Guest Vile Traveller Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 (edited) You'll want to plant some trees (no, a lot) with invasive root systems on the slope above the town, to stabilise the slope and reduce run-off (presumably the terraforming will come with rain). You might want to terrace the slope first, depending on the gradient. More than 30% is likely to give you landslips, from the look of the stuff. The earthbag technique sounds perfect if you're building above ground. To keep things a bit more SF rather than spaced-out, you could replace the adobe-and-plaster look with some lightweight prefabricated inner domes containing all the plumbing and wiring, around which you then pack the earthbags. Excellent insulation, even if you have no radiation to worry about. Edited January 29, 2009 by Vile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 You'll want to plant some trees ... Yep, this will be "Step 2". "Step 1" will be a method I have seen in Switzerland, but which I find hard to describe in English: The slope is terraced and covered with metal nets (some kind of plastic in my setting, I think) anchored to the rock, and the terraces are stabilized with "walls" made of "metal cages" filled with rocks. The earthbag technique sounds perfect if you're building above ground ... Thank you for a good idea. I am thinking of a kind of pre-fabricated shelter, like it is used in many SF RPGs, which is then covered with the earthbag method to provide insula- tion against the cold, as Enki II still has a very cold climate. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puck Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I do not know if this fits the bill at all, but I wanted to mess around with a couple sci-fi type pictures and thought Enki may be a good place to start. Quote 294/420 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 Thank you very much for the nice picture, I really like it. It is not exactly a scene on Enki II as it is "today", but it could very well be a scene from a later point in time, when the terraforming program has made the atmosphere breathable and some large and potentially dange- rous animals have been introduced. The characters will soon have the rather questionable pleasure to trans- port a couple of yaks from Terra to Enki II for the research station of the colony, where the scientists want to find out whether yaks would make suitable animals for the biosphere of Enki II. I am already smiling at the thought of characters without any animal hand- ling experience, a narrow cargo hold of a small starship, and a very angry yak bull ... >:-> The team from your picture could well be searching for an escaped herd of yaks, a herd led by such an angry yak bull. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vile Traveller Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 (edited) "Step 1" will be a method I have seen in Switzerland, but which I find hard to describe in English: The slope is terraced and covered with metal nets (some kind of plastic in my setting, I think) anchored to the rock, and the terraces are stabilized with "walls" made of "metal cages" filled with rocks. Those cages are gabions. Rather than completely filling them with rock, they can also be lined with rocks and the centre filled with soil, into which you plant seedling trees. That way, 20 years down the line when the cages start to degrade, the trees' root systems will have spread through the rocks and the slope to form their own self-repairing stabilising mesh. The trees also absorb moisture, further reducing the risk of erosion and landslip due to rainwater run-off (again, probably only a consideration some time in the future of your setting). By the way, did you have a timeline in mind for the terraforming process? I assume it will have to be somewhat accelerated to make it work within the game's timescale? I am already smiling at the thought of characters without any animal handling experience, a narrow cargo hold of a small starship, and a very angry yak bull ... Compulsory watching for livestock transport aboard spacecraft: "Safe" (Firefly). http://hk.youtube.com/watch?hl=en-GB&v=hsPKWmK1WAY Edited February 1, 2009 by Vile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted February 1, 2009 Author Share Posted February 1, 2009 Thank you very much for the information and the links. By the way, did you have a timeline in mind for the terraforming process? I assume it will have to be somewhat accelerated to make it work within the game's timescale? To turn Enki II into a somewhat warmer world with a breathable atmosphere and some liquid water on the surface will take at least 150 years in our set- ting. This may seem very long for a game, but we play only the important events ("axis events") in the colony's history, with much "off time" - sometimes seve- ral years - between the adventures, and with a cast of characters that chan- ges with each generation. The less interesting parts of the colony's history, and the characters' activi- ties during these times, are only described in the colony's chronicle and the characters' biographies, but they are not played out. This is one reason why I introduced a number of sub-systems for the econo- my of the colony (based upon World Tamer's Handbook and Pocket Empires) as well as for long-term activities of the characters (e.g. research project rules based upon Ringworld) to cover the "off time" somewhat. After some discussions and preparations, the campaign started "in earnest" last November, in the year 2838 SZ of the setting's count. Meanwhile we have just reached the year 2865 SZ, and the first generation of characters - mostly explorers, engineers and scientists from various home worlds - is now turning into NPC leaders of the colony, while the second ge- neration of characters - colonists born in Enki II's Tashara Colony, "true Ta- shari" - is beginning to take over. