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Elysium

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Tue, 2010-04-06 17:00

Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture

Elysium

Ni hao! Kaltxi! Bonjour! I was wondering if there was a definite look for Elysium? is it more hightech like New Olympus (Appleseed) or Tharsis with a patchwork of reproduction of old Earth cities (Cowboy Bebop the movie) I think there's a bit of both. The reason why I'm asking is that I plan to spread out Mind the WMD. To have the PC search where Gray found the stuff she sold, for exemple. Make the PC investigate, interrogate and make deductions that will lead them to the destroyed settlement

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[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...

Thu, 2010-04-15 17:07

Decivre

Re: Elysium

Quincey Forder wrote:
Ni hao! Kaltxi! Bonjour! I was wondering if there was a definite look for Elysium? is it more hightech like New Olympus (Appleseed) or Tharsis with a patchwork of reproduction of old Earth cities (Cowboy Bebop the movie) I think there's a bit of both. The reason why I'm asking is that I plan to spread out Mind the WMD. To have the PC search where Gray found the stuff she sold, for exemple. Make the PC investigate, interrogate and make deductions that will lead them to the destroyed settlement

I'd imagine that it would look like a futuristic rendition of the Hollywood night landscape, set within a domed canyon structure. From an outside view, the region looks like a massive artificial construct filling the gap between the canyon walls throughout the Chasma. From the inside, however, I see a vast linear metropolis stretching throughout the canyon, with buildings that threaten to touch the curved canopy above. To that end, it is an entertainment nexus... combining aspects of Midtown Manhattan, Hollywood and Akihabara into an interesting mixture designed to draw crowds. Massive vidscreens dot the landscape, showcasing advertisement for upcoming films and other media. If a street is not wall to wall in apartment complexes, it is either holding a massive socialite abode or dotted with a number of entertainment businesses. Strip clubs sit beside arcades, which sit beside bookstores. When describing it, you really have to play up the fact that the players are in the media capital of the Solar system.

—

Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age. [url=http://bit.ly/2p3wk7c]Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.[/url]

Thu, 2010-04-15 17:46

Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture

Re: Elysium

like in Appleseed Ex-Machina, when they're visiting Down Town New Olympus (right before Bri goes nuts)? I like that! the city in Armitage is a lot like that too what about the more subburbs bouroughs? where the less wealthy people live and work? I kinda pictures structures built flanking the cliff sides. (good exemple in Armitage: Dual Matrix, where Naomi and Ross live) what do you mean by Hollywood Night landcape? Elysium Mons is, like Olympus and Pavonis, a volcanic caldera. So they build a dome atop of it? [img]http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/WebImg/northernMars.gif[/img] the mention of domed canyons kinda remind me of the lunar colony in Kurau Phantom Memory (ADV Films) large and long open place in the canopied canyons, with vegetation, lakes and rivers, cities, country side and smaller towns. (side note: Kurau Phantom Memory is a tremendously good inspiration for EP: a girl infected with a benevolent strain of exurgent virus, and with very, very strong Psi Sleigh. Armitage Dual Matrix is a good exemple of what Firewall must look like to outsiders, organizing a raid against a Seed AI powered factory, and making it look like a robot rebellion) Like I said, I'm planning on expending the quickstart adventure to make the players investigate where Gray found the goods she's trying to sell. Giving a Total Recall Meet Cowboy Bebop Meet Trigun feel to it That means they'll have to rumage throughout the city -how big is it, actually?- to find some lead and a game tracking and pursuit to false leads before they find the devastated habitat

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[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...

Thu, 2010-04-15 19:54

Decivre

Re: Elysium

Quincey Forder wrote:
like in Appleseed Ex-Machina, when they're visiting Down Town New Olympus (right before Bri goes nuts)? I like that! the city in Armitage is a lot like that too what about the more subburbs bouroughs? where the less wealthy people live and work? I kinda pictures structures built flanking the cliff sides. (good exemple in Armitage: Dual Matrix, where Naomi and Ross live) what do you mean by Hollywood Night landcape? Elysium Mons is, like Olympus and Pavonis, a volcanic caldera. So they build a dome atop of it?

