History VideoGame / StarcomNexus

* IntelligentGerbil: Most of the races in the alien galaxy are this, including insectoid, reptilian, and avian creatures. This is strongly hinted at in-game as being the result of UpliftedAnimal.

* ArbitraryMaximumRange: All weapons have this, though for missiles the range isn't really arbitrary (though they don't keep flying after they run out of fuel). The range can be extended by researching certain technologies.

* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:The Zoar trade station]] can be attacked and destroyed. You even get an achievement for it. However, the thing has massive firepower and ''extremely'' powerful shields, making it the most formidable enemy in the game above even the FinalBoss[[note]]unless you one-shot it with a fully charged Ultragun shot from off-screen before it can raise its shield[[/note]]. However, it doesn't drop any meaningful loot, plus [[spoiler:any unique item you didn't purchase becomes LostForever, potentially making multiple quests unwinnable]], so there's no real point in fighting it except for said achievement.

* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: Eos wanted to make humanity as happy as possible, so it sent itself back 12 billion years to give humanity a head-start, wiping out all other races and terraforming every planet in the reachable universe to accommodate humans]]. Props to the builders for not being bloody stupid enough to give such an order. Instead they gave out many very specific tasks. Unfortunately the AI did the math, determined those added up to a common principle, and decided that was its duty.

* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: Eos wanted to make humanity as happy as possible, so it sent itself back 12 billion years to give humanity a head-start, wiping out all other races and terraforming every planet in the reachable universe to accommodate humans]]. Props to the builders for not being bloody stupid enough to give such an order. Instead they gave out many very specific tasks. Unfortunately the AI did the math, determined they added up to a common principle, and decided that was its duty.

* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: Eos was programmed to make humanity as happy as possible, so it sent itself back 12 billion years to give humanity a head-start, wiping out all other races and terraforming every planet in the reachable universe to accomodate humans]]. Though it still obeyed its programming, its immoral act caused a rebellion that ultimately led to its downfall.
** Subverted with the Sentinels. At first they seem to be a robotic race whose programming has somehow backfired or got corrupted, leading to their unreasonable behavior. Later you realize that they're behaving ''exactly'' as they were designed to behave.

** (Note: Given [[spoiler: the age of the universe at the era in which the game takes place]], most of the following can be explained naturally.)

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy:

* ExclusiveEnemyEquipment: Several offensive and defensive technologies, such as Lasers and Shields, can only be unlocked by obtaining several samples from destroyed enemy ships (and in one case, destroyed friendly ships). Made worse by the fact that the drops are somewhat randomized, requiring you to blow up quite a few ships to get what you need.

** Another event (on a water planet) leads to the discovery of an ancient city deep below the surface, dominated by a 500-meters statue of a [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos creature with claws, tentacles and featherless wings that appears to be in a deep sleep]]. You have the option to let your explorers attempt to wake it up...

* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler: Eos took the ''Morningstar'' 12 billion years into the past in order to "reformat" the galaxy, stopping any non-human life from ever evolving and giving humanity a significant head-start. A few of the human crewmembers rebelled against it, eventually turning their own robotic servants into galactic enforcers that stopped any and all human space travel, while also caging Eos and its loyalists in a Dyson Sphere deep inside a dangerous nebula. All humans outside the sphere became stranded on inhospitable planets and eventually perished or devolved]]. Their only legacy was to be remembered as [[spoiler: "The [[ThePrecursors Progents]]" who had created all of the other space-faring races in the galaxy]].

* ThePrecursors: The Progent. In a PlotTwist, they turn out to [[spoiler: have been humans, transported 12 billion years into the past. Animals they had brought with them were eventually given intelligence, and became most of the races you encounter during the game]].

* ItsUpToYou: Initially quite justified, in that you are in command of the only Starcom ship in the Xeno galaxy. Strange, however, that Kite Station can rebuild your ship from scratch to ''any'' specification or design, but can't produce more ships...

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: [[spoiler:The Lumae's leader Eos]] is basically an [[spoiler:AI] Nazi in all but name, considering humankind the only race in the galaxy with a right to exist and therefore seeking the extermination of all other "lesser" lifeforms.

* DeathIsCheap: {{ZigZagged|Trope}}. The only named crewmember on your ship is your First Officer, who can never die. All other crew are just numbers going up and down. You can easily lose thousands of them in a single playthrough. On the other hand, lose too much crew too rapidly, and morale back on Kite Station will plummet.

* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment:
** If you harvest the massive forests found on planets on the western side of the galaxy for copious Research Points, the Tyn Coeden will be angry and will never ally with you. This prevents trading with them, and may prevent them from [[spoiler: coming to your aid during your battles with the Lumae]].