Ultronomicon - User contributions [en]

Planet Lander

2006-02-05T00:28:01Z

Death 999: Clarification on the cargo capacity upgrade

[[Image:Planet lander module.png|right|112px]]
The '''Planet Lander''' is the basic vehicle for exploration of planet surfaces, usually intended to gather [[minerals]] and [[biological data]]. [[The Flagship]] can hold up to ten at a time, and they can be produced at a cost of 500 [[Resource units|RU]] per unit. They each typically hold twelve crew members (the equivalent of a crew of two [[Precursors]]) and can carry 50 tons of cargo before returning to the ship. They are also equipped with a [[Stunray Bolt-Beamer Gun|stun beam]] in order to subdue hostile [[List of bio types|lifeforms]] on a planet so they can be researched to gain biological data. Should the whole lander crew be killed by hazards, the vehicle will be destroyed.

The planet landers can also be upgraded. [[List of Melnorme trade goods|Technological advances]] bought from the [[Melnorme]] for this include double cargo capacity (this does not affect data capacity), greater rate of stun beam fire, greater speed, protection from alien life attacks, heat shielding, lightning resistance, and earthquake shock protection.

[[Category:Flagship Modules]]

Influences and references

2005-12-28T21:10:08Z

Death 999: one... two... three... four... five!

{{stub}}

The [[Star Control|Star Control 1]] manual mentions "Inspired by the Works of Fiction of: [[wikipedia:Orson Scott Card|Orson Scott Card]], [[wikipedia:Larry Niven|Larry Niven]], [[wikipedia:Andre Norton|Andre Norton]], [[wikipedia:David Brin|David Brin]], [[wikipedia:Robert A. Heinlein|Robert A. Heinlein]], [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]], [[wikipedia:Jack Vance|Jack Vance]], [[wikipedia:Alan Dean Foster|Alan Dean Foster]], [[wikipedia:Keith Laumer|Keith Laumer]], [[wikipedia:A. E. Van Vogt|A.E. Van Vogt]], [[wikipedia:E. E. Smith|E.E. "Doc" Smith]], [[wikipedia:Joe Halderman|Joe Halderman]], [[wikipedia:Dan Simmons|Dan Simmons]], [[wikipedia:Fred Saberhagen|Fred Saberhagen]] and 100 worthy others."

The [[Arilou]]'s final remark "Be seeing you..." may be a reference to the tv series [[wikipedia:The Prisoner|The Prisoner]].

The [[Orz]] and the disappearance of the [[Androsynth]] were influenced by [[wikipedia:H. P. Lovecraft|H. P. Lovecraft]]'s writings. (XXX: need more exact references).

[[The Captain]]'s remark to the [[Pkunk]] "Hey! Bird-brains! Got any fruit loops? Har-har-har!" refers to a brand of breakfast cereal called [[wikipedia:Froot Loops|Fruit Loops]], which features a toucan resembling the Pkunk as its mascotte.

The [[Ilwrath]] were named after a friend of the creators (XXX: both?) named McIlwraith.

The name [[Melnorme]] is a reference to jazz singer [[wikipedia:Mel Tormé|Mel Tormé]].

When the [[Spathi]] [[The Safe Ones|Safe Ones]] ask the player for the [[Secret Spathi Cypher]], one of the incorrect options is "Wagh-nagl Fthagn", which spelled a little bit differently ("Wgah'nagl Fhtagn") comes from "''Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!''", a liturgical phrase in H. P. Lovecraft's [[wikipedia:Cthulhu mythos|Cthulu mythos]].

One of the other options for the Spathi Cypher, "Gort, merenga!" comes from the movie "[[wikipedia:The Day the Earth Stood Still|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]".

The [[Syreen]] are based on the [[wikipedia:Siren|Siren]]s from classical mythology. They were sea nymphs who would use enchanting song to lure ships onto the cliffs.

The [[Yehat]] are inspired by the [[wikipedia:Scottish clan|Scottish clan]]s.

"[[Cheep-Guava]]", the name of the head of the [[Yehat]] revolution, is a pun on "[[Wikipedia:Che Guevara|Che Guevara]]", the Cuban revolutionary leader.

The [[Shofixti]] are inspired by the historical [[wikipedia:History of Japan|Japanese culture]].
"[[Kyabetsu]]", the name of the former Shofixti homeworld, means "cabbage".

The Mosquito Mange is mentioned in the [[Androsynth]] computer records immediately prior to their disappearance. It is a reference to the term found in [[wikipedia:Roadside Picnic|Roadside Picnic]] refering to graviconcentrates - areas of heightened and directed gravity.

The ''Roadside Picnic'' might also be the inspiration for the 'Empties'. In the novel they are one of the common alien artifacts found in the Zones. In the game they are a [[Precursor]] artifact that Commander [[Hayes]] mentions in relation to the [[Ultron]].

The name [[Androsynth]] is taken from the Greek "andros" ("man") and "synthetic" from Greek "syn" ("together") and "thesis" ("put"), or as the [[Star Control II]] manual says it "fake men".

The [[Mycon]] is taken from the Greek prefix "myc-" or "myco-", which means Fungus.

[[Tanaka]]'s opening comments, "you killed my father, my mother, my many brothers, all six of my sisters - prepare to die," may pay homage to the movie [[wikipedia:The Princess Bride|The Princess Bride]], in which the character [[wikipedia:Inigo Montoya|Inigo Montoya]] has prepared a similar comment for when he confronts his father's murderer, [[wikipedia:Count Rugen|Count Rugen]].

When you choose the aggressive lines to speak towards the [[Slylandro]] [[Probe]]s, the third time you get the response "ENACTING THIRD LAW." before combat is initiated. This refers to [[wikipedia:Isaac Asimov|Isaac Asimov]]'s [[wikipedia:Three Laws of Robotics|Three Laws of Robotics]]. The third law says "A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.". The Probe's version must not have the first clause as the first law says "A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.". (Alternatively, its First Law applies to solely to its creator race, which grant humans and other sentients no special protection.) Also the [[Slylandro]] will go "to seek out new life and new civilizations, to go where no catalog item 2418 Remote Self-replicating robot probe had gone before." when asked about the programming of the probes, a reference to Star Trek.

When the [[Utwig]] are trying to tell you what to do with the [[Precursor Bomb]], at one point they say that the "Bomb must be...Hugged." This is likely a reference to the movie [[Wikipedia:Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb|Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]].

One of the ways that the Utwig determined that the [[Ultron]] could have been saved was by cushioning the fall with a fuzzy wumpus. A Wumpus is a mysterious monster from the famous, early computer game [[Wikipedia:Hunt the Wumpus|Hunt the Wumpus]].

When describing the [[Kohr-Ah]], the Utwig say that their stated purpose is "to seek out new life and new civilizations...and then annihilate them," a clear play on the mission statement of the [[Wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] of [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]] fame.

When first meeting the [[Zoq-Fot-Pik]] at their homeworld, they warn you not to try stealing their atmosphere, a reference to [[Wikipedia:Spaceballs|Spaceballs]].

==Ship Captains==
Numerous ship captain names are actually references.

====Androsynth====
*'''1040-EZ''' is a common [[wikipedia:Form 1040EZ|tax return form]] in the United States.
*'''976-KILL''' is probably meant as an American phone number. It may also refer to the movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094597/ 976-EVIL]. The "976" prefix is reserved for pay services.
*'''[[wikipedia:AK-47|AK-47]]''' is the famous Avtomat Kalashnikova assault rifle
*'''BHS-79''' ''(just a wild guess here- is this the initials of one of the high schools they attended, and their graduation date?)''
*'''BIM-XT''' is an anagram for the [[wikipedia:IBM XT|IBM XT]] personal computer from the early 1980s
*'''BOOJI-1''' is a possible reference to the character [[wikipedia:Booji Boy|Booji Boy]] from the band [[wikipedia:Devo|Devo]].
*'''CRC-16''' is a 16 bits "[[wikipedia:Cyclic redundancy check|Cyclic redundancy check]] (an error-detecting checksum).
*'''DORN-3''' may be a reference to artist John Alfred Dorn III, who did several illustrations for the novels of [[wikipedia:Stanisław Lem|Stanisław Lem]]. It could also be a reference [[wikipedia:Michael Dorn|Michael Dorn]] who played Lt. Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
*'''DOS-1.0''' is a reference to one or all of the various early disk operating systems ([[wikipedia:PC-DIS|PC-DOS]], [[wikipedia:MS-DOS|MS-DOS]], [[wikipedia:Apple DOS|Apple DOS]], etc).
*'''HAL-2001''' is a reference to the [[wikipedia:HAL 9000|HAL 9000]] computer from [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]]'s [[wikipedia:2001: A Space Odyssey|2001: A Space Odyssey]]
*'''JOR-15''' might be a reference to [[wikipedia:Jor-El|Jor-El]], superman's biological father in the DC comics universe.
*'''KORB-7B'''
*'''ME-262''' is a reference to the Messerschmitt [[wikipedia:Me-262|Me-262]], the first operational jet powered aircraft.
*'''NECRO-99''' may be a reference to the robot NECRON-99 from the movie [[wikipedia:Wizards (movie)|Wizards]].
*'''SR-71''' is a reference to the Lockheed [[wikipedia:SR-71|SR-71 Blackbird]], an advanced reconnaissance aircraft.
*'''[[wikipedia:Merkur XR4Ti|XR4-TI]]''' was a car model manufactured by the short-lived [[wikipedia:Merkur|Merkur]] brand.

====Human====
*'''Adama''' is the captain of the [[wikipedia:Battlestar Galactica|Battlestar Galactica]] in the television series by the same name.
*'''Belt''' is a reference to Henry Belt, captain of a solar sail vessel in Jack Vance's short story ''Sail 25''.
*'''Buck''' refers to [[wikipedia:Buck Rogers|Buck Rogers]], a character who appeared in popular Sci-fi serials in the late 30's, as well as a later television series.
*'''Decker''' is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Willard Decker|Willard Decker]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the movie [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Motion Picture|Star Trek: The Motion Picture]].
*'''Ender''' is a reference to the main character of the Orson Scott Card novel [[wikipedia:Ender's Game|Ender's Game]].
*'''Graeme''' is a reference to Donal Graeme, a protagonist in the [[wikipedia: Childe Cycle|Childe Cycle]] novels by [[wikipedia:Gordon R. Dickson|Gordon R. Dickson]]. ''(This may also be a reference to other characters in this series with this same lastname.)''
*'''Halleck''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Gurney Halleck|Gurney Halleck]] of the [[wikipedia:Dune universe|Dune series]].
*'''Kirk''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:James T. Kirk|James T. Kirk]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the original series of [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Pike''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Christopher Pike|Christopher Pike]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the pilot episode of [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Pirx|Pirx]]''' is a reference to a fictional test pilot in a series of stories by Stanisław Lem.
*'''Solo''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Han Solo|Han Solo]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Millennium Falcon|Millennium Falcon]] in [[wikipedia:Star Wars|Star Wars]] episode 4 through 6.
*'''Spiff''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Spaceman Spiff|Spaceman Spiff]], the fantasy identity of Calvin from [[wikipedia:Calvin and Hobbes|Calvin and Hobbes]]
*'''Trent''' is a reference to Jeff Trent, civilian airline pilot from [[wikipedia:Plan 9 from Outer Space|Plan 9 from Outer Space]]
*'''Tuf''' is a reference to Haviland Tuf, the protagonist in [[wikipedia:Tuf Voyaging|Tuf Voyaging]] by [[wikipedia:George R.R. Martin|George R.R. Martin]].
*'''VanRijn''' is a reference to the merchant prince Nicholas Van Rijn in [[wikipedia:Poul Anderson|Poul Anderson]]'s stories.
*'''Wu''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Louis Wu|Louis Wu]], the protagonist of Larry Niven's [[wikipedia:Ringworld|Ringworld series]].

====Kohr-Ah====
*All of their ship names appear to be '''Death''' followed by a [[wikipedia:Prime_number|prime number]].

====Pkunk====
*'''Tweety''' is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Tweety|Tweety Bird]].
*'''WudStok''' is Snoopy's friend [[wikipedia:Woodstock (Peanuts)|Woodstock]] in the comic strip [[wikipedia:Peanuts|Peanuts]].

