Continuing my suggestion here... Because there are similar species on every world, I would like to propose that some sort of camouflage system be introduced. Nothing as mundane as being invisible, though...I want to be able to make clothing that resembles the creatures. In particular, I would prefer penguins. I would like to note that even though the locals would not be able to tell you apart from a normal member of their species, the fact that you are a humanoid in a penguin suit would be immediately obvious to anybody else.
That seems like a fun thing to do... Would the penguins/monsters not attack you if you went near them? Also, would there be extra chat options when talking with an NPC?
The way I imagine it, all local creatures to the planet wouldn't be able to figure out the difference unless you display an action too far out of character for that species (like say, firing a gun), and even then, it would only affect those who actually have witnessed the action. Depending on what it is, it will either flee or attack you. Things like digging up plants or taking small samples of the environment probably won't set off any alarms, though. Note that other creatures will interact with you based on how they would interact with the creature you are disguised as. This includes trying to eat you, running away, possibly joining you in a fight, following you around in search of food, challenging you over territory, and if they actually include the feature, attempting to mate with you. It's still not clear if you can actually interact with animals as far as conversation goes, but if there are any local humanoids, they'll notice anyway because they're generally more intelligent. Of course, if they're just cavemen or something, your disguise COULD work, but that also introduces how they interact with the creature you're pretending to be, and any direct contact would probably blow your cover anyway as they try to throw nets at you or put a saddle on your butt.
There is so much win in this thread! Maybe if you dress up in a animal suit you can get reactions from the species of that animal! Maybe even talk to them! That would be an awesome addition to quests to have to infiltrate a nest of hostile monsters! Or maybe even to get an unfriendly NPC to reveal things he/she wouldn't say to your face.
Dressing as a penguin is an awesome idea. Pretending to be an animal to interact with monsters/NPCs the way the animal would is genius. It would really help with research. And be pretty hillarious... I need a penguin-hugging suit...
This idea is based on the real life fact that many animals focus on only the most prominent traits (well at least prominent to the animal) to identify other members of their species or threats, and will actually ignore or attack another of their species if they lack those traits, allowing for situations in which animals will accept a decently fashioned sock puppet over their own young.
