Evolution, human subspecies, traits, and so on.

Started by Alpha393, November 06, 2016, 11:31:46 AM

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Alpha393

Human: a baseline human, almost entirely unaffected by gene modification and genetic drift from non-earthlike planets. Already in game, but I'm suggesting a change: can swim across deep water and fire while treading water, but at reduced accuracy.

Cave dweller: doesn't get cabin fever, pale skin, can see in darkness a bit better, maybe dislikes the outside?

Aquatic: base movement speed on land reduced to 90-95%, movement speed in shallow water is increased to 120%, can move across deep water at 150% speed.

Vat-grown soldier: anyone with this backstory ages at an increased rate with an increased risk of age-related health complications. Maybe physically stronger to offset this?

Vat-grown civilian: decreased aging speed, significantly reduced risk of age-related health problems, disliked by some in your colony due to being considered the unethical creation of life, treated as an equal by others in your colony because they're still human. Probably base it off of first, second, and third impressions per individual. [mewtwo quote goes here]

Glitter worlder: pumped full of nanites, doubled immunity build rate, automatically heal any wounds short of an amputation or major organ rupture in the field, but not 'heal' heal. Just stops the bleeding long enough to get medical aid. Infections can sometimes develop into sensory mechanites if they reach extreme levels.

Mechanoid: while not necessarily human in the biological sense, it fits in here better than anywhere else. An AI housed in a mechanical humanoid body. All stats enhanced to 120%, can never get sick, 12% lower break threshold, can be repaired with components, steel, and plasteel instead of the various medicines. Eats electricity by tapping power lines, will prioritize tapping lines placed under a chair next to a table. Ignored by manhunter packs unless provoked. Pirates may try to abduct them for parts. Immune to toxic fallout. Can be 'butchered' at the machining table like other mechanoids.

Spacer: comes from several generations of spacers who lived entirely inside the protection of a starship, extremely pale skin, sunburns extremely easily during midday. Increased crafting skill.

Vat-grown spider amalgamate: Can equip two non-minigun weapons at the same time, marked with disfigured by default, eyesight increased to 200%, manipulation increased to 200%, Can ONLY eat meat or insect jelly, but doesn't mind eating raw corpses. Produces five insect jelly daily at the cost of doubled metabolic rate. Movement speed increased to 120%, but reduced drastically in the water, down to 20%. Considered a monster at first glance by most, but gets a sympathy bonus from other vat-grown individuals.

Vat-grown bird amalgamate: Eyesight reduced to 90%, manipulation reduced to 90%, bones break more easily in combat, but movement speed is increased to 150% and is negatively affected less by ground type. Considered a monster at first glance by most, but gets a sympathy bonus from other vat-grown individuals.

What do you all think? Don't be afraid to give constructive feedback and  your own ideas!

Alpha393

Nobody? Ok.

Vat-grown feline amalgamate: Hearing is improved to 200% (for when it actually does stuff :P), eyesight is improved to 120% in light and 100% in darkness, slightly more insulated from cold. Considered an abomination blah blah you get the drill.

Pink Omega

I actually love the ideia, but I think it would fit better in separated mods

<=To Be Continued/\/

Alpha393

Yeah, the amalgamates are a pretty long stretch, but were confirmed to exist in the story primer. I can see aquatic being added though.

Pink Omega

Yup. Maybe you can ask a modder to do some of those? I dunno, I really like these things like, bioengineered creatures, humans, etc. The game really needs more strange creatures/playable humanoids.

<=To Be Continued/\/

Wex

A vat grown soldier will be, "realistcally" speaking: increased muscle, redundant vital organs (2 hearts anyone?), be hidebound and uninventive (to follow orders), feel less pain, heal faster.
If you can tailor a soldier (and the first vat grown person will probably be a soldier) that's probably what you'll want.
"You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant."
    Harlan Ellison

Alpha393

Less inventive? In Star Wars the whole point of using clones over their own droid army was to be able to adapt to situations more quickly than cheap mass produced brainless drones. Granted, it makes plenty of sense. Vat-grown commando with the stats I suggested, vat-grown soldier with he stats you suggested?

