Galaxiad General Discussion

[Ulsyus]

What if the Empress Wave was not moving at a constant speed since its formation? What if it were gaining or losing "velocity" over time? Perhaps losing intensity (i.e. dissipating) while gaining speed? Or visa versa? Or some other combination? The "acceleration/deceleration" itself need not be constant either, but could be changing rate with time...

Wouldn't it only be normal for a projected force, made up of of whatever type of particles, to lose intensity? Even if the rate of loss was not known, wouldn't it still be something like intensity=the (something) root of distance? If it didn't lose intensity, wouldn't that indicate that the concentration of particles that made up the wave was increasing the further it was from the source?

Also, is there any assumption that it's expanding only along the plane of the galaxy?

1202 is more or less the year when the Empress Wave enters the Spinward Marches.
At a speed of 1pc per year, by 1902 the Wave has left CT Charted Space around the 1450's and is ready to leave Sectors in the (x,15) rows
Empress Wave ~1450, speed 1pc/yr
Empress Wave ~1902, speed 1pc/year

If the speed was kept at 1ly/yr, by 1902 Charted Space would still be dealing with the Wave, with the Aslan, Solomani, and Hivers in disaster mode. The wave is still in Aldeberan Sector
Empress Wave ~1902, speed 1ly/year

Put another way imagine playing Pocket Empires. The slow wave means worlds are being destroyed every turn as the curtain opens. The fast wave means the Aslan, Solomani and Hivers have maybe 200 years less of turns compared to the Marches.
Now add the Hop Drive and hilarity WILL ensue:devil: :smirk:

Great visualisation with the maps, but was there an assumption that the point of the wave front is parallel to a line through the middle or Chartered Space?

 

[whartung]

So are we not allowed to talk about the paperback book format, the magazine format, the newspaper format, or the 1/2 hour news show format because those have been used for political topics in the past as well?

Is the discussion of the format of "Meet the Press" off topic? The colors used for their logos? The design of the set? That's all "topic non grata" because it's a political show?

There's a lot of political videos that use that "sped up writing/drawing on a whiteboard" presentation technique. No bueno on exploring that for describing how the jump drive and jump space works?

 

[inexorabletash]

Wouldn't it only be normal for a projected force, made up of of whatever type of particles, to lose intensity? Even if the rate of loss was not known, wouldn't it still be something like intensity=the (something) root of distance? If it didn't lose intensity, wouldn't that indicate that the concentration of particles that made up the wave was increasing the further it was from the source?

Also, is there any assumption that it's expanding only along the plane of the galaxy?

Great visualisation with the maps, but was there an assumption that the point of the wave front is parallel to a line through the middle or Chartered Space?

The Wave could conceivably peak at intensity at some distance from its source. No idea if that is the case or not. This could be done with handwavium particles or constructive intererence.

For practical gaming purposes the galaxy is only a parsec thick, so it is somewhat moot. There is no advantage to jumping "up" to avoid the Wave vs. just jumping over it, so I don't think that needs to be defined.

The approximate radius/origin used on the map is per MWM if I recall correctly. The wavefront is indeed roughly (but not exactly) perpendicular to the Prime Ray passing through Reference (Core 0140). There are Reasons for this.

I should note that the map does not show the Wave as a complete circle, just as a chord. That is a purely artistic decision on my part, and does not reflect canon. I don't think it is known how far Spinward/Trailing the Wave extends.

 

[jcrocker]

Yes, that would be the easy way out. And they would be wrong.

...Many of the 1248 history events occur in blissful isolation no matter how strong the Wave is.

1248 was accepted and published as canon.

However, this current take on the Wave makes the 1248 background as written totally impossible. You can't have what I wrote with the Wave as currently detailed moving through the area I was writing about.

I don't know how the PTB intend to handle this.

Took a little to find, but the quote from MJD was posted in the "Empress Wave Resources" thread on November 24th, 2016, 12:50 AM.

I haven't read 1248 so I can't comment on what would would or wouldn't change, but the author said the above just over a year ago. I was going by that.

 

[GypsyComet]

Took a little to find, but the quote from MJD was posted in the "Empress Wave Resources" thread...

Eh. He's overstating it a bit, IMO. The thing to remember is that the setting in 1200 is largely blind to factors very far away from the observer. The war between the unified survivors and the Black Empire of Lucan is short-sighted and needlessly destructive from the distant point of view because the reader knows the Wave is closing in on Vland the whole time. From the POV of the participants, however, that war, squabbling over irradiated scraps as it is, was going to happen regardless.

The war with the Lords of Thunder can also be inevitable. They'll blame the humans for the Wave's frying of Kirur and march spinward to exact revenge. The war will dance back and forth over the Wave as it moves, and the Wave actually provides a better trigger for the ghost fleet emergence than MJD managed to. It remains a desperate war for both sides. the nascent 4th Imperium knows that it needs to squash the K'kree before the Wave reaches the recovered worlds so that they can actually prepare for it, while the K'kree know the Wave is eating their worlds even as they fight.

