If the monologue is to be trusted (and I think it is - it's not conventional to outright lie to the player in your games conclusion), then the Shivans actions in destroying the Shivans 'saved' humanity (and Vasuda). I've been guilty of it myself (probably am, right now), but IMO we're getting into extreme nitpickery to point at miniscule holes in the scripts when it's fairly explicit otherwise.3) very inconclusive indeed - there is a good chance that Ancients might have met subspace faring race as well as many non-subspace capable. Humans really would have been destroyed in their infancy but not necessary that other races too.
Another line from the first monologue, to me, indicates that discovery of subspace gave the Ancients a key tactical and military advantage;
And we discovered subspace. It gave us our galaxy and it gave us the universe.
And we saw other advanced life. And we subdued it or we crushed it.
(etc)
I recognise that 'gave us the the universe' is, most likely, hyperbole.
The Ancients also blame their use of subspace for inciting the Shivan attack - We know when we entered subspace we were trespassers. / When we traveled subspace, the cosmic destroyers took note. - to me this implies they did not meet any other subspace-capable races, as this would no longer have struck them as a Shivan motivation.
I'd agree there's perhaps some ambiguity in the monologues over the Ancients reaction to the Shivans in this regard - in one they seem to believe they can simply evacuate the system they first encountered the Shivans without further loss (as if they don't anticipate Shivans following them), but it's not clear if the Shivans 'chasing' them comes as a surprise or not ('but they followed' can be an expression of dread both as the Shivans continued to attack, or simply at their ability to follow).
"Despite the physical differences between humans and Vasudans, their mentalities evolved very similarly. They have strong family structures, and enjoy many similar social activities that Terrans do. "Parallel or not - that is another theory. Terrans and Vasudans have something in common but they are much more different than similar in culture, motives, actions, economy and history. What's more interesting, it is clear that none of them explored space with conquering and destructive purpose unlike the Ancients. So that makes GTVA and Ancients much more different then similar as well. So the only parallel here that both of them were destroyed by the shivans.
Technically, the Terrans and Vasudans attacked the first intelligent life they encountered. That just happened to be each other (and it didn't even take long after first contact). We don't have a chance to know what would have happened if first contact (for humanity) had been with a 20th C level race, but i'm guessing it would not have been a Star-Trekky one of live and let live (humans are, after all, paranoid).
Absolutely, but we're talking about game fiction here. If we're going to go realistic in this, surely the Ancients technology (skipping the issue of Vasudans entirely) would be almost completely incomprehensible to the GTA? (I recognise this is tenuous - counterpoint being adapting a Mara, ETAK, etc - but I think it's a valid point).Finally, yes the idea of this race was brought to life by humans, but I personally doubt that another sentient race will have at least something in common with ours.
What's the evidence for the Ancients being 500+ years more advanced? Aside from the Knossos (which briefs say would take 5-10 years to duplicate), there's not AFAIK a figure given on how old the Ancients civilization was when it was destroyed. That said, what (and how much) pressure was there on the Ancients to develop technologically? Military threats weren't present, and neither (I think) were there environmental (greenhouse gases? Move to a new planet!).In fact we are discussing the tech level here and if Ancients were at least 500 or 1000 years more advanced (remember, they were spacefaring for over millennia) then the GTVA, and if, as you say, they have much in common with us (what's more important with our will for development and progress) so they simply should have been much more advanced then GTVA - as simple as that.
The FS Wiki supports my idea of the Ancients being pretty close to FS1-era (just a decade or so better), but sadly there's no source available. I really wish I had it, as it'd clear this up big-time.
One thing I've not thought about too much is the Ancient-Vasudan connection; there seems to be a definite one (for one thing, they have linguistic similarities, also the Vasudans very survival on a desert planet, and of course the Hammer of Lights legends RE: the Shivans), but exactly what that connection is remains unknown. Personally I prefer the idea (pretty much unsupportable, of course, other than the 'subjugated' line) of the Vasudans being a former client species (through the '10,000 year dynasty'), but it does raise some interesting possibilities.