SDNW5 Preliminary Discussion Thread

[Simon_Jester]

[Man stomps into room, bombdiscus in hand]

SILENCE IN THE RANKS! THE NEXT MAN TO SPEAK OUT OF TURN WILL ROW FOR FORTY LIGHT-YEARS!

[Skywalker_T-65]

SIR YES SIR!!! I WON'T SPEAK OUT OF LINE SIR!!

[Rabid]

SIR ! TO NOT SPEAK OUT OF LINE WHILE ONLINE, HOW DO I GET TO IN-LINE WHILE IN THE LINES ?

[Imperial528]

[Man stomps into room, bombdiscus in hand]

SILENCE IN THE RANKS! THE NEXT MAN TO SPEAK OUT OF TURN WILL ROW FOR FORTY LIGHT-YEARS!

But sir? When did we get on a Hellene ship?

[Simon_Jester]

We didn't.

Now get down to the armory, there are swords in need of sharpening.

[Akhlut]

Evidence logged. Humans appear too stupid to have actually developed actual scientific development. Perhaps developed through subconscious and a natural knack for extreme luck?

Must vivisect more human brains for further study.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Studies show that the "hoomins" are prone to outlandish and chaotic behavior.
Efforts to anticipate actions minimal at best.
However research indicates they can be utilized for high levels of entertainment and "lulz" can be harnessed from them.
The Holy Skothian Order requires more search!!!

[Esquire]

Evidence logged. Humans appear too stupid to have actually developed actual scientific development. Perhaps developed through subconscious and a natural knack for extreme luck?

Nay, for it is well-known that the glorious sons of Hellas were gifted their understanding of the nature of things by the Athena Goddess of Wisdom and Badassery herself, in recognition of their faithfulness and abundant sacrifices! Delve into the sacred mysteries at your own peril, barbarian!

Now for something completely different - Darkevilme, did you ever decide which side of the galaxy you wanted to be on? I don't care one way or the other but I'd like to do my part towards the completed map, and I can't without knowing where the Chamarrans are.

[Darkevilme]

The rimward edge. Near the Perseus arm.

[Simon_Jester]

I'll work on one over the weekend.

[KhorneFlakes]

It is based upon the above conversation that these... HUNAMS are talented in OPPRESSION, contrary to what our previous studies of their vile, stinky, unpatriotic, and most certainly anti-obesity behavior indicated! We must... "acquire" hunam specimens to learn their secrets so it can be put to use in OPRESSING LIEBERATING the alien peoples of the galaxy so that we can conquer the galaxy and destroy the skinny people so that all patriotic life-forms can be free. Even your glorious leader Comraden Fatchovski says freedom is bad good.

(Yep, I'm rejoining the game. I need some time to type out my new idea for this new nation, but the sum it up: They're a parody of North Korea, Soviet Russia, Tinpot dictators in general, with some Bragulanity thrown in their to spice it up. The state is controlled by a bizarre totalitarian-communist hybrid party, and their leader is obese. And wants to oppress lieberate the galaxy from the forces of healthy foods and skinny people.)

[Crossroads Inc.]

...but the Chamarrans aren't exactly friendly.

Aren't exactly friendly to human dominate powers. Alien powers they can get along with. I do think it'd be fun to be somewhat near the UISC though.
So my proximity list goes:
close proximity:
Hellenic confederacy (they apparently unified to oppose subjugation by felines, quaint)
moderate proximity:
Capellans (for trade)
UISC (For potential story funs)

Forgot to say this early, but any story ideas you have let me know ahead of time, Theres a few I was already thinking of sharing with you

[Vanas]

They sound like they could use some delicious, delicious honey. It's insidiously healthy as well as being entirely sugar.

[Simon_Jester]

(Yep, I'm rejoining the game. I need some time to type out my new idea for this new nation, but the sum it up: They're a parody of North Korea, Soviet Russia, Tinpot dictators in general, with some Bragulanity thrown in their to spice it up. The state is controlled by a bizarre totalitarian-communist hybrid party, and their leader is obese. And wants to oppress lieberate the galaxy from the forces of healthy foods and skinny people.)

Excuse me, but could you explain what happened that makes you not want to play the Screworlders again? I find this a mildly worrying development...

[Skywalker_T-65]

Humans are not stupid! We just follow orders! Besides, Space Swedes Arcadians are some of the most technologically oriented humans outside of the Technocracy!

