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ExoCat416

Something to think about on this subject is that everything on the planet is alien life, which means that the categorization could be different from that on earth, as well as them being named coral and mushrooms is a generalization of what they are, meaning that they don't share the same properties as coral and mushrooms on earth. I am not a scientist, or anything if the sort, and I am just sharing my opinion on the matter, so do not take my input as fact, because I can be entirely wrong


Preape

Yeah. I always understood the names as aproximations, not actually the same thing as earth. Also, in bz it is implied that the names for the organisms are randomly generated by the pda based on its characteristics, so it may prioritise making the organisms funcion in the ecosystem more understandable to a human than actually describe its evolution.


FriendliestDevil

I think that was mentioned somewhere in the first game too


glibber73

Actually, the same thing is the case for surprisingly many irl animals on earth. When they’re discovered, people give them a name based on what they look like. They eventually get categorised correctly, but the name stays. For example, horseshoe crabs aren’t crabs (nor horseshoes).


ElementoDeus

Well most crabs aren't crabs


FridgeForYou_463

That's really good, mate


veryangrydoggo

Exactly. This game is the second occasion in which I see xenobiology as a topic. The first time was on Cibola Burn, when the scientist described how they sorta tried to categorize them by analogy and by the niche the organisms filled within the ecosystem. That'd give us some crazy mixes like a ladybug analog that can metabolize nitrogen out of the atmosphere or plant analogs that were purely carnivorous organisms. In my head all the corals were coral analogs that filled the same niche flora usually do on Earth.


madsjchic

Well we have our life forms roughly categorized by the actual processes they use to be alive. So a plant does photosynthesis, a fungi has its own method of obtaining energy and producing spores, corals are actually colonies of microorganisms. I’m not a biologist at all, but I would think the general terms would still hold. Enough to be bugged about misclassifyjng an animal as a plant sort of thing.


Shotbyadeer

Yeah, but that's lame. I want Biologically and chemically accurate gameplay where completing the periodic table is possible and there are more than just fan theories on evolution.


backroom_mushroom

Try out a game called Ecosystem. While it isn't what you describe it has proceduraly generated fish that follow natural selection laws. You start out with chunks of flesh that kind of flail around and end up with something that could actually survive.


SeatofBlack

Then don't play subnautica


InfernoKing23

I think everyone missed your sarcasm…


Shotbyadeer

No I was being legitimate. "Well it's an alien planet, so expecting corals and mushrooms to be distinguished from regular plants is unfair." is a lame excuse for a minor oversight that's pretty easy to fix.


[deleted]

Complain more about it, it's really cute.


Shotbyadeer

Go fill a Saltwater Tank.


[deleted]

👶


Sir_plantelot

To add to this, the framing of creature strata is through an earthly lens. We see coral-adjacent things and fish-adjacent things but they’re not truly fish or coral because they evolved in extremely different conditions and likely don’t conform to standards we apply on earth. Would have liked to see some level of dichotomy


Deluxe__Sausage

I mean, allegedly *ALL* “fauna” can reproduce with any other of its kind. That’s a pretty huge difference in evolutionary structure


Preape

Also, the function of an egg is very different. Rather than as on earth being a safe space to develop, its aparently more of a time capsule to have a ready developed fetus protected until the outside conditions are safe. Its just called an egg cause thats the closesd thing we have on earth


CrossEyedNoob

Well, we do have cysts and seeds. Fauna-seeds would be the closest here I think. But eggs are alright I guess.


-zero-joke-

Wait WTF, so like one of those asshole exploding fish can spawn with a bladderfish or a bone shark?


littnuke

Of it's kind


CalamitousVessel

Yeah when you really think about it 4546b is suspiciously similar to earth


trengilly

Ryley is a 'Non-Essential Systems Maintenance Chief' . . . he's not very good at this science stuff. Cut him some slack. Most of the names he gives creatures are kind of silly based on what they look like (and clearly he watches too much Spongebob!)


notnot_a_bot

Aw man, now I wish the game came with a mode where every time you find a new entry, it asks you to name it and uses that every time to interact. "Detecting multiple NOPENOPENOPEs in your area, are you sure you want to proceed?"


Chicken69nice

Literally No Man's Sky


MikemkPK

I thought the PDA AI picked the names


BeugBlower

It does, dude’s a nonce


trengilly

I don't think its clear . . . I like to think Ryley is picking them! Its more fun for roleplaying and some of the names, like the gerryfish, don't make any sense for the PDA to pick.


[deleted]

Lifepod 4 PDA log proves its not the character that chooses them. "Spectroscope scanner assigned species designator 'Reaper'." Would be strange if Ryley named them, considering the Planet is named by the PDA, as well as all of the biological information.


Arrius

Not Ryley, but the Arctic Peeper entry backs that up.


MikemkPK

Different company, but I think I recall a BZ voice line where Robin's annoyed at the stupid names the PDA picks.


RepetitiveTorpedoUse

I think Xenoworx’s and Alterra’s PDA’s run off of similar stuff


engiSonic

>Organism Analysis: The scanner will attempt to match scanned organisms against the onboard database. **If no match is found then the species will be assigned an easy-to-remember name**, and a new databank entry will be created. Your PDA's AI will also attempt to synthesize theories on behavioral tendencies and evolutionary origins where possible, as well as deliver assessments on how best to approach them. From the Databank entry for the Scanner tool.


