What Creatures/Aliens and other life forms would you like to see?

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    Indeed, Fauna would be pieced together from a wide selection of parts, meaning the system would automatically offer you new lifeforms to encounter as you travel the galaxy. I do like the idea of being able to add pre-defined mixes to a catalog, though, so you could design your own mixes and sometimes find them in the galaxy. I also think pointing out the use of Fauna as a potential source of valuable resources is sharp; people might even start farms, assuming they can keep the Fauna in line.
    I like the sound of this. What I really want to do with creatures is travel the galaxy surveying planets and collect unusual lifeforms for a zoo/farm of sorts. If they're varied enough one could do this for a long time without getting bored. I assume if people are going to be able to farm them, some sort of breeding mechanic might be in order at some point? Just a thought.

    I would like to see some creatures with a kind of "armored" look, as a lot can be done with natural armor on creatures. Take a look at some of the stuff in Metroid games, for example. I think, given a basic body shape to work with, it wouldn't be too difficult to generate armor plating that follows the contours of the body. Also, as pointed out by others, sea creatures make for very good inspiration for alien life forms, likely because most of us don't spend a lot of time in the ocean ;)

    I think to really make the creatures varied, the actual body shapes may have to be somewhat random; essentially, you generate a 3D shape using random numbers and some fancy math, and attach detail parts like eyes, mouths, limbs, etc somewhat randomly on the body. The tricky bit using this method would be to make it all look like a coherent organism instead of Mr. Potato Head, and of course getting it to move in a way that feels natural. Kind of a tall order, really, so I'd understand if a simpler system were implemented.

    I am kind of hoping that once fauna are implemented, a flora system would start up. It would be hard to generate flora like the stuff dotting the planets at the minute (basically just a texture), but something more along the lines of seeds that grow into multi-block "tree" structures would be cool.
     
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    Better idea: Armok, God of Blood.
    Will randomly spawn on one planet.
    Indestructible and intangible.
    Slowly covers said planet in 'dwarves': alcoholic, aggressive, utterly insane midget psychopaths with beards and a penchant for giant axes.
    BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD, SKULLS FOR HIS THRONE.
    hehehehe i get it
     
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    I don't really care how realistic they are, because we already have antimatter cannons which only deal about the damage of a broken explosive.

    But please NOT purple humans with little antenna and insect eyes or giant mantises. I would like a tittle creature which you could pick up and keep as a pet, as long as it it's a dog with 3 eyes or something.

    The best way to make the (IMO) is take the shape of a earth animal, simplify it, then add features not of that animal (well, maybe, but not fully).

    EDIT: Also, this was my first post.
     
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    Ithirahad

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    ...Why all of the hate on Star Trek aliens? If it was ONLY humanoids, that would be stupid, but what's so wrong with the occasional green dude walking around?
     

    Lecic

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    ...Why all of the hate on Star Trek aliens? If it was ONLY humanoids, that would be stupid, but what's so wrong with the occasional green dude walking around?
    The problem with Star Trek aliens is that they're all basically humans in rubber masks and makeup, because, well, when it first came out, that's what they had to do. So, they all are human proportioned aliens, with nigh-identical features to humans, which, compared to games such as Starbound and FTL, really boring.

    Also, the coincidental chance of so vastly similar organisms developing on different worlds is so astronomical that it kind of feels stupid.

    So, in essence, my problem with Star Trekky aliens in Starmade is that alien races shouldn't feel like copy-pasted humans, dyed green. I have no problems with the generator being capable of making a race like that, I'd just like it to be varied. It'd be really disappointing if every randomly generated intelligent was a bipedal humanoid.
     
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    It seems these Mushroom Fleet guys may have discovered an alien NPC already in the dev build's code. Either that, or they somehow modded it in themselves. How do these guys know so much about the game? Anyway, it appears to be some sort of space crab/spider thing, and the art style is pretty much what I would imagine it would be: slightly blocky and angular.