====Shofixti====
*'''Bonsai!''' is actually [[wikipedia:Bonsai|the Japanese art of pruning trees]], but is most likely a reference to the cry [[wikipedia:Ten thousand years|Banzai]].
*'''Busu''' is a Japanese word for ugly
*'''Chimchim''' most likely refers to the pet chimpanzee in [[wikipedia:Speed Racer|Speed Racer]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Daikon|Daikon]]''' is a giant, white radish popular in Japanese cooking.
*'''[[wikipedia:Gaijin|Gaijin]]''' is one of the Japanese words for foreigner.
*'''Genjiro'''
*'''Ginzu''' is probably the [[wikipedia:Ginsu|Ginsu knife]].
*'''Hiyata'''
*'''Ichiban''' is the Japanese word for the number 1, or first
*'''Kimba''' refers to the main character in the Japanese animation [[wikipedia:Kimba the White Lion|Kimba, the White Lion]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Katana|Katana]]''' is a Japanese sword.
*'''[[wikipedia:Kudzu|Kudzu]]''' is an Asian plant that can be found in southern Japan.
*'''Naninani''' is Japanese for "such and such"
*'''[[wikipedia:Sushi|Sushi]]''' is Japanese for seasoned rice, usually associated with raw fish.
*'''Tanaka''' is Japanese for unexpected good fortune.
*'''[[wikipedia:Tofu|Tofu]]''' is bean curd, popular in Japanese cooking.
*'''Tora-3''' refers to the radio call announcing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. [[wikipedia:Tora Tora Tora|Tora! Tora! Tora!]]
*'''Wasabe''' is a Japanese condiment, usually spelled [[wikipedia:Wasabi|wasabi]].

====Spathi====
*'''Jinkeze''' is a reference to the catchphrase of [[Wikipedia:Velma Dinkley|Velma Dinkley]], a main character in the [[Wikipedia:Scooby-Doo|Scooby-Doo]] cartoons, which she says when she's is scared or surprised.

====Supox====
*'''Crinoid''' is a reference to the Krynoids, hostile sentient plants in the [[wikipedia:Doctor Who|Doctor Who]] episode ''The Seeds of Doom''.
*'''Trifid''' is a reference to the carnivorous, mobile (and possibly intelligent) plants in [[wikipedia:The Day of the Triffids|The Day of the Triffids]].
*All of the other captain names are parts or types of plants.

====Syreen====
*'''Aelita''' possibly refers to the early Soviet silent film [[wikipedia:Aelita|Aelita:Queen of Mars]].
*'''Alia''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Alia Atreides|St. Alia of the Knife]], the sister of [[wikipedia:Paul Atreides|Paul Atreides]] in the [[wikipedia:Dune universe|Dune series]].
*'''Alura''' is possibly a reference either to Princess Allura in the [[wikipedia:Voltron|Voltron]] cartoon series or to the mother of [[wikipedia:Supergirl|Supergirl]].
*'''Ardala''' is a reference to the Princess Ardala, nemesis of Buck Rogers.
*'''Be'lit''' is a possible reference to [[wikipedia:Belit|Belit]], a pirate queen in the [[wikipedia:Conan the Barbarian|Conan the Barbarian]] stories.
*'''Brawne''' refers to Brawne Lamia, a character in Dan Simmons' [[wikipedia:Hyperion Cantos|Hyperion Cantos]] books.
*'''Dale''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Dale Arden|Dale Arden]], the girlfriend of [[wikipedia:Flash Gordon|Flash Gordon]].
*'''Danning''' is a reference to the actress [[wikipedia:Sybil Danning|Sybil Danning]].
*'''Dejah''' is a reference to Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, in the [[wikipedia:Barsoom series|Barsoom series]] by [[wikipedia:Edgar Rice Burroughs|Edgar Rice Burroughs]].
*'''Maya''' refers to the attractive female [[wikipedia:Space 1999|Space: 1999]] character gifted with shapeshifing abilties.
*'''Munro''' possibly refers to another genre actress, [[wikipedia:Caroline Munro|Caroline Munro]].
*'''Penny''' possibly refers to the lead female character in the movie [[wikipedia:The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension|The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension]].
*'''Ripley''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Ellen Ripley|Lieutenant Ripley]], as portrayed by [[wikipedia:Sigourney Weaver|Sigourney Weaver]] in the movie [[wikipedia:Alien (movie)|Alien]].
*'''Sparta''' is a reference to the beautiful female protagonist with a mysterious past in the Venus Prime series by [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]] and [[wikipedia:Paul Preuss|Paul Preuss]].
*'''Teela''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Teela Brown|Teela Brown]], one of the heroines of the Larry Niven's [[wikipedia:Ringworld|Ringworld]] novels.
*'''Yarr''' may be a reference to [[wikipedia:Natasha Yar|Natasha Yar]] who appeared in [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]].

====Umgah====
*'''Brewz'k''' is likely the slang word brewski.
*'''Ei'Ei'o''' is probably referring to the refrain of the children's song "Old Macdonald had a farm".

====Zoq Fot Pik====
*'''RinTin''' is likely named after the famous movie dog [[wikipedia:Rin Tin Tin|Rin Tin Tin]].

==Ship Designs==
*The '''[[Earthling]] [[Cruiser]]''' seems to be inspired by the Federation Starships from [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*The '''[[Syreen]] [[Penetrator]]''' is shaped after the [[wikipedia:V-2 rocket|V-2 rocket]], and a dildo.

==Constellation names==
According to the [[HyperSpace]] starmap, the names for the HyperSpace constellations were taken from "traditional astronomical designations." These are the in-game star and constellation names that don't directly correspond to real life astronomical designations. (Some, such as Lalande and Wolf, appear to be derived from astronomical designations).
*'''Arianni'''
*'''Brahe''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Tycho Brahe|Tycho Brahe]], the famous Danish astronomer of the 16th century.
*'''Cerenkov''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov|Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov]], a Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate.
*'''Chandrasekhar''' is a reference to the Indian-American astrophysicist [[Wikipedia:Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar|Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar]], famous for his work on stellar evolution and black holes.
*'''Copernicus''' is a reference [[Wikipedia:Nicolaus Copernicus|Nicolaus Copernicus]], the polish astronomer who proposed the sun was the center of the solar system.
*'''Gorno''' is a possible reference to the [[Wikipedia:Gorn|Gorn]], a race in [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Hyginus''' is a reference to the attributed author of [[Wikipedia:Poeticon astronomicon|Poeticon astronomicon]].
*'''Hyperion''' is a reference to the main setting of Dan Simmons' [[wikipedia:Hyperion Cantos|Hyperion Cantos]].
*'''Illuminati''' is a reference to a variety of conspiracy theories, especially those of the [[Wikipedia:Illuminati|Bavarian Illuminati]].
*'''Kepler''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Johannes Kepler|Johannes Kepler]] who discovered the three laws of planetary motion.
*'''Klystron''' is a reference to a kind of vacuum tube used in early radar systems.
*'''Lentilis'''
*'''Lipi'''
*'''Maksutov''' is likely a reference to the [[Wikipedia:Maksutov telescope|Maksutov telescope]] invented by the Russian optician [[Wikipedia:Dimtri Maksutov|Dimtri Maksutov]].
*'''Mersenne''' is a reference to [http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Mersenne.html Marin Mersenne] a Minim friar who lived in France from 1588-1648 and was a major founder of number theory.
*'''Metis''' is a moon of Jupiter, and correspondingly a character in Roman mythology.
*'''Olber''' is likely a reference to [[Wikipedia:Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers|Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers]], a German astronomer.
*'''Organon''' is likely either a reference to [[Wikipedia:Organia|Organia]], an important location in [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]], or a reference to the [[Wikipedia:Organa family|Organa family]] in the [[Wikipedia:Star Wars|Star Wars]] universe.
*'''Ptolemae''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Ptolemy|Claudius Ptolemaius]], an ancient astronomer whose Geocentric views Copernicus replaced.
*'''Raynet''' is possibly a misspelling of "Rayet", an existing astronomical designation. it could also be a reference to British amateur radio network [[Wikipedia:RAYNET|RAYNET]].
*'''Saurus'''
*'''Squidi'''
*'''Vitalis'''
*'''Zeeman''' is possibly a reference to the physicist [[Wikipedia:Pieter Zeeman|Pieter Zeeman]] for whom a [[Wikipedia:Zeeman (crater)|crater]] on the moon is named.

[[Category:Game mechanics]]

Talk:Trader

2005-12-28T20:58:58Z

Death 999: Include colloquial name?

'Fear Ball' is a widespread colloquial term for the fully charged red form of the Melnorme primary weapon. Should this fact be included? -- [[User:Death 999|Death 999]]

Talk:Sentient Milieu

2005-12-28T20:56:29Z

Death 999: where

Did the Faz actually join just 2,000 years ago, or is that suppose to say 20,000?

: From the resource guide:
:: ''The Faz joined the Sentient Milieu several centuries before the Ur-Quan, about 2,000 years ago. Like the Ur-Quan and the other Milieu races, the Faz fell under the psychic compulsion of the Dnyarri and for over 2,000 years served their masters every perverted wish.''
:I do agree that there's some inconsistency here. -- [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 20:02, 8 Oct 2004 (CEST)

That would imply that the Dnyarri fell in the early years of the 1st century, which we know isn't true. Hmmm. Certainties:

# The Dnyarri were discovered by the Ur-Quan over 20,000 years ago
# The Ur-Quan joined before they discovered the Dnyarri
# The Faz joined before the Ur-Quan

Perhaps the 2,000 is meant to be "years before the Ur-Quan joined" so 22,000 BC? Or maybe they just forgot a zero.

[[User:Mmrnmhrm|Mmrnmhrm]] 20:23, 8 Oct 2004 (CEST)

Can someone provide a reference for the "eleven members" quote. It's not in the conversation files of UQM nor in the voice files of the 3DO version. Maybe it's in the original PC version? --[[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 02:31, 28 December 2005 (CET)

:Interesting... it's indeed just in the PC version.
:— [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 10:45, 28 December 2005 (CET)

Now that's really weird, since I pulled it out of the conversation files for version 0.3 of UQM! It was OK_BUY_HISTORY_4 in the melnorme conversations -- [[User:Death 999|Death 999]]

Talk:Sentient Milieu

2005-12-28T20:55:08Z

Death 999: I found this in UQM.

Talk:HyperSpace

2005-12-28T20:53:14Z

Death 999: spontaneous eruption

I don't think it's particularly necessary to mention the composer of the HyperSpace theme song and not the composers of the background music for TrueSpace, QuasiSpace, the Starbase and all the alien races. If we are going to mention it, we should mention that the *reason* is that HyperSpace is a more famous and more commonly used and remixed song than the others, or the reference doesn't make sense..

:It used to be part of the article, but somebody moved it into brackets at the bottom for reasons unknown... -[[User:Fadookie|Fadookie]] 05:22, 23 Nov 2004 (CET)

::I created a page about all the music ([[Star Control Music]]), and linked from here with a "See also". It might be nice to do that for all races, etc. -- [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 19:01, 23 Nov 2004 (CET)

:::Is even that necessary? It seems to me it'd be better to just do a front-page link for the music page and link to that once, rather than cluttering every page with links to the music when it should be clear from looking at the music page what things have music for them. Someone looking for info on the music would probably just go to music rather than, say, going to the page for Arilou La'leelay to find info on who wrote the Arilou La'leelay theme. In general I'm in favor of doing more to separate the aspects of Star Control 2 the game (details about the programmers, the music, the gameplay, etc.) and Star Control 2 the story. I've been trying to consistently put information from beyond the fourth wall in brackets.