Wex

Yes, less inventive. We are talking of baseline grunt work here.
Officers won't need that, they won't need being stronger or more resillient; they would need abstraction capabilities, a strategic mind and a very fast thinking brain.

But I won't create such a vat grown officier. Creating a fast thinking strategist will probably be a danger for humanity. Just imagine if he decides he doesn't like serving normal humans, and he is in command of an army of grunts...
"You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant."
    Harlan Ellison

mumblemumble

I have an idea I'd like to add

Carcinophyte : a broken attempt to turn cancer into a regenerating soldier. While it technically works, its body is in an irregular shape making it very grotesque to people who see it. It also struggles with manipulation due to deformed hands, but has a rather sick, though useful ability : its hunger is twice that of a normal man, twice the length of needing to feed between, but it can regenerate body parts by itself, being nearly immune to infection and disease, healing bleeding automatically over time and being semi immortal, assuming catastrophic damage is NOT done rapidly enough to destroy the entire organism. (within a 1 day period, they can recover from any injury not resulting in amputation. 2 days to recover from amputations, and death requires over 75% organic matter destroyed) While this makes it very handy in combat, it has an extremely dangerous side : hunger provides a mental break in where it will grab the nearest biological tissue source and consume it to feed itself. This can be a corpse, plant matter, meat, foods, meals, organs, an animal, another colonist, anything  which is biological matter.

Because of this they are often used as front-line soldiers by military groups, but the risk of them is often matched by the effectiveness.

To military corporations, they are the most useful of pawns.

To everyone else, they are abominations, deserving death, both to save lives, and to put the poor thing out of its misery.
Why to people worry about following their heart? Its lodged in your chest, you won't accidentally leave it behind.

-----

Its bad because reasons, and if you don't know the reasons, you are horrible. You cannot ask what the reasons are or else you doubt it. But the reasons are irrefutable. Logic.

Boston

Quote from: Wex on November 07, 2016, 02:35:43 AM
Yes, less inventive. We are talking of baseline grunt work here.
Officers won't need that, they won't need being stronger or more resillient; they would need abstraction capabilities, a strategic mind and a very fast thinking brain.

But I won't create such a vat grown officier. Creating a fast thinking strategist will probably be a danger for humanity. Just imagine if he decides he doesn't like serving normal humans, and he is in command of an army of grunts...

You do realize the epitome of modern soldiery is a soldier that can think for themselves and take initiative, right? The whole reason modern militaries have chains-of-command below the company level is due to increased need for small-tactics and flexibility. When the sergeant in command of the squad gets killed, you want a soldier to be able to stand up and take command of the squad, not just herp a derp under fire until another officer/NCO can take command.

This isn't the 1800's, where armies stood in blocks and blasted at each other.

Not to mention: orders aren't exactly spelled out with steps labelled. Even in small unit tactics, orders usually encapsulate ,' Hey, squad one, take that house!". Everything else is up to the soldiers in the unit. You want intelligent soldiers, capable of thinking for themselves, specifically so you don't have to hand-hold them through tasks. Hand-holding soldiers means more multi-tasking, meaning more complicated orders, meaning more things can go wrong

Stupid soldiers who stand around and wait for orders are the exact antithesis of modern (and future) warfare.

Alpha393

Pretty much the above post. Save the mindless charges for the mechanoids.

Vat-grown marksman: Eyesight increased to 400%, manipulation increased to 120%, incapable of everything but violence, cleaning and hauling.

JesterHell

From the Longsleep Revival Briefing.

QuoteThe Ordo Historia has recorded and gene-sampled thousands of differently-engineered and adapted xenohumans. Among other notable traits in this genetic library, one may find.


