Race Gabywr (Playable?)

Discussion in 'NPCs and Creatures' started by SimYouLater, Jul 19, 2012.

?

Should Gabywr be a playable race?

  1. No, leave them as NPCs.

    85.7%
  2. Yes.

    14.3%
  1. SimYouLater

    SimYouLater Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    A history of this species' concept:

    Originally created in Spore, I actually used these guys in a fan-fiction of that series, but ran out of ideas for that story after 3 chapters.

    Then my brother, who happens to be even better at this stuff than me IMO, asked if I could transfer them into his open source sci-fi series, Life Unlimited. I agreed to this, and if nothing occurs on these forums that's where the Gabywr will remain.

    However, after a quick chat with my brother, I've decided to try submitting them here. They're already pretty well developed as a concept, and I'm hoping with some luck they might end up in Starbound instead.

    ---

    [​IMG]

    If you view this in Spore (yes, the image file doubles as the file with the actual data), keep in mind that the original spelling of their name was "Gabear", so that's what they're called in the included image from Spore. I'll try to make some example sprites later, but for now this is easier as an example. Also ignore the info blurb in Spore, as that was from back when I was using them in my fan fiction project and is no longer applicable.


    Name
    The language of the Gabywr (name ideas?) has only three vowel sounds. The first is obviously A, as their species name's transliteration includes it. The second is Y, which is equivalent to the English Y vowel. There is no such counterpart to the consonant Y. The final vowel is W, pronounced like "hwah". Thus, their species name is pronounced as "Gah-be-hwer". When transliterating from English to their language Ys and Ws replace all relevant vowel sounds except those meant to be produced by an A.

    History
    Gabywr originally come from from the planet Qrytwk. The planet is near the edge of it's star's "goldilocks zone", giving it a temperate equator, while the rest of the environment is mostly boreal forest.

    Originally a prey species, there is strong evidence that the Gabywr species have been genetically altered by some unknown alien species. Why is unknown, though it most likely would have taken advantage of their mental prowess. Having evolved/been created from small prey creatures, Gabywr are only 1.44 meters high on average, with slight variations among the species.

    Technological Advancement
    Gabywr technology can be said to be "near-future", with some variation. They almost exclusively use guns, and have a strong stat disadvantage using swords, staffs, knives, bows (except crossbows) and clubs. Simultaneously, they have a small disadvantage when using laser weapons compared to projectile ammo.

    Their technology's stylization can be best described as "steampunk", though it is more often powered by other energy sources. They can't power starships by steam, obviously.

    Hostility
    Gabwyr are friendly to outsiders, though they are often armed and will attack any troublemakers the moment they cross the line.

    Historical/Defining/Notable Moments
    Gabywrs originally began their industrial age like most species, using coal as an energy source. A few decades after switching to internal combustion engines, they realized that oil was not nearly as plentiful as coal on their homeworld, and ran into a severe energy crisis. Fortunately, uranium turned out to be almost as common as coal, leading to the creation of a new type of atomic battery (as mentioned below).

    The Good
    Gabywr have a brain that is wired towards understanding complex systems. They are known for intricate clockwork devices, which can be bought for cheap from them. With that in mind, you may want to save for their more expensive devices, such as the ComGear, a device which has several different features rolled into a single pair of electronic lens goggles.

    For transport, they have created an all-purpose halftrack vehicle frame that can be customized with a tanker tank, a storage container, a gatling gun setup or a miniature mobile base. These can be bought from Gabywr NPC vendors at moderate prices and are heavily armored but barely armed. Keep in mind that the mobile base is nothing more than a single room with basic equipment for when you can't afford several plopable bases, and thus is by no means meant to substitute for a true HQ type of building.

    Finally, they have created a type of atomic battery called the A-Cell which is limited in power output but is relatively portable (a backpack thing), making it perfect for small mechs or power armor. By getting energy directly from particle emissions, the batteries never run out of juice (but not current, as stated, so no infinite energy). These devices don't come cheap, though. They can also be bought from Gabywr NPCs.

    The Bad
    Having once been a prey species, the Gabywr were formerly the main diet of a large flying reptile-ish creature known as the Fur-trimmed Wyvern. The predatory animals would swoop down and grab a Gabywr by the shoulders to carry it off. (This is the reason for the horns on top of the head.) Even after they had formed a civilization, attacks were not unheard of. That changed upon the invention of fixed-wing aircraft, when they basically grinned evilly and added guns to their planes to exact revenge on the creatures. This led to the near-extinction of the Fur-trimmed Wyvern.

