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Post by RascalLeader on Sept 30, 2004 20:50:06 GMT -5
Although I have several other projects on the go I have come up with an Idea for a world that I thought I would share. I may not start on it right away but I need to know where to start on it. Since this is my first time attempting this I am going to need all the help I can get!
The basic outline for this is a world that is covered in one huge swamp. I know this is a strange occurence but I have an idea how it might work (aggresive microbiology and high water content). Saying that I is not complelty a swamp, but 80+% is. Its also going to be an Agri world, which is going to be the main hook of the place; it will be different.
I do have H&E and will generate it, so thats easy to do. At the moment I am just putting the concept out so I can get some feed back.
* I am not down with the Tithe system yet, from what I have found out their is two different ones for an Agri world - could someone expaind on them?
* How would I reprisent a swamp like enviroment when I am creating a map? their does not seem to be a colour to reprisent it
* What restrictions do I have on form of govement and Laws? from all I know of the 40K universe most worlds are controlled by an Imperial govener. *Can Planets/Goverments/Planet based corperations own a few trading ships to send out whatever crop I decide on?
* What Sized population is best for my world? I wanted to have a huge underclass community numbering in billions; is this sensible?
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Post by Kage2020 on Oct 1, 2004 11:17:18 GMT -5
Since this is my first time attempting this I am going to need all the help I can get! You'll tend to find that for the most part we all tend to be rather helpful... busy people, but helpful nonetheless. In many ways it's better that some the core members are busy. It means that it is more than a passing interest when they manage to get some information up on the site. The basic outline for this is a world that is covered in one huge swamp. Might be hard to manage based upon the environmental conditions, but should be possible... Saying that I is not complelty a swamp, but 80+% is. That would work... and there would also be 'uninhabitable' areas of the swamp where the temperature is too high, by the sounds of it. Its also going to be an Agri world, which is going to be the main hook of the place; it will be different. Growing pharmaceuticals? That seems to be somewhat traditional... * I am not down with the Tithe system yet, from what I have found out their is two different ones for an Agri world - could someone expaind on them? There is CELS' system for creating the tithe class, but there are also some broad 'classifications' for a world based upon the UWP which create whether the world is considered "Ag" or not (normally reasonable atmosphere and moderate population). How would I reprisent a swamp like enviroment when I am creating a map? their does not seem to be a colour to reprisent it Selecting a colour is rather map specific... also depends on how this is represented in the "new" way of doing maps... See Artwork for more information on this one. What restrictions do I have on form of govement and Laws? All worlds must conform to the lex imperialis and have an Imperial Governor. The nature of the government and laws beyond this are up to you to create. Can Planets/Goverments/Planet based corperations own a few trading ships to send out whatever crop I decide on? Yes... Civil Fleet is 'privately' owned. Merchant Fleet is generally composed of ships that are involved in the movement and redistribution of the tithe. Military Fleet is kinda obvious. What Sized population is best for my world? I wanted to have a huge underclass community numbering in billions; is this sensible? Probably not to receive the appellation "agriworld".
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Post by Destecado on Oct 1, 2004 12:47:34 GMT -5
Population wise, billions might be a little high. 100s of millions is possible depending on the tech level you are looking to have. Have you descided on the major crop for the planet? In the deeper waters of the swamp you could perhaps have algea farms. If the swamp it less deep, it might be more conducive to growing rice.
Rice growing can be very labor intensive especially with a lower tech level. This would help to justify the higher population levels.
A water world with shallow areas opens interesting possibilites for habitation. In Brunei (Borneo) and in areas of the Philipines they build villages right on the water on stilts. You could also have cities like the dutch or New Orleans that are actually below sea level, but use dikes and leview to hold the water back.
