Seas/Mountain ranges on Coruscant

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2004-12-26 10:31pm

I believe it was the BFC by Micheal Kube-McDowell that presented us with a picture of Coruscant that included a sea and/or mountain range. I believe that many people thought he was nuts for doing so, given that TPM and AOTC seems to suggest the entire surface of the planet is covered in cityscape.

However, what if as a kind of 'urban planning' project, some part of Coruscant was allocated towards artificial sea and mountain range, for no other reason than 1) because they can and 2) it would look nice.

The only reason I bring this up is because there was one bit in AOTC which kinda 'looked' like a smallish sea was on Coruscant, though it was probably a 'flat' looking reflective cloud. But still, if they have the technology to industrialise and urbanise an entire planet, why can't they put in a few 'city seas' or mountain ranges, just for the hell of it?

Thoughts? Opinions?

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-12-26 10:34pm

Shadows of the Empire calims there is pretty much only one natural mountain on Coruscant, and it's a big tourist attraction.

I think a big reason people don't think it has any natural features or even features of that sort is that the concept that it's New York or Tokyo taken to the Nth degree.

Techno_Union · Post by **Techno_Union** » 2004-12-26 10:36pm

There are large stores of water of the planet for drinking and all that, though I heard those were actually supposed to be underground.

This picture that you mentioned, when was it released and is there a place I could find it? I don't seem to recall ever seeing it.

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2004-12-26 10:39pm

Ghost Rider wrote:Shadows of the Empire calims there is pretty much only one natural mountain on Coruscant, and it's a big tourist attraction.

I think a big reason people don't think it has any natural features or even features of that sort is that the concept that it's New York or Tokyo taken to the Nth degree.

Wow! Shadows of the Empire said that? Whereabouts? I must have missed it...

Techno_Union wrote:There are large stores of water of the planet for drinking and all that, though I heard those were actually supposed to be underground.

This picture that you mentioned, when was it released and is there a place I could find it? I don't seem to recall ever seeing it.

The film, the last bit where Dooku comes to Coruscant. For a second it looks like a sea but I think now it was just a weird kind of cloud.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-12-26 10:40pm

Stofsk wrote:
Ghost Rider wrote:Shadows of the Empire calims there is pretty much only one natural mountain on Coruscant, and it's a big tourist attraction.

I think a big reason people don't think it has any natural features or even features of that sort is that the concept that it's New York or Tokyo taken to the Nth degree.
Wow! Shadows of the Empire said that? Whereabouts? I must have missed it...

When Xizor is heading towards Menari(around the start of Chapter 8). He talks about the mountain and the monks that live on it.

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2004-12-26 11:12pm

Stofsk wrote:
Techno_Union wrote:There are large stores of water of the planet for drinking and all that, though I heard those were actually supposed to be underground.

This picture that you mentioned, when was it released and is there a place I could find it? I don't seem to recall ever seeing it.
The film, the last bit where Dooku comes to Coruscant. For a second it looks like a sea but I think now it was just a weird kind of cloud.

In one of the NJO books, there's a pleasure yacht on an 'ocean' that is really a water resevoir and an artificial ocean.

kheegster · Post by **kheegster** » 2004-12-26 11:59pm

Well, taking the NYC analogy...there's Central Park in NYC which is quasi-natural and has ponds etc., so I wouldn't be surprised if there were artificial mountains or seas for recreation purposes.

Post by **Coyote** » 2004-12-27 07:36am

I was watching AotC on DVD last night and there were clouds, and I remember thinking, hey, clouds... there must be surface water...

I'd presume they would have to have some surface water otherwise there'd be no weather, and little atmosphere worthy of the name. I could see having few topography if it were an old world, ravaged by erosion...

Techno_Union · Post by **Techno_Union** » 2004-12-27 11:13am

Coyote wrote:I was watching AotC on DVD last night and there were clouds, and I remember thinking, hey, clouds... there must be surface water...

I'd presume they would have to have some surface water otherwise there'd be no weather, and little atmosphere worthy of the name. I could see having few topography if it were an old world, ravaged by erosion...

