Indeed, though isn't that why there are people out there that talk about how trade and other college courses are becoming more a waste of money since the internet gives a lot of that information for free and self teaching is just better for most.
@Shalvenay i considered strong anti-air support a better terminus than WWI fighters. I appreciate that you did start with those fights though. No strong disagreements with your conclusions based on the dragon you described. I had a faster dragon in mind when I wrote my answer.
@Shalvenay my guess is because they don't have to be well defined. The vast majority of stories with dragons pit them against ground troops that they almost always outclass.
Just saying "it flies and has an area of effect weapon" outclassed practically everything else on the battlefield.
@Green aye. nowadays though...the dragons would have more to fear from the villagers in some parts of the world than the villagers would from the dragons
never mind getting stuck in a modern air defense umbrella
also, even if the dragons weren't freaking out and trying to burn down every plane in sight...I'm sure having to learn to share the skies with things much bigger/heavier than them would be an...adjustment
you do not want an Airbus 380 sneaking up on you and going "gotcha!" with its wake
I wonder what a dragon'd do if they got stuck in air traffic. lulz.
because boy, the LA traffic is just as bad in the air as it is on the ground
Told you that those maps I gave were going to probably be the best you are looking for. After the 30's the US did not really do much more to electric up the rails.
@FerretCivilization not complaining about that. that's just the way it is. I mostly don't get forward in formulating my question because I dig into some research every other phrase I write
not really random, no. Riker also did moderating on the SGR when we needed something removed. Guess they're either intrigued by our community, OR their online times coincident with out mod needs and they see the flags
Reminds to why I've had my private laptop with me at work at all times; it was just easier to google things and check on forums that were blocked due to the banks 'messaging boards policy'
@kingledion so back to my issue. You've got plenty knowledge on RTGs and co. So: current RTGs seem to be using the Seebeck effect to generate electricity. Are there any other possibilities of generating electricity from RTGs? E.g. just dropping the whole heat-radiating-thing into a conductor fluid and then heat up e.g. water to drive a steam turbine?
@dot_Sp0T Thats actually pretty cool, the riverine merchant marine
@dot_Sp0T Well I think it has to do with thermal efficiency. Brayton can get around 40% efficiency with high power to weight ratio, Rankine can get up to 55% with low power to weight ratio. Wikipedia gives thermoelectric generators an efficiency of 5-8%.
@dot_Sp0T It seems like the primary purpose for an RTG is when you need stable power with no maintenance for a very long time. If you want a lot of power there are better options.
@HDE226868 we're done with Chapter two and now working on Chap 3; The next writing task would likely be to introduce The Third Challenge - so if you feel up to the task we're counting on you :D
the first mention of it is in the last post by Gryphon; that's all there is
@HDE226868 sorry it's the second challenge; called The Challenge of Flame. Only info so far is that name and the fact that it moves - making it more of a challenge to find it than pass it
@dot_Sp0T So Story-Go-Round 1 is a fun exercise in seat of the pants writing... I wonder if it is possible to do a Story-go-round with the snowflake method or other similar outlining method.
@AndyD273 oh dear god there is a lot of bloat to that article. Why is there a video about drawing snowflakes? Why are there a whopping two sections of unnecessary monologue before I get told what I am actually trying to learn about?
Also I do not think the snowflake method, or really any planning method, would work with the Go-Round thing. The whole appeal of the Go-Round thing is that people can participate in a story and bring in their ideas and thoughts without having to write a whole book. If you have an outline people start feeling constrained I fear
@Green so you're having Bremdag, Brohkem and Nairahdul moving towards the challenge of flame as well then? Are you implying Nairaduhl can walk properly again or do the other two still carry her?
@dot_Sp0T I wasn't sure their state so I just kind of "moved" them to where I wanted to tell the story next. I'm not sure how they got there or exactly far they went. Might have only been a few hundred yards. Depends on banged up they are.
yeah we do; group of two: Jarilo & Hemdul > walked away from the others;; group of three > Bremdag, Brohkem, Nairaduhl. The latter two (bro & naria) lost their phylacteries and seem to be getting sick or such from that loss
@dot_Sp0T So I have an idea of where I'd like to go with that "sickness". I've been reading up on the Jungian Shadow (your subconscious where there are a bunch of behaviors that you don't use very often). What if the phylacteries are shadow-self suppressors and when the phylactery is destroyed, that person's shadow self-comes out?