    Gabywr are not very mindful of the environment. The planets they colonize are often chosen merely to take advantage of high reserves of rare energy sources. While uranium is the standard for small energy sources, due to it's nearly-universal distribution among planets, the atomic batteries known as A-Cells can only provide energy for a loader mech at best, with most A-Cells being backpack-sized objects used with spacesuits and powered armor. Thus, in their quest for fuels other than coal, they often strip-mine areas in search of rare minerals like Olympium, Saturnium, Dark Mass and Redstone Ore (cameo pending?). That said, they tend to leave trees alone, having little use for wood and with memories of a painful lesson in air pollution from their homeworld.

    Probably the biggest physical issue they have is an inability to survive well in hot climates. Being in a jungle adds a little extra damage to all hits received, while being in a desert or a lava environment add even more damage than that.

    ---

    Is this any good? Does anything need to be changed?
     
  2. SimYouLater

    SimYouLater Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    19 views and no comments whatsoever? Is it really that terrible an idea? At least tell me if it is. :confused:
     
  3. ChaoticGamer

    ChaoticGamer Master Astronaut

    well...its not really a good looking...or either players find it interested. For the truth I don't want read the whole thing, cuz one...too long complexity.
     
  4. Grim

    Grim Tentacle Wrangler

    That is quite the problem with people and the suggestions. Alot of them are very unwilling to read a species that is unique in it's appearance and are very well represented.

    I understand simplicity as a good thing, but when someone creates an original idea, it has to be feshed out so that it's innovation is discernable from recycled ideas, such as the abundance of Elf, Wolf, and Dragon-themed races, who are mostly represented by a basis that is already used in other games. If people were willing to read such ideas, Starbound could be host to a much more varied, and unique set of characters that would set it apart from others like it.
     
    Twyster likes this.
  5. Grim

    Grim Tentacle Wrangler

    As for a Gabywr related discussion,

    I'll admit I had to read the entire thing a few times to fully understand the Gabywr. It's a bit confusing, and I'm not sure why. Instead of wholly using tc's template, order the events that happened to the Gabywr.

    Once it is ordered, further seperate their backstory into things like their origins/history, their culture/way of living, and individual interests. Define their use of technology a bit more simply, then define how their type of government runs things.

    Remove all stat-related and racial specific powers. The Devs haven't confirmed if races will be receiving such racials, and at this point I don't think they will at all. On the off chance that they do, just save it in on your desktop so you can paste it in later if they do confirm it.
     
  6. SimYouLater

    SimYouLater Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    Thanks for the support, however I'm just going to withdraw them from being a suggestion for this game. Apparently a good chunk of people just don't like the concept, and your list of potential improvements, while reasonable, are too time-consuming to attempt. You have to realize that though it may seem like I invented these guys on the spot, I've been developing their culture, technology and physiology for the past three years to get to this level of complexity, and as such I do not feel I can make worthwhile improvements in a reasonable time-span, unfortunately.

    I will continue to work on them, but they will likely instead feature in the open source sci-fi series "Life Unlimited" that my brother created as I had originally planned, like I mentioned in the first post.
     
  7. Grim

    Grim Tentacle Wrangler

    I think the main thing you can do right now is organize everything a bit better. For some reason tc's template just doesn't order things so well with big backstories.

    Treat it as if you were answering passerby's questions.

    Who are the Gabywr as a species? Discuss the origins and anatomy of the Gabywr.

    Whats the history of the Gabywr? Describe the events that transpired as they traveled to modern times. Then talk about how they are currently doing.

    What are their culture, religion, and government? Discuss how they live their life. Detail if their government and religions collide. Then detail how they view and react to other species, in lieu of these religions and governed ideas. As an extension, describe past religions and governments, if any.

    Scientific achievements? A simple statement of how they got from point A to B. You can reference the little things in between, but don't flesh it out so much. The main point should be about their greatest pursuits.
     
  8. Grim

    Grim Tentacle Wrangler

    Oh please, 34 people aren't a good chunk. But I understand and respect that descision, good luck to you and your brother. :)
     

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