::::I think that having such info on the race page could be helpful and informative. One of the main points of having a wiki is that all related pages are linked together for ease of navigation. Information on the alien race music is most definitely pertinent, as the page should eventually contain external links to download the music and its remixes, composer info, etc. This is too useful to be considered "clutter" in my opinion.-[[User:Fadookie|Fadookie]] 07:06, 24 Nov 2004 (CET)

:::::I agree. We shouldn't limit ourselves to three walls. The wiki software has support for sections, which can be used to separate in-story information and "out-story" information. I'd like this wiki to be as complete as possible. -- [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 15:31, 24 Nov 2004 (CET)

Interesting ideas about the nature of light and the physics in hyperspace. I made s light change to keep the physics consistent. If the speed of light is different in hyperspace, we really should only expect the wavelengths to go longer and not the frequency to get higher. Otherwise how do you determine whether you red shift or blueshift. A good analogy would be changing the density of air to change the speed of sound. The pitch of a guitar string goes up because the wavelength changes but the frequency is the same. I would think the same would be true as we manipulate the 'quantum ether' that determines the speed of light. Also, if we could flesh out inter-hyperspace medium and the analogy to microwave and cosmic background radiation. The two are different phenomenon. Interstellar hydrogen radiates in a very specific band - 21 cm - deep in the microwave, while cosmic background radiation is blackbody radiation from the cooling of the universe since the big bang. If you want the medium to radiate across the spectrum, probably the best thing to do is to have it radiate thermally at some temperature. We could also do away with the medium entirely and have the brane of hyperspace be at a different temperature than TrueSpace, with a blackbody spectrum that peaks in the red spectrum (or the equivalent of the red spectrum for the different speed of light). [[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 05:43, 28 Jan 2005 (CET)
::Interesting. What I was trying to do was mess with the description to fit TFB's rather vague language about the "speed of light being different in HyperSpace" causing a "redshift" as well as maintaining an "invisible force" that slowls things down in HyperSpace. The reason for there being some sort of medium is less the red glow and more that there's something that yanks you to a dead stop relative to the galaxy if you don't keep accelerating -- as though you were moving through a sea of thick fluid that was exerting friction on you.[[User:130.58.225.137|130.58.225.137]]

:::Aah, I see now <he says as he pulls out the old SC2 manual>. Yeah, the language is extremely vague. I'd be more willing to think that the hyperspace 'drag' is more likely due to the different laws of physics. The reason I say that is that the lack of inertia and gravity are mentioned together in the manual. Gravity and inertia are also closely tied in physics. If we posit that gravity never broke off from the other forces in the hyperspace universe, we could invoke unknown physics to claim that a direct consequence of no gravity is no inertia. Or we could say that hyperspace is in some wierd entropic state such that a very low-density interstellar medium or even the space itself could literally suck the kinetic energy from the ship. I'm just stating these possibilities because I don't think a thick medium is the only way to explain the drag. And while we're all doing the trekkie thing, would the ship and its occupants themselves be subject to the new laws of physics? Or can we invoke some kind of froonium drive to maintain truespace physics within the ship? --[[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 18:26, 28 Jan 2005 (CET)

It's pretty clear that the ship is surrounded by some sort of "TrueSpace bubble" -- we even hear stuff about how the collision between two TrueSpace bubbles forces ships that meet each other out of
HyperSpace. As far as why there's some sort of drag, the medium is the explanation I first thought of -- they don't actually say that there's "no inertia", but that inertia doesn't quite work the same way. I'm not, after all, totally sure what no inertia at all would mean, but it seems problematic to say that just removing inertia means you suddenly have Aristotelian mechanics with an absolute reference frame that you constantly slow down to when you run out of impetus. In any case, what the SC2 manual actually says is that there *is* an "invisible force that keeps slowing you down", like friction, which implies some sort of medium or something. The only way I can imagine HyperSpace being at all similar to TrueSpace and working the way it does is if *something* -- doesn't have to be ordinary matter, doesn't have to be anything we know of -- is physically present that makes up the "framework" of HyperSpace, so that there's something you can grind to a halt relative to.[[User:130.58.225.137|130.58.225.137]]

:I guess I did misread that statement about inertia in the manual. I agree, no inertia would play hell with basic Lagrangian mechanics. But I think that we should say that source of the invisible force is speculative. It could be a field effect, warpage/nature of hyperspace-time, the entropic state of that universe, or some other type of physics (as you put it - doesn't have to be anything we know of). To me, this medium sounds too much like a luminiferous ether. Friction might be a good analogy for the source, but it doesn't mean it is the source. As for the Truespace bubble, the only place I've ever heard of that is in reference to the Arilou homeworld and here in these articles. The manual/canon only speaks of hyperdrive fields interacting and masses intersecting as the cause of the drop out of hyperspace into truespace. If we're going to make the speed of light much larger and keep the physical laws in hyperspace similar to our own, are only real option is reducing the permeability of vacuum (can't mess with the permittivity). --[[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 07:40, 29 Jan 2005 (CET)

I tried to find a balance between the speculation and canon on this article. I think that there is some merit to fleshing out some topics, extrapolating from the canon to what lies between the lines. But the extreme speculation (like the HyperSpatial medium and its nature) needs to be indicated as such, and not necessarily stated as fact. And some of the now excised fan-fic here actually contradicted some of the canon. I've also reordered some of the paragraphs and introduced some organizational headings so the article flows a bit better, but I'm definitely not attached to any of them. If you're so inclined let me know what you think. [[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 02:48, 29 Aug 2005 (CEST)

IMHO, the edits are a start. I don't see any reason for going so far beyond the facts by mentioning theories that are so loosely connected to the game. It's not as if the topics discussed have any influence on the plot or even ever come up in fan talk.
'''If''' we are going to include these vague theories, it should at least be clear what is fiction and what isn't. None of this "some physicists have theorized" crap.
-- SvdB 17:15, 29 Aug 2005 (CEST)

:I guess then the question becomes how much between the lines should we read, and how in character are these articles meant to be. For example, the comment I made on the permeability is a natural extrapolation from two statements in the manual so I think it could be included, whereas the hyperspatial medium speculation is a much larger leap into the realm of fanfic. The medium stuff should probably then be cleaned up here and in the [[HyperWave Caster]] and [[QuasiSpace]] articles (and where ever else it appears). How would you suggest we delineate between canon and reasonable speculation in the articles? Are there any precedents in wikis for other video games? I'm not attached to any of the stuff I've put up, so no harm no foul if it's removed. This is just a community effort after all. [[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 19:23, 30 Aug 2005 (CEST)

:::My problem isn't the mentioning of a permeability constant (as long as it's made clear it's speculation). It's the lines surrounding it: "some have speculated that", "no known experiments have been conducted to determine its value or test the veracity of this hypothesis.". Words like "it may be that", "perhaps", "possibly" would be much better imho. If there are issues about which a lot of theories among fans exist, then that warrants a separate section describing all those theories, with their arguments. (I did this for the [[Orz]] page.) I don't know how other wikis do it. -- SvdB 23:33, 31 Aug 2005 (CEST)

::::I understand and that works for me. I'll trim down some of my edits here then. And as for the separate sections, I think I'm of the same mind as you that this isn't that important of a topic to give each theory a separate section. I haven't yet lurked the forums, but I would imagine that this isn't a much debated topic nor does it have much importance in the plot like Orz or Juffo-Wup. Thanks for the guidance. [[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 19:43, 1 Sep 2005 (CEST)

== Dubious tag ==

I think that this article has come a long way since I added the Dubious tag awhile back, but there is still some things that need to be changed. So that we can move forward on getting this tag removed, can editors please indicate here what comments within this article warrant the dubious tag. Then we can discuss these points, find out whether they are supported canon, and decide on the best wording to distinguish canon and speculation. I'll start - note these are statements that I don't readily recognize from the canon or don't readily see the supporting argument for.
*The Hyperdrive generating interdimensional overlaps
*The Hyperdrive field creating a region of exotic vacuum
*Hyperspace provides a single inertial frame for timekeeping
Any others? --[[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 20:46, 10 Nov 2005 (CET)

== spontaneous eruption ==

It is mentioned that

Forced reentry caused by two interfering Hyperdrive field into TrueSpace from random points in HyperSpace far away from a natural intrustion invariably causes the vessels to reappear near a star or rogue planetary body in TrueSpace.

Which is obviously an attempt to explain why there are planets during hyperspace combat.

But if it was possible to go and just find a planet that isn't 'on-grid' like that, then mining would be a breeze! Just hop outside sol, tell Fwiffo to interfere with your hyperspace field, and bam! You've got a whole solar system to mine.
So, I think we should not try to incorporate this game mechanic into the physics.

Talk:Influences and references

2005-12-28T20:46:09Z

Death 999: Raynet

I've just read Roadside Picnic and I'm confused about why you regard the "Mosquito Mange" as an influence or reference. Was this something Fred and Paul said in a chat session? Is there something in Star Control II that is similar? I've thought about it and I fail to see the connection. Please enlighten.
--[[User:PsiPhi|PsiPhi]] 00:59, 19 Jul 2005 (CEST)

That item was actually one to be researched further (which is why I put the question marks there). I haven't read the story myself yet, but it's been mentioned in the IRC channel as a possible origin of the "mosquito mange" expression which is used in SC2 when examining the Androsynth ruins: ":I see requests to the central computer for information -- data on `reality aberrations', the `Mosquito Mange' and, er, ghosts, poltergeists, and other malevolent supernatural creatures."
-- [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 04:23, 19 Jul 2005 (CEST)

For those who want to do some work on this page, there are two threads at the PNF boards, which have some more useful info. Be sure to verify these though, as some are plain wrong.
*http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~starcontrol/forum/index.php?topic=53.0
*http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~starcontrol/forum/index.php?topic=698.0
-- SvdB 05:32, 19 Jul 2005 (CEST)

I've been doing some work on these references (mostly the names) and have put up the ones that seem the most likely given the context and time period. Here are a few more captain names that I wasn't sure enough on though:
*'''Danning''' - Sybil Danning (mentioned on one of the PNF board threads)
*'''Munro''' - Caroline Munro, famous scream queen
*'''Decker''' - character from ST:TMP or Commodore Decker of USS Constellation in the Original Series ('The Doomsday Machine' episode)
*'''Graeme''' - from characters in the Childe Cycle by Gordon R. Dickson (I've seen the characters' names also spelled Grahame so I'm not sure)
*'''Alura''' - the only thing I found was Superman's mother. This might just be a word-play on 'Allure'
*'''BOOJI-1''' - reference to [[wikipedia:Booji Boy|Booji Boy]] of Devo fame
Are any of these reasonable enough to include on this page? Also, if there are any that I've already put up that you disagree with, we can discuss and edit as needs be - I won't take it too personally. Next on the my list is to parse the works of the authors they mention, looking for references and such. Of course if we have fans of these works, they'd be the first and best to find those.
[[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 04:59, 3 Aug 2005 (CEST)

:I think Alura was Supergirl's mother, not Superman's.-- [[User:PsiPhi|PsiPhi]] 11:02, 5 Aug 2005 (CEST)

::You're right - I slipped up on that one. Is there any other possible Alura reference/inpsiration? [[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 00:23, 12 Aug 2005 (CEST)

:::I can't find any other. I think it would be safe to add it for now. [[User:PsiPhi|PsiPhi]] 03:54, 18 Aug 2005 (CEST)

:::My only qualms with adding this Alura reference is that it doesn't exactly fit the context. All the others are centrallish characters that tend to have certain qualities that match the Syreen image. Supergirl's mom simply seems like a flat, background character on the sidelines of the DC universe. Personally, of all the possible inspirations I've proposed I think that this one is the weakest (followed closely by penny). I did find a third potential inspiration: Princess Allura of [[wikipedia:Voltron|Voltron]] fame. So the list of possibilities is:
:::*Word play on allure
:::*Supergirl's mother
:::*Princess in Voltron
:::*something else???
:::How do we decide what can reasonably be stated as the reference/influence that Paul and Fred intended anyways? When I've been looking, my criteria has been the works of the explicitly stated authors, occuring before SC2's release, well known pop culture - usually sci-fi, uniqueness, and context. I think that we've probably nailed the majority of the captain names and other influences, but what about the cases, like Alura, where it's just a decent guess. My two cents is that we continue to express such uncertainties in the edits, reserving the more definitive statements for the surer references. That said, I think I'll add the rest of these references and see what happens. -- [[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 09:56, 18 Aug 2005 (CEST)

::::Wow, Voltron! I loved that show as a kid. 20 years later and I can still remember the theme song (scary). Now that you bring it up, Princess Allura fits a lot better than Supergirl's mother. She was an important character and did command one of the lions after Sven left. If Chimchim is a reference to the pet in Speed Racer and if Kimba is also a reference to a character in Japanese animation (plus the fact that the entire Shofixti culture was based on the Japanese), this does form a pattern that one of the designers loved Japanese anime. It is possible they accidentally misspelled her name. Knowing this, I would put Princess Allura far ahead of Supergirl's mother (who, as you put it, wasn't that important a character).[[User:PsiPhi|PsiPhi]] 20:42, 18 Aug 2005 (CEST)

