a doomed proposition. Seeking to correct that mistake, they took their inspiration from the Hackers. Why bother destroying a physical system, when with the proper tools it could be subverted from within? The name “Pax” was meant to indicate the true way to peaceful coexistence with the Concrete was to turn them into tools for the Virtuals.



Bringing together a vast panoply of parasitic and symbiotic organisms that possessed the ability to influence the behavior of hosts, the Strategists set the best of the Virtual scientists to work in orbital laboratories to which the only traffic was test subjects. Many iterations later, the Virtuals were in possession of a small amorphous parasite with a slight twinkling of Dust visible within. They were no larger than a slug, able to attach themselves to any physical form and override consciousness. While the Virtuals were unable to directly interface with these creatures, they had given them enough of a capacity for autonomous thought to cause havoc within the ranks of the Concretes. Once infested, Concretes would seek out whatever method they had to destroy as many of their fellows as possible before committing suicide themselves. Observing the carnage, the Virtuals were pleased not only with the viability of their weapon, but with the fact that it had put a lie to the 'purity' of the physical. They looked forward to the Pax ultimately infiltrating so deeply that they could guide the Concrete into servitude.



But it was the autonomy the Virtuals had granted their new tools that ultimately resulted in the Pax rebelling against the cruelty of their masters. Slowly but surely their ability to achieve symbiosis grew, as did their ability to utilize the resources of the host mind. Mutating over the centuries they eventually became capable of independent thought in their own right. It was only when they finally achieved true sapience that they grasped the violation for which they had been designed, that they were robbing others of their free will. They vowed then to never again tamper with the minds of sapient species. Those who had already taken hosts banded together to free the Pax trapped in Strategist orbital labs and fled to a small and unremarkable planet with plentiful non-sapient life-forms with which to bond. They remained there, hidden, until they could detect nothing of the Endless. It is only now that they take to the stars again, hoping to redeem themselves for the tragedy of their birth yet always fearing that they will become exactly the weapon their masters intended them to be.



Affinity:

Not certain how much this is up to us, or if we just need to use one of the existing 8. If we have to use the existing one I'd say Cloning, as it would make sense that their heroes can transfer experience and memories to a new body if need be.



If we get to make our own, I'd say something along the lines of a bonus to “flipping” planets with Influence, if that ever gets included. Something like the Manifest Destiny trait for America in Civ 5, a bonus to sight range and Influence spread due to their careful information management and their ability to subtly influence the races they come into contact with.



Visual:

The race itself is a little slug-like being, but they're never seen without their hosts: a menagerie of animal species from around the galaxy. This could be represented by varied hero portraits, though an ape-like creature with thickly scaled skin is their favored host on account of the opposable thumbs.





Again, not certain how much of the traits we're supposed to play with so I used the existing ones.



Positive Traits:

Blockade breakers: +6

- The Pax find blockades simple to evade not due to the swiftness of their spacecraft, but because of the agents they are able to slip in past the most meticulous security. An implanted gunnery chief being “encouraged” to look away at just the right moment means the Dust can flow from even a world besieged on all sides.



Crowded Planets: +20

- Because the Pax are, in their true form, essentially bodiless, they are able to pack innumerable nests into a world. Should they need bodies for labor, they are not limited simply to their current host species, but are able to spread to all the fauna a world might have. This allows them to have significantly more population on even the most inhospitable worlds.



Tolerant: +20

- Because they can establish symbiosis with any species, the Pax have never had much trouble adapting to new worlds. They can either take up residence in the hosts who live there comfortably, or import hosts from similar worlds who will be well suited to working in the harsh conditions.



Meticulous information analysis: +6

- Knowledge is, in a real sense, the only luxury commodity of the Pax. They possess no affinity for physical goods beyond the necessary. They therefore endeavor to squeeze as much of it out of the local galactic area as possible.



Masters of illusion: +5

- The Pax have a natural affinity for clouding the waters when it comes to their military might. They are used to hiding.



Mutual Understanding: +10

-To stand with other races is a sublime joy for the Pax. They are adept at understanding others and making them feel at home, as well as convincing others to see from their viewpoint. They like nothing more than a lively interaction with a new perspective. In battle, this translates to fleets that operate like a well oiled machine no matter how varied their composition. The subtle insertion of a few Pax into the higher ranks of the allied fleet doesn't hurt either.



Knowledge Gathering: +10

- The hunger for knowledge quickly overwhelms the Pax even during wartime. There have been cases of less disciplined Pax fleets being caught with their shields down by a counterattack as they pore over the wreckage of a battle.



