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(Machinima) Starbound: The Monsters Below - Printable Version

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(Machinima) Starbound: The Monsters Below - YDH - 11-26-2015

So I made a thing. It has Avali in it. This is my first venture into the world of machinima and the world of Avali, so expect some clumsiness. I'm still developing my story and process, so I welcome any feedback you have to give.

Quick note about the lore: While I hope to hold this series closely to the official lore where possible, it should be considered "AU" because I am willing to ignore or outright contradict the official lore if I feel make the story work better and I make up details whole-cloth whenever I need to. Please point out lore errors anyway--you won't always be able to tell when I'm throwing out a piece of lore, or if it's just an error. On the flipside, you are free to use any lore I create in your own works. It wouldn't be fair for me to build this playground off the Avali lorebase and not let anyone share it!

With that out of the way, here is the first episode:




[movie trailer voice]
Humans and Avali have never gotten along. The gulf between them is old and runs deep. So when a human finds himself the only companion to a lone Avali warrior, conflict is inevitable. Brokering an uneasy peace, the two set out to return the warrior to his people and pack, unaware that the events they have set in motion that could prove to be the downfall of both their races.
[/movie trailer voice]

Starbound: The Monsters Below is a machinima masquerading as a let’s play. It is set in the Starbound universe, amended by the Avali race created by RyujiinZero... and a few little twists of my own!

Self-rated PG: you can expect blood, violence, occasional swearing in English, frequent untranslated swearing in an alien language, and scary situations.

The Avali and the base Avali mod are by RyujiinZero: http://community.playstarbound.com/resources/avali-race-mod.998/ (But you knew that already! Tongue )
The Avali Triage Mod is by Fevix: http://community.playstarbound.com/resources/avali-triage.2852/
The Creative Mode Mod is by aMannus: http://community.playstarbound.com/...de-complete-control-over-your-experience.614/
OrePlants+ (Ram’s Version) is by greenRAM: http://community.playstarbound.com/resources/ore-plants-rams-version.2594/



The voice of the base commander is provided by usteeler81: https://www.youtube.com/user/usteeler81/featured
All other voices are me, YellowDemonHurlr!

All events depicted in this video are fictional. I didn’t really go to a working group get slugged by a rancher!


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 11-27-2015

So here's a question: What is the Avali equivalent of day or a year? Our years are based on the rotation of our planet around the sun, as inferred by the changing of the seasons and changing angle of the sun. Avalon is different--it's a moon, and if I recall correctly its atmosphere blocks most visible light. Changes in overall temperature and light levels may follow more complex patterns. What sort of natural cycles might the Avali use to mark the passage of time?

Do you think they would use a base 6 number system, given that they have six fingers, or base 8 if you count the wing fingers?


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - Jim_Clonk - 11-27-2015

(11-27-2015, 05:30 AM)YDH Wrote: So here's a question: What is the Avali equivalent of day or a year? Our years are based on the rotation of our planet around the sun, as inferred by the changing of the seasons and changing angle of the sun. Avalon is different--it's a moon, and if I recall correctly its atmosphere blocks most visible light. Changes in overall temperature and light levels may follow more complex patterns. What sort of natural cycles might the Avali use to mark the passage of time?

Do you think they would use a base 6 number system, given that they have six fingers, or base 8 if you count the wing fingers?
Those are pretty good questions...

Although I think the number system was covered somewhere before.


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 11-27-2015

(11-27-2015, 03:25 PM)Jim_Clonk Wrote:
(11-27-2015, 05:30 AM)YDH Wrote: Those are pretty good questions...

Although I think the number system was covered somewhere before.
Since you said that, I googled "Avali number system" and got a couple hits... other people asking the same question, but not getting an answer. Instead there's a long discussion on sex. Priorities. Tongue Still useful, I suppose. Maybe I'll just take a base 6 number system and run with it. Found a nice user-made Avali font, though. Dunno if I'll be able to make use of it, given the pixelated nature of Starbound, but it's there.

Is there a thread on this forum where people discuss lore?

Also, an interesting anecdote. I had previously decided that humans would call Avali "turkeys" as a racial slur. Yesterday I created an avali character and spawned some human NPCs to talk to, just to see how they treated him. I don't usually play as Avali, so this was a new experience. I was rather surprised to hear them all calling him a turkey. Apparently someone beat me to it! Tongue

...and on Thanksgiving, too...


