Sunday, 10 November 2013
Friday, 8 November 2013
Thursday, 7 November 2013
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Friday, 1 November 2013
Sunday, 14 July 2013
My Top-5 Sci-fi Novels of all time
1_Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
When I read this book I was totally blown away. The sheer scale of it, the ideas and concepts explored. It is litterally a history of the universe from beginning to end - with some of the most imaginative alien cultures and civilizations I've ever come across. Whats more is when you find out what the "Star Makers" themselves actually are. Mind blowing. The Arthur C Clarke quote on the front cover is certainly there for a reason.
2_Dragon's Egg by Robert L Forward
The story of an alien civilization that has managed to evolve on a dying neutron star. We watch the Cheelah from the beginning as simple tribes and then watch them evolve into a more high-tech society, we see them make costly mistakes and evolve. Brilliant stuff that really excited my imagination as a kid. Nowadays I can appreciate it in a different light as Forward was a scientist and so the science is very hard and accurate - and this only adds to making it more believable in my eyes.
3_Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement
Yet another hard sci-fi classic, this time that takes place on an Oblate planet, which is why it has varied gravity all over it. A pretty fascinating concept and makes you wonder if such a world might exist out there. A great story, and another that puts a non-humanoid alien as one of the central protagonists - this time a rather likeable alien centipede-like creature. Like Dragon's Egg - the science is very accurate and realistic which for me just makes it that bit more enjoyable to read.
4_2001 A Space Odyessy by Arthur C Clarke
Does this one really need any introductions? One of the best hard sci-fi novels of all time, and very likely to be the most known and famous. I guess with this one, Clarke managed to put Hard sci-fi into the mainstream for a while, what with the film and all that. An impressive feat and accomplishment and one I wish I had the talent myself, so I have often looked up to Clarke and would love to be as good as he was.
5_The Shadow out Of Time by HP Lovecraft
While I loved At the mountains of madness, this one blew me away even more and eventually became my all time favourite Cosmic Horror story. The histories and alien races described are mind-blowing and exciting - with the amazing Great Race of Yith and their mortal enemies the Flying Polyps - both of which became two of my all time favourite sci-fi alien races. The story is a perfect mix of that hard boiled detective style film noir and mind melting cosmic horror to make you feel very very insignificant in the universe.
Friday, 12 July 2013
Primeval Abyssian : Introduction - The Psylorthian Conflux
Introducing..... The Psylorthion Conflux
The Psylorthion Conflux are a species of artificially created beings made from a strong resiliant metamaterial that is able to withstand extreme temperature and weathering, making them hardy and strong - the downside to this however is that the metamaterial has a fast decay rate so the bodies need to be replaced somewhat
frequently. The Psylorthions live on Anchorworlds, two oblate ellipsoids, the smaller being a singularity resting upon the larger. The Psylorthion minds can only exist within the confines of the singularities - permanently tying them to their homeworlds. The Psylorthion metamaterial bodies however are able to go anywhere and are created en-masse on the anchorworlds by advanced nano-swarms.
The Psylorthion Conflux was born by the Adrifell long ago - who opened thousands of Singularities across the Etherverse and sent encrypted datastreams into each one. Eventually the Datastreams would gain sentience within the singularities and create a network of artificial minds with each Singularity becoming it's own cosmic computer terminal. The Adrifell would then link the singularities together to form an expansive universe scaled computer network and intelligence system that could monitor the Etherverse and repair any potential anomolies.
frequently. The Psylorthions live on Anchorworlds, two oblate ellipsoids, the smaller being a singularity resting upon the larger. The Psylorthion minds can only exist within the confines of the singularities - permanently tying them to their homeworlds. The Psylorthion metamaterial bodies however are able to go anywhere and are created en-masse on the anchorworlds by advanced nano-swarms.
The Psylorthion Conflux was born by the Adrifell long ago - who opened thousands of Singularities across the Etherverse and sent encrypted datastreams into each one. Eventually the Datastreams would gain sentience within the singularities and create a network of artificial minds with each Singularity becoming it's own cosmic computer terminal. The Adrifell would then link the singularities together to form an expansive universe scaled computer network and intelligence system that could monitor the Etherverse and repair any potential anomolies.
Thursday, 11 July 2013
Primeval Abyssian - A Direction change for the better
A somewhat strange update - Primeval Abyssian will be having a direction change, both from an artistic and marketing decision. The game will not be marketed as "Lovecraftian" but instead will be related to what is more it's main influences and inspirations anyway - and those are hard sci-fi writers such as Olaf Stapledon, Hal Clement and Robert L Forward. I believe these writers deserve more of the credit for inspiration and deserve more exposure alike.
Of course all models currently sculpted are still in. Tolathians, Masters Of unlife and Luuran will remain how they are - which is, they were never really "lovecraftian" anyway, and I feel it is best to get away from the "cthulhu mythos" as far as possible.
Some races (ones that havent been sculpted yet anyway) will undergo radical direction changes - and there will be some new factions too such as the Psylorthion Conflux - which use oblate planets. The new races will follow from what you've seen of the Cascadians - which will be more high tech but abstract looking sillohettes.
Of course all models currently sculpted are still in. Tolathians, Masters Of unlife and Luuran will remain how they are - which is, they were never really "lovecraftian" anyway, and I feel it is best to get away from the "cthulhu mythos" as far as possible.
Some races (ones that havent been sculpted yet anyway) will undergo radical direction changes - and there will be some new factions too such as the Psylorthion Conflux - which use oblate planets. The new races will follow from what you've seen of the Cascadians - which will be more high tech but abstract looking sillohettes.
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