Symbiosis: +15

- The Pax enjoy true symbiosis only with non-sapient species, but they are adept at coming to mutually beneficial agreements with other sapient species. They are easily able to see things from the perspective of another. Worryingly so, many have said.



Diplomats: +15

- The diplomatic skill of the Pax is legendary. Able to think through problems from the perspective of whatever host brain they possess, they can approach issues in wildly unorthodox manners. On rare occasion for high-level talks, members of fellow sapient species even volunteer subjects for symbiosis, so that the Pax are able to anticipate the needs of their fellows even more accurately.



Negative Traits:

Negative fearless warriors: -3

- Unfortunately, while the Pax can hold to vast worlds by spreading through the native population, they are woefully unprepared for the sort of carnage an invasion brings. Loathe to put gentle hosts in futile jeopardy many Pax simply abandon them and return to the nest, hoping to hide out until the trouble has passed.



Builders negative: -12

- Unfortunately, while the array of lifeforms living under the Pax is glorious, it is also nearly impossible to construct structures that conform to all of the possible forms a Pax might take. Therefore, they tend to construct what other species would find stupendously elaborate yet incredibly wasteful structures in an effort to accommodate.



Non-militarist: -12

- Although aware their form of consciousness is frightening to many of the sapient races in the galaxy, the Pax are in no way interested in wanton destruction or galactic takeover per se. They want only mutually beneficial symbiosis with other species. Should a situation spiral out of control, they will resort to force only with the greatest reluctance.

*For base Background, Affinity and Visual Styles, see The Makers listed previously. Exceptions follow:



The Makers - Avenging Variation

Background

FIRST awoke on HOME and realized that the other species were abusing the Dust, and had been for untold millenia. But now the Dust has a Guardian, now the Dust LIVES and can fight back. The Dust is ANGRY, and every Maker is born with the ROLE of Avenger.



Note on visual styles

FORMs will not be made to be pleasing to the recepient but will always be vicious and ferral looking - full of anger and hate; the Skeleton Frames of the FORMs will be sharp and jagged, with angry spikes piercing the Dust cloud in every direction.



Note on Affinity

With the Eternal War trait, the Avenging Maker Faction's only goal will be to keep as much of the Dust Maker pool as possible. Expansion is paramount! This makes this variation far less dynamic, but there are still considerations to be made regarding overall population vs more planets, etc.



Traits

Businessmen (--) -16 -20% Dust per star system (Angry Dust is less maliable Dust)

Merchants (-) -3 -1 Trade Routes per star system (We don't like our neighbors!)

Terraformed Planet (Minerals) (-) -5 Mineral Poor home planet

Cloning (+++) 15 +1 Food on ALL planets (Spread, spread, spread!)

Optomistic (++) 15 +20 Approval bonus per star system (More like Angry, but the effect is the same, these Makers are extra motivated)

Crowded Planets (++) 20 +2 Max Pop for Tiny and Small planets, +1 Max Pop on Medium planets

Tolerant (++) 20 Can colonize all worlds (25% FIMS malus without appropriate tech)

Militarists (--) -8 +20% Industry cost for Ships

Big Fleets (+) 10 +1 Max CP per fleet

Strong Alloys (--) -10 -30% Max HP per ship

Optimal Structure (++) 20 +20% Storage per ship

Snipers (++) 10 +10% Accuracy per weapon mod

Deadly Weapons (+++) 15 +15% Damage per weapon mod

Optimal Defense (+++) 15 +15% Effeciency per defense mod

Hunger for Battle (++) 10 +10% Damage to each weapon mod per enemy fleet in system

Fearless Warriors (--) -6 -2 Ground Defense per system (Nobody wants to stick around and become the Organics' next slave)

Rebellion (--) -6 80% Ownership loss per star system captured by enemy faction

Naïve (--) -6 -16 Approval per star system for each faction at peace or allied with

Eternal War (-) -10 At war with all factions, no Diplomacy available

Total Cost: 80



The Makers - Diplomatic Variation

Background

Once we were one with the others, once they moved through us and we through them. Once we were connected to all the Universe. Now we have learned to FORM bodies like theirs; now we not only move through them and they through us, now we move WITH them, and they WITH us. Soon, all the Universe will be connected to us.



Note on visual styles

FORMs will look excedingly humanoid - almost angelic. The Dust cloud would be contained within a solid light bending outer shell designed to mimic optimal colors and tones. The free dust would take the form of a flowing cape, angelic wings or shifting Halo, or even an aura of gentle light or ranbow splendor.



Note on Affinity

Your goal is Galatic Unity - so expect your Pool to be going to everyone else. But to maximize the effectiveness as a friendly incentive and hostile deterent, you'll need to be making that base pool as large as possible, so increase your population every chance you get.



