Inhabitants Overview Dissection

Inhabitants Overview Dissection

BioWare recently revealed a new section of the HoloNet titled Inhabitants. This section of the Star Wars: The Old Republic official site is dedicated to the NPCs and mobs we will encounter in-game, broken up into three subcategories: Creatures, Droids, and Humanoids. In addition to new screenshots and animations, each entry contains few paragraphs dedicated to the mob's defining traits and features. We took a closer look at the writing on these pages (both English and Aurebesh), picking specific statements that inspired gameplay speculation.


Importance of the Inhabitants

After examining the Inhabitants section, we concluded this area of the HoloNet pertains to non-player characters only, and is restricted to introducing mobs, companions and potentially friendly NPCs. One observation that stood out to us was that none of the the Humanoids shown are seen in distinctive class specific gear, much like the Deshade companion we saw last fall. This is important because we repeatedly see BioWare and LucasArts' marketing making a distinction between players and non-player characters. This decision was made to specifically avoid confusion in the community, and the Inhabitant section appears to continue this trend. When the non-human player characters are revealed, they will almost certainly be clothed in the distinctive class outfits we are accustomed to seeing.

Additionally, the screenshots for the Humanoid species lack the facial customization indicative of the human PCs. The faces in the images for the Trandoshan and Gormak lack any differentiation from one to the next, which is against the player-customization message BioWare and LucasArts focus on. If these species were indeed playable, then we would expect to see a variety of faces in the released media.

Since it is unlikely that every creature, droid, and humanoid species in the game will be listed in the Inhabitants section, we conclude those mentioned must be notable or significant in some respect. These pages are full of clues pointing towards future companion characters and other beings that could be pivotal to a player's personal story. We need to wait for more information, but it would be folly to discount this enhanced bestiary as a simple mob list.

Creatures

Salky Hounds



Factoids

"They filtered for such traits as extended and naturally sharpened claws, ultra-keen senses, tremendous jaw strength, and a vicious demeanor."


The "sharpened claws" and "tremendous jaw strength" could be simple nods to the abilities and attacks we will see when fighting Salkies. Unfortunately, there is not enough information for us to speculate on how this particular feral combat style will effect players. On the other hand, the "ultra-keen senses" point towards a large aggro range or high stealth detection. This focus on mob perception is a recurring theme throughout the Inhabitants section.

"...their vicious instincts were impossible to contain. Even when ordered by their masters to simply restrain, Salky Hounds attacked their targets with lethal force."


This implies a "berserk mode" or "enrage" style of attack. Additionally, if some mobs in The Old Republic do flee from combat, Salkies probably will not.

"Several criminal and mercenary organizations have purchased the Salky Hounds. Rumors suggest some of these dangerous beasts have even been purchased by entities on Coruscant."


We should see Salky Hounds in criminal zones across the galaxy, such as the gang ridden lower levels of Coruscant. By explaining this creature's distribution in the lore, BioWare supplies a reason for this mob type to be used in multiple locals as opposed to being limited to one planet of origin. This is important because it shows they are justifying their placement of mobs as opposed to simply reusing assets to save time.

"This would be highly illegal as Salky Hounds are banned from the Core Worlds."


This quote is probably a hint that some quest line will involve NPC targets being arrested or attacked because of their illegal hounds. It also supports why players may discover this mob in areas dominated by criminal activity.



Aurebesh

Vertical, Left: Rancor Personality Genes?

Like much of the Aurebesh contained in the Inhabitants section, this phrase suggests a broad range of speculation. In addition to reinforcing the ferocity of this species, this could also be implying a story line involving either the creation of this species or possible behavioral similarities with Rancor.

Vertical, Right: Beware of Dog

This humorous line supports this species lore based dispersion as guards, and could be seen as a friendly reminder to anyone looking to take on a criminal base.

Horizontal, Right: Justicar Contract

Almost certainly a story hint, this could be suggesting a number of narrative paths, missions, or quests.

Gundark



Factoids

"Gundarks are more notorious for their speed and brutality; it's the agility and ferocity combined with that strength that makes them so deadly."


This seems to be a description of mob abilities and combat style. It makes Gundarks sound difficult to hit in combat as well as quick to engage players, possibly making them hard run away from. The multiple crowd control abilities utilized by the player classes will certainly be needed if Gundarks do end up being fast, tenacious foes.

"For centuries, Gundarks have been among the most ambitious targets sought by big game hunters."


