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Racial Lifespans and Aging?

Discussion in 'Starbound Discussion' started by sansy, Dec 23, 2014.

  1. sansy

    sansy Big Damn Hero

    OOC
    Alright, so I know that the abridged Avian lore states that Avian have a lifespan of ~125 years or something, but I was recently told that that isn't quite canon anymore...
    Which made me think, and i'm sure countless threads like this have come up before. What are the average lifespans of all the races? Like, when do they reach maturity? About how long do they live? Do all the race's bodies deteriorate after a point or do some of them just stop growing and whatnot after a certain point? I'd like to know about all the race's biology, but...

    Eh, y'know. Any theories on lifespan? On aging?

    I'm not certain, but I personally think Humans and Apex have around the same lifespan, and due to this being the future, they have longer average lifespans then we do currently, because y'know, technology. Floran would live for quite a while? I guess because trees and their lifespans? Avian would live longer than humans, just going off non-canon lore. Hylotl? Beats me. I feel that the Novakid would have kind of shorter lifespans because y'know the saying "Those who burn brightest burn the fastest" or something like that? But maybe i'm wrong and they live as long as a star (although stars have so much more mass to live off of!). Not too sure about Glitch and their aging thing. Maybe they self terminate, idk.

    Speculate below! :0

    And apologies if I overlooked something important like a whole post about this kinda stuff!
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2014
  2. Lobardi

    Lobardi Star Wrangler

    I can just see a character starting to walk around slower until you had to start carrying a bench and a hill-master around with you.:laugh:

    But I think that Avians really would have the best natural life span, good diet and a pretty fit race all together. Humans and the Apex could push up and maybe past 200 thanks to advances in medicine and surgery, all that kind of stuff really. Florans... maybe they only start to wither once they pollinate?

    This needs a real discussion though, maybe a good brainstorm?
     
  3. Cipherstar

    Cipherstar Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    The life spans are probably all the same, as everything else about the races are aside from visual appearance. But even then they're still exactly the same height and shape with "subtle" differences.

    Edit; This isn't a jab, It's just pattern recognition, for lack of a better term.
     
  4. Lobardi

    Lobardi Star Wrangler

    Saying that, their all probably at full maturity when you get hold of them. I don't think a few gray feathers/hair/fur/petals will bother the character in question that much... or if they're going to be around that long to notice them with all the cloning/re-birthing thingy.
     
  5. Cipherstar

    Cipherstar Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    The clone/re-birth/regen machines would logically mean they could have sub-infinite life spans if they had the resources / chose to. If it doesn't, then somethings screwy. The only explanation that they wouldn't would be external interference that prevents these races from achieving it. In which case, something/one out there might just need a rocket to the head.
     
    kellbyb and Heartstrings like this.
  6. Lobardi

    Lobardi Star Wrangler

    Well the thing does seem to run on credits, maybe it's something that you pay for on your 3D printer that just isn't accessible? Maybe melting in a pool of lava/acid would count towards not coming back, but I'm sure that the ship has your DNA on it so no matter what you could come back.
     
  7. Serenity

    Serenity The Waste of Time

    I have no clue.
     
  8. Lobardi

    Lobardi Star Wrangler

    I'm not going to try to understand space age concepts, I'm just throwing ideas around that seem plausible.
    Maybe there is no explanation and everyone can blame it on wizards from the moon?
     
  9. sansy

    sansy Big Damn Hero

    But then again, that raises the question of how the hell we're gonna universally measure age...
    Like, a year here (1 rotation around our sun) might be longer or shorter in another galaxy!

    I rather like that cloning device explanation. just say everyone can live forever and be done with it. Within resource limits.

    That's always plausible in a fictional universe, we'll go with that if we can't get an answer! c:
     
  10. LastDay

    LastDay Heliosphere

    Flowers tend to not live for very long, but trees can live for thousands of years.
    I suppose Floran lifespan could be very short or very long.

    Most of them probably don't die from natural causes, given how savage many of them are.

    Glitch could live for a very long time but probably are programmed to self-terminate after 100 or so years?
     
  11. Heartstrings

    Heartstrings Giant Laser Beams

    Well, in theory a person could live forever depending on how often he/she needs to use her cloning machine, e.g. death. This is ironic because if you die more often, you'll live longer! :giggle:
     
  12. Lobardi

    Lobardi Star Wrangler

    But who would have the shortest life span? I'm thinking the Glitch, they may only be robots but their still stuck in the medieval age.
     
