05-02-2003 04:23									#1
	Ithkul speculation Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Some speculation to pass the time as we await the release of MOO3....

I have looked over the back story on the QS web site again and compared that with some quotes I have seen in the AARs. This may not be news to many people but here it goes... the Ithkul were genetically engineered by the old Antarens to go punish the New Orions for breaking away from the old empire. At the end of the back story, there are a lot of deleted parts but you can see that the Antarens were developing something to get revenge on the New Orions for their rebellion against the old order.

One of the big themes for the MOO series is genetic manipulation so it would make sense for the Antarens to seek their revenge in this fashion. Also, one of the AARs had some language stating that the Ithkul wanted nothing more than to do "what they were destined to do." I am guessing their primary purpose is to defeat the New Orions.

It was also mentioned somewhere (though I can't remember where) that the Ithkul bioharvesting relied not upon agriculture but other species. So now I'm wondering if the Ithkul begin the game with some sort of "native host" on their homeworld on which they feed. I'm also wondering if the Ithkul start the game with some technologies given to them from their creators... possibly as a balance for being hated by every other race in the sector.

Anyway, just some wild speculation on my part... could be a big load of crap!

Last edited by viciouscycle on 12-02-2003 at 09:40

	05-02-2003 06:17									#2
	Put an end to popups!

Well, you know what they say..... within crap lies an element of truth. If the Ithkul are truly that then it would make sense that they are universally loathed by the rest of the galaxy. To be hated and still survive, implies some sort of advanced technology.

	05-02-2003 07:50									#3
	Get a bigger avatar today!

viciouscycle, You should have labeled your post as a spoiler because there is alot of spoiler material in it

	05-02-2003 07:56									#4
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He labled it 'baseless speculation' lol.

	05-02-2003 08:48									#5
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

I'm a little disappointed. I figured I go ahead and check this out since the game was so close to release; I've been avoiding the Ithkul threads like the plague. I was hoping that they were the remenents of the excluded races from 1&2 hellbent on destroying those who contributed to their empires' demise. Wouldn't it have been cool to see a genetically spliced Bulrathi/Mrrshan pop up on your diplomacy screen right before the Altarian-piloted armada plowed into our front line colonies.

[borg voice]
Your life, as you know it, is over. From this point forward you will service us. Strength is irrelevant; you cultures are of no interest to us.

Resistance is futile.
[/borg voice]

	05-02-2003 12:37									#6
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Yes, this would make lots of sense. If the Ithkul really consume life, that would be a real (i.e. in-game) reason to hate them and make the non-Ithkuls unite against them. Somewhat like Ermor from Dominions.

This is much better than a story-imposed hatred that can be ignored by non-AI players.

	05-02-2003 16:58									#7
	Increase Your PM Length

I'm sure the Ithkul will prove to be less inimical to the free survival of alien life than 90% of player controlled races

	05-02-2003 21:13									#8
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quote: Originally posted by Grumbold I'm sure the Ithkul will prove to be less inimical to the free survival of alien life than 90% of player controlled races

Or at least you hope so.

	05-02-2003 22:29									#9
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Oh c'mon, we know so. Just look at the AAR's

	06-02-2003 00:38									#10
	Remove this text

Harvesters are a banned subject and harvester speculation is not allowed....so I think this needs to be deleted.

	06-02-2003 01:25									#11
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Hey guys,

I'm curious why Harvesters and Harvester speculation are banned? I only heard about MOO3 recently and I'm biding my time until its release.

I don't understand why talk about a race or planet or whatever would be banned?

	06-02-2003 02:13									#12
	Remove this text

It's supposed to be a big secret that will enhance your gaming experience when you get the software. I don't know if this guy's right about what they are; I've avoided any thread like this until now. I figured it was so close, why not take a peek. I hope he's not right because this isn't what I envisioned Harvesters to be at all. I'm thinking he may be wrong, though. In the past they've shut threads like this down in an instant.

	06-02-2003 02:21									#13
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quote: Originally posted by Alexfrog Harvesters are a banned subject and harvester speculation is not allowed....so I think this needs to be deleted.

Not banned on Apolyton!

I doubt the Harvesters will be much of a suprise anyway. You can only build up so much suspence and with all that surrounds them it will more than likely be a let down.

	06-02-2003 02:33									#14
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

if it truly *wasnt* banned on apolyton, I would be allowed to post a full description of the ithkul...and then Rantz would want to kill me, of course. But it IS banned....by edict of the developers.

Actually, they're pretty cool They're only a letdown if you got yourself believing they will be some incredible sci-fi inovation....

	06-02-2003 03:29									#15
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

I find this secrecy quite childish. Why treat us all like children, as if we were unable to decide for ourselves how much we want to know before release?

I certainly don't mind spoilers for strategy games with irrelevant stories.

	06-02-2003 03:50									#16
	Suffering from ads?

Becasue Rantz decided he wanted to keep them secret as a way to increase hype....

