Comments for Enderra http://enderra.com Fiction, World Building, and Art Tue, 22 May 2012 00:36:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Comment on World Building Links by Nils http://enderra.com/world-building-resources/#comment-16527 Nils Tue, 22 May 2012 00:36:39 +0000 http://www.enderra.com/blog/world-building-resources#comment-16527 Can't try that one - won't pay for excel files. Does it do anything special? Can’t try that one – won’t pay for excel files. Does it do anything special?

]]> Comment on Worldbuilding and Other Links for May 2012 by Realmwright http://enderra.com/2012/05/21/worldbuilding-links-may-2012/#comment-16514 Realmwright Mon, 21 May 2012 19:35:03 +0000 http://enderra.com/?p=4471#comment-16514 Sweet sauce! You know I'm going to be making use of this. Conceptships is an old standby of mine, but the Lair is Evil Dr Ganymede is all new to me. That might buy you some relief from my endless star map/sci fi questions. Sweet sauce! You know I’m going to be making use of this. Conceptships is an old standby of mine, but the Lair is Evil Dr Ganymede is all new to me. That might buy you some relief from my endless star map/sci fi questions.

]]> Comment on World Building Links by James http://enderra.com/world-building-resources/#comment-16339 James Wed, 16 May 2012 16:15:45 +0000 http://www.enderra.com/blog/world-building-resources#comment-16339 Conlang lexicon generator http://www.excelville.com/file/285/Conlang+Lexicon+Generator Conlang lexicon generator

http://www.excelville.com/file/285/Conlang+Lexicon+Generator

]]> Comment on Star Map: Terra Sector, WIP#3 by Realmwright http://enderra.com/2012/05/05/star-map-terra-sector-wip3/#comment-16228 Realmwright Thu, 10 May 2012 19:30:58 +0000 http://enderra.com/?p=4649#comment-16228 I agree. This is much easier to read. When you have good names for stuff it always helps to be able to, ya know, see them. I like that you left the splashes of blue. Maybe sling a little more color on it and see how it goes. I agree. This is much easier to read. When you have good names for stuff it always helps to be able to, ya know, see them. I like that you left the splashes of blue. Maybe sling a little more color on it and see how it goes.

]]> Comment on Science Fiction Setting – Historic Map 2620 AD, WIP#1 by Nils http://enderra.com/2012/05/04/science-fiction-setting-historic-map-2620-ad-wip1/#comment-16031 Nils Sat, 05 May 2012 08:50:37 +0000 http://enderra.com/?p=4637#comment-16031 FTL is absolutely impossible. That's why science fiction novels and settings need to posit some kind of "cheat" - in my case, hyperspace (a trope if there ever was one). In my setting, Hyperspace/hyperdrives work pretty much "the standard way". You move ou of your local gravity well, do arcane calculations to come up with a course through hyperspace, engage your hyperdrive and off you go. The ship gets shifted into a parallel universe where it can travel at speeds that effectively are FTL in our universe. Once it reaches its destination, it shifts back into normal space. No gates needed; my current assumption for travel times is 18+1*ly hours, divided by a factor x depending on the tech level of the drive. The first mature hyperdrives had x=1, then x increases by 1 per TL. Prototype and very early hyperdrives had X<1, for the very first drives it was x=1/72. So there's a gate somewhere you say? Interesting. FTL is absolutely impossible. That’s why science fiction novels and settings need to posit some kind of “cheat” – in my case, hyperspace (a trope if there ever was one).

In my setting, Hyperspace/hyperdrives work pretty much “the standard way”. You move ou of your local gravity well, do arcane calculations to come up with a course through hyperspace, engage your hyperdrive and off you go. The ship gets shifted into a parallel universe where it can travel at speeds that effectively are FTL in our universe. Once it reaches its destination, it shifts back into normal space. No gates needed; my current assumption for travel times is 18+1*ly hours, divided by a factor x depending on the tech level of the drive. The first mature hyperdrives had x=1, then x increases by 1 per TL. Prototype and very early hyperdrives had X<1, for the very first drives it was x=1/72.

So there’s a gate somewhere you say? Interesting.

]]> Comment on Science Fiction Setting – Historic Map 2620 AD, WIP#1 by Zombie Gunslinger http://enderra.com/2012/05/04/science-fiction-setting-historic-map-2620-ad-wip1/#comment-16024 Zombie Gunslinger Fri, 04 May 2012 20:42:53 +0000 http://enderra.com/?p=4637#comment-16024 I notice on this map there is a jump gate. Is that new? Perhaps I haven't looked at the text that closely on previous maps. Would this jump gate be anything like those in Eve Online? I kinda like the idea of "harvesting/harnessing" portals like Stargates or wormholes rather than saying ships themselves have jump or hyper drives. Maybe it's my own lack of engineering imagination, but having craft capable of FTL travel just doesn't seem as plausible.....but of course we are just making it up ;) I notice on this map there is a jump gate. Is that new? Perhaps I haven’t looked at the text that closely on previous maps.

