I'm checking my email logs and haven't heard from you, but I don't know if that's because I didn't reply or not. Can't seem to remember and my logs don't clarify the issue that well, especially since I've been trying out different email programs the past week. How are things coming? I should be a getting a book in a week about World building. I think I mentioned it to you. I think when I get that we can discuss issue related to world design. I think I agree with you that world design, especially game mechanics related to it, will have a big impact moving a lot of our ideas forward. I keep moving ideas through my head. Right now, I'm trying to sort them out so I can provide them to you in a somewhat coherent manner. A lot of my ideas concern technological aspects, especially ones relating to computers and their involvement in society. I do understand we do have to cover many other issues, such as politics, economics, and many other technologies, etc. Well, hope to hear from you. If I missed a message, let me know what it was and I'll get right on to it. I have some time to kill this weekend, even if you don't so, drop me a line. James --- arendt@uiuc.edu At 10:05 PM 9/14/96 -0600, you wrote: >I did reply once... Okay, thanks. >Cool - what's it called? World-Building by Stephen Gillet. It's a writer's guide to constructing star systems and planets. It can definitely be applied toward gaming also. I just got it so I'm just starting to read it. I'll keep you informed of the ideas I learn. >Here's my last mail to you, repeated in ol' cut'n'paste fashion: Again, thanks! [snip] >All true. I'm used to the traveller idea of messages don't go any faster >than the speed of travel, even if we don't use a similar convention, I'd >like to not go with near-instantaneous communication. Perhaps we could use >something like SpaceMaster does - say that messages can be sent through >Q-space, but not greatly in excess of the speed of travel - but trasmitters >and receivers are large and expensive and generally only employed in >developed areas. I agree. It would not be very playable if communications can exceed the speed of travel greatly. We haven't even nailed the speed of travel down yet which I'm interested in discussing. >> From other planets, stars (especially >>pulsars and quasars), and then of course the cosmic background radiation. >>Perhaps communication could be sent via a similar way as the q-drive -- >>perhaps the technology for the q-drive came after the idea of "tunneling" >>communication signals over vast distances. Hmm... > >Good thought... Sure. >>Wait... I just thought of something. One, we established the fact that most >>guilds did not work together. Why would they to create such a complex >>network? > >Perhaps it didn't exist until after a reformation after the war - sort of a >"modern comfort" if you will. A possibility. >> Also, even if the CP guild did alone, why didn't they extend it >>beyond to space travel (if we go by the concept of communication system >>similar to q-drives)? Going by that idea, it would probably seem more >>probable that this vast network was created in the confederation instead of >>guild space. >At least initially - since guild structure would have tended to prohibit its >development, as you mentioned. > >> Perhaps, there were minor networks - like up to the planetary >>scale and partial interplanetary - but no where too far beyond that... >>atleast not to a reliable, clear, quick communication. Perhaps a better >>network will have been developed through the help of the confederation after >>the war... if the confederation was generous enough. :) > >Hmmm.... one more possible detail for each world. Perhaps if we go a little >more cyberpunky than typical space SF games, perhaps there can be "decker" >type characters who wander through various cyber-landscapes. Perhaps >various systems that are developed enough to have a "net" of sorts have >completely distinct from that of any other system - sort of like another >alien world, on a cyber-level. Sounds interesting. Lets be sure to try to remember this when we get around to it! [snipped the rest] Okay, I'm a bit tired so I've been brief about my replies. I really didn't want to. But, to add some substance to this message, here's some of the topic I'm reading right now in World-Building. Astronomical Setting (brief summary - diffs between planets + stars, calc astro scales, variables that affect planets) -Covered mass, orbits, astronomical scales, gravity, surface gravity, escape velocity, calculations, horizon, revolution, obliquity (tilt on axis), perturbations, tides, tidal braking, Roche's Limit, many bodies (orbits, grav, etc), rings, resonances, and many other things. Each of those areas were pretty well covered without getting too scientific, but scientific enough for calculations and a foundation to build game mechanics from. I'm moving onto Making a Planet (supposedly about details reflect on the formation of planetary system). Will be getting to it later. Here's a table of contents so you know what topics it will be covering: 1 Why World-Build? (Hmmm.... ;) 2 The Astronomical Setting 3 Making a Planet 4 The Earth 5 The Ancient Earth 6 The Other Planets 7 Stars and Suns 8 Not as we know it The book also has a nice set of tables in the back and even more importantly, good set of books to refer to! Well, that's all for now... James --- arendt@uiuc.edu