Actually, it seems that caldera cities have fallen out of favor. Olympus was once the most populated city on Mars, but when Valles Marineris was successfully turned into a lush landscape thanks to terraforming projects, it fell into disuse. Three-quarters of the Martian population live in that valley alone, so it's likely that there is no habitat (or a very small one) at the top of Mount Elysium. Even Elysium itself is an oddball on the Martian landscape, being so remote from the rest of the Martian population that flight is the best means of getting there from anyplace else. It sits alone as a media paradise, looking like a mysterious metal serpent from the space above. Perhaps for a descriptor, though, I should have said the Vegas night landscape. The canyon dome keeps the city perpetually out of the Sun, while I'd imagine that the inner wall of the dome is a gorgeous video screen system, capable of magnificent displays 24/7. Lights litter throughout the town, and the city never goes dormant.

Quincey Forder wrote:
the mention of domed canyons kinda remind me of the lunar colony in Kurau Phantom Memory (ADV Films) large and long open place in the canopied canyons, with vegetation, lakes and rivers, cities, country side and smaller towns. (side note: Kurau Phantom Memory is a tremendously good inspiration for EP: a girl infected with a benevolent strain of exurgent virus, and with very, very strong Psi Sleigh. Armitage Dual Matrix is a good exemple of what Firewall must look like to outsiders, organizing a raid against a Seed AI powered factory, and making it look like a robot rebellion) Like I said, I'm planning on expending the quickstart adventure to make the players investigate where Gray found the goods she's trying to sell. Giving a Total Recall Meet Cowboy Bebop Meet Trigun feel to it That means they'll have to rumage throughout the city -how big is it, actually?- to find some lead and a game tracking and pursuit to false leads before they find the devastated habitat

It is 75 kilometers long and runs throughout the canyon. So take the width of the canyon, and the 75 kilometer length that the city fills, and you know how big it is. Do note that it is in a state of constant expansion.

—

Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age. [url=http://bit.ly/2p3wk7c]Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.[/url]

Thu, 2010-04-15 21:10

Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture

Re: Elysium

so Elysium city isn't even on Elysium Mons? I guess it would have been confusing for the people if it was to be renamed some Martian "Me? I live in Elysium, of course!" lunar friend "you live on a montain, then? Shway!" Martian:"No, we live in a terraformed canyon." Lunar friend:"but you said you live in Elysium?" heh you said how long it is, but not how large? and how deep? I have found this pic, but due to eye defect I cannot make accurate scale estimation. [img]http://www.deviantart.com/download/119224147/MARS__Valles_Marineris_by_G... it also seems that is up and down relief within the canyon. Does it mean that the city herself is built in steps? it gives a new meaning to 'uptown' and 'downtown', alright! or did the designer leveled it down? I like the idea of diverse levels in he city. and it would give a great vista, too! For tourist, walking in a park, looking at the city bellow media inspiration wise, I've found another nice anime. you might know it already, given the series is almost a decade old: "Zone of the Enders: Dolores, i" full of ideas for NPC and location (like that Barsoomian domed farm with giant corn prop, or that abandonned military built asteroid, and the hidden Giangxi base and its triad bioconservative leader, Ron Pao)

—

[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...

