The Ascent of Mankind

[iontom]

Hey, I really like the concept of this mod. As an astronomy student it means I'm kind of narcissistic about this a little bit. I've been following this thread for a while, sounds like an assload of work. I never particularly enjoyed Final Frontier or any of its derivatives. 4X games never appropriately represent what space colonization would be like.. So a knockoff spin with the Civ4 engine doesn't do much for me. But it sounds like your mod is more like an advisor screen?

@Hydromancerx
I've seen your Naucean stuff on deviantart before I saw your posts here.

@Civ Fuehrer
Your advanced nukes pretty much is the coolest mod I've ever used. Initiating the apocalypse in Civ is pretty evocative.

I really like the time travel concept you guys have thrown around. To toy around with the concept I started a game as America and gave myself all techs. You would think winning is easy, but if you expand too fast before making infrastructure you have revolutions and suddenly there's a cold war brewing in 1900BC.

As an astronomer, there's a couple suggestions I have for techs and buildings. Although I don't completely understand what your scheme for this all is. Take it or leave it, it's just suggestion. But honestly a lot of discovery and mapping is going on right now in our information age, not the distant future. There's groups on my campus mapping every observable star in the milky way with position, velocity, temperature, metallicity... And my friends have found literally thousands of new asteroids by sifting through existing data. Look up the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, digital survey telescopes are the real powerhouse of mapping space.


My suggestions:

Spectroscopy (Requires Photography, Scientific Method)
- Allows Thermodynamics
- Can classify star types

Cosmology (Req Quantum Physics)
- Reveals other galaxies
- Hubble's Law [World project like evolution]

CCD Photography (Req Microprocessor)
- Hubble Space Telescope [Already in Game]
- Modern Observatory [Replaces Observatory] (Can only be built on hill or mountain cities)

Modern Cosmology (Req CCD Photography)
- Discover dark matter, dark energy
- First to discovery receives Great Scientist

Robotic Sky Surveys (Req CCD Photography)
- Digital Sky Survey [National Wonder]
Reveals all nearby stars in the galaxy and all nearby galaxies
- TPF (Terrestrial Planet Finder)
Reveals large planets within given distanceSpectroscopy (Requires Photography, Scientific Method)
- Allows Thermodynamics
- Can classify star types

Cosmology (Req Quantum Physics)
- Reveals other galaxies
- Hubble's Law [World project like evolution]

CCD Photography (Req Microprocessor)
- Hubble Space Telescope [Already in Game]
- Modern Observatory [Replaces Observatory] (Can only be built on hill or mountain cities)

Modern Cosmology (Req CCD Photography)
- Discover existence of dark matter, dark energy
- First to discovery receives Great Scientist

Robotic Sky Surveys (Req CCD Photography)
- Digital Sky Survey [National Wonder]
Reveals all nearby stars in the galaxy and all nearby galaxies
- TPF (Terrestrial Planet Finder)
Reveals extrasolar planets within given distance

 

[Galacticat42]

Dude, where were you when we were putting in the techs? we need a guy who knows something about this subject more than two space fanboys scratching their heads about what to put in.

I love the techs but you missed the Civ4 tech deadline, it's gunna have to make it in the Civ5 version. Yes we are still putting in one or two techs occasionally but they're near the end of the tech tree, no major tech shifting going on.

 

[Hydromancerx]

@Hydromancerx
I've seen your Naucean stuff on deviantart before I saw your posts here.

Thanks. I highly recommend you read through the entire Naucean series. I spend a lot of time on it and its some of my most detailed works.

Nauceans
http://www.gamingsteve.com/blab/index.php?topic=1621.0

Dude, where were you when we were putting in the techs? we need a guy who knows something about this subject more than two space fanboys scratching their heads about what to put in.

I love the techs but you missed the Civ4 tech deadline, it's gunna have to make it in the Civ5 version. Yes we are still putting in one or two techs occasionally but they're near the end of the tech tree, no major tech shifting going on.

Gah! But his ideas look so awesome! You can't add a new more?

 

[iontom]

Well, if you're waiting for Civ 5 that's great. I haven't tried my hand at any heavy modding, and despite some familiarity with Python, Civ 5 uses something else. I can't remember what its called. It was a Brazilian derivation of python. Anyway, I'm willing to help mod civ5 with you guys. I'll be out of school with plenty o' down time.

So does you mod generate a galaxy map or something? Do you have any alpha screens of what your space menu looks like? I just figured my techs give a realistic time frame for revealing stars and planets.

Hydro: You should go to school for astrobio. I was going to show you some cool stuff on my dA gallery but for some reason half of the images are wiped. I used to create alien civilizations all the time. Language, location, empires, you name it. But as soon as I got to college I gave up being creative. It's been over 4 years since I've done anything cool. some still works, iontom.deviantart.com


In any case, I am willing to help you guys with this project. Ideas and code. I can't throw in a lot of time though right now.

Cheers

 

[Hydromancerx]

Thanks iontom. I already got a Bachelors of Science in Game Art and Design. But my heart has always been in biology. Be it n the past, in the present or in any aliens we find in the future (or our imaginations). I hope some day putting my love of biology with my art and game making skills to make some sort of biology themed video game. But for now it will have to be but moding games and creating cool alien concept drawings.

 

[Galacticat42]

Thanks iontom. I already got a Bachelors of Science in Game Art and Design. But my heart has always been in biology. Be it n the past, in the present or in any aliens we find in the future (or our imaginations). I hope some day putting my love of biology with my art and game making skills to make some sort of biology themed video game. But for now it will have to be but moding games and creating cool alien concept drawings.

