What is the race distribution (White, Black, Asian) in human factions according to lore?

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dtpsprt
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Re: What is the race distribution (White, Black, Asian) in human factions according to lore?

Post by dtpsprt » Sun, 25. Jul 21, 16:11

Drumma wrote:
Sun, 25. Jul 21, 15:49
Since children have been mentioned:
Where are the children ?
Shouldn't there be some kids running around in the bars/game room and shopping/trading areas ?

(kids = young people not goats) :-)

... just wondering
Probably gone with the "Little Susie" announcements... or, simply, wondered out of an airlock!!!

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mr.WHO
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Re: What is the race distribution (White, Black, Asian) in human factions according to lore?

Post by mr.WHO » Sun, 25. Jul 21, 17:27

Skeeter wrote:
Sun, 25. Jul 21, 16:06
Need more civilians too so normal clothes not just uniforms, more culture grouped i.e some religious types, punk types, gang looking types, family types. Walking around getting on and off ships then walking around the stations malls if they add em and then back on a random ship as passengers to go around different stations like their having a life.
I still hope one day we will be able to customize crew clothes/uniforms (e.g. faction colors, dress code for captain, pilot etc.) - this would get well with a few more clothes choices.

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The Race Issue in X4

Post by delilah wild » Sun, 25. Jul 21, 18:51

I am enjoying the human diversity that Egosoft is injecting into X4. But the abundant presence of Black humans in the Terran DLC has disturbed others and generated debate about the human diversity of the X Universe.

Some of these concerns seem to be explicitly racist (viewtopic.php?f=146&t=440825), others incorporate racial stereotypes (https://www.reddit.com/r/X4Foundations/ ... _ships_is/), while still others presuppose an erroneous understanding of race (https://www.reddit.com/r/X4Foundations/ ... ack_asian/, viewtopic.php?f=146&t=440917).

It is not racist to speculate on what our genes, bodies and cultures will be like in a thousand years - the time period in which X4 is set. Assuming the genetic selection pressures don't radically change, that is not enough time for species-altering variations to emerge. But with all the scenarios in scifi, who knows? Star Trek envisions a WWIII in response to eugenics. Joan Slonczewski’s A Door into Ocean imagines humans adjusting their genotypes to the various planets they settle thereby creating different subspecies of human beings.

Still, we ought to be cautious about speculating in terms of race(s) and wary of racial stereotypes. As it applies to human beings, race is a pejorative concept setting some humans apart from others. As a matter of evolutionary science there are no subspecies or races within humanity.

This applies to X4 in a straightforward way. The humans, Teladi, etc. are of different species. These species may have different factions (e.g., ANT, ARG, TER) while some factions are composed of many species (e.g., Scala Pact). Neither species nor faction equates to race. Nor is race correlative to the ethnicities or languages of the humans in the X Universe. The lore does note the strong influenced of Japanese culture in the early years, but there is nothing I’m aware of in X that implies racially segregated factions amongst the humans.

One of the main reason we are having this conversation in X4 is because Egosoft mistakenly labels different species as races. This error was likely inadvertent and I hope Egosoft will correct this going forward.

Zloth2
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Re: The Race Issue in X4

Post by Zloth2 » Sun, 25. Jul 21, 19:26

Oh, that's not just Egosoft by a LONG shot, that's all of gamedom. Every different faction with bodies that look significantly different are different "races." Doesn't matter if biologists would call them a different race, species, or kingdom. Honestly, it doesn't even matter if you would need to call in a geologist to categorize the differences! As far as gamers are concerned, a hyper-intelligent shade of the color blue would still just be another "race." It may seem lazy, but it really doesn't matter much for gaming. No point in having a dozen different words for "snow" if you live in the tropics.
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Re: What is the race distribution (White, Black, Asian) in human factions according to lore?

Post by CBJ » Sun, 25. Jul 21, 19:31

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Re: What is the race distribution (White, Black, Asian) in human factions according to lore?

Post by Flippi » Sun, 25. Jul 21, 19:35

I too have a problem with diversity in this game!
I have yet to find any cat girls anywhere! This cannot stand!
Obvious /s is obvious.

On a more serious note. I don't get the entire fuss about the whole topic. Seems to me like a desperate attempt at creating drama or push political stuff. And all of that for something so mundane as completely randomly generated NPC's. I also haven't noticed any weird distribution issues as others reported. But maybe I just don't care about that enough to notice any problems.

Really, there's so much in this game to discuss and have problems with. But people to choose such a non issue as races. Wow.
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Quinnell
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Re: What is the race distribution (White, Black, Asian) in human factions according to lore?

Post by Quinnell » Mon, 26. Jul 21, 23:42

mr.WHO wrote:
Sun, 25. Jul 21, 17:27
Skeeter wrote:
Sun, 25. Jul 21, 16:06
Need more civilians too so normal clothes not just uniforms, more culture grouped i.e some religious types, punk types, gang looking types, family types. Walking around getting on and off ships then walking around the stations malls if they add em and then back on a random ship as passengers to go around different stations like their having a life.
I still hope one day we will be able to customize crew clothes/uniforms (e.g. faction colors, dress code for captain, pilot etc.) - this would get well with a few more clothes choices.
I'd really like to be able to rename my crew. Changing their uniforms would be a nice secondary feature for sure though. I like my military ships to be 100% Terran!
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Quinnell
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Re: What is the race distribution (White, Black, Asian) in human factions according to lore?

Post by Quinnell » Mon, 26. Jul 21, 23:48

Clownmug wrote:
Sat, 24. Jul 21, 21:22
Usually in fiction when humanity achieves space travel they abandon petty things like this and thus it's never mentioned.
While race is likely no longer a concern, humanity took a rather unique turn in the X universe. I think that the lore of X Series might have repercussions on ethnic dominance.

Consider: Japanese is essentially the dominant language by the time Terrans establish themselves in space. I read somewhere it has even become the de facto trade language in the Commonwealth. Almost all Terran starships have Japanese names. A majority of Terrans have a Japanese first name or surname. Since the Japs essentially became the dominant scientific superpower and seemingly the dominant culture on Earth, I would imagine ethnicities might come to reflect that, at least within the Terran military. And probably the Argons depending on the ethnic makeup of the colonists that got stranded when Earth destroyed their Jumpgate.
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delilah wild
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Re: The Race Issue in X4

Post by delilah wild » Tue, 27. Jul 21, 04:58

Zloth2 wrote:
Sun, 25. Jul 21, 19:26
Oh, that's not just Egosoft by a LONG shot, that's all of gamedom. Every different faction with bodies that look significantly different are different "races." Doesn't matter if biologists would call them a different race, species, or kingdom. Honestly, it doesn't even matter if you would need to call in a geologist to categorize the differences! As far as gamers are concerned, a hyper-intelligent shade of the color blue would still just be another "race." It may seem lazy, but it really doesn't matter much for gaming. No point in having a dozen different words for "snow" if you live in the tropics.
Very fair point. Which only underscores the need of gaming in general and Egosoft in particular to take racialized discourses seriously.

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