Table of Contents
What Is Future Technology?[ LINK HERE ]Future Technology (also known as "Future Tech", "FT", and "NSFT") is a community of roleplayers, writers, and collaborators within a science-fiction setting, with storytelling and worldbuilding as the primary focus of the roleplaying enterprise. More generally, Future Tech is a community of individuals with an interconnected network of storytelling canon and an inter-connected continuity and history. Future Tech, as a community, has existed since soon after the very foundation of NationStates itself; as such, Future Tech has a continuous timeline of history which covers a decade of real-world time, and countless eons insofar as the passage of time within the setting and community itself (In-Character).
As a mechanic, Future Tech has been traditionally divided from "Modern Technology" and/or "Post-Modern Technology" as the moment of the advent of superluminal (faster-than-light; "FTL") travel within the historical continuity of a player's creation. There is some debate as to whether "Post-Modern Technology" constitutes a form of "Future Tech" due to the very necessity of the "Post-Modern" technology grade occurring in the future, but this thread is not a thread meant to address this debate.
What Are the Rules of Future Tech?[ LINK HERE ]
In the Future Tech community, there are no real "hard" rules. There is not a thread somewhere that will define what "is" and what "is not" acceptable; however, with over a decade worth of community standardization and conventions, the Future Tech community does have a standard insofar as how players conduct themselves, interact with one another, and otherwise execute their creations within the world.
Though called by many names ("Rule of Cool", "Code of Bro/Sis", etc.), the standards and conventions of the FT community, in effect, boil down to this: be willing to collaborate with other players; be willing to compromise with other players for the sake of both the story and the mutual experience of existing within the world; be creative and do not directly rip from existing canon (such as those found in novels, video games, or films); and be consistent with the applications of the internal rules of your creations (such as how your technology interacts with other technologies, cultural rules within your societies, etc.).
These standards, in effect, mean "Don't be a dick." It is, really, quite that simple. If you, as a player, are willing to collaborate with others, compromise, attempt to be creative, and are consistent, you will find roleplaying partners and ventures very readily and very easily. Players that are not willing to abide by these very, very basic standards of behavior, however, might not. It is often said in Future Tech that you may "do as you will, because no one can stop you." This is patently true; however, players that act in a manner that is not congruent or complimentary to the community's, implement absurd creations that violate these standards or otherwise diminish the ability for other players to enjoy the roleplaying venture, or - in general - are simply "silly" with no caveat insofar as how that "silliness" might be applied - such is to say, "Silly for the sake of silliness" without any added enjoyment - are likely to find themselves with few avenues to interact with the community.
It's true, you can do as you please; no one can stop you. Just as well, you can't force people to recognize your creations simply by existing. Behavior and conduct is paramount to earning respect and merit as a writer and roleplayer in the Future Technology community; poor behavior tends to reflect poorly on the player and, ultimately, may lead to many individuals ignoring that player and his entities simply because it's not enjoyable to interact with the player.
That being said: this is the OOC Advice and Assistance Thread for Future Tech. If you intend to post with the intent to be disruptive: don't. If you post asking for advice, a degree of etiquette need be understood; in short, if you ask for advice, you're not obligated to agree with the advice, but you are obligated to respect the advice in the manner to which it was given. If you intend to post to ask for advice, then point at those giving the advice as if you were above criticism, it is best you take your questions elsewhere.
What Are the Rules of the Advice and Assistance Thread?[ LINK HERE ]
Refer to the above. In short, this is an advice and assistance thread, not an argument thread or a simple "chat" thread (such as found on other boards). If you would like to argue the merits of a given technology, that is more than acceptable - but not here. This is different from giving different advice/assistance or different interpretations of what is "best"; this can be done without argument or conflict. If it devolves into conflict, you may be asked to "cool your proverbial jets" or, in extreme cases, asked to leave the thread - officially or unofficially.
