Oolite Bulletins

I know there is a thread for something like that somewhere, but I was not able to find it. Apart from that I don't have much time to look for it at work, so...

Anyways, I am thinking of something along the lines of maybe replacing, or renaming, the existing species in the ooniverse. For example "slimy green frogs" is not really something I can picture as an intelligent species, much less those frogs being a space-faring race or civilization. There are some others, but this is the one that comes to my mind, especially after having accepted a contract last night in which I have to taxi such a frog to the other side of Galaxy 1.

For such a thing to work, one needs to take some things into account. First of all, how many races are there in the Ooniverse at this time? I would rather that this number remains the same. This would probably make it easier for the development of the game, since it seeds races to the galaxies etc. The Thargoid would obviously remain as they are not inhabitants of systems as such. However there should be distinctions between the races, and I don't just mean how they look, what they are... but also physical differences.

While I'm not thinking, or caring about the looks of the planets, I do think of a fair distribution of the species in the universe.

Maybe we could consider something along the lines of "replacing" or "updating" the existing species in such a way that they would make sense in a sci-fi universe. We can have quite the variety of races, and take in some of the urban legends crawling around the web. For example we can add the Reticuli, which would be the gray aliens. As a side twist sometimes news bulletin would appear in which the grays are believed to have abducted important people from strategically important stations. Then there can be a reptilian-like race which are mostly involved in pirate activities. There can be a trader race, people who excel in science... you know where I'm getting.

Additionally, maybe each of the races gets their fair share of systems (like it is now). As a bonus: each race has a different design for their stations.

I know this would be a pretty huge task... if at all feasible. I'm just speaking my mind.

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UI Overhaul Experiment | DeeperSpace HUD | pleiadian's Oolite GitHub

You do realise, don't you, that somewhere out there a moist, green amphibian philosopher is really struggling to get his head around the concept that a dry mammal species (and a nearly hairless one at that) could ever evolve intellectually to the point of actually developing technology, let alone rocket science.

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Commander Smivs, the friendliest Gourd this side of Riedquat.

There are eight types of critter.

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Knowledge is a deadly friend, if no-one sets the rules
The fate of all mankind, I see, is in the hands of fools

There are nine basic categories, if you include Humans (although arguably we might just be a sub-group of "Humanoid"). In no particular order:

1. Human Colonials
2. Humanoids
3. Lobsters
4. Insects
5. Felines
6. Rodents
7. Lizards
8. Frogs
9. Birds

Of course, there's an as-yet-uncounted (as far as I know) number of species. Me, personally, I think that the Green Horned Humanoids from Tiinlebi are a completely different species from the Blue Furry Humanoids of Edreor. It looks like only humans have extensive colonies, for some reason - although it's possible that e.g. the Green Fat Insects of Tioranin are the same species as the Green Fat Insects of Arazaes: both are Democracies, both are TL7, and the two worlds aren't even hugely far apart, both lying in the north-east quadrant of Galaxy 1. But if they are the same species, are they native to Tioranin or to Arazaes? Or from somewhere else? Humanity's homeworld isn't anywhere on the map, after all. Is there a connection to the civil war on Tioranin?

There's no right or wrong answer to any of this, of course - it's all just randomly generated. Personally, my imagined universe contains a lot of different species, each made up of many different cultures - but that's just me.

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Oofiction: Calliope: a Captain Hesperus adventure | Stranglehold: a Captain Hesperus adventure | Local Midnight in the Vacuum Bar | A Farewell to Arms, Legs, etc.: the Blaze O'Glory Story

<chortles> Are the Large Yellow Bug-Eyed Frogs of Xeer related to the Large Yellow Bug-Eyed Frogs of Xeer?

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Knowledge is a deadly friend, if no-one sets the rules
The fate of all mankind, I see, is in the hands of fools

Personally, I rather like the species groups as they are.

Whilst there's excellent oxp potential here (planetinfo.plist IIRC, 'find and replace' a few times and you're away), I think the familiar animal-based species have a certain charm. And if you find slimy, green frogs hard to imagine then perhaps it fits well with some of the game's humour: edible arts graduates; love of food blenders etc.

