I will not say that the races in Starbound are boring, because they are not and have even inspired some of my own works, but what I will say is that other than technology the basic look of them, there really isn't a reason for me to choose one race over the other. So I've decided that since this may be a problem with other people, or simply people like to have this kind of mechanic in-game, each race should have one advantage and one disadvantage. Humans As the basic race, they should have base abilities, and thus would not have any perceivable advantages, but then again no disadvantages, for people who want to keep their games less high stakes. That, and I can't think of anything special Humans have other than our brains, which really isn't special anymore in a universe where everybody has one too. Apex Now these guys I can work with! Easily enough, Apex are the only race with a full coat of fur, so their advantage would be that they can survive in cold conditions for far longer than other races. However, I have been studying and learned that primates are more susceptible to diseases than other mammals, though this may just be because they fling feces at each other. I suppose it would make sense (maybe they invented so many vaccines it destroyed their immune systems?) that Apex would be weaker to poison, taking more damage than other races. Avians Avians are birds; and birds fly, right? Don't scroll down, I know what you are thinking, and no Avians will never be able to legitimately fly. Though, I do believe that if they flap hard enough, maybe hit the gym between hyperspace jumps, they will achieve something very similar. It comes to reason that while they cannot fly, they have the advantage of surviving jumps that would normally kill them by slowing their decent. Maybe by crouching mid-flight or perhaps it activates automatically, Avians can slow them selves for just long enough to safely descend without too much damage, their bones being hollow enough so that they are just weighty enough to sustain minimal flight. Though they are still too heavy to actually fly, so this wouldn't help too much with jumping. Now like I said, their bones are hollow, and thus very breakable, so this means that if an Avian player fails to stay in the air, a fall that would usually only do little damage would have a possibility of killing them! As such, heavier attacks (Charges, Body Slams, Hammers) would also deal heavier damage to their fragile skeletons. Hylotl Since Hylotl are an amphibian race, and amphibians can breathe in both water and air (duh) it makes perfect sense that they can breathe underwater for far longer than any other race, maybe even long enough to swim to the bottom of the ocean and back without gear! The price? Hylotl must remain moist at all times, and thus cannot survive for very long in hotter, drier biomes like (in order of survival time) Arid, Desert, Magma, Volcanic, and Moon biomes. They would have a meter similar to the cold meter, eventually taking heavy damage when it is full! Thus they must remain at a constant 'goldilocks' temperature; not too cold, not too hot. Glitch Since Glitches are made of metal, they are highly resistant to burning damage and to lava, almost being able to dive in for a short time without taking any damage before it starts to leak into their circuitry and melt their insides! But as we all know, machines don't do well in water, so while lava takes on the properties of water, water takes on those of lava and will immediately begin to damage them when exposed. Floran The Florans have, like the Avians, a special ability to regenerate health while standing on grass and shrubbery. Slower than sleeping in beds, they will slowly but surely regain any lost health so long as they are standing atop grass that has not grown on top of stone. This may seem too advantageous at first, until you start exploring desert planets where this is no grass. Thus, you will eventually have to use food, medicine, and beds to regenerate while on grassless planets. This also works in water, though that is also rare on deserts and even rarer in volcanic biomes, so that would be a problem. The disadvantage is that they are, like Hylotl, weak to heat, but also much weaker to cold. They too have a goldilocks temperature, but a smaller one where even a campfire may not be enough on some worlds. Novakid Finally, as the latest race to be added they should be the last on the list. Since they are pretty much flaming sun people, Novakid would be even weaker to water than Glitch! That does not necessarily mean they are resistant to heat, for the brand on their faces can still melt and thus allow their vital gases to bleed out. They can, however, stay warm for just a wee bit longer than other races, so it's not quite an advantage. The true advantage is in their ability to naturally produce a light radius similar to that of a lantern on a stick (the radius of the light can be increased by said lantern). This light is very helpful and matches the color of the Novakids flames, but with a dull grey shade so that players can actually see around them. This light does not produce much heat, however, so campfires and torches are still a necessity. BONUS ABILITIES! As an added feature, perhaps each race would have a special ability that they can use at any time by pressing the TAB key. For example, the Novakid can fire weak plasma balls at opponents at the cost of a few health points, and Glitches can maybe fuel their ships with their own energy etc. I am not associating this idea with Advantages\Disadvantages, it is merely a thing to think about when the option arises. If you like the idea of having bonus TAB abilities, leave a comment about what you think each race could so and maybe a thread will be created on it if it gets popular enough!
At most, I can see this as a mod. Apart from my main idea, I do not think the Novakid brands would melt relatively fast, so allowing them to swim in lava longer and take minimal burn damage would add to this post. Also, Glitch were probably waterproofed shortly into their development. Humans could probably create items/objects from less materials, and randomly gain recipies(01% for every game minute?).
Th Thank you for your input. If you tell me how I can edit this thread I will most likely add this information.
*sigh* you idoit this is a SANDBOX game people shouldn't have to make a hylotl charchter JUST to be able to explore an ocean more easily
I'm sure they have ad\or will have implemented items that you can craft to allow everybody to do this and do that and whatever, but the Advantages for each race is to add the convenience of not having to go through the trouble of crafting equipment that is likely many tiers ahead of the player, and to have the convenience of being able to have that advantage above everyone else. The Disadvantages are simply the price that the player must be aware of when they choose one race for its benefits. Futhermore, people don't have to play a Hylotl *just* to explore oceans more efficiently, that's what look customization is all about.
I personally don't think built in race advantages are a good idea. I think people should choose the race they want, not the racial traits they want. People should be able to thouroghly enjoy the race they play as, but the way this is designed some people are gonna have to settle for a backstory they really hate just to have the play style they really like.
I just thought it was kinda off-ish that an amphibian race couldn't hold it's breath underwater any longer than a fiery-gas person, while plant people are just as resistant to fire as the Glitch. Also supposed it would add to the adventure aspect of the game. But, whatever I guess you're right.