As of 1248 the Wave is about to start ripping through the 4th Imperium, and has already passed through most of the Regency.

And of course, the Regency is the big question. They avoided Virus for the most part, so they must deal with the Wave as a society with, ironically, larger and harder to move populations. The outlook is bleak, but...

We already know from the preliminary Galaxiad materials that Regina survives, and the scope of the 1900 Republic suggests that some of the other worlds managed as well. Did they manage well enough to recover to the 1248 material's picture behind the Claw? Is that snapshot more appropriate another century out? Maybe never?

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Keep this in mind as you read the following so you know where I come from: 1248 IS MY FAVORITE OTU SETTING.

MJD is the writer of the first 1248 book. It was wonderful for several reasons
1.It allowed for three distinct areas of play,
-The Spinward Marches with its long history but plays like a bunch of selfish states as the Regency broke up
-The 4th Imperium centered on Usdiki/Gushemege if you want "classic" play
-The Freedom League (formerly the Reformation Coalition) was the weird one with Droyne, Cyms (sane Virals in robot bodies), decentralized government, Hivers and lots of trade.
2.It had a long history write up of events that gets you from Hard Times thru TNE and to the year 1248. The first book has full 65 pages of history with only 2 pages devoted to the Golden Era, 7 to the Rebellion, 20 to the Virus Era, 10 to TNE and 26 to post-TNE (1210-1248) events.
3.He paid homage to tying up loose ends and "mysteries". My favorite is the real reason the Black Curtain existed in the first place and the answer is not just because Lucan became a Viral Entity. And the story of the Ancient's War Machine on Vland. and other tidbits.
4.Except for UWPs, the books were rules neutral. Some New ships were presented and were writtten in CT Book2 and CT HG terms.
Thematically the book cleared up loose ends, tied the old stuff to new and supposedly made a clean state with smaller chunks of space to work with.
The other three books covered each play are with more focused history their region.

MJD, as the writer is absolutely right. On the whole, 1248 as a setting is no longer possible. I am not a writer, so I don't know how I would feel about my creation being so altered. His posts to me reflected disappointment, to put it mildly. On a practical level, two of the areas: the Marches and the 4th Imperium are no longer viable, as is. The Big, Bad, villains, the K'kree may not do crusading coreward.

I respectfully disagree his statement, in part. One portion, the Freedom League does not get hit by the wave directly by 1248. Also, as I said some events as described can happen regardless because of year and postition of the Wave.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

I am not a good writer, so data, history and analyses of such are my contribution to canon. I also think canon the way Marc Miller talks about canon except when Marc decides when it isn't. I shrug my shoulders and go with the the new reality. (You see my signature below?).

In this case, events were established in canon in the 1248 books and still remain viable. Let's take one of the earliest examples:
In 1129 the Solomani Confederation makes peace with the Federation of Daibei. In mid-1230 Margaret's Domain and the Solomani Confederation establish a formal peace treaty to begin 001-1131. This allows the Solomani to secure borders, regroup, and concentrate resources to finally subjugate the Vegans. The spread of Virus enters the region in 1231. Despite the hostility, a truce is formed with Vegans to combat Virus, together.

This is current canon from 1248. Thematically It allow for the later events to have the "nice" new Terran Commonwealth (which the Vegans are a part of), having given up their racist ways fighting against the "evil" Solomani Imperium.

This will impact how one writes about Vegan-Terran relations in 1900. Without 1248, it might be Vegan-Solomani relations and we all know how the "Self-Proclaimed Champions of Human Supremacy" otherwise act during Rebellion.

This was written with the "Slow Wave". How could this not happen with the "Fast Wave"? The wave is on the other side of Charted Space.

 

[GypsyComet]

This was written with the "Slow Wave". How could this not happen with the "Fast Wave"? The wave is on the other side of Charted Space.

Indeed. The events set out for the 1248 period that are not in the two sector rows containing Vland and Capital are not really affected by the change.

The thing is, the speed of the Wave is not the important change. The increased lethality is far more significant. If the Wave were the slight buzz MJD described it really wouldn't matter what speed it was at. The Wave as a zone of lethal madness is another thing entirely, and is what renders the 1248 material less viable as written.

The 4th Imperium as described is less viable *immediately after* 1248, as the Wave is still tearing through the region. As of 1248 it can be seen as the terrified swimmer with his arm in the mouth of a shark. The post-crisis cleanup and reclamation that is central to play in the 1248 4th Imperium is really deferred another 40 to 50 years with the lethal Wave, after the shark has taken the arm and departed. The Virus did the 4th Imperium a favor; the populous worlds are scattered thin on a tapestry of dead and silent worlds, so in many cases the nascent 4th Imperium has a few years to help a world recover before the next world gets Waved, and the 4th Imperium is coherent enough to know that the Wave is coming and account for it.

