[sixlaneve]

dunno...

maybe they switched on BBC News and they saw that negotiations don't work in out planet... figure out for an entire galazy! 

ok, maybe the protection bit is  a bit too much forced.
maybe they are not protecting any race, they are just trying to rebuild their old civilisation in that area.

[S-99]

They could be just trying to reclaim their old territory. Maybe around capella and the systems of the gtva is their ancient stomping grounds?

[Dark Hunter]

They could be just trying to reclaim their old territory. Maybe around capella and the systems of the gtva is their ancient stomping grounds?

Am I the only one who sees a (probably unintentional) pun there? 

[Colonol Dekker]

I'm trying, . . . . . But to no avail.


Please enlighten me

[jr2]

their grounds where they used to stomp the Ancients

[Colonol Dekker]

Jeez, how the Frick did i miss that.........

[S-99]

Lol, you got it. And yes the pun was unintentional i had no idea what dark hunter found besides that possibly it had something to do with stomping grounds. My only fault was that i took ancient too much as ancient, and not the 4th fs2 species

[Vasudan Commander]

The shivans received the very first major broadcast ever to reach the stars. Hitler, stating he hates ........certain communities of people. 

Because Hitler was a genocidal maniac, the Shivans became xenocidal maniacs.


Or its possible they just think we're a threat to them and want to wipe us from existence while they still can. It's what i would do.

[Maxwell]

I don't think its anything we said that triggered the assault, but more likely our use of subspace.
A speech from Hitler would mean nothing to a being that cant understand your language (or never cared to understand your culture).  What you do to each other on the surface of a planet or to nearby planets has nothing to do with them.

Its when you trespass on their turf, when you now pose a threat to them, thats when they charge in with guns blazing to wipe you out.

Subspace in freespace gives your race a massive reach across the galaxy, possibly the entire universe.
Considering the scale of that... there could be billions of races across innumerable galaxies that suddenly want you dead.

[Mustang19]

I think that the whole "Shivans are defenders of subspace" idea is too simple to be likely. I think that our use of subspace triggered the assault, but the Shivans didn't arrive simply to keep us off their "territory". What, exactly, do you think that Volition meant when they said, "the Shivans are a symptom of a greater problem"? This is what really throws me off. What could that "greater problem" be? I can't think of anything other than the "bigger, badder alien race", and not only is that stupid, but we've talked about that enough. So what could it be?

Or are we just taking that statement out of context?  Can someone tell me when and where, exactly, said that?

[NGTM-1R]

Subspace itself. Long-term effects of its use.

[Vasudan Commander]

I think that the whole "Shivans are defenders of subspace" idea is too simple to be likely.

Occum's Razor buddy.  Occums Razor.

[Mustang19]

Subspace itself. Long-term effects of its use.

  Well... duh. You're right. Most likely a universe-collapsing-on-itself thing. A pretty common theme. That might be "it."

Occum's Razor buddy.  Occums Razor.

Occam's razor? Tell that to any writer. By "likely", I don't mean realistic, I just couldn't see that as the big *secret* at the end of the FS story.

[Vasudan Commander]

Subspace itself. Long-term effects of its use.

  Well... duh. You're right. Most likely a universe-collapsing-on-itself thing. A pretty common theme. That might be "it."

Occum's Razor buddy.  Occums Razor.

Occam's razor? Tell that to any writer. By "likely", I don't mean realistic, I just couldn't see that as the big *secret* at the end of the FS story.

The simplest answer is always the right one.  Lets see what we know : -

1. They're xenocidal. (hate any other race).
2. They are led by a collective hive mind. (no renegades or break offs, their 'swarm' formations)
3. Their incredible amount of technology and massive fleets indicate they are ancient.
4. They are obsessed with subspace and any disturbances of it.

It's pretty simple. IMHO, their 'hive mind' is subspace sensitive. Possibly either causes it pain / sensitive to it, or feels it is their 'property'.

Jump into subspace, and you anger shivans. Angry shivans kill you and your race.

p.s Occums / Occams razor has several types of spelling, doing be so picky and critical. 

[NGTM-1R]

If you want to get really technical, the Shivans aren't the defenders of subspace, but of everyone who hadn't found it yet. That was FS1's message. And the greater problem in that context is the fundementally destructive nature of technological sentiences.

[Mustang19]

Most likely, ngtm1r. I assume that if that idea is correct (and I'm pretty sure it is), then FreeSpace would end with the GTVA and Shivans reaching some happy coexistence. Alternatively, it would end in a horror movie fashion with the Terrans and Vasudans being wiped out, placed in their "rightful place". That might actually be more interesting.

[StarSlayer]

If you want to get really technical, the Shivans aren't the defenders of subspace, but of everyone who hadn't found it yet. That was FS1's message. And the greater problem in that context is the fundementally destructive nature of technological sentiences.

Well as a off shoot of this if the Shivans are truly defenders of the meek and powerless developing civilizations then it does sorta of fit with the different attitudes of the Shivans in FS1 and FS2.  The Ancients killed off dozens, maybe hundreds of lesser races as they built their empire.  Therefore the Shivans exacted the ultimate price, total annihilation.  The GTA and PVN on the other hand, had been fighting each other but had not gone on an extermination crusade across the expanse of space.  Therefore the Shivan Response while brutal wasn't the end of their civilizations.  by FS2 the GTVA still was contained and "minding their own business", but when Bosch and his loonies went on a tear and turned on the gate the GTVA needed to be "reminded" that they were in fact Shivan beam bait and not to stick their noses outside their corner of the galaxy.  The Shivans certainly could have sent a Jugg to every system but they didn't they popped Capella and showed the GTVA how puny they are, and reminded them that imperialist expansion is not tolerated.

Depending on how you want to look at it the Shivans might be the "Hand of God" ready to protect the weak and smite the aggressors.  The SB Seraphim is literally a Seraphim

[S-99]

Since the shivans are a symptom of a bigger problem. I would think that it would be extremely gay to find out that bigger problem is a natural force of nature such as subspace dying which is more like a disney greenpeace flick aobut the earth dying. The bigger problem can be anything, and i doubt it has to do with the subspace destabilizing until the whole universe goes kablooie. I mean geez the shivans use subspace and manipulate it a lot more than the gtva. The fs series is not about "make sure not to abuse your environment". WTF?

[Mustang19]

If not subspace, then what else? Another alien race? the Vasudans? We've already made friends with them. Considering that the FS1 ref bible leaves open the cause of the T-V War for sci-fi writers, I don't think that there was any plot-critical or sinister reason behind the start of the war, which probably means that the Vasudans aren't interested in killing us. Besides, they're portrayed as such peaceful wise historian types, even the HoL.

People forget that the game is named "FreeSpace". That's Subspace, before they changed the name. So why else would they name the game "Subspace"?

[Maxwell]

I don't think the shivans are any more at home in subspace than anyone else. Their shields fail too, and they can be tracked inside, which is somewhat odd for a race that theoretically spends all its time in there to give up its two biggest advantages when inside.

Perhaps the shivans were afraid of someone like bosh.  They didn't want some random fool going into subspace and waking whatever dragon is sleeping inside.
Maybe they hate us for trespassing on subspace but fear us for our new found ability to collapse nodes. Its possible the shivans that just blew up a star are some kind of inter-galactic road repair crew, trying to fix the road to earth so they can finish the job of sterilizing the solar system.

The "Symptom of a greater problem" thing does not mean anything to us at this point.
It could be that the shivans are just the visible end of a much greater war or catastrophe... but right now that statements simply too cryptic.

I wish someone would write a book and spill the beans already.