All shall bow their heads in fear of the Uniklids, and their FUCKING HUGE MOON FIRING RAILGUN!!! FUCK-YEAH!
Oi, The borzori use deathstars as defences
This is what's scaring people away, and also extremely annoying. If you want people to read about your races, just post the links.
After reading all the races (While I wait for approval to join) and:
I couldn't agree with Hellhound more. I think you need to take a step back from your empires and seriously consider toning them both down, both in size and technology.
Yes, we all like to win and claim to be the 'best' at something. But a writing project like this is not about winning or losing. It's about writing a good story! Your race should not be powerful enough that they will come out of a war the clear winner every single time (even if it got a little touch-n-go at the end) sometimes you'll face a no-win situation and have to retreat. Maybe you'll get them next time!
Taricus:Sure it's fun to claim that your race has trillions of people and half of them are in the military, but is that really sustainable or realistic? Even if your leaders have someone removed the idea of possessions and currency from their mind, an empire that large is bound to have dissent. If you can defend your empire with giant deathstars and claim to have the largest military, where is the conflict and the drama?
The idea of a socialist theocracy is really cool, don't get me wrong! I especially like the Matriarchal leadership and the taboo of sex and I think that will lead to some very interesting stories. I also like the idea of the Borzori as conquerors. Not everyone in the galaxy can be peaceful right? The idea feels like it has a heavy Roman influence, but we all know Rome wasn't as perfect as they said it was. What sort of problems lie underneath the cracks of Borzori Society?
How is integration of conquered races handled? Genocide? Enslavement? Peaceful integration? Surely not every race sees eye to eye with the rather totalitarian regime. Or if there are slaves, they might feel marginalized and try to stage an escape or some sort of rebellion. Consider reducing the military influence significantly. An empire that large is hard to patrol (Look at the Faraj), that way if a conflict does arrive, it won't be shut down instantly by millions of ships, instead it will be a desperate race to collect a fleet large enough to contend with the problem before it spirals out of control like a barbarian horde.
GamerKnight:Hive-like insectoid races are a personal favourite of mine, they can do some really neat things and traditionally can make some pretty scary enemies in a space opera.
However, your race seems to be at odds with itself. You claim that it is a peaceful race, but then you go on to devote a large majority of your article stating what a powerful military the Uniklids have. I think my favourite part of your article is when you describe the culture. I really like the idea of a race of natural artisans that were driven to be super industrious by a hive-mind. I think you should instead focus more on those aspects. I also like the idea of a single massive structure that the group is constantly striving to build upon and improve.
Being peaceful doesn't mean they have to totally suck in a war though. Considering how industrious they are, it would not be unrealistic to consider that there would be a massive re-tooling effort in times of war. Bob the Uniklid painter is now forced to enlist in the military. He's never fired a weapon before in his life, but images of him using weapons and killing keep appearing in his head thanks to the hive-mind command structure. After years of peace the Hive Mothers are birthing massive numbers of soldiers again. There is uncertainty and fear but it is beign suppressed by the Hive-Mother and natural instincts.
And the giant moon-shooting railgun is a little much. Sorry.
Please don't take this as a personal attack, I'm just trying to give some constructive criticism. And i don't expect you to change your races because I said so, just thought I'd offer up some alternatives.