Worldbuilding Realism Consultation Thread Mk. 4

[Purpelia]

There is a basic problem:

We don't have an agreement of what things are desirable, nor what we are willing to give up for those things.

That's not really a problem that partakes to this discussion though. We, or at least I, are not talking about the merits of individual ideas but of the tools we as a species use to achieve those ideas. If you will permit an analogy: Deciding what to build does not, or at least should not, effect the question of if you should approach architecture scientifically. For be it a bridge, a highrise or an outhouse if you don't the structure will be bad.

So whilst a discussion to decide the end goal does need to exist that process is outside of the scope of this conversation.

[DnalweN acilbupeR]

I've created a configurator for my truck militarization kit.

link

To use it, insert an ID that follows the pattern STL 9### where # is a digit.

It's supposed to find a militarization kit for your specific truck (or a compatible universal kit), let you configure it with various options, and you also have the option of procuring your own base vehicle or purchasing it as configured together with the kit.

It's sorta WIP though.

[Gallia-]

There is a basic problem:

We don't have an agreement of what things are desirable, nor what we are willing to give up for those things.

That's not really a problem that partakes to this discussion though. We, or at least I, are not talking about the merits of individual ideas but of the tools we as a species use to achieve those ideas. If you will permit an analogy: Deciding what to build does not, or at least should not, effect the question of if you should approach architecture scientifically. For be it a bridge, a highrise or an outhouse if you don't the structure will be bad.

So whilst a discussion to decide the end goal does need to exist that process is outside of the scope of this conversation.

Even the most primitive of tools had to be created ex nihilo.

[The Soodean Imperium]

I'm not sure that is fully true - so far, unless our understanding is much improved in the future, hard empiricists have run into some serious limits of their predictive ability.

I'm not advocating hard empiricism either - at its worst, it runs into the same problem of searching for universal predictive theories detached from all social context. If anything I'm more aligned with the Constructive Realist school - e.g., a fully predictive or definitively falsifiable social theory is probably impossible, but one can still incrementally improve on knowledge by developing a theory that explains observed social phenomena better than the previous one. Hence my own preference for comparative qualitative studies over mass statistical analysis and formal modeling (though I also concede that these are less simplistic than their critics make them out to be).

My main issues are with the idea that (i) any person can develop a universal theory of human social behavior sufficiently advanced to be applied to practical social engineering anywhere in the world regardless of context, and (ii) they can do it simply by sitting in their room and musing on how ancient classics can be applied to their own perceptions of human flaws. By the current prevailing standards of social science, (i) asks far too much of the scientific method and (ii) amounts to a rejection of grounded empirical observation. And Purpelia's responses only confirm that this is the basic premise behind his argument.

[Austrasien]

Social science is not scientific because it does not yet have any good account of the atoms of society, human minds, from which all human social behaviour arises.

It's more like alchemy than chemistry really. It can only describe the most obvious patterns and speculate wildly about what gives rise to them.

[Gallia-]

Viky is correct.

Psychology is the closest social science to actual science and the most honest about how little it knows.

Economics is the furthest I guess.

Human behaviour is probably causally deterministic.

[The Soodean Imperium]

The final culmination of all my questions about railway stuff a few weeks ago.

Railway lines are now divided into high-speed, freight, and passenger track. Within the city, passenger trains are "bundled" alongside each other, but there are separate sets of track for "express" (intercity and inbound commuter, only stop at major stations) and "frequent-stop" (rapid transit trains, stop at minor stations every 1 to 2 kilometers). Rural, commuter, and intercity trains do share track outside the city limits, but presumably capacity is more manageable there. As of 2006, the freight trains in Donggyŏng pass around the city, while those in Gyŏngnam are still trunked alongside passenger trains if heading southwest (most go southeast though).

Come to think of it, the tunnel line to the eastern edge of the map would probably be mixed-use, but with fairly limited quantities of freight - mostly deliveries to and from the large island it connects to. So I don't imagine traffic would be heavy, nor that oversize and well cars would be needed.

[The Soodean Imperium]

http://iiwiki.com/wiki/Administrative_D ... n_Imperium

My effort to map out the Districts of Donggyŏng ended in a full description of all administrative divisions in the country. The classification is mostly based on the North/South Korean system, but adds an intermediate Prefectural level and tweaks a few of the lower level names. My main hope is that it's easy to understand, I know I'm still somewhat lost in the complexity of the PRC's various unique administrative units.

[The Macabees]

That's an insanely beautiful map, man.

[Radictistan]

Speaking of maps, does anyone know an algorithm to create a scale for an existing map with known land area?

[Questers]

(Image)

The final culmination of all my questions about railway stuff a few weeks ago.

