I think the problem when designing inhabited worlds in sci fi is often that they start on it backwards. They usually start with earth as a reference point and say "so planet is kind of like space New York, this planet is kind of like space San Francisco, then this other planet is kind of like space Tokyo. Now we've got to add some futuristic elements to make it seem like scifi and we've got to add some weird geography to make it seem like it's on another planet. How they should go about it is the reverse of this. You START your concepting process with the alien physical qualities of the world, then you extrapolate how people would live on it from, which then tells you how it should look. So say you've got a planet that you want to be really wealthy and powerful and have a big population. Let's say it's going to have mines on it that provide rare materials, and it's located along a really important trade route. The gravity is 0.6g and it's located further away from the star than earth, so maybe it's a little bit more like mars. The atmosphere isn't breathable, but isn't toxic either. Let's say there's nitrogen and water and co2 but little oxygen, so animals can't breath but plants are fine out in the open. It's colder than earth, but there's a lot of volcanic activity. So what would civilization on this planet look like? Well gravity is lower so you can have lots of huge, tall structures. Building things is cheap, moving cargo around is cheap, launches are cheap. You're probably going to have lots of elevated rail, supertall skyscrapers, huge domes, farms everywhere. Lots of travel by rocket and aircraft. You've got a fairly dense atmosphere but low gravity, so airships will work great, and can be much larger than aerostats on earth. This place is a great hub for manufacturing and logistics. Say they're a big producer of ceramics, then wouldn't they also use ceramics in building construction rather than concrete, steel, glass etc? People don't need spacesuits, to walk around outside, but they do need breathing devices and oxygen tanks. There's probably going to be large indoor parks that simulate earth, so people can experience nature in more comfort. You've got volcanic activity and water, so they're probably going to use geothermal power because it's cheap and easy. Cities are probably going to be built around geothermal springs because they provide water, heat, electricity, and minerals. It's kinda dark, so they're probably going to build a lot of artificial lights for mental health reasons. My point is, you should always start with the physical realities of the planet, and then ask "what's the easiest way to do things here? What would this place be good at? What would it be bad at? What could you do here that you couldn't do on earth? It makes the place feel believable, and gives it a strong sense of cohesion. Starting with "we want this place to be like Paris, but sci fi. We'll build all the environmental conditions afterwards" is such an uninspired way to go about it and I think it produces locations that feel boring.
Looking at the older concept art for Star Citizen cities really does feel like the visual representation of a science fiction anthology. Unfortunately in the modern era, some of this artwork looks more like generic A.I. art of a "futuristic city" and uses spaceships and structures that don't look like anything like what we'd expect to see today in SC.
well, I am very much looking forward to seeing our actual solar system in our Science Fiction game. I want to see what my "parent's house" looks like 930 years in the future.
I think it would be awesome if they had a giant statue of a woman with outstretched arms made of pure haddanite that you could see from space, inviting you into the loving arms of Terra with smaller art installations throughout the city about founders and flowers absolutely everywhere. That would offset the boring sci-fi anthology feel.
Some of the concept art does, indeed, look like the back cover of a Sci Fi anthology (albeit a good one), but I totally agree with your analysis about what the city(s) in Terra should look like. However, CIG have a HUGE uphill struggle to create the Terra system to the same fidelity as Stanton!
LoL we have no idea how a futuristic city might incorporate our culture as humans as a whole, but do agree the city scapes did look like a scientific anthology cover xD
Anyone looking for a great sci-fi anthology should take a look at Neal Asher for newer stuff, or Jeffrey A Carver from 80's sci-fi. I'd look to see some concepts from those make it into Star Citizen. Looking forward to 1.0
Yeah... but this is Star Citizen though, and many of us are going to lean hard into that science fiction anthology vibe. We'll be like, "Hey who gives a crap about Prime? Somebody said, 'Mysterious ancient ruins near Quasi!' Lets gooooo!" Also, Castra "unexpected"? Okay, I've often found myself alone proclaiming Castra to be one of two likely systems soon after Nyx (seems I got Hadrian wrong though). No, Castra was always an obvious choice, more so than the often mentioned Odin system, as was Terra.
