In Starbound, there are many vanilla species and factions that exist naturally, and though rarely, do interact with altas in different ways.
This page is meant to describe alta relationships with Starbound’s vanilla species and factions.
Just like with hylotl, apex technological culture is a great source of inspiration for many alta researchers. Unfortunately for both altas and apex, this inspiration mostly comes from Miniknog technology and their surveillance systems.
General apex culture is less attractive to altas due to several differences in generalized views on entertainment and silliness. Yes.
Apex themselves are often perceived as smart, yet strict by many altas, despite harsh reality of apex life being a prevalent factor in this, most altas are simply unaware of it in general, with vast majority of them never have seen an apex in the first place.
Alta tenants who are especially fond of apex will often gift you bananas, grapes and apex artistry as rent.
While a weak diplomatic relationship is maintained between several alta research groups and the Miniknog, this alliance is far from stable, especially considering ongoing underground operations, like MKI.
A result of an unfortunate “First Apex Contact” operation, MKI, or Miniknog Insurgency program, is a completely self-contained research organization that manages technological rivalry between Alliana and the Miniknog.
The main goals of MKI include studying, integrating and adapting MK technology, as well as spying and infiltrating the MK itself.
Many MKI operatives are still active and can rarely be found hidden among apex MK personnel.
Though some altas associate many apex rebels with the Faradea movement, the two are vastly different groups not only due to their purposes and methods, but also general meaning.
That said, just like Faradea Legends, Apex Legends are very much welcome on the Gharmatai, and are respected by many kaiters and Faradea mercs.
The same, however, can not be said about regular altas, once again mostly unaware of the most relevant internal apex conflict.
Since bird-like creatures are not present in shared alta fauna across most planetary systems, avians are seen as quite unfamiliar and exotic, often throwing an unsuspecting alta for a loop.
And because you can’t really tell that avians mostly come from sacrifice-driven society just by looking at them, most altas are unaware of this not-so-very-fun fact.
Alta tenants who are especially fond of avians will often gift you avian-made pottery and feathery crafts as rent, as well as different traditional avian dishes.
Due to several instances of typical floran behaviour, they are listed in alta botanics classification under the same category as venus flytraps, despite having a humanoid appearance and a superior level of intellect.
This was partially also done because Vessti, the lead floran co-researcher of florans, really liked these plants - “becaussse of their outlookss on life”.
Alta tenants who are especially fond of florans will often gift you plants bug-based food as rent.
Altas have a special history with a subset of florans coming from yaara groves on some of the alterash planets. These fighters are born in yaara and always protect it from various threats - mainly from the warped infestation, and, well… altas, who are usually using yaara for various purposes, including creating energy, food, crystals, furniture, and much more.
One of alta creations that heavily utilizes yaara groves are elin gardens - big underground artificial gardens, where altas grow more of themselves. Due to this vital dependency on yaara, altas are trying to make peace with yaara keepers where possible.
Though an alta has never taken part in the great hunt ceremony, some alta adventurers find these exciting to spectate. But also to be cautious while doing so.
Florans, especially hunting ground champions and cannibals from desert planets, sometimes join kaiter-run tournament called Gharmatai, where kaiter gharmatas, alta legends, apex fighters and all others alike can fight on fair rules.
These wooden creatures are native to alterash starforests, even though quite rare to find. Due to the specifics of alta biology studies, many alta researchers put them as a floran sibling species - silvas.
Also fairly frequent guests at the Gharmatai, even more frequent than floran hunters. Though not really florans, alta researchers put them in the same kingdom and humanoid class.
Surprisingly, so far there didn’t seem to be an aric version of agarans to be discovered by altas, instead only being able to find them in mushroom patches on alien planets.
That said, considering their compatibility with aric, a biology-crazed alta research organization Mita-3V Ordis couldn’t stay away and not develop an aric agaran - arigaran. A small settlement of these still resides on Mita-3, protected from their own “creators” by Alliana forces.