I'm not to see your name as head artist for Spore 2 am I?

 

[Hydromancerx]

I'm not to see your name as head artist for Spore 2 am I?

I wish. At least then I would try to make Spore better. However I do not think there will be a Spore 2. Especially with all the lay offs at Maxis. I feel very lucky being chosen back at Spore Community day to try out Spore before it came out. Seeing all the people who worked there. Now many are not there anymore. It was like a rare moment in time and I will treasure it always.

And just so you know I do know what Will Wright next project is. And have been in his "secret tester group" for a few weeks now. I cannot say much more about it. But its definitely diffrent from anything that he has done before.

 

[NBAfan]

And just so you know I do know what Will Wright next project is. And have been in his "secret tester group" for a few weeks now. I cannot say much more about it. But its definitely diffrent from anything that he has done before.

Does it have anything to do with Sim City?

 

[iontom]

I wish. At least then I would try to make Spore better. However I do not think there will be a Spore 2. Especially with all the lay offs at Maxis. I feel very lucky being chosen back at Spore Community day to try out Spore before it came out. Seeing all the people who worked there. Now many are not there anymore. It was like a rare moment in time and I will treasure it always.

And just so you know I do know what Will Wright next project is. And have been in his "secret tester group" for a few weeks now. I cannot say much more about it. But its definitely diffrent from anything that he has done before.

Is he finally making a street racer game? (Isn't that a hobby of his?)

As far as gameplay goes, Spore was a flop. I agree. Judging by the early demonstrations by Will Wright, I'd say his development team ran off with his project and marketed it to kids because they knew that's where the bank was. I just hope 2k continues to give the freedom to Firaxis that EA apparently has revoked from Maxis. That is horrible about layoffs there. Sounds like an all around abuse of power. But maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe you guys should ditch the whole Civ mod and make a standalone. You know, civ+simcity+spore-pokemon+moo2+Starcraft+TotalWar+halo?=

Do either of you guys remember the name of the programming language Civ V is done with? I saw it in a press release but can't remember where. It's probably something optimized for multi-core game play, something I am very excited about.

 

[NBAfan]

They said Civ 5 will use LUA script.

 

[Hydromancerx]

Does it have anything to do with Sim City?

Nope. Its not even a video game.

Is he finally making a street racer game? (Isn't that a hobby of his?)

Nope, nothing to do with his hobbies of street racing, cosmonauts or robots.

Like I said its completely diffrent than anything he has worked on before.

 

[Galacticat42]

They said Civ 5 will use LUA script.

Finally gunna use LUA hmm? About time if you ask me, just about every PC game uses it, Civ is slightly behind the curve.

 

[Dado94]

First of all i'm not english
I've read the concept of this new mod, it sounds really interesting, but i've this idea:

I think that is realistic that the terrestrial civilizations (when the planet colonization is started) put togheter in a "Earth Federation".
This is obvious if you introduce alien wars (oh yes!)
The power and the detachement you have obtained towards the othe civs, must be an important factor when you strat in the Federation (otherwise you have played for 2100 years for nothing).


What about technologies like "Universal traslator", "Energy from Stars" or other more social,economical and political-oriented.
I see only technology only for travel and explore new planet. Whith this era there must be a radical social and political change (also economical).

How does this look?

I think there are technologies in the last part of the trans-human era that are in the "time line" after technologies of the Galactic era.
Is strange to have a Sentient Earth before Auxiliary Planet Exploration.
Change Sentient Earth to Sentient Planet and put this technology with other "bonus" in the Galactic era.
Put Cryogenetics in the Galactic Era (I think is important for the spce travel).
What do you think?

Good work!

 

[iontom]

NBAfan -> Thanks, I'll look into it. It does appear to have a lot of use in games already.

Hydro -> Does it have anything to do with Will's SuperFunClub?

 

[Hydromancerx]

Hydro -> Does it have anything to do with Will's SuperFunClub?

Yes. But that's about all I can say. And its "Stupid Fun Club".

 

[Fanghorn]

What are you guys working on right now anyway? Ive always wanted to help as this is an awesome idea. But my suggestions didnt fit you and your oppinions didnt fit me ,yet.

 

[Dado94]

What are you guys working on right now anyway? Ive always wanted to help as this is an awesome idea. But my suggestions didnt fit you and your oppinions didnt fit me ,yet.

What are your suggestions?

 

[Dado94]

What about Zero-Point Energy?

http://www.halexandria.org/dward154.htm

...More practical applications include “mining” these vacuum fluctuations for practical uses such as spaceflight and such far-out possibilities as “warp-drive” space propulsion systems...

 

[Arakhor]

I was under the impression that zero-point energy completely violated the Laws of Thermodynamics and thus wasn't at all realistic.

 

[Dado94]

I was under the impression that zero-point energy completely violated the Laws of Thermodynamics and thus wasn't at all realistic.

I'm not a physic, but from what i've read, it is realistic. It is described by quantum physic.
It is the energy of the vacuum. A huge amount of "background" energy that can be the answer to all our energetic problems in the future.

I read that:

The zero-point energy stored in 1cm^2 of space is enough to evaporate all the oceans of the earth in a moment! (10^13 joules)

There are also theories where the zero-point field (where is "situated" this energy) can be the cause of the inertia and the gravity:
A way to reach the Antigravity.