A lot of good stuff here. Good work, everyone!

So, I know the background and visual are lacking(i'm no writer), but the concept is the important part, a fast moving nomadic faction that advances through combat, not independent research and study. Lots of bonuses and weaknesses will force a specific play style, different than most other factions.





Race : Pirate Legions

Background: Every region of space is plagued by pirates, most(even other pirates) don't realize that many of the pirate bands are working together. Pirates come from all over, species is irrelevant, only the desire to live free and claim what you feel is yours. Life in the legion is rough, constantly moving and always ready to attack. Pirates don't have the same infrastructure as most species, while they have small settlements, they don't rely on them. Their primary source of research and dust is claiming it from their foes. Pirates fleets are small and heavily armed, they strike fast and move faster to stay off the radar.



Visual: Modification of AI pirates.



FIDS Strength: Food - Neutral, Industy - Bonus, Dust - Bonus, Science - Penalty



Diplomacy: Eternal war, no diplomacy, but Blockade Breakers allows full trade options(black market).





Affinity: Salvage Experts(Knowledge Gathering: +10 research points added to the current research for each enemy CP destroyed.)

Traits+142)

Strong Alloys (+20)

Militarists (+16)

Deadly Weapons (+15)

Snipers (+15)

Merchants (+12)

Fearless Warriors (+12)

Legendary Warriors (+10)

Dust Recyclers (+10)

Masters of Illusion (+10)

Fast Travelers (+10)

Meticulous Information Analysis (+6)

Blockade Breakers (+6)



Malus-72)

Scientists (-16)

Big Fleets (-15)

Eternal War (-10)

Optimal Defense (-10)

Terraformed Planet (-6)

Rebellion (-6)

Hunger for Battle (-6)

Optimistic (-3)

Total: 70 points

These are actually an adaptation of an eponymous species from one of my novels. They are a bit different from the novel's, but... similar enough. Hope it's up to snuff!



Story



The hardy Edras evolved from a species of anomalous warm-blooded reptiles, one of the few remaining lifeforms on their home planet, Gul, which suffered catastrophic amounts of damage during the Dust Wars. Scraping a living however they could, those reptiles eventually evolved over thousands of years into bipedal, sleek, tail-less creatures capable of rationalization and of crafting and using simple tools. For countless centuries, these humanoids fought long and hard against the harsh environs of their devastated homeland, eventually developing culture and agriculture in the less-afflicted temperate lands of one the smaller of the three continents, Kihar'Makra. The Edras society slowly evolved in technology and knowledge, and eventually acquired the means to safely explore the more deranged areas of the planet, where they discovered many tattered remains of Endless ships and technology.



Though such artifacts of a bloody past impressed them greatly, the Edras were not a people prone to religion and idolatry, and instead of worship, they studied the Endless objects and learned greatly from them. They soon developed into spacefarers, and ones very eager to leave and explore the dark expanses beyond their shattered home world. The Edras expanded swiftly and rapidly, colonizing many worlds and always welcoming the thrill of exploration and hoping to make contact with other species. After some time, they stumbled upon a small planet which harbored a kind of intelligent humanoid - fair-skinned and slender mammals - who possessed culture and civilization and technology, albeit nowhere nearly as advanced. They the Edras named Eltres - 'The Others' - and with them the Edras established contact and mingled, and developed a relation of friendship, for both sides were always eager to give and receive different kinds of knowledge and culture. Some members of this species of friends were even accepted into the fleets of the Edras, and went off with them to see and explore the stars.



Eventually, they would come into contact with one other, quite hostile, advanced species, the Elbrek - 'The Enemies' - with whom they warred long, and to great loss. The tides of their conflict changed, however, as a young female Eltres rose up in great anger and grief to replace the slain Chief of the Edras, Mrith Aitruk, and under her fierce leadership the Edras beat back the Elbrek and, after a long period of intense strife, exterminated them down to the last infant of their last planetary stronghold. As the conflict ended, the young Eltres, exhausted by the war, wished only to resign from her post of command and live in peace, but the Edras insisted, as, despite being of a different species, she was the greatest friend of the Edras, and a leader unlike any other they had ever had. Thus, the young Eltres took unto herself the title of Queen of the Edras, as only one of their kind can take up the title of Chief.



Now, the Edras, under the leadership of the Queen, seek once again to rebuild their peaceful interplanetary nation, though not opposed to using force against any who would dare hinder them in their quest for the stars.



Visual Style



Having evolved from a species of reptiles, the Edras are furless and their skin is soft and moist, varying in shades of green, gray, red and brown. They do, however, lack common reptilian traits. Their heads are elongated in both directions, extending in a 45° angle from the neck. They do not have mouths or visible nostrils on their faces, only a pair eyes, which are entirely colored and without visible pupils.



Their ships are shining silver in color and very sleek, always featuring sharp, pointed tips and elongated hulls. The larger ships also have large wings protruding from their sides, but they are purely aesthetic in nature and function.



Empire Traits and Affinities



Affinity: Indomitable - Though peaceful in nature, the Edras under the Queen will not suffer any foe to dare stand against them. When other factions declare war with them, the Edras gain a 15% damage bonus against the aggressor, for they will fight with endless zeal and furor. This bonus can be active against multiple foes, but will not be accrued if the Edras themselves declare war on another faction. The bonus ends if a ceasefire is declared, or if peace is achieved somehow.