In the grand scheme of centuries a few decades push is not a problem. Given that a lot of people thought the Virus Night was too short, having true recovery delayed *another* 50 years or so for the Imperial core may actually be a good thing.

 

[GypsyComet]

* small empires (each more or less half a sector in size), centered on a few core Strong Worlds. The smaller of these are typically on the verge of collapse. One empire each in these sectors.

Stiatlchepr
Ziafrplians
Spinward Marches
Karleaya
Hlakoi
Dark Nebula
Solomani Rim
Daibei
Ilelish [centered on Suerrat]
Core
Vland
Meshan (probably half Human Half Vargr)
Ley

and:

Three? in K'kree territory
Two? in Hiver Territory

If the Lords/Gods of Thunder survive at all, being spread out and probably not possessed of the luxury of sticking to shirtsleeve worlds like the rest of the K'kree, the I'd say three, with two of them within the Two Thousand Worlds and the third in Thunder territory. If the Thunder drown in the Wave, which is a distinct possibility given their social model, then two seems reasonable. Non-united K'kree sounds like fun for all involved...

 

[aramis]

So are we not allowed to talk about the paperback book format, the magazine format, the newspaper format, or the 1/2 hour news show format because those have been used for political topics in the past as well?

Is the discussion of the format of "Meet the Press" off topic? The colors used for their logos? The design of the set? That's all "topic non grata" because it's a political show?

There's a lot of political videos that use that "sped up writing/drawing on a whiteboard" presentation technique. No bueno on exploring that for describing how the jump drive and jump space works?

There's no need to mention the users of that format.
[m;]public warning - next person posting on this direction gets themselves an infraction[/m;].

 

[mike wightman]

Has anyone ever shown Marc what Dave Nilsen said his intended effects of the Empress Wave would have been?

I have the entire thread interview saved to a world file and can post the relevant bits.

 

[Fovean]

I have the entire thread interview saved to a world file and can post the relevant bits.

I for one would definitely like to see this.

 

[jcrocker]

I for one would definitely like to see this.

+1. It would be interesting to see.

Of course at this point, I'd be perfectly happy to have the timeline scroll forward to the 1900 era, but since the .09 errata is still a work in progress, I'm not going to forego breathing until then.

 

[mike wightman]

I'm not sure of the legality of posting my word document, until clarification here is a link to the original interview thread:

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=7434&highlight=ask+dave&page=3

There are some script issues due to board changes, but it is readable.

 

[aramis]

I'm not sure of the legality of posting my word document, until clarification here is a link to the original interview thread:

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=7434&highlight=ask+dave&page=3

There are some script issues due to board changes, but it is readable.

You may post it to the files area on the board.

 

[Ulsyus]

I'm not sure of the legality of posting my word document, until clarification here is a link to the original interview thread:

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=7434&highlight=ask+dave&page=3

There are some script issues due to board changes, but it is readable.

Thanks Mike, that's an interesting read. I'm keen to see your notes now.

 

[The Pakkrat]

Strong Worlds

First, a quote from Marc.

* small empires (each more or less half a sector in size), centered on a few core Strong Worlds. The smaller of these are typically on the verge of collapse. One empire each in these sectors.

Stiatlchepr
Ziafrplians
Spinward Marches
Karleaya
Hlakoi
Dark Nebula
Solomani Rim
Daibei
Ilelish [centered on Suerrat]
Core
Vland
Meshan (probably half Human Half Vargr)
Ley

and:

Three? in K'kree territory
Two? in Hiver Territory

That list has only one Vargr sector, which is shared with Humaniti. One sector. So little faith in a Major Race. Spinward Marches doesn't count and Gvurrdon was not listed. Tsk.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

But, to indulge this blasphemy a little, I combed through 1105 Meshan Sector. There were three potential Strong Worlds that could conceivably survived both of the stated calamities. Of those, only Kakror (Meshan 1437) in my mind has the attributes of a Strong World.

Kakror is smack-dab in the middle of Urzaeng-Ovaghoun Vargr overlap turf.

Are we sure that Meshan is the sector of choice for the only Vargr sector to survive? Again we see humanocentric development in M1900.

Looking deeper, I can point out more than a handful of potential Strong Worlds that can survive both calamities whether they arrived A then B, B then A, or A&B together in the same 30-year window.

IMTU, I don't believe that Meshan, Vargr sharing with Humaniti (remnant Vilani, Julians, Gashikans, non-aligned or other), will be the only pastoral pocket empire out there to feature the lupine Major Race. Each of the Vargr sub-species of the Major Race will find Strong World havens. One need only look, deselect the weak worlds, pull the trigger on worlds that will Die Back (Di) and then decide How that group will survive the calamities.

Perhaps Meshan Sector was arbitrarily chosen as it is central to more than a few sub-species of Humaniti so as to keep racial diversity in the game.
To that, I can name a Vargr Enclaves sector that has just as much racial diversity as Meshan.

The Galaxiad Users of M1900 are shaking their furry heads at the silly humans and laughing like hyenas.