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 11-29-2015

Okay, I dug this up:
RyuujinZERO Wrote:Avali timekeeping must be a little odd, but I havn't set into stone how it works. The problem in avali timekeeping arises from the fact Avalon is a moon and it is also tidally locked. That means 1 Avalon day = 1 full orbit of it's parent planet, based on Avalon size that'll be between 15 and 30 days depending on orbittal distance/speed (Again another precise detail i have no set in stone), that also means that an Avalon "day" and "night" last over a week of Earth time. if the Avali require regular sleep, then their activity cycle can't be connected to the day/night cycle (Which is one reason they arn't so reliant on eyesight, as it wouldn't do them much good for a week at a time).

Obviously the Avali were aware of the stars and that they had a repeated cycle too (A year) giving them two cycles to work against, but again, based on the size of their parent planet and orbital distance this could be several earth years long.
I'm on the fence as to whether a "day" and "night" would actually mean anything, given the opacity of Avalon's atmosphere and distance from the sun (as a corollary, I'm going to contend that Avali weren't aware of the stars before reaching space). Unless I'm misunderstanding--I was under the impression that the Avali's poor eyesight was due to the fact that even when fully exposed to the sun, Avalon's atmosphere blocks most light from reaching the surface.

From here, I think I'm just going to start making stuff up unless someone has a better idea. I'm thinking that the basic equivalent of a "year" for Avalon is based on their sun's solar activity cycle--not the rising and setting that we observe, but cyclic changes in the star's radiation output and amount of ejecta. On Avalon, the peak of this cycle is characterized by increased slightly increased temperatures, but mostly by a season of auroras. For simplicity's sake, I think I'll set this cycle to 1.2 Earth years to make it easy to do rough translations. Unless the science doesn't work.

If day and night do have a noticeable effect, then I imagine that they would form the basis of an Avali "week" or "month."


Consequently, I would expect either some smaller unit of time to be used the way we use days, or for Avali to have long-running "week" or "month" clocks instead of daily ones, and be active at any time according to their personal schedules.

I think I'll go with base 6 for the Avali number system. Thus, they might have a system like this (just pulling numbers out of a hat)

1 "day" = 1/24 of an Avali year = 18.25 Earth days
1 "year" = 438 Earth days = 1.2 Earth years
1 "decade" = 6 Avali years = 7.2 Earth years
1 "century" = 36 Avali years = 43.2 Earth years
1 "millenia" = 144 Avali years = 172.8 Earth years
1 "whatever" = 864 Avali years = 1,036.8 Earth years

Using base 6 really gives a different set of numbers that what we're used to...

Man, this was supposed to be a simple project to serve as a proof of concept for making machinimas! Now I'm delving into stellar phenomena and interstellar timekeeping!


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - Shaadaris - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 08:39 AM)YDH Wrote: Okay, I dug this up:
RyuujinZERO Wrote:Avali timekeeping must be a little odd, but I havn't set into stone how it works. The problem in avali timekeeping arises from the fact Avalon is a moon and it is also tidally locked. That means 1 Avalon day = 1 full orbit of it's parent planet, based on Avalon size that'll be between 15 and 30 days depending on orbittal distance/speed (Again another precise detail i have no set in stone), that also means that an Avalon "day" and "night" last over a week of Earth time. if the Avali require regular sleep, then their activity cycle can't be connected to the day/night cycle (Which is one reason they arn't so reliant on eyesight, as it wouldn't do them much good for a week at a time).

Obviously the Avali were aware of the stars and that they had a repeated cycle too (A year) giving them two cycles to work against, but again, based on the size of their parent planet and orbital distance this could be several earth years long.
I'm on the fence as to whether a "day" and "night" would actually mean anything, given the opacity of Avalon's atmosphere and distance from the sun (as a corollary, I'm going to contend that Avali weren't aware of the stars before reaching space). Unless I'm misunderstanding--I was under the impression that the Avali's poor eyesight was due to the fact that even when fully exposed to the sun, Avalon's atmosphere blocks most light from reaching the surface.

From here, I think I'm just going to start making stuff up unless someone has a better idea. I'm thinking that the basic equivalent of a "year" for Avalon is based on their sun's solar activity cycle--not the rising and setting that we observe, but cyclic changes in the star's radiation output and amount of ejecta. On Avalon, the peak of this cycle is characterized by increased slightly increased temperatures, but mostly by a season of auroras. For simplicity's sake, I think I'll set this cycle to 1.2 Earth years to make it easy to do rough translations. Unless the science doesn't work.

If day and night do have a noticeable effect, then I imagine that they would form the basis of an Avali "week" or "month."


Consequently, I would expect either some smaller unit of time to be used the way we use days, or for Avali to have long-running "week" or "month" clocks instead of daily ones, and be active at any time according to their personal schedules.