Traits:



Endless Electron Beams: +10% damage per Laser weapon mod (10); +10% accuracy per Laser weapon mod (10)



Peaceful and Benign Nature: +16 Approval per star system for each faction at peace or allied with (10)



Hardy Colonizers: Begin the game with the ability to colonize all planet types, but with a malus in the FIDS production of 50% until the proper technology is researched (10)



Knowledge and Culture Sharing: +30% Cooperation Treaties bonuses (15)



Queen's Zeal: After losing a system: +50% ground defense on all systems for 20 turns, +50% MP on all fleets when invading for 20 turns (10)



Well-intentioned Colonizers: -40% industry cost for ships without weapon mods (10)



Efficient Shielding: Unlocks the eponymous technology (15)



Ruined Home Planet: Guarantee of poor soil on starting planet (-5)



Sleek and Slender Ships: -10% storage per ship (-5)



Total: 80



Diplomatic Alignment: Good



Gameplay: Explore, Colonize



Main Victory Type: Population

The Ardar "Order and Honor"

Origins

The Ardar are a gerontocratic society organized by a council of Asrita, the mature, disciplined and established citizens of the Ardar society. Often said to be living legends, the Asrita often mysteriously exceed the life expectancy of the lower class Ardarians. The Asritian Council established following the aftermath of a total war, with the beginning of the era branded as the "Genesis" in 753 AD. Anarchy took hold of society after the collapse of the last monarchy that held the Ardarian society together and united for centuries. The new age, known as "Genesis" began a series of reforms in administration after the collapse of the old government. With the millennia that followed the Genesis has long then been the subject of grand historical importance to the system of Ardarian social policy and structure of the post-Genesis administration.



The homeworld of the Ardar originate from the planet Kote, or popularly known Haven to its populace. The Ardarian homeworld Kote orbits a yellow main sequence star where the planet is tidally locked to the star. As a result, Kote experiences extremes of temperature each sides of the planet and it renders half the planet inhospitable, as the direct result the Ardar has evolved to be a tough and resilient race but also resourceful and efficient. The Ardarians are terrestrial cold-blooded reptiles able to take advantage of the tidally locked orbit of Kote during their evolution as a space-faring. The early Ardarian society resembled primitive tribalism and extreme subsistence. Originally a race solitary hunters, the Ardar ultimately formed a coalition to combat the biological advances of races on Kote. Through collaboration and cooperation the Ardar advanced and established advanced society.



The Ardar has a firm belief in rational justice and a principle of honor and integrity. The present Ardarian society despises the arbitrary substance in nature and seeks to bring the entire universe under a stable rule. The Ardar are nationalistic, often proud of their past exploits and seeks to better their race as a whole. The subject of order is often a popular subject of interest among the public. The entire society has its absolute conviction in the principle of order that spared the Ardar from the annihilation of society and thus, the future of the Ardar as a whole.



Visual Style

The Ardar are scaled bipedal reptiles, the Ardar would be covered in spines(also known as thorns) and would physically have a frill (think frilled lizard) that distinguishes it from any other race. The body of the Ardar is naturally covered features such as thorns/spines and would be well built and quite tough looking. The looks are generally the same for each member but the older members suited for work in administration should wear a clean and tidy robe while the warriors wear space-agish plate armor with large but not huge shoulder guards with a yellow trim and a robe underneath the armor with the faction logo slapped on almost every spot of armor. The ships they use are pointy and full of curves but has a low profile and are usually bright with a trim on the edges, think of the Paranid capital ships from the X series or cuttlefish as a reference.



Traits



Ardar Affinity: (+50%) Bonus on ground defense and Mp bonus on invading fleets on system capture for 12 turns.



Advantages (+)

Builders - Minus X cost for improvement and planetary infrastructure(-20%) (+16pt)



Growth Plan - Plus X food per solar system(+10%) (+15pt)



Crowded Planets: - Plus X pop on tiny/small planets and plus 1 to medium planets (+1) (10pt)



Optimal Structure - Plus X storage on ships (+20%) (20pt)



Death Before Dishonor - Plus X exp for heroes in battle, heroes leave when retreating (+40%) (10pt)



Rebellion - Plus X ownership gain per system(40%) (+5pt)



Fearless Warriors - Plus X ground defense per system(+1) (+6pt)



Meticulous Information Analysis - Plus X detection radius for fleet (+1) (+3pt)



Total: 85



Flaws(-)



Terraforming: Destructive Settlers - (Starting planet has poor soil) (-5pt)



Total : -5

GRAND TOTAL: 80

After doing my own part in making it take ridiculously long to fully read through this thread by adding the Nexara I finally managed to read the entire thread after a few days with a few hours each.



Since I'm personally and generally missing a little bit of feedback here I'll just give some feedbck of my own, for all factions I feel I have to something about. Also as a motivation for other people to give more feedback.



Rakravaganians: Reading this made me laugh a lot, and that in a positive way, I somewhat like the general idea, even if the species itself isn't my personal type. However I have a hard time finally imagining how exactly they look like, apart from a 1m tall cat with a silky coat, which in my opinion still leaves a lot of details to be imagined.



Eurans: While I wouldn't particularly like playing or encountering a species like that the story was definitely worth reading.



Fal' Hadei: Nice read, though again I have a hard time to imagine how exactly they look.



Fashar Republic: Somewhat interesting, but the story could be more detailed in my opinion.



A’Ten: Interesting idea.



The Dire Initiative: The story is interesting, though it's not a faction I'd personally play. The only downside is that the story somehow doesn't make the faction fit into the start of the game because at least the Cravers and the United Empire would've been large empires already.



Hiders: Interesting origin idea.



Vindicators: God did I laugh when I was reading the last sentence! Also a really nice idea.



The Sisshirz: The endless you're talking about sound like... endless pervs. Anyway that's an interesting faction, didn't even thought about Nagas or Lamias in space.

snikch wrote:
- Tons of legends and superstitions exists about the marks. Like the twisted marks for example. The marks can be of any color, except Purple, it is said that a purple mark is twisted.