It’s thanks to arigarans that a lot of aric forests are now inhabited by arilings.
Altas and glitches prefer to set a clear distinction between each other, as both are often seen by humans and hylotl as sentient androids. But, the matter of fact is: one are bionic, naturally grown creatures, other are sentient robots, made from actual robotic parts.
Alta tenants who are especially fond of glitch will often gift you electric and robotic parts as rent.
Being a great, endless source of knowledge (and entertainment!), hylotl culture and history quickly gather a lot of interest among many alta researchers, artists and party girls. Though vastly different in their approach to self expression, studying and entertainment, this is exactly what makes their cultures so interesting to each other.
Alta tenants who are especially fond of hylotl will often gift you art and paper as rent.
Though on the surface they might look similar, and alta could not be biologically further from a human being. Well, aside from obvious similarities…
Alta tenants who are especially fond of humans will gift you human things, like microplastics and overpriced medicine, as rent.
Altas had a complicated history with humans on Earth, that involved a ton of diplomatic deals and even several armed conflicts. Thankfully, this finally came to an end with Orchid’s rebirth, which set the boundaries between two species straight and helped humans and altas to live in peace on their separate pieces of land, up until humanity finally founded the Terrene Protectorate.
The “First Human Contact” operation, though questionable in its outcomes, went a much better route than a similar one with apex.
While few remaining alta FHC operatives are inactive for the most part, serving a more observatory purpose in contrast, many altas were left positively impacted by the experience, even the ones not partaking - resulting in alta “Earth fans”, often found wearing human clothing, though not very distinguishable from alta clothes in the first place.
Altas are ultimately divided in their views regarding events that took place during FHC, thinking of it either as of meaningless past, or a grudge to be held against humans.
Altas cherish their starlike creators, and see a direct connection and similarities to them in novakids - another species of starlike creatures, who, though not quite of the same nature, are more often than not welcome on any alta station or city there is - especially most alta labs, as novakids pose a great scientific interest to altas.
Alta tenants who are especially fond of novakids will often gift you glowing and star-related things as rent.
Big factions not directly tied to a single species.
Though never really a part of protectorate, altas got to see its prime years before the destruction. It served as a clear self-made accomplishment by humans, that led FHC to consider the mission of encounter a success.
There are, however, honorary alta members allowed to wear the uniform - though the days of protectorate are over, they still wear it at times to honor it.
A big scary thing that devours everything is surely scary to altas as well, no surprise here.
As the cult follows the ruin, its goals and views don’t really align with those of altas.
Alta tenants who are cosplaying occasus, first of all - should stop, but second of all - will gift you purple, black and gold things as rent.
This section contains species that are less common, less known and do not have protectorate members.
These fluffy simple-natured creatures have been extensively studied by altas due to their exceptional fluffiness. Many fairly niche works have been written about the eternal bliss of fenerox fluff, and how to make friends with a fenerox.
As a well-known alta xenobiologist Veta puts it - “Fenerox are very tender in character and require a layed back approach to properly communicate”.
While penguins are usually cute and cuddly, you can’t say the same about their attitude - at least in case of penguin mercs, who can be easily called a tiny cute version of a faradea merc instead. As such, they usually don’t venture into faradea-covered territories.
While powerful and menacing, the threat of dread passed by altas with no harm to the latter. Maybe that would’ve gone differently for kaiters if big personal spaceships were allowed at Gharmatai.
While these might just be humans in big penguin costumes, altas have come to call them pengiants - since regardless of the truth, they are still big cutely-shaped things that do cute things.
Surprisingly, so far there were no alta experiments to create a pengiant from a regular penguin, and vice-versa.
Big frog-like creatures that have more frog than a regular frog. Most of the time altas find regular frogs cute, so you can only imagine when those frogs become big and start selling you neat little things. Or furniture.