I think Terra is going to be more like Dubai or Singapore. A little too sterile, a little too flashy, and with a seedy underbelly they hide away (see the concept art for the Blocks neighborhood).
they looked like the planned cities idea i've seen. there hasn't been any growth or ... compression where newer buildings are sqeezed into places too small for them. But how would cities on new planets be like, placement for colonies in 1700 is very different then ones in 2500 (just random numbers there). I mean in Civ, being near water at the start is important, but no so much once X tech is researched. even then, what is the main point of these cities, are they the port town, main gateway for goods to/from the planet? mining town? industrial? being that SC is a space game, aren't we playing in a science fiction anthology?
They had a landing zone being worked on before they decided to make the planets completely instead of instanced. Terra Prime is a large city with many skyscrapers and it was beautiful. I don't like quaint low-rise cities like Washington DC especially in the future.
I don't know. If a place in Star Citizen is going to have a "generic science fiction" look, it seems like Terra is probably it. Not that I am advocating for it so much as saying that it would seem to fit. Your points about important government buildings in real life are well taken, though.
It's a bit disappointing that you said cities plural in the title of the video, but focused specifically on the best vision for the main landing zone. I totally agree with what you said about that, but I was hoping you'd also be making a case for multiple landing zones, with plenty of room for other cities with the more generic sci-fi sprawl.
I just hope they do real cultures justice when they make terra. If it wants to replace earth, major cultures would have to be established there. Entire cities that speak chinese, russian, etc. where you have to have some translator mobiglass app that has an augmented reality translation system linked up to your helmet so you can read signs and such, but for those who actually speak these languages they could leave that off. Would be peak immersion.
Once again I feel as though your video isn't directed at the Star Citizen player, but rather Star Citizen developers. I hope they are viewers of yours! It would be a shame if much of the planet just appeared as meaningless sci-fi future city filler. Great analysis Ray!
you're probably right, the first Concepts were way too science fiction imo - its not that far in the future as this would make sense tbh. im pretty curous how terra will turn out someday
I don’t particularly like the older architecture of the cities of current day Earth. I like the look of Coruscant in Star Wars with the top of planet’s tallest mountain on display. It might be generic sci-fi but if you at Canary Wharf or Manchester central, these are modern buildings now.
The Roman and Greek temples eg acropolis were tall for their time, not just sprawling. The aim was to indeed create a visually impressive distinction from the surroundings - which could be interpreted in may ways in science fiction for terra. I hope the lore does not just bring us back to Roman and Greek times. SciFi is there to create worlds and Terra was set up to be something new and better! Not a copy of Earth cultural references.
I don't see the original Terra as looking like an old Science Fiction Anthology, and don't mind tall buildings for government. Look at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC. It is 39 floors tall and relatively unassuming.
I am hoping that Terra leans less Generic Science Fiction anthology, and more Greek inspired. Terra has a more egalitarian democratic bent to contrast with the more autocratic imperialistic old earth.
good lord, they really named two rival planets with the same godamn name? I though they were the same thing until now, terra and sol are two different systems ???? fk me
I think the problem when designing inhabited worlds in sci fi is often that they start on it backwards. They usually start with earth as a reference point and say "so planet is kind of like space New York, this planet is kind of like space San Francisco, then this other planet is kind of like space Tokyo. Now we've got to add some futuristic elements to make it seem like scifi and we've got to add some weird geography to make it seem like it's on another planet.
How they should go about it is the reverse of this. You START your concepting process with the alien physical qualities of the world, then you extrapolate how people would live on it from, which then tells you how it should look. So say you've got a planet that you want to be really wealthy and powerful and have a big population. Let's say it's going to have mines on it that provide rare materials, and it's located along a really important trade route. The gravity is 0.6g and it's located further away from the star than earth, so maybe it's a little bit more like mars. The atmosphere isn't breathable, but isn't toxic either. Let's say there's nitrogen and water and co2 but little oxygen, so animals can't breath but plants are fine out in the open. It's colder than earth, but there's a lot of volcanic activity.
