Selenites Pack

Supa

Out of Cheese Error
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
3,667
Location
Belgium
This is a pack of Selenites, the race inhabiting the Moon in H.G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon (1901). They're a rather peaceful bunch of insectoïd/humanoïd extra-terrestrials, with a highly developed casts system. If you're meant to be a Moon-Calves shepherd, you'll be born, trained and modified for this and only this.

The Selenites are also one of the race of the Lost World scenario by the Steampunk team, although in a modified version of them. I always wondered if it was only a gameplay or creative reason behind it or if it was just a lack of proper units.

I've never been able to find a good humanoïd insect model. But then, 2 days ago, when I wasn't even looking for it, I got lucky and found one.

The only adaptation of the novel I've seen is Georges Méliès' amalgamated Trip to the Moon (1902 - it's actually a mix between Wells' First Men in the Moon and Verne's From the Earth to the Moon), so I tried to be as close to the novel as I could.
In the novel, the characters meet several type of Selenite :

Selenite



The basic Selenite encountered in the novel. The only things I willingly left of are the slim tentacles.

Surface Selenite



Spoiler Pedia :
By contrast with the mooncalves he seemed a trivial being, a mere ant, scarcely five feet high. He presented himself, therefore, as a compact, bristling creature, having much of the quality of a complicated insect, with whip-like tentacles and a clanging arm projecting from his shining cylindrical body case. The form of his head was hidden by his enormous many-spiked helmet—we discovered afterwards that he used the spikes for prodding refractory mooncalves—and a pair of goggles of darkened glass, set very much at the side, gave a bird-like quality to the metallic apparatus that covered his face. His arms did not project beyond his body case, and he carried himself upon short legs that, wrapped though they were in warm coverings, seemed to our terrestrial eyes inordinately flimsy. They had very short thighs, very long shanks, and little feet.

{Mr. Bedford}, Cavor Moon Expedition - 1899

in [The First Men in the Moon] (H. G. Wells, 1901)


It's the first Selenite seen by Calvor and Bedford in the novel. It's a shepherd, with a low intelligence, and prone to use its lance on the two humans. This is, technically, my first spearman unit. :D

Shooter Selenite



Spoiler Pedia :
And struggling in the grating between those defensive spears appeared the head and shoulders of a singularly lean and angular Selenite, bearing some complicated apparatus.

For a moment I hesitated. Then I rushed past him whirling my crowbars, and shouting to confound the aim of the Selenite. He was aiming in the queerest way with the thing against his stomach. {Chuzz!} The thing wasn't a gun; it went off like cross-bow more, and dropped me in the middle of a leap.

{Mr. Bedford}, Cavor Moon Expedition - 1899

in [The First Men in the Moon] (H. G. Wells, 1901)


A shooting device, positioned against the stomach, to be used with queerness ? Sure, let's try to build and animate that ! :D

Behemoth Selenite



Definitely not a Selenite from the novel, I've played with the idea of extremely casts-based society, without any war-history, forced to react to incoming threats. What do you do then ? Breed yourself a tank !

I don't know what use Balthasar could make of these 4 units, as the focus of the LW Selenite is different from the novel. But I'm sure the Orbs & Spheres scenario will find something to do with them. :) Anyway, if you want to use this pack and need additional units, drop me a line.

I left off the 'brainy selenite' as I don't know how to represent them (what attack ?should they have any attacks ? if not, what kind of unit could it be ?) and the Grand Lunar (King unit?)

Download
Model by Sixus1

A second pack of units has been created :
Previews
Download

Balthasar published unit_32 icons for all 8 units
 
these look really cool. I especially like the behemoth :D
 
Looking at the "tank's" run animation (this is the only thing I noticed in the pack) - it seems to me a bit "artificial" the body doesn't move.
 
Fantastic imagining Supa. The direction we took with the Selenites was down to lack of suitable units. Now there's the makings of a whole unit line which will make things easier. Thanks :)
 
Thanks for the comments!

Looking at the "tank's" run animation (this is the only thing I noticed in the pack) - it seems to me a bit "artificial" the body doesn't move.

Strange, I thought I made it moving. I suppose I hit CTRL+Z without noticing.

Fantastic imagining Supa. The direction we took with the Selenites was down to lack of suitable units. Now there's the makings of a whole unit line which will make things easier. Thanks :)

Ah, good. :)

They look really good - any plans for more, say perhaps a worker Selenite? They were always a favorite of mine in Space 1889. :mischief:

Why not ? Actually, it's up to the SP team: I don't know what worker actions would be needed (a) in the mod and (b) on the Moon.
 
these are awesome! I personal favor the more unusual units, specifically stuff that tends toward scifi/fantasy. there was at one time a insect mod that someone was making that these could be fit into as well. The steam punk mod has me excited and i am glad to see these will be there.

worker could move rocks to build, dig for water/mine, etc. settler could be more ant-like and scurry around shifting dirt, (maybe a multi-unit? some building up while another digs down)

just an idea

i haven't read those books yet, just finished "A Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne, so i'm not going to be as helpful on some of this
 
i haven't read those books yet, just fifnishe journey to the center of the earth be verne, so i'm not going to be as helpful on some of this

Great book. Do you happen to know which translation you've read, if you read it in English ?

