This page is for cataloging written statements by Nova's authors (That is, any member of ATMOS including Dave "Pipeline" Williams) concerning EV Nova, ala Copppermind's "Words of Brandon". [1]
1: Who made the Star map[]
Now you know how we at ATMOS felt. :P Stephen Chick and I plotted the original starmap. Luke, Jason, Steve and myself named every system and decided what would be in it. Jason then placed every stellar object. I wrote the Federation descriptions (most of them), and Jason wrote almost all the others single-handedly.
Dave @ ATMOS
"Mousepads" thread[]
1: Raven's twin engine impellers[]
Skry, relax. It's just a game. The singularity in that picture is meant to be as perfectly spherical as it appears. We'll not be changing that.
I posted the exact conditions of that event some time ago on the Gallery. Here is the extract:
"This ship is a behemoth. Sliding through the ether with an ease that belies its enormous bulk, the Polaris Raven is a vision of glory and terror. It dwarfs the massive Scarab in both size and firepower; it is, simply put, the most powerful weapon humanity has ever constructed. The Raven utilizes twin Etheric Induction engines for sublight travel. These devices simply suck the fabric of space-time in the front, and squirt it out the back. If one of these engines should ever stop suddenly, the graviton effects would cause the momentary formation of a black hole.
What is little known outside the Pa'edt (scientist) caste is that this is exactly what happened to the Raven prototype. She was originally installed with only one rotating space-time impeller, and due to a massive miscalculation on the part of the Pa'edt she nearly tore herself apart. Unable to balance the forces of the impeller, the captain ordered the device ejected and immediately engaged the Hyperdrive. Not a moment too soon, for we can see here the core undergoing quantum implosion into a singularity. If the ship had tried to go into hyperspace only a few seconds later, it wouldn't have been able to climb out of the gravitational incline. The singularity, being below the Hawking limit for a black hole to sustain it's own mass, exploded almost immediately.
You can see in the image both the newly formed singularity, and the gaping cavity in the Raven's engine bay.
All Ravens from the prototype onwards are fitted with twin impellers that counter-rotate. While there are some losses due to field interactions, the system is now very stable indeed."
Dave @ ATMOS
"Speculation" thread[]
1: EVC in Nova + Krypt Gender Identity + Word of God[]
Two points:
- The aliens from EV don't exist in Nova. Sorry. No preamble suggests that.
- Krypt is a she. While she might have started as 6 minds, she's now herself.
And, hey, you guys can't tell me I'm wrong, because I made this stuff.
God, I love that, sometimes.
Dave @ ATMOS
2: Word of God + EVC in Nova[]
LifeKnight:
- Myself, and two other gentlemen, know all there is to know about the Nova universe, because we made all of it. Yes, we have all the answers. Many of them are written down.
- Read what I said earlier. The EV universe and the Nova universe are in no way linked. They are not the same.
Dave @ ATMOS
3: Why Polaris Hypergates weren't rebuilt + Hypergate Reactors are ancient and unknown[]
"And, more strangely, why are gates in Polaris space destroyed when EVERY HYPERGATE one jump away from Sol is safe?" -LifeKnight
The Polaris didn't bother repairing their gates, LifeKnight, because their hyperspace technology kicks your arse.
"How are they powered? How could one hypergate explosion destroy so many others?" -LifeKnight
The gates are powered by ancient reactors of an unknown type. While the gate system backpulse destroyed all the gate crystals, it didn't blow the power cores.
No-one has yet been able to reverse engineer Omata's reactor technology. Some speculate that they draw power from the differential between hyperspace and normal space, while others argue that that's a load of bollocks.
Dave @ ATMOS
4: Eugene Chin's Theory is Wrong[]
Eugene Chin[]
Okay, a theory hit me just now:
Given: The stuff we already know for sure.
- Kontik was a planet-sized hypergate.
- This hypergate no longer functions properly.
- Kel'ariy was built using the materials of a gas giant, now a "Haze" giant, in the system.
- K-003 has four gas giants in conspicuously close proximity, one of which is a "Haze" giant.
- The "Haze" giant of K-003 is the closest gas giant to the wormhole (Not by much, but it is!).
- The region of space around K-003, called L-1551, is, in terms of it's hyperspace routing, tightly convoluted.
My assumptions: If you want to pick at this theory, this is the place to start:
- The original design for the Kontik gate did not include the planet now at it's center. Instead, there was a wormhole there. The ring was designed to control and manipulate it.