Sisshirz believe, for example, if you have a purple mark of "Art", your art will be something like "the art of the torture", or the ability to write the twilight saga... don't take the twisted mark lightly !

Again did I laugh Nice.



The Edras: Sounds interesting, probably a faction I'd play.



I hope there's going to be some more feedback in the future

KNC wrote:
The Edras: Sounds interesting, probably a faction I'd play.

I thank you for your comment/compliment. Sadly, I cannot say anything about the Nexara yet, as I mostly skimmed through this thread for information and examples on how to properly format my entry.



Funny enough, though, now that I re-read my entry on the Edras and read your comment, they more or less describe my exact style of play - though I didn't adapt them into a ES faction with that in mind. Peaceful colonizers who don't hesitate to build up and fight back HARD if threatened. That's pretty much me in a 4x game, in a nutshell.

dbwithlemon wrote:


Race : Pirate Legions

i want to play as the pirates + the ship designs are cool

New Race:

The Observers Guild



Neutral/Good



Lore:

The Observers had one purpose in the Universe, to

witness and catalog every major event that spans

all of space and time. An incorporeal "entity", the

Observers held many advantages to complete their

never ending tasks. Although shrouded in mystery

and history, their corporeal existence is accredited

to the downfall of the Endless themselves, and some

say they may have had a hand in their demise. Their vast knowledge

of the past has driven them to set right all the wrongs of the Universe.



----------------------------------------------------

(not sure if we can make up our own mechanics for this or if we should be using a trait from the traits list but here goes...)



Affinity: Dust Collusion

Expansion reliant on Dust production over food production as The Observers

are not mortally bound to food for their growth but are intrinsically

intertwined with the Endless and thus their Dust.

75% of Dust production goes to Food as well.



Bonus:

Advanced Weaponry due to knowledge of the importance

of firepower.



Advanced production abilities due to witnessing some

of the greatest empires that the Universe and time

have ever made manifest.



Empire Wide happiness bonus due to having an

incorporeal past plus their corporeal existence not

being bound by the same mechanics of other races.



Strong fleets due to their advanced knowledge of

warfare and all the intangibles that go with it.

(maybe a bonus to fleet counts)



Super advanced signaling and detection abilities due

to their observant nature



Bonus to weapons damage



Bonus to Dust production empire wide due to their

connection with the Endless



Malus:

Zealous in their pursuit of correcting the wrongs of the Universe,

the Observers are enraged when a system falls to another race,

and are set in what they believe is right. No others may take this

task with them. They are forever at war with the "ambient"

races of the Universe.



Slow researchers due to many of their current

technologies being taken from non existent

space faring empires and a general disdain for time

consuming projects.



Weak defenders due to physical limitations



Slower to expand/grow due to their former incorporeal existence

-------------------------------------------



As to their aesthetics, I envision something along

the lines of The Watcher from Darksiders, made

corporeal. A pitch black race who are very lithe

and slender as an after effect of their former

incorporeal, shadow like forms. This manifests in

their ship designs as well which lend themselves to

being very fast and armed to the teeth with weaponry





Traits:

Hunger for Battle +5% = 5pts --5

Builders -20% = 16pts --21

Militarists -30% = 16pts --37

Optimistic +10 = 6 --43

Knowledge Gathering +50 = 10 --53

Fast Travelers +2 = 10 --63

Scientists -30% = -24 --39

Big Fleets +2 = 25 --64

Eternal War = -10 --54

Fearless Warriors(weak defenders) -2 = -6 --48

Growth Plan -20% = -16 --32

Meticulous Information Analysis +2 = 6 --38

Deadly Weapons +15% = 15 --53

Buisinessmen +20% = 30 --83

Rebellion -40% = -3 --80

The Constructs.



A race of sentient machines whose exact origins and creators are unknown. The most likely candidate is that during the ‘Dust Wars’ a sect of the Endless known as ‘Concretes’ created a battalion of AI guardians powered by dust. These guardians were constructed in secret and were intended for protection. However the machines were never actually activated, thus it is plausible that the sect of ‘Concretes’ responsible were wiped out before their work was completed.



So there the constructs remained sealed and forgotten, on an unknown world. During the millennia of isolation that followed the dust present within the machines AI began the slow process of evolution, at this point the machines dormant brain developed a form on consciousness. However with the facility in which they were entombed, locked down the AI had no way of escape.



Until a team of ‘Sophon’ scientists located and reactivated the facility. (Not possessing the knowledge of the Endless, as they were drone guardians not databases). Upon their awakening the AI’s panicked reverting to their original core protocols, this resulted in hostility. These machines of war even millennia later were still honed to lethal effect; they cut a swath through the Sophon’s, stealing their vessel in the process.

On board they learned of their creators the Endless and from this point on all information is simply speculation and rumour... did they know the location of Endless cashes? Past 'Virtual' positions?



All the galaxy does know is that the Constructs reappeared with highly unusual and advanced star ships. Laying claim to several hostile and apparently insignificant planets. Since this time despite their initial hostility this AI race has established successful, if only a tad strained diplomatic relations with several of its rival empires including the Sophon’s, who seem to have forgiven the loss of their science team...



A peculiar twist is that the AI’s have been known to refer to themselves as “The Children of the Endless” controversially naming themselves as the spiritual and rightful successors to the Endless Empire. Since this spiritual awakening the Constructs have been involved in several ‘incursions’ in which neighbouring empires have had their boarders breached in various attempts to lay claim or investigate known Endless sites of significance.