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Post by CELS on Oct 1, 2004 16:02:57 GMT -5
[/li][li] For calculation of tithes, go here. If you have an IQ above 70, you should be able to work out how to use the system. If not, I'll do it for you [/li][li] The official map-makers (Philip & Co.) will make a map for you, when it comes to that. But first, you need to work out what your world will look like on paper. Number of continents, temperature, gravity, pollution, air pressure, etc. [/li][li] On governments.... All Imperial worlds have Imperial Commanders, as mentioned above. BUT... some worlds have Imperial commanders as part of a council, some worlds have Imperial commanders elected democratically, etc. See Nagoma, Tryphon, Archaios and Anargo. This is what is known as favouritism... CELS likes his worlds more than others so he only lists Anargo last despite the fact that, alphabetically, it should be first... <sigh> (Just kidding!) [/li][li] On the size and shape of the swamp... Perhaps it would be interesting to have different kind of swamps on this world. Some areas could be perfect for agriculture, other areas would be so dangerous that the world could almost be classified as a death world, and so on. [/li][li] On the foods from this world... remember that this is the far future. You are not limited to rice and potatoes. Perhaps this world could grow an alien food, or even a human-made vegetable, half-carrot and half-potato or whatever..?
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Post by RascalLeader on Oct 2, 2004 18:32:41 GMT -5
Good Because I think this world will need alot of ships... Only the upper echelons are going to have the real technology on the world (I know that has been done a thousand times over, but I just makes sence for my world). It is going to need alot of workers to pick the produce; so I hoped for at least three or Four billion Lower class workers. I know; although I wanted it to be one big swamp I did not want the planet compelty featureless. Its got alot of mountians ranges and two tiny oceans. As for making some areas more dangrous then others, good Idea, but Its already Quite dangrous as it is. I am going to try and figure out the concept first, and thats coming right after I have finshed the work on the Kirs'k (sorry the Lurkers ). Considering how often I get during the day to type anything up it might be up to a month before you hear anything. Genengineered Root that sprouts everywhere like a weed. The designers would be horrifed at the sort of chaos it causes the inhabitance. I am thinking they are going to be rather bland, but since they have too much of it on world they need to get rid of it. Puray it, put enoght spices in it and selling it cheap has made it the favorate to poor hive world workers.
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Post by CELS on Oct 3, 2004 8:11:01 GMT -5
LoL! Or maybe it was because the other worlds have more untraditional forms of government than Anargo... I do like my worlds more than others though ;D If the world is very dangerous, it's not going to make a good agri-world. Agri-worlds are mostly covered with cultivated lands, with barely any animals at all (unless the animals are livestock). If your world has a lot of wild swamps, where nutricious foods grow, but are difficult to harvest, then it's not going to be able to produce enough as an agri-world.
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Post by Kage2020 on Oct 3, 2004 8:40:39 GMT -5
LoL! Or maybe it was because the other worlds have more untraditional forms of government than Anargo... Since that was the goal, there is success... I do like my worlds more than others though ;D Which ones were they again!? If your world has a lot of wild swamps, where nutricious foods grow, but are difficult to harvest, then it's not going to be able to produce enough as an agri-world. So maybe a redefinition would be appropriate?
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Post by CELS on Oct 3, 2004 9:13:49 GMT -5
So maybe a redefinition would be appropriate? In that case, it could be a hiveworld, an industrial world, a feudal world, a feral world, a death world or a (yaawn) civilised world. We really need a more detailed concept, beyond the fact that there are a lot of swamps on this world. And personally, I do find it a bit odd/tedious that there are three 'swamp worlds' in the Anargo sector, which all have pretty much the same appearance all across their surface...
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Post by RascalLeader on Oct 3, 2004 18:24:39 GMT -5
Not very dangrous then. However you have to bare in mind that swamps by their very nature are somewhat hazardous. Their is very little indigenous on my little backward planet but the main hazard out their comes from getting infected by varous bacteria. Most does not kill but is a nusence. If your now woundering about the validity of the crop don't; its risistant. Infact the crop itself is part of the hardship that the coloniest face. Its easy to pick because its everywhere but it is so virulent that unless its controlled it eats away at their homes. Its no wonder they want to ship as much of it they can off the planet.
