From: Christopher Gribbon [c.gribbon@dundee.ac.uk] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 7:40 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Biological Cycle and Diary ? >The Poseidon calendar is 330 days long and starts from >Planet Fall. The format is day.year. So Planet Fall was >001.01.(which is 12/12/2087 on Earth) and Recontact was >163.70 (which is 7/23/2167 on Earth). I did a sort of "native calander" thing for my Los Isolotes setting. The year was divided into 10 months of 33 days each, and they each had names like "Planetfall", "Downpoar", "Siren", "Tethys", "Uproar" depending on the weather etc. These were the names the Los Isolotes natives had coined for them, depending on the weather there - which was a little different from the Pacifica Archipelago. Los Isolotes even had their own Seasons of "Arid", "Renewal", "Mud" and "Fruitful." >Oddly enough, based on the discussions earlier this >year, Planetfall occured a few days after the summer solitist (sp?) for the >Southern Hemisphere. It's "Solstice", if you mean what I think you mean... (the longest day) Christopher Gribbon Vision Research Laboratories Medical Sciences Institute University of Dundee Dundee DD1 5EH UK (01382) 344 229 ____________________________________________________________________ "A scientist is meant to be disinterested, pure; his ambition merely to descry the cement of the universe. He isn't meant to use it to start laying his own patio!" - WILL SELF, The Quantity Theory of Insanity *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Christopher Gribbon [c.gribbon@dundee.ac.uk] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 7:33 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Dune? >The books themselves revolve around >the son of one of the powerful nobles in teh galactic empire who has >been bred to be ... I'm not even going to try to spell that from >memory, tramslates as "superbeing", who ends up on arakis and basically >leads a revolution. I believe (from memory) that it's "Kwizats Haderach" I've only read the first Dune novel, but I've heard that the rest basically alternate, in the order they were written, as "Garbage". "Excellent", "Garbage", etc. Of course - I've not read them, so I can't comment... Christopher Gribbon Vision Research Laboratories Medical Sciences Institute University of Dundee Dundee DD1 5EH UK (01382) 344 229 ____________________________________________________________________ "A scientist is meant to be disinterested, pure; his ambition merely to descry the cement of the universe. He isn't meant to use it to start laying his own patio!" - WILL SELF, The Quantity Theory of Insanity *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Heivilin, Jim [banzai@missouri.edu] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 8:14 AM To: 'list, blue planet' Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - [FWD] Storm Surge gone gold! > -----Original Message----- > From: "StormSurge Staff" > To: > Subject: Storm Surge gone gold! > Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 20:31:32 -0700 > > As of a few minutes ago, Storm Surge was officially online at = > www.stormsurge.org. It might take a while before we get all > the links = > ironed out (for instance andy's email address doesn't work > yet, and some = > of the pages are still under construction), and the legal stuff may = > change if any of the Biohazard or FF people tell me it needs to be = > different, but at least the basics are all there (and we have > working = > message boards that look cool even if they are ez-boards). I'm also = > still looking for staff members, so anyone who's interested, > just email = > me at stormsurge@stormsurge.org. *breaks a bottle of > champagne against = > the site* Bon Voyage, Storm Surge 2nd Edition! :) > > -- ChrisTheS > www.stormsurge.org > > ------=_NextPart_000_0041_01C036E6.E7BD6160 *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Heivilin, Jim [banzai@missouri.edu] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 8:18 AM To: 'list, blue planet' Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - [FWD] Currencies on Poseidon > -----Original Message----- > From: Dr Ian McDonald > To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com > Subject: Currencies on Poseidon > > Although a brilliant job of creating a new, detailed, hard science > world, the dismal science in the background chapters was as > soft as the > introduction. So as I understand it, the closest thing to > currencies are > corporate scrip and Xenosilicate ore. I'd like to open up a discussion > about them, because I don't really understand how they work. > > Corporate scrip, according to the introduction, rises and > falls with the > corporate earnings. Why is not explained. Apparently they act as some > kind of guarantor, but not with equity. So what do they > offer? You can't > guarantee currency unless you have something to back it up > with. In the > days of the gold standard, a British pound could be exchanged for a > pound of gold. Although no country does that any longer, 20th century > currencies are called 'hard' if you trust its value to remain, and > 'soft' if you don't so trust it. Obviously, you put your money in hard > currencies, like the Dollar, rather than soft currencies, > like the Zloty > or Rouble. > > IRL, currencies rise and fall with the earnings of an economy because > the better the (say) Sterling economy is doing, the more you > want to be > part of it by trading in Sterling. The trouble is that the part of the > (say) Gencorp-scrip-denominated trading that you, as an independant > inward investor, would manage to involve yourself with does not affect > Gencorp's earnings. (What are Gencorps' earnings denominated > in? And why > does Gencorp bother to file them anyway?). Because the total of > Gencorp-scrip-denominated trading is the sum of Gencorp's own > activities > and the independant trading that you, still being an > independant trader > or businessman, might be able to get into. > > So why do the values of Corporate Scrip rise and fall with earnings? > > The other currency is Long John. It's