The guy's put a lot of effort into it, it's a shame CCP won't take it on. Anything there useful for your modular colony idea? Like multiple connector points maybe??
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Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
I think we've already covered those ideas AKB, nothing new to see there. Indeed it has a flaw, in that it is very 2-dimensional. A large station ends up covering 1km by 1km by 20m high, rather than being able to extend vertically with stacking.
Regarding getting the modular housing systems to the ground, I think there will be some ship capable of landing and depositing cargo up to a certain size. I'm designing one to do that, anyway, since it's damned usful. Simply transporting modules to the surface might work, but it might be beyond the reach of non-starfleet vessels and we also should take into account that certain planetary conditions may make it impossible.
As for dropping them from space using some sort of aerobraking or thrusters or whatever, it doesn't really smack of Starfleet to me. It's more of a quick and dirty military way of doing something, not what the ubertechy good guys would do. You also have to think about what happens when they hit dirt, since you'd need to be an exceptionally good shot to drop each cabin in perfect alignment with its neighbours so that they can be joined correctly.
Dropping and converting tanks or cargo pods is a good idea, one that NASA and others have considered before for lunar and martian bases, but that's a bit too frontiersman for Starfleet. I certainly think they'd convert stuff they had lying around, just as Rev suggested, but its a workaround and not a designed solution. Cargo containers being used as storage bays or hangars once they've been emptied of their original cargo is great though.
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Registered: Jun 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Reverend: Well in that case the volume of equipment would dictate how many buildings you have and these things are a little big to fill with smaller articles and not quite big enough for industrial sized equipment, vehicles or machinery. Plus you're restricted by the size of the door as to what you can move in and out of this thing, so big equipment is defiantly out, unless you propose they disassemble the module, extract the gear then reassemble? Not very practical. Plus of course half the point of these things is that the walls are interchangeable, so by pre-assembling, you immediately limit what you can do with them.
I think most things come down in standard cargo carriers and those containers are converted into storage sheds for equipment, food, raw materials or even livestock. You can never have too many unused metal boxes, so any excess is hardly a problem.
Well, with interchangable walls (the hull of the containers) you can still do your modular buildings. Really, looking back, we're looking at this from a non-trek POV: replicators can easily dis-assemble and rebuild to suit whatever is needed. All the interior volume of the container might be filled with raw materials for the replicators- even the Standardized cargo cotainers might be broken down to make the buildings themselves- leaving no waste or empty packaging. I dont know as Trek needs any livestock- non-meat eaters and all that, or reprocessed portien eaters which can be soy (or whatever plant they use) based. All needed plants and imported microorganisims can be stored in stasis or grown from seedlings quickly with trek tech.
Heck, in some instances, imported cargo might be minimalized to replicators, people and something orbital for weather, comms and sensors- a colony ship might just be a large transport for people and personal effects and probably some tech not easily replicated like shuttles and exotic (or non-native to the planet) metals.
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Like I said, I prefer not to design things around an over-dependence on replicators. As for livestock, it has more practical function than just a source of food, especially if it's a terraformed world.
posted
Agreed, they'd be coming to colonise, not visit. Livestock, or the domestication of existing species, would be a big step towards that. Over-reliance on one bit of technology could lead to disaster for a fledgling colony, and I dont think the type of people who would undertake that sort of journey would be the type of people who would use replicators for every need.
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Registered: Jun 2003
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What would be farmed on a planet like Mars, other than hydroponic goodies? I can see some planets that might require replicator to survive. That or augment style [Khan Voice]superior minds that allow them to survive.[/Khan Voice]
With the aparent plethora of unexplored M class, or M class like planets in the ST universe, is there any point in colonising the more difficult planets at all, other than for military reasons?