Not to be a jerk or anything, but I'm removing the slylandro etymology remark until someone can provide an external reference for it, i.e. a greek dictionary showing slyl=sky. I remember seeing this over on the Androsynth page and it's rubbed me the wrong way ever since. And don't just point me to the threads on the forum because it's always the same person making this claim, and I'd like something a little more objective. Every greek dictionary I've looked at either has ouranos or aither as the the word for sky. So if you're a proponent of this, I'll gladly eat crow and repost it if you can back it up. [[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 06:32, 19 Aug 2005 (CEST)

===Princess Bride===
The page for [[Tanaka]] contains the following text:
"Trivia: His opening comments of 'you killed my father, my mother, my many brothers, all six of my sisters - prepare to die' are a homage to Inigo Montoya from 'The Princess Bride'". I personally wouldn't know about this so I'm not going to add it here. But if it is verified, it ''would'' belong on this page.
-- [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 08:54, 11 Oct 2005 (CEST)

:I might be able to vouch for this, having seen this movie innumerable times while growing up (and a few more times in my "adult" years). In all honesty, I can clearly remember being reminded of this movie when I saw this part of the game (and again when I heard it). I'll make the changes here and in the Tanaka page then. The line possibly being referenced can be found in the [[wikipedia:Count Rugen|Count Rugen]] article. [[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 00:11, 12 Oct 2005 (CEST)

::I wasn't suggesting removing the trivia from the Tanaka page. I'd say it would belong in both. You don't think so? — [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 05:07, 12 Oct 2005 (CEST)

:::I guess I kind of jumped the gun there, but I was thinking about removing it from the Tanaka article before your comment. My thinking was that it is a reference/influence that really isn't critical to understanding who Tanaka is and what role he plays in the game. If the trivia appears on the Tanaka page also, then we should put the other trivia found here on the corresponding pages as well. I'd say that if the trivia contributes to our understanding of the original article (like the Androsynth's pink inverted triangle insignia) then it should be included there also; but otherwise, just keep it here. As I see it, this page is for all those quirky references we enjoy finding but that don't really add to the main pages. But, as always, if you want to put it back on the Tanaka page, I won't take it personally. [[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 22:25, 20 Oct 2005 (CEST)

::::Well, "be bold in editing" is the credo. I'm more interested in the motivations (so that we can come to some guidelines) then this particular case.
::::My view is that each page should be complete in its subject. That doesn't only include the relation between of the subject and the game, but also anything that explains how the game element came to be the way it is. That includes influences imho.
::::I don't consider the Ultronomicon a reference work about just the SC2 game events, but also anything that has anything to do with it.
::::Now if there was a lot to say about each trivia, I'd choose a link to the relevant section of a dedicated trivia page. But the trivia here are no longer than a paragraph.
::::—[[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 12:30, 21 Oct 2005 (CEST)

== Graeme ==

"Graeme is a reference to Donal Graeme, a protagonist in the Childe Cycle novels by Gordon R. Dickson. (This may also be a reference to other characters in this series with this same lastname.)"
Are any of these characters pilots or captains of a space ship? Because if there's only one, it's probably safe to say that's the one the reference is about (as all people from this list are pilots/captains).
— [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 15:44, 5 Nov 2005 (CET)

:I don't know really - haven't had a chance to read or even look at the books. Maybe I'll have to do a run down to the bookstore. There are at least 4 Graeme characters (including Donal) that I have found just by looking at short book reviews and synopses on the web. Anyone know any Dickson fans? I'll keep looking and edit if I find anything along the criterion you mention. --[[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 18:29, 5 Nov 2005 (CET)
:Small update - Donal Graeme is a captain of a starship during at least part of one of the novels. Still don't know about the others though - sorry. I'll keep looking... --[[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 10:15, 11 Nov 2005 (CET)

== Constellation names ==

What's this with all the constellation names? Afaik, every single one of those stars actually exists. As such, they don't belong in the Ultronimocon, and certainly not on this page. They're not references any more than "Jupiter" or "fungus", or "stick" is a reference. That is, they normal real-life terms used exactly as in real life. — [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 23:52, 3 Dec 2005 (CET)
:Not exactly. I added the list, specifically excluding the pre-existing, real-life names (as far as I could tell). About a quarter of the constellation/star names are not actual constellation/star names. A lot of them are references to astronomers or physicists, some of which also have star catalogs, star types, and planetary features named after them (Lalande, Wolf, and Zeeman for example). There are others that might have a sci-fi origin like Arriani or Saurus. And then there are those that refer to things completely unrelated to astronomy (Klystron) or with no apparent source that I can find (Lipi). I guess this arose from some of the discussion on the which form of the constellation names to use in articles. I figured that for completeness, the reference page should also tell where the more esoteric in-game constellation/star names come from. --[[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 01:40, 4 Dec 2005 (CET)

Perhaps there are '''some''' that are made up (after all, more may be named between now and 2155). But with all the stars in the sky, I'd expect that anyone who's had anything to do with astronomy has a star or cluster named after him.

Also, stars that have latin names appear to be mentioned in the genitive when a prefix word is present. So the star system "taurus" (bull) has the star "alpha tauri" ("A of the bull"). Genitive forms usually have -i, -is or -ae (singular) or "-um", "-orum" or "-arum" (plural; "alpha geminorum" is "A of the twins") suffixes. "Lipi" may be a typo for "Lupi", "Lupus" meaning "wolf" (which is an actual constellation).
— [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 20:39, 4 Dec 2005 (CET)

:Sorry a response has been so delayed - end of the year finals. I see what you're saying, and could go back on my previous arguments and agree with taking off the names like Luyten, Wolf, and others that are part of star names/star catalogs/star types. I'll do some more research over the winter break and see if any others that might fall into this category. I'd still like to leave the others up so people can see where the names might have come from, even if it is from some astronomer not honored in stellar nomenclature like Brahe (I believe there's no star-thingy named after him). And of course, I'll continue to mull this whole issue over.

:As for the names being in the genitive cases, Phoenix and I had some discussion over at [[Ultronomicon talk:Manual of Style#Constellation names]] about this, and we'd certainly like to hear you're thoughts. For example, do you know of any in-game instance when the nominative form of a latin constellation name is used? --[[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 06:49, 15 Dec 2005 (CET)

== Raynet ==

How important is RAYNET, the british amateur radio organization? Unless it's much bigger than I thought, or something special to FF or PR3... I don't expect it would be the source for this name.

Talk:Shofixti

2005-12-28T20:40:30Z

Death 999: /* Syreen situation */

No internal reference I can find to Shofixti being seen by Humans as "cute". Might be true of some Humans, but this is the sort of thing people in real life actually seem to get over pretty fast (the portrayal of pygmy races in art and film quickly moves from "cute" to "menacing" -- the two aren't that far apart). The Shofixti are never spoken of by Hayes with anything but respect, and Tanaka and Katana seem to naturally expect respect from you once they know who you are.
:I agree, and I've removed that comment. --[[User:Phoenix|Phoeni]][[User_talk:Phoenix|'''x''']] 21:56, 30 Sep 2005 (CEST)

== Syreen situation ==

While the Syreen fleet may have been slow, the Yehat and Shofixti didn't permit them to follow to delta gorno. Both the Syreen and the Arilou comment on this:
:(Syreen) "The Yehat and Shofixti retreated to their native stars and didn't want us to follow."
:(Arilou) "The Yehat and Shofixti withdraw to Delta Gorno, but they do not permit the Syreen to follow."
How they did this, beats me. --[[User:Fyzixfighter|Fyzixfighter]] 01:38, 28 December 2005 (CET)

Yeah, my bad -- I always saw it as the were unable to, since what is said to have occurred makes no sense. Well, there it is. -- [[User:Death 999|Death 999]]

Influences and references

2005-12-27T22:10:35Z

Death 999: I know how to spell wikipedia too.

{{stub}}

The [[Star Control|Star Control 1]] manual mentions "Inspired by the Works of Fiction of: [[wikipedia:Orson Scott Card|Orson Scott Card]], [[wikipedia:Larry Niven|Larry Niven]], [[wikipedia:Andre Norton|Andre Norton]], [[wikipedia:David Brin|David Brin]], [[wikipedia:Robert A. Heinlein|Robert A. Heinlein]], [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]], [[wikipedia:Jack Vance|Jack Vance]], [[wikipedia:Alan Dean Foster|Alan Dean Foster]], [[wikipedia:Keith Laumer|Keith Laumer]], [[wikipedia:A. E. Van Vogt|A.E. Van Vogt]], [[wikipedia:E. E. Smith|E.E. "Doc" Smith]], [[wikipedia:Joe Halderman|Joe Halderman]], [[wikipedia:Dan Simmons|Dan Simmons]], [[wikipedia:Fred Saberhagen|Fred Saberhagen]] and 100 worthy others."

The [[Arilou]]'s final remark "Be seeing you..." may be a reference to the tv series [[wikipedia:The Prisoner|The Prisoner]].

The [[Orz]] and the disappearance of the [[Androsynth]] were influenced by [[wikipedia:H. P. Lovecraft|H. P. Lovecraft]]'s writings. (XXX: need more exact references).

[[The Captain]]'s remark to the [[Pkunk]] "Hey! Bird-brains! Got any fruit loops? Har-har-har!" refers to a brand of breakfast cereal called [[wikipedia:Froot Loops|Fruit Loops]], which features a toucan resembling the Pkunk as its mascotte.

The [[Ilwrath]] were named after a friend of the creators (XXX: both?) named McIlwraith.

The name [[Melnorme]] is a reference to jazz singer [[wikipedia:Mel Tormé|Mel Tormé]].

When the [[Spathi]] [[The Safe Ones|Safe Ones]] ask the player for the [[Secret Spathi Cypher]], one of the incorrect options is "Wagh-nagl Fthagn", which spelled a little bit differently ("Wgah'nagl Fhtagn") comes from "''Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!''", a liturgical phrase in H. P. Lovecraft's [[wikipedia:Cthulhu mythos|Cthulu mythos]].

One of the other options for the Spathi Cypher, "Gort, merenga!" comes from the movie "[[wikipedia:The Day the Earth Stood Still|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]".

The [[Syreen]] are based on the [[wikipedia:Siren|Siren]]s from classical mythology. They were sea nymphs who would use enchanting song to lure ships onto the cliffs.

The [[Yehat]] are inspired by the [[wikipedia:Scottish clan|Scottish clan]]s.

"[[Cheep-Guava]]", the name of the head of the [[Yehat]] revolution, is a pun on "[[Wikipedia:Che Guevara|Che Guevara]]", the Cuban revolutionary leader.

The [[Shofixti]] are inspired by the historical [[wikipedia:History of Japan|Japanese culture]].
"[[Kyabetsu]]", the name of the former Shofixti homeworld, means "cabbage".

The Mosquito Mange is mentioned in the [[Androsynth]] computer records immediately prior to their disappearance. It is a reference to the term found in [[wikipedia:Roadside Picnic|Roadside Picnic]] refering to graviconcentrates - areas of heightened and directed gravity.

The ''Roadside Picnic'' might also be the inspiration for the 'Empties'. In the novel they are one of the common alien artifacts found in the Zones. In the game they are a [[Precursor]] artifact that Commander [[Hayes]] mentions in relation to the [[Ultron]].

The name [[Androsynth]] is taken from the Greek "andros" ("man") and "synthetic" from Greek "syn" ("together") and "thesis" ("put"), or as the [[Star Control II]] manual says it "fake men".

The [[Mycon]] is taken from the Greek prefix "myc-" or "myco-", which means Fungus.

[[Tanaka]]'s opening comments, "you killed my father, my mother, my many brothers, all six of my sisters - prepare to die," may pay homage to the movie [[wikipedia:The Princess Bride|The Princess Bride]], in which the character [[wikipedia:Inigo Montoya|Inigo Montoya]] has prepared a similar comment for when he confronts his father's murderer, [[wikipedia:Count Rugen|Count Rugen]].

When you choose the aggressive lines to speak towards the [[Slylandro]] [[Probe]]s, the third time you get the response "ENACTING THIRD LAW." before combat is initiated. This refers to [[wikipedia:Isaac Asimov|Isaac Asimov]]'s [[wikipedia:Three Laws of Robotics|Three Laws of Robotics]]. The third law says "A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.". The Probe's version must not have the first clause as the first law says "A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.". (Alternatively, its First Law applies to solely to its creator race, which grant humans and other sentients no special protection.) Also the [[Slylandro]] will go "to seek out new life and new civilizations, to go where no catalog item 2418 Remote Self-replicating robot probe had gone before." when asked about the programming of the probes, a reference to Star Trek.

When the [[Utwig]] are trying to tell you what to do with the [[Precursor Bomb]], at one point they say that the "Bomb must be...Hugged." This is likely a reference to the movie [[Wikipedia:Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb|Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]].

One of the ways that the Utwig determined that the [[Ultron]] could have been saved was by cushioning the fall with a fuzzy wumpus. A Wumpus is a mysterious monster from the famous, early computer game [[Wikipedia:Hunt the Wumpus|Hunt the Wumpus]].

When describing the [[Kohr-Ah]], the Utwig say that their stated purpose is "to seek out new life and new civilizations...and then annihilate them," a clear play on the mission statement of the [[Wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] of [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]] fame.

==Ship Captains==
Numerous ship captain names are actually references.

====Androsynth====
*'''1040-EZ''' is a common [[wikipedia:Form 1040EZ|tax return form]] in the United States.
*'''976-KILL''' is probably meant as an American phone number. It may also refer to the movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094597/ 976-EVIL]. The "976" prefix is reserved for pay services.
*'''[[wikipedia:AK-47|AK-47]]''' is the famous Avtomat Kalashnikova assault rifle
*'''BHS-79''' ''(just a wild guess here- is this the initials of one of the high schools they attended, and their graduation date?)''
*'''BIM-XT''' is an anagram for the [[wikipedia:IBM XT|IBM XT]] personal computer from the early 1980s
*'''BOOJI-1''' is a possible reference to the character [[wikipedia:Booji Boy|Booji Boy]] from the band [[wikipedia:Devo|Devo]].
*'''CRC-16''' is a 16 bits "[[wikipedia:Cyclic redundancy check|Cyclic redundancy check]] (an error-detecting checksum).
*'''DORN-3''' may be a reference to artist John Alfred Dorn III, who did several illustrations for the novels of [[wikipedia:Stanisław Lem|Stanisław Lem]]. It could also be a reference [[wikipedia:Michael Dorn|Michael Dorn]] who played Lt. Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
*'''DOS-1.0''' is a reference to one or all of the various early disk operating systems ([[wikipedia:PC-DIS|PC-DOS]], [[wikipedia:MS-DOS|MS-DOS]], [[wikipedia:Apple DOS|Apple DOS]], etc).
*'''HAL-2001''' is a reference to the [[wikipedia:HAL 9000|HAL 9000]] computer from [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]]'s [[wikipedia:2001: A Space Odyssey|2001: A Space Odyssey]]
*'''JOR-15''' might be a reference to [[wikipedia:Jor-El|Jor-El]], superman's biological father in the DC comics universe.
*'''KORB-7B'''
*'''ME-262''' is a reference to the Messerschmitt [[wikipedia:Me-262|Me-262]], the first operational jet powered aircraft.
*'''NECRO-99''' may be a reference to the robot NECRON-99 from the movie [[wikipedia:Wizards (movie)|Wizards]].
*'''SR-71''' is a reference to the Lockheed [[wikipedia:SR-71|SR-71 Blackbird]], an advanced reconnaissance aircraft.
*'''[[wikipedia:Merkur XR4Ti|XR4-TI]]''' was a car model manufactured by the short-lived [[wikipedia:Merkur|Merkur]] brand.

====Human====
*'''Adama''' is the captain of the [[wikipedia:Battlestar Galactica|Battlestar Galactica]] in the television series by the same name.
*'''Belt''' is a reference to Henry Belt, captain of a solar sail vessel in Jack Vance's short story ''Sail 25''.
*'''Buck''' refers to [[wikipedia:Buck Rogers|Buck Rogers]], a character who appeared in popular Sci-fi serials in the late 30's, as well as a later television series.
*'''Decker''' is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Willard Decker|Willard Decker]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the movie [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Motion Picture|Star Trek: The Motion Picture]].
*'''Ender''' is a reference to the main character of the Orson Scott Card novel [[wikipedia:Ender's Game|Ender's Game]].
*'''Graeme''' is a reference to Donal Graeme, a protagonist in the [[wikipedia: Childe Cycle|Childe Cycle]] novels by [[wikipedia:Gordon R. Dickson|Gordon R. Dickson]]. ''(This may also be a reference to other characters in this series with this same lastname.)''
*'''Halleck''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Gurney Halleck|Gurney Halleck]] of the [[wikipedia:Dune universe|Dune series]].
*'''Kirk''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:James T. Kirk|James T. Kirk]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the original series of [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Pike''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Christopher Pike|Christopher Pike]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the pilot episode of [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Pirx|Pirx]]''' is a reference to a fictional test pilot in a series of stories by Stanisław Lem.
*'''Solo''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Han Solo|Han Solo]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Millennium Falcon|Millennium Falcon]] in [[wikipedia:Star Wars|Star Wars]] episode 4 through 6.
*'''Spiff''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Spaceman Spiff|Spaceman Spiff]], the fantasy identity of Calvin from [[wikipedia:Calvin and Hobbes|Calvin and Hobbes]]
*'''Trent''' is a reference to Jeff Trent, civilian airline pilot from [[wikipedia:Plan 9 from Outer Space|Plan 9 from Outer Space]]
*'''Tuf''' is a reference to Haviland Tuf, the protagonist in [[wikipedia:Tuf Voyaging|Tuf Voyaging]] by [[wikipedia:George R.R. Martin|George R.R. Martin]].
*'''VanRijn''' is a reference to the merchant prince Nicholas Van Rijn in [[wikipedia:Poul Anderson|Poul Anderson]]'s stories.
*'''Wu''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Louis Wu|Louis Wu]], the protagonist of Larry Niven's [[wikipedia:Ringworld|Ringworld series]].

====Kohr-Ah====
*All of their ship names appear to be '''Death''' followed by a [[wikipedia:Prime_number|prime number]].

====Pkunk====
*'''Tweety''' is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Tweety|Tweety Bird]].
*'''WudStok''' is Snoopy's friend [[wikipedia:Woodstock (Peanuts)|Woodstock]] in the comic strip [[wikipedia:Peanuts|Peanuts]].

====Shofixti====
*'''Bonsai!''' is actually [[wikipedia:Bonsai|the Japanese art of pruning trees]], but is most likely a reference to the cry [[wikipedia:Ten thousand years|Banzai]].
*'''Busu''' is a Japanese word for ugly
*'''Chimchim''' most likely refers to the pet chimpanzee in [[wikipedia:Speed Racer|Speed Racer]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Daikon|Daikon]]''' is a giant, white radish popular in Japanese cooking.
*'''[[wikipedia:Gaijin|Gaijin]]''' is one of the Japanese words for foreigner.
*'''Genjiro'''
*'''Ginzu''' is probably the [[wikipedia:Ginsu|Ginsu knife]].
*'''Hiyata'''
*'''Ichiban''' is the Japanese word for the number 1, or first
*'''Kimba''' refers to the main character in the Japanese animation [[wikipedia:Kimba the White Lion|Kimba, the White Lion]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Katana|Katana]]''' is a Japanese sword.
*'''[[wikipedia:Kudzu|Kudzu]]''' is an Asian plant that can be found in southern Japan.
*'''Naninani''' is Japanese for "such and such"
*'''[[wikipedia:Sushi|Sushi]]''' is Japanese for seasoned rice, usually associated with raw fish.
*'''Tanaka''' is Japanese for unexpected good fortune.
*'''[[wikipedia:Tofu|Tofu]]''' is bean curd, popular in Japanese cooking.
*'''Tora-3''' refers to the radio call announcing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. [[wikipedia:Tora Tora Tora|Tora! Tora! Tora!]]
*'''Wasabe''' is a Japanese condiment, usually spelled [[wikipedia:Wasabi|wasabi]].

====Spathi====
*'''Jinkeze''' is a reference to the catchphrase of [[Wikipedia:Velma Dinkley|Velma Dinkley]], a main character in the [[Wikipedia:Scooby-Doo|Scooby-Doo]] cartoons, which she says when she's is scared or surprised.

====Supox====
*'''Crinoid''' is a reference to the Krynoids, hostile sentient plants in the [[wikipedia:Doctor Who|Doctor Who]] episode ''The Seeds of Doom''.
*'''Trifid''' is a reference to the carnivorous, mobile (and possibly intelligent) plants in [[wikipedia:The Day of the Triffids|The Day of the Triffids]].
*All of the other captain names are parts or types of plants.

====Syreen====
*'''Aelita''' possibly refers to the early Soviet silent film [[wikipedia:Aelita|Aelita:Queen of Mars]].
*'''Alia''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Alia Atreides|St. Alia of the Knife]], the sister of [[wikipedia:Paul Atreides|Paul Atreides]] in the [[wikipedia:Dune universe|Dune series]].
*'''Alura''' is possibly a reference either to Princess Allura in the [[wikipedia:Voltron|Voltron]] cartoon series or to the mother of [[wikipedia:Supergirl|Supergirl]].
*'''Ardala''' is a reference to the Princess Ardala, nemesis of Buck Rogers.
*'''Be'lit''' is a possible reference to [[wikipedia:Belit|Belit]], a pirate queen in the [[wikipedia:Conan the Barbarian|Conan the Barbarian]] stories.
*'''Brawne''' refers to Brawne Lamia, a character in Dan Simmons' [[wikipedia:Hyperion Cantos|Hyperion Cantos]] books.
*'''Dale''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Dale Arden|Dale Arden]], the girlfriend of [[wikipedia:Flash Gordon|Flash Gordon]].
*'''Danning''' is a reference to the actress [[wikipedia:Sybil Danning|Sybil Danning]].
*'''Dejah''' is a reference to Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, in the [[wikipedia:Barsoom series|Barsoom series]] by [[wikipedia:Edgar Rice Burroughs|Edgar Rice Burroughs]].
*'''Maya''' refers to the attractive female [[wikipedia:Space 1999|Space: 1999]] character gifted with shapeshifing abilties.
*'''Munro''' possibly refers to another genre actress, [[wikipedia:Caroline Munro|Caroline Munro]].
*'''Penny''' possibly refers to the lead female character in the movie [[wikipedia:The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension|The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension]].
*'''Ripley''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Ellen Ripley|Lieutenant Ripley]], as portrayed by [[wikipedia:Sigourney Weaver|Sigourney Weaver]] in the movie [[wikipedia:Alien (movie)|Alien]].
*'''Sparta''' is a reference to the beautiful female protagonist with a mysterious past in the Venus Prime series by [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]] and [[wikipedia:Paul Preuss|Paul Preuss]].
*'''Teela''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Teela Brown|Teela Brown]], one of the heroines of the Larry Niven's [[wikipedia:Ringworld|Ringworld]] novels.
*'''Yarr''' may be a reference to [[wikipedia:Natasha Yar|Natasha Yar]] who appeared in [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]].

====Umgah====
*'''Brewz'k''' is likely the slang word brewski.
*'''Ei'Ei'o''' is probably referring to the refrain of the children's song "Old Macdonald had a farm".

====Zoq Fot Pik====
*'''RinTin''' is likely named after the famous movie dog [[wikipedia:Rin Tin Tin|Rin Tin Tin]].

==Ship Designs==
*The '''[[Earthling]] [[Cruiser]]''' seems to be inspired by the Federation Starships from [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*The '''[[Syreen]] [[Penetrator]]''' is shaped after the [[wikipedia:V-2 rocket|V-2 rocket]], and a dildo.

