Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

This forum is the ideal place for all discussion relating to X4. You will also find additional information from developers here.

Moderator: Moderators for English X Forum

Bababa
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed, 23. Jun 21, 11:17

Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Bababa » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 07:57

So I started playing the game and enjoying myself, until i started noticing terrans are like 90% africans (or so it seems). is it lore related?

I am not expert in the lore but it looked strange since in X3 terrans were made of mostly asians.

MHDriver
Posts: 464
Joined: Wed, 27. Feb 19, 19:39
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by MHDriver » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 08:28

Well they are Africans with Asian names so they have covered 2 particular groups. :lol:

User avatar
mr.WHO
Posts: 8549
Joined: Thu, 12. Oct 06, 17:19
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by mr.WHO » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 08:43

I like to think it's like in The Expanse and most of spacefaring Terrans are from Mars, where higher radiation makes them more darkskinned.

Basically they are not Africans, they are Martians. Same evolutionary mechanism, different location.

af_2017
Posts: 696
Joined: Sun, 7. Oct 18, 19:55
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by af_2017 » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 13:38

Just in case leaving here current state of the things:
Image
X4 is not a destination. It's a journey. Unfortunately in a wrong direction.

User avatar
Axeface
Posts: 2939
Joined: Fri, 18. Nov 05, 00:41
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Axeface » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 13:54

af_2017 wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 13:38
Just in case leaving here current state of the things:
Image
Do not forget that 'asian' includes people from the indian subcontinent, who are dark skinned generally. Unfortunately (despite there being specific indian characters in the game) the facial morphology for that group isnt really there yet in x4, at least, nothing that is an obvious stereotype for me to say, 'ok that guy is ethnically indian'.
The percentages in x4 are fine if egosofts intention was to portray the human race as a whole, which im sure it was as its the obvious thing to do.... The complaints you see everywhere about it are born out of pure ignorance.
Last edited by Axeface on Mon, 19. Jul 21, 17:34, edited 2 times in total.

Drumma
Posts: 64
Joined: Thu, 10. Sep 20, 00:24

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Drumma » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 16:15

Personally, I don't care what color they are as long as they look good in their uniforms. Fwiw, many of my best pilots are awesome brown sweeties dressed in form fitting uniforms. So much Fun it is to stand by them and watch them work.

By the way, have the tall green female Split disappeared from the game. In a previous save, I had several of them as high ranking pilots. Since I started a new CoH game I have not seen a single one. But, I'm in Zyarth space to buy their Split ships where before I allied with the FRF in the "east".

Sorry for my transgressions. GL HF ... I am

Alm888
Posts: 487
Joined: Sat, 14. Sep 19, 19:38
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Alm888 » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 16:47

I'd say, it is ~50%, not 90%.
But then again, I have a theory that "terrans" are not human but bioroids instead: they do not blink, sometimes have unnatural hair color and consume "food" synthesized from methane and not produced from actual foodstuffs (like meat/wheat/spices), plus, they walk unnaturally (robot-like) and have the ability to "moonwalk" with feet sliding on the floor and have the ability to snap their necks at ridiculous angles.

So, yeah, I'd say the Xenon actually won the war, terraformed Earth and replaced its population with imitations, that due to another "paradidm shift" have forgotten they are xenon and started behaving like terrans. :D
Drumma wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 16:15
By the way, have the tall green female Split disappeared from the game.
They are pretty much still in the game. Base game that is, and they are only replaced with "newsplit" if "Split Vendetta" DLC is installed.

User avatar
mr.WHO
Posts: 8549
Joined: Thu, 12. Oct 06, 17:19
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by mr.WHO » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 19:01

Axeface wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 13:54
af_2017 wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 13:38
Just in case leaving here current state of the things:
Image
Do not forget that 'asian' includes people from the indian subcontinent, who are dark skinned generally. Unfortunately (despite there being specific indian characters in the game) the facial morphology for that group isnt really there yet in x4, at least, nothing that is an obvious stereotype for me to say, 'ok that guy is ethnically indian'.
The percentages in x4 are fine if egosofts intention was to portray the human race as a whole, which im sure it was as its the obvious thing to do.... The complaints you see everywhere about it are born out of pure ignorance.
One thing that could offset this chart is how many people pernamently live in artificial conditions - unless they are regulary exposed to solar radiation (or visit solarium) they would get more and more pale.

Looking at Sol sectors population distribution, majority of Terran population live on Earth, then Mars, then Moon. only a minor fracture of pop, live on stations and outer moons.

The more I think about it, the more current Terran distribution seems right - those who live on Earth, usually stay on Earth and majority of spaceborn Terrans are from Mars and Moon.

