From: Jim Heivilin [ccbanzai@showme.missouri.edu] Sent: Monday, 23 March, 1998 11:01 To: 'blue_planet@MPGN.COM' Subject: RE: [BLUE PLANET] - Mechs vs. Tanks On Sunday, 22 March, 1998 4:00 AM, William Hindmarch [SMTP:hindmarc@stu.beloit.edu] wrote: > And, after all the above, this is still so true. "Fear will keep the > local systems in line." Until someone else builds an equal or better > mousetrap (or power armor, or Death Star, or whatever), and then it all > starts over again. But, in a stylistic and literary sense, your argument is > the much more satisfying one. > All of these things are true, especially the escalation. That is until someone starts "thinking outside the box". Then they find a different way to 'invalidate' the existing power structure. Think of the stealth technology. Suddenly the radar and air defenses aren't worth what they were. So something else has to be developed. Imagine neutralizing the 50 foot tall Mech with a software virus or some sort of nanite technology which attacks the power systems. Suddenly it's so much scrap metal (or ceramics or plastic or whatever). And then the cycle begins again. Jim *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Reggie [rqlii@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, 23 March, 1998 10:05 To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Blue Planet Slang ---dianne McCatty wrote: > > Ok, > Since we are on the topic of weapontry. Why aren't there such things as EMP > emmiters. Or how about new chemical/biological agents, or gun that fires IR homing > Peizo (spelling?) finned bullets. > > I recal deleting a file about cat mercenaries. If any of you have this reply soon. > > David Krahm > > I could see potential for EMP guns and such, but not just anybody would have access to it. IMHO only terrorist groups would use it. Geo and police forces have too many ethical problems with it , such as EMPing a suspect and having the innocent citizen behind him croak because his pacemaker went out, cyberlimbs shorting out, hoppers crashing, and so on. If you're a native, you wouldn't have to worry about it, but on the other hand, you probably would want it anyway. If you're a eco-terrorist, what a wonderful weapon that causes havoc , but doesn't necessarly harm the environment. As for bio-warfare, when the micro-biota on Posieden can kill you so quickly , who needs to breed anything man-made. _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: BIOHZD [BIOHZD@aol.com] Sent: Monday, 23 March, 1998 23:17 To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Back From Poseidon Hello All, Well, I'm finally back from Poseidon, and I don't care what you've heard about post IHMS hangover - its twice as bad as they say. The med techs released me this morning, and they say the short term memory thing is probably temporary, and that in a few days I should be OK. Did I mention the short term memory thing? Anyhow, the trip was fantastic, and as usual with these kind of things, words fail me. I'm not the brightest candle, but I think the problem is not so much a lack in my vocabulary, but instead a fault of the communications medium. Simple words, no matter how eloquent or carefully phrased can not truly express the raw emotion and deep awe inspired by the big blue. Therefore, over the next week, we will be reviewing the sensory recordings I made while away, and as soon as we are able we'll be posting short segments on the website as Quicktime movies. We hope the video bits will offer a more genuine description. Stay tuned and enjoy... I was glad to see so much traffic on the list over the past week, and I would like to throw in my .02cs worth on some of the subjects that came up. So, in no particular order: 1. Gauss technology is definitely part of the BP universe, and you should expect to see it in Wetware. My comments about the appropriateness of a gravity powered weapon were made before the post about the EM version. It sounds cool, and I *really* like the "ad copy" bit for the weapon...well done. 2. For the record, it was not _Songs of Distant Earth_ that served as an inspiration for BP as Jim suggested. In fact, I only read it for the first time this past summer (Kai Po's suggestion) and to be honest I was pretty disappointed. I thought it failed to live up to its potential. The two waterworld novels that most influenced the development of BP in my case were _Reef Song_ by Carol Severance, and _Leeshore_ by Robert What's-his-name (sorry, I forget). Both are very interesting treatments, and though very different, each was influential. 3. The water planets in the above mentioned books are named Lesaat and Leeshore, respectively. And, yes, as someone suggested, we lucked out in picking the name for the planet in BP. Poseidon fit past planetary naming conventions, and it was still a cool name. 4. Battletech schmattletech...show me a squad of heavily armed Super Troopers against any Mech of your choice, and I'll show you one sorry-ass pile of smoking robot-scrap, ready for the recycle bin ; ). No, honestly, I love Battletech and I used to play it quite a bit before that fateful day when I said, " Hey guys, I got this great idea for a roleplaying game..." IMO though, mixing BP and BT is like mixing apples and oranges. 5. I second Greg's and Jason's comments about uplifted sea lions. Though they are great material for NPCs, only the mature and talented gamer should make them a PC. 6. Just a reminder - there were a couple of requests about past posts from the list. If you are unable to find them elsewhere, remember that Jim archives the list on the web site, so you can always check there (www.biohazardgames.com). 7. For those of you who have not yet seen the Archipelago interior art samples we posted in the GEO Restricted Access Area, they will be put on the open parts of the web site ASAP. They are way cool so check'em out... 8. For those of you who may actually be interested in where I really was last week, here's the straight dope. In my day job, I teach science -including oceanography- at a small boarding school. For the past three spring breaks I have been leading my students on a marine ecology expedition to the southern Sea of Cortez, Mexico. I could blather on an on about how absolutely fantastic Baja is, but I could never do it justice. The place, the people and the sea life have all been woven into BP, and if you have ever hoped to visit Poseidon, Baja may be the closest you could ever come. If you've been there, I would love to chat with you via private email, and if you are interested in going, I can recommend a superlative and affordable guide service... Later all, Jeff "My Spots Itch" Barber Biohazard Games *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message.