Actual alien wildlife

[Thravid]

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[Damien Hart]

The RimWorld fiction directly states that there are no true aliens. I'm not 100% sure if that extends to animals though (I hope not) as it specifically refers to humans, and animals aren't mentioned there.

[JimmyAgnt007]

some more genetic experiments and/or funky evolutions would be neat though.

[EarthyTurtle]

Same, or some random evolutions.

I'd like to see a bit of folk lore as well. "Legend has it of a powerful beast that roams this world. It sneaks into peoples chambers of a night and they are gone by day."

[Varnhagen]

Hai.

Fisch? What about sharks?

[keylocke]

i like how monsters and nightmare creatures in don't starve look. and it might be fun to find some huge roaming boss-type animal acting like a deerclops in rimworld. 

[JimmyAgnt007]

giant spiders would be neat.  or mabe a giant ant colony.  workers gathering resources, soldiers to fight off attackers.  queen deep in the mountain.  lol

[EarthyTurtle]

You know what would be incredibly cool! Fireflies at night in temperate/rainforest biomes. :3

[Mystic]

You know what would be incredibly cool! Fireflies at night in temperate/rainforest biomes. :3

I really like that idea!  On two different levels, in fact: because it would look cool, and because it is sort of a nod to one of the game's inspirations.

[keylocke]

and dinosaurs. this game needs some dinosaurs.  rawr!

[Wex]

While not aliens, the game couls include "transhumans". Hybrids, like a dog-man or cat people. If someone can grow people in Vat Chambers, genes splicing is bound to happen, sooner or later. This can be a nice source of info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhuman_Space

[keylocke]

While not aliens, the game couls include "transhumans". Hybrids, like a dog-man or cat people. If someone can grow people in Vat Chambers, genes splicing is bound to happen, sooner or later. This can be a nice source of info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhuman_Space

thanks for sharing this. i've always been on the look out for more good scifi.. 

[Damien Hart]

I think the general idea is that most planets that are suitable are terraformed to be more suitable for human habitation. That explains the presence of earth animals, but I really don't like that they are the only ones present. Where are all the genetically engineered creatures, and it doesn't seem plausible that all these planets can sustain life, but none of them happened to have any life of their own, whatsoever.

Not to mention animals that have adapted to their environment, whether by natural selection on the actual rimworld, or on populated planets through exposure to chemicals/pollutants, radiation etc. and then introduced by humans to the rimworlds.

IIRC, no transhumans are mentioned in the lore, but transanimals definitely were.

[kingtyris]

The information section for pawns has a 'race' category, which implies to me that other transhuman races will be added into the game later. I like having no aliens, and the idea of having Reaver type altered humans going on rampages about your colony.

[Damien Hart]

The information section for pawns has a 'race' category, which implies to me that other transhuman races will be added into the game later. I like having no aliens, and the idea of having Reaver type altered humans going on rampages about your colony.

So I was just thinking transhuman was human-animal hybrids, but it's not, and yes, there are some transhuman species. These are the specifics mentioned:

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 no proper hybrids, but plenty of other transhumans. Ooooh, reavers! 

These are the original lore docs by Tynan if you're interested:

RimWorld Universe Quick Primer: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pIZyKif0bFbBWten4drrm7kfSSfvBoJPgG9-ywfN8j8/pub
Longsleep Revival Briefing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fUO3KKbAbTxMP1lqphnnodY0NPoOVblCUkDw-54MDUc/pub