- This gate was used to transport gas giants for use in various projects, similar in nature to Kel'ariy.
- K-003 was a temp storage place for these gas giants.
- L-1551 was not, originally convoluted.
Theory:
- While trying to move one of the gas giants from K-003, something very very bad happened. Posted Image The wormhole wound up right at the center of the gas giant, instead of off to the side. Kontik's builders tried to correct by moving the K-003 side of the wormhole out of the gas giant.
- The transfer of material stopped when the K-003 side of the wormhole left the radius of the gas giant. That side of the wormhole stabilized into the random wormhole it is now, having drifted slightly from the gas giants over the course of 500,000 years.
- Mass from the gas giant that did come through the gate formed the "Planet" Kont, burying the central components of the gate, and the Kontik wormhole, rendering it useless.
- The gas giant that was being moved during this accident lost so much of it's mass that it underwent the "Haze" effect, and became the "Haze" giant in the K-003 system.
- The accident, and the measures that Kontik's builders took afterwards distorted the L-1551 region, twisting it into what it is today.
- The accident also created all of the "Random" wormholes throughout the galaxy, the K-003 event being the first.
Pipeline[]
That's a wonderful theory, Eugene. It's thoughtful, explains the observable facts, internally consistent and well researched.
It's also very close to 100% incorrect. I really hate to do that to such a good piece of exploratory theorizing.
best always,
Dave @ ATMOS
5: When Hypergate Tech was lost[]
"Unless she hid the schematics for the gates somewhere, when she died, the secret of the hypergates' core died with her." -LifeKnight
Well, not quite. Hypergates continued to be constructed for many hundreds of years after her death. It was the cataclysm that really stuffed any record-keeping.
Dave @ ATMOS
6: Purpose of Kont and Kelariy[]
Pipeline[]
I actually let slip the purpose of both the Kont ring and the other advanced planets rings. It was on #ev3 at the time.
Some nice person there might even upload a carefully truncated log slice.
best always,
Dave @ ATMOS
Ragashingo[]
- pipeline: So, Kont. Whaddaya want to know?
- nemo: who made it?
- Ragashingo: And why?
- pipeline: Those Who Came Before.
- pipeline: That's the only name ATMOS has for them.
- nemo: what was its purpose?
- andcarne: why doesn't it work anymore?
- pipeline: They've been gone for millions of years. They're either dead or... just gone.
- pipeline: Kont? You've all missed the mark.
- pipeline: Kont and the worhole are indeed a hypergate style system
- DesertFox: does it actually lead you anywhere?
- pipeline: Not any more.
- pipeline: But it's job, originally, was as an intergalactic hypergate.
- pipeline: It's designed to open a wormhole in a very distant part of the universe, and fling whatever enters in that direction
- pipeline: It can't move planets, or anything
- pipeline: Nor can it affect space in other parts of the galaxy
- pipeline: but it ~can~ send you long distances.
- Ragashingo: How about the ring around the Polaris planet? Its not a hypergate thingy?
- pipeline: Ah, those planet rings?
- pipeline: Made by the self-same people.
- pipeline: And they have an altogether different purpose
- pipeline: They're designed to create a localised disturbance.
- pipeline: No
- pipeline: Transport
- pipeline: ...to a different dimension
- pipeline: Think of them as an uplift device
- pipeline: When I say "uplift", I mean the means to ascend to a higher plane f existance
- Ragashingo: Vellos style?
- pipeline: Raga: yuppers
- pipeline: Cept ths way was tech-based
- pipeline: They figured it out, and spend thousands of years trying to do it
- pipeline: and thus "left" before they were probably ready
- pipeline: ...and that's about as far as I can go with that
7: Location/Scale of Novaverse + Kont specifications + L1551 Nebula jumps + Natural Wormholes[]
The Nova map represents only a small chunk of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
Kont sends things long-distance. Not big things, either. I'd say it'd top out at a 20 kilometer diameter object.
Kont did not cause the K series systems. The K series jumps are not caused by ringworlds. They are caused by something. That something hasn't been around all that long, galactically speaking.
The wormholes in the galaxy are completely natural phenomena.
Dave @ ATMOS
8: Disabled Auroran Cruiser + L1551 Nebula jumps[]
The cruiser's there for effect only. And, yes, Krypt caused the wierd jumps in K space.
