Modding Help Meet The Shavi

Discussion in 'Starbound Modding' started by Silverduke1, Sep 29, 2016.

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  1. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    [​IMG]


    Race Name:
    Shavi
    [Sha-Vee]
    Home Planet Name:
    Valaira
    [Val-Air-Ahh]

    Racial Background:
    The Shavi are a gentle and trusting race. They are often called airheaded by others due to their fickleness and tendency to get lost in thought. They are anything but stupid; in fact, they are quite the opposite. Their intelligence and creativity causes their tendency to get lost in thought and fickleness. Unfortunately, their fickleness causes them to leave projects they start incomplete, to the point where they might completely forget about the project because they have lost all interest in it. This has a bad tendency of backfiring on them because when they return to what they were working on, they won't be able to remember where they were or if they finished it, leading to devastating aftereffects of trying to use unfinished projects. This has led to many a Shavi ending up drifting aimlessly in space in half finished space ships. However, on the other end of the spectrum, Shavis are slightly perfectionistic when it comes to their projects. This causes the projects that do end up finished, either by the Shavi who started the project or another Shavi who decided to continue it, to be of a very high quality. Of course, not all of their projects are as gentle and peaceful as they are. Some of their projects include dangerous weapons. Although most of the Shavis' weapons are re-purposed hunting and farming tools, some of them were meant to be weapons from the get go. Usually these weapons are actually requests from more violent races that have invaded the Shavi or captured Shavi. However, if it was that simple there would be a lot more dangerous space criminals than there are.

    Even though Shavi are gentle and not violent, they aren't above fighting back when feeling threatened or in danger and will use everything they have to save each other including the very weapon that was commissioned to be built. Most of their weapons and tools rely on wind or compressed air to do damage. This reliance on the wind has led to those of the Shavi Warriors, warrior being any Shavi who knows how to fight, being nicknamed Phantoms of The Wind. Ironically, this isn't far from the truth because to the Shavi the Wind is sacred to them. This is due to the Shavi believing the wind will carry their spirits when they pass to their next lives. As a result, Shavi honor the passing of their kin instead of mourning the loss. To honor their deceased they preserve the deceased to the best of their abilities, which is currently achieved by putting them inside a crystal, which is then surrounded by an altar of wind with objects that meant a lot to the Shavi. These graves are often built at some of the highest points in their cities to allow the wind to pass through the altars. It is said that if the spirit of the Deceased Shavi has unfinished business they will return to their bodies and continue their lives till it is truly their time, which is why they put the altars so high up, so the spirits can find their bodies if needed.

    Most of the time this results in them putting the altars on top of large hills and/ or mountains, but they will also put them on top of their buildings if the buildings are the tallest structures in the immediate area. The buildings themselves are largely designed off of the Shavi's solarpunk culture, causing them to be very artsy and covered in nature due to the Art Nouveau influences of the solarpunk culture. The influence of their culture can be seen from their buildings and bridges to their airy and beautiful clothing. These buildings often have secret passages and doors built into them so the Shavi can escape invaders or hide their more valuable stuff. The buildings themselves are mainly built with three main materials: bio-plastic, which substitutes stone and glass in their buildings, Maomoo shafts, which substitutes wood in most of their buildings, and the Shavi's own shed fur, for any softer or padded features like carpets. Though out of all their buildings their most well protected buildings would be their Vaults.

    The Shavi build Vaults to store their valuables and more dangerous weapons. The Vaults have thick walling and specialized machines to protect them. These Machines are divided into two types depending on whether they fly or not. The flying kind are referred to as Drones, and the walking kind are referred to as Sentinels. These machines sleep in the walls till the intruder system is activated, which is when they will start to patrol and attack any intruders. Intruders need to be especially wary of unfinished Sentinels and Drones, which have a bad habit of exploding. Luckily for most explorers and wanderers, the Shavi are ok with them taking the contents of the Vaults as long as its not in their village. This is due to the fact they tend to lose the co-ordinates to the Vault due to clutter, which makes it free game for whoever finds it.

