Advice Thread OOC Future Tech Only

[OMGeverynameistaken]

I've always personally liked the idea of messing with the artificial gravity controls.

Going from 1/2 gravity to x12 inverted gravity and then maybe rotating the orientation around the room a few times. Just for the lulz.

[Mini Miehm]

Just a thought, but colonial motivations often have a lot to do with how colonists see themselves. Compare British colonists in America, who ended up thinking of themselves as Americans, and British colonists in India or Africa, who were very much always Brotish, thank you very much. Colonists may come to think of themselves as different in just a few short generations if your government isn't careful.

I think these are all very good examples. But in FT, we can keep in contact with their relatives on earth as often as they wish. With FTL travel, seeing relatives once in a while isn't all that difficult. This leads me to think, that bonds will be preserved much more easily.

Depends how FTL your travel is. It's not like the American colonists were stranded forever after all.

I'm not saying that you absolutely should do it this way, mind you, but I think it is something you shouod consider, and it could lead to a nation with some interesting depth to it.

[Mini Miehm]

I've always personally liked the idea of messing with the artificial gravity controls.

Going from 1/2 gravity to x12 inverted gravity and then maybe rotating the orientation around the room a few times. Just for the lulz.

Hell, just rotating the direction of gravity from room to room could be hilarious if done well.

[Themiclesia]

I think these are all very good examples. But in FT, we can keep in contact with their relatives on earth as often as they wish. With FTL travel, seeing relatives once in a while isn't all that difficult. This leads me to think, that bonds will be preserved much more easily.

Depends how FTL your travel is. It's not like the American colonists were stranded forever after all.

I'm not saying that you absolutely should do it this way, mind you, but I think it is something you shouod consider, and it could lead to a nation with some interesting depth to it.

This is partially why we're never a fully imperial nation, and also why we're called the Commonwealth -- each world is independent, except for what needs to be decided uniformly. The only permanent exception is the judicial system, which is uniform throughout the Commonwealth, for the sake of uniformity of law and precedent. With any large colonial empire (taken in a very loose sense) there is always the threat (from Earth's perspective) to break away. Our current policy is that if there is mature consideration, and sound reason, we are fulling willing to secede to a new sovereign entity, just that it hasn't happened yet.

The basis for comparison for my nation (which is set to exist between c. 10,000 and 24,500) is the 40K IoM. I know that this sounds rather ridiculous, but it's a starting point.

I have not developed a physically permissible way to facilitate my FTL travel, so for now I should have to make do with 'they disappeared from A and appeared in B a few moments later'. These are parts of the nation which I will come to patch up when I get into RPing.

[Avenio]

I've always personally liked the idea of messing with the artificial gravity controls.

Going from 1/2 gravity to x12 inverted gravity and then maybe rotating the orientation around the room a few times. Just for the lulz.

Hell, just rotating the direction of gravity from room to room could be hilarious if done well.

"Sir, we've caught the enemy boarding party in the Gravity Funhouse Corridor."

"Excellent, Lieutenant. Put them on the Spin Cycle for, oh, say, 30 minutes and have some junior ensigns drop by to wash off the walls when they're done."

[SquareDisc City]

Of course, that a boarding action is likely to be a horror show for the boarders only makes it even better to RP.

[New Tsavon]

So folks, what do people suggest are good advantages and disadvantages for a backpack-powered, very primitive laser system for infantry? I should stress that my infantry generally don't wear much in the way of armor beyond some plates and flak jackets.

Well, what would it be used for?

For anti-tank uses, a weapon that doesn't have to have to have line of sight on a target, such as a top-attack missile launcher would be far superior.

[Milagro]

Hi there.

So I set about creating this FT nation with one major idea in mind: culture. That's what I want the main focus of this nation to be. Not super huge ships, not a military that can stop anybody, not being a race of "gods" or super aliens with super tech.

I just plan to RP as a small Human nation (one planet right now), and what I want to focus on is things that define the culture such as: music, national symbols, history, language, etc.

As you can probably tell from my flag, I'll be taking a lot of things from Spanish culture but I'll also be including elements from: Latin America, Portugal, Italy, and France. I'll probably throw in some extra things here and there as well, to make it have a unique twist on things.

My big question is... it that alright? I mean in terms of RPing and what not? Obviously there will be a war here and there, but all in all I just want to RP a fairly open minded, peaceful, and culturally rich FT nation that is known for its culture rather than military prowess.

