Cultural Clichés in the universe? Booooring!

Now I know it's beta, things can change, but as it is now it's just so predictable and boring for the races to be stuck in their ways, no matter where you see them. Allow me to explain in a simplified way:

Floran - Primitive, crude and savage
Hylotl - Samurai
Novakid - Wild West
Apex - High-tech, but communist
Glitch - Medieval
Avian - Mayan, spiritualists
Human - Well, they're human

Again, I know it's all in beta, but these races live in one type of culture all across the universe, and those cultures are ripped from the annals of Earth's history. They're all from one race - humans. Everyone speaks the same language, and they all seemingly imitate what humans were in the past. I would really like to see more diversity, in that some races have adopted other cultures.

While Glitch are kind of stuck, programmed to be medieval, that shouldn't stop other races from being found in castle-like themed places. It's almost as if I expect when Hylotl settlements to appear, I'm gonna see a pagoda houses everywhere. Or if I see Novakid, I'm gonna find tumbleweeds and cowboys walking around.

Example: I'd love to visit a penal colony that hasn't yet been taken over by prisoners, being used by sexy Floran guards wearing tight clothes guard uniforms. Most technology is sssmashed because Florans can't understand it, but they still have order and keep prisoners in a few cells, for whatever purpose. They'd be friendly until you start opening cells and letting prisoners out.

 

No

 

The apex society is clearly totalitarian and fascistic. While some socialistic states showed both political behaviours occasionally, it does not equal communism.
How would it sound if I said that the apex are capitalists? The way they are watching their citizens, reminds me of the recent NSA affairs after all.

 

While florans are certainly barbarians, they are very very capable with technology. Afterall, they went from stone age straight to space age with the capture of one ship. They figured out how to make it fly. They LOVE technology. Their mindset is just set on a barbarian brutalism.

Though I do agree. More variety of what happened with the various races int he galaxy would be nice, it's easily explained that they can retain their cultural and technological sophistication. Even if they were crash landed on a planet they could still scavange their dropship for equipment. The problem with having a whole, say, countries wort hof the populace being stranded on a planet means that they had a very massive ship to get there. That many people + even a destroyed capital ship would still likely lead to repurposing it for survival on their new home. They likely would retain their cultural and technological influences. That's not to say there arent extremists or others who think differently than the typical citizen in their people.

Lastly, on the topic of everyone speaking the same language, if I recall everyone has a translator of some sort on/in em. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a microchip in your brain that helps translate all the languages. It's why the mushroom people are often unable to be understood. It's just not in there!

 

AAAAAAAAAHHHH!

What people want to see

Reality



Floran codex=

IT'S PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT ALLOW THEM TO GENOCIDE THE UNIVERSE! DO NOT FALL INTO THE SAME TRAP!

P.S. Back on topic, its they're differences in culture that make them unique, if all the races where multi-cultural with a variety of ideologies and religions, then the only difference between species would be their aesthetics.

 

Each race has their "mainstream" culture. But they also have a counter culture.

Floran culture actually has three "flavors," if you will:

1) Corrupted Greenguard. These guys are perma-stuck in berserker rage mode.
2) Intelligent and Social Floran. These guys become the Corrupted Greenguard if they are treated with Drysap.
3) The most common, Passively Homicidal.

This is actually very solid groundwork, because there have been no implementations involving subculture #2 yet. Subculture #1 is the Florans in the cages of the Floran Prison dungeons, and explains why they attack you even though you freed them from captivity.

Compare this to Hylotl, who only have two flavors: Steamed Fish and Sashimi.

I think that the currently-presented lore (in-game) allows for more subcultures to be formed for each race. Apex have Miniknog bullies, Miniknog captives (civilians), The Rebellion, and also a Greenfinger-approved, Ring of Thorns-silenced Research scientist group. I highly doubt that Big Ape would have let Greenfinger just use (and dispose of) his favorite researchers, so it implies that there are some non-oppressed researchers out there.

Avian have Pirates, Grounded, Kluex-Worshippers, and it's very likely (but not directly supported by lore) that there are colonies of Avians that exist off of the main planet, which could then allow for culture change.

I'm not so sure about Glitch, because they're robots, and robots cannot be dealt with until I have ninjas in my team. And I don't know if I have ninjas in my team, because no one can see them.

 

Apex Society is a giant 1984 reference, so yes, it's a depiction of Communism and the flaws that come with communism (aka totalitarian government).

 

Totalitarianism and communism aren't the same thing, and 1984 takes place in the UK after it was absorbed by the US. It's ruled by a small elite, which is pretty much the antithesis to communism.

 

Just like to say, avians seem more Hindu. They have a caste system, they believe many gods make one called kluex (Brahman) and there religion was started to control them.

 

never been to an actual floran prison, have you?

 

I think the race relations are more interesting than the particular civilization they are referencing. Like the Florans hating the Hylotl but being best friends with Glitch.

 

Instead of complaining about the cultures of races, you could try and recommend other things.

 

It's the Antithesis of the ideals of Communism, but Communism tends to give a small group of top government officials all of the power. 1984 was a warning of the dangers of totalitarianism, especially through government surveillance, invasion of privacy, and communism.

EDIT: since this is getting a tad off topic. Let's continue this via PM if you wish.

 

I have seen pirate avians and I have also been on a planet with an friendly floran village and a floran prison with mean florans.

 

Well I think it's really interesting how each race is the opposite of what you'd expect. And the Avians, for example, have a lot of diferent cultural branches or something, like the stargazers and the grounded. But I'm sure all this is about to change, because most of them seem to have unrevealed secrets...

 

Not to just on the bandwagon, but Apex do not seem communist. Authoritarianism doesn't mean Communism, and is in fact not the ideal type of governance Communism strives for.

And i think the variety you are looking for is where the players themselves come in. While there is lore about adventurers and the like, it wouldn't exactly be easy to code the randomness of an adventurer. Some are totally friendly, others will gun you down in your sleep, still more will look at you as an easy mark, others won't...unless your one of those damn dirty apes....see what I mean? Although it does seem that they are including more "bandit" factions, like the cultists , Apex raiders, and shroompeople hanging around former settlements.

 

I Think of them like the spitter dinosaurs in jurassic park, they first look unassuming, then the slasher smile and intimidating leaves come out, along with stabbing.

 

but it is the type of government communism almost invariably gets. the guys running things inevitably decide that their share should be more equal than everyone else's. but yea, planet of the 1984 apes. it's closer to a merged and out of control neo-con republican merger with neo-con labour party (if i remember my UK politics).

 

Floran: Savage wild and just want to fight and kill everything on sight, unisexy
Apex: Intelligent, but under a dic(k)tatorship
Human: Corrupted species, now without a homeworld and torn out of their lazy behavior, can immagine that humans are pissed of that
Hylotl: Cocky and full of themself, also japanese culture without the tentacle erotica...
Glitch: Hivemind and stuck in medival age... like Reddit
Avian: Hallowing a god and at the same time being atheist, way too friendly and some of them are xenosexual

Wheres the tentacle background? This looks like taken out of a hentai <.<... not that I know of any sorts of Starbound hentais..