Appearance:



The Constructs are 6” tall, metallic blue golems. Their build is chunky and robust designed to house strong personal shielding and armour. Their most distinguishing feature is a splendid orb. This orb houses the AI brain; it is sunk into the body of the Construct. Within the orb the glowing yellow dust can be seen suspended in a silvery liquid. Additionally each construct hovers around a foot off the ground through the use of a strange tripod repulsion device. Whilst not originally constructed for engineering their removable arm system (designed for maintenance and weapon changes) was easily retrofit able with a variety of engineering tools.







Empire Traits:

[TABLE="width:717,align:center"] Current Name

Class Name

Effect



[TD="colspan:2"]Endless Affinity

[/TD] Businessman +20% Dust per



+10% chance of discovering Endless Artefacts +10% effectiveness

30



Tolerance

Non Organic

Can colonise all planets but take 25% FIMS penalty

20

Artefact Analysis

Endless Tech

Start with the Ability to analyse Endless Artefacts

Snipers

AI Assisted Aiming

+15% accuracy

15

Optimum Defence

Stone Golems

+10% Defence

10

Big Fleets

AI Fleet Control

+1 cp

10

Strong alloys

Stone Golems

+15% Ship Hp

10

Growth Plan

Unskilled Farmers

-10% Food production

-8

Power masters

Synthetic Distrust

+25% dust cost

-2

Home planet poor soil

B’

-5



[/TABLE]











Additionally; the Empire has a Larva home world, neutral/good alinment, expand/conquest gameplay style and main victory is achieved through military/wonder.

Story: The RaGerus



This race was evolved from reptiles much like the other races were evolved and developed from different species, allowing them to evolve sentience and create their own culture. Initially to counter the creation of the Cravers, an insectoid based race which generates the logical concept for a predatory species being capable of battling their pre-ordained prey, but was eventually abandoned by the Concretes for a different style of methodical combat. Unbeknownst to the 'Concretes' who didn't destroy their attempted military force, the RaGerus developed as was originally intended and have now created a culture spanning an entire wing of the galaxy. Initially consisting of one solitary body of people which splintered upon the abandonment of the ‘Concretes’, creating faction like tribes, being three separate bodies segmented into the brutes, the snakes and the panaths, that warred for dominance.



After a brief period of centuries they were bound by a shaky piece that eventually created the foundation for the RaGerus empire. This empire revolved around their linking deity called Hakkare, being a winged serpent representing the core beliefs and virtues of the Ragerus.



Slowly spreading out from their home world with the discovery of space flight and inter stellar travel they conquered, bribed and betrayed, coerced or simply eradicated cultures on planets that they deemed desirable for colonization. Growing like a tide that is slowly sweeping through the galaxy in search of their perpetual enemy, either conquering everything that they encounter or brokering some sort of deal with the locals. Now however they are stagnant due to the introduction to multiple civilizations that has sparked a hotbed of debate regarding their future direction.



With the development of their culture and empire paralleling the enormous military strength they had to back it up their presence in the new world order will be one that is very unstable. Being as overly aggressive as they are relationships with other races are stretched at most but the potential for some sort of agreements are possible, however the potential for being backstabbed for any advantage is perpetually in the other races. Driven by the need to destroy the Cravers being imprinted upon their creation they seek them out at any cost and pursue them with a ruthless abandon that often has monumental backlash.



Visual Style:like the classical lizard men from warhammer, http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vhygwcZjnss/SjGnr2t9UpI/AAAAAAAABbo/vNAsUN0n7Ko/Lizardmen.jpg

however more armoured in a higher tech level to parallel their space travels and advanced culture.



Visual Style in words: coming in a variety of sizes due to the multitude of reptiles but here are a small bevy of examples



Ship: Sleek and agile to mimic that of a snake and their reptilian brethren seemingly covered in a scale like pattern design for armour plating. Millions of weapons however remain hidden till needed for attach or defence as per the image of a snakes fangs or claws. Quick and deadly, often from sheathed or hidden locations, for a preferred and certain victory is their ideal tactic.



4-5ft: Being the peasant like workforce of the RaGerus, roughly red in appearance. Subservient and loyal representative of the common day man who struggles with the burdens of basic life.



5-5.5ft: More lithe and sneaky in appearance, the upper caste of the RaGerus who prefer to wear flowing robes with deep cowls, these are representative of the corporate/political and religious sects of the [name]. They are more green for a poisonous resemblance in a metamorphic way regarding their behaviour and mannerisms. They are sly and conniving as you would expect from snakes, stabbing each other in the back for whatever advantage is possible and propelling the RaGerus race forward



6-7ft: The warrior caste of the RaGerus Hulking in at an enormous 7ft they are the might behind the empire, greyish yellow and they are covered in techno appeared armour and bristling with every form of weapon imaginable, brutally aggressive in combat they fight with everything they have until they have destroyed their opposition or are wiped out.





Traits:



Militarists: -30%

Masters of destruction: -50%

Crowded planets: +1

Big fleets: +2

Deadly Weapons +15%

Businessmen -20%

Fast Travelers +2

KNC wrote:
A’Ten: Interesting idea.

I'll take what I can get, thank you

KNC wrote:
After doing my own part in making it take ridiculously long to fully read through this thread by adding the Nexara,

I finally managed to read the entire thread after a few days with a few hours each.



Since I'm personally and generally missing a little bit of feedback here I'll just give some feedbck of my own, for all factions I feel I have to something about. Also as a motivation for other people to give more feedback.



The Sisshirz: The endless you're talking about sound like... endless pervs. Anyway that's an interesting faction, didn't even thought about Nagas or Lamias in space.



I hope there's going to be some more feedback in the future

thanks for the feedback, I must admit that reading all the posts is verrryyyy long... and well.. after having finish it's difficult to remember each ideas ...