(As for my military... I might get lazy with it and kinda handwave fairly often. As I said I don't want an "UBER ARMY" but I'll probably use things like blaster rifles, power armour, etc. More "soft" sci-fi for my defensive oriented military).

[-The Unified Earth Governments-]

Hi there.

So I set about creating this FT nation with one major idea in mind: culture. That's what I want the main focus of this nation to be. Not super huge ships, not a military that can stop anybody, not being a race of "gods" or super aliens with super tech.

I just plan to RP as a small Human nation (one planet right now), and what I want focus on is things that define the culture such as: music, national symbols, history, language, etc.

As you can probably tell from my flag, I'll be taking a lot of things from Spanish culture but I'll also be including elements from: Latin America, Portugal, Italy, and France. I'll probably throw in some extra things here and there as well, to make it have a unique twist on things.

My big question is... it that alright? I mean in terms of RPing and what not? Obviously there will be a war here and there, but all in all I just want to RP a fairly open minded, peaceful, and culturally rich FT nation that is known for its culture rather than military prowess.

(As for my military... I might get lazy with it and kinda handwave fairly often. As I said I don't want an "UBER ARMY" but I'll probably use things like blaster rifles, power armour, etc. More "soft" sci-fi for my defensive oriented military).

There is nothing wrong with that at all, my nation so far is for individual stories and creative purposes, and I am currently working doing as much as I can to make it unique while not focusing all to much on one single part of it, and if you want a rich culture then go ahead, that is a cool thing to do!

[Dreadful Sagittarius]

So folks, what do people suggest are good advantages and disadvantages for a backpack-powered, very primitive laser system for infantry? I should stress that my infantry generally don't wear much in the way of armor beyond some plates and flak jackets.

Well, what would it be used for?

For anti-tank uses, a weapon that doesn't have to have to have line of sight on a target, such as a top-attack missile launcher would be far superior.

Original thought was as a replacement for the normal infantryman's rifle, and Caecuser raised the point of a two-man laser team, which considering my only current anti-armour weapon is a multi-purpose anti-armour/aircraft launcher would seem to offer better value in terms of penetration.

[SquareDisc City]

Designing your nation from a "culture first" perspective is not only fine, it will probably result in a more rounded nation than those such as my own where technology has been the focus of OOC development. And while none of us can actually have "a military that can stop anybody", a new player with a creative mindset who puts the effort in might well get the IC reputation of cultural capital in due course. Especially if you can create some artworks or music that are from your nation; lots of people have art of their nations, but I've not seen anything done here from an imagined alien (culturally even if not biologically) perspective.

When it does come to the technology and military, you might want to think about making it make sense with the culture. That's more direct for everyday civilian stuff, for example if a people like to socialise in person then strong transport technologies would be sensible while super-advanced telecommunications and virtual reality might conflict.

[Milagro]

Designing your nation from a "culture first" perspective is not only fine, it will probably result in a more rounded nation than those such as my own where technology has been the focus of OOC development. And while none of us can actually have "a military that can stop anybody", a new player with a creative mindset who puts the effort in might well get the IC reputation of cultural capital in due course. Especially if you can create some artworks or music that are from your nation; lots of people have art of their nations, but I've not seen anything done here from an imagined alien (culturally even if not biologically) perspective.

When it does come to the technology and military, you might want to think about making it make sense with the culture. That's more direct for everyday civilian stuff, for example if a people like to socialise in person then strong transport technologies would be sensible while super-advanced telecommunications and virtual reality might conflict.

Can you please differentiate between art OF a nation and FROM a nation?

Does OF imply simply using stuff from the internet, and FROM making it myself??

[Rethan]

Designing your nation from a "culture first" perspective is not only fine, it will probably result in a more rounded nation than those such as my own where technology has been the focus of OOC development. And while none of us can actually have "a military that can stop anybody", a new player with a creative mindset who puts the effort in might well get the IC reputation of cultural capital in due course. Especially if you can create some artworks or music that are from your nation; lots of people have art of their nations, but I've not seen anything done here from an imagined alien (culturally even if not biologically) perspective.

When it does come to the technology and military, you might want to think about making it make sense with the culture. That's more direct for everyday civilian stuff, for example if a people like to socialise in person then strong transport technologies would be sensible while super-advanced telecommunications and virtual reality might conflict.

Can you please differentiate between art OF a nation and FROM a nation?

