Hey all! Idea attached.

[Drashner1]

Hello!  I'm HyperdrivePenguin (the name is ironic), and I have an interest in hard sci-fi, as seen in this universe.  I was thinking of creating an alien species from a faraway galaxy, but I don't know how to get started on an article.  Does anybody know who I can talk to to get my bearings and figure out what is and isn't feasible?

Thank you in advance.

Hi - Welcome to OA!

To add to what has already been said - If you're looking to add a new xenosophont species to the OA setting, you're first going to need to become reasonably familiar with the setting itself, how it operates, and in particular its various quirks that differentiate it from the 'standard SF setting'. Based on past experience (lots and lots of past experience) this is often the main issue that trips people up when they first join and want to contribute something fairly extensive to the setting like a new xenosophont race. They assume that some element operates the same way as what they see in a lot of other SF and then we have to explain that things operate differently here and then they have to try to modify their idea in mid-development to fit how things work here. Sometimes this happens multiple times and sometimes they get discouraged and give up - which is unfortunate.

To help avoid all that, I would suggest that you start by reading the six main topic pages in the EG as well as some number of the articles linked to them. In particular, the pages on Technology, Galactography, and Sophonts are likely to all be important to your project. Also, don't be shy about asking questions and before you really get into writing, create a summary/proposal of your idea and post it here to the forums (discord doesn't count here - we aren't all on discord, nor do we use discord for serious worldbuilding beyond the beginning stages) for consideration and discussion. Don't start writing up the actual article until that has happened and you and we are all on the same general page about what these beings are, how they work, and that they can fit into the setting and how it works.

As has been indicated in other posts, our standards for adding new xenosophonts to the setting are rather high/picky - higher than for other ideas - so be warned we are going to want lots of details and will be nitpicky. Right off the top of my head, I'm inclined to say that a race that is both extragalactic and of apparently equivalent tech to Terragens is going to be a hugely difficult lift because it has the potential to unbalance the setting and we are generally against that. So it will need to be very very engaging for us to be inclined to include it. Just being honest here so we don't all waste time tap dancing around this issue ongoing.

To summarize - read up on the setting, ask questions about what you don't understand/aren't clear on/can't find, and post a summary of the aliens you are proposing to add here to the forums as its own thread in the General Setting Discussion sub-forum for consideration and discussion. Understand we will be picky (very picky) but it's nothing personal.

Ok, I think that covers my thinking for now. I'm sure others will weigh in if they feel I've missed or mis-stated something.

Hope this helps,

Todd