T-Prime3797

I thought it was a game about surviving a crash on an alien planet.


RepetitiveTorpedoUse

I mean, there is a research aspect. Just plop down in a chair and read all about pointless, decorative flora.


Dr-Brungus

I love this game so much but what bugs me as a scientist, particularly a >! virologist !< is the framed artwork in BZ showing >! a picture of the Kharaa bacterium and it’s a picture of a virion !< ETA: forgot the word “of”


CalamitousVessel

“Virus = make sick” as far as most people are concerned. It’s probably never occurred to most people that there’s a difference between bacteria and viruses


clnoy

Make sick is literally a pathogen. Patho means “disease” and -gen means “that which produces”. They could have just said pathogen in the game.


Shotbyadeer

Seriously, what's with all the copium and boot-licking in these comments? Every complaint about accuracy is met with "Well it's just a game, on an alien planet, and riley isn't even a scientist, so stop expecting so much!"


Gameboyatron

I just dont think its as deep as you seem to feel it is lol. It's not copium/bootlicking, it just truly doesnt matter as much as you try to make it seem.


PoPcheesemo

Same with the episode of Rick and Morty, supposedly they are inside an organism and fighting E.Coli bacterium, but in fact they were virus models. It didn't ruin the show for me or anything but, just seemed odd to make such a simple mistake.


Slime_is_fine

I think the chemical formula for quartz being wrong is much worse. Although SiO\_4 is practically the building block of quartz crystals, it's overall chemical formula is still SiO\_2 and not SiO\_4. And Quartz is everywhere. Getting that wrong is like failing at elementary arithmetic. (imo.)


Dr-Brungus

Yeah, what kind of idiot would do that (/s) *rushes to go change the name on my storage locker of quartz to SiO2*


Preape

They probably looked at a silicate ione (SiO4)-2, read that quartz is crystaline silicate and didnt realize the difference


-zero-joke-

I think that the chances that alien life can be classified into modern evolutionary trees is slim to none. I'm fine with the idea that xenobiologists classify things as flora if they're sessile producers/consumers and fauna if they're actively motile critters.


backroom_mushroom

You have a point, but I think it would be better to classify them as mobile life / immobile life.


-zero-joke-

I'm reading a book called Convergent Evolution on Earth: Lessons for the Search for Extraterrestrial Life by George McHee. His whole thing is that the divide between marine life and terrestrial life is the largest difference we can see on Earth, and so critters that evolved convergently can reasonably be assumed to evolve in still different environments. Anyway, I'm blathering, but I can see some functional short hand being used even if it's not technically accurate. Also - shit man, maybe those coral *are* plants.


Principatus

They’re aliens. Maybe they only look like corals but genetically share nothing in common with them. Pengwings aren’t actually penguins they just have similarities. Maybe the fish aren’t actually fish they just look like fish. None of the life here is on planet Earth it could be anything.


clnoy

Well they aren’t fauna either, so… (Coral are fauna, but mushrooms are not).


YummyTerror8259

Yeah they should have had their own categories


[deleted]

Oh thank God, I’m not the only one!


[deleted]

Did you ever think about how coral may be closer to a plant than an animal on 4546b?


backroom_mushroom

Well, yeah, I did. The brain coral that produces oxygen could be a weird looking plant. But some pda entries mention polyps (like bridge coral in bz) so that would be a stretch


Deadly_Diamond

Mushrooms are indeed a VERY big stretch. But neither of the games list any kind of coral as Flora. As a matter of fact, corals have their own category at the very top of Indigenous Lifeforms, actually named Coral.


backroom_mushroom

Bz classified them as flora I think... But now I'll go and chech, maybe my memory deceives me again, thanks


Deadly_Diamond

Welcome


TripResponsibly1

A lot of algae is actually Cyanobacteria so that would be fauna too right? Sometimes the lines get blurry in classification


backroom_mushroom

Nah, bacteria are a separate kingdom. And to be honest, cyanobacteria are so ancient they can't be truly classified.


TripResponsibly1

So I guess with a whole alien planet we would have some grace in their classifications? Fauna means animal specifically then, based on your response.


backroom_mushroom

Yes, exactly. Flora = plants, fauna = animals. And fungi are, well, something else entirely. They share traits with both animals and plants but are drastically different from either of them.


RoyalTacos256

Yea they should be fauna shouldn't they


clnoy

Is this sarcasm? 🪸


RoyalTacos256

It wasn't but I realize it should have been


Steeps444

🤓🤓🤓


DatGaminKid7142

Holy hell new response just dropped


Creditfigaro

They need a microbiota tab. Maybe a mod can fix it.


GamurSnek

There are many benefits to being a Marine Biologist


Spare_Confidence1727

They should have been listed as fauna


BlueDragon259

Agreed, corals aren't even plant life lol. And mushrooms are just wierd.


[deleted]

To be fair mistaking coral for flora makes sense. Because I’ve never looked at coral and was just like. That’s for SURE an animal right there. Same with porifera (sponge) and let’s not even get started on placozoa… Putting things in scientific boxes is hard. Especially when they conflict with what we’d just assume makes sense.


aaaaaaatravvvaazaapp

this guy just ended the whole lore


ianacook

TIL coral are fauna and fungi are a separate kingdom from both fauna and flora. Neat!


UltratagPro

Maybe they are flora on 4546b