Does OF imply simply using stuff from the internet, and FROM making it myself??

I believe that by art from he means creating art that is made by your citizens, stuff with a decidedly alien perspective on it. Art of your nation is the typical stuff you see on NS, pictures and drawings that are used to showcase stuff in the nations (usually in the form of warship/soldier/city designs) but don't actually represent that art of that nation.

[Vocenae]

As other have said, Milgro, going at your nation culture first is an exceedingly good thing to do. Too many kids approach their nation with the objective of showcasing 'supermegaawesomeincredibleamazing' tech instead of the actual meat of the nation. Or copy/paste a nation from a popular science fiction franchise because they have no creativity. Don't worry about your military yet, and while military action is a bit of a focus in the community you do not have to worry about getting stuck with fighting all the time. Many of us love doing character RPs (I would even argue that every RP is character RP because the story is nothing without them).

While I'm out of time for the moment, I have to say that when you're trying to interject these 'new and unique' bits into your culture, do your best to not shoehorn them in. Allow concepts to grow naturally from one another. Trying to force something in runs the risk of breaking the rest of your carefully crafted culture.

[Vernii]

Hi there.

So I set about creating this FT nation with one major idea in mind: culture. That's what I want the main focus of this nation to be. Not super huge ships, not a military that can stop anybody, not being a race of "gods" or super aliens with super tech.

I just plan to RP as a small Human nation (one planet right now), and what I want to focus on is things that define the culture such as: music, national symbols, history, language, etc.

As you can probably tell from my flag, I'll be taking a lot of things from Spanish culture but I'll also be including elements from: Latin America, Portugal, Italy, and France. I'll probably throw in some extra things here and there as well, to make it have a unique twist on things.

My big question is... it that alright? I mean in terms of RPing and what not? Obviously there will be a war here and there, but all in all I just want to RP a fairly open minded, peaceful, and culturally rich FT nation that is known for its culture rather than military prowess.

(As for my military... I might get lazy with it and kinda handwave fairly often. As I said I don't want an "UBER ARMY" but I'll probably use things like blaster rifles, power armour, etc. More "soft" sci-fi for my defensive oriented military).

This is a good idea, a lot of people don't focus enough on what makes their nation well, a nation, and focus so much on military affairs and technology that the old quote about Prussia comes to mind ("Prussia, is not a state with an army, but an army with a state.")

[Oppressorion]

Hi there.

So I set about creating this FT nation with one major idea in mind: culture. That's what I want the main focus of this nation to be. Not super huge ships, not a military that can stop anybody, not being a race of "gods" or super aliens with super tech.

I just plan to RP as a small Human nation (one planet right now), and what I want to focus on is things that define the culture such as: music, national symbols, history, language, etc.

As you can probably tell from my flag, I'll be taking a lot of things from Spanish culture but I'll also be including elements from: Latin America, Portugal, Italy, and France. I'll probably throw in some extra things here and there as well, to make it have a unique twist on things.

My big question is... it that alright? I mean in terms of RPing and what not? Obviously there will be a war here and there, but all in all I just want to RP a fairly open minded, peaceful, and culturally rich FT nation that is known for its culture rather than military prowess.

(As for my military... I might get lazy with it and kinda handwave fairly often. As I said I don't want an "UBER ARMY" but I'll probably use things like blaster rifles, power armour, etc. More "soft" sci-fi for my defensive oriented military).

This is a good idea, a lot of people don't focus enough on what makes their nation well, a nation, and focus so much on military affairs and technology that the old quote about Prussia comes to mind ("Prussia, is not a state with an army, but an army with a state.")

I've actually found myself thinking about my cities' infrastructure and construction more than Teh Spess Navy. Too much time playing Dwarf Fortress, I think. I think I'll try writing a diplomatic RP, with diplomats visiting my city and vice-versa.

[SquareDisc City]

I believe that by art from he means creating art that is made by your citizens, stuff with a decidedly alien perspective on it.

Spot on. It's no easy task, since you'd basically have to invent whole art movements. I had a crack at it for architecture in the United Pokemon Types, but resorted to using stand-ins for illustration; art and graphic design really aren't my strong points.

[Milagro]

I believe that by art from he means creating art that is made by your citizens, stuff with a decidedly alien perspective on it.

Spot on. It's no easy task, since you'd basically have to invent whole art movements. I had a crack at it for architecture in the United Pokemon Types, but resorted to using stand-ins for illustration; art and graphic design really aren't my strong points.

