4th Race Theroies

[ncarr99]

Now that they've confirmed there will be a 4th race at some point, I'm interested in seeing what people think it could be. I feel like it's all but certain the 4th race will be whatever it was that's chasing the Vasari, since after all the build up of "oh my god something is chasing the Vasari and it's ALMOST HERE." I don't know what the purpose of adding another race would be if it weren't that.

I feel like the new race has to meet 3 parameters.

1. It has to do something new gameplay and theme wise. So like it can't just be a psychic themed race because we already have the Advent for that, or a bog-standard "alien empire with weird technology" because the Vasari cover that niche.
2. It has to be something that works with classic RTS mechanics with buildings and ships and an economy, so it can't be a single big space monster or something like that. Unfortunately this also means it has to be scaled down into something that is able to be fought on roughly even terms for the sake of multiplayer balancing, which limits how powerful and terrifying it can actually be.
3. It has have some kind of fear factor, seeing as how the whole build up for them has been "everyone that's encountered them totally disappeared without a trace with the handful of exceptions having been left totally insane and unintelligible with fear". So it can't be like 40k Orks, because while I'm sure having one appear in your living room trying to kill you with an axe would be scary, they aren't really the sort of thing that would be described as having that "fear factor".

With that in mind, here's a bunch of possibilities that I've heard suggested over the years.

I. Some kind of "space bug hivemind swarm " archetype a la Tyranids or Zerg or Prethoryn. Could be really cool gameplay wise and would definitely be something new to Sins. But overall they'd be kind of a generic pick and I don't know if they really have the whole fear factor thing going for them. Scary in real life, but not really that existentially terrifying to the point I could see people going insane with fear just from encountering them.

II. Some kind of "space zombie" archetype like the Flood or Necromorphs or the Beast from Homeworld. They could certainly be scary, but I don't know if they would exactly transition to the RTS format well. Plus just like with the bugs they'd be scary in real life or in some kind of first or third person game but don't really carry the same atmosphere to a strategy game. Personally while I love the Flood and Necromorphs I'm also a little tired of the whole zombie trope as well so I pray this isn't it.

III. A rouge artificial intelligence doing an uprising and trying to purge organic life. Also not very scary.

All of above I would be a little disappointed in, because they are such standard science fiction tropes that they would come off a little generic. Like...we've waited like 15 years for this reveal of the ultra-terrifying super enemy and that's it, just a standard sci-fi trope?

Some other ideas:
IV. The Vasari have a lot of nanite tech, maybe they experimented with something nanite related and it went wrong? This could mean grey goo, it could mean horrible mutants, it could mean all kinds of things. This one could either be really cool or just another flavor of space zombie depending on how it's handled.

V. The Vasari also have a lot of stuff involving messing with phase space. Maybe they accidentally tore open some kind of whole in reality and let horrible phase entities out into real space. Something like the unbidden from Stellaris or the Warp from Warhammer.

VI. Speaking of the Warp, I doubt this one is terribly likely but they could go full HP Lovecraft and have horrible eldritch entities from the void. Not sure how that would translate to an RTS without feeling underpowered but perhaps it could be done.

VII. A normal sentient race - maybe precursors of some kind. But one that has either psychic powers or some kind of technology that mess with peoples heads and induce hallucinations and fear etc. Absolutely a cop out of the whole "mad with fear" thing and I would be upset if this is what they went with.

Beyond all of these, I'm having a hard time thinking of what else the new race even could be. What else is out there that would be thematically new and capture that fear factor thing adequately? Personally I'm hoping this is just a lack of imagination on my part and they manage to surprise me with something I wasn't expecting.

Any thoughts from anyone else, either on any of these presented ideas or on some other ideas you have?

[Prisoner 76561197992841073]

self replicating Von Neumann bots

[Diarmuhnd]

4th 'secret race' will be Space Apocalypse Ponies.

[ncarr99]

Originally posted by Diarmuhnd:

4th 'secret race' will be Space Apocalypse Ponies.
:mead::cactusrum:

Oh my god you're right. It'll be the brony apocalypse. Maybe they were the *real* deviants that the TEC exiled way back when and now they've come back for revenge.

[cernodan]

Poozers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NGQjRMXg28

[「Hliey」]

I wonder if the artifacts we find at planets are hints to them and what they they might be like.

[Greldinart]

its harder to make enter a new challenger in the game design, tec is balanced, vasari armor fleet, advent shield fleet.
so what would do a 4th? i think a modulable gameplay, like a versatile union of small faction but stronger, or add new stuff like the terror who was chasing the vasari over galaxy. liek a demonic race.

[Medve]

I think it will be a hivemind. They will bnot have the strongest ships but they will have the numbers to swarm and overrun there enemies..

[Blitzwing]

Something like the shadow or vorlon from Babylon 5 with bio ships?

[Король Бабар]

Originally posted by Blitzwing:

Something like the shadow or vorlon from Babylon 5 with bio ships?

Bioships would be great, I'd rather not see them being an ancient civilisation however. I think if an old civ like the Vorlon would come back in Sins it shouldn't be a playable civ, they shouldn't be on the same power level as the other civs. It should be some sort of late game cataclysm where a ancient civ awaken and run amok.

However a civilisation with biotech like the ship from Lexx, Farscape, the Species 8472 or the Vorlon would be visually striking. I would love if it leaned more on the weird body horror style of Lexx but it might not be very marketable...

Maybe they could have some sort of random mutation mechanic with the ships growing tumors, you could spread infections and viruses among your fleet to direct their evolution.

[Corvididae]

If forced to make a bet my money would be on something phase space related, possibly mixed with eldritch abominations. Gameplay would involve being able to hide your ships, with phase space detection not letting your enemy know you are coming. Possibly also some sort of enhanced fog of war mechanic, where you hide an entire system from your opponent's view including any ships of theirs within. Hidden ships revert to using AI control and can't be given orders, but could still fight you off if you attack somewhere too strong.

But in the end speculation is difficult. I suspect whatever is delivered won't live up to the hype, but I could be surprised.

[SovereigN7]

my top 3 are:

kinda generic but...

-phase space interdimensional invaders/ horrors like unbidden in stellaris but less psionics, like the vasari drew their attention while experimenting with phase space technology.
-grey goo type nanite swarm (could go like no shield/ more hull or just overwhelming number), since Vasari are big in nanotech, could be some rogue ai from their past empire days.
-literal "zerg" bio hivemind "devour everything".
-or....

[IIIRAZORIII]

some kind of defensive playstyle i think/hope, currently colonisation ships give bonus's to different traits, vasari = mining, advent = research, tec = logistics, only one missing is defence.

[ncarr99]

Originally posted by IIIRAZORIII:

some kind of defensive playstyle i think/hope, currently colonisation ships give bonus's to different traits, vasari = mining, advent = research, tec = logistics, only one missing is defence.

That makes sense gameplay wise and would be an interesting dynamic, but I'd be surprised, if only because their whole "thing" is that they invaded and destroyed the Vasari Empire and who knows how many other places in the 10,000 year pursuit. Thematically that doesn't feel very "defensive".

[󠀡󠀡]

Hopefully NOT a race of earthlike oversized gorrilas, maybe something akin to space/void psi fish from AOW:planetfall.

[Mikeblade]

it's either this games version of the borg or it's a all machine race.

that or some type of religion nut bars after all they chased after them for over 10 000 years that's something those crazies would do