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Registered: Apr 2005
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Depends on the species that's colonising it; the Federation ain't all about the humans. The problem with most M-Class worlds is that there's usually someone already there, or the local fauna would cause too much inconvenience (I assume Federation law prohibits extermination of indigenous species, no matter how bothersome or cute.) I imagine the vast majority of colony worlds are either just barely M-Class, or young M-Class words or they're similar (L-Class) that have been terraformed. Of course that's just for humans and similar species, other worlds may be perfectly suitable for the methane breathers, sub-arctic type races etc, etc.
posted
In addition to who was doing the colonizing, I imagine there would be different payloads depending on what kind of a place they were headed to. Obviously you wouldn't need the barn-module if you're to be setting down in a non-breathable atmosphere. Maybe that gets back to multiple trips. I really like the idea of the hexes and that the hexes have interconnecting bits, but Jason is right on about packing them as containers first and using them as buildings second. Seems more efficient/appropriate.
I do like the idea of there being some modules that are pre-configured/loaded, however. One could be a powerplant, life-support (sewage too!) engineering and foundation-making hex. First one down and it helps pour/mix/fuse a solid foundation for the rest of the colony.
posted
You probably do need the barn pieces, just configure the inside differently. The less habitable the outside the more inside space you're going to need.
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Registered: Oct 2000
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Yeah, using these things as storage containers really isn't as practical as you might think. First and foremost is the necessity to disassemble them in order to get the cargo out, then since you only have six walls to work with, wait until you've unpacked several more before you have a sufficient selection of wall types to work with. So you'd be in a constant process of unpacking and disassembly then gradually building your complex. It's a needlessly complicated way to do things. Makes much more sense for the hex-mods components to be stacked up on pallets and be taken as needed. As for saving internal volume, the hex-mods are disassembled so there's no internal volume to speak of and the standard cargo carriers, like the ones seen in TMP are only a few millimetres thick, so again, no excess volume to speak of.
posted
How about bringing only the bare essentials of what you need, and literally building the rest? In "This Side of Paradise", the colonists built their town to look much like an early 20th century town, compelte with wooden barns and houses. When Janeway and Chakotay got stuck on a planet as a result of a mosquito bite, Chuckles was about to build a cabin. And so on - IMO, a colony should not bring more than their immediate needs, and use the land to build whatever else they'll need. If you bring livestock, then a barn is a must; if you're raising livestock from embryos, then build one when you get there from wood you chop down (which you'll likely have to do anyway) or bricks you can kiln from the local elements. In "Red Mars", they ended up building airtight brick buildings as they went along (even adding the fibres from their descent stage parachute for strength) instead of relying on the habitats they brought with them.
The point is, would a colony be built with the express purpose of starting what would eventually become a srawling metropolis? Or, for at least the lifespan of the original colonists, should it be built to their needs? How long will the colonists be garunteed to survive until they can start building their own stuff without the aid of whatever they bring with them? A year? Ten?
posted
It does make sense that they'd use local materials (again, where possible), but I suspect that they'd want a little shelter at least for starters while they are building that up and figuring it out. It's been awhile since I read Red Mars, but I thought that at least initially they used the Mars bricks to shore-up, supplement and protect the habitats they brought with them. Like from micrometeorites and dust, etc.
I keep thinking about the station component, and while I adore the idea and I definitely see that as being an eventual need, a semi-capable ship would tend to serve all the purposes a station would. Like, quite adequately and have the advantage of mobility. I mean unless it was an orbital elevator or something, (but that's more an epochal development and not the sort of thing you tote along to a new planet, isn't it?)
Incidentally how many colonists are we talking about? 40? 300? 1000? Because the immediate needs for those colonies are going to be drastically different.
Registered: Sep 2000
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As colonists that only bring the bare essentials so they can be self sufficient on their new planet; people like that would just get a standard transport, load it with medicine, food and tools and take off for a politically neutral planet. They wouldn't be signing on aboard one of these purpose built colony ships.
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Anything there useful for your modular colony idea? Like multiple connector points maybe?? ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
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