This could be a nod towards a Bounty Hunter quest line. We already know the Bounty Hunter story involves the "Great Hunt," and although many assume this involves hunting only sentient targets, it may also include the more difficult feral creatures like Gundarks.

"...what makes these creatures exponentially more difficult to kill is that they often nest together and even when they leave the nest, they almost always travel in packs.


Here we see BioWare restating the view that heroic combat involves NPC groups being comprised of multiple targets. Much like the justification for the Salky distribution, this shows BioWare's desire to support their gameplay choices by weaving it into the story and lore of The Old Republic.

"The final note on Gundarks is to beware of their heightened sense of hearing. Many a Bounty Hunter has learned all too late that the only safe way to take down a Gundark is from a long distance.


In addition to supporting the idea that Gundarks will be involved in a Bounty Hunter quest line, this quote points out their ability to notice threats using their advanced sense of hearing. Much like the Salkies, this could be directed towards aggro range or stealth detection. Additionally, the specific focus on hearing could be implying multiple forms of detection beyond just a simple "see/don't see" mechanic. For example, a Smuggler or Imperial Agent using a "stealth belt" would be invisible to most target's eyes, but not to a Gundark's ears. Unfortunately there is not enough information for us to know if this implies multiple forms of detection or simply a lore based justification.



Aurebesh

Vertical, Left: Drooga the Hutt

Similar to the Justicar hint on the Salky Hound page, this suggests a quest or storyline link. There is a very good possibility this will be an NPC encountered by players, however there isn't enough enough information to conclude what the Hutt's connection is to the Gundarks.

Vertical, Right: Sithspawn

This word could end up being very important to the Gundark species and story. The current Star Wars lore does not comprehensively state where or how the Gundarks originated, with previous records only going as far back as the Clone Wars. By connecting the Gundarks to Sithspawn, BioWare and LucasArts maybe implying that the true origin of this unusual creature will be revealed in The Old Republic.

Horizontal, Right: Dromund Kaas

Although mentioning Dromund Kaas is not shocking in and of itself (each screenshot shows Gundarks on a different planet), it could be very telling when you connect it to the Sithspawn Aurebesh. As we learn more about this species, and possibly it's origin, their connection to the Sith and the dark-Force tainted Dromund Kaas will almost certainly be revealed.
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Comments

  • Gamorrean Thug
    darthuser916's avatar
    • Posts: 48
    #34 darthuser916 Posted 5/6/2010 8:52:46 PM
    double post
  • Gamorrean Thug
    darthuser916's avatar
    • Posts: 48
    #35 darthuser916 Posted 5/6/2010 8:52:46 PM
    Subtitles or translator masks would fix the inability to speak basic. Plus, they could simply say "Wooks will speak basic for this game". Period. In the end, it's up to them. I honestly don't see it hurting anyone and honestly don't see why people make such a big case against it.
  • Dark Councilor
    darthuser774's avatar
    • Posts: 620
    #37 darthuser774 Posted 5/6/2010 11:19:08 PM
    I don't oppose playable Wookiees, I would actually love to play a Wookiee. I am just going off of the information we've been given, which has been against the idea of non-Basic speaking species to-date.
  • Gamorrean Thug
    darthuser916's avatar
    • Posts: 48
    #39 darthuser916 Posted 5/7/2010 4:40:16 AM
    The only information they have released is "All species will speak basic" not "You HAVE to speak basic to be a playable species" which if you think about it is different.

    But don't get me wrong, I know I'm grasping at straws. lol. I just like to stay hopeful until they squash it when they release playables. :)
  • Dark Lord
    r2d2arm's avatar
    • Posts: 440
    #22 r2d2arm Posted 5/6/2010 3:07:28 PM
    Very thorough dissection as I expected from DH.

