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The Peeps |
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Groulien
Salt Hogs
The Working Class of
Outer Space
Small, robust, hardworking and generally poorer than
everyone else, Salt Hogs are the easiest characters
to deal with. These working class stereotypes embody the industrial heart
of the Station, working in gangs of up to four workers in Recyclers
and Factories. Its wise to have
a sizeable pool of Hogs, and employee ratings don't seem to be such an
issue with these guys. They can fill out an armed force in short order,
and, I hate to say it, are largely expendable and easily replaced. Salt
Hog tastes are simple and cheap and they are perfectly content using bare
minimum facilities like Sleeping Berths,
Lavatrons and Dine-O-Mats.
They tend to avoid any upper-crust establishments, and there's some class
friction with the aristocratic Gem Slugs.
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Grekka
Targ
Communications Geeks
These "knee high to a grasshopper" insectile travelers
handle Station communications. They man your Comsensors
and connect you to the rest of the Universe, and facilitate intelligence
gathering on the Station for your security services. They're as easy as
Salt Hogs to deal with except they don't have
problems with anyone and don't have any particularly weird attributes,
other than they tend to lack personality. About the only negative thing
about them is that they aren't the most exciting people on the Station
to talk to. Targ exist at the mid to lower end of the Startopian class
system. They are gadget freaks; geeky like Turrakken
Researchers, but not complete nerds. Not being as obviously critical as
Greys or Salt-Hogs to your Station's well being,
they can safely fill out an army. |
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The
Greys
Medical Services
These pop icons embody all things to do with medicine
and run all your Sick Bays. Unlike Salt
Hogs and the Targ, it IS critical to hire
skilled Greys, otherwise your medical services can start losing patients!
Their character is cold and distant and their culture drab and uninspired.
They like cold, snowy Bio-Deck conditions and swimming. Once, they used
to perform evil experiments on people and animals... and although they've
supposedly renounced those old and evil ways, Greys still buy up big on
research equipment. Oddly enough, Greys are Startopia's biggest tourists.
Unlike the other races they enjoy every kind kind of shop and entertainment
with little preference or prejudice. And everyone gets on with them, with
conversations actually making aliens feel better. Hm... maybe they have
reformed their nefarious ways... |
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Dahanese
Sirens
Hedonistic Lovers
Sirens are only aliens in Startopia that come in sexes,
hailing from the same universe that produced Barbarella.
These hedonistic, pleasure seeking creatures strut around in G-strings
and codpieces, providing Love to the Station's lovelorn in Love
Nests. But don't panic - its all family safe: Siren love is G rated
Star Trek energy being sex with no messy stuff. While Sirens provide a
vital service in keeping your population sexually fulfilled, too much
of it can drive Peeps to distraction and play havoc with your productivity,
especially with the nerdy Turrakken. The siren
theme is hedonistic and decadent, and they frequent any sporty fun facilities
on the Station. Love is like religion to the Sirens, and there's racial
tension between them and the religious zealots of Startopia, the Zedem
Monks. They also baulk at the Kasvagorians' violent
ways. |
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Kasvagorians
Security & Breaking
Heads
Kasvagorians, or Gors, are
based on every Klingon and space warrior race in any Sci-Fi series you
care to think of and provide all your security cover. These tough guys
can withstand more physical abuse than the other species, and Gor employees
are usually the first at the scene of any biffo. They exclusively man
the Security Centre; skilled Gors improve the
performance of your Security Scuzzers and Security
Turrets. Their violent ways upset the peaceful races: Karmaramans
and the Sirens. They aren't that bright, they like
a challenge, tend to eat a lot, are averse to luxury and comfort, and
they get violent and seem a little more susceptible to depression than
other species. |
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Karmaramans
Sleepy Hippies
At the other end of the aggression scale are the Karmaramans.
These four armed hippies work exclusively in the Bio-Deck
as farmers and environmentalists, turning empty Bio-Decks into verdant
forests. Peace-loving and laid back, (somehow they're labeled in the Startopia
forums as lazy, ignoring the fact that they're the only aliens in the
game that actually do any physical work!) they groove in time with the
Sirens, and eat and sleep a lot more than other
species. They're not that feral though: Karmaramans prefer bourgeois facilities
and shy from the rougher parts of the Station. They have patchy race relations
with the Kasvagorians. Stripping out too much vegetation
in one hit in the Bio-Deck will upset any Karmaraman employees so much
they'll promptly resign and leave. |
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Turrakken
Nerdy Scientists
The uber-nerds of outer space, these two headed, lab
coated scientists run all your Laboratories
and embody all things scientific, seeking to expand their knowledge and
learn the secrets of the Universe. While they have double the brainpower
of everyone else, they are susceptible to affairs of the heart. Keep some
Sirens on hand to handle their emotional needs -
but too many are likely to leave the labs empty. You'll frequently see
them in the Love Nest or gazing wistfully up
at the Siren's risque Mother statue. Turrakken
bore easily and need Love like other Startopians need food. Turrakken
sit in the middle to upper class range, preferring mid level station facilities.
These secular beings have issues with the religious Zedem
Monks. |
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Zedem
Monks
Religious Fanatics
These fellows handle all
your Station's spiritual needs and embody all things religious. They build
the Zedem Temple in the Bio-Deck,
where they attend to the troubled souls of your population. Religion to
the Zedem is like Love to the Dahanese Sirens and
the Monks don't get on with them or with the super-scientific Turrakken.
