A lot of these things aren't as far-fetched as people seem to think. You know, I think they've already built a magnetrain in Europe somewhere (a really fast train suspended over the tracks by powerful electromagnets).

I wouldn't be surprised if we have nuclear fusion, antigravity, etc. by 2050. Even cold fusion. It's our generation -- people born between 1985 and 2000 -- that's probably going to invent most of these things. Just because we don't all drive flying cars like they predicted in the '80s doesn't mean we haven't made technological advances -- just look at cybertechnology. People didn't have personal computers and the www back then. And a generation before that, they didn't have TV. And two generations before that, they didn't have radios. And so on, and so on. So what will our generation's contributions to technology be...?

Five hundred years ago, we fought each other with swords and no one was expected to live past their mid thirties. Five hundred years is not that much time when you truly think about it.

@starbridge21, on Sep 4 2007, 07:39 PM, said in Intro Story:

So what will our generation's contributions to technology be...?

Bologny sandwitches

This post has been edited by Yoda Almighty : 05 September 2007 - 07:23 PM

@yamfries, on Sep 5 2007, 08:22 PM, said in Intro Story:

Bologny sandwitches

People who know spelling.

It's pronounced ba-log-na.

Actually, it's spelled bologna, but pronounced buh-loan-ee (ee as in teeth). At least it is here, and I'm still confused to this day as to why.

In fives hundred years, people will have computer screens on which they can point and double-click on a person, making them drop dead instantly, while talking about how we used guns in our time. :laugh:

Seriously though, don't worry too much about how accurate your tech is going to be. This is a game, not a science convention.

I always pronounce it ba-log-na. I always take everything too literally.

How literally is too literally? Like one word out of five you take literally? Or is it more like a four out of ten type of thing? Do you have measurements and a graph to track your literallness? How do you know that you take everybody too literaly?

I take Chuck Norris' "Facts" literally

Oh. That makes sense. scratches head and looks confused

Google it.

@cosmic_nusiance, on Sep 6 2007, 04:17 AM, said in Intro Story:

People who know spelling.

Joking people. (Because you both joke. Just making sure you got the joke. I rarely write anymore because I dont care, I dont be interested, but this was too funny and easy to respond to resist. I just had to.)

Whats a bologna sandwich? A sandwich with bolognese meat (like in Spaghetti Bolognese :p) ? And if I make myself look silly, I dont care. Its silly anyway. The whole thing about what future brings anyway. I mean, bologna and spelling, as shown by Cosmic and Yoda. Or is it from the city of Bolongna (if such exists), after which the city of Bologna is named? We Finns dont know everything about the big worlds offerings, especially American, their jokes often elude us (that is, jokes on things like Chuck Norris... that was on ASW forums a few years ago. )

Edit- does my explaining make the joke less funny?

This post has been edited by General Cade Smart : 07 September 2007 - 03:35 AM

Umm... what joke?

In the future people will get jokes. All the time. I christen zapp: "The Literal One."

But, returning to the intent of the topic and moving away from this fascinating discussion of bologna, Blueplanet-you have a good story. Go with it, if you intend to- it would make an interesting story. Especially if you use a hard-science setting.

Hey, somebody remembered what the topic was about.

Fancy that.

Thanks Shlimazel.

--BP

@blueplanet, on Sep 3 2007, 08:53 AM, said in Intro Story:

Hm, there is some interest. Maybe I should write part 4: "Hyperspace" today.

As for including the names of actual nations, I don't think world leaders would get upset, as much as somebody from a combatant nation would. I'm suprised I haven't upset anybody yet, actually.

Anyway, if I have (need) time off from plug dev today, I will continue the story.

If it were to ever be a TC, I'd want to start it fairly early in history, using weapons like machine guns, tank main guns, and missiles. Stuff that would be left over from the wars. Maybe somebody would develop lasers.

--BP

I regret to say I have hijacked this concept as the inspiration for a tiny little TC I'm working on. It was just so intruiging, I couldn't help myself. (And it made a perfect project for me, since the last time I made a plug that actually did anything was, err... long ago )

@otter, on Sep 11 2007, 05:47 AM, said in Intro Story:

I regret to say I have hijacked this concept as the inspiration for a tiny little TC I'm working on. It was just so intruiging, I couldn't help myself. (And it made a perfect project for me, since the last time I made a plug that actually did anything was, err... long ago )

Well, if you're going to use my story as the basis for a plug, I'd expect that you'd at least include my name in the credits to that effect.

Other than that, go right ahead.

Maybe I'll even put together some concept art later on.

--BP

(Edit: I put together a tank gun. Here it is.)

tankgun.jpg (29K)
Number of downloads: 10

This post has been edited by BluePlanet : 11 September 2007 - 01:18 PM

Inspiration, more than the story itself (though it's a good one)... I rather like the idea of a single system with multiple governments. Sorry not to be using your exact story...
I've already got a Credits file, containing, among other things:
"Thanks to BluePlanet, whose brilliant story I stole, mangled beyond recognition, and use to inspire this plug-in",

My story at present is far from fleshed-out, but the essence of it is this: I asked myself what political situation was needed to make the last major step toward humans going into space. What prompted the first person to orbit the Earth, and the first person to land on the Moon? The answer is the US/Soviet cold war. The competition provided impetus for scientific achivement. So, suppose that instead of spending all their efforts designing more and 'better' nuclear weapons, the two nations continued their space race, and as a result, science leapt ahead, bringing us EV-esque space flight.

As the plug begins, there are four major governments on Earth:
The United States of the Americas (currently 61 states, and covering Mexico, and much of Canada),
The Pan-Asian Soviet Federation (Russia, the Ukraine, China, and almost everything in-between),
The European Union (Britain, France, Germany, Spain, you get the idea), and
The Japanese Empire (Japan, claims Indonesia but no one believes them).

Each nation has a spaceport on Earth, the Americans have a base on the Moon, the Soviets have an orbiting space station, and the EU has just colonized Mars.
Additional colonies and spacestations will appear based on the player's actions.

Nice. Sounds great!