Railway lines are now divided into high-speed, freight, and passenger track. Within the city, passenger trains are "bundled" alongside each other, but there are separate sets of track for "express" (intercity and inbound commuter, only stop at major stations) and "frequent-stop" (rapid transit trains, stop at minor stations every 1 to 2 kilometers). Rural, commuter, and intercity trains do share track outside the city limits, but presumably capacity is more manageable there. As of 2006, the freight trains in Donggyŏng pass around the city, while those in Gyŏngnam are still trunked alongside passenger trains if heading southwest (most go southeast though).

Come to think of it, the tunnel line to the eastern edge of the map would probably be mixed-use, but with fairly limited quantities of freight - mostly deliveries to and from the large island it connects to. So I don't imagine traffic would be heavy, nor that oversize and well cars would be needed.

Really cool. Well done.

I'm assuming the named stations are the "famous" ones and the circular dots are simply additional stations? Does this city have a tram or metro network? This map is only modelling heavy rail, yes?

[The Soodean Imperium]

(Image)

The final culmination of all my questions about railway stuff a few weeks ago.

Railway lines are now divided into high-speed, freight, and passenger track. Within the city, passenger trains are "bundled" alongside each other, but there are separate sets of track for "express" (intercity and inbound commuter, only stop at major stations) and "frequent-stop" (rapid transit trains, stop at minor stations every 1 to 2 kilometers). Rural, commuter, and intercity trains do share track outside the city limits, but presumably capacity is more manageable there. As of 2006, the freight trains in Donggyŏng pass around the city, while those in Gyŏngnam are still trunked alongside passenger trains if heading southwest (most go southeast though).

Come to think of it, the tunnel line to the eastern edge of the map would probably be mixed-use, but with fairly limited quantities of freight - mostly deliveries to and from the large island it connects to. So I don't imagine traffic would be heavy, nor that oversize and well cars would be needed.

Really cool. Well done.

I'm assuming the named stations are the "famous" ones and the circular dots are simply additional stations? Does this city have a tram or metro network? This map is only modelling heavy rail, yes?

Thanks!

Named stations are the really major ones that serve intercity traffic, the smaller dots (actually rectangles) are either outlying stations for commuter rail or in-city stations for mass transit.

This layer is only heavy rail, and expressways (still not sure if I need more). Metro Lines 4, 11, and 13 run on separate tracks bundled alongside the intercity ones, and serve the minor stations within the urban area, so technically they're kind of on here. But the Donggyŏng Metro network is on a separate layer because as of the latest update it's 17 lines with 308 stations and 466.5 kilometers of tunnel with additional extensions under construction and makes the map rlllly crowded. My current work-in-progress is a stylized map of the metro network (this kind of thing), because the scale map's metro layer sometimes has poor contrast with the red and green background.


Over the course of the last week, I also expanded the city limits and added more commuter rail stops; here's the latest version:
http://iiwiki.com/images/2/28/Donggyong ... _Rails.png

[Questers]

I'm considering working on that kind of stylised map too -- it's very hard though, unfortunately.

[The Soodean Imperium]

I'm considering working on that kind of stylised map too -- it's very hard though, unfortunately.

I find it helped that I already have the "to scale" metro map, so that I already know where the stations are and how the lines intersect. It also helped to draw the lines and extensions in chronological order with the years of each marked elsewhere, to make sure that the expansion of the network makes sense chronologically.

...which of course is very hard and time-consuming too. That's why I've been toiling over this city map for the better part of a month

[Allanea]

Greetings comrades.

As you might know my main nation is a libertarian nationalist country. Lots of people in Allanea use drugs. But I myself don't use drugs, except for those prescribed to me by a doctor. [This is not a brag about my healthy lifestyle, my lifestyle is not healthy.] So the only way for me to write about drugs realistically is to read as much as possible about them. So far I've read Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use and Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, as well as He Died with a Felafel in His Hand.

So now I'm interested in more books about the experinces of drug users [in other words, what does it feel like], and the world of functioning addicts (middle and upper class users). I'm willing to entertain suggestions, especially those available on Kindle.

[Gallia-]

Can't you just do a shit load of MDMA or something?

[Taihei Tengoku]

I am addicted to creatine monohydrate

[Gallia-]

I am addicted to creatine monohydrate

Swoletilisu aka Hoisty McBulkin.

[The Technocratic Syndicalists]

I have a crippling addition to pre-workout supplements. 10/10 would recommend, your liver will get wrecked but who cares when you're putting up 2 plates for reps on the incline bench?

