# Harpy Species - Design Doc

Brought to you by popular spite, [insert weed cat]. Birb nation does not forget.


*(this is a joke ~~or is it~~)*

Link for sharing: https://hackmd.io/@gluesniffler/Hy7r2b1sR
## Overview

Harpies are an agile bird-like species, modeled after a mythological creature, and designed for planetary life, which in an ironic turn of events found itself spread across the galaxy without even being able to fulfill their original purpose.

They are the product of extensive genetic modification of the human genome, intended towards survival in a Hycean moon, which backfired as harpies started being moved around [whatever we call our setting], making them a considerably high maintenance species.

## Main Characteristics

Harpies were designed from the ground up for survival in Valerian 2b. Which posesses vast terrains, an UV-rich spectrum of light, and an incredibly dense atmosphere with a high oxygen concentration. To take advantage of these factors, the following genetic alterations were chosen:

- **Avian Morphology:** The naturally dense atmosphere made it ideal to apply either Aquatic or Avian characteristics on the colonizers's genetic makeup. And the conditions of the land ultimately tipped the scales towards Avians, with characteristics such as:

- *Arm Wings:* Allows them to quickly get out of danger, and take advantage of the high density atmosphere for long distance travel, without a need for vehicles. Though of course, at a cost to their dexterity, due to the different arrangement of their digits.

- *Avian Legs / Talons:* Makes it easier for them to dissipate body heat by partially submerging their bodies in the vast oceans of the planet, while also posessing very sharp claws that can be used to grab, and as weapons.


- **UV Vision:** A fourth cone type becomes a necessity due to the light spectrum of their host planet's star, which is both rich in UV light (<400nm), and also rather lacking in red light.

- **Low Density Bones:** Harpies are very light, with their males being at an average of 24kg, and females at around 18kg. Which makes them able to easily take off and sustain flight with the strong winds of the moon.
- **Heavily Modified Breathing:** Harpies possess a second trachea, and a quartet of Avian lung organs, allowing them to very efficiently intake oxygen via a circular, continuous motion, which removes the separation between inhaling and exhaling. However they require double the volume of air that a human does to live, and will be readily harmed by any impurities in the air, such as cigarette smoke.
- **Aerodynamic Body:** Their slender bodies, along with strong legs for their body mass allow them to run faster for extended periods of time.
- **Advanced Vocalization:** As a side effect of their breathing, they are able to use a Syrinx, a highly advanced vocal organ that allows them to imitate any sound, though with dubious usefulness in practice.
- **Animal Stomach:** Due to the unknown availability of food, their stomachs were modified to be able to consume raw meat.

## Current Gameplay Characteristics

- Their lower bone density results in them being weaker against physical trauma, thus taking **15% more damage from Blunt, Pierce and Slash damage types.**

- Due to their demanding breathing, **they burn through Oxygen Tanks twice as fast, and take damage when air quality degrades slightly** (at least 0.2 mol of smoke or other contaminants).
- **Their UV vision is represented via a filter.** It's a bit hard to describe what colors it filters out, so here's an example. Left is filtered, right is normal.

- **They are incredibly light.** Good luck escaping grabs from a Lamia.
- **They move slightly (10%) faster** than other species by default.
- **They cannot use boots/shoes**, though they can avoid tripping on glass.
- **They can imitate almost any noise or instrument.**
- **Animal stomach/diet.** Can consume raw meat, no Theobromine or Allicin.

## Proposed Gameplay Characteristics!

Here's potential options that would thematically match harpies, and in some of them, provide a potential point for the trait system to really shine with the species by allowing people to pick *what* special thing they should be able to do rather than being constrained to a single potential specialty.

- **Normally unable to fly under standard Terran atmospheric conditions**, though some individuals have been known to train to be able to fly or glide under gravity for limited periods of time (trait).

- Wings are a high maintenance appendage, as such, individuals tend to go out of their way to keep their feathers in optimal condition, not too different from preening in actual birds. **They usually seem to be happier after preening.**
- **Some individuals have particularly sturdy or sharp feathers, and make use of them for various things (trait)** even after they molt their feathers during preening.

*(More options are welcome), below you can see more in-detail descriptions of the changes. FYI at this point the doc becomes a lot more OOC-ey*

## Flight (trait)
The hallmark trait that's usually expected out of harpies. I've lost count of how many times I've seen it suggested over at dV. Now there's some slight conflict between lore (unable to flight under Terran atmosphere), and what would be more fun, so maybe locking different types of flight behind a trait would be the play. Tentatively there would be three types of flight:

#### Default (Gliding)
This is the current ""flight"", which is when harpies gain a 25% acceleration boost under no gravity, ~~which to me isn't real flight~~, but alas.

#### Active - [Currently Implemented!](https://github.com/Simple-Station/Einstein-Engines/pull/919)
Currently given out for free to all harpies. It gives you the Weightless attribute (basically no gravity), and improves your movement/control (2x faster movespeed), at the cost of not being able to use your hands, and constant stamina draining. Demo of implemented version attached below.
[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wndv9hYaZ_s)

#### Dash
[Ever seen a chicken "flying"?](https://youtu.be/g862qSAG5zw) This is what it is essentially. A short distance dash, not too different from the mechanic used by enemies such as [Bubblegum in 13](https://youtu.be/D_42fcW-dZ4). Would be another kind of a sidegrade to the normal flight, with an undisclosed max travel distance that moves the harpy there really fast. Good for gap closing or getting away from that damn Lamia.

