I'll admit that you caught me with the eyelids. I hadn't put too much thought into them, but really, did I need to? I don't think we need a solid backstory for every feature that avians have, but if you really want it can be elaborated on. As the the air sacks, Avians might not fly anymore, but that doesn't mean they don't put themselves through strenuous situations anymore. Avians have the most endurance and agility of any race, so the increased air flow would make sense for them. You're getting a solid no on breasts. Avians are not mammals, they do not have mammaries. Birds use different methods of seduction anyways (aka stuff that's being written soon). Avians certainly do hatch from eggs, because they are basically alien birds. Adding breasts and removing eggs basically makes them more akin to walking, feathered humans, which we're trying to avoid. Each race should seem like what they are, aliens.
I agree, we don't need a solid backstory for each feature, just a logic explanation. Then again I think I might have a solution for the breast. Avian born from a human ? I don't remember if there was a topic about the breeding between races and the result of it. But I remember that it was mentioned by the Devs that it was possible for each races to breed between them (Except the glitch/Nova). So what differences it would bring on an Avian born from a human woman ? Well I'd say that the Avian keeps its feathers and Avian shape, with the exception of human aspects present to it. We could call it at some point "hybride" or "Metis". Technically I think it's plausible if we keep in mind that the organic species can mate together and actually give birth to babies.
The idea that two completely different species manage to produce offspring is a complete bastardization of biology, courtesy of Chucklefuck. If two animals can breed and produce offspring, then they're not different species! The races will and should not be able to interbreed, as that is a completely ridiculous idea.
Which is why we avoid Chucklefish's lore and in-game content often. Our playerbase often aims for science fiction, so that things are logical and have some explanation, instead of stuff that seems like magic because space-future.
That is a resounding no on interracial breeding. As Haplap said, it's a completely illogical thing to have occur; biology only allows such a thing if the two reproducing are closely related in terms of species. For instance, a Human can not reproduce with an ape, what makes you think they could ever do so with an Avian, an alien of completely foreign descent? Whether or not Starbound is sci-fantasy is not a valid argument. We are not sci-fantasy. We are sci-fi, and we will remain sci-fi. As for the nictitating membranes, there are many animals that have had them at one point or another. Even us Humans have had them at one point. The reason for Avians still having them? They never had a reason to devolve them. As for the posterior air sacks, the truth of the matter is a bird's respiratory system is much more highly advanced than our own. Seeing as Avians are based off of birds, I see no reason why they cannot share the same respiratory system. There is no reason why they would devolve that trait over time; it's a solid improvement over what Humans are sporting. Finally, the breasts. Avians are Avians. Not mammals. If you could present an argument other than seduction, which I have seen used for Florans as well, then maybe I would be inclined to agree with you. So far, however, I've heard no convincing argument that makes me feel an Avian should have mammaries. An Avian would not find breasts seductive, they have no biological need for them and would have never developed an attraction to them because of it.
Uh that's quit ironic, I wonder how you're going to explain logically the existence of Novakids. But anyway I don't think I'll be able to change your mind at any point.
Alright, Sci-fi only if you wish, but you're not going to have it easy on explaining the lore scientifically and all its components as it was mixed with fantasy.
No, we won't. But, I know I don't mind a challenge, and considering they stepped up to the plate to help make our own lore, I don't think the Wiki Editors are intimidated at all by the notion. Personally, I enjoy well thought out lore that has at least a minor basis in reality. This is why, for Avians, we've chosen to make them so alien; by doing so, they're more closely resembling the creatures they were based off of. It strikes me as more creative than just creating copy/pastes of the Human race for each of the others, anyhow.
I wonder how you are able to speak for something that doesn't even live. Roleplay is about having fun, having logical lore is important, but digging it too much ruins the fun and while you keep reflecting about your lore who "absolutely needs"" to be "scientifically proven", you're just getting out of the point of role playing. I don't remember Birds being agile. And if we follow the logic, all other the species were based on human, why ? Because they are humanoid. Also look at their lore, doesn't it makes you remember human's history ? I don't know what kind of clue else to give you.
I would enjoy cutting Novakids entirely, but we can't do that. So yeah, we're going to have to explain them. I'm not sure what your point is here. We're not trying to restrict freedom on anyone, we're just trying to give as solid and in-depth lore as possible for the player base. If you wanted to make an avian attracted to breasts, go for it yo. They just won't be attracted to bird ta-tas, because birds don't have them. All the species were based off human history, because writing completely original history is extremely difficult, especially for a team of writers, like Chucklefish, who have proven to be weak writers in the past. Once again, i'm missing the point. Are you trying to say that we should make all the races more similar to humans because they bear historical similarities to one another?
Far from that, I'd simply prefer if we kept it simple, which mean: as it is in the game. I hate when people tries to make something but in the end it just makes things complicated when we were able to just roll with what we already have. That's my point.
We're not trying to overcomplicate things, just trying to add more depth to the races. A lot of the in-game stuff is just not very good, so we make changes to it. The worst that will happen is that you'll need to read a short blab about the lore of a race to understand them, so it's not as though things are becoming overly complicated. We just want to give as much lore as possible, because the more lore and backstory, the better.
Don't get us wrong here. We don't intend on writing anything that you absolutely must incorporate into your gameplay. You don't wanna follow Avian cultural mannerisms? Very well. You want your Avian to be attracted to breasts? Go right ahead. You want your Avian to be the same as it always has, regardless of what lore we introduce? That's our goal. But when it comes to physical appearances and descriptions, what's written will need to be adhered to. We're writing coherent lore for players to follow, lore that will help correct any issues with inconsistency in Chucklefish's own lore.
To chime in, biology is good to include because sometimes people, like myself, like to include science to combat RP or injury in general. For example, birds are lightweight due to low bone density. So because of this, I like to think that my avian character's bones break easier. However, another thing to keep in mind is that typical mannerisms and uniform biology doesn't change how one is as a person. Fetishes, interests, personal experiences, and mental fortitude obviously account for the makeup of one's being. This is why psychology is a mixed science in behavior psychology, cognitive psychology, and humanistic psychology. If anything, a community created race lore gives players options and an idea of what they would want to do with their characters.
(Avian bones aren't less dense, they're made of a more durable and dense material than others' bones.)
Someone's been doing their homework. Great job, guys, this is good shit. Explains Avians very nicely. Only thing I disagree with is the lack of feather hands. You'd think with how genetically diverse Avians are, they'd have palpatates (webbed feet) or feather hands, since they can have bills or massive curved beaks with bright pink feathers, etc. Anyway, nice post on the birb people. Hope someone actually /uses/ the flightless lore, and not to do crazy cult shit.
