Okay, since no one has made the OTHER obvious statement about this topic, I'll throw something else out there as chum as more scent.
In Disco, it's now around 820. Based upon when things here in Sol went completely to hell - around 2200 AD - that means that Disco is happening about 1,000 years in our future, give or take a couple of hundred. Which is fine, really.
Why?
Well, it's pretty simple. Let's look BACKWARDS 800 years, to the 12th and 13th centuries. Wow, the mariners compass was invented, as were eyeglasses. The Chinese invented cannons, rockets, and grenades. But only some brave Vikings had crossed the Atlantic, and no record exists of anyone crossing the Pacific.
The first printing press was made in the 15th Century - so less than 600 years ago. Major explorations across the Atlantic weren't until the 16th Century - and even then it was still on wooden ships - 500 years ago. Our technology that we have today has come from accelerated change - even the assembly line that I have been discussing all throughout this thread didn't come into physical being until literally only 100 years ago, although it had been proposed 100 years before that.
From the Discovery perspective, it's been 800 years since people left Sol. But when they got to Sirius, they had one major advantage over our ancestors 800 years ago. They already KNEW about modern technology, and they brought it with them. Look at computers - these things we're using now. In the electronic digital form, they've only been around for 70 years. They've gone from being the size of entire houses to where now those of you with an iPad have more computer power at your fingertips than NASA had when they put a man on the moon. That's 40 years ago.
Now - the objections that have been made here regarding construction techniques would make sense if, when people got to Sirius, they had to learn everything all over again. But they didn't - they already knew about assembly lines, factories, advanced computers, and space flight. All they had to do was get the raw materials to exploit so they could start BUILDING those things.
Remember, we've gone from people not even able to cross the Atlantic 800 years ago to being able to fly non-stop around the globe in less than a single day. We've gone from hand delivered messages taking weeks to cross a country to being able to press the button and call anyone nearly anywhere in the world, any time of day, on your 'Dick Tracy' phone.
Knjaz, you keep talking about how airplanes get more and more complex, so it's tougher and tougher to build them. While that's a good thought, keep in mind that it's (a) 800 years in the future and (b) how much things will improve by then in design of both vehicles as WELL as manufacturing processes. Right now, one of the reasons airplanes take so long to build is that they're simply not ordering that many of them, so why make them when they're not going to be used?
Let's look at some example of assorted numbers of US aircraft from WWII to present day. There were 5,200 F-4 Phantoms made while it was being produced; 2,900 A-4 Skyhawks; 4,500 F-16's; more than 15,000 P-51's, 10,000 P-38's, 16,000 P-47's 100 B-1's, 740 B-52's, 12,000 B-17's, 4,000 B-29's, 18,000 B-24's, 10,000 B-25's - and only 64 F-117's and 20 B-2's.
We only NEED 20 B-2's in our inventory right now. The B-2 can carry 80 500lb bombs halfway around the world. A single B-17 could carry 9 500lb bombs 800 miles. So you've got one airplane replacing 9 - with only 2 people flying, instead of 90. But here's the little thing you're forgetting - all of those WWII aircraft were built in 4 years - because we needed them then. 40,000 fighters and 44,000 bombers - in 4 years. The US was in and on a war footing. Since then, we haven't NEEDED to produce that many fighters or bombers - but we knew how to do so.
Liberty is at war with Rheinland, Bretonia was at war with Kusari and is now at war with Gallia - and vice-versa. You do a lot of things in a war that you don't do - or even NEED to do - in peacetime.
Everyone has been talking about how hard it is to build ships. During WWII, the US built 120 escort carriers - in 4 years, not 5. 30 per year translates out to 1 every two weeks. 9 light aircraft carriers, and 24 fleet carriers were also built. 250 destroyers were built, 35 cruisers, 14 heavy cruisers, 10 battleships, and oh, yeah, about 600 PT boats.
Again - by one country. In 4 years. Using production methods that are incredibly manpower intensive, because we didn't HAVE welding robots then like we do now.
If we had a real shooting war start right now, don't you about imagine that we'd figure out a way to ramp up the production on these super fancy fighters, if we needed them? Why would you assume that our 'descendants' 800 some years in the Discovery future wouldn't be able to do the same? Everyone keeps talking about money, money, money.
What's your money worth if you're a conquered people?
What kind of hit did Rheinland's economy take with the loss of half the Hamburg system? What about Kusari, or Bretonia? The civilian population is going to be working round the clock to support the war effort - or they're going to lose. The mechanical population - all those robots - are going to be working around the clock to support the war effort - or doing whatever it is they're programmed to do - or they're going to lose. You're not out there making lots of new factories to build refrigerators or washers and dryers for your population right now - you do that AFTER the war is over.
THAT is why you're going to be able to build all those battleships, cruisers, carriers, destroyers, fighters, bombers, and everything else we have in the Discovery universe. You HAVE to be able to do so - or you're going to lose the war. The basis for rapid construction technology as I have proposed for the Discovery universe exists now, today, in real life, just as the basis for our technology today came from inventions 600 - 800 years ago. That's also why it's called science fiction - you don't limit yourself to what we can do today, you take a what if and run with it.
Look at the big picture. The known universe - Gallia and Sirius - are ALL at war. Sure, people still live, love, and make babies. Criminals still exist, as do politicians, bankers, farmers, and industrialists. But everyone has a hanging sword of Damocles over their heads. We just saw the Nomads blow up an entire planet. If we actually WERE able to reproduce planetary warfare in the game, don't you about imagine that kinetic energy weapons would be used against planets - unless there was a fear that they would be used against your own populations as well, thus making that a sword you dare not use - but must be prepared to do so needs must?
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.