[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I195g8kQCA)

## Preening (trait?)

Not sure if to lock this one behind traits, as its probably gonna be the first species interaction that will mess with our new and shiny Mood System (thanks WD 😊). Essentially harpies will be able to preen their wings with a doAfter, and once complete, a few things can happen:

- They get a mood boost if they haven't preened their wings in a while.
- They drop either a feather (to be talked about in the next section), or shed a husk of a new feather (useless).
- If they have done this too frequently, they might break one of their blood feathers, in turn leading to bleeding.

That's it for the base preening system, however the potential to get feathers from preening enables us to do some additional stuff...

## Feathercraft & Razor Feathers (trait)

That stuff being Feathercraft! We would have a series of recipes for basic stuff that can be made out of harpy feathers, maybe head decorations, a pen quill, and that kind of fluff. However lets say, in a suspension of disbelief that some of this harpy's feathers are particularly sharp. Considering how large their feathers should be (@VM, probably would be funny if we had this kinda stuff in art for easy reference 😉).


Just the spine of the feather being sharp or the feather itself being all around sharp enables us to turn harpy feathers into weaponry as a trait! Some ideas I saw thrown around for this were:

- Feather Dagger
- Feather Sword/Spear (lmao)
- Throwable Feather Knives
- Feather Arrows

All of which would be dippable in some amount of chemicals, since the slightly hollowed spine of the feathers should and can work as a reservoir for liquids. Values for things here are TBD so ideas be welcome.

## Isn't this too much stuff for harpies?

You see that traits feature? It's waiting for you to add very cool and definitely-not-op shit to your favorite species. Get to it. Don't let the silly birbs get ahead of you.


## Loredump for adding wiki-stuff to this article later

Harpies were created during the first 100 years of the colonial period of human civilization, back when the corporations still answered to the Sol Government. Their creators were a company called GenetiCorp, now long defunct. During it's heyday, GenetiCorp developed processes for converting colonists into forms suitable for the lesser colonized planets with some extreme conditions. For the Harpy subtype, these adaptations were created to colonize the moon of a Hycean world, Valerian 2b(2a referring to the Hycean world itself). It is a planet with an incredibly dense atmosphere, measuring just slightly over 150kpa at sea level, with a high oxygen concentration. Its host star is extraordinarily rich in the UV spectrum of light, but gives off incredibly dim amounts of red light. The planet's terrain features a vast ocean surrounding a single volcanically active continent, as well as extensive archipelagos. Valerian 2b is well known for its flora sporting leaves that fluoresce orange in the nearby star's UV intense light.

Due to persistent financial troubles, GenetiCorp was bought out by its largest competitor Interdyne, long before its first colony ship arrived at the intended destination. Shortly after arrival, the original Harpy colonists were repossesed by Interdyne, who had gotten to the planet first in faster ships made after the fact. Some remained on "the Homeworld", while others were kept by the company, and gradually spread across the realms of human space. Due to the costs of their radical genemodding, most Harpies today are indebted to corporations, owing vast sums of money inherited from their parents. These debts are often traded between corporations like stocks, resulting in a wide Diaspora of Harpies around the galaxy, and in turn gives them their extremely diverse coloration.
Harpies are biologically classed as a different species than Homo-Sapiens, due to the extreme nature of their original designer genetic modifications rendering them incapable of breeding true with Sol-Standard Humans. They are however not true mutants, owing to the stability of their modifications such that they breed naturally as a species. However, a "GenetiCorp-Standard Harpy" is readily recognisable as being related to humans, thanks in part to retaining many body parts and organs present in the standard human. A typical Harpy possesses a human brain, heart, stomach, kidneys, and reproductive organs, with skin not unlike a human- though it may be partially feathered, and can have a rough texture to the touch.

Their most extreme internal modifications are the possession of a second trachea, leading to a quartet of Avian lung organs. A Harpy's breathing is several times more efficient than a Human's at taking in oxygen, and like a bird, they have no separation of "Inhale and Exhale". Air enters a Harpy's lungs in a continuous loop via a circular motion through their four lung chambers. Listening to a Harpy breathing via a stethoscope is something like listening to the rhythm of a heartbeat, it is fast and continuous.

This continuous-flow breathing also permits the use of a highly advanced vocal organ called a Syrinx, which is what enables Harpies to perform iconic ability to imitate nearly any sound. This of course comes with a significant trade-off, one that makes for a difficult life for Harpies to live in space. They require double the volume of air a human requires, burning through tanks of oxygen twice as fast as any other species. They are also substantially vulnerable to air impurities of any kind, and will be readily injured by simple things such as cigarette smoke, or someone hyperventilating in their face.

Misc Bulletpoints:
- No, Harpies don't lay eggs.
- In a combination of low-gravity and high atmospheric density, a Harpy is capable of flight. They are however flightless in Terran-Standard Atmospheric conditions.
- Adult Harpies can be anywhere from 135cm to 190cm tall, with an average height of around 155cm(Human average being roughly 175cm, depending on ethnicity). An average adult male Harpy weighs only 24kg, while an average adult female weighs 18kg. For reference, the average weight of an adult male human is 71kg.
- Curiously, Harpies do not follow the pattern of sexual dimorphism present in Terran birds. Female Harpies are usually just as colorful(or lack thereof) as their male counterparts.
- Spacer Harpies(Those not born on the Homeworld), are typically far more colorfully diverse than those native to the Homeworld.
- What the fuck do their hardsuits look like? Like so: