18||0|3053|0| 0|0|0|||1||Writing process question|Terminus Est||06:03:19|12/31/2016|I%27ve been curious about this for a while%2C and it%27s becoming especially relevant as you guys start moving into the new era beyond FI. How do you overcome the hurdle of figuring out %27new%27 futuristic technologies%2C when what%27s already out there as potential source material just doesn%27t fill the needs you have%3F Aside from the simple %28but time-consuming%29 expedient of waiting for new material%2C I mean. Compacting existing tech only takes you so far%2C after all - I don%27t%2C for example%2C see Reflex tech getting much smaller than what%27s in Daggerdisc%2C and covering the kind of distances that are going to be needed in the new era %28what with the intergalactic nature of the conflict and all%29 would take several orders of magnitude more power anyway.%0D%0A%0D%0AAre we starting to encroach on the old %27Sufficiently advanced tech vs. magic%27 line%3F %28Not that the stuff already in print doesn%27t already do that%2C mind%2C but are we going to see the IPO busting out block transfer tech and the like%3F%29%0D%0A%0D%0AI realize this is a loaded question%2C and that answers%2C if any are available%2C may have to be left extremely vague to prevent spoilers. I%27m just curious about the process itself%2C really. How %5Bi%5Ddo%5B%2Fi%5D you develop something newer and shinier than something that is already so far beyond the curve as to be fantastic%3F 1|1|0|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|Mephron||11:53:24|12/31/2016|There%27s already a few things in the series that covers that - one of the benefits of fold drive is that if you have or can do the math for the coordinates%2C you can go %5Bi%5Danywhere%5B%2Fi%5D instantly and bring more ships with you%2C and there%27s a couple bits of tech out there that can be used but%2C to date%2C haven%27t been mostly due to %27eh%2C we got good enough now%27. And then there%27s one that shows up in one of the NF trailers which apparently got overlooked by some people despite being a classic...%0D%0A%0D%0ABesides%2C we have some Time Lords%2C block transfer mathematics remains a viable option anyway.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo%2C short answer is%2C we look at what we have and what might be possible%2C and work with it. The main issue with the Covenant Slipstream drive is that the Covenant tech is so idiosyncratic it%27s barely worth the time to mess with it when there%27s already four kinds of FTL drives that don%27t require being watched like a goddamn souffle.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnd hell%2C if it gets bad enough%2C who knows what Zef%27s got in that lab of his in the asteroid belts by Gamma Canaris...%0D%0A%0D%0A--%0D%0AGeoff Depew - Darth Mephron%0D%0AHaberdasher to Androids%2C Dark Lord of Sith Tech Support. 6|2|1|||||RE%3A Writing process question|Bushido||19:07:41|01/01/2017|%3EAnd hell%2C if it gets bad enough%2C who knows what Zef%27s got in that lab %0D%0A%3Eof his in the asteroid belts by Gamma Canaris... %0D%0A%0D%0AYou mean aside from the largest stash of booze this side of Omega%3F%0D%0A 7|3|6|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|The Traitor||23:46:46|01/01/2017|%22That%27s for research. I%27ve been looking into whether or not you can build a hyperspace motivator that runs on tequila.%22%0D%0A%0D%0A%22... Why tequila%3F%22%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Because like Hell am I gonna waste %5Bi%5Dgood%5B%2Fi%5D booze on this shit.%22%0D%0A%0D%0A---%0D%0A%22She%27s old%2C she%27s lame%2C she%27s barren too%2C %2F%2F %22She%27s not worth feed or hay%2C %2F%2F %22But I%27ll give her this%2C%22 - he blew smoke at me - %2F%2F %22She was something in her day.%22 -- Garnet Rogers%2C %5Bi%5DSmall Victory%5B%2Fi%5D%0D%0A%0D%0AFiMFiction.net%3A we might accept blatant porn involving the cast of My Little Pony but as God is my witness we have %5Bi%5Dstandards%5B%2Fi%5D. 8|4|7|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|Gryphon||00:16:57|01/02/2017|%3E%22That%27s for research. I%27ve been looking into whether or not you can %0D%0A%3Ebuild a hyperspace motivator that runs on tequila.