    I guess what I'd like to see would be slightly blocky-looking (to keep in the art style) aliens, with randomly generated features, natural weapons (fangs, claws, stingers, etc.) and modes of locomotion. Perhaps they could have varying levels of intelligence, swarming behavior and aggression as well. If there are planned alien customization features, I would love to make a Xenomorph :)
     
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    Ithirahad

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    It seems these Mushroom Fleet guys may have discovered an alien NPC already in the dev build's code. Either that, or they somehow modded it in themselves. How do these guys know so much about the game? Anyway, it appears to be some sort of space crab/spider thing, and the art style is pretty much what I would imagine it would be: slightly blocky and angular.

    I guess what I'd like to see would be slightly blocky-looking (to keep in the art style) aliens, with randomly generated features, natural weapons (fangs, claws, stingers, etc.) and modes of locomotion. Perhaps they could have varying levels of intelligence, swarming behavior and aggression as well. If there are planned alien customization features, I would love to make a Xenomorph :)
    Yeah, I noticed the texture for that in the files... but how do you spawn it? Spawn_Creature just spawns a neutral, non-recruitable NPC.
     
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    Assuming that is the start of an alien creature and not something modded in, that looks like a good start. Angular, but not just made of a bunch of cubes. I suspect there's a lot that can be done with creatures shaped like that, without the technical issues that rounded bodies (like Spore creatures) would cause with random generation. I approve.
     
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    It seems these Mushroom Fleet guys may have discovered an alien NPC already in the dev build's code. Either that, or they somehow modded it in themselves. How do these guys know so much about the game? Anyway, it appears to be some sort of space crab/spider thing, and the art style is pretty much what I would imagine it would be: slightly blocky and angular.

    I guess what I'd like to see would be slightly blocky-looking (to keep in the art style) aliens, with randomly generated features, natural weapons (fangs, claws, stingers, etc.) and modes of locomotion. Perhaps they could have varying levels of intelligence, swarming behavior and aggression as well. If there are planned alien customization features, I would love to make a Xenomorph :)
    that alien crab looks good,and i would make a xeno too XD
     
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    Lecic

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    The quadcrab is a test mob that has been in the files for months now. I didn't know you could spawn them in now, though.
     
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    Space-Whale.jpg
    I'd like it if every so often (1-10, perhaps?) A species was sentient, and could act like the shop daves, being able to be hired, give quests, etc. Having a (mostly) random generator for the species would be interesting, and, if coupled with breeding (cloning lab?)
    But yes, I imagine genetic manipulation with possibilities so much wider (as they would be in StarMade) would be quite interesting. ;) Gives an image of the classic sci-fi "experiment broke out of its containment and killed everyone" type scene. No clue what types of things would actually be possible in a system of that type were it implemented in StarMade, but it's fun to imagine the possibilities. :D
    Some kind of creature customization would be sweet, especially if there were some kind of mechanic that as the creature got stronger or more deadly it had more and more likelihood of smashing its container and escaping, and possibly wiping out the station.

    Also some terrifying creature that lives only to creep around in the dark and kill lifeforms: Metroid-esque or like the aliens from the movies Alien, Aliens, etc. The possibility of creatures being able to om nom your wiring or energy systems, disable or eat lights, make things get a little creepy before they attack, now that would be fun!

    Definitely the ability of some small stowaway creatures that are a nuisance to have on your ship, maybe even marking your ship as "plagued" and thus having space stations or colonies turning you away to keep the plague away (possibly related to the mushroom stuff that was mentioned before?)

    Lastly: I painted a space whale once...
    Space-Whale.jpg
     

    Lecic

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    I'd like it if every so often (1-10, perhaps?) A species was sentient, and could act like the shop daves, being able to be hired, give quests, etc. Having a (mostly) random generator for the species would be interesting, and, if coupled with breeding (cloning lab?) Could provide factions with their own specialized militaries.

    Also, NASSian Space Whale for pres 2016!
    1/10 feels way too common, especially if there's multiple species per planet, which there probably will be. I think 1/100 or greater would be better to avoid sapience overload in systems.