The Zedem are definitely what you'd refer to as the gentry: upper crust,
despite arriving on the Station with very little money. They avoid the
rougher faculties, preferring quieter parts of the Station where they
can meditate over the universe or indulge in a tipple. |
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Polvakian
Gem Slugs
Effluent Idlers
Unproductive, fussy, useless - they're unable to be
hired nor fired - and with a disturbing propensity to die from their own
excesses, Polvakian Gem Slugs embody Startopia's decadent aristocratic
class. They are only encouraged to visit your Station so they can poo
everywhere in it. These rich old bastards get their name by defecating
jeweled Turdite - a highly prized and valuable
resource. (Golly, there's a message in all this somewhere - I can smell
it! :P) Gem Slugs are a
bit of an armful to please, and its tricky to get the right combination
of facilities to encourage them to start venting. As to their attitude
to everyone else they're fine. These aristocratic idlers can be seen having
lively conversations with the rest of the population. They can be put
off by a messy Station with too many Salt Hog
facilities in it. |
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Other Characters |
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Penitents
The Born Agains of Outer
Space
Penitents are the result of the Zedem
Monks successfully converting a Peep to their religion. Its actually
someone inside some big, uncomfortable armoured suit; the Zedem equivalent
of ashes and sackcloth. Penitents don't do anything, don't use any Station
facilities, and basically go around annoying everyone they meet - except
for the Zedem, who are thrilled to bits and inspired by the Penitent's
religious example and commitment. Creating a Penitent can score you lots
of dosh, but you're losing valuable customers and employees to Zedem fanaticism. |
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Scuzzer
Droids
Unpaid robot dogs bodies
These squat, yellow robots form the indispensable backbone
of your Station. With the emphasis on comedy, of course! You often buy
them, or if you can, make them in your Factories.
They perform all the odd jobs around the Station: building, cleaning and
repairing facilities, collecting litter, and carting cargo. All they need
is a regular recharge and your Station will remain in tip-top shape. They
come in three classes: Mk I's scurry around
on short, stumpy legs; Mk II's barrel along
on caterpillar treads, and Mk III's burn around
on retro-rockets. Each model type runs and works three times faster, and
is twice as expensive to buy and maintain than the previous models. Other
than that, they all do exactly the same thing. |
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Security
Scuzzers
Unpaid Robocops
This the security version of the Mk
I Scuzzer. They only come in one class, but are tougher than normal
and pack a slow firing ray gun. Again, Security Scuzzers, or Fuzzers,
are indispensable to your Station. You usually buy or manufacture
them. They waddle around on patrol, automatically arresting any detected
criminals and defusing terrorist bombs,
and will attack any identified hostiles in the neighbourhood. They are
absolutely essential when breaching neighbouring Segments held by other
Administrators - without them you can't hack or relock the Segment Doors
and they'll attack any threats such as enemy Agents,
Skrashers and invading
neighbours.
To get the most out of Security Scuzzers, you need a properly manned Security
Centre. More details. |
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Enemy
Agents
Bomb toting terrorists
Occasionally you come across this nasty piece of work
from the Guild of Assassins, specialising in ruining people's day with
the odd bomb. (Unless you've hired him, in which he's busy ruining
some other Administrator's day!) Bombs can be a real problem, unless you
have blanket Security Scuzzer coverage, a network
of Comsensors, and a highly skilled
Security Centre to defuse them. Otherwise, you're
desperately running around your Station trying to find the unexploded
bomb. Agents come in two forms: the camp guys in black leather, and innocent
looking Peeps. Agents that are exposed are shot dead on sight with no
exceptions. You've found an uncover Agent if you can peg a Peep with a
cross hair. Its about the only time Startopia gets bloody minded. |
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Space
Vermin
Disease ridden filth
The ship rats of outer space. They only start appearing
when litter levels start getting out of hand and manifest in really big
numbers after a battle, where a Station segment has been destroyed and
there's tons of debris everywhere. They thrive on litter and the debris
of a demolished room, carry disease and offend richer customers. Strangely
enough, most Peeps will treat them like any other alien species, and
you will see the occasional conversation
with a Vermin. Alas, every conversation winds up with the Peep catching
something infectious and requiring medical
treatment. The best solution of course to Vermin is, of course,
a
preventative one. Keep those litter levels to
an absolute minimum and your Station clean and polished and Vermin simply
won't appear. I've yet to see them appear on the Bio-Deck; although
you could try beaming lots of litter up there and see what happens... |
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Memaus
Cute furry animals
These cute little strays occasionally appear through
your Station Ports and wander around looking
cute and fluffy. They rarely travel further than the Engineering
Deck, though. Peeps find them irresistible and can't help but pet
them, receiving all kinds of character bonuses that work well for you
as a Station Administrator, and them as individuals. Alas, Memaus might
look like space cats, but they don't chase space
rats. Furthermore, any heavy petters are also in danger of being infected
by these furry fellows. Memaus love to eat litter, and (spoiler!
spoiler!) become lethally infectious if they've eaten more than
five pieces of it. Keep your Station clean, and watch out for any stray
life forms lurking amongst the Litter Bins. |
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Skrashers
Oh my Gooaaaaeeiiiii
[*scrunch pop*]
Skrashers are big, black, chitinous monstrosities;
they're the It from "It:
Terror from Outer Space". Its Startopia's A
L I E N reference: a single Skrasher embryo will incubate
inside a hapless victim before hatching explosively as a full adult
and going on a wild rampage. You can easily lose entire Sick
Bays and sometimes even an entire segment to these things, and in some
scenarios it can be so prevalent you need to establish Security
Turrets near your Sick Bays just in case. Single
minded and extremely violent, Skrashers revel in absolute destruction and
mayhem. Needless to say, you will be amazed at the unselfish bravery of
your Residents who rally for the safety of others and fight them off. If
a Skrasher runs out of things to demolish and calms down, it then mutates
into its next stage. You'll be surprised. |
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