I really like this race! I'd like to see them slightly less "cute" looking, but a dragon/reptile race would be awesome!
In the form of mods, certainly. From the devs, yes, but probably no new races or anything that would be a huge amount of added content. At least not until it's out and they're ready for a big content patch.
As cool as lizardman races are, this race doesn't really seem like a proper lizardman race for a game about species that are suffering and the one special snowflake (you) wanting to explore space. I mean aliens are usually depicted as reptilian and birds and fish share some characteristics of reptiles, but this isn't some Aeon from Soul Calibur or pre-40k Warhammer kind of lizardman where the concept is really cool and unique depending on the effort. This is furry pandering lizardmen. I can obviously see some furry pandering coming out of this race such as both the general race and protagonist having hope for space exploration, along with the sprites being insanely cute and not alien enough. It just seems really self-insert where when the race is recovering they learn something to counter their problems and everything is magically fixed, where the Apex are still living in 1984, Humans are still overpopulated and the majority of them in space became psychopaths and incarcerated, and Avian zealots are still running around. Meanwhile the newer generation of the Drale found old technology from the previous generations and used that to create vehicles and eventually fly into space. It just seems too perfect for them to explore space when they fixed their problems. We also have enough cute things running around in the game, so I feel that if they looked more alien, they would look more like a legit race than something off of Deviantart. For example, let's say I wanted to make a race that are anthropormorphic Chinese dragons. I would give them some alien-like features such as a third eye or horn and write how they relied on a powerful crystal gem that guided the race into what they are today, and there are three factions fighting for that one gem which eventually broke and the whole home planet went in outcry, with war happening in the home planet, along with mandatory drafting, separation of families and intergalactic battles happening across the galaxies. You, the protagonist would get the hell away from the planet and whenever you see one of the three factions, they would attack you on sight calling you out on running away from the holy fight. I wouldn't really say it's original, but even then I can't write that well as far as originality. The scavenger concept is alright, but it's a little difficult seeing how it can top something like the Hylotl's medieval Japan theme or Apex's 1984/Labratory theme. tl;dr: Race is furry to the max. Tone it down
I've been noticing a lot of these anthropomorphized races coming off too similar to human norms or are free of any real plights. I like the scrap tech pseudo-steampunk angle of the race but otherwise they seem to be way too conveniently self-reliant despite most of the other races in the Starbound setting are not like this at all. Racial superiority is never suppose to be the goal of a race's backstory. Even humans who we very much are in real life have gotten a gratuitous kick in the pants. All the races seem to be forced into space out of hardship.
Well, the only race that "looks" alien would be Hylotls and probably Florans. Apex and Avians are basically furries too, though with apex leaning on the human side. Cuteness can be seen differently in different people's views, and I guess the nature of Starbound's race sprites do that? As far as appearance goes, I think I am keeping the current design. Yeah, I agree that there needs to be some kind of internal conflict and not just "everything is out to kill you" excuse since that's already the general case with every other race. I like the ideas of factions though, perhaps the surface dwelling Drale split into several groups, one for each "era" of the pre-inhabitants. -Swift-Steel faction would consist of those who are purely scavengers and take what they want forcibly, focusing on traveling and freedom. They make their homes in the sands -Aero-Bronze faction would have Drale who are business enthusiasts and seek innovation, focusing on inventiing and merchandising. They could make their homes in unearthed suburbs -Neo-Iron faction would contain Drale who seeks to use the pre-inhabitants technology to form an empire, focusing on work and production. They make their homes in retaken cities All of the factions could be seeking to rule the other two. This could push the underground Drale into labor camps, mining crystals for each of the faction, in the meanwhile trying to preserve their traditional values. I'm considering adding the black/green metal into the mix, which would be a combination of the 3 lesser metals. Perhaps the underground Drale would try to find a way to stop the fighting by harnessing something more powerful. In such a scenario, maybe the power would threaten all of them, causing a sort of loose alliance? It would also bring into effect of a robotic overlord. Topping it in terms of effectiveness or attractiveness?
Since you're on the topic of Factions here's a few I thought of that still sticks to your theme. -The Crystal Coven is a faction of Drale who want to return to their ancestral roots and religion. Lives in caves. Nomadic, lives of the land kinda guys. -The Cyber-Might (insert faction type, example Coven) is a faction that wants to rule the system with their rebuilt cyber warriors and turn it into a military place. Very dictatorish. Lives in Military bases and police stations. They could all fight over a Terraformer (found on Tamati) to change the planet into a new Utopia or keep it the same. Thanks for your time Camera or anyone else who reads this. Also I truly appreciate your time and effort keeping the Drale running and ever getting closer to reality.
Oh yeah, I forgot to add the base group! As for that one, I think the Neo-Iron Empire already functions similar to your description. Yeah, I already have something in mind, it'll come around after the other things.
Could Drale vendors sell randomized weapons based off of the faction they are in? Like someone from a faction would sell you a sword with the favored metal but randomized, choosing from the crystal types and blade types. (... And by randomized I mean random only the blade and handle gets changed.) Yeahh, not being to mix metal and crystals seems empty to me.
Yeah, for example: Steel Legion would sell swift-steel and crimzon weapons Bronze Republic would sell aero-bronze and agatite weapons Iron Empire would sell neo-iron and lusterium weapons Steel Legion uses a bit of Aero-Bronze in their things and vice versa for Bronze Republic Iron Empire uses some Swift-Steel in their things generally, crystals tend to work better with the associated metal.
*disclaimer* I only skimmed the first post. I like the look of the Drale, I could see myself playing as one. The wings might be a little overpowered, if you can fly with them, but Argonians are like my third favorite Elder Scrolls Race so I'd be happy to play as a lizard person. My one gripe is the "post-apocalyptic" attire idea. That... doesn't really seem to fit. I mean the Florans are savages, the Hylotl are Asian-inspired, the Avians are Egyptian-esque, the Glitch are medieval, the Novakid are Old West American, and so on. Post-apocalyptic feels too much like the Old West, which the Novakid have already claimed. This might sound completely off the wall, but I would love to see the Drale have more of a 1950's mobster vibe. Just the idea of a dragon wielding a tommygun and wearing a fedora and pinstripe suit just puts a smile on my face.
I heard he uses MS-Paint and some obscure .GIF generator. He used a template for the animation frames.
They were mostly for cosmetic purposes, and entirely removable if it comes down to it. Well, Apex's theme is also around western civilization being said "1980s" So then Drale would be distant future, not quite savages, since they're still intellectually adept. That could work part of one of the factions, but entirely reworking the theme from this would put things back at square one. Every sprite and traditional drawing was handmade, but yes I used some templates.