If you haven't seen it yet, I warmly recommend Charles Brackett's Journey to the Center of the Earth movie (1959). It isn't a faithful adaptation, there are a lot of modifications, but it still quite good.
 
Awesome stuff as always Supa! That Behemoth is great, and the anim suggests it might also be a very efficient clearcutter of forests and jungles.....
 
Great book. Do you happen to know which translation you've read, if you read it in English ?

If you haven't seen it yet, I warmly recommend Charles Brackett's Journey to the Center of the Earth movie (1959). It isn't a faithful adaptation, there are a lot of modifications, but it still quite good.

its by Reader's Digest copyright '92, has pictures :lol:
i've been reading some of the old classics: Kipling, London, Verne, Herbert, Wells, L'Engle, Stoker, Swift, Doyle, Homer :D
 
its by Reader's Digest copyright '92, has pictures :lol:

What was the Professor's name, Otto Lidenbrock or Von Hardwigg ? Was the nephew's name Axel or Harry ?

Just curious. :)

Awesome stuff as always Supa! That Behemoth is great, and the anim suggests it might also be a very efficient clearcutter of forests and jungles.....

Thanks, Goji. That's strange, that kind of usage for some animations always eludes me. Yes, indeed, it can be used as a worker animation.
 
Both a worker and a settler, please! And a king, a gl, and an army!

Thank you for such a wonderful surprise! All these units are deeply appreciated.

An Army too ? Ow, I'll have to read all the stuff about Army palette, now. ;-)

Would the brainy Selenite work as a Great Leader ?

Spoiler Brainy Selenite description :
"I can hear them," [<unreadable>] "a different sort of Selenite altogether, who appears to be directing the&#8212;" [<unreadable>].
"They have larger brain cases&#8212;much larger, and slenderer bodies, and very short legs. They make gentle noises, and move with organized deliberation&#8230;"
"And though I am wounded and helpless here, their appearance still gives me hope." "They have not shot at me or attempted [<unreadable>] injury. I intend&#8212;"


Selenites are a very varied race, a lot more than the human race. If you've got a precise idea for an unit, I'd like to hear it.

Don't go too wild, though, keep in mind I'll have to work with the same model and I can't modify it ad-infinitum.

Spoiler Selenites variety description :
I have already made it clear, I think, that the Selenites I saw resembled man in maintaining the erect attitude, and in having four limbs, and I have compared the general appearance of their heads and the jointing of their limbs to that of insects. I have mentioned, too, the peculiar consequence of the smaller gravitation of the moon on their fragile slightness. Cavor confirms me upon all these points. He calls them "animals," though of course they fall under no division of the classification of earthly creatures, and he points out "the insect type of anatomy had, fortunately for men, never exceeded a relatively very small size on earth." The largest terrestrial insects, living or extinct, do not, as a matter of fact, measure six inches in length; "but here, against the lesser gravitation of the moon, a creature certainly as much an insect as vertebrate seems to have been able to attain to human and ultra-human dimensions."

He does not mention the ant, but throughout his allusions the ant is continually being brought before my mind, in its sleepless activity, in its intelligence and social organisation, in its structure, and more particularly in the fact that it displays, in addition to the two forms, the male and the female form, that almost all other animals possess, a number of other sexless creatures, workers, soldiers, and the like, differing from one another in structure, character, power, and use, and yet all members of the same species. For these Selenites, also, have a great variety of forms. Of course, they are not only colossally greater in size than ants, but also, in Cavor's opinion at least, in intelligence, morality, and social wisdom are they colossally greater than men. And instead of the four or five different forms of ant that are found, there are almost innumerably different forms of Selenite. I had endeavoured to indicate the very considerable difference observable in such Selenites of the outer crust as I happened to encounter; the differences in size and proportions were certainly as wide as the differences between the most widely separated races of men. But such differences as I saw fade absolutely to nothing in comparison with the huge distinctions of which Cavor tells. It would seem the exterior Selenites I saw were, indeed, mostly engaged in kindred occupations&#8212;mooncalf herds, butchers, fleshers, and the like. But within the moon, practically unsuspected by me, there are, it seems, a number of other sorts of Selenite, differing in size, differing in the relative size of part to part, differing in power and appearance, and yet not different species of creatures, but only different forms of one species, and retaining through all their variations a certain common likeness that marks their specific unity. The moon is, indeed, a sort of vast ant-hill, only, instead of there being only four or five sorts of ant, there are many hundred different sorts of Selenite, and almost every gradation between one sort and another.
 
What was the Professor's name, Otto Lidenbrock or Von Hardwigg ? Was the nephew's name Axel or Harry ?

Just curious. :)

Von Hardwigg and Harry + Hans :)

nowadays, it would be disturbing if Harry married his first cousin :eek:
 
Top Bottom