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Post by Destecado on Oct 5, 2004 13:52:08 GMT -5
If your now woundering about the validity of the crop don't; its risistant. Infact the crop itself is part of the hardship that the coloniest face. Its easy to pick because its everywhere but it is so virulent that unless its controlled it eats away at their homes. Its no wonder they want to ship as much of it they can off the planet. The way you describe it, it almost sounds like African Kudzu that was originally imported to California in an attempt to stbilize hillsides to prevent mud slides. Unfortunately it spread like wildfire and can be a real nuisance. Would the Imperium actually allow the spread of such a virulent form of flora. Perhaps if it was first processed into a food stuff rather than being sent off world raw. From its description, the plant that you are descrbing sounds alot like a weed. You need to give a better description of this crop. Is it a fungus or is it a plant? If it is a plant, perhaps if left unchecked it grows into thick matts that cover sections fo the swamp. Maybe when first surveyed, these areas were thought to be solid land. It was not until a ship landed on them, that they realized they weren't. Perhaps they are strong enough to support people and small shelters. Maybe you could have small communities built on these floral blooms.
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Post by RascalLeader on Oct 5, 2004 18:50:13 GMT -5
It was orignally surpost to be a crop that could surive in this extreme enviroment, however it worked a little too well. The inhabitance have to control it using varous methods, but the most economically viable is to sell it as a food stuff to other worlds. It is picked first of all from around the settlements and then deeper into the Swamp fields in a vain attempt to stem its spread. It always grows back within a few months so the end up with the same problem. Its a good thing it is edible or they would never get rid of the things. Yes its processed and turned into a heavly faloured brick of cake like substance. Its incredibly nutirtional but bland. I am think that Imperial Guard regiments get handed the stuff as survival rastion; you know the stuff they will gruble about touching. And the Imperium is safe from a plague of swamp roots taking over the galaxy; their geneengineer only for the speific enviroment of the planet. Even so I can see that they have burned the interire area of vegitation around the starports just incase. ;D Actully its a good question; I have it down as just a nucence of a plant that has its ancestry in something similer to a potato. As of yet I have no concreat ideas on this dispite it being a rather major part of the landscape. I am putting off all major decisions for the time being, and am fully consentrating on the new race I am designing. However I have loved the feedback I have gotten so far (even the critisiums) since it is helping me to form a more compelte idea of what I want. The most current Idea I have on the landscape are thus: The planet has very rugged terrain features, it has lots of mountain ranges and cliffs. The swamp covers the lowlands only and is a mixture of deep (most common) and shallow (small intermittant areas). Althought their is little vegitation apart from the 'Swamp root' their are quite a few vines and trees in certain areas. Their are some very hot places on the planet that anyone would be a fool to travel through since the heated pools have more plant life choking up the place. Not to mention the hell of a sun burn you would get . Their are some two main oceans on that planet both of which are quite small but relitivly free of swamp fauna. I was even daring to thing that these might be unique in themselves because they are both going to be quite salty (like the dead sea). And the settlements: All the town are placed on the highest ground and are half carved in, and half stilted out on some. I hoped to create a different living enviroment based on the extreame terrain they live with. They have to pump water directly from the swamps which is heavily fitered but not impressivly effective. In the poorer areas outbrakes of dysentery are common (but the older the populance get the more ammune to this the get luckly). The communites are very close-nit and hard working picking the roots for very little money then selling them over to the nasty Barons that run the trading cartel on the planet. The rest of the cards I am keeping close to my chest for now untill I can give my full attention to building this world.
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Post by Kage2020 on Oct 5, 2004 19:45:03 GMT -5
All I can say to you at the moment is "Good for you!". I'm glad that you're sticking to your guns. I ask you, as I would ask anyone, to remember that submission of a world does not mean that the world is accepted. Other than that, we're froopy and I like forward to seeing your world appearing in an appropriate subsector... ;D
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Post by Dazo on Oct 6, 2004 10:03:32 GMT -5
Yes, interesting idea, one I myself had, swamp and marsh in my opinion provide exciting possibilities in terms of civilisation and appearance. So do you have any idea where you would like to see your world, which sub sector?