%22 %0D%0A%0D%0ALegend has it that President Adolfo L%26oacute%3Bpez Mateos of Mexico ran one of Chrysler%27s experimental turbine cars on tequila%2C when he was presented with one to try out in the early 1960s.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 9|5|8|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|SpottedKitty||02:12:07|01/02/2017|%3ELegend has it that President Adolfo L%C3%B3pez Mateos of Mexico ran %0D%0A%3Eone of Chrysler%27s experimental turbine cars on tequila%2C when he was %0D%0A%3Epresented with one to try out in the early 1960s. %0D%0A%0D%0A%3Csnrk%3E Does legend have anything to say about what kind of mileage %28if any%29%2C top speed %28if any%29%2C or major incendiary events %28if plural%29 he got out of it...%3F%0D%0A%0D%0A-- %0D%0AUnable to save the day%3A File is read-only. 10|6|9|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|Gryphon||02:26:17|01/02/2017|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jan-02-17 AT 02:34 AM (EST)]%3E%3ELegend has it that President Adolfo L%C3%B3pez Mateos of Mexico ran %0D%0A%3E%3Eone of Chrysler%27s experimental turbine cars on tequila%2C when he was %0D%0A%3E%3Epresented with one to try out in the early 1960s. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E%3Csnrk%3E Does legend have anything to say about what kind of mileage %28if %0D%0A%3Eany%29%2C top speed %28if any%29%2C or major incendiary events %28if plural%29 he %0D%0A%3Egot out of it...%3F %0D%0A%0D%0AIt is reported to have worked normally%2C per Chrysler%27s engineers%27 expectations. Gas turbines will run on just about any flammable liquid%2C after all%2C and the one used in Chrysler%27s prototype cars was not stupendously powerful nor running near the mechanical limits of its materials.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe Turbine did not get amazingly good fuel mileage under normal conditions anyway%2C it has to be said%26mdash%3Bcirca 19 mpg highway and 11ish around town are the figures I%27ve seen quoted%26mdash%3Bbut one must keep in mind that no one particularly gave a shit about that in 1964.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 2|1|0|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|Gryphon||12:49:10|12/31/2016|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Dec-31-16 AT 12:52 PM (EST)]%3EHow do %0D%0A%3Eyou overcome the hurdle of figuring out %27new%27 futuristic technologies%2C %0D%0A%3Ewhen what%27s already out there as potential source material just %0D%0A%3Edoesn%27t fill the needs you have%3F%0D%0A%0D%0AWell%2C one of the common complaints about the UF universe is that it %5Bi%5Disn%27t%5B%2Fi%5D very futuristic%2C and there is probably an element of avoiding the above in that. Basically%2C as Geoff alluded to%2C there isn%27t a set policy or hard rule for how we handle this. For myself%2C I tend to go with what feels right for a given situation%2C and quite often that takes the form of extending the outcomes from technologies rather than the technologies themselves. What I mean by that is that I like %22future%22 technologies that seem familiar%2C rather than the completely off-the-wall%2C unimaginable-before-it-happened shapes that future technologies will almost undoubtedly take in real life.%0D%0A%0D%0AFor example%2C I like things like transportation and military technologies still to seem like %5Bi%5Dmachines%5B%2Fi%5D%2C however improbable it is that they really will in the 25th century%2C and this is largely accomplished by projecting advancements in materials science that enable machinery as we recognize it today to function in ways that it patently cannot. Giant fightin%27 robots are a good example of this. Thanks to our almost-universally-disregarded-in-SF friend the square-cube law%2C a human-shaped robot the size of an office building cannot possibly work %28leaving aside the separate and very valid question of why it would even be worth trying%29%E2%80%94so to have a universe that has them%2C we %28the writers and the audience%29 must tacitly agree that future metallurgy and composites technology has developed so that such structures %5Bi%5Ddon%27t%5B%2Fi%5D simply collapse under their own weight%2C as they undoubtedly would.