I think I'll go with base 6 for the Avali number system. Thus, they might have a system like this (just pulling numbers out of a hat)

1 "day" = 1/24 of an Avali year = 18.25 Earth days
1 "year" = 438 Earth days = 1.2 Earth years
1 "decade" = 6 Avali years = 7.2 Earth years
1 "century" = 36 Avali years = 43.2 Earth years
1 "millenia" = 144 Avali years = 172.8 Earth years
1 "whatever" = 864 Avali years = 1,036.8 Earth years

Using base 6 really gives a different set of numbers that what we're used to...

Man, this was supposed to be a simple project to serve as a proof of concept for making machinimas! Now I'm delving into stellar phenomena and interstellar timekeeping!

Don't think too much about it! When in doubt, cheese an answer. Heck, an answer isn't even needed. Is there a point in the story where anyone will be on Avalon? If not, doesn't matter. If it is, then they probably won't be around long enough for it to matter.


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 07:27 PM)Shaadaris Wrote: Don't think too much about it! When in doubt, cheese an answer. Heck, an answer isn't even needed. Is there a point in the story where anyone will be on Avalon? If not, doesn't matter. If it is, then they probably won't be around long enough for it to matter.

For this short proof-of-concept arc, no. But if this series proves sufficiently successful to be worth the effort it takes to make it (which is significantly greater than the let's play series I'm used to) then yes, we will be seeing Avalon, and their time system becomes important because I plan to have certain events coincide with the "millennial" anniversary of Avali unification, and additionally we delve into the infamous human malefactors that booted the Avali into space in the first place. My stories are nothing if not (over) ambitious). Tongue

Speaking of which, is there a canonical time that that happened? It seems to change... I seem to recall it was originally about 600 years, I think now it's simething like a few thousand.


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 12-21-2015

New episode! I bet you guys thought Rhaomi got fed up and ate me or something, but nope! It just took forever to put this thing together.




Things are looking up for Rhaomi. Having found a companion (if not exactly a friend) and acquired the core fragments required to fix his ship, it seems like he’s well on his way to getting back to his home and pack, and not having to deal with humans again except with the business end of a railgun. Unfortunately, his secret mission is about to catch up to him… and it might just make him lose his mind.


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - Lost Rinoah - 12-21-2015

It's a bit rusty in tone. But I like it. And will be sure to mention minor constructive criticism if I have any backing to what I'm thinking about. Primary example being that. Would time not stop whenever "you" stopped playing your game in their universe? A question to ask.

Checked out a few examples of your lets plays as well. Pretty nice. But you often accidentally spoil the game for the watcher ten to 20 minutes or longer before something has come to pass, and despite doing let's plays for yourself being an important part of keeping the drive to keep going. (So many youtubers miss that bit) Making it sound like it's only for you makes it hard to keep coming back sometimes. Still going to keep watching, and subscribed.

Hope you do well for yourself!


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 12-21-2015

Hey, thanks for the feedback, and for subscribing!
(12-21-2015, 09:11 AM)Lost Rinoah Wrote: It's a bit rusty in tone.  But I like it.
Yeah, I'm really pushing this out faster than I normally do. Usually I rewrite and rewrite obsessively until I think I have it just right... which is never, so I hardly ever release anything.
(12-21-2015, 09:11 AM)Lost Rinoah Wrote: Would time not stop whenever "you" stopped playing your game in their universe?  A question to ask.
But is it a game?  Tongue
(12-21-2015, 09:11 AM)Lost Rinoah Wrote: Checked out a few examples of your lets plays as well.  Pretty nice.  But you often accidentally spoil the game for the watcher ten to 20 minutes or longer before something has come to pass
I do? Do you have an example?
(12-21-2015, 09:11 AM)Lost Rinoah Wrote: Making it sound like it's only for you makes it hard to keep coming back sometimes.
Hmm, that's not what I want to go for at all. Could you elaborate on what makes you feel that way?


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - Lost Rinoah - 12-22-2015

On your hype walkthrough, you often point out facts before they come up in game, and accidentally spoil what happens in game even three episodes later. As if assuming your watchers already know what will happen. This takes away some of the reason to watch. Although I have no issues keeping watching, when it happened I slightly winced. Still watching through more of your stuff to make sure so I'm not picking up things that only happen once. (Since it was more of a walkthrough in hype than blind.) But I will make sure anything I say is constructive or at least tries to be.

So most of what I've said you can ignore for the moment anyways until I can nail down if it's something personal or if it is actually something you did. Not that you couldn't ignore it either way if it didn't suit you. ;P


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 12-22-2015

Ah. Hype, of course. That's what I get for doing a let's play of a game I've played for so long... most of my let's plays are blind plays, I guess you happened to catch me at a time when I'm playing games I know too well... Hype will be done within the week, and I'll be moving on to something new... haven't decided what yet.