  13. Lecic

    Lecic Hard-To-Destroy Reptile

    We know Greenfinger is multiple centuries old, according to the lore codexes. Greenfinger is never described as "elderly" or anything of the like, so as far as we know, he might only be a quarter of the way through his life. Trees can live thousands of years, and Floran physiology seems similar to that of a flowering tree, those being flowers and sap-for-blood. I'd presume that other Florans can live at least as long, but due to constant hunting, warfare, and lack of advanced medicine, the average Floran life expectancy is probably somewhat low.
     
  14. futileMasquerade

    futileMasquerade Orbital Explorer

    Actually, on a cellular level clones are born as old as the original organism was at the time the DNA sample was taken, because their telomeres (extra DNA which prevents the decay of coding DNA during replication but gradually decays itself) come from that original DNA and are subsequently as short. Clones live shorter lives and usually have developmental defects as a result. Unless the cloning machine has a very well preserved DNA sample from the moment of the original's birth the clones would gradually get worse and worse.
     
  15. BloodyFingers

    BloodyFingers The End of Time

    Glitchs undergo repurposing when they no longer function properly (either by falling in disrepair or starting to act, you know, strange self aware). So they "live" as long as they can afford maintenance/Forever, depending on how you interpret that fact.
     
  16. Hoddmimir

    Hoddmimir Cosmic Narwhal

    As a general guideline I would give them something in this range, but please help me narrow it down and decide on more "accurate" values. Also this is assuming a natural lifespan, not a cloning machine based lifespan. These are measured in Universal Standard Years, whatever it is that is based on.

    Human: 85 - 120
    Apex: 85 - 120
    Hylotl: 100 - 150
    Avian: 200 - 300
    Floran: 300 - 1000 (30 - 100 in practice though since they are so violent.)
    Glitch: 100 - Infinite
    Novakid: 50 - 100

    Agaran: 300 - 1000


    My thinking is that Apex are much like Humans. Hylotl I feel like are a more advanced race that favors peace and probably healthcare. Avian have advanced technology and are healthy, though presumably hollow boned... Floran I am basing on trees. Glitch probably have a set age they terminate by but with parts could last forever. Novakid are gas and energy so I feel they would dissipate faster than other races. Agaran are much like the Floran, possibly longer lived because fungus is very good at lasting forever.

    I'm also very interested in Average Height and Average Weight if anyone has an opinion on that.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2014
  17. RyuujinZERO

    RyuujinZERO Supernova

    I'd slash the value for Floran by a factor of 10 ;)

    I doubt any floran has lived to their natural lifespan.

    ...Florans were never very good at metaphors either.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2014
    Heartstrings and demanrisu like this.
  18. Hoddmimir

    Hoddmimir Cosmic Narwhal

    Well I did say I was going with a natural lifespan, but if we want average length of life actually lived, I completely agree. We do know that Greenfinger is at least 300 years old though. I'll make an adjustment commenting on how the unlikelihood of a Floran reaching nature lifespan.
     
  19. BloodyFingers

    BloodyFingers The End of Time

    Now you're entering life expectancy territory. Any warring race will usually see a shortage of old people, due to them dying untimely deaths while young. But there's another reason why I'd give Florans a shorter lifespan: reproduction.

    Usually species that spread faster live shorter, and floran lore states that they've expanded their presence in the universe very quickly after they've obtained FTL travel.

    Plus the Floran death animation points to them not being cloned or reconstructed ala Fifth Element, but literally born anew.

    -edit-

    Note that I'm talking natural lifespans. Technology might've provided a boost in longevity well beyond a specie's natural capacity, thus allowing exceptions like Greenfinger.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2014
  20. Hoddmimir

    Hoddmimir Cosmic Narwhal

    Are we wanting to think that Greenfinger is quite advanced in age for a Floran then? It sounds like we are thinking 300 would be the upper range for Floran lifespan. Or is Greenfinger an anomaly altogether perhaps keeping himself alive by other means? He is never mentioned as being particularly old or enfeebled, but then I suppose he is never referred to as young or anything either. I would love if we could get an official opinion. Someone get the developers to notice this thread.
     

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