The Umgah appeared in the games
Star Control and
Star Control 2, and in the fan sequel
Timewarp. They did not appear in the 'official' sequel,
Star Control 3.
The Umgah as a species:
The Umgah are pink fleshballs with highly modifiable anatomy. Whether this variability is solely due to their highly advanced medical technology or partially natural is unknown.
The Umgah, in general, have a highly developed sense of humor -- highly developed in the sense that a whoopee cushion radio-linked to a nuclear bomb is highly developed. Their innumerable interspecies pranks have included the following:
- Posing as gods of the Ilwrath, Dogar and Kazon. They are gods of evil, of malice, of an inconsistent philosophy. In Star Control 2, try getting into a theological discussion with an Ilwrath and you'll see what I mean.
- Falsifying some important communications, thus irrevocably committing the peace-loving, everything-fearing Spathi to being battle thralls under the Ur-Quan rather than (as they wished) being confined in a slave shield, which would have had the by-product of protecting them from everyone else in the galaxy.
- (attempted) Genetically engineering a Talking pet to obey them so they can falsify transmissions to appear to be valid Ur-Quan orders.
The Umgah have the very un-genteel habit of ending their statements with "Har Har Har!!".
On the other hand, being almost entirely composed of brain, the Umgah are undisputedly the best brain surgeons in the galaxy, and their knowledge of other aspects of biotech is equally undisputed. While the chances that they will succeed in the operation are high, the chances that they have not introduced any amusing (for the Umgah) modifications are close to zero.
The Umgah Drone:
The main weapon is a wide and powerful antimatter cone. It does damage the fastest of any weapon in the game, over time (even beating the Ur-Quan or Chmmr). It blocks incoming weaponry quite effectively, though the heaviest weapons can penetrate. Its secondary ability is to zip very quickly backwards. The ship is particularly slow at other times.
The energy regeneration on the Umgah drone occurs all at once, after a significant delay. Activating the antimatter cone resets this timer, though it uses no battery power.
Also, the retro-thrust is difficult to use, since you must slip around the enemy craft at ultra-high-speed, and release the retro-thrust when you are in position, with very low margin for error. Since the Drone is slow, you may not be able to fry your victim even after successfully executing this.
On the other hand, one can amusingly ram enemy ships onto the planet. Despite the Drone's small size, it has substantial mass. Combined with its high velocity, this can give even a large craft a jolt. Since the heaviest weapons can pass through the antimatter shield, cheap shots like this can be the best way to attack those ships.
Due to its protection, damage rate, and ability to close range, the Drone can be a highly lethal ship in the hands of a skilled pilot. It is best against slow ships such as the Broodhome, but against either Ur-Quan or Kohr-Ah, it is quite weak due to its inability to block the incoming heavy weapons fire, and the omnidirectional weapons used by those ships, which negate any flanking attempt.
In the original Star Control game, the drone had a wide cone, which enabled nipping at enemy ships while zipping by. The cone was truncated in the sequels, which greatly weakened the ship.