Starbound: What Do You Want To Do In The Future?

[gothwalk]

So I'm working on this science fiction setting, Starbound. There's a post coming up on duekstreet.org wherein I'll tell you some of what I want to do in it. Meantime, though, I want to do some market research. What do you want to see and do in a scifi setting? Some bits are preset - it's going to be epic-scale, stretching across many solar systems, and high tech. It'll be used for short stories, maybe even novels, possibly comics, and certainly RPGs. Give me a wishlist.

(I'd really like to see a lot of responses to this, by the way - even if they're just "Die Shatner Die", or "I want lots of dakka", it's all grist to the mill.)

Comments

[salith.livejournal.com]

To not be like Star Trek where everyone lives in harmony except against militaristic races. :)

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Alien races with interesting life cycles which affect their psychology.

Real, gritty people. One of the reasons why I'm enjoying Battlestar Galactica is that the people get dirty and pissed and raucous and do stuff like having unwise ambiguous sex and shouting out the wrong name in bed.

A feeling of the logistics of space travel, how it physically affects people, the need to get fuel and food. In other words, no bloody replicators and no bloody Class-M planets all over the place.

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

I think you're going to like this, then.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Oooh, yes. I like the communications lag aspect. Loads of dramatic possibilities, and very A Fire Upon The Deep.

WRT aliens having somewhat different urges to reproduce, I thought the dog-pack aliens in the said AFUTD were very interesting. There was the standard reproduction of new pack components, and then there was the creation of new packs, which was something completely different.

[not-secure.livejournal.com]

That was what I liked about Babylon 5. You got to see the dirty spaces that inevitably exist in an real universe

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I always liked the cluttered feel of the B5 sets.

[caturah.livejournal.com]

I agree with everything that's been said so far, but what I'd also love to see, and yes, I know this is something you wouln't be able to go into in much detail, or it'd ruin the purpose of it: Strangeness.

Basically, I want to see alien races, technoology and customs which are completely incomprehensible to human sensibilites or the like. And I don't mean "different" in the fluffy, cushioned way of that alien who breathed a different air combination from Babylon 5, I mean properly different. (I can hunt up a reference if you like).

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

Most excellent. Here's what I wrote earlier..

[caturah.livejournal.com]

I think I'll like this.

Having read what you've written there, just to throw in, it's a bugbear of Chris's that the star trek universe had little or no travel apart from the fleet. Where's the trade and logistics? The holiday goers, or the rich just wanting to show off? I know not every place will have the volume some star wars planets have, but there has to be a happy medium somewhere surely?
Also, I *love* the idea of non-instantaneous communication.. the fun a GM could have with that...

[microgirl.livejournal.com]

I would suggest as a balance/counter to that that they not be *too* incomprehensible - one, because how can you, the writer, comprehend their differences enough to write them and two, we, the players/readers/experiencers won't be able to get our heads around them enough.

There needs to be something the reader can recognise, even if it's "Holy crap that's just fucking *weird*"

And the argument against point one of "Well, the writer doesn't need to 'comprehend their differences', because he's the one making them up, so he can say whatever he likes and no matter how crazy or wacked out the readers have to just accept that as part of them being 'too weird to understand'" I just completely disagree with. They have to be consistent with themselves at the very least. If they have an incomprehensibe psychology, or physiology or whatever, there has to be a good reason given. And to do that the writer has to be able to comprehend them. Make them too incomprehensible and it's like trying to comprehend God. We can't, simple as that. We overlay human psychology and human emotions on him/her/it because that's the only way our minds can deal with it.

[giftederic.livejournal.com]

As a fan of Niven and Asimov... I'd like to see physics and cosmology.. All my favourite stories have something revealing about the nature of the universe we live in and/or the way we think about it. From the simple 'The gate is down' in Enders Game to the tidal gravity in Nivens Neutron Star.

First generation colonist stories also interest me greatly... Again, pseudoscientific biology intrigues me...
Legacy of Heorot would be the tale of choice in this category or perhaps Speaker for the Dead.

Interestingly, I don't like my aliens too alien... I love the CJ Cherryh sci fi, but didn't like the stoopid aliens on Pell... (I loved how alien humans had become though...)

And I don't like 'doomed' humanity. I want a world that at the very least Carl Sagan would find hope in.

[goblin-ballista.livejournal.com]

I would be very interested to see what methods you employ for transportation and for comunication. Will different cultures have different methods.

Will current era travellers encounter cryo hibernation ships or generational ships from 100's of years in their own past?

I like the communication lag as well, I've always found the notion of an interstellar pony express to be a lot of fun.

Will you be including a notion of hyperspace as per B5 or the Harrington novels or will you be taking the Starwars approach? Possibly stablised worm holes as per stargate, or tempory ones?

[kehoea.livejournal.com]

Language difficulties. Real, deep, misunderstanding between cultures (c.f. the Chinese belief that the Western concept of "dialect" was a good description of Cantonese vs. Mandarin vs. Shanghaianese.). Big differences in efficency and effectiveness between cultures. Localised corruption, and differences in success based on how adept central characters are at working with that corruption.

Widespread, shared, different misunderstandings of how the universe works--even in the efficient and effective cultures--c.f. the belief in modern linguistics that all languages are equally effective at all things. (They aren't--nuclear physics as Gaeilge is not practical today--but they can be made to be with time.)