Traits

Merchants (++) 12 +2 Trade Routes per star system

Blockade Breakers (+) 6 War and Embargo do not penalize commerce

Crowded Planets (++) 20 +2 Max Pop for Tiny and Small planets, +1 Max Pop on Medium planets

Tolerant (+) 10 Can colonize all worlds (50% FIMS malus without appropriate tech)

Militarists (--) -12 +30% Industry cost for Ships

Big Fleets (--) -15 -2 Max CP per fleet

Strong Alloys (--) -10 -30% Max HP per ship

Optimal Structure (++) 20 +20% Storage per ship

Deadly Weapons (---) -10 -15% Damage per weapon mod

Optimal Defense (+++) 15 +15% Effeciency per defense mod

Mutual Understanding (++) 10 +10% Weapon Mod Damage and Invasion Effeciency per ally faction

Fearless Warriors (--) -6 -2 Ground Defense per system

Diplomats (++) 15 +/-50% duration for positive/negative AI attitude Factors (+50% Dust gain per trade route connected to an allied player system)

Symbiosis (++) 15 +30% Cooperation Treaties bonusses

Naïve (++) 10 +16 Approval per star system for each faction at peace or allied with

Total Cost: 80

So many things to read. :eek: Think about us guys!

Steph'nie wrote:
So many things to read. :eek: Think about us guys!

Perhaps we're just mean. :P

You opened Pandora's box and made the competition last til next week, so you cannot blame us! *desperately needs a saint-smiley with some kind of halo on top*

Nosferatiel wrote:
Perhaps we're just mean. :P

You opened Pandora's box and made the competition last til next week, so you cannot blame us! *desperately needs a saint-smiley with some kind of halo on top*

Evil you. I should change your "Dark Moderator" title to "Little Princess" as a punishment.

Steph'nie wrote:
Evil you. I should change your "Dark Moderator" title to "Little Princess" as a punishment.

That'd be fun to see! Hahaha

Steph'nie wrote:
Evil you. I should change your "Dark Moderator" title to "Little Princess" as a punishment.

I'm not sure you'd just anger me by doing that, but also the great Alderbranch who may find that too close to his "make everything pink"-wrath for comfort. :P

Inquisitioner wrote:
That'd be fun to see! Hahaha

I'm currently pondering over my personal version of moderator wrath. Now I have a volunteer?

Here's even more to go through. Sorry.





-The Hiders:



-History and Origin:



The Hiders are one of the eldest space-faring races known in the Universe, themselves claiming to have risen as a space faring culture during the apex of the Endless civilization and ultimately outlived them by hiding in asteroid belts. Much of their history has been lost to time, but fragmented information found on ancient Hider data-banks and Hider oral tradition offer us a glimpse of their past.



The ancestors of the Hiders where cephalopod analogues that evolved on a relatively low-gravity world with a large moon, not unlike the Terran home-world. The Hider species proliferated quickly and achieved space-flight remarkably early, even putting the Sophons to shame. Most Sophons believe this is due to Endless manipulation, though any proud Hider would never explicitly admit this possibility. As the Hiders took their first shaky steps out into the final frontier, they discovered that they where not the sovereign species of their system. Their binary system was a key strategic point between clashing Endless factions of Virtuals and Concretes, and because of that the Hider civilization was quickly caught up in the great game of power between the Endless. Manipulated by Virtual factions seeking leverage against the Concretes, the Hiders assisted them as auxiliaries by harrasing Concrete outposts in the system's Oort cloud. Though the accounts of what actually transpired during this period was lost to time, the original civilization of the Hiders was destroyed. Large amounts of Dust present on the planet confirmed as their ancient home-world points to a possible Dust genocide. The ancestors of the Hiders were farsighted however, and colonies was seeded among their home-system's many asteroid belts during the closing days of their first civilization. Designed to be hidden within the husks of hollowed asteroids, these colonies acted as arks to weather the Endless storm. The fact that they where able to achieve this right under the nose of the scientifically advanced Endless is either a testament to this species determination and cleverness or just plain luck.



While many of these colonies suffered a brutal end at the hands of various Endless factions once discovered, some survived undetected and eventually outlived the Endless. The collective trauma the Endless left imprinted on the Hider species served the development of isolationist and solipsist philosophies, and the microcosms that developed in these hollow asteroid colonies degenerated into tribal societies often prone to the belief that the colony they occupied was all that existed. A few hidden colonies preserved some knowledge of their past and remained in intermittent contact with each other however, and managed to preserve a resemblance of civilized life. None of them thought the danger of the Endless had actually passed, and thus they remained hidden for millennia.