==Constellation names==
According to the [[HyperSpace]] starmap, the names for the HyperSpace constellations were taken from "traditional astronomical designations." These are the in-game star and constellation names that don't directly correspond to real life astronomical designations. (Some, such as Lalande and Wolf, appear to be derived from astronomical designations).
*'''Arianni'''
*'''Brahe''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Tycho Brahe|Tycho Brahe]], the famous Danish astronomer of the 16th century.
*'''Cerenkov''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov|Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov]], a Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate.
*'''Chandrasekhar''' is a reference to the Indian-American astrophysicist [[Wikipedia:Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar|Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar]], famous for his work on stellar evolution and black holes.
*'''Copernicus''' is a reference [[Wikipedia:Nicolaus Copernicus|Nicolaus Copernicus]], the polish astronomer who proposed the sun was the center of the solar system.
*'''Gorno''' is a possible reference to the [[Wikipedia:Gorn|Gorn]], a race in [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Hyginus''' is a reference to the attributed author of [[Wikipedia:Poeticon astronomicon|Poeticon astronomicon]].
*'''Hyperion''' is a reference to the main setting of Dan Simmons' [[wikipedia:Hyperion Cantos|Hyperion Cantos]].
*'''Illuminati''' is a reference to a variety of conspiracy theories, especially those of the [[Wikipedia:Illuminati|Bavarian Illuminati]].
*'''Kepler''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Johannes Kepler|Johannes Kepler]] who discovered the three laws of planetary motion.
*'''Klystron''' is a reference to a kind of vacuum tube used in early radar systems.
*'''Lentilis'''
*'''Lipi'''
*'''Maksutov''' is likely a reference to the [[Wikipedia:Maksutov telescope|Maksutov telescope]] invented by the Russian optician [[Wikipedia:Dimtri Maksutov|Dimtri Maksutov]].
*'''Mersenne''' is a reference to [http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Mersenne.html Marin Mersenne] a Minim friar who lived in France from 1588-1648 and was a major founder of number theory.
*'''Metis''' is a moon of Jupiter, and correspondingly a character in Roman mythology.
*'''Olber''' is likely a reference to [[Wikipedia:Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers|Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers]], a German astronomer.
*'''Organon''' is likely a reference to [[Wikipedia:Organia|Organia]], an important location in [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Ptolemae''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Ptolemy|Claudius Ptolemaius]], an ancient astronomer whose Geocentric views Copernicus replaced.
*'''Raynet''' is possibly a misspelling of "Rayet", an existing astronomical designation
*'''Saurus'''
*'''Squidi'''
*'''Vitalis'''
*'''Zeeman''' is possibly a reference to the physicist [[Wikipedia:Pieter Zeeman|Pieter Zeeman]] for whom a [[Wikipedia:Zeeman (crater)|crater]] on the moon is named.

[[Category:Game mechanics]]

Influences and references

2005-12-27T22:10:02Z

Death 999: Spelling of Ptolemy's name. Der.

{{stub}}

The [[Star Control|Star Control 1]] manual mentions "Inspired by the Works of Fiction of: [[wikipedia:Orson Scott Card|Orson Scott Card]], [[wikipedia:Larry Niven|Larry Niven]], [[wikipedia:Andre Norton|Andre Norton]], [[wikipedia:David Brin|David Brin]], [[wikipedia:Robert A. Heinlein|Robert A. Heinlein]], [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]], [[wikipedia:Jack Vance|Jack Vance]], [[wikipedia:Alan Dean Foster|Alan Dean Foster]], [[wikipedia:Keith Laumer|Keith Laumer]], [[wikipedia:A. E. Van Vogt|A.E. Van Vogt]], [[wikipedia:E. E. Smith|E.E. "Doc" Smith]], [[wikipedia:Joe Halderman|Joe Halderman]], [[wikipedia:Dan Simmons|Dan Simmons]], [[wikipedia:Fred Saberhagen|Fred Saberhagen]] and 100 worthy others."

The [[Arilou]]'s final remark "Be seeing you..." may be a reference to the tv series [[wikipedia:The Prisoner|The Prisoner]].

The [[Orz]] and the disappearance of the [[Androsynth]] were influenced by [[wikipedia:H. P. Lovecraft|H. P. Lovecraft]]'s writings. (XXX: need more exact references).

[[The Captain]]'s remark to the [[Pkunk]] "Hey! Bird-brains! Got any fruit loops? Har-har-har!" refers to a brand of breakfast cereal called [[wikipedia:Froot Loops|Fruit Loops]], which features a toucan resembling the Pkunk as its mascotte.

The [[Ilwrath]] were named after a friend of the creators (XXX: both?) named McIlwraith.

The name [[Melnorme]] is a reference to jazz singer [[wikipedia:Mel Tormé|Mel Tormé]].

When the [[Spathi]] [[The Safe Ones|Safe Ones]] ask the player for the [[Secret Spathi Cypher]], one of the incorrect options is "Wagh-nagl Fthagn", which spelled a little bit differently ("Wgah'nagl Fhtagn") comes from "''Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!''", a liturgical phrase in H. P. Lovecraft's [[wikipedia:Cthulhu mythos|Cthulu mythos]].

One of the other options for the Spathi Cypher, "Gort, merenga!" comes from the movie "[[wikipedia:The Day the Earth Stood Still|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]".

The [[Syreen]] are based on the [[wikipedia:Siren|Siren]]s from classical mythology. They were sea nymphs who would use enchanting song to lure ships onto the cliffs.

The [[Yehat]] are inspired by the [[wikipedia:Scottish clan|Scottish clan]]s.

"[[Cheep-Guava]]", the name of the head of the [[Yehat]] revolution, is a pun on "[[Wikipedia:Che Guevara|Che Guevara]]", the Cuban revolutionary leader.

The [[Shofixti]] are inspired by the historical [[wikipedia:History of Japan|Japanese culture]].
"[[Kyabetsu]]", the name of the former Shofixti homeworld, means "cabbage".

The Mosquito Mange is mentioned in the [[Androsynth]] computer records immediately prior to their disappearance. It is a reference to the term found in [[wikipedia:Roadside Picnic|Roadside Picnic]] refering to graviconcentrates - areas of heightened and directed gravity.

The ''Roadside Picnic'' might also be the inspiration for the 'Empties'. In the novel they are one of the common alien artifacts found in the Zones. In the game they are a [[Precursor]] artifact that Commander [[Hayes]] mentions in relation to the [[Ultron]].

The name [[Androsynth]] is taken from the Greek "andros" ("man") and "synthetic" from Greek "syn" ("together") and "thesis" ("put"), or as the [[Star Control II]] manual says it "fake men".

The [[Mycon]] is taken from the Greek prefix "myc-" or "myco-", which means Fungus.

[[Tanaka]]'s opening comments, "you killed my father, my mother, my many brothers, all six of my sisters - prepare to die," may pay homage to the movie [[wikipedia:The Princess Bride|The Princess Bride]], in which the character [[wikipedia:Inigo Montoya|Inigo Montoya]] has prepared a similar comment for when he confronts his father's murderer, [[wikipedia:Count Rugen|Count Rugen]].

When you choose the aggressive lines to speak towards the [[Slylandro]] [[Probe]]s, the third time you get the response "ENACTING THIRD LAW." before combat is initiated. This refers to [[wikipedia:Isaac Asimov|Isaac Asimov]]'s [[wikipedia:Three Laws of Robotics|Three Laws of Robotics]]. The third law says "A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.". The Probe's version must not have the first clause as the first law says "A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.". (Alternatively, its First Law applies to solely to its creator race, which grant humans and other sentients no special protection.) Also the [[Slylandro]] will go "to seek out new life and new civilizations, to go where no catalog item 2418 Remote Self-replicating robot probe had gone before." when asked about the programming of the probes, a reference to Star Trek.

When the [[Utwig]] are trying to tell you what to do with the [[Precursor Bomb]], at one point they say that the "Bomb must be...Hugged." This is likely a reference to the movie [[Wikipedia:Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb|Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]].

One of the ways that the Utwig determined that the [[Ultron]] could have been saved was by cushioning the fall with a fuzzy wumpus. A Wumpus is a mysterious monster from the famous, early computer game [[Wikipedia:Hunt the Wumpus|Hunt the Wumpus]].

When describing the [[Kohr-Ah]], the Utwig say that their stated purpose is "to seek out new life and new civilizations...and then annihilate them," a clear play on the mission statement of the [[Wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] of [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]] fame.

==Ship Captains==
Numerous ship captain names are actually references.

====Androsynth====
*'''1040-EZ''' is a common [[wikipedia:Form 1040EZ|tax return form]] in the United States.
*'''976-KILL''' is probably meant as an American phone number. It may also refer to the movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094597/ 976-EVIL]. The "976" prefix is reserved for pay services.
*'''[[wikipedia:AK-47|AK-47]]''' is the famous Avtomat Kalashnikova assault rifle
*'''BHS-79''' ''(just a wild guess here- is this the initials of one of the high schools they attended, and their graduation date?)''
*'''BIM-XT''' is an anagram for the [[wikipedia:IBM XT|IBM XT]] personal computer from the early 1980s
*'''BOOJI-1''' is a possible reference to the character [[wikipedia:Booji Boy|Booji Boy]] from the band [[wikipedia:Devo|Devo]].
*'''CRC-16''' is a 16 bits "[[wikipedia:Cyclic redundancy check|Cyclic redundancy check]] (an error-detecting checksum).
*'''DORN-3''' may be a reference to artist John Alfred Dorn III, who did several illustrations for the novels of [[wikipedia:Stanisław Lem|Stanisław Lem]]. It could also be a reference [[wikipedia:Michael Dorn|Michael Dorn]] who played Lt. Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
*'''DOS-1.0''' is a reference to one or all of the various early disk operating systems ([[wikipedia:PC-DIS|PC-DOS]], [[wikipedia:MS-DOS|MS-DOS]], [[wikipedia:Apple DOS|Apple DOS]], etc).
*'''HAL-2001''' is a reference to the [[wikipedia:HAL 9000|HAL 9000]] computer from [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]]'s [[wikipedia:2001: A Space Odyssey|2001: A Space Odyssey]]
*'''JOR-15''' might be a reference to [[wikipedia:Jor-El|Jor-El]], superman's biological father in the DC comics universe.
*'''KORB-7B'''
*'''ME-262''' is a reference to the Messerschmitt [[wikipedia:Me-262|Me-262]], the first operational jet powered aircraft.
*'''NECRO-99''' may be a reference to the robot NECRON-99 from the movie [[wikipedia:Wizards (movie)|Wizards]].
*'''SR-71''' is a reference to the Lockheed [[wikipedia:SR-71|SR-71 Blackbird]], an advanced reconnaissance aircraft.
*'''[[wikipedia:Merkur XR4Ti|XR4-TI]]''' was a car model manufactured by the short-lived [[wikipedia:Merkur|Merkur]] brand.

====Human====
*'''Adama''' is the captain of the [[wikipedia:Battlestar Galactica|Battlestar Galactica]] in the television series by the same name.
*'''Belt''' is a reference to Henry Belt, captain of a solar sail vessel in Jack Vance's short story ''Sail 25''.
*'''Buck''' refers to [[wikipedia:Buck Rogers|Buck Rogers]], a character who appeared in popular Sci-fi serials in the late 30's, as well as a later television series.
*'''Decker''' is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Willard Decker|Willard Decker]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the movie [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Motion Picture|Star Trek: The Motion Picture]].
*'''Ender''' is a reference to the main character of the Orson Scott Card novel [[wikipedia:Ender's Game|Ender's Game]].
*'''Graeme''' is a reference to Donal Graeme, a protagonist in the [[wikipedia: Childe Cycle|Childe Cycle]] novels by [[wikipedia:Gordon R. Dickson|Gordon R. Dickson]]. ''(This may also be a reference to other characters in this series with this same lastname.)''
*'''Halleck''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Gurney Halleck|Gurney Halleck]] of the [[wikipedia:Dune universe|Dune series]].
*'''Kirk''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:James T. Kirk|James T. Kirk]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the original series of [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Pike''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Christopher Pike|Christopher Pike]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the pilot episode of [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Pirx|Pirx]]''' is a reference to a fictional test pilot in a series of stories by Stanisław Lem.
*'''Solo''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Han Solo|Han Solo]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Millennium Falcon|Millennium Falcon]] in [[wikipedia:Star Wars|Star Wars]] episode 4 through 6.
*'''Spiff''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Spaceman Spiff|Spaceman Spiff]], the fantasy identity of Calvin from [[wikipedia:Calvin and Hobbes|Calvin and Hobbes]]
*'''Trent''' is a reference to Jeff Trent, civilian airline pilot from [[wikipedia:Plan 9 from Outer Space|Plan 9 from Outer Space]]
*'''Tuf''' is a reference to Haviland Tuf, the protagonist in [[wikipedia:Tuf Voyaging|Tuf Voyaging]] by [[wikipedia:George R.R. Martin|George R.R. Martin]].
*'''VanRijn''' is a reference to the merchant prince Nicholas Van Rijn in [[wikipedia:Poul Anderson|Poul Anderson]]'s stories.
*'''Wu''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Louis Wu|Louis Wu]], the protagonist of Larry Niven's [[wikipedia:Ringworld|Ringworld series]].

====Kohr-Ah====
*All of their ship names appear to be '''Death''' followed by a [[wikipedia:Prime_number|prime number]].