Furthermore, this thread, while capable of providing advice for all walks-of-life within the NationStates Future Technology community and assistance in regards to many different styles of roleplaying, is primarily concerned with the general community outside of individual groups or closed roleplaying regions, communities, organizations, groups, or canons. Such is to say that this thread's advice and assistance is primarily concerned with the standards, conventions, and agreed-upon norms of Future Tech outside of closed communities and with a broad, historical, In-Character continuity dating back at least a decade (what is sometimes called "FT-Prime); as such, any advice given comes, by default, with the caveat of "within the general Future Tech community outside of closed communities." Advice given will always have this caveat; players seeking advice on a specific canon or closed roleplaying group may be pointed to their respective threads for further advice and more pertinent and relevant assistance.
Are There Any Offsite Channels?[ LINK HERE ]
Yes. Nation States Future Technology is discussed in at least one broad Discord server and other, more closely-focused Discord servers and IRC channels. Future Tech roleplayers (and interested parties) wishing to become involved with a broad, community-oriented, offsite server are encouraged to visit the NSFT Discord (operated by Kyrusia) for general community discussion and NSFT-oriented worldbuilding and roleplay planning. Please be mindful of its rules (listed in #rules), as those who violate them may face punitive actions; it also contains many links and resources, similar to the Advice Thread. Hours of peak activity vary, but it is not uncommon to have many players active at various times and discussing a wide variety of topics. Advice, assistance, worldbuilding, and constructive criticism are commonplace, with both new and old FTers being welcome.
There is also a General Worldbuilding Discord (operated by Roania). This server is not constrained to NSFT, but incudes MT, PMT, FT, and FanT.
Common Terminology Found in the Future Tech Community[ LINK HERE ]
The following is a list of terms, acronyms, and initialisms found within and commonly utilized by the Future Technology community. This list is perpetually growing, but hopefully will serve as a guide and introductory syllabus to newer players whom might be overwhelmed with the myriad of internal jargon.
As well, players should feel free to link these terms as they desire/need; each term title includes an anchor (such as "#Antimatter). Appending this to the end of the thread's main URL (http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=270578) in a manner such as "http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=270578#Antimatter" will link players to the appropriate term.
• Antimatter, AM (#Antimatter): Antimatter is usually created artificially, and reacts with any "real matter" in our universe. This reaction destroys equal quantities of both, and releases a huge amount of energy (heat, light, radiation). FT nations commonly use antimatter for power generation and weaponry, such as missile warheads.
• Black Hole, BH (#Blackhole): A large body in space that due to its density has an enormous gravitation pull. After a certain distance from the black hole, known as the event horizon, nothing can escape the pull without a faster-than-light drive. This includes light itself (and all other forms of radiation), hence the name "black hole". Compare to "Kugelblitz."
• C4, the Four C's (#C4): The broadly-accepted, standard fundamentals of the NationStates Future Tech community: collaboration, compromise, creativity, and consistency; a willingness to collaborate with other players, a willingness to compromise with other players for mutual enjoyment, being generally creative in design and the execution of an idea or concept, and being consistent in regards to the rules of any one idea or concept - including culture, politics, technology, etc.; compare to "Code of Bro" (collaboration and compromise) and "Rule of Cool" (creativity and consistency).
• Charged Particle Beam, CPB (#CPB): Term describing a weapon or system of weapons that utilize a charged field or coherent wave-form, an aggregate mass of charged particles, or both in order to relay electromagnetic radiation and/or kinetic energy in order to damage or destroy a specific target; a term describing a weapon or system of weapons which exploit an ionized form of matter or a particle beam in which particles/wave-form packets have an electric charge; term describing a weapon or system of weapons often used within the confines of an atmosphere - natural or artificial - in order to exploit the effects of electromagnetic "pinching" to maintain coherence of particles/energy over range; compare to "Neutral Particle Beam" and "Directed Energy Weapon."