Well the planet was founded by Human colonists, so how alien does that get?

And if I try that, you'd probably get some shitty MS paint drawings to begin with

[StellarGate]

Spot on. It's no easy task, since you'd basically have to invent whole art movements. I had a crack at it for architecture in the United Pokemon Types, but resorted to using stand-ins for illustration; art and graphic design really aren't my strong points.

Well the planet was founded by Human colonists, so how alien does that get?

And if I try that, you'd probably get some shitty MS paint drawings to begin with

I know how it feels. I'm taking computer graphics classes now, so my Computer art has become much better. Just keep practicing. Look into other free art programs, as there is a lot of stuff out there better than MS paint.

You still have words however, and a picture can be worth a thousand words. When another human walks by a painting, will they see that it's framed differently? Maybe hung to look like diamond rather than a square? Does it contain certain colors which you nation is fond of? Maybe they always have some sort distortion because the atmosphere of your world makes light refract in different ways? And that's just the art.

Music , is soft and sweet? Maybe fast paced and harsh. Do you often dance to it, or are you supposed to sit down and listen quietly?

[SquareDisc City]

On a tangent - and I suppose it's an advice question of a sort - do people rate graphics tablets? I've wondered if getting one would help my computer art skills.

[Milagro]

Well the planet was founded by Human colonists, so how alien does that get?

And if I try that, you'd probably get some shitty MS paint drawings to begin with

I know how it feels. I'm taking computer graphics classes now, so my Computer art has become much better. Just keep practicing. Look into other free art programs, as there is a lot of stuff out there better than MS paint.

You still have words however, and a picture can be worth a thousand words. When another human walks by a painting, will they see that it's framed differently? Maybe hung to look like diamond rather than a square? Does it contain certain colors which you nation is fond of? Maybe they always have some sort distortion because the atmosphere of your world makes light refract in different ways? And that's just the art.

Music , is soft and sweet? Maybe fast paced and harsh. Do you often dance to it, or are you supposed to sit down and listen quietly?

I suppose, due to my restricted art skills, Milagronians would have a more "realistic" style of art, such as portraits and scenery. With time I'd introduce some more abstract art, once I'm ok at it (decent enough to give a rough idea of what it SHOULD look like).

I've been looking into GIMP, but it usually only allows me to blend a bunch of images from the internet into one. "Layering" I think it's called. Does anyone know any other free to use programs that they'd recommend?

As for music, it's usually fast or medium paced and meant to be danced to, and even the national anthem is danced to! It has this whole Spanish/Mexican feel to it. Music and dance is a huge part of the culture, and whenever they meet aliens the Milagronians would be eager to test out some alien instruments.

They also love a good party

[StellarGate]

I know how it feels. I'm taking computer graphics classes now, so my Computer art has become much better. Just keep practicing. Look into other free art programs, as there is a lot of stuff out there better than MS paint.

You still have words however, and a picture can be worth a thousand words. When another human walks by a painting, will they see that it's framed differently? Maybe hung to look like diamond rather than a square? Does it contain certain colors which you nation is fond of? Maybe they always have some sort distortion because the atmosphere of your world makes light refract in different ways? And that's just the art.

Music , is soft and sweet? Maybe fast paced and harsh. Do you often dance to it, or are you supposed to sit down and listen quietly?

I suppose, due to my restricted art skills, Milagronians would have a more "realistic" style of art, such as portraits and scenery. With time I'd introduce some more abstract art, once I'm ok at it (decent enough to give a rough idea of what it SHOULD look like).

I've been looking into GIMP, but it usually only allows me to blend a bunch of images from the internet into one. "Layering" I think it's called. Does anyone know any other free to use programs that they'd recommend?

As for music, it's usually fast or medium paced and meant to be danced to, and even the national anthem is danced to! It has this whole Spanish/Mexican feel to it. Music and dance is a huge part of the culture, and whenever they meet aliens the Milagronians would be eager to test out some alien instruments.

They also love a good party

See? ^^ It isn't that hard once you put your mind to it. Also Paint.net is supposedly pretty good, I never used it though. I use Photoshop and Illustrator.

So your people are open minded and when they meet another friendly culture, they are eager to learn and see what their culture is like. (I hope that assessment of your people is correct.) Do they like accepting other cultural aspects as their own or would they rather just admire it? How do they respond to some one breaking the tradition?

