robn
commented
11 years ago Good thoughts. Better discussed on the mailing list, please repost there.
Closed ghost closed 11 years ago
robn
commented
11 years ago Good thoughts. Better discussed on the mailing list, please repost there.
This is an inquiry to the state of the backstory of the technology in Pioneer; the hyperdrive, lasers, ship thruster power, etc. Is there anyone working on this? Or is there a generally accepted explanation carried over from Frontier? If someone is already working on this then this issue is null.
The most important thing of course should be internal consistency, and that the explanations have a basis in gameplay and don't contradict events/features. Secondly, is that these explanations contribute to the overall immersion of the universe as a whole. I understand that this early in development, these may be hard to nail down. As many gameplay features (such as weapons) may change significantly between now and the finished product. However, I believe that some features, notably the hyperdrive and ships interplanetary propulsion systems, will change little between now and the release; and it would be possible to come up with simple, pseudo-scientific explanations for these features. I believe it may even be important from a gameplay aspect that there is a consistent basis behind all of the tech as this will give contributors a general road map that the game is going down and perhaps even spark ideas that otherwise would not have been realized.
So, to sum up, this is what I propose:
1.) Ask, "How does this work?" about each piece of tech in the game, and come up with semi-plausible, internally consistent, and immersion enhancing explanation for each. -Focus on Hyperdrive, ship engine/ power source, how pilot is kept alive under massive acceleration forces. Basic how to do space travel stuff. -Other information, such as who invented it, can be implemented down the road when there is more faction backstory in the -Worry about weapons systems and specific tech down the road, when Pioneer is closer to beta.
2.) Include this information with the game. -Just in game manual for now ? Down the road see about adding explanations to the equipment/ship information screens.
I will be more than happy to work on coming up with a few example explanations for hyperdrives and such this week as I will be done with work on tuesday and have lots of free time. I put this out here as I want to see if I am in at all heading in the right direction. I want to get the devs opinion on this informations current place in the game; if it even has any at this point in time.
Keep in mind I have no scientific background other than a love of all things sciency and sci-fi. It would be great if someone out there with a phd in physics could help us out, but equally as important is having it all explained in simplified laymans terms as opposed to going very indepth. (As much fun as that may be; not everyone will enjoy that)