Anyways here is an SST, basically a Boeing 737-200 but stretched slightly and with newer engines. Why VG wings you ask? Because a requirement for this particular SST is that it be able to cruise efficiently at subsonic speeds over land where supersonic overflight is not permitted. It's still not as efficient as a subsonic wide-body airliner (no surprise) but with the wings swept forward and the variable-cycle engines operating as low/medium-bypass turbofans it's easily twice as fuel efficient (in terms of fue burn/distance) compared to a delta-winged turbojet powered SST like a concorde or Tu-144.

MFW "it's not profitable", etc,

SDI-2000 Supersonic Transport

General Characteristics:

• Crew: 2
• Capacity: 300 Passengers
• Payload 34,000 kg maximum
• Length: 97.0 m
• Wingspan:
  
  • 58.0 meters spread
  • 32.0 meters swept
• Height:14.0 m
• Wing area:
  
  • 1140 meters spread
  • 880 meters swept
• Empty Weight: 132,850 kg
• Max Takeoff Weight: 348,800 kg
• Fuel Weight: 215,950 kg
• Powerplant: 4x Syndicate Dynamics SD-4 Variable Stream Duct Burning Turbofans, 280 kN each

Performance:

• Cruise speed: Mach 3.2
• Range: 10,200 km
• Service ceiling: 19,000 m
• Rate of Climb : 25 m/s
• Wing loading: 412 kg/m2 with wings swept
• Thrust/weight: 0.32
• Runway requirement: 3,600 m

[Bears Armed]

My current work-in-progress is a stylized map of the metro network (this kind of thing), because the scale map's metro layer sometimes has poor contrast with the red and green background.

Over the course of the last week, I also expanded the city limits and added more commuter rail stops; here's the latest version:
http://iiwiki.com/images/2/28/Donggyong ... _Rails.png

Wow! I'm really impressed by this work.

[Questers]

Really cool. Well done.

I'm assuming the named stations are the "famous" ones and the circular dots are simply additional stations? Does this city have a tram or metro network? This map is only modelling heavy rail, yes?

Thanks!

Named stations are the really major ones that serve intercity traffic, the smaller dots (actually rectangles) are either outlying stations for commuter rail or in-city stations for mass transit.

This layer is only heavy rail, and expressways (still not sure if I need more). Metro Lines 4, 11, and 13 run on separate tracks bundled alongside the intercity ones, and serve the minor stations within the urban area, so technically they're kind of on here. But the Donggyŏng Metro network is on a separate layer because as of the latest update it's 17 lines with 308 stations and 466.5 kilometers of tunnel with additional extensions under construction and makes the map rlllly crowded. My current work-in-progress is a stylized map of the metro network (this kind of thing), because the scale map's metro layer sometimes has poor contrast with the red and green background.


Over the course of the last week, I also expanded the city limits and added more commuter rail stops; here's the latest version:
http://iiwiki.com/images/2/28/Donggyong ... _Rails.png

The problem with doing a metro map for Jesselton is that it has something like six million people and a ridonkulous amount of stations. I'm thinking of doign a detailed map but style, scale and what info to include are constant problems.

[Questers]

Greetings comrades.

As you might know my main nation is a libertarian nationalist country. Lots of people in Allanea use drugs. But I myself don't use drugs, except for those prescribed to me by a doctor. [This is not a brag about my healthy lifestyle, my lifestyle is not healthy.] So the only way for me to write about drugs realistically is to read as much as possible about them. So far I've read Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use and Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, as well as He Died with a Felafel in His Hand.

So now I'm interested in more books about the experinces of drug users [in other words, what does it feel like], and the world of functioning addicts (middle and upper class users). I'm willing to entertain suggestions, especially those available on Kindle.

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater

[Allanea]

Greetings comrades.

As you might know my main nation is a libertarian nationalist country. Lots of people in Allanea use drugs. But I myself don't use drugs, except for those prescribed to me by a doctor. [This is not a brag about my healthy lifestyle, my lifestyle is not healthy.] So the only way for me to write about drugs realistically is to read as much as possible about them. So far I've read Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use and Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, as well as He Died with a Felafel in His Hand.

So now I'm interested in more books about the experinces of drug users [in other words, what does it feel like], and the world of functioning addicts (middle and upper class users). I'm willing to entertain suggestions, especially those available on Kindle.

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater

You're very likely right. A relative who'd been using lots of drugs suggested it to me years ago.

[Korva]

Assuming you can't just talk to people you know, erowid is a decent site for user experiences.

[Taviana SSR]

Why not use regular soldiers with standard combat loadout as police?

Looking at the militarization of police in most countries nowadays, why not just go straight for full military as cops? People getting 7.62mm of lead for stealing would be a pretty good deterrent, and it would also save on prison and justice costs.