• Clarke's Third Law (#C3L): "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." (Wikipedia) See also "Window Dressing," "Sleek," "Quantum Mechanics," "Magic," and "Handwave."
• Clunk (#Clunk; see Clunk-Sleek Spectrum): Term describing an over-arching, general aesthetic of a star-state, idea, or concept; an aesthetic emphasizing harsh or brutalistic, mechanical, and/or pragmatic design philosophies; a pole of the Clunk-Sleek Spectrum in Future Tech which places emphasis on function over form; a pole of the Clunk-Sleek Spectrum in Future Tech which places emphasis on a more "rugged" or "less advanced" design aesthetic to ships design, architecture, and technological advancement, often displayed in the form of (semi-)modular or pragmatic ship design, (semi-)modular or pragmatic architecture, emphasis upon mechanical aspects and their appearance (rather than their disguise or a desire to hide such mechanical workings), and a level of relative technological advancement where such franchises as Alien, Homeworld, HALO (UNSC), Starcraft (Terran), and EVE Online (Caldari and Minmatar) may serve as contemporary exemplars; compare to "Sleek."
• Clunk-Sleek Spectrum (#CSSpectrum): A term describing an emergent range of aesthetic choices for star-states, ideas, and concepts; a spectrum of difference, contrast, and comparison where "clunk" and "sleek" act as opposing poles; a spectrum of differing aesthetics in Future Tech meant to describe two different poles of preference based upon a difference in design and conceptual choice between function and pragmatism ("clunk") and form and beauty ("sleek"); often used in place of "hard science-fiction" and "soft science-fiction/fantasy" or as a (sometimes false) synonym thereof; compare to "Window Dressing."
• Code of Bro (#CodeOfBro; see "Rule of Cool"): General guideline for conduct within the Future Technology community, generally understood to mean, simply, "Don't be a dick"; guideline defined as the willingness of a player to collaborate with other players and agree to compromise for the sake of story and the mutual enjoyment of all parties involved in a particular roleplay, setting, or thread; compare to "C4."
• Directed Energy Weapon, DEW (#DEW): Term describing a weapon or system of weapons that utilize a coherent form of energy, directed toward a target, in order to damage or destroy a specific target; term describing a weapon or system of weapons that utilize or exploit a wave-form state of energy, directed toward a target, in order to damage or destroy a specific target, often through the exploitation of a form of electromagnetic radiation (heat, ionizing radiation, etc.) rather than through the aggregate mass (and thus accrued kinetic energy) of the particles/wave-form packets utilized.
• Event Horizon, EH (#Eventhorizon): A boundary in spacetime beyond which events cannot influence, act upon, or otherwise affect an outside (external) observer; a region of spacetime generated a given distance outside of a black hole, beyond which no particle or electromagnetic radiation may escape.
• Faster-than-Light, FTL (#FTL): General descriptor for any bit of technology or item which travels faster than the speed of light; any bit of technology or item which violates (within the realm of fiction) the physical constant of the speed of light in a vacuum in reality; superluminal.
• Fractal Sol, Fractal Earth (#FractalSol): Term describing the nature of Sol System (the Solar System) and/or earth in the Future Technology community; generally understood to mean that, within the canon and continuity of Future Tech, for each instance in which a player determines their respective entities to possess or originate from Sol System, a new, identical copy of Sol System comes into existence; term describing the necessity for multiple Sol Systems and multiple earths in Future Tech in order to reconcile possibly conflicting individual instances of canon or continuity; the nature of a "Prime Sol" or "Prime Earth" is debated, considered by many to "effectively non-existence" or "otherwise not applicable" in order to maintain reconciliation of different individual canons and continuities.
