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Subject: 
Re: The LD environment (or, Datsville in Space)
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.space
Date: 
Sat, 2 Oct 1999 06:42:47 GMT
Viewed: 
505 times
  
Why not vote on a page about which technologies should be allowed and which
should not?

--Tobias

<SNIP>
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



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: The LD environment (or, Datsville in Space)
 
(...) Because then we miss out on some cool and strange stuff. Everyone's idea of "space", or "sci-fi" to be more precise, is different: so deciding and hashing out even by voting will take a long time. Plus, the possible level of nitpicking would (...) (25 years ago, 2-Oct-99, to lugnet.space)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: The LD environment (or, Datsville in Space)
 
(...) 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 (...) (25 years ago, 30-Sep-99, to lugnet.space)

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