Lore to get you in the know - Novakid

This guide will gloss over some of the main talking points when discussing the Novakin and what they're even doing here.

The Novakids

The Novakids are without a doubt, the most mysterious race in Starbound as a whole. They are basically sentient gas bag people, or 'fragments of stars' with a western culture about them. Their technology is heavily steam based, and are the only race to get default craftable guns (which is kinda badass). Adding to their western aura, of sorts, the place where their faces should be have been replaced with a metallic branding. The Novakid's anonymity, however, is derived from the fact that no other species seems to recall any major racial/historical interaction with them at all. They have a heavily western-inspired racial theme as well done by Curtis Schweitzer (and as one of the few races to have corresponding music, it's pretty good). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR7fwMM5ccc They have no story based quests, and *nearly* no racial codices (plural of codex. Did you know that? I didn't). There is one existing codex that features two Novakids (Novakin), and seems to repeat itself within Hylotl dungeons/villages. You have probably encountered it a few hundred times. It's titled, "Never Invite a Novakid to Tea". It goes as follows:

Never Invite a Novakid to Tea

My dear Itsuki,
I write this letter to you from the remains of my camp. It appears that missionary work is more difficult than I anticipated.
Despite the training we received, I was woefully underprepared for creatures such as these.
The morning began as peacefully as one could expect on an uncivilized planet like this.
Nonetheless, it was chosen so that I may spread Hylotl peace to the less fortunate, so I was determined to "rough it."
I placed my tea atop a gentle flame and eased myself into my morning meditation as usual. However, I could hardly achieve a state of enlightenment for the cacophony that soon assaulted my ears from beyond a hill!
After a calming breath, I set out to investigate.
A brief hike to the top of the hill revealed two alien lifeforms, shining like beacons, each with a marking atop their face!
A search through my xenobiological handbook revealed these to be Novakid, a primitive gaseous species.
The two, glowing blue and yellow respectively, whooped and hollered as one strummed a guitar, creating some semblance of music. "What better specimens to enlighten than these creatures?" thought I!
I strode down the hill. They seemed wary of me, but I assured them that I meant no harm. I introduced myself in customary fashion, and they returned with their names, the blue one "Bonnibel," the yellow "Nym." They possessed a most ridiculous accent.
Nym extended his hand, and I, assuming it was a customary greeting, reached out in response. The savage shook my hand with a vigour that nearly toppled me, the whole exchange quite uncouth.
Determined to civilize these ruffians, I invited them to tea, as tradition dictates. They seemed very excited at the prospect, eagerly following me back to camp.
My tea boiled, and as I prepared the proper settings the Novakid perused my camp. There was not a single ornament they were not curious about. Their filthy hands touched all my perfectly-aligned furnishings. They shattered my favourite coral sculpture! Nevertheless, I knew I could enlighten them.
Over tea, I spoke about opening their third eye to the world. They seemed to barely pay attention.
The tea I served was my finest blend, but after a single sip they dropped my cups, shattering them on the floor! I struggled to remain calm as Bonnibel removed a jug of some liquid and passed it between herself and Nym. "Perhaps I could earn their trust by partaking in this cultural tradition," I thought.
After a hesitation they allowed me the jug. "Maybe they're warming up to my teachings after all." Those thoughts faded away after I lifted the jug to my mouth. The drink burned down my throat, and after one sip I fell unconscious. When I awoke, Bonnibel and Nym were gone, leaving me in my battered camp nursing a terrible headache.
I end this note with a warning for your missionary travels, Itsuki.
Never invite a Novakid to tea.

Conclusion

A common theory of how the Novakids came to exist can be inferred from Esther's explanation of the Cultivator vs The Ruin, telling that when the Cultivator died, the Novakids were not gifted a key because they are, in fact, fragments of the Cultivator himself. Supporting that theory, is that they could potentially be the most recently formed race, after the Floran, seeing as how little history they have behind them (although this could also just be because they have absolutely no desire to record historical events). The only Novakid figures that had been given names in lore were Bonnibel and Nym until 1.4, when Captain Noble was added to facilitate the new bounty hunting feature.

Some out-of-game background on them, the Novakids were originally introduced as a stretch-goal reward for pre-order sales reaching $500,000, with the idea being presented by Bietol[community.playstarbound.com], a user on the Chucklefish forums, and a design inspired by Suika-Ibuki[community.playstarbound.com]. Both users were accredited for the creation of the race.

Hopefully you found this guide informative and enjoyable, feel free to check out my other guides on other races. If I missed anything here, please tell me!

[Arandomguy]

Developer who worked on novakids got fired as a result of tiy's revolving door of unpaid labour, so that's why it was unpolished, along with most other mechanics in this game.

[reven1994]

Shame more was not done with the race, their race is interesting in a lore perspective but also on a conceptual level of effectively being small living suns with a space cowboy culture add in they probably have the most personality out of any of the races. Kinda feels like the plot was rushed leading to them feeling under utilized. Would have been neat having a mission where you got to effectively go to a novakid settlement where you get to have a show down with one of the local gangs for the artifact to progress the plot.

[rice krispies.]

NOVAKIDS BEING PART OF THE CULTIVATOR


THIS IS SOME GOOD SHIT.

[Ultimate Primal]

Intrigued, might later read the text of the codex that you have provided

[pikmin189]

I liked the Nova kids, now I like using the race even more now lol

[aeyo(s)]

i wish this game was still updated

[Vectorman]

"this aint even everything"
- Mako, 2022

So true. The mystery lives on.

[soup]

dear god this guide sucks

[DOOMSDAY3000]

heres an award you deserve it

[Autumn]

Hello there. I am mighty sure someone have mentionned that already in the comments, but just in case : You might want to check the lines of the inhabitants of surface novakid villages. Some of them say something that support the theory of the "Cultivator's fragments." If you talk to them while being a novakid yourself they tell you something like : "Do you keep having those dreams too ? Like we were all part of a whole ?"

Anyway, nice initiative ! Have a cosmic day !