• FT-Group, Closed Roleplaying Group, Closed Roleplaying Community, Closed Group Canon, Closed Group (#CRG): A closed and restricted canon and continuity (not a single or collection of roleplays within a single plot or storyline) requiring application or invitation in order for the recognition of existence of an applicant's entity or entities; a closed and restricted, usually by-application or by-invitation only, player-generated and player-organized community of players existing as a distinct and demarcated unit within the Future Technology tech- and time-bracket as it pertains to the National & International Roleplaying boards; a sub-unit of the Future Technology tech- and time-bracket which exists in a universe, multiverse, or other region of space and time which cannot interact with the broader Future Technology community as it pertains to the National & International Roleplaying boards; a unit within the Future Technology tech- and time-bracket that is not generally considered - by opinion or active choice - to be conterminous or contiguous with FT-Prime as it pertains to the National & International Roleplaying boards; compare to "FT-Prime."
• FT-Prime (#FTPrime; see "Prime"): Term describing the NSFT community outside of closed roleplaying groups; term describing the primary canon and continuity (timeline) of the Future Technology community as it relates to the historical and extant community that which came into existence soon after the foundation of NationStates and has existed for the better part of a decade as it pertains to the National & International Roleplaying boards; the portion of the Future Technology community which does not actively choose to isolate itself or otherwise not participate with the broader community; analogous to "Future Tech"; compare to "Future Technology" and "FT Group."
• Future Technology, Future Tech, FT (#FT): General descriptor and catch-all term describing a degree technological development/advancement or time-bracket beyond the point at which superluminal travel (faster-than-light travel) is utilized within roleplaying as it pertains to the National & International Roleplaying boards; a degree of technological development/advancement or time-bracket in which a roleplaying entity either utilizes or recognizes the valid use of superluminal travel or related technology, either through direct roleplaying or interaction as it pertains to the National & International Roleplaying boards; the degree of time of technological advancement beyond Post-Modern Technology; any technological base or time-bracket beyond the present period in time as compared to reality (debated).
• Gate, FTL Gate, Jump Gate, Wormhole Gate (#FTLGate; see "Faster-than-Light"): An external structure, construct, object, or piece of technology which permits an item, entity, or vessel to achieve faster-than-light (superluminal) velocities, usually through traversing the threshold, entering, or coming into the vicinity of the gate or construct; compare to "Jump Drive."
• Handwave, Handwavium (#Handwave): A practice in which, beyond a certain point, description of a thing, object, or concept as a matter of explaining its functionality, qualities, and properties becomes moot, causing further extrapolation to be "handwaved" and accepted as "just because it is cool/awesome/novel/neat/etc."; a practice in which a given thing, object, or concept need not be explained for its effects to be accepted, causing further extrapolation to be "handwaved"; any given thing, object, or concept which might be employed, but need not be explained or otherwise cannot be explained, but is nonetheless accepted as "handwaved" into working; any given thing, object, or concept which makes any other thing, object, or concept work as described, but is otherwise not explained in detail, is considered "handwavium."
• Jump Drive, Jump Engine, FTL Drive, Fold Drive (#FTLDrive; see "Faster-than-Light"): A drive-train, powerplant, engine, or piece of technology which permits an item, entity, or vessel to achieve faster-than-light (superluminal) velocities; compare to "Gate."
• Kinetic Kill Vehicle, KKV (#KKV): Term describing a projectile which primarily utilizes the accrued kinetic energy as generated by its mass-under-velocity in order to damage or destroy a specific target; term describe a projectile or set of projectiles which utilizes the accrued kinetic energy as generated by its mass-under-velocity in order to damage or destroy a specific target; a projectile or set of projectiles that primarily utilizes kinetic energy, not an explosive or high-explosive payload, in order to damage or destroy a specific target.
• Kugelblitz, KGB (#KGB): A German term meaning "ball lightning"; a concentration of light or electromagnetic radiation so intense and localized it becomes self-capturing, generating its own event horizon; a black hole formed from electromagnetic radiation concentration rather than mass concentration; compare to "Black Hole."