User avatar
Axeface
Posts: 2939
Joined: Fri, 18. Nov 05, 00:41
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Axeface » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 19:15

mr.WHO wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 19:01
Axeface wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 13:54
af_2017 wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 13:38
Just in case leaving here current state of the things:
Image
Do not forget that 'asian' includes people from the indian subcontinent, who are dark skinned generally. Unfortunately (despite there being specific indian characters in the game) the facial morphology for that group isnt really there yet in x4, at least, nothing that is an obvious stereotype for me to say, 'ok that guy is ethnically indian'.
The percentages in x4 are fine if egosofts intention was to portray the human race as a whole, which im sure it was as its the obvious thing to do.... The complaints you see everywhere about it are born out of pure ignorance.
One thing that could offset this chart is how many people pernamently live in artificial conditions - unless they are regulary exposed to solar radiation (or visit solarium) they would get more and more pale.

Looking at Sol sectors population distribution, majority of Terran population live on Earth, then Mars, then Moon. only a minor fracture of pop, live on stations and outer moons.

The more I think about it, the more current Terran distribution seems right - those who live on Earth, usually stay on Earth and majority of spaceborn Terrans are from Mars and Moon.
I actually think that spaceborn people would be exposed to more radiation. Firstly, intentionally, it would probably be required to get some (regulated) exposure regularly for health reasons (there would probably be a lot of windows, with uv protection of course, all over the place). Secondly, they are in space and if safety regulations arnt up to scratch or they live in some mining colony, or somewhere like mars or ganymede or something exposure to a lot of radiation might be commonplace.

User avatar
Web.Diz.
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu, 15. Jul 21, 16:33

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Web.Diz. » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 20:47

Bababa wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 07:57
So I started playing the game and enjoying myself, until i started noticing terrans are like 90% africans (or so it seems). is it lore related?

I am not expert in the lore but it looked strange since in X3 terrans were made of mostly asians.
Taking into account the laws of space, even Teladi has white pale skin, since food, gravity, and much more, and from radiation they do not turn black, but turn pale.

User avatar
spankahontis
Posts: 3242
Joined: Tue, 2. Nov 10, 21:47
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by spankahontis » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 21:08

Alm888 wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 16:47
I'd say, it is ~50%, not 90%.
But then again, I have a theory that "terrans" are not human but bioroids instead: they do not blink, sometimes have unnatural hair color and consume "food" synthesized from methane and not produced from actual foodstuffs (like meat/wheat/spices), plus, they walk unnaturally (robot-like) and have the ability to "moonwalk" with feet sliding on the floor and have the ability to snap their necks at ridiculous angles.

So, yeah, I'd say the Xenon actually won the war, terraformed Earth and replaced its population with imitations, that due to another "paradidm shift" have forgotten they are xenon and started behaving like terrans. :D
Drumma wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 16:15
By the way, have the tall green female Split disappeared from the game.
They are pretty much still in the game. Base game that is, and they are only replaced with "newsplit" if "Split Vendetta" DLC is installed.

Now that would be an awesome plot twist.

Even more so that the Xenon Terrans have a leader and it's in the form of M. Night Shyamalan. :D
Ragna-Tech.. Forging a Better Tomorrow!

My most annoying Bugs list 6.0 Beta 4 + [All DLC]
--------------------------------
Nvidium Worshop Animation Enlarge Broken :(
Building Modules causes low frame rate :o
Massive Framerate drops freezing game! :doh:
Save Corrupted Fixed the Crash! :-D

User avatar
mr.WHO
Posts: 8549
Joined: Thu, 12. Oct 06, 17:19
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by mr.WHO » Mon, 19. Jul 21, 21:19

Axeface wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 19:15
I actually think that spaceborn people would be exposed to more radiation. Firstly, intentionally, it would probably be required to get some (regulated) exposure regularly for health reasons (there would probably be a lot of windows, with uv protection of course, all over the place). Secondly, they are in space and if safety regulations arnt up to scratch or they live in some mining colony, or somewhere like mars or ganymede or something exposure to a lot of radiation might be commonplace.
Only UV radiation turns skin dark - otherwise Chernobyl liqudators would be all Black.
Even basic space suit would provide ample level of UV protection, so the only way to get darker is to direct exposure to sunlight (not a good idea in deep space) or visit to solarium (probably something normal to some extend to compensate constatly living under artificial light).

IMO people living pernamently in space station would be most probably either pale, or light brown - getting exposed to sun level of equatorial Earth is neither healthy or pleasant.
Evolutionary turning skin dark is protection measure only useful if there is something to protect against - it's dropped as a waste of energy the moment the Sun is less of a problem (like in Northern hemisphere).
That's why Afro-Americans are getting more and more light-skin. You could even say they are Trans-white, but they still need dozen generations to transit :)


I recall Terran Mars colony is build inside the Great Canyon that is in equatorial area, so it's possible that it's cheapear/easier to keep environment/sunlight/UV levels of equatorial Earth, thus Martian Terrans would come up naturally Black.