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 12-26-2015

So here's an idea I'm toying with: The Avali practice eugenics. Not the forced sterilization/execution kind that the Nazis did, but they don't grant reproduction to be a basic right. Real predatory packs (and even many groups of herbivores) do not allow free reproduction: only the alpha pair can have children. I imagine primitive Avali would have followed a similar pattern, and since they were rather abruptly dragged up the ladder of societal and technological development, it is conceivable that they still cling to some old ways of thinking.

Packs themselves seem to be supremely egalitarian in their modern form, so I'm going to say that the role of deciding who gets to have babies has been handed off to the tribal or even central governments. Perhaps a system like in David Brin's books, where individuals are given cards with differing permissions to reproduce: some can request permission to reproduce, some can reproduce a set number of times before reevaluation, a few can reproduce freely, and some are barred from reproduction at all.

This also fits with what I seem to recall about the Avali need for population control, and their status as preferential carnivores, carnivory is less efficient than herbivory. Every time energy changes tropic levels (sunlight>plants>prey>predator), some energy is lost. That's why there are always so few predators compared to prey. If Avali eat a lot of meat, their populations will have tighter food restrictions. For simplicity's sake, I think I'll say that despite their smaller size and slower metabolism, it takes about the same amount of farmland to sustain an Avali as it does a human. I know the Avali don't tend to be farmers, but it's a way to compare the two.

Thoughts?


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - Lost Rinoah - 12-26-2015

They apparently use rapidly budding fungi and lichens as farmcrops when they can find varieties that are edible to them and provide at least basic mineral requirements. So even this is adapted to their style of living. (After all. Grain-likes are also important in predatory diets)


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 12-27-2015

Yeah, I figured they had to do at least some farming to have even a hope of maintaining a civilization, to feed to animals if nothing else. Rhaomi, in fact, grew up on a colony world mostly devoted to growing piru.

But what about the bigger idea, that having children is something an Avali has to get permission for? It seems to fit with everything else we know about them: predatory, pack hunters, nomads, etc.


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - Lost Rinoah - 12-27-2015

Possible exclusionist culture?  If the family has more children than allotted they are forced to detach and either become self sufficient and separate, or dead.  The small one room settlements are a distinct point of matter stating this possibility. It's been used in the past by humans, and is still used today in an only slightly lessened form in china. Heavily discourages over-production, allowing population and supply control


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 12-27-2015

So punishment by society instead of the government? That's an interesting take.

That's a really heavy punishment, though, since Avali are pack-based instead of family-based. It breaks up the parents' packs, and would exclude the children from access to a creche and thereby prevent them from forming new packs. It's a lot like what you would find in animal packs (where children not of the alpha pair are usually killed, and the parents sometimes exiled), but are the Avali really that primitive?

Of course, mob justice definitely has the capacity to be more cruel than the sorts of things a centralized government is willing to do, so it's possible.


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - Lost Rinoah - 12-27-2015

"Well that's what you get for deciding what you want is more important than sustainability or what the entire pack wants or needs."


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - YDH - 12-28-2015

This is an interesting dichotomy you're painting: on the one hand, Avali are a very tight-knit society, but if you break the rules than they completely eject you.

Still, given Avali psychology, exile seems kind of extreme. Exiled Avali would essentially be condemned to a slow descent into madness, and it would throw their packs in to chaos even if the packmates had nothing to do with it. It might actually be less cruel to just shoot the transgressor.


RE: Starbound: The Monsters Below (Machinima) - Lost Rinoah - 12-28-2015

(12-28-2015, 05:32 AM)YDH Wrote: This is an interesting dichotomy you're painting: on the one hand, Avali are a very tight-knit society, but if you break the rules than they completely eject you.

Still, given Avali psychology, exile seems kind of extreme. Exiled Avali would essentially be condemned to a slow descent into madness, and it would throw their packs in to chaos even if the packmates had nothing to do with it. It might actually be less cruel to just shoot the transgressor.

Not if they're the ones who are sent to run the plantations.  I'm giving possible theories.  Pointing out things that could be but don't have to be.  I mean.  It's not like it's going to be only one.  Sent out on it's own?  Not exactly.  More sent to a specific pack of essentially those who were outcast or such.  My mind is on the fritz today after spending 8 hours working on my projects.  Apologies if my posts are schizophrenic.

I'm kind of surprised nobody else on this forum has even seemingly tried to respond or help you.