Poverty. Undereducated, unattractive people or aliens with very little going for them that primary characters nonetheless care about. Short, ill-starred lives for some characters. Advanced technology and nineteenth-century-level slums in the same cities. Cholera. Tuberculosis. The rich not seeing and not caring about the poor. Neuroses about drugs.

[graylion.livejournal.com]

Space opera! big ships, starfighters, the works :)

[niallm.livejournal.com]

One axis where SF material usually distinguishes itself is the state of Artificial Intelligence. This runs the gamut from 'AIs run the human race' (Asimov, Banks, Scott Card) through 'AI is wonderful and must be embraced' (Asimov) through 'AI is dangerous' (Gibson, Vinge) through 'AI is evil and must be extinguished' (Searle :-).

I'd like to see a well-thought out role for AIs, and one that neither reduces them to the role of gods or demons.

[juuro.livejournal.com]

Humans not automatically "better" or "worse" than non-humans. Just different.

Society, family, commerce -- how are those shaped by the technology and other inventions, the wide spread of the worlds.

How does society, family, commerce shape the direction of research and investigation.

[iresprite.livejournal.com]

I think you and spiritseeker should have a long, detailed, perhaps heated conversation. That is my one wish.

[ragnvaeig.livejournal.com]

I want silicon-based life forms who find it difficult to learn human language. I want technological explanations for psi powers. I want tunnels under the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, underground houses, and floating airstrips. I want terraforming on Mars, Ganymede and Titan. I want the military to respect chain of command and adhere to the rules. I want starships to break down and mechanics to do spacewalks. I want genetically-engineered animals optimised for extraterrestrial colonisation. I want petty crime. I want lawless outposts and civil wars. I want archaeologists to investigate the 22nd century and describe Wembley Stadium as being "of ritual purposes." I want the population of earth to decrease as another Ice Age hits. I want FTL travel in non-aerodynamic ships. I want "Do Not Litter" signs in the asteroid belt. I want a solution to the ozone hole and a green Sahara.

Above all, I want a sonic screwdriver.

[natural20.livejournal.com]

Right, what would I like to see... hmm...

Functional and sensible immortality. Be it the occasional genetic freak or a race, I don't really mind, but beings who pass through puberty and then reach a point of equilibrium are cool. They don't necessarily have to have any other 'powers', but I've never said no to powerful beings, but the mere fact of never dying is a pretty good start.

Short space travel. Be it gates, FTL, teleportation, whatever. Incredibly slow space travel can have it's place, but I ain't a fan. Except for rare occasions and perhaps isolated stories space travel is something that should happen 'in between'.

Superpowers. Or whatever you want to call them. I like people who can do things that are outside of the human norm. Whether this is racial, mystical, mutations, whatever, doesn't worry me. Shouldn't be high fantasy as all though, I reference the Holy Trilogy where there are a total of five force wielding characters in the whole galaxy at that point.

No Lensmen. Ok, no, the Lens and Lensmen were ok, it's the stupidly escalating weapons situations that really irritated me I think. Anyway, they were essentially comedy.

I'm torn on the whole 'cyberspace' thingy. Sometimes I like it, sometimes it just seems hugely unnecessary. Flip a coin.

Stylish space ships. This is pan-system, so Firefly-esque stuff just doesn't really work. Ships like B5 and Andromeda are what we're looking for here.

Should be enough to be going on with for the moment.

[bastun-ie.livejournal.com]

Grttiness and realism.

Logic and internal consistency.

A universe that may well be 'different', but would still be recognisable to a 20th century human. (Er, 21st century human! (Heh. How cool is that!))

Different planets with different and unique biospheres (and resulting cultures?).

Not too many starfaring races. Some alien aliens.

[bookgirlwa.livejournal.com]

Really strong, well written characters with great dialogue - hate it when sci-fi writers just focus on snazzy technology, aliens and all the fake science at the expense of exploring the relationships between people (and between the people and their environment) in the story. Um. Not sure if that makes any sense, I'm a bit tired.

ooooh, where to begin....

[grutok.livejournal.com]

Firefly

The best Sci-Fi series in years, but for a game it has only one flaw, IMHO.
There is a need for some form of space combat (ship to ship) to make it little more playable

Blake's Seven

A classic...possibly the best British Space Opera Sci-Fi.
The original ship, Liberator, was too powerful, the series got better (ship wise) when they used Scorpio, in the later series.

One thing which, if you use it, needs to be made risky, is teleportation technology. Blake's Seven NEVER had a teleporter accident, and as far as I can remember, there is only ONE accident in StarTrek (TMP).

Personally, I prefer shuttles! (more plot devices available)

As for the written word, You already know the answer.
There is only one!!!!!

If you want to raid the collection of source and data books I have, feel free


Can I book a seat around the table now???
Can I, hu hu, Can I ?????

[mytholder.livejournal.com]

Currently, what I'd like is a stylish, upbeat galatic empire. Biiiig ships, big scale. Alien aliens, technology that allows wonders while still being comprehensible (no technological singularities here). Hmm...something lihe Regency Star Trek, only with less idealised and more stylish characters. Swashbuckling with lasers. Traveller, only not so hidebound and much, much cooler.

Travel should be steamship-esque...it takes you weeks or months to get to another system, but there is some sort of FTL drive or short cut.

AIs. AIs are cool.