Argument Thread OOC Future Tech Only

[Michael Kenmore]

Sounds like you should just start from scratch...

Never! It was too priceless and good.

[Crucesignatorum]

Is technology like the stuff from Larry Niven's books fairly acceptable? I am thinking about using his stuff as my tech base so I wanted to know if things like the slaver stasis field and the general products hulls, stuff like that are acceptable.

[Ularn]

Is technology like the stuff from Larry Niven's books fairly acceptable? I am thinking about using his stuff as my tech base so I wanted to know if things like the slaver stasis field and the general products hulls, stuff like that are acceptable.

Pretty much anything is acceptable in NSFT as long as you don't abuse it in an attempt to "win" the game.

[CoreWorlds]

Is technology like the stuff from Larry Niven's books fairly acceptable? I am thinking about using his stuff as my tech base so I wanted to know if things like the slaver stasis field and the general products hulls, stuff like that are acceptable.

I think the key question is, do you understand the technology in question enough to bring it into life in the RPing world of NS? That is fairly important (as it's fairly hard-science tech, IIRC), although not as important as deciding how to RP your nation in general.

Also, FYI, the Protectors would make for an interesting race in NS. It's not every day that you get the people from the Ringworld series, after all.

[Genomita]

Okay, the first planet the Genomitans colonized after breaking away from their original nation was a tidally locked ocean world on the outer side of a red dwarf's habitable zone, just far enough away to avoid turning into a tidal venus. However, they originally never intended to land there in the first place. They only colonized this planet because their ships, which were still conventional spaceships instead of bioships back then where brought down by unusually strong EM radiation in the area. My current version is that the EM radiation is emenating from the core but I'm currently looking for alternatives. I know that the red dwarf star the planet revolves around would be an obvious choice but I'm unsure if it would penetrate all the way down to the bottom of the sea where the majority of the cities on the planet are located.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated ^^

[Crucesignatorum]

Would fighting wars with robots be feasible? I assume it will be being that with robots like BigDog that can already walk dynamically, with weaponization and automation programming you already have a fighting machine.

I was thinking of a weaponized and obviously more advanced BigDog system as infantry, which would carry a DragonRunner type robot on its belly to be deployed where it can't go, or for fast scouting. As for armor, I was contemplating something like the ripsaw MS1 UTV as light armor vehicles....and then just bigger for heavy armor.

[OMGeverynameistaken]

Fighting with robots is completly OK. Just be prepared for ill-conceived 'hacking' attempts, jamming, EMPs, etc.

[Crucesignatorum]

Fighting with robots is completly OK. Just be prepared for ill-conceived 'hacking' attempts, jamming, EMPs, etc.

That seems a little ridiculous....if you fight with robots then you would obviously understand their weaknesses. Not protecting your robot from EMP and such would be like sending a soldier into battle without a medkit or bodyarmor. It is idiotic.

[Zebian Syndicate]

But alas, there are idiots, and there are people who simply will not tolerate anything they don't agree with, going so far as to make broad assumptions about your mechs and using such tactics since they deem your units as worthless.
There are some pretty bad cases of these situations buried around here somewhere but for the time being,

let's not start ANOTHER mechs VS (tanks/other unit of choice) argument, for the love of god!

[OMGeverynameistaken]

Fighting with robots is completly OK. Just be prepared for ill-conceived 'hacking' attempts, jamming, EMPs, etc.

That seems a little ridiculous....if you fight with robots then you would obviously understand their weaknesses. Not protecting your robot from EMP and such would be like sending a soldier into battle without a medkit or bodyarmor. It is idiotic.

Quite. But be prepared for people to try it, and to explain why it's not working. Somebody's always going to try to hack the alien mothership with their MacBook.

[Hobbeebia]

LOL very true...

[Avenio]

Okay, the first planet the Genomitans colonized after breaking away from their original nation was a tidally locked ocean world on the outer side of a red dwarf's habitable zone, just far enough away to avoid turning into a tidal venus. However, they originally never intended to land there in the first place. They only colonized this planet because their ships, which were still conventional spaceships instead of bioships back then where brought down by unusually strong EM radiation in the area. My current version is that the EM radiation is emenating from the core but I'm currently looking for alternatives. I know that the red dwarf star the planet revolves around would be an obvious choice but I'm unsure if it would penetrate all the way down to the bottom of the sea where the majority of the cities on the planet are located.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated ^^

Water's a very good insulator against radiation, so I don't think stellar radiation would get very far. Remember that the photic zone in the ocean is only about 200 m deep - hence why ocean bottoms are so barren of life barring hydrothermal vents.