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Post by Destecado on Oct 6, 2004 18:05:53 GMT -5
It was orignally surpost to be a crop that could surive in this extreme enviroment, however it worked a little too well. Perhaps it mutated due to interactions with the bacterias in the swamp. Seeing how it is a transplant to the planet (brought by the colonists) it is probably a variform of a terran strain or some sort of vegitation that would be edible to humans. Variforms or varigation refers to altering the genetic makeup of a plant or animal to make it more suitable to the enviroment in which it is placed. Farmers did this for centuries by cross breading types of grains to make crops that took better to colder temperatures, more resistant to insects or which grew quickly allowing for two planting seasons. With today's technology, scientists have begun to genetically engineer crops at the cellular level. Some people refer to these crops as "frankenfoods". There is still some question to the stability of the genetic changes made by scientists. Some fear that the plants may spontaneously mutate becoming poisonous or causing ecological disasters.... Having the major crop mutate in such a manner that it becomes a hazard might be interesting. It might mean that the world is no longer an agriworld or that the food must be heavily processed to be safe...thus the hard tack bars of nutrients that is their final form. The most current Idea I have on the landscape are thus: The planet has very rugged terrain features, it has lots of mountain ranges and cliffs. The swamp covers the lowlands only and is a mixture of deep (most common) and shallow (small intermittant areas). Althought their is little vegitation apart from the 'Swamp root' their are quite a few vines and trees in certain areas. I might have an idea that you can utilize for sections of your world. I was working on a concept of a mist shrouded world where habitation was confined to mountain peaks and other points above the mist zone. The reason for this was due to the biological hazards in the mist. This mist could be replaced with swamp gas which collects in the lower lying areas. The biological hazards could easily be hazardous levels of bacterial spores carried by the gas. The inhabitants could need rebreathers or other equipment to descend into the "mist zone". Perhaps there are communitees that exist below the mist zone, but they are hopelessly infested with the spores. Perhaps one of the bacterias causes madness from a high fever or stimulates the production of adrenaline or other substances in human subjects, increasing their tendancy to violence. In the hot regions you could have times of the year where ungal blooms erupt out of the swamp spewing forth their spores in order to spread. This fungus could be called "the rot" it needs to be burned away before it begins eating away at important technological equipment. Their are some two main oceans on that planet both of which are quite small but relitivly free of swamp fauna. I was even daring to thing that these might be unique in themselves because they are both going to be quite salty (like the dead sea). Salt is a very important comodity. We all need it to survive. Another important feature of the oceans are that they are relatively free from the gas that permeates the swamp. You could have a cartel or a single family controling the salt trade....you could also have salt smugglers.
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Post by RascalLeader on Oct 6, 2004 21:23:59 GMT -5
Thanks ;D I am not really sure. At the moment is is quite hard to guess which is suited best because its hard to get a real feel of the subsecter yet. I am currently looking through all the other worlds suggested in the threads to see which is best. Does anyone have a suggestion on this? I think I am ether going to have to place it ajacent to several heavy populated systems so that it is in a key place to distribute all of the product to. Its a good idea so you might want to keep it for your own world. Mind you I can form a rather picturesque view of the mountains poking out of the misty haze of the swamp . I have come up with the idea that some of the hotter areas might also contain pockets of highly flamible gasses that tend to go off randomly, forcing the inhabitance to move around these areas carefully. However that might make the area too dangrous. Again another excellent idea. But it might be cruel on the inhabitance to have both the root and the rot spoiling their lives. Perhaps the spore is somesort of very viscus material that sticks to everything instead. It can also form into patches deeper in the swamps that form 'sinking sand' like areas. Really? I am intreged. Would the salt be valuble commidity on the planet. I know it has its uses but all I can see is the image of the people using it to change the taste of the rootplant. I'll bet their fed up of it really. Their is no other crop on the planet or fish. Meal times would get rather bland. Perhaps ironically they have to inport other foodstuff onto the planet in order to get verity.
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