History Main / StandardScifiSetting

* A genocidal alien race that's either TheVirus, PlanetLooters from "beyond known space" or a full-on HordeOfAlienLocusts. Rogue robots out to kill all organic life are another common variant. These guys are usually what wiped out the NeglectfulPrecursors. Their ships will usually be sleek and angular when they aren't [[LivingShip organic blobs]]. Either way, their ships tend to be red, purple, black, or other [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience "evil"]] colors.

* An ancient and hidebound [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy proud warrior race]] who may double as ScaryDogmaticAliens. Their ships will typically be purple, green, or gold. If anyone has an EnemyCivilWar ready to break out, it will be these guys.

* SpaceIsAnOcean.

* StandardSciFiFleet.

* TheFederation, TheEmpire, or other space faring humans that fly [[ISOStandardHumanSpaceship big gray battleships and little gray fighters]]. They have a good chance of being [[HumansAreSpecial descended directly]] from the NeglectfulPrecursors.

* PandorasStar does it brilliantly.

** The dark side of the Minbari is shown almost right away though they always have an attractive side as well as a dark side and the Narns don't really mellow although G'kar does(they simply change from [[TheEmpire the would-be Empire]] into TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized). The Minbari curiously are both a ProudWarriorRace and a ProudScholarRace. The Centauri are a big surprise; no one would expect them to be good enough at fighting to be brutal conquerors anymore. EarthGov may be the biggest surprise; we expect it to be TheFederation and instead it evolves into a PoliceState but with the twist that it is an isolationist and nativist PoliceState rather than TheEmpire and spends more time supressing internal rebellion then in aggression. Interestingly most of the characters including the command staff and all the main ambassadors, at one time or another end up as LaResistance to their own government.

* Averted / subverted in ''OrionsArm'', which tries to be a [[MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness hard]] sci-fi setting without sacrificing any of the appeal of the more traditional SpaceOpera. The result is a transhumanist setting ruled by godlike {{Artificial Intelligence}}s called Archai, which have experienced not one, but several [[{{TheSingularity}} Singularities]] and rule over their lesser subjects like benign deities. Advanced nanotechnology and relativistic spaceflight are commonplace, and while true FTL is impossible, [[PortalNetwork wormholes]] and ReactionlessDrive technology have been created by the Archai. CreatingLife is also not that hard, and baseline unmodified humans represent only a tiny part of the extremely diverse terragen (originating-from-Earth) civilization composed of genetically modified transhumans and sentient animals and sentient human-animal hybrids, cyborgs of all kinds, sentient robots, and several kinds of infomorphic lifeforms. And that's just the lower toposophic (read: number of Singularities crossed) levels, before you get to the various planet-sized [=AI=]s, DysonSphere-sized [=AI=]s, and the wormhole-based [=AI=]s that are the higher toposophic beings (the 'godlings' and full godlike Archai). And that's just the terragens, not counting the handful [[StarfishAlien ''very'' alien]] aliens that the setting features. Basically, any technology or lifeform that isn't banned outright by physics in in there, somewhere.

* Very little, if any, of TheSingularity, except possibly as a [[JustifiedTrope justification]] for SufficientlyAdvancedAliens. Humans themselves will almost never be post-Singularity.

* StandardSciFiFleet.

Not surprisingly, this setting tends to fall toward the "soft" end of the MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness. Examples come mostly from TV, Movies, and especially video games, where scientific accuracy often [[RuleOfCool takes a back seat to awesome visuals and an engaging storyline]].

* ''{{Rifts}}'''s ''Phase World'' setting. The Consortium of Civilized Worlds is TheFederation, the Transgalactic Empire is TheEmpire of {{ScaryDogmaticAliens}}, and the CrystalSpiresAndTogas are handled by the United Worlds of Warlock. Any examples of TheVirus or PlanetLooters are, for the time being at least, nascent and/or lying in wait.

* ''{{Rifts}}'''s ''Phase World'' setting. The Consortium of Civilized Worlds is TheFederation, the Transgalactic Empire is TheEmpire of {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s, and the CrystalSpiresAndTogas are handled by the United Worlds of Warlock. Any examples of TheVirus or PlanetLooters are, for the time being at least, nascent and/or lying in wait.

* ''{{Freespace}}'': The Terrans play this trope completely straight, but while the Vasudans certainly fit the ProudWarriorRaceGuys stereotype, the [[OmnicidalManiac xenocidal]] Shivans are slightly anomolous. Whilst certainly ColorCodedForYourConvenience, from beyond known space, and responsible for wiping out the ([[TheEmpire downright maliciously empirialistic]]) [[NeglectfulPrecursors Ancients]], the Shivans are neither TheVirus, a HordeOfAlienLocusts, nor PlanetLooters. They don't bother with conquest, looting, or assimilation, all they care about is getting to the [[ApocalypseHow xenocide]]. FTL drives are both [[SubspaceOrHyperspace subspace drives]] and require a PortalNetwork of jump nodes to travel between systems. There is a total lack of any metaphysical aspect or aliens aside from the core 3 races. Aside from those minor details, it's a StandardSciFiSetting.