From various sources, those clouds are supposed to be artificial... almost any weather is actually supposed to be artificial.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2004-12-27 11:16am

There's the Manari Mountain, the only uncovered mountain left. There's also at least one large "sea" which is a giagantic open reservoir with artificial beaches. One was punctured and drained by falling debris during the fall of Coruscant. The icecaps are also bare.

Isolder74 · Post by **Isolder74** » 2004-12-28 10:32am

I think that another natural mountain is the monument square in the celebration in Return of the Jedi, where they drop the statue of Palpatine. That is suppost to be the top of a butte-like mountain. though that place even seems to be completely altered from its natural form and shape.

The Original Nex · Post by **The Original Nex** » 2004-12-28 04:53pm

CaptainChewbacca wrote:There's the Manari Mountain, the only uncovered mountain left.

Wasn't only the summit undeveloped? I thought that's what the whole Monument Plaza, "see the only original rock of Coruscant's original crust" dealie was about.

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2004-12-28 09:48pm

in the jedi academy trilogy, han goes skiing with kyp on the ice caps.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2004-12-28 09:54pm

Knife wrote:
Stofsk wrote:
Techno_Union wrote:There are large stores of water of the planet for drinking and all that, though I heard those were actually supposed to be underground.

This picture that you mentioned, when was it released and is there a place I could find it? I don't seem to recall ever seeing it.
The film, the last bit where Dooku comes to Coruscant. For a second it looks like a sea but I think now it was just a weird kind of cloud.
In one of the NJO books, there's a pleasure yacht on an 'ocean' that is really a water resevoir and an artificial ocean.

That was stated to be the only ocean on the entire planet, btw.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2004-12-28 09:55pm

Enforcer Talen wrote:in the jedi academy trilogy, han goes skiing with kyp on the ice caps.

The ice caps are also mentioned in the X-wing books.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2004-12-29 01:45am

In Star-By-Star an enormous artificial ocean is mentioned, built across the rooftops of a vast number of structures.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2004-12-29 10:14am

Oneof the novels mentions Vader's Tower, on the shore of a artifical ocean. I think it was one of Thawn's Hand series?

Old Plympto · Post by **Old Plympto** » 2004-12-29 11:15am

I think that's in the Black Fleet Crisis novel originally posted by Stofsk at the top of this thread.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2005-01-01 02:56am

Coyote wrote:I was watching AotC on DVD last night and there were clouds, and I remember thinking, hey, clouds... there must be surface water...

I'd presume they would have to have some surface water otherwise there'd be no weather, and little atmosphere worthy of the name. I could see having few topography if it were an old world, ravaged by erosion...

Coruscant's physical quandries basically guarentee that the various weather and gas cycles are completely artificially controlled. Coruscant must even artifically pump its heat away from the surface and atmosphere, otherwise the combination of solar radiation absorbtion and waste heat from heat engines would cook the world from a human habitability perspective.

FTeik · Post by **FTeik** » 2005-01-01 07:05am

Keep in mind, that Coruscant was largely flattend in DE. The reconstruction-efforts of the NR might have included a lot more "natural" landscape, than what was there during the PT and imperial era.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2005-01-01 02:07pm

The Plaza was still a big deal post-DE. I think that Vader's castle was just nestled beside an underground or small exposed storage pool that has been exposed and mostly laid waste to from DE and insufficiently repaired since then.

The Original Nex · Post by **The Original Nex** » 2005-01-01 05:36pm

And if you want to get into the Vong invasion, they did all sorts of crazy shit to Coruscant's terrain. The made all kinds of "valleys" and "mountains" and "oceans."

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-01-01 06:00pm

The Original Nex wrote:And if you want to get into the Vong invasion, they did all sorts of crazy shit to Coruscant's terrain. The made all kinds of "valleys" and "mountains" and "oceans."

Yeah, but that was AFTER the Vong had terraformed it

And the mountains were on top of the buildings, and the valleys are areas with smaller buildings or ones that were destroyed in the battle.

Elheru Aran · Post by **Elheru Aran** » 2005-01-04 12:43pm

A thought: Perhaps at some point, some buildings were constructed with a deliberate mountainous look to them-- some fancy housing project ("Come Live in the Mountains!" quite literally...), and the buildings around them adopted the look, resulting in a mountain range of sorts? Does the picture ever indicate that the mountains are natural or artifical?