• "Magic," Preternatural, Supernatural (#Magic): Characterized as being beyond the known physical laws of reality or otherwise beyond the comprehension of sophont intelligences roughly comparable to that of humans. See also "Handwave," "Window Dressing," and "Psionics"; further, please see "Clarke's Third Law."
• Metamaterial (#MetaM): Metamaterials are commonly defined as materials specifically engineered and produced to have qualities (often superior or otherwise superlative) to those of similar materials found naturally or otherwise produce in less-specialized manufacturing processes. Examples include anything from a metamaterial made to act as a superconductor at room temperature to handwavium armor plating with a fictional name. Compare to "Handwavium."
• Nanotechnology (#Nanotech): 'Nanotechnology has to do with the manipulation of matter at the nanoscale, which means the ability to control individual atoms and molecules.' This includes the manipulation, modification, and creation/design/development of forms of matter on the atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scales; National Nanotechnology Initiative (US) defines nanotechnology "as the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers." (Wikipedia) Nanotechnology also may relate to the design, development, and construction/creation/manufacturing of certain metamaterials. See also "Metamaterials." (Portions 'indicated' are borrowed from the PMT Community Thread; inspiration to define further [to the addition of defining "Metamaterial"] inspired by the same.)
• Neutral Particle Beam, NPB (#NPB): Term describing a weapon or system of weapons that utilize an uncharged field or coherent wave-form, an aggregate mass of ucharged particles, or both in order to relay a form of energy and/or kinetic energy in order to damage or destroy a specific target; a term describing a weapon or system of weapons which exploit a neutrally-charged or uncharged form of matter or a particle beam in which particles/wave-form packets do not have an electric charge; term describing a weapon or system of weapons often used outside of an atmosphere and within a vacuum, thus unable to exploit the interaction of nearby weakly-ionic molecules or electromagnetic fields in order to "pinch" such a beam or form a filament, as readily occurs in the use of Charged Particle Beams in atmosphere; a term describing a weapon or system of weapons that utilize a form of matter that does not readily interact or only weakly interacts with the electromagnetic force; compare to "Charged Particle Beam" and "Directed Energy Weapon."
• Point Defense, Point-Defense, Point-Defence, PD (#PointDef): Term describing a weapon, system of weapons, or array of individual weapons meant to primarily defend a ship, structure, or (relatively) small region of space from incoming projectiles, energy fields, or other weapons; term describing a weapon system, akin to a Close-In Weapons System, meant to interdict incoming projectiles, energy fields, or other weapons as a means to defend a ship, structure, or (relatively) small region of space.
• Prime, Primary (#Prime): General descriptor for the primary canon and continuity (timeline) of a given system (thing, idea, entity, or construct); general term describing the standard setting of the Future Technology community, such as "FT-Prime" or "Prime Sol" or "Prime Earth"; general descriptor used to demarcate the canonical history and continuity of the Future Technology community from player-generated and player-organized sub-groups.
• Psionics, Biotics, etc. (#Psi): A range of abilities, usually distinct from magic or supernatural powers by aesthetic or genre, which usually relate to mental (the mind) or augmented (cybernetics) faculties, but may include others. Examples include: telepathy, telekinesis, extrasensory perception, prescience, among many others. See also "Magic."
• Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Physics, Quantum Theory (#QM): A fundamental branch of physics dealing with, among other things, processes, features, and characteristics of subatomic - or quantum - scale, to include (among other things): Fundamental Interactions (strong and weak nuclear forces, electromagnetism, and - in approximation - gravity), wave-particle duality, quantum superposition, the Uncertainty Principle, quantum coherence, degeneracy, quantum entanglement, quantum electrodynamics, quantum chromodynamics, String Theory(ies), etc. See also "Handwave" and "Window Dressing"; further, please see "Clarke's Third Law."
