Forget nicknames: what about official descriptions
coil
Amateur pirate. Professional monkey. All pance. Join Date: 2002-04-12 Member: 424Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
Amateur pirate. Professional monkey. All pance. Join Date: 2002-04-12 Member: 424Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
<div class="IPBDescription">Tsa guide to xenobiology</div>Ok, so we've come up with nicknames for all the levels, or so... personally, the only one I'm really partial to is "Bob" - as ridiculous as it sounds, it could have come to be the Level1's nickname among the marines as easily as it did among the NS forumgoers. Tiny, Blinky, Pudgy... not as big a fan.
Anyway, I had a different question to ask... What does the TSA officially call these creatures? When marines step into the classroom for their xenobiology training course, what does the instructor say is the official, accepted name for each strain of alien? Has the NS team already decided, and is keeping it under wraps? Or can we throw names around here for inclusion in the TSA Guide to Xenobiology (1st edition)? (: Readysetgo!
I think the guide wouldn't refer to them by "level," since that's a gameplay construct. Instead, I'll call them strains.
I'm also gonna try for an "ancient history" theme here... seems strangely appropriate.
Strain 1: Hellhound, perhaps? I'd say Cerberus, but he was noted for his 3 heads before his canine-ness. Sadly, no other canines (which Bob really reminds me of) leap to mind. Another idea is simply "scout" - the Bob was probably the first alien encountered by the TSA, and would have been given a utilitarian name before classification of the other strains began.
Strain 2: The ability of the Lvl2 to spin webs and set traps is sticking with me, here... are there any well-known spiders of ancient myth, or someone who harried a hero with traps but never fought directly?
Strain 3: Harpy or Roc - two big, scary flying things from ancient myths. Phoenix could also work, perhaps, and maybe Siren (though they don't always have wings in the stories).
Strain 4: Gorgon or Medusa - Big, nasty, scary, deadly. Don't ask me why I'm leaning towards a female for this one.. probably the old adage "the female of the species is deadlier than the male."
Strain 5: I like Goliath, personally - overwhelming odds that "David," the marine, may still overcome. Antaeus could also work.
Anyway, it's just an idea... who else has some?
Anyway, I had a different question to ask... What does the TSA officially call these creatures? When marines step into the classroom for their xenobiology training course, what does the instructor say is the official, accepted name for each strain of alien? Has the NS team already decided, and is keeping it under wraps? Or can we throw names around here for inclusion in the TSA Guide to Xenobiology (1st edition)? (: Readysetgo!
I think the guide wouldn't refer to them by "level," since that's a gameplay construct. Instead, I'll call them strains.
I'm also gonna try for an "ancient history" theme here... seems strangely appropriate.
Strain 1: Hellhound, perhaps? I'd say Cerberus, but he was noted for his 3 heads before his canine-ness. Sadly, no other canines (which Bob really reminds me of) leap to mind. Another idea is simply "scout" - the Bob was probably the first alien encountered by the TSA, and would have been given a utilitarian name before classification of the other strains began.
Strain 2: The ability of the Lvl2 to spin webs and set traps is sticking with me, here... are there any well-known spiders of ancient myth, or someone who harried a hero with traps but never fought directly?
Strain 3: Harpy or Roc - two big, scary flying things from ancient myths. Phoenix could also work, perhaps, and maybe Siren (though they don't always have wings in the stories).
Strain 4: Gorgon or Medusa - Big, nasty, scary, deadly. Don't ask me why I'm leaning towards a female for this one.. probably the old adage "the female of the species is deadlier than the male."
Strain 5: I like Goliath, personally - overwhelming odds that "David," the marine, may still overcome. Antaeus could also work.
Anyway, it's just an idea... who else has some?
Comments
Suffice it to say that "bob" will <i>not</i> be an official name for the level 1. <!--emo&:D--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'><!--endemo-->
<b>Anubis</b> (jackal, god of dead): dog-like
<b>Thoth</b> (God of the moon and knowledge): mysterious, and the TSA probably know little about the builder
<b>Shu</b> (god of the sky): evident
<b>Sobek</b> (or Suchos - Crocodile God, symbolized the might of the Pharoah): all-around @$$-whuppin
<b>Set</b> (God of Chaos): Ditto, but moreso.