Thu, 2010-04-15 22:15

Decivre

Re: Elysium

Quincey Forder wrote:
so Elysium city isn't even on Elysium Mons? I guess it would have been confusing for the people if it was to be renamed some Martian "Me? I live in Elysium, of course!" lunar friend "you live on a montain, then? Shway!" Martian:"No, we live in a terraformed canyon." Lunar friend:"but you said you live in Elysium?" heh you said how long it is, but not how large? and how deep? I have found this pic, but due to eye defect I cannot make accurate scale estimation. it also seems that is up and down relief within the canyon. Does it mean that the city herself is built in steps? it gives a new meaning to 'uptown' and 'downtown', alright! or did the designer leveled it down? I like the idea of diverse levels in he city. and it would give a great vista, too! For tourist, walking in a park, looking at the city bellow media inspiration wise, I've found another nice anime. you might know it already, given the series is almost a decade old: "Zone of the Enders: Dolores, i" full of ideas for NPC and location (like that Barsoomian domed farm with giant corn prop, or that abandonned military built asteroid, and the hidden Giangxi base and its triad bioconservative leader, Ron Pao)

It's actually not deceptive. Elysium is not named after Elysium Mons, but after the Elysium Chasma which runs near it. Elysium runs throughout, stretching into the neighboring Hyblaeus Chasma. Valles Marineris is actually where the majority of the Martian population lives, and is quite far away from Elysium (about a third of the way around the planet).

—

Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age. [url=http://bit.ly/2p3wk7c]Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.[/url]

Thu, 2010-04-15 22:57

Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture

Re: Elysium

ahh! so they are two different cities? that's where my confusion came from, I guess. so the city where the PCs are sleeved is in the Elysium Chasma? the Elysium fossae is North Hemisphere Valles Marenis is South. I found it here: [url]http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2782/i2782_sh1.pdf[/url] the map is huge!

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[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...

Thu, 2010-04-15 23:07

Decivre

Re: Elysium

Quincey Forder wrote:
ahh! so they are two different cities? that's where my confusion came from, I guess. so the city where the PCs are sleeved is in the Elysium Chasma? the Elysium fossae is North Hemisphere Valles Marenis is South. I found it here: [url]http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2782/i2782_sh1.pdf[/url] the map is huge!

No, there's only one city named Elysium, and it's within the chasmata circuit. The fossae is a short distance northeast of it. The city runs throughout the Elysium and Hyblaeus Chasmata, stretching 75 kilometers throughout. It's continuing to grow on either end.

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Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age. [url=http://bit.ly/2p3wk7c]Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.[/url]

Sat, 2010-04-17 14:29

Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture

Re: Elysium

So this would be looking a bit like this from Orbit? [IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad130/Quincey_Forder/Elysiumtemptativ... what about the question on the declivity of the chasma's bottom? and its width?

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[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...

Sat, 2010-04-17 17:40

#10

Decivre

Re: Elysium

Quincey Forder wrote:
So this would be looking a bit like this from Orbit?

Somewhat, but the city only fills 75 km of it. There should still be room

Quincey Forder wrote:
what about the question on the declivity of the chasma's bottom? and its width?

No clue on that bit. I know nothing about that chasma myself, and it's probably one of the least documented chasma I know of.

—

Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age. [url=http://bit.ly/2p3wk7c]Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.[/url]

Sat, 2010-04-17 19:31

#11

Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture

Re: Elysium

Quote:
Somewhat, but the city only fills 75 km of it. There should still be room

Doesn't stop the rest of the chasm to be terraformed and cannopied. there could be some farms, country sides, recreational zones for PC employees As for the width, well, I found a document saying that the average width goes between 30 and 50 kilometers. That's almost half the lenght of the city, making it fairly square, wouldn't it? [url]http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=19...

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[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...

Sun, 2010-04-18 11:03

#12

Decivre

Re: Elysium

Quincey Forder wrote:
Doesn't stop the rest of the chasm to be terraformed and cannopied. there could be some farms, country sides, recreational zones for PC employees As for the width, well, I found a document saying that the average width goes between 30 and 50 kilometers. That's almost half the lenght of the city, making it fairly square, wouldn't it? [url]http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=19...

Interesting. That doesn't seem all that serpentine at all. Perhaps it was a book error, and the city stretches for 750 kilometers? As for rural areas, I doubt they exist around Elysium. As it spreads throughout the vallis, any potential room for farmland would be consumed by the metropolis. They likely get all of their goods imported from elsewhere (which makes sense, since many major cities around the world do the same). Most farmland likely exists over at Valles Marineris, where the rest of Martian society inhabits (and the majority of terraforming efforts occur). If there are people inhabiting the area besides the city folk, they're probably more transient (it might be a common nomad stop.)