described as > predictably rising in > price all the time as new uses are found for it. The narrator > describes > this as inflationary, but it's actually hyperDEflationary because the > prices denominated in mg Long John are going down, not up. > > But if everyone, from the Corporate boards to GEO to the guy > making the > film in the introductory chapter, thinks that more and more uses for > Xenosilicate Ore are going to come out, then that will affect > the price > of Long John and people will buy it not only for known > current uses but > for expected future ones. Or even just to sell it later at a profit > because they think the value of Long John will rise faster than any > other possible investment. The demand for Long John based on predicted > future uses would rise within a matter of minutes or hours to > the point > where there are other places you could put your money where it might > conceivably grow faster. Like houses, or desalination plants. > > Unless of course, it's the biggest bubble since Railway > shares and .com > companies and tulips rolled together ... > > So why is the price of Long John constantly going up? > > Finally, I'd like to say that I am really impressed by how tight the > Biochemistry is. (It's what I'm a Doctor of.) > > -- > Ian McDonald > > http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~type40/alternative.html > http://travel.to/startrekcolony - Star Trek: Colony site & .mov > http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~type40/who-rpg.html - Dr. Who RPGs > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Leif Magnar Kjønnøy [leifmk@pvv.ntnu.no] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 8:34 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Cc: crazycat@orcalink.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Great News regarding Storm Surge On Fri, 13 Oct 2000, Chris Stilson wrote: > Next, to the guy who had the GURPS > conversion to Blue Planet; if you redo the layout of that anytime > soon, would you mind putting your name on it as well? That'd be me. Yah, sure, betcha, etc. And I do suspect that I feel a bout of inspiration sneaking up on me around the next bend. I've just taken a quick look at www.stormsurge.org -- not bad for starters (although I hate frames on principle). A couple of quibbles regarding its form, though, one large, one small. Large: Y'all have some URLs to local files that use backslashes in directory structures, Microsoft-style (for example, http://www.stormsurge.org/adventure\adventures.html, from the "Game" sidebar menu). These URLs do not work except with Microsoft Explorer. This clearly demonstrates the evil power that emanates from Redmond, WA and must be corrected. Small: When linking to external sites, *must* you have the external site pop up inside a frame? This is ugly and inconvenient. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Heivilin, Jim [banzai@missouri.edu] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 8:30 AM To: 'blue_planet@lists.ient.com' Subject: RE: [BLUE PLANET] - Dune? > -----Original Message----- > From: Troy Gustavel [mailto:troy_nevermore@yahoo.com] > Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Dune? > > You were seven years old and got through dune!!?? > > Jaw drops in awe. I thought me reading the silmarillion when I was 10 > was impressive. > Anyone reading the Silmarillion is impressive at any age. Well, only if you can keep track of the characters (since each has one or more names in each major language)! ;-P > In short, dune is a very far future setting in which most of galactic > leads a revolution. > I've read most of the material in the series and enjoyed it. Although I've been told by others that the first book is the only one that's any good. For other information, the SciFi Channel is doing (has done) a new Dune Miniseries to air some time in December. http://www.scifi.com/dune/ As far as I can tell they're going to be hyper-accurate so it should be more palatable than the 1984 film by David Lynch (although Herbert himself was a consultant for that film and it does have it's merits). Jim *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Ville.Halonen@minedu.fi Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 8:44 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Dune? Jim Heivilin wrote: >For other information, the SciFi Channel is doing (has done) a new Dune >Miniseries to air some time in December. http://www.scifi.com/dune/ >As far as I can tell they're going to be hyper-accurate so it should be more >palatable than the 1984 film by David Lynch (although Herbert himself was a >consultant for that film and it does have it's merits). I heard it was the producer's fault. Lynch had 6 hours of material filmed, and Herbert himself wanted it to be a miniseries, but the producer Dino de Laurentiis cut two thirds off and it ended up being visually impressive crap. Reading through all of this Dune-related stuff makes me want to read it again. I don't think I understood everything at the age of 12...Too bad I've already got kazillion books on my what-to-read list, including finishing Red Mars and Hyperion. - Ville *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Thomas Jeenicke [Thomas_Jeenicke@public.uni-hamburg.de] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 9:33 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Mood music Greetings Does anybody out there use certain background music while playing BP? - While the playlist will, of course, depend upon the specific scenario you are running and the mood you wish to invoke, there is surely also music generally suitable for the setting, e.g. cetacean and ocean waves sounds (beware off sea gull cries, though!). Other candidates can be found among songs with sea/water themes. Unfortunately, at the moment I can only think of "Surfin' USA", but there must be something more appropriate. Any suggestions? Thomas *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Christopher Gribbon [c.gribbon@dundee.ac.uk] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 11:14 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Mood music >Does anybody out there use certain background music while playing BP? - >While the playlist will, of course, depend upon the specific scenario you >are running and the mood you wish to invoke, there is surely also music >generally suitable for the setting, e.g. cetacean and ocean waves sounds >(beware off sea gull cries, though!). Other candidates can be found among >songs with sea/water themes. Unfortunately, at the moment I can only think >of "Surfin' USA", but there must be something more appropriate. Any >suggestions? Apparently a lot of people use reggae - especially for Kingston, for some reason... ;-) Christopher Gribbon Vision Research Laboratories Medical Sciences Institute University of Dundee Dundee DD1 5EH UK (01382) 344 229 ____________________________________________________________________ "A scientist is meant to be disinterested, pure; his ambition merely to descry the cement of the universe. He isn't meant to use it to start laying his own patio!" - WILL SELF, The Quantity Theory of Insanity *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Jerome Darmont [jdarmont@dionysos.univ-lyon2.fr] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 10:24 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Mood music > >Does anybody out there use certain background music while playing BP? Natural sea sounds (waves, storms, seabirds, walesong... but also jungle sounds - monkeys, birds...), the kind of stuff you can buy in new age stores. Some songs from "the Big Blue" theme (the film by Luc Besson). -- Jerome Darmont, mailto:darmont@multimania.com Webmaster http://fly.to/bleue.planete *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: David R. Crowell [gpfarm-dave@northnet.org] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 11:35 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - PBeM? Is anybody currently running a PBeM Blue Planet Game with space for one more? --dave From: Russell Sloan [iniquity@nts-online.net] Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2000 2:47 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - RE: ESP (long) I just re-read the entry on the ESP bio-mod (Player's Guide pg 176). I must give the writers credit for doing a bit of homework on scientific ESP research. Gaming-relevent bits: Since a large amount of medical research is being done on Poseidon, and a great deal of medical research is initially funded by the military, I am considering including a combat drug that boosts the Awareness (and affiliated Perception and Reflex stats) and grants the effects of the ESP bio-mod on a temporary basis. The trade-off will be accelerated mental fatigue (read negative modifiers to stats) after a few hours modified by Willpower or Endurance. I have yet to decide if I will include other complications such as addiction or other physical repercussions. I am also considering allowing characters of prepubescent age (NPCs primarily, but occasionally I get an unusual PC request) to possess the equivalent of the ESP bio-mod and certain other healing/recovery bio-mods at no cost to simulate their open-mindedness and their ability to recover from injury and disease quickly. These abilities would begin to fade at puberty, and disappear somewhere in the latter teen years. The reasons for the physical abilities of kids are obvious, but the ESP-related portions I am basing on data I have synopsized below. One of the promising areas where research has netted good results in ESP study is in 'altered states'. Various methods available include extreme sleep deprivation, deep meditation, hallucinogens taken in small to moderate doses, and I believe fasting. Most of these have roots in various religeous ceremonies intended for divinitive or prophetic purposes. With the above methods, the pertinent side-effect is a breaking down of mental barriers. The specific barriers of note are the preconceptions and categorizations that people develop as a form of mental shorthand. This allows for more rapid processing of data with less loss at the cost of (possible) misinterpretation. This mental categorizaton depletes mental reserves less quickly, but can construed as a form of mental laziness. Here's an example: You are looking at your computer monitor right now, right? How often do you think about the exact details of what your computer does or how it works so that you have an image on your monitor to look at? If you are directly involved in the computer industry, or do a lot of work on your own computer, possibly a great deal. Most of us don't. Normally, we just turn on the box, and let it do its thing so we can read our email. This is a simple version of this mental shorthand. In an 'altered state', the breakdown of this mental discipline sends more data through the mind for processing. Instead of merely seeing two people arguing, you will also pick up on little cues such as posture, stance, vocal tone, volume, word use, and hand positioning. With this data available, it is much easier to predict whether or not two people will start a fight or not. People working in law enforcement, security, drinking establishments, and psychology would only notice these things normally due to direct applications to their professions. As that this mental shorthand is developed by people through experience, it is very individualized, and unlikely to be completely compatible with that of any other person. With the removal of this barrier, or with similar enough systems of shorthand, communication is greatly facilitated. This may actually be the phenomenon responsible for most 'telepathic' or 'mind reading' incidents. As stated, this 'shorthand' is developed through experience. Without the experience, but with enough knowledge, intellectually constructed predictions or guesses can be uncannily accurate. "from the mouths of babes" I believe is the relevent quote. Children, still in the ages of learning absorb a seemingly insane amount of information on a daily basis. Side notes: Unless something has changed, I believe the U.S. military is still providing small, limited grants for the study of LSD on the human psyche. They also provided the bulk of the money used to study the drug initially in hopes of producing a 'combat drug'. For those of you curious about where my information comes from, I am an undergraduate Philosophy major with a minor in Psychology. My particular field of interest is Cognition with an emphasis on Communication and Language. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Russell Sloan [iniquity@nts-online.net] Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2000 12:58 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Biological Cycle and Diary ? At 11:12 AM 10/13/00 CEST, you wrote: >Well in fact i have two question : >Firstly, how much human's biological cycle could be affected on poseidon? >I mean there're 30hours/days and even if human slep a lot(10/12 hours) he >will have a 18/20 hours day. I've heard that the real cycle for a human was >almost 25/26 hours and not 24 but there's a big difference between 25 and 30 >hours. I only have a partial answer to your first question. Part of it is derived from the material itself. Natives tend to take an afternoon siesta during the hottest part of the day. Now for a little scientific theory: The average human at their prime requires 2 full REM cycles for optimal performance. On average, the typical REM cycle is 3 hours long. Assume one hour to fall asleep deeply enough to begin REM, and an hour for the body to wake up to begin the day. That equals your 8 hours of sleep a night. I personally, at times have been forced to split my sleep schedule out through the day with about 5 hours sleep at night, and a 4 hour nap during the afternoon. Once adapted to this schedule, I was easily able to go to sleep, and get up to go about my business. It actually became easier to get up after sleeping with less drowsiness. Here is my theory. 7 or 8 hours of sleep at night, allowing for 2 REM cycles, and an afternoon siesta lasting 4 hours that would allow for another REM cycle. This would allow for 18 or 19 hours of activity with less fatigue than the standard Earth-bound 16 hour day. This would allow for more than adequate physical rest, REM sleep, and glandular secretions only produced by (I believe) the Hypothalamus gland during deep sleep states. For humans involved in more dangerous activity or living in an environment as hazardous as Poseidon can be, the heightened awareness and lack of fatigue allowing clearer thought and perception as well as greater physical exertion on demand could be part of the adaptation the 'native' humans underwent to help them survive on Poseidon without the aid of advanced technologies. Russell Sloan iniquity@nts-online.net ICQ: 29176029 AIM: EricDaGrey *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: David R. Crowell [gpfarm-dave@northnet.org] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 3:20 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Biological Cycle and Diary ? Some additional thoughts on sleep needs. Until very recently the average adult slept 9-10 hours per night. Lack of cheap artificial light made for more time spent sleeping. Perhaps the longer nights on Posieden encourage the same, at least amoung the natives. Also don't foget that dolphins litterally sleep with one open, the hemispheres of their brains alternate sleeping. Has anyone come across any research on the circadian rhythms of cetaceans? I remember some studies where people lived in caves and other isolated environments with no time cues relating to the outside world. IIRC their timesense got pretty wonky after a while, does anybody remember the specifics on that? *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Russell Sloan [iniquity@nts-online.net] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 3:19 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Dune? At 04:43 PM 10/16/00 +0300, Ville wrote: > >I heard it was the producer's fault. Lynch had 6 hours of material filmed, >and Herbert himself wanted it to be a miniseries, but the producer Dino de >Laurentiis cut two thirds off and it ended up being visually impressive >crap. > >- Ville Not to be a nitpicker, but there was much more film shot than that. There is a much longer version than the 6-hour one. It has been too many years since I saw it last. A television station in Dallas somehow secured the rights to broadcast the longer version over the course of Monday through Saturday at I want to say 3 hours an afternoon during a dead summer. It was a bit heavy on commercials, but I believe it wound up being around or over 12 hours in length, and was incredibly close to portraying the book in total with reasonable accuracy. To date, no one has been able to find a copy of this version for sale, although I personally know several people that would be willing to pay out the nose for a good quality copy. Russell Sloan iniquity@nts-online.net ICQ: 29176029 AIM: EricDaGrey *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: David Chart [hist@dchart.demon.co.uk] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 4:57 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Re: [BLUE PLANET] ESP, Thought, and Cetaceans --On 15/10/00 2:47 -0500 Russell Sloan wrote: > With > the above methods, the pertinent side-effect is a breaking down of mental > barriers. The specific barriers of note are the preconceptions and > categorizations that people develop as a form of mental shorthand. This > allows for more rapid processing of data with less loss at the cost of > (possible) misinterpretation. This mental categorizaton depletes mental > reserves less quickly, but can construed as a form of mental laziness. I'm inclined to agree about the phenomenon, but disagree over the value-judgement. The categorisation is what allows us to think at all--part of it is categorising objects and placing them in a three-dimensional spatial matrix. We communicate by using words which, for us, evoke a particular mental model, and we hope that the model they evoke in other people is sufficiently similar. Usually it is. This allows for miscommunication, the possession of models for which we have no words, and the possibility of completely missing some aspect of our environment