Vanae and sight

[SorenMageofMareth]

How do Vanae work?  In codex it says they have vestigial eyes and  Daredevil it else-wise but a fair amount of their interaction reads as if they can still see. Also Flash bombs work on them. 


Is this a gameplay story segregation thing like Stunning mechs or what?

 

[Woider]

Flashbangs tend to also make a ringing noise inside your head, which would throw off their echolocation.

 

[Couch]

I suggested, and Jim to my recollection agreed, that vanae can see but not very well.  My recommendation was that they can perceive color well, particularly luminous color, but shape very badly, so that a vanae to another vanae looks like a blob of their body marking color.

 

[EmperorG]

I suggested, and Jim to my recollection agreed, that vanae can see but not very well.  My recommendation was that they can perceive color well, particularly luminous color, but shape very badly, so that a vanae to another vanae looks like a blob of their body marking color.

I remember that conversation, was ages ago, but yes I think Jim agreed that such a color focused view probably made sense in explaining not just how they can see but why they glow in so many different colors. (Glowing is a bad idea if you want to be camouflaged most of the time, unless you're dealing with prey that also has bad eyesight, as seen in the deep ocean. With the vanae and their cousins being originally sea creatures, this makes a certain amount of sense and has an example found within earth species)

 

[Karretch]

Also their chameleon skin. Can't blend in if you can't see what you need to blend in with.

 

[StarcraftJunkie]

Also their chameleon skin. Can't blend in if you can't see what you need to blend in with.

I don't think this necessarily follows. The cells responsible for changing pigmentation might be able to react to nearby light wavelengths and match them, thereby camouflaging themselves to nearby objects. I think the idea that a creature would have to see the objects around them, process them all, view and appropriately assign all of its own body in a 360 degree view of how other being would be looking at it, and then consciously coordinating "OK, this part of me needs to be this shade of green, this part this other shade, this small spot brown, that part darker" and so on seems pretty far fetched, unless you're portraying the species as being some level of godlike super geniuses - which would then create the question of why they're using their incredibly abilities at multitasking and super fast information processing on just camouflaging themselves.

 

[Fully Automated]

I don't think this necessarily follows. The cells responsible for changing pigmentation might be able to react to nearby light wavelengths and match them, thereby camouflaging themselves to nearby objects. I think the idea that a creature would have to see the objects around them, process them all, view and appropriately assign all of its own body in a 360 degree view of how other being would be looking at it, and then consciously coordinating "OK, this part of me needs to be this shade of green, this part this other shade, this small spot brown, that part darker" and so on seems pretty far fetched, unless you're portraying the species as being some level of godlike super geniuses - which would then create the question of why they're using their incredibly abilities at multitasking and super fast information processing on just camouflaging themselves.

The coordination doesn't have to be conscious. It doesn't exactly strain credulity to suggest that instead of the specialized pigmentation cells "reading the wavelengths of light", the organism uses the organs specifically intended for that very purpose to notice the surroundings, then changes camouflage to match.


The minute spent googling which allows me to pretend to be an expert on any subject suggests that octopuses, for example, use their eyesight to adapt their camouflage.

 

[StarcraftJunkie]

The coordination doesn't have to be conscious. It doesn't exactly strain credulity to suggest that instead of the specialized pigmentation cells "reading the wavelengths of light", the organism uses the organs specifically intended for that very purpose to notice the surroundings, then changes camouflage to match.


The minute spent googling which allows me to pretend to be an expert on any subject suggests that octopuses, for example, use their eyesight to adapt their camouflage.

IIRC, they think octopuses use their eyesight, but aren't sure how it all works, even if they do use their eyes - because octopuses are colorblind.

 

[Fully Automated]

IIRC, they think octopuses use their eyesight, but aren't sure how it all works, even if they do use their eyes - because octopuses are colorblind.

Seems like most of the test on whether octopuses see colours are behavioral studies, which would suggest they aren't conscious of colours (to the extend that octopuses can be said to be conscious*, and with the exceptions of species that do), but that doesn't remove the possibility that their camouflage is based on visual input. Maybe their brains just don't process the all colours they see/could see.


*I wouldn't be too surprised to learn this extend to be considerable.

 

[BlueRaven]

How does it all work? Space tentacle girls with lactating tits and double clits, that's how.


It's okay. She's not Xena, she's Lucy Lawless.

 

[Krynh]

Cuttlefish which are colourblind have specialised photo-receptor cells on their body which "see" the colour of their surroundings and then they camouflage themself to those colours.

 

[Woider]

How does it all work? Space tentacle girls with lactating tits and double clits, that's how.


It's okay. She's not Xena, she's Lucy Lawless.

My god, you have no curiousity whatsoever, do you? Good thing some of us atleast care about the science of science-fiction.

 

[StarcraftJunkie]

Cuttlefish which are colourblind have specialised photo-receptor cells on their body which "see" the colour of their surroundings and then they camouflage themself to those colours.

Well there ya go.


Another problem with the Vanae using their eyes for camouflage is their combat stuff specifically describes their eyes as being closed.

 

[Karretch]

I'd appreciate a source, my lazy googling only gives "evidence of" but no actual proof.

 

[Krynh]

I'd appreciate a source, my lazy googling only gives "evidence of" but no actual proof.

Of the cuttle fish? It's Uk only and at 22 mins in http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06t3n0f/worlds-sneakiest-animals-1-staying-alive

 

[Number13]

Don't forget, in Jurrassic World they used Cuttlefish DNA to give the Indominus Rex it's camouflage ability.

 

[Karretch]

Don't forget, in Jurrassic World they used Cuttlefish DNA to give the Indominus Rex it's camouflage ability.

Let's also not forget Chriton's original idea using chameleon DNA, slow stalkers that could be beaten by what essentially amounts to strobing lights.

 

[JDeko]

Don't forget, in Jurrassic World they used Cuttlefish DNA to give the Indominus Rex it's camouflage ability.

I really give the director credit for admitting that they basically worked backwards from the action scenes to figure out what animal DNA they needed in the I.Rex.