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28In the world of %5Bi%5DPacific Rim%5B%2Fi%5D they are evidently also building civilian supertankers out of these materials%2C but I digress. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0ASimilarly%2C starfighters are an absurd concept in anything like reality%E2%80%94jet fighters have %5Bi%5Dalready%5B%2Fi%5D reached the point where they%27re too capable for the fragile blobs of water that operate them to come along for the ride%E2%80%94so we must embrace that old pulp SF dodge%2C the mysterious gadget that Does Something About Inertia%2C to have them. It isn%27t mysterious to some people inside the setting%2C of course%2C any more than the inner workings of a hard disk drive are unknown to the engineers who design them%2C but it must be to us because such a thing does not %28and probably cannot%29 really exist.%0D%0A%0D%0APeople riff on %5Bi%5DStar Trek%5B%2Fi%5D for its tendency toward technobabble%2C but the simple fact of the matter is that Space Adventure can%27t happen without it%E2%80%94without %5Bi%5Dlots%5B%2Fi%5D of it. The thing %5Bi%5DStar Trek%5B%2Fi%5D does that is really annoying the people who bitch about it is putting it in the foreground%2C as opposed to%2C for instance%2C the way it works in %5Bi%5DStar Wars%5B%2Fi%5D%2C where it%27s just how stuff works and%2C as in real life%2C the people using it don%27t question it. %5Bi%5DTrek%5B%2Fi%5D has to provide a justification for paying the actors who play the engineers%2C is all. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0AActually%2C now that I think about it%2C %5Bi%5DStar Wars%5B%2Fi%5D is a pretty good comparison for the way these things work in the UF universe generally. The general tech level in %5Bi%5DStar Wars%5B%2Fi%5D is not rising at anything like the rate it does in real life%3B their base technologies plateaued literally thousands of years before the stories are set. Hyperdrive to the people of the Galaxy Far%2C Far Away is like the wheel to us%E2%80%94so ubiquitous as to be simultaneously invisible and obvious. A lot of the underlying assumptions in UF are like that.%0D%0A%0D%0AI guess you could call it a kind of technological conservatism on my part%2C mostly unconscious%2C over the years. I just tend to shy away from some common SF tech tropes because I don%27t like the way they taste. For instance%2C I%27ve tried to avoid using TNG-style %22replicators%22 in UF %28though there are other things that get called that sometimes%29%2C because it%27s always struck me as kind of... %5Bi%5Dcheaty%5B%2Fi%5D to be able to just make whatever the hell you want out of whatever protons and electrons are available. About as far as I care to go in that direction would be something like the fabricators in the survival game %5Bi%5DSubnautica%5B%2Fi%5D%2C which seem to work on a similar principle%2C but at least require you to have base materials that are %5Bi%5Dvaguely%5B%2Fi%5D related to what you%27re trying to make%E2%80%94silver ore to make a computer chip%2C and suchlike. Or there have been a few background references in UF to ships taking on %22protein slurry%22 for their food processors%2C which build tasty various foods out of it.%0D%0A%0D%0AAlso%2C a lot of things are just about making characters%27 lives easier and%2For tasks quicker%2C in the interest of moving things along to the stuff that%27s actually important. Take the autotailors mentioned early in %5Bi%5DSymphony of the Sword%5B%2Fi%5D. They%27re really just there because no plot purpose is served by explaining that Utena had to go to the school-approved tailor%27s shop in town and get measured%2C and her new uniforms should be in by Friday. Just dress her up according to the school%27s regulations and let%27s get the hell on with it. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0ANone of which is probably an actual answer to your question%2C but that%27s because it doesn%27t really %5Bi%5Dhave%5B%2Fi%5D a straight answer. The UF universe%27s technology doesn%27t develop along straight lines a lot of the time%2C any more than the real world%27s does%E2%80%94which is%2C I suppose%2C at least one point of realism. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 3|2|2|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|Verbena||15:22:11|12/31/2016|Actually%2C I think I can boil it down to this%3A The needs of the plot outweigh the needs of the hardcore sci fi realist. It%27s okay to have a certain amount of handwaving technological factors because not handwaving them interferes with the story. There is a limit to how much of this an author can do%2C of course--I would argue the end of %5Bi%5DMass Effect 3%5B%2Fi%5D is a fine example of what damage too much handwaving can cause--but UF%2C in all the time I%27ve been reading it%2C has never strayed out of a good comfort zone between plot and physics.%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A------%0D%0A Fearless creatures%2C we all learn to fight the Reaper%0D%0A Can%27t defeat Her%2C so instead I%27ll have to be Her 4|2|2|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|Terminus Est||20:27:19|12/31/2016|It wasn%27t a straight answer%2C no%2C but it was kind of the answer I needed. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0AMy problem as a writer is that I tend to get too caught up in the technical side of things%2C which is where this question came from to start with - if you guys have cracked it to the point of being able to create UF%2C after all%2C I could do worse things than pose the question to you. But it turns out you do a lot of it with the equivalent of smoke and mirrors%2C and that%27s a %5Bi%5Dgood%5B%2Fi%5D thing%2C because like you said%2C making something overly technical is going to piss off the non-hard-scifi-nerd readerbase. The point I%27m taking from this is basically %27Loosen up%2C don%27t let yourself get buried%2C and just %5Bi%5Dwrite it%5B%2Fi%5D.%27 Even if that isn%27t the point you intended%2C it%27s kind of what I needed. 5|3|4|||||RE%3A Writing process question|Star Ranger4||12:08:23|01/01/2017|%3E The point I%27m taking from this is %0D%0A%3Ebasically %27Loosen up%2C don%27t let yourself get buried%2C and just %5Bi%5Dwrite %0D%0A%3Eit%5B%2Fi%5D.%27 %0D%0A%0D%0AI%27ve always found that to be good advice for my own works. Just turn on the mental tap and encode that stream of conciousness and then go back and actually LOOK at it after to figure out if you want to keep it or not. even better if you have someone with fresh eyes who can do that for you. 11|4|5|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|BobSchroeck||10:01:23|01/02/2017|%3EI%27ve always found that to be good advice for my own works. Just turn %0D%0A%3Eon the mental tap and encode that stream of conciousness and then go %0D%0A%3Eback and actually LOOK at it after to figure out if you want to keep %0D%0A%3Eit or not. %0D%0A%0D%0APrecisely. As I say in my eternally-unfinished guide for writers%2C %22It is not the writing%2C but the re-writing%2C that is great%22. Or as Ernest Hemingway put it%2C %22The first draft of %5Bi%5Deverything%5B%2Fi%5D is shit.%22%0D%0A%0D%0A-- Bob%0D%0A-------------------%0D%0AMy race is pacifist and does not believe in war. We kill only out of personal spite. 12|5|11|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|Offsides||16:20:24|01/02/2017|This is both my boon and my bane. I often can%27t even start the stream-of-consciousness part until it%27s fairly coherent and %5Bi%5Dnot%5B%2Fi%5D shit%2C which means that I need to proof it even more carefully so I can tell which category what I wrote falls into. Plus%2C I often need to just write %5Bi%5Dsomething%5B%2Fi%5D to get started%2C and eventually I%27ll wrap back around to what I wanted to write - occasionally I%27ll even get something decent out of the random start as a bonus%21 %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0A%26%2391%3B...%26%2393%3B in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.%0D%0A -- David Ben Gurion%0D%0AEPU RCW %23%26pi%3B%0D%0A%23include %3Cstdsig.h%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A 13|5|11|||||RE%3A Writing process question|mdg1||19:46:32|01/02/2017|%0D%0A%3EPrecisely. As I say in my eternally-unfinished guide for writers%2C %22It %0D%0A%3Eis not the writing%2C but the re-writing%2C that is great%22. Or as Ernest %0D%0A%3EHemingway put it%2C %22The first draft of %5Bi%5Deverything%5B%2Fi%5D is shit.