• Rule of Cool (#RuleOfCool; see "Code of Bro"): General guideline for conduct within the Future Technology community, generally understood to mean, simply, "Don't be a dick with the application of your respective degree of technological advancement or tech"; guideline defined as encouraging players to be creative by not directly ripping or wholesale copying from existing sources of canon (such as films, novels, and video games) and by being consistent with the application of their degree of technological advancement and the nature of their technology as determined by community standard and internal rules of effect; the rule or guideline within the Future Technology community which states that, in some instances, even due to inefficiency or improbability, some items, ideas, and concepts are used purely for their novelty or "coolness" insofar as they do not approach the absurdly unworkable or otherwise diminish the potential for enjoyment of others; compare to "Rule of Kool"; compare to "C4."
• Rule of Kool, Rool of Kool, R00L OF K00L (#RuleOfKool): Derogatory term describing an application of the Rule of Cool which goes beyond generally accepted community standards and into the realm of the unnecessarily absurd or silly; derogatory term describing an inappropriate application of the Rule of Cool; derogatory term sometimes used to describe the Rule of Cool itself due to personal preference or experiences relating to its improper use; compare to "Rule of Cool."
• Sentience, Sapience, Sophonce/Sophont (#SSS): Terms relating to levels of consciousness of entities found in reality and science-fiction (latter term almost exclusively); definitions vary, though common definitions are included. "Sentience" is often defined as being capable of sensory awareness or, in other words, the ability to perceive and experience reality subjectively. "Sapience," strictly speaking, relates to "wise or sound" judgment; as it relates to consciousness in science-fiction, is often defined as the ability to make complex judgments beyond the level of mere sensory perception (intuition, logic, etc.) and, in many forms of fiction, conveys "personhood" or a dividing line between "human/entity" and "animal" - this often includes the ability to perform metacognition. "Sophonce/sophont" is almost exclusively a term relating to science-fiction and its use is sporadic, but not uncommon; in its original invention (Wiktionary) it meant a being of equal (or greater) intelligence than that of a human. "Sophont" is also sometimes used to distinctly describe beings that are capable of metacognition or as an "abstract qualifier" for personhood.
• Singularity (Gravitational) (#Singularity): A location where quantities involving the measurement of gravitational attraction or pressure become "infinite" of value, regardless of the means of measurement or the coordinate system employed; the probable 0-dimensional point at the center of a black hole; a point in spacetime which propagates an event horizon; special consideration: a naked singularity is a gravitational singularity which might theoretically lack an event horizon and, as such, may be directly observed; a point beyond which given quantities, qualities, events, characters, etc. become unknown or otherwise unpredictable.
• Sleek (#Sleek; see Clunk-Sleek Spectrum): Term describing an over-arching, general aesthetic of a star-state, idea, or concept; an aesthetic emphasizing flowing or urbane, organic, and/or ornamental design philosophies; a pole of the Clunk-Sleek Spectrum in Future Tech which places emphasis on form over function; a pole of the Clunk-Sleek Spectrum in Future Tech which places emphasis on a more "artistic" or "more advanced" design aesthetic to ships design, architecture, and technological advancement, often displayed in the form of flowing or organic-stylized ship design, flowing or organic-stylized architecture, emphasis upon ornamentation, and a level of relative technological advancement where such franchises as Dune (Empire and Bene Gesserit), HALO (Covenant and Forerunners), Starcraft (Protoss), and EVE Online (Amarr and Gallente) may serve as contemporary exemplars; compare to "Clunk."
• Window Dressing (#WD): An idea, concept, or thing in Future Tech, science-fiction, literature, art, film, television, etc. which serves primarily to add "character" or "flair" in order to demonstrate a given aesthetic, genre, idea, etc.; an idea, concept, or thing which is not the primary focus of an endeavor, but merely there to act as "curtains" or "decoration" for the primary focus; "decorations" or "curtains" meant to frame a given idea or concept and add to it, but not to detract focus from the primary idea or concept.
Helpful Links[ LINK HERE ]
Welcome to Future Tech!