Would this jump gate be anything like those in Eve Online? I kinda like the idea of “harvesting/harnessing” portals like Stargates or wormholes rather than saying ships themselves have jump or hyper drives. Maybe it’s my own lack of engineering imagination, but having craft capable of FTL travel just doesn’t seem as plausible…..but of course we are just making it up ;)

]]> Comment on Star Map: Terra Sector, WIP#1 by Zombie Gunslinger http://enderra.com/2012/04/15/star-map-terra-sector-wip1/#comment-15553 Zombie Gunslinger Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:32:48 +0000 http://enderra.com/?p=4595#comment-15553 You continue to blow my mind. I was jabbering to my wife about how you have this knack for numbers. Of course I never considered the X, Y, and Z axis of of 360 degree setting like space. Like I explained to my wife, it makes perfect sense to think in a top down view of a grid you're only seeing the Z and X axis, not the surrounding depth of the Y. As I put it to her "it's like being underwater". Her visualization was "it's like soup...you know, because there's all this stuff floating in it". I just had to laugh, it's always food with her. I'm a map geek with my nerdatorium - she's a cooking geek with her kitchen. You continue to blow my mind. I was jabbering to my wife about how you have this knack for numbers. Of course I never considered the X, Y, and Z axis of of 360 degree setting like space. Like I explained to my wife, it makes perfect sense to think in a top down view of a grid you’re only seeing the Z and X axis, not the surrounding depth of the Y. As I put it to her “it’s like being underwater”. Her visualization was “it’s like soup…you know, because there’s all this stuff floating in it”. I just had to laugh, it’s always food with her. I’m a map geek with my nerdatorium – she’s a cooking geek with her kitchen.

]]> Comment on Star Map: Terra Sector, WIP#1 by Nils http://enderra.com/2012/04/15/star-map-terra-sector-wip1/#comment-15504 Nils Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:21:56 +0000 http://enderra.com/?p=4595#comment-15504 Hexes have a lot of problems, but they are quite convenient for simply counting off distances. Star mapping is VERY daunting once you visualize the distances and numbers of stars actually involved. Then realize that space has a third dimension - the 200x200 light years of my map shouldn't be 40,000 square light years - they should be forty MILLION cubic light years, since the galaxy is roughly 1000 light-years thick. There are easily 1-2 million star system in that volume. But, yeah. That's why I abstract it as a 2d sheet. Once you get past that, you end up with dots or little circles plus maybe some other stuff to make it "cooler". But it's mostly dots of some variation. Hexes have a lot of problems, but they are quite convenient for simply counting off distances. Star mapping is VERY daunting once you visualize the distances and numbers of stars actually involved. Then realize that space has a third dimension – the 200×200 light years of my map shouldn’t be 40,000 square light years – they should be forty MILLION cubic light years, since the galaxy is roughly 1000 light-years thick. There are easily 1-2 million star system in that volume.

But, yeah. That’s why I abstract it as a 2d sheet. Once you get past that, you end up with dots or little circles plus maybe some other stuff to make it “cooler”. But it’s mostly dots of some variation.

]]> Comment on Star Map: Terra Sector, WIP#1 by Zombie Gunslinger http://enderra.com/2012/04/15/star-map-terra-sector-wip1/#comment-15503 Zombie Gunslinger Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:14:16 +0000 http://enderra.com/?p=4595#comment-15503 I like it. I experimented with hex maps this past weekend and found that the concept of star mapping isn't as daunting as I'd thought, but there's still the fact that it's hard to make it look on paper how I see it in my head. I like the squares you've done here. For some reason it just makes it easier to understand. Hexes just complicate things. I like it. I experimented with hex maps this past weekend and found that the concept of star mapping isn’t as daunting as I’d thought, but there’s still the fact that it’s hard to make it look on paper how I see it in my head. I like the squares you’ve done here. For some reason it just makes it easier to understand. Hexes just complicate things.

]]> Comment on Starship Sizes by Nils http://enderra.com/2011/10/14/starsship-sizes/#comment-15478 Nils Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:04:42 +0000 http://enderra.com/?p=3947#comment-15478 Just to follow up on this: Payload bay of the Space Shuttle is 4.6 m by 18.3 m and is roughly cylindrical; so that's about 304 cubic meters of payload volume. Payload mass seems to vary, but is usually listed as just under 30 tons. Incidentally, 304 cubic meters are about 21-22 Traveller displacement tons of cargo space. Just to follow up on this: Payload bay of the Space Shuttle is 4.6 m by 18.3 m and is roughly cylindrical; so that’s about 304 cubic meters of payload volume. Payload mass seems to vary, but is usually listed as just under 30 tons. Incidentally, 304 cubic meters are about 21-22 Traveller displacement tons of cargo space.

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