So what would civilization on this planet look like? Well gravity is lower so you can have lots of huge, tall structures. Building things is cheap, moving cargo around is cheap, launches are cheap. You're probably going to have lots of elevated rail, supertall skyscrapers, huge domes, farms everywhere. Lots of travel by rocket and aircraft. You've got a fairly dense atmosphere but low gravity, so airships will work great, and can be much larger than aerostats on earth. This place is a great hub for manufacturing and logistics. Say they're a big producer of ceramics, then wouldn't they also use ceramics in building construction rather than concrete, steel, glass etc? People don't need spacesuits, to walk around outside, but they do need breathing devices and oxygen tanks. There's probably going to be large indoor parks that simulate earth, so people can experience nature in more comfort. You've got volcanic activity and water, so they're probably going to use geothermal power because it's cheap and easy. Cities are probably going to be built around geothermal springs because they provide water, heat, electricity, and minerals. It's kinda dark, so they're probably going to build a lot of artificial lights for mental health reasons.
My point is, you should always start with the physical realities of the planet, and then ask "what's the easiest way to do things here? What would this place be good at? What would it be bad at? What could you do here that you couldn't do on earth? It makes the place feel believable, and gives it a strong sense of cohesion. Starting with "we want this place to be like Paris, but sci fi. We'll build all the environmental conditions afterwards" is such an uninspired way to go about it and I think it produces locations that feel boring.
Looking at the older concept art for Star Citizen cities really does feel like the visual representation of a science fiction anthology. Unfortunately in the modern era, some of this artwork looks more like generic A.I. art of a "futuristic city" and uses spaceships and structures that don't look like anything like what we'd expect to see today in SC.
There appears to be missing audio around about 2:30 in the video
I'm thinking about social security. That's what I'll collect before we see this
I’m already collecting my state pension, I’m just glad to be seeing 4!
well, I am very much looking forward to seeing our actual solar system in our Science Fiction game. I want to see what my "parent's house" looks like 930 years in the future.
If Terra wants to be the new Earth it can't feel empty, unlike Stanton. But we'll see what kind of Science Fiction Anthology Terra will be.
Well argued. It absolutely should have lots of neo-neoclassical architecture!
I think it would be awesome if they had a giant statue of a woman with outstretched arms made of pure haddanite that you could see from space, inviting you into the loving arms of Terra with smaller art installations throughout the city about founders and flowers absolutely everywhere. That would offset the boring sci-fi anthology feel.
Some of the concept art does, indeed, look like the back cover of a Sci Fi anthology (albeit a good one), but I totally agree with your analysis about what the city(s) in Terra should look like. However, CIG have a HUGE uphill struggle to create the Terra system to the same fidelity as Stanton!
Cool ideas! Best SF stories of 2987.
LoL we have no idea how a futuristic city might incorporate our culture as humans as a whole, but do agree the city scapes did look like a scientific anthology cover xD
well in the year 2000 we are still directly quoting buildings from two millenia ago, why wouldn't in a thousand years be quoting current cities?
Anyone looking for a great sci-fi anthology should take a look at Neal Asher for newer stuff, or Jeffrey A Carver from 80's sci-fi. I'd look to see some concepts from those make it into Star Citizen. Looking forward to 1.0
Best sf stories of 2987.
What a good year it will be!
Keep up the great work!
Yeah... but this is Star Citizen though, and many of us are going to lean hard into that science fiction anthology vibe. We'll be like, "Hey who gives a crap about Prime? Somebody said, 'Mysterious ancient ruins near Quasi!' Lets gooooo!"
Also, Castra "unexpected"? Okay, I've often found myself alone proclaiming Castra to be one of two likely systems soon after Nyx (seems I got Hadrian wrong though). No, Castra was always an obvious choice, more so than the often mentioned Odin system, as was Terra.
City looks like science fiction! Keep up the good work Ray.