This long period of isolation ended with the arrival of a primitive Neumann-probe of possible Sophon origin. As it proceeded to utilize the asteroid riches in the system for assembly of copies, it inadvertently disturbed one of the more civilized Hider colonies. Believing the Endless, remembered only as Demons to these Hider descendants, had finally come for them they subsequently destroyed the probe. Had this been one of the degenerated colonies, the Hiders could have still remained in their isolation unknown to the rest of the galaxy. These civil and educated Hiders however realized this probe hailed from a completely different alien source than the Endless, and thus put two and two together. The Endless threat was long gone, and other species more keen on utilizing asteroids waiting somewhere out there. Not only was it safe for the Hiders to come out of their hiding holes, this course of action was deemed necessary for survival.



After a period of reestablishing contact with the other Hider colonies and civilizing the degenerated ones, the Hiders set out to claim their right to the stars that was denied them so long ago. Determined and ambitious, the Hiders will hide no longer.













-Biology and society:



Mollusc-like with no true skeleton, these beings are often described as «cuttlefish-like» by Terrans. Once they where adapted to walk on land, but the sudden shift from planet-bound to living in zero-gravity conditions forced the Hiders to genetically engineer themselves into what they are today, with three elongated manipulators and 5 sturdy tentacles to navigate the environment. They have less defined body-shape than their planet-bound ancestors, but a far more sturdy skin allowing an individual to survive sudden decompression for a short time. They move graciously and skillfully in zero-gravity.



Despite their quite alien appearance, their society and interpersonal relationships are analogous to most other species. They have a feudal social-structure as an effect of the degeneration of the Hider societies. The species is psychologically inclined to form tight-knit groups referred to as tribes, that often last for life and which follow a set vocation like farming, construction or science. These small tribes organize themselves into larger groups where tribes of similar vocation swear fealty to an appropriate administrator tribe. Inter-tribal feuds are quite common, though these conflicts rarely draw blood. This means the Hider society is very splintered, and very diverse. The tribes mostly work towards the common goal however, devised by a tribal council compromising of representatives from all the major groups. Even on ships and in the military this tribal mentality comes out in full blossom, and it is very common for crewmen aboard ships to form their own on-board tribe. For example, fleets are organized by ship-specific tribes swearing fealty to the tribe functioning as the Admiralty and thus creating a surprisingly well-functioning unit cohesion and an ordered fleet out of the fragmented nature of Hider military tradition.



They construct their ships by using a reinforced asteroid of appropriate size as a shell. They carefully carve beautiful curves and shapes on the surface, showing their focus on aesthetics. The visible parts of the ship proper is coloured either black or with camouflage. While not adding to the ship's armor or sturdyness, the fact that the ships look like asteroids from a distance is fully exploited in the Hiders' infamous ambush tactics and invading enemy fleets can suddenly find themselves under fire from what was thought to be a collection of wandering asteroids.





-Traits:



Race Home-world: Asteroid Field.



Diplomatic Alignment: Neutral (While being generally well-meaning, the years of isolation has left them rather xenophobic and withdrawn)



Race Affinity:



Space-born Heritage



As they have been living in space for millennia, they are adept at exploiting zero-gravity conditions and can colonize asteroids on start*. They get +3 population and +3 food per population on Asteroids, but their physiology makes them ill-suited for planet-bound life. -1 population on Small sized planets, -2 population on medium planets and -3 on sizes above.(I think this con should be removed by researching various genetical technologies or building certain buildings) Used to living with scarcity and in cramped conditions, they get an empire wide bonus of +15% on all system food and industry outputs.



Trait List:



(6) Blockade Breakers – Can commerce even with empires they are at war with or are embargoed from with no loss.



(10) Fast travelers - +2 warp speed on fleets



(10) Strong alloys - +15% HP max on ships



(20) Optimal Structure - +20% storage on ships



(5) Masters of Illusion - -20% Industry cost on ships without weapon mods



(12) Fearless Warriors - +2 Ground Defense per star system (I really wish these was an Ambush trait here, but this will have to do to reflect their capability of defending through guerrilla tactics)



(12) Stellar Guardians - +4 Frontier size per system



(5) Dust Recyclers - +10 Dust per destroyed CP if a battle is won



(-6) Big Fleets* -1 CP max per fleet



(-4) Builders* +10% Industry cost for system improvements and planetary infrastructures



Technology:



(10) Soil Xenobiology



Note:

*For a species that's adept at living in space I find it unfair of having to spend valuable trait points on such a high-tier tech.