[Zepplin Manufacturers]

The arguments made over and over on this thread against large volume vehicle replacements (automated or not) in mecha forum are entirely too valid to be ignored with in nearly every case with there use undermining the constant of the writing in question with the incredulity of it.

The use of alternate forms of locomotion for a conventional non vehicle role replacing robot as listed are however fine if still on occasion questionable.

[Feazanthia]

Legged vehicles - only feasible via rule of cool. We've beat this to death.

Automated vehicles - at a certain technological point (in FT, exceptionally likely), superior to organic creatures but not as cool. We've beat this to death.

Hacking/EMP/Viruses IN SPACE - completely infeasible without substantial research and prep time, in which the hacker must have access to the hackee's military network architecture as well as a complete understanding of the hackee's programming language and encoding protocols, none of which are very likely. Also EMP is a bust if the target knows what they're doing. We've beat this to death.

Yes I'm in a bad mood today. Sorry.

[Zebian Syndicate]

Bad mood or not, everything you said is irrefutably true.

[OMGeverynameistaken]

Hacking/EMP/Viruses IN SPACE - completely infeasible without substantial research and prep time, in which the hacker must have access to the hackee's military network architecture as well as a complete understanding of the hackee's programming language and encoding protocols, none of which are very likely. Also EMP is a bust if the target knows what they're doing. We've beat this to death.

With the caveat that this doesn't apply if you're both using the same tech base (ex Star Wars, WH40k, etc.)
...Although I guess it might be difficult to 'hack' WH40k's computers, since I don't recall that they have anything as complicated as intership data sharing and suchlike.

EDIT:
Oh, and Star Trek, of course.

"Hey captain, we found an ancient alien probe! We know nothing about its contents or whether or not it's actually a nearly omnipotent deus ex machina, what should we do?"

"Hook it into the main computer, of course!"

"Aye aye, sir!"

[Ularn]

Hacking/EMP/Viruses IN SPACE - completely infeasible without substantial research and prep time, in which the hacker must have access to the hackee's military network architecture as well as a complete understanding of the hackee's programming language and encoding protocols, none of which are very likely. Also EMP is a bust if the target knows what they're doing. We've beat this to death.

With the caveat that this doesn't apply if you're both using the same tech base (ex Star Wars, WH40k, etc.)
...Although I guess it might be difficult to 'hack' WH40k's computers, since I don't recall that they have anything as complicated as intership data sharing and suchlike.

EDIT:
Oh, and Star Trek, of course.

"Hey captain, we found an ancient alien probe! We know nothing about its contents or whether or not it's actually a nearly omnipotent deus ex machina, what should we do?"

"Hook it into the main computer, of course!"

"Aye aye, sir!"

Another justification might be if your two star nations were in a prolonged conflict like the Hundred Years War IN SPACE. In such circumstances, learning how to hack your opponent may become possible

[Saurisisia]

With the caveat that this doesn't apply if you're both using the same tech base (ex Star Wars, WH40k, etc.)
...Although I guess it might be difficult to 'hack' WH40k's computers, since I don't recall that they have anything as complicated as intership data sharing and suchlike.

EDIT:
Oh, and Star Trek, of course.

"Hey captain, we found an ancient alien probe! We know nothing about its contents or whether or not it's actually a nearly omnipotent deus ex machina, what should we do?"

"Hook it into the main computer, of course!"

"Aye aye, sir!"

Another justification might be if your two star nations were in a prolonged conflict like the Hundred Years War IN SPACE. In such circumstances, learning how to hack your opponent may become possible

Hundred Years War IN SPACE. Sounds awesome.

Then again, most things are awesome IN SPACE.

[Strykla]

Hey guys, I need some help. I'm looking for emergency thrusters for a warship roughly 400 meters in length. At first I considered cesium-water reactions that would blast the ship onto a new course, getting results quickly and inefficiently. But I want to consider all options. An APCP-based propellant tailored for a high isp and low burn time could be considered, but Wikipedia says solid fuels typically have a lower isp.

So, what's a good emergency thruster?

[Zepplin Manufacturers]

Nuclear pulse.

[Strykla]

Nuclear pulse.

Nuke pulse propulsion is powerful, but I feel like it'd be real bulky.

[Ularn]

Fusion torch?

[OMGeverynameistaken]

[Vocenae]

The best kind of drive and really the only kind you need.

[Strykla]

Fusion torch?

Again, good but real bulky. If I'd use a helium³-deuterium engine, it would be the main one, not emergency thrusters.