I think Terra is going to be more like Dubai or Singapore. A little too sterile, a little too flashy, and with a seedy underbelly they hide away (see the concept art for the Blocks neighborhood).
More than concept art: they had Terra whiteboxed. People were running around it back in...2015, I think?
they looked like the planned cities idea i've seen. there hasn't been any growth or ... compression where newer buildings are sqeezed into places too small for them. But how would cities on new planets be like, placement for colonies in 1700 is very different then ones in 2500 (just random numbers there). I mean in Civ, being near water at the start is important, but no so much once X tech is researched. even then, what is the main point of these cities, are they the port town, main gateway for goods to/from the planet? mining town? industrial?
being that SC is a space game, aren't we playing in a science fiction anthology?
They had a landing zone being worked on before they decided to make the planets completely instead of instanced. Terra Prime is a large city with many skyscrapers and it was beautiful. I don't like quaint low-rise cities like Washington DC especially in the future.
I plan on Terra to be my home world
I don't know. If a place in Star Citizen is going to have a "generic science fiction" look, it seems like Terra is probably it. Not that I am advocating for it so much as saying that it would seem to fit. Your points about important government buildings in real life are well taken, though.
It's a bit disappointing that you said cities plural in the title of the video, but focused specifically on the best vision for the main landing zone. I totally agree with what you said about that, but I was hoping you'd also be making a case for multiple landing zones, with plenty of room for other cities with the more generic sci-fi sprawl.
Well, the number of landing zones are already specified.
Who doesn't like a good science fiction anthology
I just hope they do real cultures justice when they make terra. If it wants to replace earth, major cultures would have to be established there. Entire cities that speak chinese, russian, etc. where you have to have some translator mobiglass app that has an augmented reality translation system linked up to your helmet so you can read signs and such, but for those who actually speak these languages they could leave that off. Would be peak immersion.
Once again I feel as though your video isn't directed at the Star Citizen player, but rather Star Citizen developers. I hope they are viewers of yours! It would be a shame if much of the planet just appeared as meaningless sci-fi future city filler. Great analysis Ray!
My goal is to start discussions. I hope those discussions reach inside CIG but they are fun discussions netherless.
you're probably right, the first Concepts were way too science fiction imo - its not that far in the future as this would make sense tbh. im pretty curous how terra will turn out someday
I don’t particularly like the older architecture of the cities of current day Earth. I like the look of Coruscant in Star Wars with the top of planet’s tallest mountain on display. It might be generic sci-fi but if you at Canary Wharf or Manchester central, these are modern buildings now.
Yeah, those do look like a pretty generic old science fiction anthology cover... Hopefully we get some designs more along the seat of power motif.
science fiction anthology
But Science Fiction Anthologies are great coffee table books! Also, I hope that 2987 isn't when you think the game is going to be released lol.
It shouldn't look like Canary Wharf does in London UK.
Ah, but the UEE Navy's headquarters is NOT on Earth. It's on MacArthur in the Kilian system.
*Pushes up science fiction geek glasses*
The Roman and Greek temples eg acropolis were tall for their time, not just sprawling. The aim was to indeed create a visually impressive distinction from the surroundings - which could be interpreted in may ways in science fiction for terra. I hope the lore does not just bring us back to Roman and Greek times. SciFi is there to create worlds and Terra was set up to be something new and better! Not a copy of Earth cultural references.
I don't see the original Terra as looking like an old Science Fiction Anthology, and don't mind tall buildings for government. Look at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC. It is 39 floors tall and relatively unassuming.
But apart from the offices, the real heart of the UN headquarters is mid-rise.
I am hoping that Terra leans less Generic Science Fiction anthology, and more Greek inspired. Terra has a more egalitarian democratic bent to contrast with the more autocratic imperialistic old earth.
good lord, they really named two rival planets with the same godamn name? I though they were the same thing until now, terra and sol are two different systems ???? fk me
Best SF stories 2987
I think I actually have an old science fiction anthology lying around here some where... OK, I'm done looking, can't find it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
o7
The perfect place for Slaaneshi corruption