Maybe your parties could be part of the culture themselves. Certain days they celebrate with large, over the top parties with particular decorations to honor the dead, their star nation, etc.

Food is also a big part of culture as well. Are all dishes served in you nation have a Mexian/Spanish twist to them? Or have they changed with the available food sources (Especially if any plants/animals mutated to fit their new environment.) How about a dish that is only served on rare and special occasions?

What do children do when they become adults? Is there any formal/informal thing they do?
How do people usually greet each other?
What sort of clothes do their wear, and how does it differ, what do certain garments stand for?
How do families welcome babies into the world?
What language do they speak? do they speak mostly English, Spanish, Mexican, or some other language they developed over time?
Cultural symbols? Does your nation have any shapes, animals, or objects they hold dear? (Say like a dove for peace, the shape of a cross, or totem poles.)

Hopefully these questions will get you thinking about how deep into culture you can get with your nation.

An example from my own nation:
The Royal Cresian Empire's Cresians, the founders of the Empire, are a tall, humanoid alien with six wings. They consider the trio of colors red, blue, and purple, to be very special colors since their hair often contain streaks of on or more of these colors. Their music is usually lively and upbeat, even ballroom dancing music having a happy feel to it. The revere music from a band called 'Owl City' a human male whose music influenced most Cresian music today. Owl City songs are considered classic, their use controlled by the government and changing this music (such as remixes, video making) is limited to those that are approved by the government.

Their food is often complex and elaborate, with little touches of all different kinds of spices to create dishes that are practically works of art. (Humans often say the dishes have a heavy Italian influence, but this is usually lost on Cresians as they have very little idea what 'Italian' was.) These dishes also tend to pretty healthy over all since getting heavy mean a Cresian cannot fly as well. The Aurora Flower is a delicacy usually used in deserts and served at state dinners/special occasions due to how much it costs to prepare the flower right. The introduction of human cooks to the Cresian world mean that the somewhat unhealthiness comes with it, but Cresians are better at limiting food intake and exercising than humans. Things that are considered simple, fast foods like Burgers, fries, and chicken tenders, were all foreign to Cresians before humans made contact with the Empire. Cooking is often considered an art form, more importantly, 'show cooking', where a Cresian makes a meal while doing various cool tricks with the food/bowls/him/herself, is catching on fast among younger cooks as they go through culinary school.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think you see my point. If you have any more questions you want to ask about my nation in particular, you can TG me. I'd love to to Rp with this nation you're creating, it sounds really interesting

[Vaxon]

Barring the wild impracticality of boarding in space combat, both of those have their issues.

Traditionally, teleportation is blocked by shields. A shielded opponent is a fighting opponent, so boarding them to resuce their ability to dight is both problematic, and highly likely to fail. In addition, it would be up to the recieving ship to decide if your men made it.

For boarding torpedoes, the problems are even greater. Point defense could kill then in job lots, and the impact with a moving ship has a chance to not only kill your soldiers, but destroy your boarding pod. As such, neither method is really practical in an absolutely realistic assessment of their merits.

Thanks. I'll have to think of a different way, then...

@SDC. I may either use the Tube-Launchers or a different method.

I found a new method! I invented it myself. I call it Drill Bombing.
Basically, we fire drills packed with explosives onto an enemy ship, and they dig through the armor and explode. The resulting hole is then filled by a drop pod that lands in the hole, and troops with space armor on jump out of the drop pod immediately, beginning to ransack the ship.

Foolproof!

[StellarGate]

Thanks. I'll have to think of a different way, then...

@SDC. I may either use the Tube-Launchers or a different method.

I found a new method! I invented it myself. I call it Drill Bombing.
Basically, we fire drills packed with explosives onto an enemy ship, and they dig through the armor and explode. The resulting hole is then filled by a drop pod that lands in the hole, and troops with space armor on jump out of the drop pod immediately, beginning to ransack the ship.

Foolproof!

What happens when those are shot down by point defense?

[Vaxon]

I found a new method! I invented it myself. I call it Drill Bombing.
Basically, we fire drills packed with explosives onto an enemy ship, and they dig through the armor and explode. The resulting hole is then filled by a drop pod that lands in the hole, and troops with space armor on jump out of the drop pod immediately, beginning to ransack the ship.

Foolproof!

What happens when those are shot down by point defense?

They either blow up in space, or if close enough to the ship, the explosion will knock down a few layers of armor.