NationStates Jolt Archive

I was reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy again, and I got to the part about Magrathea, the planet the custom builds planets.

If you could design a planet, what would it be like?

I'd like Earth, only completly wild, nothing built except my palaces, castles, resorts, ect.

Also, more interesting stuff, like ruby desposits.

And no mosquitos.

Or spiders.

I was hoping this would lead to some sort of world-building freeware game program.

Curse you and your enhancing of my expectations.

I was hoping this would lead to some sort of world-building freeware game program.

Curse you and your enhancing of my expectations.

My thoughts exactly.

I was hoping this would lead to some sort of world-building freeware game program.

Me too! That's weird. Anyway, I would make it amost exactly like it is now, except with less people and no Shara desert. Oh, and it would be warmer too. No Arctic ice caps for me! The oceans would also be fresh water so you could irrigate beaches and there would never be water shortages. Of course, I would be the supreme and unquestioned ruler of this paradise. :D

Like Earth, but socially it would be all like Western Europe except more liberal, where economically it would all be communist, and the population would be much smaller so everyone would have a middle class style house and there would be no poverty. Oh and there would be chocolate volcanoes and everybody would be an environmentalist because the rainforests of Brazil, the Congo and Indonesia would be full of marijuana plants.

Me too! That's weird. Anyway, I would make it amost exactly like it is now, except with less people and no Shara desert. Oh, and it would be warmer too. No Arctic ice caps for me! The oceans would also be fresh water so you could irrigate beaches and there would never be water shortages. Of course, I would be the supreme and unquestioned ruler of this paradise. :D


The last part goes without saying.

I was hoping this would lead to some sort of world-building freeware game program.

Curse you and your enhancing of my expectations.


And you expect ME to build something like this!?!

ME?!?

If you knew me, you would realize how funny that is.

I was reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy again, and I got to the part about Magrathea, the planet the custom builds planets.

If you could design a planet, what would it be like?

The only problem with custom planets is that I'd be too tempted to drift into some sort of solipsistic fantasy realm...

You know, if I had my own planet, at first I'd just want more natural spaces, cool waterfalls and gigantic forests and things; but pretty soon the temptation to populate said world entirely with lascivious harem girls would be too much, I think, for any mortal man to bear. :D

And even if (very big if) I could resist the obvious temptations, there's even wierder possibilities--you know, like inventing funny animals, just to see how they'd work out... like if you created an animal that was just like a hamster, but with tank treads and a two-stroke diesel engine. :eek: I think, if there's a God, that must be how the platypus got created....

The only problem with custom planets is that I'd be too tempted to drift into some sort of solipsistic fantasy realm...

You know, if I had my own planet, at first I'd just want more natural spaces, cool waterfalls and gigantic forests and things; but pretty soon the temptation to populate said world entirely with lascivious harem girls would be too much, I think, for any mortal man to bear. :D

And even if (very big if) I could resist the obvious temptations, there's even wierder possibilities--you know, like inventing funny animals, just to see how they'd work out... like if you created an animal that was just like a hamster, but with tank treads and a two-stroke diesel engine. :eek: I think, if there's a God, that must be how the platypus got created....


Well.

You have to remember, in Hitchhiker's guide, it would take MONEY to do this.

And, somehow, I don't think you would be the sort to wind up with money.

Well.

You have to remember, in Hitchhiker's guide, it would take MONEY to do this.

And, somehow, I don't think you would be the sort to wind up with money.

Well, I wasn't exactly being serious, but was it the hamsters or the hackneyed harem girl fantasy that makes you doubt my earning power?

But you never know. I might get hired on to design wacky planets for eccentric octillionaires, thus earning fortune enough to build my own bizarre creation. I might even get rich designing hamsters for the military :P

Besides, with multi-dimensional physics, such as those needed to create a hyperspace pocket within which to construct an entire planet, it might even be possible to miniaturize the process, thus reducing the cost to the level of common affordability. Especially if they had software to help them do it. Then it's just a matter of gathering the raw materials and stuffing them into hyperspace. I mean, hey, Zaphod ended up president of the universe. You never know who'll end up with their own planet.

Truly though, I'm much more like Arthur, and the thought of an entire planet to share with one very awesome woman appeals far more to my nobler sensitivities than all the harem girls in the cosmos. ... still, there's the question of what to do before I meet that woman :D

Well, I wasn't exactly being serious, but was it the hamsters or the hackneyed harem girl fantasy that makes you doubt my earning power?

But you never know. I might get hired on to design wacky planets for eccentric octillionaires, thus earning fortune enough to build my own bizarre creation. I might even get rich designing hamsters for the military :P

Besides, with multi-dimensional physics, such as those needed to create a hyperspace pocket within which to construct an entire planet, it might even be possible to miniaturize the process, thus reducing the cost to the level of common affordability. Especially if they had software to help them do it. Then it's just a matter of gathering the raw materials and stuffing them into hyperspace. I mean, hey, Zaphod ended up president of the universe. You never know who'll end up with their own planet.

Truly though, I'm much more like Arthur, and the thought of an entire planet to share with one very awesome woman appeals far more to my nobler sensitivities than all the harem girls in the cosmos. ... still, there's the question of what to do before I meet that woman :D


You do have some good points.

I like the part about making it cheaper for everybody.

If anybody did make software like this, I'd buy it.

Truly though, I'm much more like Arthur, and the thought of an entire planet to share with one very awesome woman appeals far more to my nobler sensitivities than all the harem girls in the cosmos

You and me both.

I was hoping this would lead to some sort of world-building freeware game program.

Curse you and your enhancing of my expectations.
You've never heard of "SimEarth"? ;)

You do have some good points.

I like the part about making it cheaper for everybody.

If anybody did make software like this, I'd buy it.

If it were possible for everybody to have their own planet somewhere in the vastness of space, or in the vaster vastness of hyperspace, and actually go there whenever they wanted... Perhaps it'd be a more peaceful universe?


You and me both.

Thanks :) Truth be told, I was worried everybody might think I was a freak for saying that...

I demand a SimEarth 2!!!!

You've never heard of "SimEarth"?

I've played that before. In fact I own it. I never got the hang of it though. :(

Thanks Truth be told, I was worried everybody might think I was a freak for saying that...

No prob. By the way, how in this world do you remember your nations' name when you log in? :D

I can't think of anything I'd like more then a planet in the shape of a Klein bottle. On this planet there would be balanced budgets, a lack of credit cards, lenient gun owners rights, and the grass in my lawn would never grow (and if it did then my lawn wouldn't have so damn many hills). I'd be in charge, of course, and I'd have a harem of clones of Salma Hayek. Or anyone else that happened to catch my eye.

1,000,000 small hippy islands.

You've never heard of "SimEarth"? ;)

My problem with SimEarth is it's not a terribly good simulation, left on it's own with no god-like-player interference, every one of the Earth scenarios and any random planet will, inevitably, have the oceans boil off and spend the last 3 or 4 billion years with no multicellar life. Why? I don't know. It's supposed to self-regulate, cuz of that whole Gaia theory, but it boils the oceans every time.

*Goes outside Will Wright's office*

Make somthing like this! Make something lik...(enthusiasm drops, goes home and watches Inu-Yasha)

My problem with SimEarth is it's not a terribly good simulation, left on it's own with no god-like-player interference, every one of the Earth scenarios and any random planet will, inevitably, have the oceans boil off and spend the last 3 or 4 billion years with no multicellar life. Why? I don't know. It's supposed to self-regulate, cuz of that whole Gaia theory, but it boils the oceans every time.

Could it be that SimEarth is actually more accurate than i thought? After all, complex systems invariably require outside interference to work. Maybe there's a lesson in there for all you atheists. :D

Anyway , I forgot to mention before that all the people on my custom planet would live in the country. No dirty crowded cities for me, thanks.

Though not a SimEarth 2, Spore will own us all. If it lives up to its hype.

http://www.ferrago.com/story/5330 for a brief synopsis. Theres more detailed ones out there if you search.

My world would be a planet of solid land, with a large air bubble, and then being surrounded by a layer of water(fairly deep). The water would have fish and such, while the land under it would be inhabited by beings. Tree's would reproduce oxygen, and the trees would be extremely fire resistant.

The people would be warmed both by the heat which permeated through the water, and a quite warm geothermal core. There would be many areas where water would funnel through the sky into the ground, ending up in a systems of lakes and rivers, which connected the world. The water would eventually come back into the sky, through two opposite poles where the water surged back into the sky.

Rain would be more frequent than on earth, but less harsh. Other than all of this, it would be quite like earth. However, there would be no religion, the people would all be one color(light-brown, similar to a tan white person or a very light black person), with one language and currency. There would be no war, though the planet would be split into regions, states, counties, and cities. They would all be connected, however. The planet would be smaller than earth, though with available surface, it would be close to the livable area of earth.

The planet would be in a very isolated area of the galaxy, with no aliens in any reasonable distance. There would be multiple inhabitable planets around it, as well as a healthy sun, but no asteroids. It would be closer to the sun than the earth.

It would be a living hell due to my dislike for those fools.

