(click the pic for a full-res, downloadable version)
Humanity’s allies are bloodied but unbroken in the Galactic Civilizations III timeframe. The former leader of the Republic, Eleys Mue, died at the hands of the Drengin paving the way for the Resistance to take more direct measures that ultimately pushed the Drengin off her world. Succeeding her is Akari Malara of the Iru-Wraith'ir. She is a smart and capable woman willing to deal with the Drengin-dominated galaxy as it is, not the galaxy some of her peace-loving people wish it was. The Altarian Republic is in good -- or at least effective -- hands.
Lead designer Paul Boyer explains Akari Malara thusly:
Like the Terrans, the Altarian Republic has suffered greatly after the wars surrounding the return of the Dread Lords. They may have been wiped out entirely if not for the leader of the Altarian Resistance, Akari Malara. She kept the Altarian people united, giving them the strength to hold firm in the face of the Drengin domination of the galaxy.
While the Altarian Republic now claims to have never truly fallen, their government has been entirely taken over by the key members of the Altarian Resistance. This change can be seen in the way the Altarians now interact with the rest of the galaxy; though still looked upon as the high water mark of benevolence, they are now even less likely to trust outsiders and will often choose to stay aloof from galactic conflict rather than risking further cultural contamination.
Akari Malara herself has become an almost religious figure. The Altarian Resistance sees her as the savior of the Altarian people, and her control over her people is unprecedented in Altarian history. Even her worst critics admire her leadership, though they whisper that she is perhaps a bit too pragmatic.
There’s a lot more Galactic Civilizations III content out there already. Learn more about the Altarian Resistance and its prominent place in the Galactic Civilizations universe in the Databanks, check out PC Gamer’s in-depth preview, or listen to Paul talk everything from tutorial modes to ship design on the SpaceGameJunkies podcast.
Founders can access even more content in the Founders’ Vault by pre-ordering the game for $10 off the regular $49.99 price, or by picking up the $99 version that comes with a lifetime subscription to all Galactic Civilizations III DLC and expansions.
Update:
Fixed the confusion between Elsys Mue, the leader of the Altarian Republic and Akari Malari, the resistance leader who restored Altaria's independence.
I just hope they have kept the cosy altarian music theme.
I am not that big a fan of retcons, I think it would be best if you changed her to be a different character than the one in GC2. And in GC2 her name was Elyes Mue, unless this is her daughter or something.
And try not to go overboard with the whole factions thing.
That's good to know. Thanks!
Maybe you could answer my question. Is Elsys Mue supposed to be Eleys Mue from GalCiv 2, or a new character?
In any case, I really like the new look. I liked the old one just fine too, but it was too... human, for lack of a better word. It just never screamed "this is a different race with a different culture, that just happens to look like humans for reasons unknown" to me.
Surprised by the apparent controversy this has caused. I just figured "Elsys" Mue for a typo and the seemingly-blue skintone for the lighting.
At any rate, I have to say that sure, it's nice to hear that the Altarians are doing comparatively all right, but what I really want is to hear about those new civilizations already! "Coming soon" indeed, grumblegrumble.
Also, as far as I'm concerned: bring on the factions! It offers interesting possibilities for customization, and monolithic aliens is a trope that needs to die.
Maybe she's infused with the power of the Mithrilar and it altered her skin tone?
Also, this discussion about factions raises another question: is there any possibility of having genuine "alternative" racial images in some fashion? The static portraits GalCiv II offered were kind of weak, and there weren't even any for the races added in DA. From a customization perspective, it would be useful, and it would also give us a chance to get a broader picture of each race.
Incidentally, this still hasn't resolved the now 7-year-old mystery of what happened to Netro Mancer.
The problem with Smurfs,Navi and Asari is why have they evolved blue skin on a green planet?
Although I prefer the older Altarian figurehead this one does look rather more alien, which is a good thing.
Why ye thought it was a good idea to have such a radical change and keep the same leader though is a head-scratcher.
I hope that you are not expecting a plausible scientific explanation for that. Maybe it's copper, maybe it's symbiosis with an altarian bacteria in the skin, maybe dark energy,... or maybe once genetic manipulation is good to go, people alter themselves for "looks".
But it wouldn't be wrong to assume that a white, tattooed character we saw in GC2 is white and tattooed.
That's the problem here. We have Elysis Mue in GC2 who was indistinguishable from a human. Now we have Elysis Mue, who is most definitely not human. What's with the discontinuity?
I like the new version. I always thought the design of the Altarians was kind of lazy...basically just humans with face tattoos and shoulder pads. This new design actually looks like a different race.
Not all humans are white.
incidentslly, she's not supposed to be the same Altarian as GalCiV II.
Thats an error. She's not supposed to be the same person. I didn't give them her name, someone recycled it for this post.
I always name my own rulers each game anyway, so continuity of naming doesn't mean much to me. More importantly, I love the new design!