I like your Nexaras, the fact they are hunters and peacefully at the same time seems strange to me, but that definitly describe another way of thinking from an alien specie.

hmmm I think you have just a little more described how they take decisions (it looks like the mass effect geth, i love this idea ^^), just on one point : the time it takes to finally take the decision itself. sound like a long time because each one must agree, and each details must be defined.



thanks to reading my post,

yes, the group of endless are a "little" pervs, after all they are Esthete (maybe a little too much but that's the point).

But I think a should describe a little more some interractions between Sisshirz, and i didn't even mention the abductions for the endless pleasures...

The Resetrocons



Commissioned by Horatio himself, the Exploration Data Analyst division of the Horatio Corporation begun a daring new project. Pushing the boundaries of exploration, the visionary scientists designed and built a completely automated system capable of hunting down and surveying distance star systems. Called the Exploratory Data Collection System or EDACOS for short, this complex consortium of android like collectors purposed to gather environmental, biological and mineral data controlled by a central semi-mobile server like hub was a marvel to be revelled. Its mission was to seek out possible inhabitable star systems, as Horatio grew bored of civilization. Corners were cut in the final build however, after all Horatio didn’t build his wealth wildly spending. The system’s surface delivery unit’s shield, were only built for satisfactory expectations on gravity forces relative to terran planets. This is where it all begun.



Days later, the prototype successfully launched. Heading with no bearing, the project looked promising so far. Given the great distance covered, it was years until the division heard anything, but the news was great. EDACOS reported having found a possible suitable planet, and would report back further information upon landing and collecting data. This however, was the last transmission. Due to the lack of suitable shielding and the greater than expected gravity, re-entry turned out to be somewhat shaky, resulting in a hard landing, crashing through the roof of a long abandoned facility of the Virtuals, damaging hardware and corrupting critical systems. EDCOS as we knew it, was no more. Years went by, as the division scientists sat idly by awaiting another transmission, never to arrive. The project was abandoned, deemed a failure. This is where Horatio’s story begun, as is that of EDACOS and the Resetrocons.



With EDACOS’s primary systems down, the androids minimal fail safe systems kicked in, aiming to repair EDACOS. A bountiful yet unknown substance found within the Virtual facility was deemed suitable, this substance now known as Dust. The androids worked tirelessly to repair EDACOS, efficiently rebuilding the damaged hardware in merely hours. With the final piece in place, using power from the closest Virtuals facility terminal, EDACOS rebooted, hard resetting, but not as it were before. EDACOS lost much of its essential mission data, forced to fill the gaps. Over the years, using the hard link, the defective system analysed uncountable amounts of data left by the Virtuals. Combining existing and new data, EDACOS analysed this new found knowledge, comparing it to its original intended mission parameters, and came to an unexpected result. No planetary system was deemed capable of infinitely supporting any biological life forms, without harm to other biological life forms or itself, resulting in inevitable catastrophic failure. The result threw exception errors, causing a crash in runtimes. EDACOS could no longer continue its intended mission without such a paradox. Only one solution could suffice: Condition and control all life for the greater good of all life. So begun the great purge, so begun the war.



Visual style

The Resetrocons would look like Terminator (Terminator films) or Necrons (Warhammer 40k) like androids. Perhaps a little less bulky. EDACOS would most likely look like your Mars Rover type deal. EDACOS effectively controls all androids in a combined system not unlike grid computers. Ships should be Terran like but more basic (androids have no use for aesthetics), more purpose built and minimal. Almost toppled pillar like.



Homeworld

Terran



Play Style

Scientific/Expansionist



Affliction

Neutral (Good/Evil subjective)



Traits

Unique:

Grid Computing +0.25% science per population unit empire wide

Non-Biological - Food is not necessary. Either replaced by something else using the same game system as food, or removed entirely requiring production to support population (as accounting for maintenance)

Standard:

Crowded Planets +2 20 - Not requiring personal space, more population can be harboured.

Tolerant 50% 10 - Androids are far more durable and don’t need air etc.

Scientists +10% 15 - Grid computing allows every Resetrocons to supply additional resource towards computing data.

Meticulous Information Analysis +2 6 - Goes without saying

Stellar Guardians +4 12 - Belief in saving the galaxy from itself.

Snipers +10% 10 - Better targeting systems.

Optimistic +10 6 - Lack of weaknesses like emotion and “spirit”.

Dust Recyclers +10 10 - Due to focus on sustainable ecosystems, dust is recycled.

Eternal War -10 - Programming cannot be reasoned with. Their mission is hard coded.

Heroic Medicine +80% -6 - Lack of experience in biological medicine, hero healing cost increased.

Total = 73

Good to see the people acknowledge some feedback, even a few words are most of the time better than nothing, both ways

snikch wrote:


yes, the group of endless are a "little" pervs, after all they are Esthete (maybe a little too much but that's the point).

But I think a should describe a little more some interractions between Sisshirz, and i didn't even mention the abductions for the endless pleasures...

Why have I already suspected you skipped that part... LoL :rolleyes:

snikch wrote:


thanks for the feedback, I must admit that reading all the posts is verrryyyy long... and well.. after having finish it's difficult to remember each ideas ...



I like your Nexaras, the fact they are hunters and peacefully at the same time seems strange to me, but that definitly describe another way of thinking from an alien specie.

hmmm I think you have just a little more described how they take decisions (it looks like the mass effect geth, i love this idea ^^), just on one point : the time it takes to finally take the decision itself. sound like a long time because each one must agree, and each details must be defined.

Yeah it really is tough to read that much, especially since there are new factions coming up steadily, the stream will probably only stop tomorrow when the competition ends. And this might not be the last competition of that kind, Steph'nie even wrote first in colored and big letters on the front post so maybe but just maybe we get a second competition as well.