    Here is how I think sapient creatures should be-
    • Four types of intelligent life.
    1. Primitive. They haven't yet had an industrial revolution, and live in varying societies from early mud hut towns to castles and such. They probably aren't yet learned enough to use computers, but you could probably still hire them as mercenaries and buy non-ship things from them. May treat the player as a god figure if their race has a "religious" variable or something set, and offer you things.
    2. Modern. They are similar to humans as they currently are. They have modern cities, and have minimal ship technology. They have few ships, most of which are probably unarmed. They may have small off world colonies on nearby planets or moons (if moons are ever added). They are willing to pay high prices for ship technology, as they have very little. Sell most things, but ship parts are more expensive. They can be hired as mercenaries or as computer operators, but as operators they are probably not quite as good as the current humans in game. Probably too scared of your more advanced technology to be hostile, but they may be.
    3. Advanced. Like the humans in game, they are a space faring race. Fleets of their ships roam their home systems, and can be a force to be reckoned with. On par with a player made faction in multiplayer. They control numerous planets, and have stations set up throughout space. If they are friendly, they can be traded with, and be hired to work on board or as mercenaries.
    4. Humans. Basically an Advanced, there can be various human empires also scattered throughout the stars.
    Here is how I think alien ships should work. A large collection of ships are designed by the players, and approved by devs or dev chosen members of the community. Alien races choose from a random selection for their ships. For example, an advanced race pulls 3 fighters, 2 corvettes, and a battleship as their ships. They would be more likely to choose less expensive ships when spawning in. Each species has a limited number of credits worth of ships they will deploy at each time. They will try to have at least one of each ship they pull active. Ships would have a randomly selected color scheme for their hulls. For example, one race has black and green as their main colors. When a ship is pulled from the "Alien Ship Catalog", its hull colors are changed to the correct colors. So, when the black and green species decides on a fighter with blue and white hull,the blue is replaced with black, and the white with green. All ships owned by this black and green species would be similarly color corrected. Things like the light color and crystal type could also be modified.

    Species should have randomized hostility levels.
    There could be friendly races, which will automatically try to ally you on discovery by a member of your faction. These can be denied, and the race could take it with varying levels of anger, from turning hostile to simply becoming neutral.
    There could be neutral races, which can be sent ally requests or declarations of war. Attacking them will make them automatically become hostile to your faction/person if you are factionless. They may decline ally requests at first, but if you trade with them or attack their enemies, they may become more likely to accept.
    There could also be hostile races. Hostiles are probably really xenophobic, and attack on sight. These would be rarer, but would be something to fear. Hostile races would continually try to expand their "empire" and take over other planets and stations nearby. In some cases, they could spread to other systems. When encountering other species, they will probably attempt to destroy them. It would be nigh-impossible to get them to ally you, but you might be able to get rid of some of their hostility and make them neutral to you by destroying other species they are hostile to.
     
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    Here is how I think alien ships should work. A large collection of ships are designed by the players, and approved by devs or dev chosen members of the community. Alien races choose from a random selection for their ships. For example, an advanced race pulls 3 fighters, 2 corvettes, and a battleship as their ships. They would be more likely to choose less expensive ships when spawning in. Each species has a limited number of credits worth of ships they will deploy at each time. They will try to have at least one of each ship they pull active. Ships would have a randomly selected color scheme for their hulls. For example, one race has black and green as their main colors. When a ship is pulled from the "Alien Ship Catalog", its hull colors are changed to the correct colors. So, when the black and green species decides on a fighter with blue and white hull,the blue is replaced with black, and the white with green. All ships owned by this black and green species would be similarly color corrected. Things like the light color and crystal type could also be modified.
    At the very least, there should be "packs" of ships that can be spawned by NPC factions, if not packs tied in directly with the faction properties themselves. (Such as usual model parts, city and station structures, behavior) It would be rather disconcerting if two species hostile to another spawned the exact same type of ship, or the three types of ships spawned for one faction had three completely different build styles.
     
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    1/10 feels way too common, especially if there's multiple species per planet, which there probably will be. I think 1/100 or greater would be better to avoid sapience overload in systems.