  • Aquatic-adapted strains who can withstand breathing very high gas pressures and even survive days of immersion by exchanging oxygen through the skin (no true permanently-aquatic fish people have ever been confirmed).
  • Soldier variants carrying any of a large number of traits that various militaries have seen fit to bestow upon their people. Typically, they have large muscles and perfect eyesight. Some have minimized metabolisms made to digest a single kind of long-lasting nutrient solution, to make army logistics easier. Their lifespans are short - usually between ten and thirty years - and they grow up very fast. But the most significant differences are psychological. Engineered grunt soldiers are obedient, sense pain only in a distant way, obsessed with learning about weapons and war, and carry a strong need to be part of something larger than themselves. They are deliberately lacking in abstract intelligence and creativity. Engineered commanders are highly analytical, fascinated with military history, utterly cold under pressure, and masters at spatial visualization.
  • Radiological immunity is a very common adaptation; the Ordo estimates that most of humanity is more tolerant of radiation than our Terran progenitors.
  • Some worlds engineer "perfect mates" for the rich and powerful. Such specimens are created with bodies to match the fashions of their home worlds and the tastes of their owners. They tend to be obsessively submissive and devoted, totally without jealousy or self-regard, artistically inclined and endlessly cheerful. Such traits do not last long in an unrestricted evolutionary environment because they are so easy to exploit, but engineered mates are sometimes kept in longsleep long after their creation, to be traded into a post-catastrophe market that can no longer create them. The main contact most of us will ever have with such specimens is through their descendants, who, while they have most of the traits of the original in only a very diluted form, still occasionally express Mendelian traits like impossible eye shades or streaks of multicolored hair.
  • Fashion-driven genetic modifications are often applied during later life instead of prenatally, and are most often cosmetic and skin-deep. Variations in hair and skin color are common. More exotic modification add shining crests, color-changing skin and eyes, reshaped or elongated bodies, and colored nails, feathers, or fur.
  • Gravity variations create new body structures. People from low-g adapted populations are lighter, taller, and weaker than those from weightier environments. The most extreme examples are the gravity dwarfs, 3-foot-tall xenohumans from worlds of over 2g of gravity. Their short and stocky shape lets them live and work in comfortably in such oppressive g-pulls. They even have a noted preference for short and underground dwellings. It's unresolved whether this preference is cultural or genetic in origin.

So a couple of those are a match to what you suggested, but I'm more interested in Trananimals myself.

QuoteSuch intelligence-enhanced animals are collectively classified by their degree of brain power and called by a specific prefix like so:

       
  • Opti - Indicates enhanced but still sub-human intelligence. Optianimals can usually use tools, form long-term goals and organize into primitive social groups, but can't speak more than a few words, read, or think abstractly. Optidog, optipig, optiwhale, optimonkey.
  • Trans - Indicates intelligence in the human range. Transanimals can read, use tools, form teams, hold conversations, and think about complex ideas. Transdog, transbear, transgoat, transsimian.

Quote from: Boston on November 07, 2016, 07:00:51 AM
Quote from: Wex on November 07, 2016, 02:35:43 AM
Yes, less inventive. We are talking of baseline grunt work here.
Officers won't need that, they won't need being stronger or more resillient; they would need abstraction capabilities, a strategic mind and a very fast thinking brain.

But I won't create such a vat grown officier. Creating a fast thinking strategist will probably be a danger for humanity. Just imagine if he decides he doesn't like serving normal humans, and he is in command of an army of grunts...

You do realize the epitome of modern soldiery is a soldier that can think for themselves and take initiative, right? The whole reason modern militaries have chains-of-command below the company level is due to increased need for small-tactics and flexibility. When the sergeant in command of the squad gets killed, you want a soldier to be able to stand up and take command of the squad, not just herp a derp under fire until another officer/NCO can take command.

This isn't the 1800's, where armies stood in blocks and blasted at each other.