As for the Nexara, the long decision taking is something I did on purpose, it's supposed to be one of the downsides of living in anarchy as all government systems have their respective downsides. I made a suggestion thread for government systems because creating this faction made me think about the up- and downsides of different systems.





And some more feedback for a few of the new factions:

The Constructs: Written good there is only one problem I see, a faction with a lore that already includes galactic expansion and relations to other factions doesn't really fit in with the beginning of a game.



The RaGerus: I didn't think I could say that for 2 so different factions, posted directly in a row but; look above for comment/feedback.



The Resetrocons: You are the first one here to really reference the Horatio which is, given how much UE/C/S inspiration there is already in this thread, a strong point.

Also the grid computing idea is actually really cool, but I think you would've to reduce it to maybe 0,25% per population point. Simply because 1 full % per population in the empire is somewhat overpowered.

I agree for the grid. The great scientists Sophons already have +45% and 45 pop is really really easy to have. I don't really know how much would be a good number but the 0,25% looks quite good.



By the way, my story was too long to have feedbacks ?

On my side I didn't read all yet, I was waiting to do mine, the Nahgeen's, so only now I started to read. If I have time I'll post feedbacks too.

Generally, right now, I can say there are a lot of imaginative people. Sure.

Well I think if I would post feedback for all factions in one post, that post would soon became as big as one of the actual factions, so I mainly skipped those for which I didn't immediately managed to come up with something



You have an interesting faction there with a lot of nice details, and the ship design is interesting. Nice job on drawing that or however you did it.

But I would reduce the disapproval from class VI and V planets a little bit, feels like the malus is big enough to render your affinity trait neutral.

KNC wrote:
I think you would've to reduce it to maybe 0,25% per population point. Simply because 1 full % per population in the empire is somewhat overpowered.

I see your point. I must confess I didn't put too much thought into the actual balancing but more so the idea. I figured balancing can be done when actual race is playable/in development, although having actually sat down and remotely done the maths, yes 1% as miniscule as it seems is rather OP in the long run. I'll edit that to your .25% suggestion as it seems more conceivable, with expectations of tweaking should the time arise.



Thank you for your feedback

Shadowmasters (Alternate Reality Civilization)



Hidden beyond the veil that was spun by the Virtual Endless, the Shadowmasters have claimed the Virtual Reality for their own. Yet it isn't enough, because they have to subsist upon the scraps that the Concrete's young unwittingly grant them. No more. The Shadowmasters have no wish to be paupers, nor do they want to be the lapdogs of others.



Slipping through the cracks, they will descend into the other universe to make it their own through force, but they have to take great care in doing so: while much more informed than their Concrete rivals, the Shadowmasters lack the sheer resources that their opposition possess. They form alliances and pass on tidbits of information to the Concretes, pitting them one against the other, and funding their infrastructure projects on their homeworlds. All of this is done to secure the prosperity of the Shadowmasters, as what helps the Concretes thrive, also benefits those who live in the Virtual Reality.



The Shadowmasters, as their title implies, are shadowy in appearance, though the shapes have quite a bit of range, as does the coloration. They sometimes possess the ability to cross over to the Concrete universe, which may be why there are legends of demons and other supernatural tales throughout the galaxy. They often makes deals with Concrete races, often moving goods across the Concrete Universe by taking them into their own realm and passing them through to the opposite end of the galaxy. However, the Shadowmasters are also uneasy when encountering situations and beings they do not understand, so they often have diplomatic difficulties.



+Starts the game with Warpdrive technology

+Starts the game with the Manifestation technology

+Colonized virtual worlds can spy on their concrete counterparts

=Homeworld is located in the Virtual Reality, other races begin within the Concrete Universe

-Virtual Worlds produce significantly less resources than their Concrete counterparts by default.



The Shadowmasters have a TRON aesthetic to them, as does the Virtual Reality that they exist in.

MAJOR TRAIT - ALTERNATE REALITY CIVILIZATION

Occupying another plane of existence, this race occupies an "virtual" reality based on the "concrete" universe. It is identical, except Concrete races do not naturally occupy it, and the effects of each planet is subdued, resulting in barely any resource generation. The focus of an ARC (Alternate Reality Civilization) is to make their worlds more accurately reflect their concrete counterparts, which increases resource production. The ARCs have difficulty in directly affecting the performance and nature of their Virtual Worlds, because those worlds are based on Concrete Worlds. As such, the facilities, terrain features, and so forth are brought about by Concrete civilizations, so ARCs are dependent upon other civilizations to unwittingly improve their worlds.



Virtual Reality

*Warpdrives perform better, and are the default form of movement.

*Planet and star locations are identical to Concrete versions.

*Few starlanes.



Virtual Worlds

*The resources and system improvements reflect that of the Concrete Planets, but are much less effective, often giving half or less of the resources until Manifested.

*Civilizations occupying Virtual Worlds can't produce their own system improvements, they have to rely on Concrete civilizations to unwittingly provide the infrastructure.

*Using "manifesting", system improvements grant their full bonus, and won't disappear if the concrete version is destroyed. This process requires the original article to exist while the Manifestation is being applied, and to match the technological ability that is required to produce the Concrete version in the first place.

*Colonized virtual worlds can observe their Concrete counterparts, but can't influence them.

*There is no upkeep cost attached to Manifested Improvements.



Concrete Universe

*Starlanes are the dominant form of movement.

*Warpdrives are very slow.



Concrete Planets

*Unaffected by the development of Virtual Worlds.