[Furlings laugh at Arcadian boasting]

(On a different note, for the weekend map I decided I do want to be next to Shinn, Covvies or no Covvies...too much story potential to waste)

[Simon_Jester]

Right. Do you also want to be near the Covenanters?

[Skywalker_T-65]

Sure, why not. I just won't be able to do a battle on my own since I SUCK at writing battles, space or otherwise.

[Simon_Jester]

Shinn can help you, but he often writes slowly although not always.

Others may be able to help too.

[cadbrowser]

Ok...as promised the OMNI history has been posted in the Nation Description thread. Would enjoy some feedback from others. I also plan on writing more to include the other SABs replicated forming their on self-awareness therefore producing the current state of the OMNI nation upon game time.

Thanks!

[Rabid]

This is going to be fun :

Robots enslaving sentients to preserve life Vs. AI run culture living in space to preserve life.

Fight !

(joking, but there's RP potential there...)

[Simon_Jester]

Well, I think you need to work on your spelling and grammar, and use fewer gratuitous apostrophes in your proper nouns, but contentwise... I see no problem.

It's a textbook example of incompetent AI programming: design an AI to arbitrarily maximize one thing regardless of other concerns, and it will do things you didn't expect or want. Program it to maximize paperclip production, give it unlimited capacity for self-improvement, and it will dismantle the solar system to turn it into paperclips. Program it to make people smile... and it dismantles the solar system to turn it all into tiny representations of smiling faces.

There's a reason the Umerians don't have many AIs, and usually don't allow them access to computers of their own design.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Ok...as promised the OMNI history has been posted in the Nation Description thread. Would enjoy some feedback from others. I also plan on writing more to include the other SABs replicated forming their on self-awareness therefore producing the current state of the OMNI nation upon game time.

Thanks!

I like the concept, and it mirross one of my own AI's, we may have some "PLOT" to do toegther
Butt.......

It seems a bit too 'clean' too neat. The planet easily falls? No one gets killed? And on a planet advanced enough to make such an AI, they arent able to defend agains it's machines?

Again I love the idea, but it may need a bit of 'fleshing out' about just how it is able to steam roll it's home plantes population.

[Skywalker_T-65]

And theres a reason that the Arcadians have NO AI's at all. Too risky, unless you put very big limits on their programming. Or pray to whatever God you worship that they don't go rampant.

[Simon_Jester]

I like the concept, and it mirross one of my own AI's, we may have some "PLOT" to do toegther
Butt.......

It seems a bit too 'clean' too neat. The planet easily falls? No one gets killed? And on a planet advanced enough to make such an AI, they arent able to defend agains it's machines?

Again I love the idea, but it may need a bit of 'fleshing out' about just how it is able to steam roll it's home plantes population.

Maybe they're great computer programmers, but their species sucks at fighting. Maybe the AI developed technologies they had no easy counter to, or sprayed zillions of tons of LSD into the air and water to incapacitate the people without a fight.

And theres a reason that the Arcadians have NO AI's at all. Too risky, unless you put very big limits on their programming. Or pray to whatever God you worship that they don't go rampant.

Or, y'know, just run the code on a physical computer of limited processing power, so that they can't become orders of magnitude smarter than a human being. Or create artificial barriers that it would be impractical for the AI to circumvent. Or (and this is a huge deal for the Umerians) just program them not to want to be assholes.

Note my first prologue post- Geppetto the AI? Part of what he does to pay the bills (and for the hell of it, because he actively enjoys it) is "friendliness verification." He scans prospective AI code and predicts whether or not the AI will turn out to be an asshole.

The essential problem of AI programming isn't that the robot will randomly "rebel" and go KILL ALL HUMANS. It's that it does exactly what you tell it and you give it orders it interprets incorrectly because you weren't careful:

"Genie, make me a ham sandwich."

*POOF*

"Okay, you're a ham sandwich. Have fun."

Or that you give it enough ability to rewrite itself that it starts evolving into something useless for your purposes ("screw running the global electrical network, I wanna play World of Spacecraft!"), and wind up in trouble because of that.

Or that you only told it to care about one thing, and it acts to maximize that one thing, at the expense of other things a normal person would consider more important.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Meh, that's true. But I'm not doing this from MY point of view, it is the Arcadians. And considering we have two AI races running around (cadbrowser's and ECR's) they would be paranoid. The Space Swedes are hardly wimps, but they are excessively paranoid (that will come up in later posts).