—

Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age. [url=http://bit.ly/2p3wk7c]Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.[/url]

Sun, 2010-04-18 12:38

#13

Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture

Re: Elysium

they got Valles Marineris Canopied? all 4000 kilometers of them? wow! On the farmlands, I would picture them as half-burried domes, covering hundred of hectares (having a low gravity means taller, bigger veggies and less stressed structures. to energize the site, a network of small vertical axed windturbine like this one; [img]http://farm1.static.flickr.com/76/215820180_405a6994e2.jpg[/img] the plants provide the air supply by themselves through photosynthesis, which cheapens the maintenance and life support system

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[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...

Sun, 2010-04-18 16:23

#14

Decivre

Re: Elysium

Quincey Forder wrote:
they got Valles Marineris Canopied? all 4000 kilometers of them? wow! On the farmlands, I would picture them as half-burried domes, covering hundred of hectares (having a low gravity means taller, bigger veggies and less stressed structures. to energize the site, a network of small vertical axed windturbine like this one; the plants provide the air supply by themselves through photosynthesis, which cheapens the maintenance and life support system

No, Valles Marineris isn't canopied... it's terraformed. They've converted it into lush land that people can inhabit. There's no need to canopy it, because the valley likely has a good enough mixture of greenhouse gases and atmosphere to keep the climate temperate despite the sun.

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Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age. [url=http://bit.ly/2p3wk7c]Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.[/url]

Sun, 2010-04-18 17:14

#15

Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture

Re: Elysium

ohh I though the terraformation was using the canopy to avoid the air escaping any morph or bioconservative can walk around VM without any suit, mask or exopack? cool!

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[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...

Sun, 2010-04-18 17:30

#16

Decivre

Re: Elysium

Quincey Forder wrote:
ohh I though the terraformation was using the canopy to avoid the air escaping any morph or bioconservative can walk around VM without any suit, mask or exopack? cool!

Yeah, and I imagine it would be akin to walking about in the Tibetan mountains. The air might be thinner than air at sea level on Earth, but its manageable with some time to adjust.

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Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age. [url=http://bit.ly/2p3wk7c]Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.[/url]

Sun, 2010-04-18 17:53

#17

browwiw

Re: Elysium

Which brings up a topic I've been thinking about, but haven't had a decent segue for. Because of the thin atmosphere on Mars, do you think chewing coca leaves? Native Andeans have chewed coca leaves for thousands of years because of its effectiveness in alleviating altitude sickness. Check out the wiki for the medicinal benefits. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca

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"Let’s face it: Most of us are just here to shoot stormtroopers." - Gary M. Sarli

Sun, 2010-04-18 18:00

#18

Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture

Re: Elysium

what about the radiations? out in the open, you'd get a yearly 15 Rads level. but as martians say; "shikatta ga nai" (this can't be helped) is the entirety of the Valles Marineris terraformed? all 4500 klicks of them? there must be more than one city there

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[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...

Sun, 2010-04-18 18:12

#19

Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture

Re: Elysium

An interesting video on Mars I found on youtube: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhz67KvPbKw&NR=1[/url]

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[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...

Thu, 2010-04-22 19:13

#20

Arenamontanus Arenamontanus's picture

Re: Elysium

Some pictures of the intersection of Hyblaeus and Elysium chasma: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_003545_2025 At least down here the chasma seems to be pretty flat and has a sand-covered bottom. The sides have talus cones, scree slopes from fallen rocks. I guess these would have been terraced and stabilized. I would expect that the city started in the more narrow northern end, which was easier to cover and build in. Since then it has expanded in all directions. An interesting issue is the local hydrology; there has to be underground (or topside) pipelines and pumps recycling water from the lower end to the upper to keep gardens and canals wet. Makes for a fun action situation setting.

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