You must remember that the jumplines are not the only way between stars, but they do represent the easier ways through hyperspace. In Krypt space, the jumplines that have been plotted are odd because those are the only free/clear paths between the star systems in hyperspace. Hyperspace in that area is... clogged, it seems.
As for why Krypt is responsible, and why she did it (or even if she meant to)... well, that's a story for another day. :0
best always,
Dave @ ATMOS
9: L1551 was upper Vellos space + distorting hyperspace + Colonial probes destroyed by Krypt[]
"Perhaps the K series "blockage" was caused at the end of the Vell-Os war, when Krypt came into being. After all, six T1s acting as one being is a not inconsiderable force. If this is the case, then it would be possible it was not deliberate. Krypt would be similar to a child in ways, but with far greater power. This is rather recent, galactically speaking." -Aelran
This speculation is bang on the money.
The K area used to be upper Vell-os space, but Krypt and the process of her creation have lead to the warp field lines in the area being distorted somewhat.
Also, it should be noted that the jumps themselves aren't the only safe routes through hyperspace, but they do represent the safest passages that could be found via hypergate-flung probes. Remember, Krypt would have destroyed a ton of these while the Colonial Council was trying to find safe jump routes in that area. If they didn't hear back from a probe, they'd mark that leyline as a bad risk.
Dave @ ATMOS
10: Hyperioids are animals[]
Sorry to burst the bubble here, but the Hyperioids are just animals. Very cool, very w00t animals that feed on solar mass ejections and light, and "build" new hyperioids by a method of group contribution to the genes/what-have-you of the new hyperioid... but they're still just wierd animals.
best always,
Dave @ ATMOS
11: Hyperioids are animals[]
I'll say it again, in case some of the denser people here didn't get it the first time: the Hyperioids are not intelligent, they're space-dwelling animals. They have no storyline purpose.
Dave @ ATMOS
12: Kont specifications + K-003 is natural[]
Uh, the Kont setup can fling objects around 20 kays in diameter, and a reasonable density -- say, no more dense than uranium or so.
Most objects 20 km in diameter will have a far lower average density than this.
Sorry. No compressed gas giants for you. K-003 is a natural system.
Dave @ ATMOS
13: He's busy, dammit[]
"I already tried pleading, they aren't listening." -Swithich
Sorry, too busy to read dozens of posts of wild speculation.
If we have anything planned for this stuff, you'll find out one day.
Dave @ ATMOS
"Nova History Buffs" thread[]
1: How the Hypergates work, their materials, their capabilities[]
Since I just sent this to Steelix, I thought this might be of interest to others. He wanted to know how the Hypergates work:
Omata Kane's fundamental principle is simple -- space, as Einstein pointed out, isn't flat. It's curved in a number of dimensions. The Hypergates work by assisting that bend via additional energy input. Each leaf of the gate mechanism is powered by a fusion reactor in the centre of leaf. The leaf itself is a Bose-Einstein condensate that slows the speed of light considerably inside it. When injected with enough energy at the correct frequency, the leaves start twisting space between them. The focal point of the twist can then be directed by fluctuating the power input.
When the focal point space-time pressure (measured in Kanes) approaches zero, the leaves start to unfurl, pushing the focal point away from realspace in the direction intended.
The endpoint of the new gate tunnel is usually paired with another gate for stability, but an unpaired sequence can be initiated for hyperprobe exploration and gate construction teams.
The Hypergates are very flexible. At maximum stretch they can accomodate even a Leviathan through the gate tunnel. They can even detatch their segments, which can be tug-boated out to allow even larger vehicles passage (like Diemos-class colony ships).
The BEC material that the leaves are constructed of is very resilient, and given usual circumstances it will remain viable for tens of thousands of years. However, the gate bombing carried out by the Armetis Group caused a hyperspace feedback pulse, the backlash of which caused the destruction of much of the gate system. The production of the BEC material is a lost art, at least in bulk. Hyperdrives usually have a microscopic amount of it to generate their local twist matrices.
Hypergates also require palladium for their superconductive elements in the spire linkages.
Hope that helps!
All the best,
Dave @ ATMOS
2: Why Grav missiles are mounted on an Abomination in their outfit image[]
Actually, the reason for that is that the Abomination used to be the only ship that carried Gravimetric missiles. That changed very, very late in development, and we never caught it in the graphics file. :P
Dave @ ATMOS