    Here are a few things I noticed that are not mentioned:
    - For the Salky Hound's Aurebesh ("Justicar Contract"), I think this is referring to the military contract that the Republic had with the biological engineering firm involved with the creation of the hound and its marketing. In fact, the description of the hound strongly hints at this directly. Thus, Justicar could be the name of this firm or merely the name of this specific contract with this firm. As for what that means in-game, what you guys mentioned about possible quests and story lines is about all that can be extrapolated from that.
    - The AR-34's "Backbreaker" Aurebesh, to me, is just reiterating their nickname from the description and their roles in criminal organizations. It could possibly be related to a skill as mentioned, but seems to be more of a direct reference to their use as "muscle" and being close-range combatants.
    - On a pure speculative note regarding the "Gorma-Koss" Aurebesh on the Gormak page, perhaps the link between the two species is a common ancestor or species. This "Gorma-Koss" species initially inhabited Voss and through evolution, branched off into two different paths. Another possible link would be a Gormak-Voss hybrid. There could be a group of them or just a few individuals, but their existence would have large societal impacts on Voss as a whole.
    - The "Shko-Yagu" Aurebesh on the Trandoshan page is really hard to speculate upon. The Jagganath points, established in the EU before TOR, could have been influenced by the Hindu deity of the same name. Thus, the "Shko-Yagu" Aurebesh could be related to something in Hindi or another related language. So far, my efforts have not provided anything definitive though.
  • Dark Councilor
    Xavier's avatar
    • Posts: 504
    #19 Xavier Posted 5/6/2010 2:59:15 PM
    Do you think we'll continue to get 6 files every update? Or, do you think that was just to start off the database? Maybe they will roll it back to 3 per update (1 per group, like Biographies) so they can get more updates out of this tab. What are your thoughts on the matter?
  • Spice Runner
    Revix2k9's avatar
    • Posts: 153
    #20 Revix2k9 Posted 5/6/2010 3:05:25 PM
    it does seem that way look at biographies.
  • Gamorrean Thug
    Bhel's avatar
    • Posts: 33
    #17 Bhel Posted 5/6/2010 12:46:18 PM
    Another great dissection by DH, thanks.
  • Dark Lord
    Fedaykin's avatar
    • Posts: 298
    #14 Fedaykin Posted 5/6/2010 9:35:44 AM
    "One observation that stood out to us was that none of the the Humanoids shown are seen in distinctive class specific gear, much like the Deshade companion we saw last fall. This is important because we repeatedly see BioWare and LucasArts' marketing making a distinction between players and non-player characters. This decision was made to specifically avoid confusion in the community, and the Inhabitant section appears to continue this trend"

    I disagree with this observation. I think Gormak wear alot imperial-agent alike gear, and I do find it to be a point that confuses me. Perhaps it's a tad on the heavy side, but the long rifles and all.. even a friend of mine said: "Awesome! Those Gormak are going to be Imperial Agents". I couldn't convince him that they wheren't playable.

    I fully agree on you however: I do -not- think Gormak will be a playable race. Their story doesn't make sense for them to be playable. They're too uncivilised, too uncommunicative. Too savage. But I don't draw that conclusion out of the armour sets. I'm not following that part.
  • Posiden's avatar
    • Posts: 0
    #15 Posiden Posted 5/6/2010 9:51:26 AM
    Agreed.

    I assumed they were non-playable because they are a pre-space flight civilization.
  • Gamorrean Thug
    Sadamu's avatar
    • Posts: 52
    #16 Sadamu Posted 5/6/2010 10:18:42 AM
    Agreed.

    I don't think that we'll only see humans in distinctive class speceific gear.

    BTW i don't think Gormak or Trand will be playable, but i almost sure that we will see all the playables ones here.
  • Drenarb's avatar
    • Posts: 0
    #32 Drenarb Posted 5/6/2010 7:48:32 PM
    This is what I got out of it, is that all the humanoid guys seem to have same clothing on, like normal NPCs in games do. For instance, in many games you go into an area and you see an Orc Grenadier. Well, the other 99 Orc Grenadier's are all going to look exaclty like the first one you saw. There's no customization.

    From what we've seen of the human characters in the classes, this has not been the case. We've been able to see varying types of armor and weapons being used where we knew they were playable.
  • nedostup's avatar
    • Posts: 0
    #13 nedostup Posted 5/6/2010 9:19:27 AM
    Are you guys speculating that companion characters won't be able to equip the same items as PCs, or just that BioWare isn't doing so to distinguish them in the marketing?
  • Dark Councilor
    emlaeh's avatar
    • Posts: 995
    #26 emlaeh Posted 5/6/2010 3:38:39 PM
    Marketing.
  • Drenarb's avatar
    • Posts: 0
    #31 Drenarb Posted 5/6/2010 7:44:49 PM
    Yeah, marketing. I think it's been stated by a dev before that you should actually be able to trade with your companions, so that suggests they'll be able to wear the same types of armor and use weapons that your player character would be able to use. I'll see if I can find a link to that article.
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