In StarLance, all the factions are human but their isolation has caused them to lead divergant sociatal paths. To summarize the major factions:

The Orion Axis
Homeworlds: Rigel, Casseopeia, Betelgeuse
Ethnic Majority: African Black
Advantage: 1.25
Outlook: Explorers, a warrior-like race committed to conquering the unknown. With quick aggressivness and near-suicidal bravery, the Orions have risen from a trio of backwater worlds to become a faction with strength enough to rival even the mighty Polaris Confederacy.
Currently at war with: The Polaris Confederacy, the Alduran Combine

The Alduran Combine
Homeworld: Aldura Prime
Ethnic Majority: mixed
Advantage: 1.00
Outlook: Piracy and glory. Once a mighty dominion over the galactic west, the Alduran Empire was slowly drained from decades of savage war against both the Orion Axis and the mysterious invaders called "the recluse". Battered and withdrawn, the Alduran Combine is now little more than a loose confederation of Pirates, mercenaries, and Rogues held together by the last strands of loyalty.
Currently at war with: Defeated

The Polaris Confederacy
Homeworld: North Star
Ethnic Majority: Russian Caucasian
Advantage: 1.75
Outlook: Power and order; maintaining control over the sector. Using their proud ways and the grand Polaris Navy, the Confederacy has managed to keep a dominant position in the terran sector for nearly 50 years since the fall of the Alduran Empire.
Currently at war with: The Orion Axis

The Argosian Empire
Homeworld: Argos IV
Ethnic Majority: Japanese
Advantage: 2.50
Outlook: Communal technological advancement and the betterment of society. The Argosian civilization, while the most advanced and utopian yet, is too remote and distant from the other four major colonies to be involved in wars, as no fleet has yet been able to cross the vast void separating Argos and it's closest neighbor, Aldura.
Currently at war with: none

The Recluse
Homeworld: Unknown
Ethnic Majority: Unknown
Advantage: 4.00
Outlook: Motives unknown. Occasional sightings near the borders of old empire space.
Currently at war with: Unknown

Just idle banter, where did you get the name 'Argosian Empire?' If I had run through with my old plug instead of making SETR, one of the main races would have been the 'Argeisian Empire'. Sound similar don't they? I still reserve the right call one of my races Argeisian!

Personally, I doubt distinct ethnic groups will exist in the far future.
In any case, being stranded on planets for a few centuries (as I believe happens in Starlance) would change their features drastically, creating new ethnic groups.

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Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI

A long time ago (in SL's infancy), I talked to you about StarLance, and you mentioned another faction. Have things changed drastically since then, or is it a faction you're not going to tell people about until they play it?

I also see you've gone with the basic Ares method of starting advantages at 1. If the Jjaro were given an advantage on that system, I calculate it at 7.143. Of course, the Jjaro are given the high number to indicate the large difference, so I'm guessing before the toning down of the Jjaro that we recently did, and the toning up of the other races, it was above 10 in practice

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"Once, just once, I'd like to be able to land somewhere and say, 'Behold, I am the Archangel Gabriel.'"
"I fail to see the humor in that situation, Doctor."
"Naturally. You could hardly claim to be an angel with those pointed ears, Mister Spock. But say you landed someplace with a pitchfork "

(This message has been edited by Pallas Athene (edited 07-19-2001).)

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Originally posted by Pallas Athene:
A long time ago (in SL's infancy), I talked to you about StarLance, and you mentioned another faction. Have things changed drastically since then, or is it a faction you're not going to tell people about until they play it?

If you are referring to the Dominion of Sol, yes, I got rid of that because it seemed too corny. I replaced it with the Argosian Empire.

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Time is the best teacher, yet it kills all of it's students.

Quote

Originally posted by Pallas Athene:
**I also see you've gone with the basic Ares method of starting advantages at 1. If the Jjaro were given an advantage on that system, I calculate it at 7.143. Of course, the Jjaro are given the high number to indicate the large difference, so I'm guessing before the toning down of the Jjaro that we recently did, and the toning up of the other races, it was above 10 in practice:)
**

I think the Jjaro's advantage number might even be higher, as a skilled Jjaro pilot could put a huge dent in an enemy force. I could destroy 37 aud carriers without getting a single scratch with some of the ships. They STILL have their "hit multiple ships at once" capability.

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Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI

Well, yes, even on first generation Jjaro ships a Dreadnought could knock out 10 gateships without anything more than superficial damage. I haven't seen all of the 3rd generation in person, but I know just how much more powerful they are

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"Once, just once, I'd like to be able to land somewhere and say, 'Behold, I am the Archangel Gabriel.'"
"I fail to see the humor in that situation, Doctor."
"Naturally. You could hardly claim to be an angel with those pointed ears, Mister Spock. But say you landed someplace with a pitchfork "

Dude! Make them a lot less powerful. It's fun to have mixed race multiplayers.

