Star Control II: Alien Races Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ilwrath

The Ilwrath are an evil sadistic race of spider-like creatures that love nothing more than to inflict death and destruction in the name of their "Gods of Evil" Dogar and Kazon. Perhaps the only thing they love more is telling you how they plan to do so.

They are original members of the Hierarchy, and were in fact uplifted to space travel by them. At one point in the game, you find yourself in possession of a hyperwave caster capable of transmitting a powerful signal through space. You use it to impersonate Dogar and Kazon and, a few laughs aside (like ordering them to change their name to the Dill-rats), you order them to vacate their home sector and go attack the Thraddash, who are eventually wiped out.

Answer: Melnorme

The Melnorme are a wandering race of merchants who can be found all over the galaxy. They are not interested in the outcome of the war, or in anything other than their own profit. They value data as the highest form of currency, and the The Melnorme trade credits for your accumulated data on lifeforms and strange planets such rainbow worlds.

These credits can be used to buy everything from historical info to fuel to schematics for improved technology to outfit your ship. They are quite often a life-saver when in a jam. I'm sure many players would attest to having run out of fuel in the middle of hyperspace and being saved by a wandering Menorme.

Answer: Druuge

The Druuge are also merchants, but they are in no way as trustworthy or helpful as the Melnorme. For starters, many of the items they sell are completeley useless (except for their own ships, and the Rosy Sphere which is used to repair the Utwig's Ultron), and their sales pitches are reminiscent of 20th century infommercials. Secondly, their prices are too high. Thirdly, their only form of accepted payment is with your ship's crew for slaves, which leaves your ship weakened until you return home (not to mention it involves you in a slavery ring).

In my own experience playing this game, I found it best to avoid the Druuge unless dealing with them was absolutely necessary.

Answer: Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah

The black Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah (as opposed to the green Ur-Quan Kzer-Za, whom we know as the original Ur-Quan) are in a war with their green counterparts over control of the Sa-Matra and the fate of the conquered races in the galaxy (how to eliminate the possibility of ever being enslaved again).

The Kzer-Za want to enslave them all (either under slave shields, or as space-going battle thralls for the Hierarchy), but the Kohr-Ah saw one solution and one solution only: annhihilate all possible threats (the Kohr-Ah referred to this as "cleansing" alien "filth"). Eventually the Kohr-Ah would win their doctrinal war with the Kzer-Za and sweep across the galaxy wiping out all races they came across. From this point on, you have a limited time window to complete the game.

Answer: cowardly squids

The Spathi as a race are notorious cowards, and their whole culture is based on shameless self-preservation at all costs. Even their Eluder ships are only at their best when running away from an opponent. Honor-driven bird people describes the Yehat, whose sense of loyalty and honor overrides their best judgment. Sadistic spider beings is a good way to describe the Ilwrath.

The Supox are the good-natured plant people.

Answer: Slylandro

The Slylandro are the only species to ever evolve on a gas planet with no surface. They themselves are nothing but gaseous lifeforms floating within the atmosphere of their home planet. They cannot build any ships, and even if they could, they couldn't survive outside their planet's atmosphere.

They did send out one automated exploration probe (which then replicated itself exponentially and went out of control) to gather data on the galaxy, but that was built and sold to them by the Melnorme.

Answer: Thraddash

The Thraddash are a race of brash, obnoxious creatures who can scarcely end a conversation without a fight. They come across more as an intensely warlike race than just plain evil. They might have become extremely advanced, if only they could keep one culture going permanently, rather than bombing each other back into the stone age every few generations.

They play a major part in the story, as they originally own the Aqua Helix (until you steal it) needed to repair the Utwig's Ultron device and obtain the Precursor bomb that would later deal the decisive blow to the Hierarchy and end the war.

Answer: Arilou

The Arilou (short for Ariloulaleelay) are a species of humanoid beings clearly based on the classic image of the "alien abductors" mentioned throughout late 20th century (large heads, pale skin, large almond-shape eyes). They were among the original Alliance members, and are extremely friendly, almost protective towards humans.

They are from a realm called quasi-space and are the only star-faring race not to occupy a sphere of influence in the actual galaxy. Their major contribution to the new Alliance is the quasi-space drive they equip on your flagship, allowing you to travel amazing distances in almost no time.

Answer: Syreen

The Mycon are a fungus-like lifeform that evolve on "shattered planets", whose surfaces have been turned into a hellish volcanic environment in which the Mycon thrive. One such shattered world is Syra, the original home of the Syreen. For a long time, the Syreen thought their world had died from cataclysmic disasters within the planet. Only later was it revealed (by you) that the Mycon were responsible, and the Syreen launched an attack against them.

Answer: Umgah

The Umgah are shapeless pink blobs of flesh and eyeballs who are constantly looking for ways to amuse themselves at the expense of others. They had played a particularly bad prank on the Spathi, terrifying them into thinking that beings called the "Grand Master Planet Eaters" were coming to their homeworld. All in all, the Umgah are far more good-humored and less belligerent than any of the other Hierarchy races, and seem to enjoy a laugh much more than a fight.

The Umgah prove essential to the war on the Hierarchy even though they are a part of it: our first visit to the Umgah introduces us to the Dnyarri talking pet that would later be used to psionically distract the Ur-Quan long enough to approach and destroy their vaunted Sa-Matra battleship.