%22 %0D%0A%0D%0AI%27m not a big fan of that concept %28although I may try it%2C since I%27m in a fallow period anyway%29. Most of what I%27ve written is 99%25 first draft%2C with only minor changes to tighten up dialogue and the like. 14|6|13|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|Peter Eng||22:12:10|01/02/2017|%3E%0D%0A%3EI%27m not a big fan of that concept %28although I may try it%2C since I%27m in %0D%0A%3Ea fallow period anyway%29. Most of what I%27ve written is 99%25 first %0D%0A%3Edraft%2C with only minor changes to tighten up dialogue and the like. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%0D%0ASo%2C dig up your oldest creation%2C and try to read it like you were pulling it off of fanfiction.net or USENET. For some people%2C re-writing begins when they stop saying%2C %22I wrote this%21%22 and start saying %22I wrote %5Bi%5Dthis%5B%2Fi%5D%3F%21%22%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0AInsert humorous comment here. 15|7|14|||||RE%3A Writing process question|mdg1||23:31:36|01/02/2017|%3E%3E%0D%0A%3E%3EI%27m not a big fan of that concept %28although I may try it%2C since I%27m in %0D%0A%3E%3Ea fallow period anyway%29. Most of what I%27ve written is 99%25 first %0D%0A%3E%3Edraft%2C with only minor changes to tighten up dialogue and the like. %0D%0A%3E%3E%0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3ESo%2C dig up your oldest creation%2C and try to read it like you were %0D%0A%3Epulling it off of fanfiction.net or USENET. For some people%2C %0D%0A%3Ere-writing begins when they stop saying%2C %22I wrote this%21%22 and start %0D%0A%3Esaying %22I wrote %5Bi%5Dthis%5B%2Fi%5D%3F%21%22 %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EPeter Eng %0D%0A%3E-- %0D%0A%3EInsert humorous comment here. %0D%0A%0D%0AMy oldest piece is ON USENET. %28Well%2C technically%2C BITNET%2C but there was a USENET Mirror%29. I think it actually predates UF... %3A%29 16|7|14|||||RE%3A Writing process question|Star Ranger4||16:27:51|01/04/2017|%3ESo%2C dig up your oldest creation%2C and try to read it like you were %0D%0A%3Epulling it off of fanfiction.net or USENET. For some people%2C %0D%0A%3Ere-writing begins when they stop saying%2C %22I wrote this%21%22 and start %0D%0A%3Esaying %22I wrote %5Bi%5Dthis%5B%2Fi%5D%3F%21%22 %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EPeter Eng %0D%0A%3E-- %0D%0A%3EInsert humorous comment here. %0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0AYeah%2C kinda what Pete says. In fact%2C I %2Aseem%2A to recall even G having moments like that%2C especially when someone new comes around having just exposed themselves to the core 4. 17|8|16|||1||RE%3A Writing process question|Phantom||17:36:11|01/04/2017|Writing a story shares alot in common with running a Table Top RPG game.%0D%0AEspecially when it is your own world.%0D%0AThe story is most important aspect%2C because you need to keep the players engaged.%0D%0AIn writing%2C you need to keep yourself and the audience engaged.%0D%0A%0D%0AI recently found a book series %28Fallen Empire%29 that is Sci-Fi %2F space series.%0D%0AAnd and the end of the first book%2C the author listed a Q%26A that she had with fans of her fantasy series.%0D%0AOne of the questions was about the tech. The author explained that there was a lot of Hard Sci-Fi out there%2C but it became very dry because it was focusing on the Science more than the Fiction.%0D%0AShe then sighted%2C as did G%2C Star Wars and Star Trek %28especially the new movies%29 as examples of where the story is more important.%0D%0A%0D%0AOverall%2C when it comes to Tech%2C outline what you envision and make sure it seem natural to the world your crafting.%0D%0A%0D%0AAn excellent visual example is the Battlestar Galactica %28Moore%27s%29%2C they obviously have an FTL system%2C but other than mentioning fuel and the limits of calculating the %22jump%22 never focused on how it worked. It just did.%0D%0A%0D%0AHope this helps%21%0D%0A%0D%0A%22When you have eliminated the impossible%2C whatever remains%2C %0D%0Ahowever improbable%2C must be the truth.%22 - Sherlock Holmes 18|2|2|||||RE%3A Writing process question|fb111a||22:33:05|01/12/2017|You know%2C this is some very valuable advice.%0D%0A%0D%0AI had started a sort-of sci-fi universe%2C but was getting hung up on the tech. I may just simply take some of this advice and try to re-start the efforts.