Not to mention: orders aren't exactly spelled out with steps labelled. Even in small unit tactics, orders usually encapsulate ,' Hey, squad one, take that house!". Everything else is up to the soldiers in the unit. You want intelligent soldiers, capable of thinking for themselves, specifically so you don't have to hand-hold them through tasks. Hand-holding soldiers means more multi-tasking, meaning more complicated orders, meaning more things can go wrong

Stupid soldiers who stand around and wait for orders are the exact antithesis of modern (and future) warfare.

While I do kind of agree with what your saying bout modern military's I disagree in that I think if your producing soldiers artificially (cloning) then chances are you don't care about the survival of those soldiers and can just throw bodies at a problem and if that is the case you want to make sure they can't rebel or get any "uppity" ideas about rights so dumbing them down could be considered acceptable.

Say for instance you had the ability to create 100, 1000 or 10000 vat grown soldiers everyday all year long year then their lack of intelligence is made up for in their disposable nature, you can just keep sending more to capture that house until the defenders pass out from exhaustion and reclaim the bodies of the dead to turn into soylent green for the next generation of vat grown soldiers, after all quantity has a quality all its own.

Alpha393

Clones take time to replace. If you have a batch of ten thousand showing up in five minutes then yeah you can trash the first one, but why would you want to do that? Back on topic:

Vat-grown mate: Differs from other vat-grown individuals because they were built from the ground up instead of turning template DNA inside out. Brightly colored hair and eyes are more common, usually have sanguine trait, are generally a huge mood booster but varying levels of useless otherwise. Often have burning passions for art, growing, and on occasion, shooting and melee. Often have questionable moral standards.

JesterHell

Quote from: Alphanoob393 on November 08, 2016, 07:30:12 AM
Clones take time to replace.

Where talking about a future in which humanity has genetically engineered exploding animals and trees which contain rocket fuel in them so whats to say they can't grow a full clone in only a couple of days, then all you need is to have enough grow vats so that X amount are birth everyday and instantly start with the next clone, you have a couple such setups and you've got new clones everyday, just load it with skills from neurotrainers and send it to attack and nobody important dies only the disposable clones.

Quote from: Alphanoob393 on November 08, 2016, 07:30:12 AMIf you have a batch of ten thousand showing up in five minutes then yeah you can trash the first one,

The point is mainly that clones are cheaper and quicker then ordinary humans in that they require none of life's luxury's because they have no-life and are trained with neurotrainers, they step out of the vat combat ready, how fast you can replace them depend upon how fast you can grow them and we've already created clone kidney just a few years ago so add another 1000 years of advancement and its not hypothetically impossible to grow them in just a couple of days.

Quote from: Alphanoob393 on November 08, 2016, 07:30:12 AM
but why would you want to do that?

Because their cheaper then mechanoids in terms of production costs as you could grow most of the components for the nutrient paste/slurry like say a genetically engineered algae that has all the nutrients that a human body needs to grow and use that to feed growing clones while each mechanoid takes hard resources like plasteel, unlike mechanoids they wont stick around for centuries if left unattended and are less of a risk then mechanoid if they turn hostile as you can cut off their food supply quite easily (just stop producing it).

You see I was think in term of a government run operation as that's imho the most likely source of such a technology, have 1000000 or more cloning pods constantly cycling though rapid growth clones (1-week or less) that are loaded upon "birth" with neurotrainer's for combat skills, basically thinking of a large scale operation where clones are produced on a "production line" as disposable cannon fodder backed up by actual soldiers whom act as commanders/special forces, its how you make "dumb" clone soldiers useful as you were the enemy down with the cannon fodder then send in the real soldiers once the enemy is exhausted.

Now do I think its the best method? well no of course not but if you want to use clones and don't want to give them the level of intelligence needed your them to have the initiative for them to be "good" soldier as Boston mentioned because of the risk of rebellion then your only real option is the cannon fodder method.

MarcTheMerc

My mods adds some xenohumans link in my signiture.

And yes I know this is promoting and I feel bad
"So weird looking, like a twisted hulk of man and machine both scary and... well scary i mean it would look like a crab with limbs on limbs."

Yay i have a mod now ''https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=20513.0''; It adds mercs