It doesnt just effect the storyline, but also the gameplay for a player who plays as Ithkul....they play a bit differently than other races.

They are trying to make the storyline be an important aspect of the game, not irrelevant like it is in most strat games.

	06-02-2003 03:59									#17
	Inflate your Upload Space

There was a debate about the background story once. I`m sure it isn`t the case but I hope the story doesn`t interfer with the game.. those things get kind of old on game #100.

	06-02-2003 04:08									#18
	Suffering from ads?

No it just adds flavor

	06-02-2003 04:17									#19
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

Alexfrog, I've seen nothing on Poly that bans the harvester speculation/spoiler info. I've posted several bits of info from the guide, for instance, and they were spoilery but otherwise allowed.

Rantz/Chantz don't have admin privileges here, and MarkG/DanQ haven't made any official announcements in a while.

	06-02-2003 04:24									#20
	Put an end to popups!

well ok then....

but since Rantz would probably ban me on IGMOO as revenge if I did reveal everything here, its effectively still forbidden, at least to anyone who cares about sites other than apolyton....

	06-02-2003 04:31									#21
	Inflate your Upload Space

Well, I doubt it - Rantz didn't ban Poly when they posted things like 'pic of Ithkul in strat guide' in their news articles. The only nod to the Ithkul secrecy was them not repeating what info was in the IGN preview, and they even state that a person can reconstruct the details if they wanted to.

It's up to you, AF. Since we can't get any real details and we don't know how up-to-date the strat guide is, it's all speculation based on some ideas here and there that have surfaced.

The strat guide only listed the one 'special' bit of info regarding them - that they consume pop points to get bioharvesting when they exist with other race populations. And that's about it. Most everything else is just spec or is based on what they've already told us.

	06-02-2003 04:36									#22
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Well, part of that might be that there ISNT an Ithkul pic in the strat guide...

I'm not posting because what I would post would certainly get me banned....its not just speculation

	06-02-2003 04:38									#23
	Got spare money?

Truly this is just my own personal speculation. I have not read the strat guide, I am not a BT, nor am I in any way affiliated with any game company or forum operators. I have read a few things on the IGMOO forum (now that you don't have to be registered to view posts again) relating to Harvesters that have been censored. I think that Apolyton is beyond the bounds of QS/IG enforcement of secrecy. And since I have no ties to the game as I stated at the start of this post, there is nothing QS/IG could threaten me with to shut me up.

And besides, it's just idle speculation... I was just getting geared up for the release and a couple of ideas clicked in my head so I just thought I'd share them. I have no intention of spoiling anything, especially since I could be completely wrong. I figure that anyone who wants to remain totally in the dark regarding the Ithkul will simply avoid this thread.

One thing I forgot about in the original post was that I suspect the Ithkul will have the "Antaren Background" as a trait. I'm not sure what other races would have this... that might be another good topic for speculation. Psilons? According to the story, they allowed themselves to be modified by the Antarens.

	06-02-2003 04:53									#24
	Remove this text

I don`t know what races start out with Antarian background but I know that all races may be customized to have it except humans.

	06-02-2003 04:55									#25
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I dont believe that any others have the trait standard, but most can customize to have it. (Humans cant, possibly Evon....) Probably only humans cant have it.

	06-02-2003 05:11									#26
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Speculation about a particular aspect is, of course, entirely open unless the devs put in a request to the admins here to quash it. Which may or may not be acted upon.
Insiders revealing information governed by NDA's or somesuch though is a wholly different matter.

	06-02-2003 05:17									#27
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And outsiders who happened to learn insider info?

	06-02-2003 05:26									#28
	Increase Your PM Length

The Antaran Background spec ability is one of the two the Ithkul get. The other is Tolerant (-50% pollution effect). It's not a particularly exciting pick most of the time, and I suspect most Harvester players will remove it and get the points back as soon as they can. Unless they get it for 'free'.

Humans can't get 'antaran background' as a pick. I believe as well that no one else is limited.

Outsiders who happened to have learned it are either still speculating or are fine. It's up to the person(s) who told you what the info is to enforce the NDA; once that info is out there, it's out there.

It might screw those people that told you, however.

One way or another, I'd like to say this, Alexfrog - piss or get off the pot. You telling everyone that you know without sharing that information is simply rude. Either share what you know or shut up, please. Teasing anyone with the information is less than useless - it's actively mean.

Right now, it is totally your choice whether you share the information.

	06-02-2003 05:33									#29
	Tired of ads?

I could have sworn I've seen threads labeled Harvester Spoiler or some such that were gone after three posts and a screen refresh. Maybe I'm just going crazy...

	06-02-2003 05:38									#30
	Tired of ads?

quote: Originally posted by kalbear One way or another, I'd like to say this, Alexfrog - piss or get off the pot. You telling everyone that you know without sharing that information is simply rude. Either share what you know or shut up, please. Teasing anyone with the information is less than useless - it's actively mean.

mwahaha

sorry. I'll just stop posting on this thread.