because we don't have the model for it. To use another SF example, the humans who first land on Tinesworld in 'A Fire Upon the Deep' can't see the Tines. This is because the Tines are group organisms, each individual consisting of four to six dog-like bodies. The humans can only see the bodies at first. On the other hand, it does allow us to think about things at all. Completely uninterpreted data cannot be handled. Thus, I would disagree that breaking down the barriers would lead to insight--rather, it would lead to complete confusion. This raises a possibility for cetaceans. Their different way of seeing the world could be a matter of having a fundamentally different mental structure. Humans see the world like this, but dolphins need not. Of course, they must (in game) use something rather similar, since they can use language. It could, however, be difficult enough to cause problems, and to cause the apparent holistic awareness of dolphins. Orca could well be different again. Now, interpreting subtle cues is actually a matter of having much stronger prejudices. Consider: is it more prejudiced to assume that someone who says "You're a moron" is being insulting, or to gather that from their tone of voice and body posture? The second assumes that they are part of your culture, while the first only assumes basic familiarity with English. Some cues will be common to all humans, but they need not be common to all genies, and hybrids and cetaceans certainly won't share them. So, the ESP biomod should be prone to failure on a regular basis--and it is, so that's OK. So, effective 'mind reading' would involve having a very detailed model of the person in question. With someone you know well, this is possible. I can, fairly often, manage this with my immediate family, but even then I make mistakes. Otherwise, I'm inclined to believe that people are too variable to give you consistent information on anything above the most basic--fear, lust, anger, and so on. > For those of you curious about where my information comes from, I am an > undergraduate Philosophy major with a minor in Psychology. My particular > field of interest is Cognition with an emphasis on Communication and > Language. As for me, I did my Ph.D. on this subject, and my book has just come out. David Chart *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Troy Gustavel [troy_nevermore@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 5:14 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: RE: [BLUE PLANET] - Dune? --- "Heivilin, Jim" wrote: > For other information, the SciFi Channel is doing (has done) a new > Dune > Miniseries to air some time in December. http://www.scifi.com/dune/ Oh, thank you Jim. I knew that was being done but didn't ahve any more info ===== Troy Gustavel 5825 Bolender Rd. Akron, OH 44319 (330)882 5468 Troy_Nevermore@Yahoo.com "Once upon a midnight dreary..." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: BIOHZD@aol.com Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 5:47 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Various and sundry... (longish) Hey All, Some comments on recent posts... 1. A source book of flotsam and jetsam (I love the suggestion of that as a title) would be cool, and fun to write. Such a book is unlikely however (in the near future anyway), for a variety of reasons. First, BP is still a young line and there is much more themed material that still begs to be done. Second, it is an unfortunate reality that we must sell books to make books, and my spidey-sense says such a book would not sell well enough to support itself. List members might buy it, but not all BP fans are as dedicated as you guys. 2. Several folks have mentioned an historical campaign. One of my pet titles, one that the FFG deal might make possible, is a source/campaign book set during the Abandonment. Personally I think the social, political and frontier trials of this time would make for some great roleplaying. 3. Though not a devotee of Dune, I appreciate its thematic similarities to BP. I actually didn't recognize them myself until BPV1 was about done - go figure. Someone also nodded to Earth 2. I saw the similarities there too, and guess it was one of the reasons I was pissed when the show was dropped. I think Jim and I were two of the five or six people that actually liked E2. 4. I am gratified that players seem to recognize the distinctions between traditional cyberpunk literature and BP. We intended BP to be a new take on an overdone genre, and wanted the sense of promise instilled in the setting to describe a different sort of future - one that, though hard and bleak, offered promise instead of desperation. As a bit of relevant foreshadowing, our intent is to release A World of Hurt (the BP Earth book), and its associated source books (Luna, Mars, etc) as a stand alone RPG series, with all the rules needed to play included in AWoH. The books will still be BP through and through, but the hope is that they will allow gamers not initially drawn to the BP setting to get into the game. The series will also allow us to further explore our take on the cyberpunk genre and present the BP version of Earth with the same richness with which we presented Poseidon. 5. Someone posted a question about day length and the Poseidon calender. I once read a paper on an study in which some students were isolated from all circadian light cues and time keeping devices and schedules for the better part of a year. They slowly adapted to an activity cycle of approximately 30 hours on, and about 15 hours off. This seems to imply a lot of flexibility in how our circadian rhythms can adapt. There is a discussion of the Poseidon calender on 226 of the Player's Guide. Though most Incorporate and governments track by the Earth date, daily life on Poseidon runs on the local Julian calender, set at the time of Planetfall. It is currently the year, 99 SP (since Planetfall). 