====Pkunk====
*'''Tweety''' is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Tweety|Tweety Bird]].
*'''WudStok''' is Snoopy's friend [[wikipedia:Woodstock (Peanuts)|Woodstock]] in the comic strip [[wikipedia:Peanuts|Peanuts]].

====Shofixti====
*'''Bonsai!''' is actually [[wikipedia:Bonsai|the Japanese art of pruning trees]], but is most likely a reference to the cry [[wikipedia:Ten thousand years|Banzai]].
*'''Busu''' is a Japanese word for ugly
*'''Chimchim''' most likely refers to the pet chimpanzee in [[wikipedia:Speed Racer|Speed Racer]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Daikon|Daikon]]''' is a giant, white radish popular in Japanese cooking.
*'''[[wikipedia:Gaijin|Gaijin]]''' is one of the Japanese words for foreigner.
*'''Genjiro'''
*'''Ginzu''' is probably the [[wikipedia:Ginsu|Ginsu knife]].
*'''Hiyata'''
*'''Ichiban''' is the Japanese word for the number 1, or first
*'''Kimba''' refers to the main character in the Japanese animation [[wikipedia:Kimba the White Lion|Kimba, the White Lion]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Katana|Katana]]''' is a Japanese sword.
*'''[[wikipedia:Kudzu|Kudzu]]''' is an Asian plant that can be found in southern Japan.
*'''Naninani''' is Japanese for "such and such"
*'''[[wikipedia:Sushi|Sushi]]''' is Japanese for seasoned rice, usually associated with raw fish.
*'''Tanaka''' is Japanese for unexpected good fortune.
*'''[[wikipedia:Tofu|Tofu]]''' is bean curd, popular in Japanese cooking.
*'''Tora-3''' refers to the radio call announcing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. [[wikipedia:Tora Tora Tora|Tora! Tora! Tora!]]
*'''Wasabe''' is a Japanese condiment, usually spelled [[wikipedia:Wasabi|wasabi]].

====Spathi====
*'''Jinkeze''' is a reference to the catchphrase of [[Wikipedia:Velma Dinkley|Velma Dinkley]], a main character in the [[Wikipedia:Scooby-Doo|Scooby-Doo]] cartoons, which she says when she's is scared or surprised.

====Supox====
*'''Crinoid''' is a reference to the Krynoids, hostile sentient plants in the [[wikipedia:Doctor Who|Doctor Who]] episode ''The Seeds of Doom''.
*'''Trifid''' is a reference to the carnivorous, mobile (and possibly intelligent) plants in [[wikipedia:The Day of the Triffids|The Day of the Triffids]].
*All of the other captain names are parts or types of plants.

====Syreen====
*'''Aelita''' possibly refers to the early Soviet silent film [[wikipedia:Aelita|Aelita:Queen of Mars]].
*'''Alia''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Alia Atreides|St. Alia of the Knife]], the sister of [[wikipedia:Paul Atreides|Paul Atreides]] in the [[wikipedia:Dune universe|Dune series]].
*'''Alura''' is possibly a reference either to Princess Allura in the [[wikipedia:Voltron|Voltron]] cartoon series or to the mother of [[wikipedia:Supergirl|Supergirl]].
*'''Ardala''' is a reference to the Princess Ardala, nemesis of Buck Rogers.
*'''Be'lit''' is a possible reference to [[wikipedia:Belit|Belit]], a pirate queen in the [[wikipedia:Conan the Barbarian|Conan the Barbarian]] stories.
*'''Brawne''' refers to Brawne Lamia, a character in Dan Simmons' [[wikipedia:Hyperion Cantos|Hyperion Cantos]] books.
*'''Dale''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Dale Arden|Dale Arden]], the girlfriend of [[wikipedia:Flash Gordon|Flash Gordon]].
*'''Danning''' is a reference to the actress [[wikipedia:Sybil Danning|Sybil Danning]].
*'''Dejah''' is a reference to Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, in the [[wikipedia:Barsoom series|Barsoom series]] by [[wikipedia:Edgar Rice Burroughs|Edgar Rice Burroughs]].
*'''Maya''' refers to the attractive female [[wikipedia:Space 1999|Space: 1999]] character gifted with shapeshifing abilties.
*'''Munro''' possibly refers to another genre actress, [[wikipedia:Caroline Munro|Caroline Munro]].
*'''Penny''' possibly refers to the lead female character in the movie [[wikipedia:The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension|The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension]].
*'''Ripley''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Ellen Ripley|Lieutenant Ripley]], as portrayed by [[wikipedia:Sigourney Weaver|Sigourney Weaver]] in the movie [[wikipedia:Alien (movie)|Alien]].
*'''Sparta''' is a reference to the beautiful female protagonist with a mysterious past in the Venus Prime series by [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]] and [[wikipedia:Paul Preuss|Paul Preuss]].
*'''Teela''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Teela Brown|Teela Brown]], one of the heroines of the Larry Niven's [[wikipedia:Ringworld|Ringworld]] novels.
*'''Yarr''' may be a reference to [[wikipedia:Natasha Yar|Natasha Yar]] who appeared in [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]].

====Umgah====
*'''Brewz'k''' is likely the slang word brewski.
*'''Ei'Ei'o''' is probably referring to the refrain of the children's song "Old Macdonald had a farm".

====Zoq Fot Pik====
*'''RinTin''' is likely named after the famous movie dog [[wikipedia:Rin Tin Tin|Rin Tin Tin]].

==Ship Designs==
*The '''[[Earthling]] [[Cruiser]]''' seems to be inspired by the Federation Starships from [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*The '''[[Syreen]] [[Penetrator]]''' is shaped after the [[wikipedia:V-2 rocket|V-2 rocket]], and a dildo.

==Constellation names==
According to the [[HyperSpace]] starmap, the names for the HyperSpace constellations were taken from "traditional astronomical designations." These are the in-game star and constellation names that don't directly correspond to real life astronomical designations. (Some, such as Lalande and Wolf, appear to be derived from astronomical designations).
*'''Arianni'''
*'''Brahe''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Tycho Brahe|Tycho Brahe]], the famous Danish astronomer of the 16th century.
*'''Cerenkov''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov|Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov]], a Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate.
*'''Chandrasekhar''' is a reference to the Indian-American astrophysicist [[Wikipedia:Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar|Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar]], famous for his work on stellar evolution and black holes.
*'''Copernicus''' is a reference [[Wikipedia:Nicolaus Copernicus|Nicolaus Copernicus]], the polish astronomer who proposed the sun was the center of the solar system.
*'''Gorno''' is a possible reference to the [[Wikipeida:Gorn|Gorn]], a race in [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Hyginus''' is a reference to the attributed author of [[Wikipedia:Poeticon astronomicon|Poeticon astronomicon]].
*'''Hyperion''' is a reference to the main setting of Dan Simmons' [[wikipedia:Hyperion Cantos|Hyperion Cantos]].
*'''Illuminati''' is a reference to a variety of conspiracy theories, especially those of the [[Wikipedia:Illuminati|Bavarian Illuminati]].
*'''Kepler''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Johannes Kepler|Johannes Kepler]] who discovered the three laws of planetary motion.
*'''Klystron''' is a reference to a kind of vacuum tube used in early radar systems.
*'''Lentilis'''
*'''Lipi'''
*'''Maksutov''' is likely a reference to the [[Wikipedia:Maksutov telescope|Maksutov telescope]] invented by the Russian optician [[Wikipedia:Dimtri Maksutov|Dimtri Maksutov]].
*'''Mersenne''' is a reference to [http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Mersenne.html Marin Mersenne] a Minim friar who lived in France from 1588-1648 and was a major founder of number theory.
*'''Metis''' is a moon of Jupiter, and correspondingly a character in Roman mythology.
*'''Olber''' is likely a reference to [[Wikipedia:Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers|Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers]], a German astronomer.
*'''Organon''' is likely a reference to [[Wikipedia:Organia|Organia]], an important location in [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Ptolemae''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Ptolemy|Claudius Ptolemaius]], an ancient astronomer whose Geocentric views Copernicus replaced.
*'''Raynet''' is possibly a misspelling of "Rayet", an existing astronomical designation
*'''Saurus'''
*'''Squidi'''
*'''Vitalis'''
*'''Zeeman''' is possibly a reference to the physicist [[Wikipedia:Pieter Zeeman|Pieter Zeeman]] for whom a [[Wikipedia:Zeeman (crater)|crater]] on the moon is named.

[[Category:Game mechanics]]

Influences and references

2005-12-27T22:09:24Z

Death 999: Added some references, cut several names that ARE astronomical designations

{{stub}}

The [[Star Control|Star Control 1]] manual mentions "Inspired by the Works of Fiction of: [[wikipedia:Orson Scott Card|Orson Scott Card]], [[wikipedia:Larry Niven|Larry Niven]], [[wikipedia:Andre Norton|Andre Norton]], [[wikipedia:David Brin|David Brin]], [[wikipedia:Robert A. Heinlein|Robert A. Heinlein]], [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]], [[wikipedia:Jack Vance|Jack Vance]], [[wikipedia:Alan Dean Foster|Alan Dean Foster]], [[wikipedia:Keith Laumer|Keith Laumer]], [[wikipedia:A. E. Van Vogt|A.E. Van Vogt]], [[wikipedia:E. E. Smith|E.E. "Doc" Smith]], [[wikipedia:Joe Halderman|Joe Halderman]], [[wikipedia:Dan Simmons|Dan Simmons]], [[wikipedia:Fred Saberhagen|Fred Saberhagen]] and 100 worthy others."

The [[Arilou]]'s final remark "Be seeing you..." may be a reference to the tv series [[wikipedia:The Prisoner|The Prisoner]].

The [[Orz]] and the disappearance of the [[Androsynth]] were influenced by [[wikipedia:H. P. Lovecraft|H. P. Lovecraft]]'s writings. (XXX: need more exact references).

[[The Captain]]'s remark to the [[Pkunk]] "Hey! Bird-brains! Got any fruit loops? Har-har-har!" refers to a brand of breakfast cereal called [[wikipedia:Froot Loops|Fruit Loops]], which features a toucan resembling the Pkunk as its mascotte.

The [[Ilwrath]] were named after a friend of the creators (XXX: both?) named McIlwraith.

The name [[Melnorme]] is a reference to jazz singer [[wikipedia:Mel Tormé|Mel Tormé]].

When the [[Spathi]] [[The Safe Ones|Safe Ones]] ask the player for the [[Secret Spathi Cypher]], one of the incorrect options is "Wagh-nagl Fthagn", which spelled a little bit differently ("Wgah'nagl Fhtagn") comes from "''Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!''", a liturgical phrase in H. P. Lovecraft's [[wikipedia:Cthulhu mythos|Cthulu mythos]].

One of the other options for the Spathi Cypher, "Gort, merenga!" comes from the movie "[[wikipedia:The Day the Earth Stood Still|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]".

The [[Syreen]] are based on the [[wikipedia:Siren|Siren]]s from classical mythology. They were sea nymphs who would use enchanting song to lure ships onto the cliffs.

The [[Yehat]] are inspired by the [[wikipedia:Scottish clan|Scottish clan]]s.

"[[Cheep-Guava]]", the name of the head of the [[Yehat]] revolution, is a pun on "[[Wikipedia:Che Guevara|Che Guevara]]", the Cuban revolutionary leader.

The [[Shofixti]] are inspired by the historical [[wikipedia:History of Japan|Japanese culture]].
"[[Kyabetsu]]", the name of the former Shofixti homeworld, means "cabbage".

The Mosquito Mange is mentioned in the [[Androsynth]] computer records immediately prior to their disappearance. It is a reference to the term found in [[wikipedia:Roadside Picnic|Roadside Picnic]] refering to graviconcentrates - areas of heightened and directed gravity.

The ''Roadside Picnic'' might also be the inspiration for the 'Empties'. In the novel they are one of the common alien artifacts found in the Zones. In the game they are a [[Precursor]] artifact that Commander [[Hayes]] mentions in relation to the [[Ultron]].

The name [[Androsynth]] is taken from the Greek "andros" ("man") and "synthetic" from Greek "syn" ("together") and "thesis" ("put"), or as the [[Star Control II]] manual says it "fake men".

The [[Mycon]] is taken from the Greek prefix "myc-" or "myco-", which means Fungus.

