technology_and_the_decay

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revision Previous revision
Next revision 		Previous revision
technology_and_the_decay [2022/01/09 19:54]
katie 		technology_and_the_decay [2022/05/20 18:38] (current)
katie
Line 30: Line 30:
 Though many in settled civilisations manage to live lives unbothered by Decay, the force remains a real and pressing danger to any travelling to planets in the Borderlands or beyond, and still renders any attempt at space travel that is not reliant on a Ship Heart a doomed endeavour. On Borderlands worlds, the areas close to installed Ship Hearts will usually be well-protected from Decay, but the further from a Ship Heart you go, the more likely your technology is to succumb to Decay. Decay is not always a gradual process - it is possible to stumble into intense areas of it where all technology will immediately become useless or - in the worst cases - dangerous. Though many in settled civilisations manage to live lives unbothered by Decay, the force remains a real and pressing danger to any travelling to planets in the Borderlands or beyond, and still renders any attempt at space travel that is not reliant on a Ship Heart a doomed endeavour. On Borderlands worlds, the areas close to installed Ship Hearts will usually be well-protected from Decay, but the further from a Ship Heart you go, the more likely your technology is to succumb to Decay. Decay is not always a gradual process - it is possible to stumble into intense areas of it where all technology will immediately become useless or - in the worst cases - dangerous.
  
 +The range of Ship Hearts can differ in space from on the ground.  Usually one Ship Heart is sufficient to protect a large ship outside of atmosphere, whereas on the ground a Ship Heart is more likely to protect a wide area on the surface.  This range will generally be enough to cover a city-sized settlement and the area past it.  Unlike in space, this area is rarely spherical on a planet, with the Ship Heart's range greater on the surface than directly through ground.  This does vary from Ship Heart to Ship Heart somewhat, and the exact reason for this is unknown.
 ==== Ship Hearts and Mysticism ==== ==== Ship Hearts and Mysticism ====
  
Line 46: Line 47:
 Necessarily, telecommunications are only capable when protected by a Ship Heart, meaning that much of galactic society developed around a necessity to deliver messages in person or by physical means.  Since being able to call on the abilities of Ship Hearts, instantaneous long range communications have been made possible - Startouched in particular can usually communicate with any Ship Heart within the same solar system as them - but in general, the people of the galaxy are more used to face to face interaction over remote contact. Necessarily, telecommunications are only capable when protected by a Ship Heart, meaning that much of galactic society developed around a necessity to deliver messages in person or by physical means.  Since being able to call on the abilities of Ship Hearts, instantaneous long range communications have been made possible - Startouched in particular can usually communicate with any Ship Heart within the same solar system as them - but in general, the people of the galaxy are more used to face to face interaction over remote contact.
  
-Faster Than Light travel has also been made possible in the Cooperation Zeitgeist thanks to the advent of Interstellar Gates - these portals through space allow ships that pass through to travel from one side to the other in a matter of minutes.  They are incredibly difficult to set up, however, requiring specialist equipment and planning to do so.+As a result, while technology levels are generally advanced (where protected by a Ship Heart), populations are not as globally (or galactically) connected as one might expect. On a single spaceship, where everything is protected from decay and the whole ship has wired networks throughout, there may be a public communications network that looks something like a local area network. However, planetside communications or communication between spaceships will require specific technology such as a [[https://planetfall.oxfordlarp.com/specialist#communicator|Communicator]]. This means that the ever-present communication methods which players may OC expect (phones, satellite networks, the internet) do not exist in //Planetfall//, and people do not usually carry equipment long-distance communication on them unless they are specifically equipped for a communications role. 
 + 
 +Faster Than Light travel has also been made possible in the Cooperation Zeitgeist thanks to the advent of Interstellar Gates - these portals through space allow ships that pass through to travel from one side to the other in a matter of minutes.  They are incredibly difficult to set up, however, requiring specialist equipment and planning to do so. Communications cannot pass through an Interstellar Gate unless the data/message is taken on a ship that is physically passing through the Gate from one side to the other.
  
 ==== Terraforming ==== ==== Terraforming ====
Line 53: Line 56:
  
 Due to the speed of the process and the nature of nature, the results are often unpredictable - the plant and animal life created by Terraforming is unique and varied, and aside from producing worlds for settling and living on, the process also creates countless biological phenomena to be discovered.  While the process in theory can create sapient life, Terraforming Seeds are designed to curtail the speed of evolution before that point. Due to the speed of the process and the nature of nature, the results are often unpredictable - the plant and animal life created by Terraforming is unique and varied, and aside from producing worlds for settling and living on, the process also creates countless biological phenomena to be discovered.  While the process in theory can create sapient life, Terraforming Seeds are designed to curtail the speed of evolution before that point.
 +
 +==== Holodecks and Virtual Reality ====
 +
 +Technological marvels are not confined only to the functional, everyday world. Holodecks are one of the most immersive entertainment experiences possible in the Cooperation - and highly valued, since it would be challenging even for the most wealthy to physically travel to every planet in the course of a lifetime. They can also be used by gamers, historians, even detectives - anyone who wants to recreate the experience of a location that either could never exist, no longer exists or that you simply can't get to right now.
 +
 +There are many kinds of holodeck systems, but by far the most common are those built on Neurophysiological Interface (NPI) technology, which are popular due to their relative lack of disruptive side-effects. NPI holodecks combine traditional hard-light holography with high resolution monitoring and precision stimulation of users' nervous systems and general physiology, to produce an immersive experience without equal. Anything the user can do in the real world (or the 'meatverse' as some holo-enthusiasts call it) they can also do in the virtual world, while the virtual world is also able to inflict realistic effects on users in a way that traditional holography alone cannot achieve.
 +
 +Holodecks run programs that define the scenario experienced by the users. As users are free to interact however they wish, it would be prohibitively complicated to manually script anything beyond the most rudimentary of settings. Therefore, holodeck scenarios are usually created by feeding a large body of source material - such as video clips, bodies of literature, detailed terrain scans, etc - into high-powered data extrapolation software. The extrapolator can then produce a scenario that hews closely to the source material and the creator's intention, while still being able to cope with more or less anything the users choose to throw at it - although the more 'off-script' users go, the weirder things might get.
 +
 ===== Starships and Personalities ===== ===== Starships and Personalities =====
  
  • technology_and_the_decay.1641758081.txt.gz
  • Last modified: 2022/01/09 19:54
  • by katie