    Racial Physiology:
    Shavi are a fairly small and lightweight race. Generally speaking, the average height for males and females is 5ft 6in or 167cm for males and 5ft or 152cm for females. This small stature actually was very useful when they were more primitive, as the species would often climb the Stalks of Maomoo for food. They would climb to the top then use their prehensile tails by inserting them into the open top of the plant. The fur would then collect the milk and allow them to pull the milk out and drink it from their tails. Unfortunately, the Maomoo is a slippery plant due to its bamboo like shell, and the fact that the plant doesn't really have branches. This, however, isn't a problem for the Shavi, as even if they slip and fall when they climb or jump to another stalk, they will be perfectly fine. This is due to the fact their horns are actually hollow and have many small holes in the groves. The air currents then travel down the horns into a kind of air sack in their bodies when the Shavi fall or run. This air sack then connects to the 8 furry patches on their bodies. These areas are the head (hair), the chest, thighs, the ends of the arms before the hands, the ends of the legs before the legs, and the tail. Underneath these furry areas are tiny pores that the Shavi can open and close at will. When opened, all the air is released down these corridors causing their fur to poof up forming a natural airbag to protect their bodies. This airbag system isn't stopped by breaking a Shavi's horns, as the horns will grow back.

    The fur itself, under normal circumstances, is packed very closely together forming very soft patches on their otherwise very sensitive hairless bodies. The Shavi will groom these areas and use all sorts of methods to keep their fur healthy and soft. This is due to many reasons. One such reason is that it makes it easier for the airbag system to work, as it is less likely to get knotty if the fur is healthy. It also serves as an indicator of a Shavi's health and nurturing abilities, which they use to help determine leaders. This results in the species keeping themselves very clean and well groomed under normal circumstances. This combined with their good sense of smell and eyesight makes it very easy for them to recognize each other from a distance. Although, they can recognize anyone they know from a distance because of this, it is especially true of Shavi due to how individualistic Shavi are.

    Home Planet:
    The Shavi originate from a relatively average sized planet known as Valaira in a binary system. It is a pretty average one moon planet, except for one thing - it is abnormally close to the far edge of the Goldilocks zone of its system for liquid water, resulting in a very cold average temperature for the planet. Due to its distance, most plant life on the planet has evolved black leaves to absorb the sunlight, and white bark to reflect any missed light back to the leaves for a second chance at being absorbed. This would have resulted in a very monochrome world if it weren't for the vibrant colors of the flowers, fruits and animals. The planet is surprisingly lush for its cold temperatures, to the point it even snows in the tropics. It is thought the cause of this is the abnormally thick atmosphere the planet has and the high sea levels. The atmosphere itself is estimated to be around 50% oxygen, while the planets surface is estimated to be between 85% and 90% water. This results in abnormally large currents carrying the tropical temperatures around the planet. These currents also cause the massive storms that are symbolic to the planet.


    Plant Info:
    Maomoo
    The Maomoo is a plant indigenous to the planet of Valaira. Maomoo is a very large plant, with a single stalk growing over 20 meters tall. It has many similarities with the Earth plant known as bamboo, including shape and how it grows. Maomoo has many white stalks with the black leaves indigenous of Valaira plants. The stalks are extremely sturdy, which makes them great for building with as well as climbing. Inside the stalks are large amounts of a highly nutritious and creamy substance known as Maomoo milk. This milk is in fact how the plant stores its nutrients. Most creatures can't resist the extreme addictiveness of the milk and will continue consuming it till they bloat to death from consuming too much or else they will suffer extreme withdrawal symptoms. This is in fact a strategy the plant uses to its advantage in order to consume the nutrients of the consumer, by letting it decompose and be absorbed by its roots. One species immune to the addictiveness of the Maomoo is the Shavi who commonly consume it and use it in their dishes.

    Honeydew
    The Honeydew is a very stubby plant. It is easily recognized by its 4 spiky black leaves and the protrusion in the center that emits a smell very similar to honey. Most of the time, this protrusion is home to a pink flower; however, every few days this flower is replaced by an Amber-Orange colored pearl. This pearl's sweet smell usually attracts animals to come and eat it, so the seeds at the bottom of the pearl stick to the animals body, where it will then stay till the animal washes itself or the seeds fall off. The pearl is referred to as Honeydew Dew. It is a transparent sphere with a thin skin of flesh. Inside this skin is a substance extremely similar to honey. Honeydew Dew goes extremely well with Maomoo milk, creating a very nutritious substance, that makes the consumer practically glow. The ratio of dew to milk determines if it is better to consume the substance or bathe in it. Honeydew Dew is a popular sweetener among patisseries.