On some alterash planets, altas have created genetic hybrids between froggs and small native yaafrogs living inside yaara groves. These yaafroggs combine the size and intelligence of froggs with the distinctive orange-green coloration and yaara-adapted biology of their smaller cousins.
Alta researchers find yaafroggs particularly endearing, per Veta’s note: ‘A cute little frog that won’t try to eat your breakfast. I think.’ The genetic combination proved successful, resulting in friendly creatures that have become popular subjects for alta biological studies and companionship.
Similar to yaafroggs, barafroggs are genetic hybrids between froggs and small riverside critters called baratoads. These hybrids inherited the prominent fins on their backs from baratoads, giving them superior swimming capabilities while maintaining the larger size and merchant tendencies of froggs.
The combination of frogg intelligence with baratoad aquatic adaptations makes barafroggs particularly well-suited for trading in coastal and aquatic settlements.
Gnomes are a lilliputian race of tiny humanoids who inhabit underground mini villages and even operate their own spacefaring vessels (the Astrofae Haven space encounters). Despite their diminutive size, they’re a fully spacefaring civilization capable of interstellar travel.
Alta xenologists find gnomes fascinating primarily due to the sheer logistics involved in their tiny-scale technology. How do they build spaceships? How do their controls work? Do they have miniature star charts? These questions drive much of alta research interest in gnome culture.
Direct encounters between altas and gnomes are relatively rare, as gnome underground villages are often well-hidden and their space encounters are infrequent. When meetings do occur, altas tend to be extremely careful not to accidentally step on or otherwise harm the tiny beings - a concern that reportedly amuses gnomes to no end.
Some alta researchers theorize that gnomes might be related to other diminutive species encountered in the galaxy, though concrete evidence remains elusive. The Gnome Gun and discovery of corobockles suggest a broader network of small-scale civilizations that altas have only begun to understand.
Never looking for a fight, most altas would never see a threat in a mostly passive yet battle-born species and their little decentralized society. That said, a lonely faradea merc could sure find trouble here at all times.
Though seen as scary ghosts at first, altas found these void creatures to be quite peaceful and uneventful. Though any possible civilization of shadows remains a mystery to altas, their relationship seems to be mostly positive, especially when all encounters are happening expectedly.
During this spooky alta holiday, altas often invite shadows to join them celebrating the night of Ceternity - a very fitting place for a sudden spook.
While not generally very visually appealing, altas find creeplings exceptionally fascinating when it comes to their versatile and resistant nature. Lack of proper communication hasn’t prevented various research groups to make several inventions that mimic seemingly alien capabilities of creeplings.
Studying creeplings helped understand hybrid patterns of warped mutation, the way it spread to a new object and adapts to its structure and biology.
The midnight hive ecosystem is fairly familiar to altas, with many ionic hives residing in depths of alterash prime planets.
That said, due to the shy nature of larva, or the maggot folk, altas have no problem finding common ground with big larvlings, with the main caveat being that altas… eat bugs.
The world of ionic hives is covered extensively by alta insectology, and sentient larvlings are not only known, but also accepted as co-researchers of their own nature.
Since cyclops yetis are a rare species that doesn’t really have a common culture in place, alta opinions of them usually form on a case-by-case basis - with how defensive most cyclops usually are, those opinions are often very cautious.
Famous alta xenologist Veta speculates that this defensive behaviour isn’t a result of a simple language barrier, but is instead rooted in the nature of their survival instincts.
Though with how rare the species are, colorful cyclops yeti plushies are still quite popular with altas, even if often just as rare as yetis themselves.
Original research of cyclops yetis began on Iceterion, soon after the first encounter with the creatures. The climate of the planet turned out to be quite pleasant for yetis, and even though their population on the planet was fairly tiny, the great work done by several alta research groups spawned several extensive studies.
Nowadays, unfortunately, all research on the planet was indefinitely halted, with abandoned research camps hiding under snow throughout the planet - with the planet now fully captured by kaiters and turned into their capital, this research will have to continue elsewhere.