I must check, but I think Terran Cadet gamestart model is Black and from Mars.

Again The Expanse prove that with a bit of thought and proper lore this no longer looks weird, but rather add to world building. It doesn't feel strange at all and moreover Terrans looks way better than Argons (albeit Argons seems to be improved in 4.10).





What I find strange in my games is gross overepresentation of White Redheads - the very first Katana I bought at Terran Wharf came with THREE redheads :D
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ ... EE9E70FC3/

Imperial Good
Moderator (English)
Moderator (English)
Posts: 4750
Joined: Fri, 21. Dec 18, 18:23
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Imperial Good » Tue, 20. Jul 21, 00:03

Until you do a stasticial analysis of randomly generated (not part of storyline) NPCs you have no proof that they are biased to one race over another. It is entirely possible that colour blind generation is used such that each ethnicity represented has exactly the same weight.

Honestly I think the game is biased to towards spawning Teladi. I swear I have seen more of them on stations than any other faction. Although I have not played in the last month or so.

Drumma
Posts: 64
Joined: Thu, 10. Sep 20, 00:24

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Drumma » Tue, 20. Jul 21, 00:41

Drumma wrote:
Mon, 19. Jul 21, 16:15
By the way, have the tall green female Split disappeared from the game.
They are pretty much still in the game. Base game that is, and they are only replaced with "newsplit" if "Split Vendetta" DLC is installed.
[/quote]

This makes me very sad. I really like those ladies. :-(

Rei Ayanami
Posts: 3333
Joined: Wed, 6. Nov 02, 20:31
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Rei Ayanami » Tue, 20. Jul 21, 00:54

We had the same topic a loooong time ago about Argons in X4 in some games being strangely overwhelmingly of the darker tone, despite the devs assuring that the random NPC selector is unbiased. It also sparked heavy discussions because since X-BTF Argons used to be light-toned asians and some were confused about these apparent sudden changes in Argon visual design, whether they were intended or not, or factual or just strange rng for some.

Personally, I find the NPC creation rng much more balanced since SV, and especially COH, and while the game sometimes really tends to generate the same NPC types/colors for a while, overall it seems rather ok, I guess.

Zloth2
Posts: 389
Joined: Sat, 7. Jul 18, 17:16
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Zloth2 » Tue, 20. Jul 21, 01:17

What I don't get is that, after a few centuries of genetic engineering, these people all look pretty much the same - with the exception of green hair and some new joints in the fingers (watch closely as humans type). Oh, and it seems nobody needs to use a restroom or sleep now. (Nancy Kress should like that. ;)
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home
and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here! It's wondrous, with
treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross, but it's not for the
timid." ---- Q

User avatar
Quinnell
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed, 14. Jul 21, 07:51
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Quinnell » Tue, 20. Jul 21, 02:17

Zloth2 wrote:
Tue, 20. Jul 21, 01:17
What I don't get is that, after a few centuries of genetic engineering, these people all look pretty much the same - with the exception of green hair and some new joints in the fingers (watch closely as humans type). Oh, and it seems nobody needs to use a restroom or sleep now. (Nancy Kress should like that. ;)
Sleep is a waste of valuable time anyway. And going to the bathroom is just inconvenient. I'd say these evolutions of humanity are 👌🏻
Quinnell - Terran supporter

Clownmug
Posts: 418
Joined: Wed, 11. Dec 13, 02:39
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Clownmug » Tue, 20. Jul 21, 04:27

Quinnell wrote:
Tue, 20. Jul 21, 02:17
Zloth2 wrote:
Tue, 20. Jul 21, 01:17
What I don't get is that, after a few centuries of genetic engineering, these people all look pretty much the same - with the exception of green hair and some new joints in the fingers (watch closely as humans type). Oh, and it seems nobody needs to use a restroom or sleep now. (Nancy Kress should like that. ;)
Sleep is a waste of valuable time anyway. And going to the bathroom is just inconvenient. I'd say these evolutions of humanity are 👌🏻
They don't need the bathroom anyways, as someone mentioned earlier their food is made of methane, so they probably just fart it all out wherever they go.

Zloth2
Posts: 389
Joined: Sat, 7. Jul 18, 17:16
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Zloth2 » Tue, 20. Jul 21, 06:03

Argons were using the three shells back in Rebirth. Now, they have transcended!
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home
and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here! It's wondrous, with
treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross, but it's not for the
timid." ---- Q

User avatar
Quinnell
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed, 14. Jul 21, 07:51
x4

Re: Why are terrans seem to be 90% africans?

Post by Quinnell » Tue, 20. Jul 21, 18:18

Zloth2 wrote:
Tue, 20. Jul 21, 06:03
Argons were using the three shells back in Rebirth. Now, they have transcended!
Can you imagine not knowing how to use the three shells. Silly people
Quinnell - Terran supporter

Locked

Return to “X4: Foundations”