I think that's why I'm a little lost at the moment. It suddenly got mystical, and I don't have any ideas for why that might be, especially if they are human, or came from human ancestors at least.
Any idea how/if we want to do point of view changes, if someone wants to see what the other half of the party is up to?
Might be too complicated, now that I think about it
@AndyD273 easiest would be to mention what party we're with right now by adding a line at the beginning, e.g. //Bremdag,Brohkem,Nairahdul
When putting the whole thing in actual writing the easiest thing is to put in double breaks between paragraphs, add some divider line or use different fonts
Theories
Ideas of why things are the way they are, without having to explicitly say it in the story.
These are not official cannon, but more ideas to give the world some background.
If something in the story contradicts a theory, feel free to remove the theory.
The 5 Challenges are possibly ...
@Green Sphere was a pretty scary book when I was 12... But I think it this shadow idea could work the same way, and be the reason why they'd want to suppress it.
@Bellerophon I know what abseiling is, but that's the first time I've read the word. I've only ever heard it spoken apparently. Rappelling is a lot more common.
Those of you who have been listening to the new podcast will know that Andy came up with an idea for an Anemone Tree. The idea is that this "tree" would prey on small animals for some of it's needed nutrients.
In a vein similar to the Anatomically Correct Series we would like some help making t...
The Visitor series is back on and I am stuck in 2028 in the outline for the events that unfold trying to see whether PLA remnant-local Uyghur militia cooperation is possible at this point in the occupation of Earth.
Say for example: a PLA motorised infantry division gets some reinforcements and support from local Uyghur militias in an attempt to drive the GPI from the ruins of Ürümqi.
What's the effect of this environment to human health?
atmosphere planets science-based
The world's surface gravity is $12.39 m/s^2$, with solar insulation be earth-like, and atmosphere composition is as follows:
1616 mbar nitrogen
356 mbar oxygen
8 mbar trace gases (water vapor, mostly earth...
@kingledion. What I mean is: could the PLA after the Invasion (or what remains of it) and the local Uyghurs set their differences aside temporarily just to kick some extraterrestrial arse?
And the GPI's band of traitors?
After all: Earth is under attack and (at this point) under extraterrestrial occupation.
@Bellerophon Well abseilen is most definitively German in origin. Being a composite from the words ab (itself the shortened form of herab when used in composites; meaning down) and Seil (which means rope). Having the en ending as most doing verbs have in German.
Are you sure? I personally would rather see this as 'wtf is happening here' then 'oh we knew what would happen but for some illogical reason we decided that we did not want superstrength'
I mean, it's A) literally superstrengths, and humans, humans will abuse this no matter the cost
But the thing is that if people know there would be plenty criminals just getting rid of their phylacteries during the time they want to do something and then getting them back, or similar
My thinking, going back to what green started with the shadow self, is that it isn't so much super strength, as it is their minds becoming more powerful and so exerting some force on reality. The reason nobody wants it to happen is that it isn't a conscious thing. You can't choose what will happen. Instead the darkest parts of your subconscious start to come out, which is why dreams are so dangerous.
So someone dreams about being eaten by a shapeless black cloud, and doesn't get to wake up to find out it happened.
I still think if this is common knowledge then Phylacteries would be gotten rid of way more actively. There's people that live a lifestyle of no fear. especially Yakuza style mafias
Not if it is a deep cultural taboo. So in the early years of the archologies, before the phylacteries, nightmares would roam the halls, and many people died. Then someone discovered a crystal with the right resonance to counteract and suppress the shadow. Now it is centuries later, and most of that is legend, but still something that is used to terrify children and adults. And remember, it is in no way conscious, so it's pretty useless as a way to exert power. It's like juggling nitroglycerin.
The thing is that apparently people don't try to get rid of them. So now the trick is to give them a good reason not to.
Yeah but giving them a reason does not have to mean that they understand the reaason before it becomes apparent, does it?