    Here is how I think sapient creatures should be-
    • Four types of intelligent life.
    1. Primitive. They haven't yet had an industrial revolution, and live in varying societies from early mud hut towns to castles and such. They probably aren't yet learned enough to use computers, but you could probably still hire them as mercenaries and buy non-ship things from them. May treat the player as a god figure if their race has a "religious" variable or something set, and offer you things.
    2. Modern. They are similar to humans as they currently are. They have modern cities, and have minimal ship technology. They have few ships, most of which are probably unarmed. They may have small off world colonies on nearby planets or moons (if moons are ever added). They are willing to pay high prices for ship technology, as they have very little. Sell most things, but ship parts are more expensive. They can be hired as mercenaries or as computer operators, but as operators they are probably not quite as good as the current humans in game. Probably too scared of your more advanced technology to be hostile, but they may be.
    3. Advanced. Like the humans in game, they are a space faring race. Fleets of their ships roam their home systems, and can be a force to be reckoned with. On par with a player made faction in multiplayer. They control numerous planets, and have stations set up throughout space. If they are friendly, they can be traded with, and be hired to work on board or as mercenaries.
    4. Humans. Basically an Advanced, there can be various human empires also scattered throughout the stars.
    Here is how I think alien ships should work. A large collection of ships are designed by the players, and approved by devs or dev chosen members of the community. Alien races choose from a random selection for their ships. For example, an advanced race pulls 3 fighters, 2 corvettes, and a battleship as their ships. They would be more likely to choose less expensive ships when spawning in. Each species has a limited number of credits worth of ships they will deploy at each time. They will try to have at least one of each ship they pull active. Ships would have a randomly selected color scheme for their hulls. For example, one race has black and green as their main colors. When a ship is pulled from the "Alien Ship Catalog", its hull colors are changed to the correct colors. So, when the black and green species decides on a fighter with blue and white hull,the blue is replaced with black, and the white with green. All ships owned by this black and green species would be similarly color corrected. Things like the light color and crystal type could also be modified.

    Species should have randomized hostility levels.
    There could be friendly races, which will automatically try to ally you on discovery by a member of your faction. These can be denied, and the race could take it with varying levels of anger, from turning hostile to simply becoming neutral.
    There could be neutral races, which can be sent ally requests or declarations of war. Attacking them will make them automatically become hostile to your faction/person if you are factionless. They may decline ally requests at first, but if you trade with them or attack their enemies, they may become more likely to accept.
    There could also be hostile races. Hostiles are probably really xenophobic, and attack on sight. These would be rarer, but would be something to fear. Hostile races would continually try to expand their "empire" and take over other planets and stations nearby. In some cases, they could spread to other systems. When encountering other species, they will probably attempt to destroy them. It would be nigh-impossible to get them to ally you, but you might be able to get rid of some of their hostility and make them neutral to you by destroying other species they are hostile to.
    THIS!
     

    Lecic

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    At the very least, there should be "packs" of ships that can be spawned by NPC factions, if not packs tied in directly with the faction properties themselves. (Such as usual model parts, city and station structures, behavior) It would be rather disconcerting if two species hostile to another spawned the exact same type of ship, or the three types of ships spawned for one faction had three completely different build styles.
    Yes, packs of similar ships would probably be better. Randomly built ships made from prebuilt parts would be cool, but I'm not sure if thats possible. If it is, though, that'd be cool.
     
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    It might sound strange... but some sort of infectious organism. I always loved the idea of an infection taking over people and buildings, even over entire planets, and solar systems! I always liked the Flood from Halo, Necromorphs from Dead Space, or the infested from Warframe. they presented a lot of interest to me, and they always had a ton of lore behind it.

    Not only that, but I find that when there is an infectious sort of faction present in a game, factions would unimaginably band together to wipe the infectious life form out, and if they didn't, then that infectious lifeform would take over entire sectors and areas, rapidly spread exponentially, and at a dangerous pace that factions know they couldn't wipe out by themselves, but would need allies.
     

    Lecic

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    It might sound strange... but some sort of infectious organism. I always loved the idea of an infection taking over people and buildings, even over entire planets, and solar systems! I always liked the Flood from Halo, Necromorphs from Dead Space, or the infested from Warframe. they presented a lot of interest to me, and they always had a ton of lore behind it.

    Not only that, but I find that when there is an infectious sort of faction present in a game, factions would unimaginably band together to wipe the infectious life form out, and if they didn't, then that infectious lifeform would take over entire sectors and areas, rapidly spread exponentially, and at a dangerous pace that factions know they couldn't wipe out by themselves, but would need allies.
    Yeah, infectious lifeforms are cool, but...

    How do you survive in singe player if it takes multiple factions to take them out?