If she is not the same person then it needs to be clarified. The whole post seems to be about her becoming a more important figure after the GalCiv2 events. Unless the picture is supposed to be not her, which would be incongruous with the rest of the post.
We (I?) don't mind if there are different kinds of Altarians, tatooed or not (although I had the impression all had some tattoo or another), things just need to be made clear. Obviously most people don't want much change in the leaders as it breaks the continuity. If there are new people introduced, or if this can be called concept art of another facgion of Altarians then that's fine.
Also, my take on,factions is that most species would appear as monolithic just because an advanced spacefaring race would probably unite. We wouldn't want to see different countries of earth in GalCiv, would we. Obviously, some races would have different factions in game explained by the story as the Altarians and the new mutineers of the humans.
Blacks, whites and orientals aren't different factions of the Human race lol
Then strike my concern from the slate; I was primarily upset at how they set a known character to be completely different from how they were. I appreciate the clarification! :3
Every world has their own skeletons to deal with. Each has a past that results in very different cultures manifesting.
The Drengin used genetics to create super soldiers Called the Korath.
The Precursors was the name given to a collection of beings not even technically the same species to begin with.
Earth has several political groups largely based in geography and it's military force, over the decade, has splintered off.
The Altarians are made up of several distinct sub races. This should come as no surprise To anyone. They aren't humans. They simply look human for reasons outlined so e in Altarian Prophecy. the reason different sub races look different differs from race to race; from culture to culture.
To me, the suggestion that we shouldn't allow these civilizations to have different sub cultures or internal divisions strikes me as absurd. Of course there will be vying powers and internal intrigues. we will see them time and time again because sentient beings are messy.
i wouldn't get too uptight about the naming error. we are deep in the sausage factory here. It'll be corrected. Unfortunately, what happened to Elsys is tragic. She won't be coming back. It's not the Altarian Republic, it's the Altarian Resistance. It has been a very dark time.
No, but if China was in charge of Earth in 2240 the leader pic would visually look different than having an American leader. Faction, territory, nation, whatever you want to call it. There are different political entities on these worlds.
Even the original OS/2 version of GalCiv had political entities. I've never been able to really get them into the game beyond having a vote to determine which party was in charge but the idea is that each world has different political factions vying for supremacy.
(I'm typing all this on an iPad, please forgive typos).
Btw, you can read Destiny's Embers to get some clues. also, if you've read it, please rate it on amazon.com.
I'm not suggesting that every alien race be a homogeneous, boring blob like in Star Trek or Star Wars, but keep it on a believable level; in Galactic Civilizations 3 the Drengin Empire and the Yor have the other races by the balls to the extent where some races have been pushed to the brink of extinction or enslaved almost in totality. This is literally the worst possible time for internal dissent; the future of entire cultures and races is at stake. You'd think relatively marginal differences between different "Races" inside a civilization would be put aside to deal with a vastly more important enemy that threatens your annihilation.
The Korath-Drengin Wars actually make some semblance of sense, given that they had no other challenges except each other, but the fundamentalist and criminal Krynn, or the Terran Loyalists and Mutineers, have no reason to be fighting each other or vying for control within their faction while the Drengin smash everything.
I was under the impression that Earth was united under the Terran Alliance? But ultimately, the differences between a Chinese communist and American Capitalist is insignificant next to the threat of an imminent invasion by skin-eating lizards with beard. If it happened today, every single nation would set aside their differences and be forced by circumstance to co-operate. The American military wouldn't splinter apart, or China wouldn't nuke Europe right as the aliens got their bombardment ships into range.
Common enemies breed common rule as history shows.
It's k
By the way; don't take this personally; I'm only saying this in the interest of making the lore more believable.
I like her. She looks more updated and believable than Elyes. As far as her angry look goes, In GalCiv2, they'd look angry-ish if they weren't getting along with you for whatever reason. It could be the look of disdain owing to being disturbed by a less than relevant leader.
If Elsys is to be disposed of because of naming issues, perhaps her updated graphics can be reborn under a different name.
I have no problem with her design, it was the implication that she was the same character from CG2 with a complete makeover that I didn't like. Thanks for correcting that.
Weren't the Dread Lords the ones who modified the Korath? Though, I guess the Drengin might have modified them before the Dread Lords intervened.
I am not opposed that much to sub-factions, it's just that I'm worried they will take away from major civilizations. The Korath were my least favorite from CG2.
Out of curiosity will the sub-factions be somehow linked to ideologies?
That this is often not the case. Think of France (or Hungary, or other countries for that matter) during WWII: with the country invaded by the Germans, some people joined the resistance groups, others collaborated with and helped the invaders. Or many countries during the colonial era: some wanted to fight with violence, others sought freedom through peaceful means. There are countless examples. People have different views on things and different opinions on how to deal with threats even in dark times. But I agree that this aspect should not be overvalued
BTW I really like the new look
Once it's cleared up that it's not actually the same person, I'm cool with it. The art itself looks good.
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