At this point in time I have a burning desire to write a science fiction story set in a world of my own creation. Which is described below (there's a LOT more but that isn't really relevant to what I need advice on) The story is set in a galaxy occupied by the Glorious Army of the Mole Queen (Mole rats who worship their current queen as a demigod, kinda like Ancient Egyptians and their Pharaohs), the Empire of the Rodents (an alliance of rodents led by rats in a feudal society) and Ferrets (Too chaotic to have a real society but one of the most feared military forces in the galaxy due the their aggression and lack of respect for life) as well as other minor creatures who inhabit the various planets but don't own more than one planet. Currently the Mole Queen desires more planets for her hive, so the Glorious Army is on a holy crusade against all other life forms, the Empire feels threatened by this expansion and seeks to rule even more planets just to deny them to the Mole Queen, the rest of the galaxy is caught between these two warring factions. An ancient civilization made them all as servitors or just as an experiment, and they bred like mad and here we are today. Course, this ancient civilization was destroyed by one of its creations, they're still hiding though, waiting for the chance to strike at their faulty experiments. So here's what I want some advice on, should I make these critters anthropomorphic members of their base specie or maintain their usual proportions and just increase the size? What kind of other creatures should I include? What tech level should the Glorious Army of the Mole Queen and the Empire of the Rodents be at? I'd also appreciate general suggestions and that for this setting.
Everything has been done at some point in some obscure way. Let your ideas flow and go with it; write for you primarily, then readers second [if you plan on anyone reading it]. No one can tell you what to do or how to do it.
A story concept means nothing. I can tell you now, it has all been done before. What matters is how you write it, the characterization, the flow, the imagery, all of it. There's no benefit in asking what other people think of the concept! They'll either say,"Sounds great," or, "it sounds like a ripoff of..." If the idea stirs you, write it. Then ask people what they think of the final story. After they tell you what they don't like about it, revise it, usually several times, until you're happy with it or until you throw up your hands and say the hell with it. Please read What is Plot Creation and Development? As to your questions at the end: Which choice for your creatures fits your story better? One consideration is that readers identify with the humanity you inject into your characters. If you want your readers not to form a connection, suppress the humanoid characteristics. Otherwise, give them drives and motivations that readers can identify with. As for technology, your goal should be to keep tension between the opposing sides high. You want them more or less evenly matched, or even make the "enemy" side seem overwhelmingly superior. Just make sure you don't make them so overwhelming powerful that your protags' eventual victory (assumed) is not believable.
I already have a story concept, it's going to be sort of like Starship Troopers but a bit more morally ambiguous once all the stories are written and the reader gets an insight into all the various sides involved. I'm just asking for help on the setting as I plan to write several stories set in this same region and I don't want the setting to be shallow.
I think those questions are impossible to answer for anyone but the author. One option sounds as good as the other to me.