    Starfruit
    Many people would describe the flavor of a Starfruit as both sweet and sour or tart at the same time. This fruit grows on a bush and is in actuality a berry. It gets its name from the fact it is a very large berry that's shaped like a rounded 5 pointed star and has a fruit like texture. Its Bright Blue Color stands out quite a bit against the black leaves of the bush making it really easy to spot a ripe berry. Its size is the result of all the juice packed into the fruit. Biologists are still not quite sure why it's shaped like a star though.


    Plexibark
    A bit of a strange plant, Plexibark is about 1-3 meters tall and shaped like a vase. At its base are many black leaves with a vase like growth made out of a white bark. Inside this vase is a strange resin that makes very good bio-plastics. The plant itself uses the resin as a method to spread its seeds by having the seeds collect at the top, so during the rainy season, when the vase overflows, the seeds wash out with the resin and spread the plant every which way. The Seeds themselves are edible if cleaned and cooked or ground into seasoning.

    Misc. Information:
    Plural: Shavis
    Avg Male Height: 5'6" / 167cm
    Avg Female Height: 5'0" / 152cm
    Matriarchal or Patriarchal Species: Matriarchal
    Governance: Social Democracy
    Culture: Solarpunk
    Weaponry: Gauntlets, Wind based weaponry
    Armor: Fall Damage Reduction, Higher Jump, Movement Speed
    Values:
    -Intelligence
    -Softness
    -Glossiness of Fur
    -Individuality
    -Kindness
    Instruments:
    -Maomoo Shamisen
    -Maomoo Lyre


    Artwork:
    First Finalized Sketch:
    [​IMG]

    Collection of Color Variation:
    [​IMG]



    Concept Art:
    First Rendition:
    [​IMG]

    Second Rendition By Corry:
    [​IMG]


    Notes:
    Still Need To Design Clothes for the Race.
    Still Need To come up with Ship Pet.
    Still Need Ai design (Sheep Head?)
    Still Need Ship Design.
    Still Need Building designs for villages and such
    [Updates/News]
    September 28, 2016:
    Posted Mod Idea, Started Search for Pixel Artist.

    [FAQ]
    None Yet

    [Credits]
    Silverduke1 (Original Creator)
    Aikaph (Teacher)


    [What I Need Help With]

    I am currently looking for a pixel artist to help me make the art assets for the mod. I don't have the ability or skill to do it myself which is why I am looking. I can do the coding for the mod itself as my friend Aikaph is helping teach me to mod. I can help a little with the pixel art but I am really really bad and out of practice which is why i am looking for an artist to help me. Please comment or message me if you'd like to help me.


     
  2. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    Like I really tried to format it with bolding, underlining, and color but it wouldn't have any of it. D:
     
    Roskii Heiral likes this.
  3. Roskii Heiral

    Roskii Heiral Heliosphere

    Best of luck with this! Really cute concept. I'd offer to help, but I'm abit swamped getting my race going =3

    Looking forward to what you come up with.

    I'd strongly recommend just getting the custom race template mod (http://community.playstarbound.com/resources/template-race-mod.956/) and trying your hand at some sprite editing. Its really fun and just based on your art here I feel like you'd be really good at it.
     
  4. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    thanks, i hope to get it off the ground. I might try if it comes to it, but i'm really unconfident when it comes to pixel art, because its hard for me. Plus i'm no good with shading >//////< I draw by hand which is part of the reason why ^^;
    They originally started out more sheep like in physical design tbh. I hope you get your race going as well. Have a nice day :)
     
    Roskii Heiral likes this.
  5. Roskii Heiral

    Roskii Heiral Heliosphere

    Well, I already started =3 http://community.playstarbound.com/resources/callistan-race-mod.4151/

    If you haven't found someone after maybe next week, I may be able to help. We may mix human and floran assets with some custom horns. I know floran sounds weird, but they have some chest patches that are similar to what you're trying to achieve. If you start from existing assets, its much easier to get the shading and stuff right, because you're just matching what already works and exists =3

    I see from your biological information that you're wanting them to be short. Do you want them to be shorter than the vanilla races in game or just as part of their general info? Making them different heights from the vanilla races will cause issues if you want them to be compatable with vanilla armor sets.