Could it be that SimEarth is actually more accurate than i thought? After all, complex systems invariably require outside interference to work. Maybe there's a lesson in there for all you atheists. :D
Any outside interference would most likely be uber-advanced space aliens.

Nice try though. ;)

My problem with SimEarth is it's not a terribly good simulation, left on it's own with no god-like-player interference, every one of the Earth scenarios and any random planet will, inevitably, have the oceans boil off and spend the last 3 or 4 billion years with no multicellar life. Why? I don't know. It's supposed to self-regulate, cuz of that whole Gaia theory, but it boils the oceans every time.
They boil of because they are supposed to boil off, like in real life. ;)

Any outside interference would most likely be uber-advanced space aliens.

Nice try though. ;)

*cough* Xel Naga*cough*

NOTE: The following isn't necessarily accurately scientific or anything. If anyone believes parts of this wouldn't work, then feel free to post your own revision or something.

I would create a large planet similar to Earth in atmosphere and climate, and insert a heatshield (made of ceramic and other insulating materials) in the mantle. Whilst this means the planet wouldn't have any natural volcanoes or hotsprings, and therefore no rock or tourist traps, it would be possible to create deep underground structures. It would exist inside a metal shield with both artificial heat/light generators (powered by electrical and chemical energy from power stations and recycling operations) and "sunroofs" with magnifiers to provide heat and light for the planet. This "controlled climate" would allow the planet to be used for holiday excursions, hydroponics and biological research, as filters and specifically designed generators and magnifiers would control the temperature and light in an area. However, UV radiation would have to be synthesized and artificially produced in most cases, and air pressure would have to be closely watched and regulated due to the solid boundary. Engines and exhausts would be placed in strategic locations in the mantle and outer layer, allowing the planet to move within space. The planet would be able to control its own axis rotation using the engines and deliberately move in and out of orbit, allowing it to create its own calendar! It would be called Adornia Alpha.

I'd build two identical copies of the earth. On one I'd put people I think are scum (e.g. rapists, murderers, dictators), on the next I'd put people who are ok-ish but I don't want to live with, and on the third all the best people (which includes me as it's best in my opinion).

Okay, in my world, I would be queen, and all the annoying people would disappear at my will. The skies and oceans would be blue, and the rest of nature would be, too. Shades of BLUE BLUE BLUE!!! WHOO-HOO! All the other colors would exist, in artifical person-made clothing and the like, but everything else would be BLUE!

Ahem. I like blue.

I'd build two identical copies of the earth. On one I'd put people I think are scum (e.g. rapists, murderers, dictators), on the next I'd put people who are ok-ish but I don't want to live with, and on the third all the best people (which includes me as it's best in my opinion).
Now that really DOES ring a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (purists would correct me and say Restaurant at the End of the Universe) bell... (The whole A, B and C ark thing)

Though not a SimEarth 2, Spore will own us all. If it lives up to its hype.

http://www.ferrago.com/story/5330 for a brief synopsis. Theres more detailed ones out there if you search.

Glad to see someone mentioned Spore in response to the calls for a "Sim Earth 2" :p For more information: the official site (http://spore.ea.com) has some links to various news items and a few screenshots. However to really get the lowdown you can't get any better than watching the streaming video of Will Wright's talk/demonstration given at the Gaming Developers Conference, which can be found here (http://www.pqhp.com/cmp/gdctv/) (it's the third video in the list). In it Will Wright discusses the ideas and technology behind Spore and (more importantly) gives a demonstration of the game in action. Great stuff.

Oh, and back on topic (vagually ;) ) http://www.zompist.com/virtuver.htm This guy's created an entire world complete with a long and detailed history and several languages. Lot of work obviously went into it, and it shows. If you have any time you should check out the Historical Atlas.

Now that really DOES ring a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (purists would correct me and say Restaurant at the End of the Universe) bell... (The whole A, B and C ark thing)

Oh yeah! I didnt think of that.

Full of many more people then earth with surplus food, and unlimited freshwater, and gold, with no wars.
Now for what would make it unique to me, no natural "disasters" except for your occasional random explosion with massive casualties which are quickly replaced. The explosion will only happen a good one maybe two hundred times a day.

Aside my main Adornia Alpha mobile-planet, here are some more ideas:


A mining planet with no atmosphere, populated solely by machines and ruled by a central AI uplinked to an organic colony.
An Earth-a-like held within a bubble and surrounded by space platforms, unpopulated and used solely as art.
An aluminium sphere with built-in propulsion systems, coated with sticky substances containing cryogenic pods, used either as a WOMD (biological warfare) or as an "ark".