Ancient Races

This article contains information relevant to both the C# and VB6 versions of Aurora. Where differences exist, they are noted in the appropriate sections.

Planet of pure evil. Stay away.

Beware! This page contains Spoilers! Read ahead at your own risk!

Ancient Races, commonly known as Spoiler Races refer to the unique NPR's:

Spoiler Information

Precursors: Robotic fleets left behind after their creators were wiped out by the Invaders. They guard ruins, jump gates, and caches, are technologically advanced, and will attack all non‑Precursor life. Their dispersed fleets could not stop the second Invader incursion, but inflicted heavy losses before being destroyed.

Invaders: Extra‑galactic attackers entering via Stable Wormholes. This is their third and largest incursion. They are extremely advanced, always hostile, and tend to explore aggressively, which can slow the game. They previously destroyed the Precursors after two major conflicts.

Star Swarm: Biological spaceborne creatures consisting of Queens, Soldiers, and Workers. They reproduce rapidly, mine asteroids, consume wrecks, and can overwhelm systems with numbers. Soldiers are the combat ships; Workers gather resources; Queens produce new units.

Aether Raiders (C# only): Stealth‑focused raiders using cloaking and thermal reduction. Lower tech than other Ancient Races but capable of ambushing civilian shipping and slipping through defenses.

Rakhas (C# only): Ground‑only ancient race defending valuable planets with powerful ground forces. They do not build ships and only threaten players who approach their worlds.

Known System Limits (C# only): C# allows delaying the appearance of mobile Ancient Races until the player has explored a certain number of systems (defaults: 10 for Swarm/Raiders, 20 for Invaders), giving new empires time to establish themselves.

Notes: Exact Ancient Race tech values are documented on the forums • Invaders were inspired by the Andromedans from Star Fleet Battles • Additional lore references are available on the Aurora forums • “Rakhâs” is the Khuzdul word for “Orcs” in Tolkien’s Middle‑Earth.