6. Some folks have expressed concern that the Aborigines are too powerful. I think several posters have stated it more eloquently than I can, but that won't stop me from putting in my two scrip worth ; ). Possible spoilers... My take on the Aborigines is that they are part of the BP setting, and not meant to be direct antagonists in PC adventures...at least not at this point in the timeline. They may serve as plot devices or motivation for story elements, but actual PC encounters with them should be rare, and tangential if they happen at all. Their value is greater as mysterious sorts of McGuffins (sp?) or bogeymen in the moderator's artistic toolbox than as tangible threats in a proverbial monster manual. Though the Aborigines *do* have the power to "disassemble" humanity right off the surface of Poseidon, they haven't yet, and in their hesitation lies one of the greater mysteries of the BP setting... 7. Someone posted a question about the media and who controls it. CommCore is much like the Internet in that any yahoo with money and time can post whatever they want. However, search engines and the users themselves have become sophisticated enough to avoid most of the junk, and therefore only the quality and/or well funded "channels" get sufficient traffic to produce revenue and influence the public. We intend to include information on the media, its structure, diversity and key players in a future supplement. Undercurrents would be a good venue for this, but only if we start...ahem... publishing new issues ; (. As a relevant aside, in the campaign I am currently running, the PCs have established a relationship with one of the better known "watch dog" CommCore channels, and managed to broadcast live, multi-camera footage of a Hanover assault team attacking the native village in which they had taken refuge. It was that kind of unexpected, player-induced plot twist that makes gaming so cool. It was awesome to play through, and totally changed the dynamic of the adventure - helpless PCs hunted my big/bad ass Incorporate become cornered prey and bite back. They have created a huge political mess, impacting events on a global scale. (This ability of PCs to become global players is one of the things I like best about BP, and is a topic for still another discussion.) 8. A question was asked about small businesses. They flourish on Poseidon for numerous reasons. Many serve small markets, not worth an Incorporate's effort. Many are generalists, providing for various needs/services at the same time. Many serve non-Incorporate markets, in towns like Kingston and Haven. Many serve as outlets and licensed dealers for Incorporate products and services. Many are service industries - restaurants, guide services, barbers, etc - and are therefore not competing with Incorporate productivity. Finally, there are many people - natives, independents, GEO citizens, nationals - that refuse to support Incorporate economies, and "buy independent" whenever they can. 9. As Jim mentioned, there is a BP video clip that we did as an intro to our first convention scenario, back when BP was still being written. If I can dig it up, and if Jim is willing/able to digitize it (and if people actually want to see it) we could post it on the website. 10. There have been a number of questions about the release schedule for BPV2. We still intend on producing the books in our original list of releases, as described on the website. The other titles in recent discussions would be additions to/expansions of that list. We should be posting a revised, "official" list of upcoming releases soonest. Well, that's enough blather from me for now. Later all, and thanks for the continued support and enthusiasm. Jeff Barber Biohazard Games *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Chris Stilson [crazycat@orcalink.com] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 6:06 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Mood music In my last session, I used a combination of Clannad (which I would classify as elevator music if it weren't for the fact that it's cool) and the Unreal soundtrack. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Jeenicke" To: Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 7:33 AM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Mood music > Greetings > Does anybody out there use certain background music while playing BP? - > While the playlist will, of course, depend upon the specific scenario you > are running and the mood you wish to invoke, there is surely also music > generally suitable for the setting, e.g. cetacean and ocean waves sounds > (beware off sea gull cries, though!). Other candidates can be found among > songs with sea/water themes. Unfortunately, at the moment I can only think > of "Surfin' USA", but there must be something more appropriate. Any > suggestions? > > Thomas > > *************************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Troy Gustavel [troy_nevermore@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 6:04 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Various and sundry... (longish) --- BIOHZD@aol.com wrote: > Someone also nodded to Earth 2. I saw the similarities there too, and > guess it was one of the reasons I was pissed when the show was > dropped. I think Jim and I were two of the five or six people that > actually liked E2. It was a great show, it only got screwed because the network kept moving it around and wouldn't rerun the episodes in order. > 9. As Jim mentioned, there is a BP video clip that we did as an intro > to our first convention scenario, back when BP was still being > written. If I can dig it up, and if Jim is willing/able to digitize > it (and if people actually want to see it) we could post it on the > website. I would love to see it ===== Troy Gustavel 5825 Bolender Rd. Akron, OH 44319 (330)882 5468 Troy_Nevermore@Yahoo.com "Once upon a midnight dreary..." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Chris Stilson [crazycat@orcalink.com] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 6:08 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - RE: ESP (long) Thanks... that's what I was trying to say in my earlier explanation, but my explanation was slightly less detailed... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Russell Sloan" To: Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2000 12:47 AM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - RE: ESP (long) > I just re-read the entry on the ESP bio-mod (Player's Guide pg 176). I > must give the writers credit for doing a bit of homework on scientific ESP > research. > > Gaming-relevent bits: Since a large amount of medical research is being > done on Poseidon, and a great deal of medical research is initially funded > by the military, I am considering including a combat drug that boosts the > Awareness (and affiliated Perception and Reflex stats) and grants the > effects of the ESP bio-mod on a temporary basis. The trade-off will be > accelerated mental fatigue (read negative modifiers to stats) after a few > hours modified by Willpower or Endurance. I have yet to decide if I will > include other complications such as addiction or other physical > repercussions. > > I am also considering allowing characters of prepubescent age (NPCs > primarily, but occasionally I get an unusual PC request) to possess the > equivalent of the ESP bio-mod and certain other healing/recovery bio-mods > at no cost to simulate their open-mindedness and their ability to recover > from injury and disease quickly. These abilities would begin to fade at > puberty, and disappear somewhere in the latter teen years. > > The reasons for the physical abilities of kids are obvious, but the > ESP-related portions I am basing on data I have synopsized below. > > One of the promising areas where research has netted good results in ESP > study is in 'altered states'. Various methods available include extreme > sleep deprivation, deep meditation, hallucinogens taken in small to > moderate doses, and I believe fasting. Most of these have roots in various > religeous ceremonies intended for divinitive or prophetic purposes. With > the above methods, the pertinent side-effect is a breaking down of mental > barriers. The specific barriers of note are the preconceptions and > categorizations that people develop as a form of mental shorthand. This > allows for more rapid processing of data with less loss at the cost of > (possible) misinterpretation. This mental categorizaton depletes mental > reserves less quickly, but can construed as a form of mental laziness. > Here's an example: You are looking at your computer monitor right now, > right? How often do you think about the exact details of what your computer > does or how it works so that you have an image on your monitor to look at? > If you are directly involved in the computer industry, or do a lot of work > on your own computer, possibly a great deal. Most of us don't. Normally, we > just turn on the box, and let it do its thing so we can read our email. > This is a simple version of this mental shorthand. > > In an 'altered state', the breakdown of this mental discipline sends more > data through the mind for processing. Instead of merely seeing two people > arguing, you will also pick up on little cues such as posture, stance, > vocal tone, volume, word use, and hand positioning. With this data > available, it is much easier to predict whether or not two people will > start a fight or not. People working in law enforcement, security, drinking > establishments, and psychology would only notice these things normally due > to direct applications to their professions. > > As that this mental shorthand is developed by people through experience, > it is very individualized, and unlikely to be completely compatible with > that of any other person. With the removal of this barrier, or with similar > enough systems of shorthand, communication is greatly facilitated. This may > actually be the phenomenon responsible for most 'telepathic' or 'mind > reading' incidents. > > As stated, this 'shorthand' is developed through experience. Without the > experience, but with enough knowledge, intellectually constructed > predictions or guesses can be uncannily accurate. "from the mouths of > babes" I believe is the relevent quote. Children, still in the ages of > learning absorb a seemingly insane amount of information on a daily basis. > > Side notes: Unless something has changed, I believe the U.S. military is > still providing small, limited grants for the study of LSD on the human > psyche. They also provided the bulk of the money used to study the drug > initially in hopes of producing a 'combat drug'. > > For those of you curious about where my information comes from, I am an > undergraduate Philosophy major with a minor in Psychology. My particular > field of interest is Cognition with an emphasis on Communication and Language. > > > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: David R. Crowell [gpfarm-dave@northnet.org] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 6:25 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Re: [BLUE PLANET] ESP, Thought, and Cetaceans ----- Original Message ----- From: David Chart > This raises a possibility for cetaceans. Their different way of seeing the > world could be a matter of having a fundamentally different mental > structure. Humans see the world like this, but dolphins need not. Of > course, they must (in game) use something rather similar, since they can > use language. It could, however, be difficult enough to cause problems, and > to cause the apparent holistic awareness of dolphins. Orca could well be > different again. > In doing some research today in an attempt to answer my own question about the sleep cycles of dolphins I came a across some rather interesting information. It appears that Dolphins spend up to 33% of their lives in a state of "resting" with only one hemisphere of their brain active. According to most scientists dolphins do not (can not?) enter REM sleep, this verified by observation and EEG. Another source listed an observed 6 minutes of REM sleep in a pilot whale. Other whales appear to enter true sleep for varying periods of time. The reason for dolphins sleeping this way is that they must be conscious in order to breathe, unlike humans who breathe automatically. Dolphins are also very active during a portion of the night, this is thought to correspond to the time