They're very, very expensive.
Quite a few of them require entire gold blocks.
I hope that counterbalences them.

In any case, Marathon purists will consider the Jjaro
highly underpowered and flame us. Short of giving all
Jjaro ships shields >10,000,000 and weapons with activate
sequences of "die: destroyed" (not reflexive), there's
really no way to make Jjaro ships powerful enough from
that point of view.

The current status is a sort of compromise on power and
balence needs. Rest assured, mixed race multi games
will be possible (although more advanced races will
be SLIGHTLY more effective per cost).

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Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI

(This message has been edited by Fleet Admiral Darkk (edited 07-22-2001).)

Don't forget, there's no Jjarro ship's in marathon, so you can't say they had invincible weapons. The nearest demonstration of ship to ship power was the nova containment fields for the star, and the trih xeem. While awesomely powerful, the pfhor also have them now. And since most of Pfhor technology is Jjarro, and the pfhor aren't that good a race, it is reasonable to assume the jjarro wouldn't be supremely better.

Ok, let's try it this way. The list of reasons:

1. The Jjaro aren't careless - they don't leave tech they don't want others to have around.
2. The Jjaro have improved their tech since the Pfhor got theirs from digs.

#1 can be proved by the fact humans got Jjaro tech that made Rampant AIs and time-travelling cyborgs, but the Pfhor didn't get either trick. They don't have it all.
#2 can't be proved, but our technology seems to advance rather quickly, and it seems to be advancing at an exponential rate...

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Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI

Also, the Jjaro can take on Wr'kncacnter.
Read the prologue to PiD if you don't believe that one.

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Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI

Hmm, those are good reasons, but let's not dismiss the possibility that the Jjarro technology was pretty much penultimate the way it was. If you've done research for a billion years you aren't going to make a super breakthrough in 60 million. Yeah they're good, but I wouldn't place they're tech at being more than 6.00. Oh, I really liked their area effect weapons, but I would seriously tone the damage down a little. Have you played pallas' S'pht program? Very nice spht ships.

The w'rckacknter are pretty powerful, but the Jjaro didn't take them on with total success. Remember how P'thia (maybe a more advanced s'pht species?) was killed. It indicates that the Jjaro took heavy losses doing so, and even so there's only 1 w'rckacknter, in a universe of many... the fact the jjaro won could be attributed to the fact they all fought amongst themselves, like the PiD prologue says.

No, the PiD prologue makes it pretty clear to me that they consider this almost easy. The Pthyia were a favored client race of the Jjaro, who they really missed. BTW, it wasn't ONE Wr'kncacnter, M2 mentions THEM, as in PLURL.

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Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI

As for tech development, you have to remember one thing: even if the Jjaro had left all of their tech where the Pfhor could get it, the Pfhor never truly understood the technology they were using, only how to use it. (Read: Drinniol cybernetic Implant)

But it's pretty obvious that if any race was still around (i.e. Pfhor) that could fight the Wr'kncacnter you wouldn't be so paranoid about them getting out of Lh'owon's sun. (Was that MI or 3rd party? I can't remember). This, of course, implies that the Pfhor didn't have everything in the first place. Therefore, the Pfhor lag behind them even without Jjaro development (and neccesarily without Pfhor development).

The S'pht'Kr are actually the second-highest BTW. Obviously they got their hands on some pretty nice (nasty?) Jjaro technology, specifically high-volume foldspace. It's not entirely clear what else they may have gotten, but their Defender suits kick Pfhor butt in the last couple missions of M2.

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"Once, just once, I'd like to be able to land somewhere and say, 'Behold, I am the Archangel Gabriel.'"
"I fail to see the humor in that situation, Doctor."
"Naturally. You could hardly claim to be an angel with those pointed ears, Mister Spock. But say you landed someplace with a pitchfork "

It was the official MI scenario.
Only the Jjaro can deal with Wr'kncacnter.

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Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI

This is seriously starting to piss me off. Every single topic on this board is turning into a M:Inv discussion.

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Time is the best teacher, yet it kills all of it's students.

Quote

Originally posted by Slug:
**This is seriously starting to piss me off. Every single topic on this board is turning into a M:Inv discussion.

**

The will o'the people.

Partially because, of the plugs that are still around, the only plug that was being developed in the open was M:Inv. You and Altair are in the back, but Darkk and I communicate over the Webboards to keep in synch.

The other reason is because Darkk and I tend to relate the plugs to M:Inv, comparing and contrasting, and as soon as one of us mentions it (me, in this case) the other will take it and turn it into a discussion.

I hereby apologize.

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"Once, just once, I'd like to be able to land somewhere and say, 'Behold, I am the Archangel Gabriel.'"
"I fail to see the humor in that situation, Doctor."
"Naturally. You could hardly claim to be an angel with those pointed ears, Mister Spock. But say you landed someplace with a pitchfork "