Checks thread title.
Though, yeah, this poll thing totally isn't working.
We need an organic discussion going on.
And it just seems appropriate that if we do start a new thread, the thread should probably be made by a neutral person.
So, whaddya guys think?
You sure do know how to depress a guy.
Sorry.
Totally unintended.
What's the point of having harder sci-fi if nobody wants it?
It's not that nobody wants harder sci-fi, it's just that "my" hard is different from "your" hard is different from "Grox's" hard is different from "Crazen's" hard is different from... and so on.
The recent application of technical stuff is all good and well. But it's when those technical stuff is imposed as "the only way" that relations begins to crumble.
Point is, judging from the past few weeks, people don't seem to like a Mohs scale of 4.2, and appear to prefer a 3.5 ~ 3.0 instead.
Why do those forums full of scientifically accurate people seem so full of mean-spiritedness?
Eh, what?
I'm not gonna be pointing names, but almost everyone here isn't really mean spirited.
They're just stressed and being pushed beyond their comfort zones far too often.
Grox with his plasma weapons.
You with your universal theory.
And everyone else that's been criticized and pounced upon drastically.
Really, this all stems from the fact that we
can have it both ways
but choose not to.We can't make up our minds as a community because there will
always be someone who opposes it who will never back down. The specific person may change but the end scenario is still the same.
So for once, can
everyone, as in
everyone who's a member of this community, just
please leave each other's technical stuff alone and focus on the story, and interfere only when the stuff is reaching god mod levels without valid reasoning behind it?
Why do I even bother trying so hard to make everything realistic and interesting?
That's the problem.
Something doesn't have to be realistic to be interesting.
Really, there seems to be a subgenre dissonance between the people on this site.
Some don't care about Treknobabble as long as there's a good and epic story, while others want in-depth details about the technicalities and consequences of technology to come with the story. Both of which aren't necessarily bad. It's when you
mix those two that the c0cktail gets spoiled.
It's like trying to mix Dune and Honor Harrington. You'll lose the political intrigue of the former because of the illogical nature of spice-induced prescience and the monopoly that the Navigators built around it, and then you'll lose the awesomeness induced by the latter's adherence to realistic and consistent technology application because "LolWeirding Way" and "LolKwisatz Haderach". What will you get in return? A bunch of dead sandworms and a Manticoran navy that can pwn the Solarian League, not because of competence, but because they can see the future.
Again, everyone must compromise. As it is, the current state of technical detail is already a great deal better than the Silver Age, let alone the Golden Age.
Look at Grox, for example. At first he created stuff like Neutron Singularities, but now you can clearly see that he's put a lot more thought into things.
Yet it appears no one has taken this into account whenever he is being criticized.
The same goes for Crazen, heck I pulled out the Terran-Ixian's for this exact reason.
We're not saying you should throw all of those stuff away, UFO, it's just that it's a fact of life that you just have to give up a fragment of your vision to allow others to fill that gap with theirs.
We respect your love for details, UFO, we really do, especially me. It really gives you your own special flavor. Still, sometimes thorough technical scrutiny isn't what the situation calls for.
There's a time and place for everything, whether it be essays on interesting cultures, technological exploration, fascinating local biology, or just plain going Klingon on those bad guys.
Is real life just that boring to everybody else?
I can't speak for anybody else, but I personally don't think most of us are as well versed in hard sci-fi in contrast with soft ones.
That's the thing.
Sometimes is just too hard, or too boring, for some to think over a piece of tech within the span of weeks before posting them. Mostly, they just use the tech as a literary device, relegating the focus of the story to the characters themselves.
While technological speculation-heavy stories aren't necessarily less good than drama-based ones, It helps to know that not everyone here derives much value from the details of their literary tools.
Let's face it. We tech speculation-focused guys are a minority here. On the other hand, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy our stuff now and then and give helpful advice to others.
Advice, not rules. While we may sometimes be heavy on it, the fact doesn't change that it is still advice, and must be treated as such.
Only when unwarranted god mod occurs should we fully mobilize.
Why doesn't anybody explore all the possibilities and potential of the universe, like a race of sapient parasites living in the insides of massive creatures that roam the skies of a gas giant, or floating creatures in the Venusian atmosphere who drink sulfuric acid, or brave warriors on a desert world who conserve their formamide like it was water?
Hey, just on me alone, there's...
... a silicon-based aquatic race which depends on electricity the same way people breather air.
... a blind nitrogen triflouride breathing race of desert dwellers that paradoxically specialize in aerospace technology.
... a civilization of farmers with vestigial plant parts that tend to a planet-spanning tree with several layers, all of which serve as foundations for entire ecosystems with some reaching the upper parts of the troposphere via mountain crawling, balloon segments, and different methods of water collection.
... a culture of closet warmongers who channel away their murderous tendencies through sports and strict discipline, and live in a deathworld filled with the most bizarre wildlife survival strategies.
... and a society which depends gravely on technology just so they can live a semblance of a normal life, who also happen to have rather tragic issues regarding bioethical principles.
Lush had sentient fungus.
The Graid are biologically immortal and design their own body parts.
Clarke has methane creatures.
And so on.
Why should I even try if the softies ignore me and the hardliners insult me?
No one's insulting you.
*concerned
slap*They aren't ignoring you either. They're voicing out their opinion. It just happens that that opinion sometimes includes the fact that they don't agree with the level of standardization that's being proposed.
That doesn't mean you should automatically quit making these stuff. Look at Crazen, ask him how many people visit his thread. At least your proposals attract actual traffic and discussion.
On the other hand, don't force yourself either. Stress can be bad for you and can even cloud your mind. At the very least take solace in the fact that while they may not adapt your system fully, they also aren't against taking some of your advice on some technical matters.
Furthermore, while we may sometimes get on each other's nerves, we're far, far away from most other sites' levels of hostility and snarkiness.
That, I can assure you firsthand.
Poll