Norse:
<b>Loki</b>: a trickster and troublemaker
<b>Skuld</b>: one of the three Fates
<b>Nidhogg</b>: a dragon
<b>Gungnir</b>: spear of Odin (father of the Gods)
<b>Utgard-Loki</b>: a giant, "the personification of evil"
what do you, the small still learning marine, think of those aliens when your teacher calls them like old, powerful, nearly unstoppable gods?
As an official name for the level 3 e.g. I would call it simply and directly 'Flyer' or 'Bat' the level 5 'Rhino' or 'Tank'
My thought behind that is that a marine like organisation like the TSA is would give the names to the aliens from what they look like or how they behave. You see 'simple-thought-style'. <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo-->
Recommends:
Level 1 - Dog (looks like)
Level 2 - Spider (cause it's spinning webs)
Level 3 - Bat (flys)
Level 4 - Blinker (would nearly take the nick name cause the blinking is the main action that seperates this class from the others)
Level 5 - Tank (size)
WAHHHH! Plz? <!--emo&;)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->
BTW, Bob is the official lvl1 name; it's the name of the first person who was killed by a bob. <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo-->
"This brings us to the Grungnir Strain, the third alien subspecies discovered by TSA infantry. More commonly called 'Blinky,' this alien is still nothing to be trifled with-- it is fast, powerful, well-armored, and can take you AND your back-man out together with ease. Two of its common tactics include rebounding off walls, sometimes to great distance, and 'blinking' - teleporting small distances, easily bypassing stationary defenses or suddenly ending up behind you. This alien should be engaged with EXTREME caution, and should be lured back to a fortified position if at all possible."
<i>(I said it's the 3rd strain discovered because it's logical that TSA marines would meet Bob first, then the flyer or blinker... they wouldn't meet the builder till they got closer to the hive, and would only meet a Tiny after encountering a heavily-infested area where one has had time to evolve)</i>
Lvl. 3 - F.A.G.E.S.S.
Flying
Awful
Gas
Emanating
Spike
Spewer
I like the way you wrote that 'lesson' down-
I just don't like to take god names. <!--emo&;)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->
lvl 1: Hellhound sounds awesome, but I'd have to go with something a little more standard. Maybe just go with Drone?
lvl 2: Black Widow
lvl 3: How about Gargoyle? That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the pic.
lvl 4: Mmm... Dude, I'd really have to see what they look like.
lvl 5: I totally agree. Goliath would be an awesome name.
Reaver
As for offical names, I think that the aliens will be first classified as "protists" since that's where all the extra guys who don't fit elsewhere (such as kelp, many single-celled organisms, some say fungi, etc). If not they'll be placed in their own.
I also would say that all the aliens would be placed under the same specis as an alien "grows" into the next level like a captapiller does.
As for the name, I like "Peregrinus validus" or "powerful stranger." It shows that they are new to the humankind as being aliens and that they are threat.
If we give them animal names why not give then virus names as you're at it: "Heres the Ebola "Bob" alien strain....." or trees name: "here's the tiny "oaktree" alien strain...." sounds...... crappy.
Anyway, that's just my opinion.
Bob: parvus (small)
Fatty: obesus (fat)
Batty: avolare (fly away)
blinky: abire (go away)
Tiny: colossicus (huge)
So the full official names would be
"Peregrinus validus Parvus"=bob
"Peregrinus validus Obesus"=Fatty
"Peregrinus validus Avolare"=batty
"Peregrinus validus Abire"= Blinky
"Peregrinus validus Colossicus"= Tiny
I think moleculor's post may have been a crossed thread...
lvl1 : pain
lvl2 : more pain
lvl3 : even more pain
lvl4 : Extreeeeme pain
lvl5 : painless
Pereval
Pevali
Valipe
Egridus
?