Virtual & Concrete Conflict - The Endless were said to be divided into two great factions, one being "Virtual", and the other "Concrete". It is hypothesized that the Virtual Reality is an artificial construct, and the conflict between the two factions arose from the creation of it. Some say that the conflict still rages on, through having lesser races contesting each other.



The advantage of living in the Virtual Reality is that foreign races would have relatively little interest, since Virtual Worlds are less valuable than Concrete Planets. The Virtual Reality is also based on physics that don't utilize Starlanes, and Wardrive is the preferred means of movement. Moving across the Virtual Reality is relatively quick, and one of the advantages of going into it is to access the wormholes, which means an Concrete race could enter the Virtual Reality, find another wormhole, and ultimately end up on the other side of the Concrete Universe, without having to use starlanes.



ARCs are capable of inferring the abilities, resources, and actions of races that occupy the counterparts of the worlds they occupy, by watching them at work. ARCs may not be able to touch Concrete races while in the Virtual Reality, but they can certainly watch.



As an general rule, Stardrives operate more effectively and provide greater speed in the Virtual Reality, but are inefficient within the concrete universe. Conversely, there are few Starlanes in the Virtual Reality, but are dominant in the Concrete Universe.



Wormholes are a chokepoint for ARCs, and one of the special elements is that an wormhole has an capacity limit. The bigger and more numerous ships are, the longer it takes for them to make a wormhole "pop". This process can take several turns, with the wormhole bulging to reflect the displaced space caused by the ships passing through it. Concrete races can use this to get an general idea of how many ships are attempting to enter their reality.



Virtual Worlds reflect their Concrete Planet counterparts, and as such automatically produces resources according to the development that has occurred on the Concrete Worlds. However, ARCs can utilize a process called Manifesting to make shadow improvements more "real", which improves their effects to match the genuine article, and prevents these improvements from vanishing if the Concrete version was scrapped.



Due to the nature of the Virtual Reality, all system improvements that have been Manifested will no longer have an upkeep cost associated with it. The Virtual Reality doesn't have to follow the same rules of physics and entropy that governs the Concrete Universe.

I’ve noticed over the years that in most 4X games that the way to win is basically have the most planets and you will quickly steamroll anyone. I’m not saying that this is true for every 4X game, but I do think it is a very prevalent “victory condition”. So I thought to myself, would it not be nice to have a faction that isn’t a total warmonger and could thrive on only a few planets? Ladies and Gentlemen I present….The Automatons.

(Please keep in mind I have not been able to buy the game yet and so I don’t have as much knowledge of it as others may, but I have watched some Let’s Plays on Youtube that gave me an idea of what Endless space is.)

Origin:

The Automatons were created by a long dead civilization known as the Reyans who perished many millennia ago due to the gradual self-destruction of their world. Decades of uncontrolled industrialization and technologies that relied on a highly toxic underground fuel caused irreversible damage to the ecosystem and atmosphere of their planet. Realizing that they were doomed, the Reyans attempted to build a massive fleet of migration ships to escape their planet, but most of the ships either exploded on launch, or stalled in the atmosphere and fell to the ground. The Reyans despaired… and so they decided to leave a legacy in the form of one of their greatest technological achievements, clockwork beings. Having a very old and proud history of clockwork, the Reyans had achieved the maximum potential of the technology in their creation of massive clockwork men to which they gifted all the traits of a young species. Within a year of the creation of the clockwork men, the Reyans committed mass suicide so as not to suffer through the affects of a dying planet, leaving their greatest creations behind, alone, and lost.

Evolution:

Over time the clockwork creations of the Reyans developed a simple society of their own and began exploiting the technologies left behind by their creators. All was well for the young civilization of machines until one day a large Endless ship crashed into the planet spreading the dust it was transporting all over the surface. The dust modified the machines, gave them enhanced abilities and over time even sentience. The deadly and toxic fuel that used to power the machines was also replaced, but strangely the new fuel became dust. In only a few weeks, the clockwork machines had evolved, become truly sentient, and gained new purpose in existence which was unheard of in even the most advanced AI’s created by the Endless. They came to call themselves, the Automatons and with the newly gained freedom of dust they began learning…and advancing.





Sentience:

The Automaton Civilization stayed on their planet, learning to live in a symbiotic relationship with nature as the planet healed over time. They used the knowledge of their creators and their new dust engines to produce massive floating ships on which they lived in order to protect the healing ecosystem on the planet from their involvement. Over the course of centuries the planet healed and the Automatons learned to live with and love nature while still developing immense industrial capacity and production within the hulls of their floating ships which had also grown over time. But eventually the Automatons calculated that their dust supply would run out and their civilization would die, so they uncovered the old ruins of the crashed endless ship and began developing their own vehicles for space flight. Over time they concluded that modifying their existing floating ships to be able to fly between the stars was quicker then constructing new ships and so the Automatons took to the stars searching for more dust, but vowing to never forget the lesson of their Homeworld.

Society:

The Automatons build and live within massive floating platforms that hover above planets in a continuous orbit so as not to disturb natural life on planets. The platforms are powered by large Dust engines which are scaled up variants of what the Automatons use to power themselves and because of this their consumption of Dust is quite large. The floating platforms manufacture and produce anything that the Automatons require including small ships, new Automatons, terraforming equipment, and Dust engines. Terraforming is a very sacred practice amongst the Automatons as they wish to bring life to planets to atone for their civilizations past mistakes in destroying their homeworld. Due to this the Automatons have developed an increasingly profitable symbiotic relationship with nature that allows them to have completely industrialized planets without harming the natural world. This relationship consists of Automatons in their massive floating platforms building and terraforming from above the planet allowing the planet to evolve and develop without direct interference. Over time the floating platforms grow and begin to yield more and more production and scientific advancement, with the oldest Automaton worlds being virtually impregnable fortresses of dreadnaught size floating platforms. The Automatons, even with their advanced technology, want only peace and to live in harmony with the nature that they hold so very dear, but if someone tries to attack them or their planets they turn to advanced war machines to wipe their opponents from existence in merciless combat.