when prey fish are close to the surface. Given these oddities of dolphin sleep, perhaps they are not affected as much as humans by Posieden's longer local "day". the lack of REM sleep and dreaming suggests interesting possibilities for mis-communication between humans and cetaceans. Perhaps part of the uplift process gave dolphins the ability to dream? Certainly dolphins live in a much more three dimentional world than humans do. And a world shaped more by sonar than by sight. This doubtless has profound effects on their mental structure, perception influencing reality as much as reality influences perception. Something also for the linguists to add to the debate on how language shapes mental constructs of the world. Just a few thoughts. --dave *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: David R. Crowell [gpfarm-dave@northnet.org] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 6:36 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Various and sundry... (longish) ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 6:47 PM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Various and sundry... (longish) > Hey All, > > Some comments on recent posts... > > 1. A source book of flotsam and jetsam (I love the suggestion of that as a > title) would be cool, and fun to write. Such a book is unlikely however (in > the near future anyway), for a variety of reasons. Sad but true. I saw this as possibly being a best of Undercurrents, fan-produced, leftovers and scraps compilation anyway, so I'm not too heartbroken by this news. > > 4. I am gratified that players seem to recognize the distinctions between > traditional cyberpunk literature and BP. - one that, though hard and bleak, > offered promise instead of desperation. One reason I like it so much. > > As a bit of relevant foreshadowing, our intent is to release A World of Hurt > (the BP Earth book), and its associated source books (Luna, Mars, etc) as a > stand alone RPG series, with all the rules needed to play included in AWoH. IMHO a good idea. I like the background enough that I am anxious to be able to play. At last a realistic, near-future, hard SF RPG! > > 6. Some folks have expressed concern that the Aborigines are too powerful. I > think several posters have stated it more eloquently than I can, but that > won't stop me from putting in my two scrip worth ; ). > I agree with your take on them. > 7. > Undercurrents would be a good venue for this, but only if we start...ahem... > publishing new issues ; (. > > 9. As Jim mentioned, there is a BP video clip that we did as an intro to our > first convention scenario, back when BP was still being written. If I can dig > it up, and if Jim is willing/able to digitize it (and if people actually want > to see it) we could post it on the website. I'd like to see it. > > > > Well, that's enough blather from me for now. Later all, and thanks for the > continued support and enthusiasm. Your welcome. Thank you for BP > > Jeff Barber > Biohazard Games > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Andy Wills [andywills@stormsurge.org] Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 8:00 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Blue Planet Background Music (At last, the powers of SMTP are mine, thanks to Mr. Stilson. With these tools, I can rule the world! Ahem.) Well, at least I can be an active part of the list again. As far as background music, I posted a tracklist a while ago, but its 8000 miles away and I've changed it a little since then. So, here's my ideas anew. I'll probably get around to writing this up for Storm Surge. I know that Biohazard disapproves of this, but you can get these songs of Napster, I presume(about half the CDs are worth owning), and make a mix CD-R for your group pretty easily. Hymn to Red October - Hunt for Red October An ominous yet nautical ambient track to start out with. This is a good track for introducing suspense into your games. Ghostriders in the Sky - Dick Dale This is a juiced-up instrumental version of the old western theme. Works great for marshals, and in general it captures the BP feel well with its mix of western theme and surf rock. Super Bon Bon - Soul Coughing (Propellerheads Remix) A fairly cyberpunkish chase song, this works well for fights and such, although it can get a bit loud. Sinnerman - Nina Simone A great blues classic, also a great climax song (if you've seen the new Thomas Crown affair, you know what I'm talking about). A bit long, but worth it. Das Boot 2001 - U96 Cheesy techno music, but suitably frantic, and it includes soundtrack samples from Das Boot, one of my favorite thrillers. Banana Wind - Jimmey Buffet Generic ambient calypso/tropical music. Throw in some more calypso and a lot of Reggae(maybe Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers?), and you've got a good CD brewing. I also added some film noir crime jazz into it for some pizzazz, and maybe some Dr. John swamp voodoo to kick things off. Hope this helps, Chao, -Andy *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Atti2dboy@aol.com Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 10:22 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Various and sundry... (longish) In a message dated 10/16/00 2:57:11 PM, BIOHZD@aol.com writes: >Someone also nodded to Earth 2. I saw the similarities there too, and >guess it was one of the reasons I was pissed when the show was dropped. I >think Jim and I were two of the five or six people that actually liked E2. Well, we now have a count of five, because I too liked the show. Occasionally to relieve my craving for it I will go net diving for fansites. >As a bit of relevant foreshadowing, our intent is to release A World of Hurt >(the BP Earth book), and its associated source books (Luna, Mars, etc) as a >stand alone RPG series, with all the rules needed to play included in AWoH. Oh, I am excited and apprehensive. Looks like I am going to have to either give up on gaming or start adding hard covers to my collection. :-/ Rich "Preserve a sense of wonder. Your own or someone elses." *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message.