Besides, forms that have already developed (even if not particularly far from an intellectual point of view) are perhaps more realistic than entirely imagined ones - unless you really have witnessed Greys etc. in which case I have little to add.

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"With our thoughts, we make the world"

Galaxies apart! But surely related … the Galaxy 1 Xeerlings ("very well known for [their] fabulous cuisine") are TL8, though, while the inhabitants of Xeer in Galaxy 7 ("a revolting little planet") are only TL4. Which is the original, and which the colony? I've heard that archaeology is under strict government control in Xeer (G1) … are they hiding something?

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Oofiction: Calliope: a Captain Hesperus adventure | Stranglehold: a Captain Hesperus adventure | Local Midnight in the Vacuum Bar | A Farewell to Arms, Legs, etc.: the Blaze O'Glory Story

Gotta be! My money's on the Seventh's Xeer being the original.

As an aside, Povray's Xeers are not dissimilar.

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Knowledge is a deadly friend, if no-one sets the rules
The fate of all mankind, I see, is in the hands of fools

I've always thought (felt?) that all species (Rodents, Frogs, Lizards, Lobsters, Birds, Humanoids, Felines, Insects) are descendants of Earthling ancestors, and are not considered 'Aliens'.
(It bothers me a bit that Thargoids are said to be 'Insectoid'. They should be Aliens. But this could just be based on resemblance: from recovered bodies, we know they have jointed limbs, compound eyes and exoskeletons, so we refer to them as insectoid, even though they have no relation to 'our' insects.)

Given that there are 8 non-human inhabitants groups and 8 galaxies/sectors, a nice way to make the galaxy maps feel a little more unique might be for each one to contain a single alien group.

It could even progress in terms of an evolutionary 'tree', with the 8 sectors being as far as human colonials have been able to travel thus far. Greater distance could then be true both in terms of travel and genetics.

Human Colonials are far more common than the others, so there could be the idea of humans occupying uninhabited worlds (or conquering inhabited ones) in 'alien' space.

For example:

• Galaxy 1 - Human Colonials & Humanoids
• Galaxy 2 - Human Colonials & Felines (alternate mamalian branch)
• Galaxy 3 - Human Colonials & Rodents (possible ancestor of later mammals ?)
• Galaxy 4 - Human Colonials & Birds (both birds & mammals being possible reptilian offshoots)
• Galaxy 5 - Human Colonials & Reptiles (parent of both mammal & bird branches)
• Galaxy 6 - Human Colonials & Frogs (reptiles coming from amphibians)
• Galaxy 7 - Human Colonials & Insects (quite a leap for this one but 'what the hey')
• Galaxy 8 - Human Colonials & Lobsters (crustaceans predating insects IIRC)
  
  That might be a more interesting way to reimagine the more varied galaxies idea I have mentioned previously.

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"With our thoughts, we make the world"

Assault Troopers Extinction Wars
by Vaughn Heppner

Read this to find out who is beast

Here's a frog from Xexedi. Looks intelligent to me

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For P.A. Groove's music check
https://soundcloud.com/p-a-groove
Famous Planets v 2.7. (for Povray)

http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13709

I've met this guy at Xexedi main station.
He might be able to read from a teleprompter and make it sound important,
but I wouldn't go as far as to call him 'intelligent'.
Also, does not handle liquor well.

Any species that builds skyscrapers and wears suits and ties isn't all that intelligent..

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Most games have some sort of paddling-pool-and-water-wings beginning to ease you in: Oolite takes the rather more Darwinian approach of heaving you straight into the ocean, often with a brick or two in your pockets for luck. ~ Disembodied

For me, it would break the immersion.
Species evolve together. That they would have evolved in separate galaxies and yet are so similar is a deal-breaker for me.
I quite like the explanation from the novel. It solves the game mystery.

Now, if you propose that each galaxy has a dominant specie, for immigration reasons (immigrants from the same origin cluster together), I'm gladly following you