Affinity: “Lessons of the Homeworld”

• Due to their advanced knowledge of symbiotic living with nature, Automaton planets passively gain industry, science, and food, with a smaller increase in Dust. This is due to the growth of their floating platforms and the growth of a planet’s native species.

• Any ships constructed by the Automatons are actually modified planetary floating platforms and so they lose some food, industry, production, and dust when constructing ships.

• Desert, Barren, Tundra, and Arid planets will over many turns turn into Terran planets due to the gradual terraforming of the Automatons.



I. I am not exactly sure as to how much the passive gain on the FIDS for planets under the Automatons would be, but I imagine it could be something like:

Food +10 , Industry +10, Dust, +5(Dust engines consume some dust), and Science +10

(This would be every 10 or 20 turns)



II. Another thing that would be really cool is if constructing ships removed some amount of FIDS from a planet to simulate the fact that a floating platform is being engineered into a ship and so the planet no longer has the benefit of that platform. I estimated the values to be something like:



1. Dreadnaught (-20F, -20I, -23D, -20S)

2. Large ship (-10F, -10I, -13D, -10S)

3. Cruiser (-5F, -5I, -7D, 5S)

4. Destroyer (-2F, -2I, -3D, -2S)

5. Corvette (No loss because platforms can actually manufacture ships this small)



Traits:

Businessmen - Negative 10% = -8

Merchants - Positive +1 = +6

Terraformed Planet - Negative AB = -10

Optimistic - Positive 20 = +15

Crowded Planets - Positive 2 = +20

Power Masters - Negative 25% = -2

Fearless Warriors - Positive 2 = +12

Tolerant - Positive 25% = +20

Symbiosis - Positive 30% = +15

Diplomats - Positive 50% = +15

Big Fleets - Negative 2 = -15

Strong Alloys - Positive 15% = +10

TOTAL = 78

Homeworld: Terran

Play Style: Peaceful and Isolationist

Affliction: Good



Conclusion:

All in all, I wanted the Automatons to be a faction radically different from most 4X factions because I feel it adds a lot of replay-ability and diversity to the game. I know personally that I've always wanted a faction that did not have to only expand to win, but instead it could stay peaceful and small until someone declares war. I spent a lot of time thinking over concepts that would work for a game such as Endless space and I believe that the Automaton faction would be quite possible within the context of the game engine. So finally I would like to present a 3D rendering of an Automaton which I made for fun (Please keep in mind I am no professional art teem, but this is how I feel they would approximately look) and a little sketch of one of their platform ships. Any comments and questions are greatly appreciated as well as criticism because I have many other explanations for how the Automatons would work in my head.



Finally, I would like to put in my very first post....Thank You dev team for making Endless Space and Thank You for doing it in this unique and creative way!!!!

The Necralyx



The Necralyx are a deceptive race of back-stabbers and liars. Their military is extremely potent, made up of many heavily armed, but lightly armored ships. The rely on cloaking and deception to strike first, where the enemy is weakest before melting back into the depths of space. Their homeworld of Sha'Darr is a vast burning desert. Through excavation and exploration, the Necralyx discovered that they did not truly live on a planet, but a massive temple of the Endless. Once this came to be known among the people, massive amounts of resources went into the study of the nature of their home, and the true purpose of their people. This obsession with the Endless lifted them to the status of gods. The very sands of the planet's surface were stripped away to reveal the grandeur of a temple the size of a planet.. After decades of exploring the inner maze-like complex of their world, the central chambers were discovered and explored. Scripture dictating generations of Endless culture, law, art and military tradition were discovered and absorbed into the Necralyx way of life. The elders of their High Council used this information to determine they were to be the protectors of the Endless, and the swift darkness that snuffs out the life of any who do not believe. Their fanatical zeal for the Endless makes them fierce warriors and unyielding in combat. Physical strength and brute force, however, are not their strengths. Speed, Evasion, Deception and misinformation are the tactics that best suit the Necralyx, and their ability to sow chaos and confusion has won them many a battle.



Description and Style



Tall, slender humanoids. a Light blue in color with vertical golden ellipses for eyes. only 3 fingers, with small bulbous tips. The style of their ships i reminiscent of the Egyptians, leaning toward the Gua'ould of Stargate SG-1. Massive capital ships with ancient temples at their center, with strike craft zipping around them. Their smaller ships would take on shapes in the shapes of crescents and C's, with spiked hooks jutting out of the sides.



Charisteristics/Traits



Zealous: +10 Approval in a system

Knowledge of the Ancients: Starts with all basic techs in each tree

The Old Ways: -15% per system

Icon of the Gods: If a Dreadnought class ship is present, all weapons do 5% more Min and Max damage

Deceptive Attacks: Enemy defenses are 20% less effective when engaged on the first available turn to do so. Degrading by 10% each turn not attacked

Strike Fleets: -1 Fleet Capacity

Silver Tongued: + 30% Chance of Peace after first contact

Shady Reputation: Silver tongued bonus degrades by 1% every turn after first contact.

Swift Attacker: +1 Warp Speed, +3 when moving into enemy territory

Stealthy: Scout ships have +2 to visibility

Hand Crafted Ships: -20% Military Production on Battleships and Dreadnoughts

FIDS-Low- Science; High- Dust; Medium- Food; Medium High- Production



Affinity: Neutral

Start World: Desert

Play Style: Deception





If you have any questions about them, I'd be happy to fill in any blanks :P