    I also like your idea for different fruits. I'm doing something similar in mine, but making various teas that my race enjoys from various ingredients.

    Anyway, hope some of this helps =3
     
  6. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    yeah i definetely understand that useing existing models makes things a bit easier. Yep. I was originally going for sheep/ram horns because the race was ment to be based off of sheep with long smooth fur instead of the lumpy fur the common domestic sheep has. But my friends noticed that my chibi kind of makes them look like imps ^^; so i'm considering my original idea of different horn shapes going with the different hairstyles (similar to the floran flower thing). My friend/teacher has been looking into the possibility of having 10 changeable bits instead of the standard 9. If i can i plan to make eye color changeable as well ^^

    In regards to the height thing, thats more just lore stuff, i mean its highly illogical to think every sentient race is exactly the same height. Plus i like to imagine my world in my head in 3D anime style >/////<

    I love plants and stuff, and the Shavi are heavily nature friendly with their Solarpunk Culture, so plants are going to be important thing to consider.
    This is the kind of cultural architecture we are talking about for the race by the way.

    [​IMG]


    I have lots planned for the Shavi from armor to weapons >/////<

    Anyway thanks for talking with me about the race, also if we do end up working together thanks again :)
    I kind of get lonely a bit easily ^^;
    By the way i think i saw your race and thought it was intresting, i remember wondering about the ear bit horn thingy on the male.
     
    Roskii Heiral likes this.
  7. Roskii Heiral

    Roskii Heiral Heliosphere

    Its no problem, I enjoy chatting with fun/creative people! And I really do like alot of your ideas.

    What were you wondering about the ears on my race?
     
  8. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    thanks, i kind of just can't stop coming up with random ideas ^^;
    i was wondering what they were, but then i realized they are wolf ears :rofl:
     
  9. WyvernWarrior223

    WyvernWarrior223 Big Damn Hero

    Ayyy this is a very creative idea I really look forward for this race to come to light.
    As for the pet, maybe a cute little fluffy ram or a caterpillar/bug thing that lives or feed on Maomoo plants?
     
  10. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    those both sound like wonderful ideas :rofl:, i like the ram cause this race was originally supposed to be based off sheep :rofl:D though a fluffy caterpillar could be adorable too D:
     
    WyvernWarrior223 likes this.
  11. WyvernWarrior223

    WyvernWarrior223 Big Damn Hero

    I am also wondering. Maybe I can help with some of the sprites?
    I can do okay-ish in pixel art nah, my art sucks. but I would really like to help this race in some way! :DD
     
  12. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    what kind of sprites you talking about like items? *curious what you have in mind*
     
  13. WyvernWarrior223

    WyvernWarrior223 Big Damn Hero

    Yea I can help make some item sprites, maybe even object sprites. I don't think I am good enough to make the race template though, maybe Roskii can do it? :D
     
  14. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    roskii said they might be able to help if i can't find an artist in a week. ^^; i can kind of do item sprites, i've done clothing before but that was a few years ago i'm extremely rusty and even then it was largely going over pre-existing stuff not making my own.
     
  15. WyvernWarrior223

    WyvernWarrior223 Big Damn Hero

    I am kinda in the same boat, except this is almost my first time doing it. Maybe you can at least try to make items that currently don't exist? Unless it's size comparison, you can just grab some humanoid assets for comparison (Which was what I did for plushies)
     
    Roskii Heiral likes this.
  16. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    i tried that and my stuff just looks really bad and blank >//////<
     
  17. WyvernWarrior223

    WyvernWarrior223 Big Damn Hero

    In that case, you really do need help with the art. I hope your pixel art improves soon again.
     
  18. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    even when i get back into the swing their are some things like the actual race or pets i couldn't do
     
  19. WyvernWarrior223

    WyvernWarrior223 Big Damn Hero

    You mean it by all the frames and animation?
     
  20. Roskii Heiral

    Roskii Heiral Heliosphere

    I was looking through some stuff and was wondering what you'd like their eyes to look like? I was thinking something similar to what umbreon did might be appropriate =3
     
    WyvernWarrior223 likes this.

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