Subject:
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Re: The LD environment (or, Datsville in Space)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.space
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Date:
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Thu, 30 Sep 1999 18:35:24 GMT
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Viewed:
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487 times
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On Wed, 29 Sep 1999 19:38:40 GMT, "Duane Hess" <DNJHESS@ZDNETMAIL.COM>
wrote:
> > My take on this project is it should stay closer to hard science fiction
> > than to space opera, or Star Trek technology. More realistic ships,
> > stations, and equipment. Fewer light sabres, transporters, and force
> > fields. The only truly "fantastic technology" should be interstellar
> > drives. There may even be different kinds of interstellar drives.
>
> The only item that I would miss is the force field technology. If
> a plausible field generator is designed into the model, why not?
The general answer to "why not" is because there's no clear way to get from
what we've got today to <any specific future technology>. As more
"fantastic technologies" are allowed into the environment, the less
realistic the whole thing becomes.
In the specific case of force field technology, it depends on what you have
in mind. Are you thinking of giant screens that allow stations in deep
space to have docking bays with wide-open portals, so ships can fly in, but
air doesn't escape? Or structural integrity fields (aren't those pretty
much the same as tractor beams?). Or Susan Richard's pseudo-solid,
invisible force fields?
There are a bunch of common future technologies we should sort through
before we get too far. Not only should we have a basic idea of whether
something is allowed or not, but there should be parameters around the
usage of any specific technology. How big is an interstellar drive? How
much does it cost to build one? How fast is it? How long does it last?
How much does maintenance cost? Those kinds of questions.
Various common super-techs:
- Artificial gravity
- Matter transmitters
- Various energy beams
- Force fields
- FTL drives
- Other forms of practical interstellar drives
- Super-weapons
Of course, this kind of discussion has to be balanced with the idea of not
excluding anybody's work. :) The last thing we need to get into is a round
of "we won't use that, it doesn't fit in".
> > The political environment is an interstellar culture, in a period of
> > exploration and colonization. There are currently a handful of independant
> > planetary governments, possibly under an umbrella "United Planets"
> > organization. Some of these governments are former colonies, some are
> > alien species. There are also some organizations which are not tied to
> > specific planets or governments.
>
>
> How about rogue militias, rebel bands and the like? Fighters are a popular
> ship design and there needs to be a use for them if only for intimidation
> and Cold War rhetoric.
There will always be outlaws, and some planets may not be very friendly to
other governments.
> I have a swelling Jar-Jar/Gungan species in my colony. :-)
Can you put it in LDraw? No, really. Can you? Please? It's only one
little piece. One weird, funky, oddly-shaped little piece. Well, two if
you count the torso.
> > Earth maintains a presence throughout the Sol system. No other governments
> > have any installations in our sphere of control.
>
> Does this refer to the "United Planets" organization?
Good question. Is the UPO a powerful (ie, military/burueacratic) presence,
or just a network of ambassadors?
Is a UPO needed, or can we just stipulate a tradition of treaties,
alliances, favors owed and debts to be paid?
Steve
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: The LD environment (or, Datsville in Space)
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| (...) So since we are going to use a technology that is only plausible by today's standards, I'm assuming that FTL speeds are out of the question since that is mathematically impossible. How far are we going to go with this one? I like to have a (...) (25 years ago, 30-Sep-99, to lugnet.space)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: The LD environment (or, Datsville in Space)
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| (...) I agree (...) The only item that I would miss is the force field technology. If a plausible field generator is designed into the model, why not? (...) How about rogue militias, rebel bands and the like? Fighters are a popular ship design and (...) (25 years ago, 29-Sep-99, to lugnet.space)
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