Right now they know that there are shadow ghost thingies that make them stronger but also have their own evil will to do mischief and hurt people - my argument is that I do not think that our characters should actually already know that. I think it would be way more interesting if they found out by experiencing this happening
e.g. right now they realize that something happens to those that don't have their Phylacteries on them. This confirms doctrine and religious texts and myths & stories. They also found out that those missing their Phylacteries undergo unexplainable changes, e.g. they heal better and are stronger
The next step would be to make use of these powers, explore them - before it becomes night and everything goes haywire, showing the downside of these powers
@dot_Sp0T That's fine. My thinking is along those lines; it's mostly legend and history. Maybe they learned some about it in school, especially if they are adults here.
And I know that I can become overzealous about some things. So if the consensus is to retcon the earlier not knowing anything then that's how it goes :)
This is still an experiment. I hope that after wrapping up we can analyze our results and come up with process improvements for the next run (if any)
Eh, I didn't really like that line... How could no one ever lose one... they are holding it on a smoldering stick over a radioactive pit. But it could be that no one in the archology has lost one since it's a confined space, possibly with other safeguards set up (since it might only need proximity to one, and there are a lot around), and of the people that went out into the world and lost theirs, none have returned to tell what happened.
@James I haven't yet actually gotten around wrapping up the first chapter (and in the meantime the second) for a blogpost; if you want to take a shot (as you indicated yesterday I think) please be my guest. When you feel inspired you might even want to write the introduction to the whole thing as well. I'd still do my part explaining the idea behind it and expand the introduction though if you don't mind :)
@AndyD273 yeah that was a tad overkill, but it seemed to be liked by most so I shut up^^ ;; about the proximity to any Phylactery: I really liked the idea of them being assigned to a person, even if this assignment is much looser than initially thought (e.g. something similar to bloodtypes)
@Gryphon? Recommendation: do some research on the Xinjiang conflict and see how things are affected on that front by the Invasion and occupation of Earth.
@dot_Sp0T Maybe they have to be tuned? If it's something like resonance wave cancellation that is causing the suppression then it could be different for each person. Maybe they even need to be changed once in a while, like a vision prescription. Using someone else's might only have a limited effect, or could potentially make it worse.
@Gryphon yeah, I get that from the article. I mean to do further research but when I read that article I don't see any pointers to the actual technology or such; so I thought I put it up here and maybe someone knows more or sees the pointer I don't
@Gryphon Since radiation is in the EM spectrum, as is light, I kinda wonder if they made something like a photo-voltaic cell that works with higher energy wavelengths.
@HDE226868 Concerning worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/100577/44699 :How about arranging pedals or pistons that trigger the air supply of the pipes concentrically instead? Maybe several movable rings, from the biggest outer, to the smallest inner ring to offer more variance.
Trigger buttons mounted on the rings. Each trigger button represents a celestial body and is activated via a annular construction as you proposed above, just in a smaller scale and moving slowly above the rings, pressing down the trigger buttons.The tubes leading from the trigger buttons to the bellows, or even the bellows itself would have to be rotating with the respective trigger ring. Alternatively the tubes could be attached to a main bellow connected by a rotatable but airtight adaptor.
@HDE226868 And concerning ornaments: It would be great, if the whole instrument would be walkable. You step into the observatory and are surrounded by pipes.
@Aertemis That's sort of what I'd originally (and still do) envisioned. That's why I like having a multi-level observatory here (besides the fact that most observatories kind of are): You step up and are instantly surrounded by music.
Plus, it hearkens back to the dome of an observatory in our world.
Speaking of domes, it's awesome to stand right in the center of one as it rotates around. A bit dizzying, but awesome.
@HDE226868 I´ll think about it. X-mas - children - no time. But anyways thanks for your answer and advises. It´s so f****** cool to communicate with nerdy experts.
Theories
Ideas of why things are the way they are, without having to explicitly say it in the story.
These are not official cannon, but more ideas to give the world some background.
If something in the story contradicts a theory, feel free to remove the theory.
The 5 Challenges are possibly ...
Those of you who have been listening to the new podcast will know that Andy came up with an idea for an Anemone Tree. The idea is that this "tree" would prey on small animals for some of it's needed nutrients.
In a vein similar to the Anatomically Correct Series we would like some help making t...
What's the effect of this environment to human health?
atmosphere planets science-based
The world's surface gravity is $12.39 m/s^2$, with solar insulation be earth-like, and atmosphere composition is as follows:
1616 mbar nitrogen
356 mbar oxygen
8 mbar trace gases (water vapor, mostly earth...
The Factory Floor
The Factory Floor