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solardog Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 The space ship. The Asimov:Freefall 00994 August 16, 2004 Freefall Quote It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Nice comic. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vile Traveller Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Actually, that's what I meant be 'somewhat accelerated timescale'. I know your games tend to run at a slightly faster pace than normal, with generations of PCs. I have to say I like your maps for Enki II. They may not be the latest in 3D photorealism, but they are clear and get the job done. They are better gaming aids than the pencil-on-foolscap of my youth! Is Gererdi a domed city? I ask because of what looks like water and greenery on the map. Or has Enki II been terraformed enough to permit liquid water and plant growth on the surface? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Thank you very much ! :happy: Gerardi / Habitat One is indeed a domed city, it is the "prototype" (and a test) for the other domed habitats that will be built over the years until the terraforming has changed Enki II sufficiently to build without domes. The players wanted a "comfortable" settlement, with open water and much green, for the colonists, both to avoid mental problems or unrest caused by a more spartan environment and to attract more settlers. Trelawney will also be domed in its early years, with a kind of tilted geodesic dome (sorry, when it comes to technical terms my English has huge gaps), which will be removed once the terraforming has succeeded. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solardog Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 More Sci Fi Comics. Guillaume's Rambling Ride Nice comic with female protagonist. Outrim Furry comic with 2300AD/Traveller feel. Quote It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 More Sci Fi Comics. Thank you very much again. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solardog Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) More Space Western Santiago: a Myth of the Far Future Edited February 5, 2009 by Solardog Typo Quote It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 More Space Western Thank you once more. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dredj Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Hey Rust, this rpg is supposed to be released soon, and may have some stuff you can adapt into BRP, as it seems to be along the lines of what you're working on: KNRPG Productions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solardog Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Grimson Dark:Crimson Dark Quote It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Grimson Dark Thank you very much, I really like it, it has that kind of gritty Traveller- feeling. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solardog Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Its of topic i now, but this was also released in 1977 and it is science fiction, even today its still fresh. Quote It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted February 11, 2009 Author Share Posted February 11, 2009 Its of topic i now, but this was also released in 1977 and it is science fiction, even today its still fresh. Thank you again - and nothing that could serve as an inspiration can ever be off topic for me. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solardog Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 (edited) Aurora Sci Fi RPG:Aurora - table-top science fiction role playing free sample It haves interesting aliens and i think you will find the equipment and weapons lists useful. Edited February 15, 2009 by Solardog typo Quote It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 Thank you very much. "Roleplaying in a world of real science" reads very promising, I will give it a close look very soon. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Rust, will you be putting genetically engineered humans or animals on your world while the atmosphere is being terraformed? Or is the technology too advanced for your setting? Quote http://www.basicrps.com/core/BRP_quick_start.pdf A sense of humour and an imagination go a long way in roleplaying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 There will be geneered plants and animals, but only comparatively primitive ones. The "green" part of the terraforming starts with various strains of bacteria which generate oxygen and begin to turn the rock and sand into soil. The bacteria will be followed by lichens, then hardy cacti, succulents and plants like tumbleweed and thistles, and finally a full array of desert and steppe plants - all over a time of about 150 years. The first geneered animals will also be very primitive ones, like the desert woodlice (I think that is what they are called in English) on the picture be- low, and then the food chain will be built upon them, beginning with lizards, rodents and so on. Geneering comparatively primitive plants and animals is well within the capa- bilities of my setting's science and technology, but geneering humans would be both extremely difficult and illegal. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Thanks for detailing that part of your setting for me. :thumb: Quote http://www.basicrps.com/core/BRP_quick_start.pdf A sense of humour and an imagination go a long way in roleplaying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 You are welcome. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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