* Andrey Livadny's ''[[TheHistoryOfTheGalaxy The History of the Galaxy]]'' series fits many parts of the trope. There's the [[TheFederation Confederacy of Suns]], the late [[TheEmpire Earth Alliance]], animal-like [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Forerunners]], [[CasualInterstellarTravel easy FTL travel]], SpaceMarines (although less of the ''StarshipTroopers'' variety and more of the piloting HumongousMecha kind), SpacePirates, and several NeglectfulPrecursors (many of whom are still around). There's a notable absence of ProudWarriorRaceGuys and CrystalSpiresAndTogas. Rogue robots are the main theme of several novels (one novel deals with a completely automated gigantic alien mothership attacking a small human colony). There is only one race of HumanAliens, and they're blue.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* ''TheLegionOfSuperHeroes'' has a 1000-years-from-now setting that was so close to the StandardSciFiSetting (at least until the threeboot) that you'd think it's clearly based on ''StarTrek'' had it not actually ''preceded'' Trek by a good 8 years. FTL? Original has warp drive, reboot adds Stargates. Threeboot isn't so stock, as transmatter gates have rendered spacecraft obsolete. The United Planets is TheFederation (it was at least once erroneously called "the Federation of Planets"). Mysticism? Check. Not just psionics, but explicit magic, since it takes place in the FantasyKitchenSink [[TheDCU DC Universe]]. Proud warrior race? The Khunds, sometimes specifically based on Klingons. Alien hordes? Check. Space pirates? Check.

* Very little, if any, of TheSingularity, except possibly as a [[JustifiedTrope justification]] for SufficientlyAdvancedAliens. Humans will almost never be post-Singularity.

* [[SoBadItsHorrible Kevin J Anderson's]] ''TheSagaOfSevenSuns'', as a ClicheStorm, is this with the addition of aliens based on the four classical elements fighting it out. It is...not very good.

* A wise/spiritual ProudScholarRace decked out in CrystalSpiresAndTogas. These are often HumanAliens and/or [[OurElvesAreBetter Elves]] [-[[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]-], possibly the NeglectfulPrecursors, if they're already extinct. Their ships will be sleek, but more rounded, and usually colored white, silver, or blue (gold or copper/bronze is rare, but acceptable). If there's a metaphysical aspect, these guys will be brimming with it more than any others. Bonus points if they have [[ShadowArchetype a rival sect called the "Dark" something]].

* A wise/spiritual CloserToEarth race decked out in CrystalSpiresAndTogas. These are often HumanAliens and/or [[OurElvesAreBetter Elves]] [-[[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]-], possibly the NeglectfulPrecursors, if they're already extinct. Their ships will be sleek, but more rounded, and usually colored white, silver, or blue (gold or copper/bronze is rare, but acceptable). If there's a metaphysical aspect, these guys will be brimming with it more than any others. Bonus points if they have [[ShadowArchetype a rival sect called the "Dark" something]].

* {{Space Marine}}s if the film was made after ''{{Aliens}}'' or the book written after ''StarshipTroopers''; guys with [[RaygunGothic ray guns]] and [[SpaceClothes tight outfits]] if before or homaging before.

* TheFederation, TheEmpire, or other space faring humans that fly [[ISOStandardHumanSpaceship big gray battleships and little gray fighters]]. They have a good chance of being [[HumansAreSpecial descended directly]] from the NeglectfulPrecursors.
** A [[LaResistance "rebel" faction]] fighting against one of these groups is a frequent option.

* A wise/spiritual CloserToEarth race decked out in CrystalSpiresAndTogas. These are often HumanAliens and/or [[OurElvesAreBetter Elves]] [-[[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]-], possibly the NeglectfulPrecursors, if they're already extinct. Their ships will be sleek, but more rounded, and usually colored white, silver, or blue (gold or copper/bronze is rare, but acceptable). If there's a metaphysical aspect, these guys will be brimming with it more than any others. Bonus points if they have [[ShadowArchetype a rival sect called the "Dark" something]].
* As many as a dozen other races of little to no consequence beyond certain characters or as background elements. May include Robots, aforementioned rebel/heretical sects, Alien Slavers, an EldritchAbomination, non-locust Zombies, Robot Zombies, [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Robot Eldritch Abomination that command zombies]], and on down the line.
* An epic SpaceBattle where the future hangs in the balance as a result of it, or leading up to it.
* Oh, and SpacePirates. Space pirates are ''inevitable'' in such a setting.
* In some more recent works, one or more of the above factions might have "[[MegaCorp Incorporated]]" in their name somewhere, but they'll still be the same for story purposes.

Does the above sentence sound familiar? It should. It's probably the single most popular SpaceOpera premise around. It's the go-to template for any writers who can't or don't want to come up with their own setting. In fact, you could even call it the StandardSciFiSetting. Typical features of the Standard setting include:

* {{Space Marine}}s if the film was made after ''{{Aliens}}'' or the book written after ''StarshipTroopers''; guys with [[FrickinLaserBeams ray guns]] and [[SpaceClothes tight outfits]] if before or homaging before.