[[Tanaka]]'s opening comments, "you killed my father, my mother, my many brothers, all six of my sisters - prepare to die," may pay homage to the movie [[wikipedia:The Princess Bride|The Princess Bride]], in which the character [[wikipedia:Inigo Montoya|Inigo Montoya]] has prepared a similar comment for when he confronts his father's murderer, [[wikipedia:Count Rugen|Count Rugen]].

When you choose the aggressive lines to speak towards the [[Slylandro]] [[Probe]]s, the third time you get the response "ENACTING THIRD LAW." before combat is initiated. This refers to [[wikipedia:Isaac Asimov|Isaac Asimov]]'s [[wikipedia:Three Laws of Robotics|Three Laws of Robotics]]. The third law says "A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.". The Probe's version must not have the first clause as the first law says "A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.". (Alternatively, its First Law applies to solely to its creator race, which grant humans and other sentients no special protection.) Also the [[Slylandro]] will go "to seek out new life and new civilizations, to go where no catalog item 2418 Remote Self-replicating robot probe had gone before." when asked about the programming of the probes, a reference to Star Trek.

When the [[Utwig]] are trying to tell you what to do with the [[Precursor Bomb]], at one point they say that the "Bomb must be...Hugged." This is likely a reference to the movie [[Wikipedia:Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb|Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]].

One of the ways that the Utwig determined that the [[Ultron]] could have been saved was by cushioning the fall with a fuzzy wumpus. A Wumpus is a mysterious monster from the famous, early computer game [[Wikipedia:Hunt the Wumpus|Hunt the Wumpus]].

When describing the [[Kohr-Ah]], the Utwig say that their stated purpose is "to seek out new life and new civilizations...and then annihilate them," a clear play on the mission statement of the [[Wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] of [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]] fame.

==Ship Captains==
Numerous ship captain names are actually references.

====Androsynth====
*'''1040-EZ''' is a common [[wikipedia:Form 1040EZ|tax return form]] in the United States.
*'''976-KILL''' is probably meant as an American phone number. It may also refer to the movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094597/ 976-EVIL]. The "976" prefix is reserved for pay services.
*'''[[wikipedia:AK-47|AK-47]]''' is the famous Avtomat Kalashnikova assault rifle
*'''BHS-79''' ''(just a wild guess here- is this the initials of one of the high schools they attended, and their graduation date?)''
*'''BIM-XT''' is an anagram for the [[wikipedia:IBM XT|IBM XT]] personal computer from the early 1980s
*'''BOOJI-1''' is a possible reference to the character [[wikipedia:Booji Boy|Booji Boy]] from the band [[wikipedia:Devo|Devo]].
*'''CRC-16''' is a 16 bits "[[wikipedia:Cyclic redundancy check|Cyclic redundancy check]] (an error-detecting checksum).
*'''DORN-3''' may be a reference to artist John Alfred Dorn III, who did several illustrations for the novels of [[wikipedia:Stanisław Lem|Stanisław Lem]]. It could also be a reference [[wikipedia:Michael Dorn|Michael Dorn]] who played Lt. Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
*'''DOS-1.0''' is a reference to one or all of the various early disk operating systems ([[wikipedia:PC-DIS|PC-DOS]], [[wikipedia:MS-DOS|MS-DOS]], [[wikipedia:Apple DOS|Apple DOS]], etc).
*'''HAL-2001''' is a reference to the [[wikipedia:HAL 9000|HAL 9000]] computer from [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]]'s [[wikipedia:2001: A Space Odyssey|2001: A Space Odyssey]]
*'''JOR-15''' might be a reference to [[wikipedia:Jor-El|Jor-El]], superman's biological father in the DC comics universe.
*'''KORB-7B'''
*'''ME-262''' is a reference to the Messerschmitt [[wikipedia:Me-262|Me-262]], the first operational jet powered aircraft.
*'''NECRO-99''' may be a reference to the robot NECRON-99 from the movie [[wikipedia:Wizards (movie)|Wizards]].
*'''SR-71''' is a reference to the Lockheed [[wikipedia:SR-71|SR-71 Blackbird]], an advanced reconnaissance aircraft.
*'''[[wikipedia:Merkur XR4Ti|XR4-TI]]''' was a car model manufactured by the short-lived [[wikipedia:Merkur|Merkur]] brand.

====Human====
*'''Adama''' is the captain of the [[wikipedia:Battlestar Galactica|Battlestar Galactica]] in the television series by the same name.
*'''Belt''' is a reference to Henry Belt, captain of a solar sail vessel in Jack Vance's short story ''Sail 25''.
*'''Buck''' refers to [[wikipedia:Buck Rogers|Buck Rogers]], a character who appeared in popular Sci-fi serials in the late 30's, as well as a later television series.
*'''Decker''' is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Willard Decker|Willard Decker]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the movie [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Motion Picture|Star Trek: The Motion Picture]].
*'''Ender''' is a reference to the main character of the Orson Scott Card novel [[wikipedia:Ender's Game|Ender's Game]].
*'''Graeme''' is a reference to Donal Graeme, a protagonist in the [[wikipedia: Childe Cycle|Childe Cycle]] novels by [[wikipedia:Gordon R. Dickson|Gordon R. Dickson]]. ''(This may also be a reference to other characters in this series with this same lastname.)''
*'''Halleck''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Gurney Halleck|Gurney Halleck]] of the [[wikipedia:Dune universe|Dune series]].
*'''Kirk''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:James T. Kirk|James T. Kirk]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the original series of [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Pike''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Christopher Pike|Christopher Pike]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the pilot episode of [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Pirx|Pirx]]''' is a reference to a fictional test pilot in a series of stories by Stanisław Lem.
*'''Solo''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Han Solo|Han Solo]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Millennium Falcon|Millennium Falcon]] in [[wikipedia:Star Wars|Star Wars]] episode 4 through 6.
*'''Spiff''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Spaceman Spiff|Spaceman Spiff]], the fantasy identity of Calvin from [[wikipedia:Calvin and Hobbes|Calvin and Hobbes]]
*'''Trent''' is a reference to Jeff Trent, civilian airline pilot from [[wikipedia:Plan 9 from Outer Space|Plan 9 from Outer Space]]
*'''Tuf''' is a reference to Haviland Tuf, the protagonist in [[wikipedia:Tuf Voyaging|Tuf Voyaging]] by [[wikipedia:George R.R. Martin|George R.R. Martin]].
*'''VanRijn''' is a reference to the merchant prince Nicholas Van Rijn in [[wikipedia:Poul Anderson|Poul Anderson]]'s stories.
*'''Wu''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Louis Wu|Louis Wu]], the protagonist of Larry Niven's [[wikipedia:Ringworld|Ringworld series]].

====Kohr-Ah====
*All of their ship names appear to be '''Death''' followed by a [[wikipedia:Prime_number|prime number]].

====Pkunk====
*'''Tweety''' is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Tweety|Tweety Bird]].
*'''WudStok''' is Snoopy's friend [[wikipedia:Woodstock (Peanuts)|Woodstock]] in the comic strip [[wikipedia:Peanuts|Peanuts]].

====Shofixti====
*'''Bonsai!''' is actually [[wikipedia:Bonsai|the Japanese art of pruning trees]], but is most likely a reference to the cry [[wikipedia:Ten thousand years|Banzai]].
*'''Busu''' is a Japanese word for ugly
*'''Chimchim''' most likely refers to the pet chimpanzee in [[wikipedia:Speed Racer|Speed Racer]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Daikon|Daikon]]''' is a giant, white radish popular in Japanese cooking.
*'''[[wikipedia:Gaijin|Gaijin]]''' is one of the Japanese words for foreigner.
*'''Genjiro'''
*'''Ginzu''' is probably the [[wikipedia:Ginsu|Ginsu knife]].
*'''Hiyata'''
*'''Ichiban''' is the Japanese word for the number 1, or first
*'''Kimba''' refers to the main character in the Japanese animation [[wikipedia:Kimba the White Lion|Kimba, the White Lion]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Katana|Katana]]''' is a Japanese sword.
*'''[[wikipedia:Kudzu|Kudzu]]''' is an Asian plant that can be found in southern Japan.
*'''Naninani''' is Japanese for "such and such"
*'''[[wikipedia:Sushi|Sushi]]''' is Japanese for seasoned rice, usually associated with raw fish.
*'''Tanaka''' is Japanese for unexpected good fortune.
*'''[[wikipedia:Tofu|Tofu]]''' is bean curd, popular in Japanese cooking.
*'''Tora-3''' refers to the radio call announcing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. [[wikipedia:Tora Tora Tora|Tora! Tora! Tora!]]
*'''Wasabe''' is a Japanese condiment, usually spelled [[wikipedia:Wasabi|wasabi]].

====Spathi====
*'''Jinkeze''' is a reference to the catchphrase of [[Wikipedia:Velma Dinkley|Velma Dinkley]], a main character in the [[Wikipedia:Scooby-Doo|Scooby-Doo]] cartoons, which she says when she's is scared or surprised.

====Supox====
*'''Crinoid''' is a reference to the Krynoids, hostile sentient plants in the [[wikipedia:Doctor Who|Doctor Who]] episode ''The Seeds of Doom''.
*'''Trifid''' is a reference to the carnivorous, mobile (and possibly intelligent) plants in [[wikipedia:The Day of the Triffids|The Day of the Triffids]].
*All of the other captain names are parts or types of plants.

====Syreen====
*'''Aelita''' possibly refers to the early Soviet silent film [[wikipedia:Aelita|Aelita:Queen of Mars]].
*'''Alia''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Alia Atreides|St. Alia of the Knife]], the sister of [[wikipedia:Paul Atreides|Paul Atreides]] in the [[wikipedia:Dune universe|Dune series]].
*'''Alura''' is possibly a reference either to Princess Allura in the [[wikipedia:Voltron|Voltron]] cartoon series or to the mother of [[wikipedia:Supergirl|Supergirl]].
*'''Ardala''' is a reference to the Princess Ardala, nemesis of Buck Rogers.
*'''Be'lit''' is a possible reference to [[wikipedia:Belit|Belit]], a pirate queen in the [[wikipedia:Conan the Barbarian|Conan the Barbarian]] stories.
*'''Brawne''' refers to Brawne Lamia, a character in Dan Simmons' [[wikipedia:Hyperion Cantos|Hyperion Cantos]] books.
*'''Dale''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Dale Arden|Dale Arden]], the girlfriend of [[wikipedia:Flash Gordon|Flash Gordon]].
*'''Danning''' is a reference to the actress [[wikipedia:Sybil Danning|Sybil Danning]].
*'''Dejah''' is a reference to Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, in the [[wikipedia:Barsoom series|Barsoom series]] by [[wikipedia:Edgar Rice Burroughs|Edgar Rice Burroughs]].
*'''Maya''' refers to the attractive female [[wikipedia:Space 1999|Space: 1999]] character gifted with shapeshifing abilties.
*'''Munro''' possibly refers to another genre actress, [[wikipedia:Caroline Munro|Caroline Munro]].
*'''Penny''' possibly refers to the lead female character in the movie [[wikipedia:The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension|The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension]].
*'''Ripley''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Ellen Ripley|Lieutenant Ripley]], as portrayed by [[wikipedia:Sigourney Weaver|Sigourney Weaver]] in the movie [[wikipedia:Alien (movie)|Alien]].
*'''Sparta''' is a reference to the beautiful female protagonist with a mysterious past in the Venus Prime series by [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]] and [[wikipedia:Paul Preuss|Paul Preuss]].
*'''Teela''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Teela Brown|Teela Brown]], one of the heroines of the Larry Niven's [[wikipedia:Ringworld|Ringworld]] novels.
*'''Yarr''' may be a reference to [[wikipedia:Natasha Yar|Natasha Yar]] who appeared in [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]].

====Umgah====
*'''Brewz'k''' is likely the slang word brewski.
*'''Ei'Ei'o''' is probably referring to the refrain of the children's song "Old Macdonald had a farm".

====Zoq Fot Pik====
*'''RinTin''' is likely named after the famous movie dog [[wikipedia:Rin Tin Tin|Rin Tin Tin]].

==Ship Designs==
*The '''[[Earthling]] [[Cruiser]]''' seems to be inspired by the Federation Starships from [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*The '''[[Syreen]] [[Penetrator]]''' is shaped after the [[wikipedia:V-2 rocket|V-2 rocket]], and a dildo.

==Constellation names==
According to the [[HyperSpace]] starmap, the names for the HyperSpace constellations were taken from "traditional astronomical designations." These are the in-game star and constellation names that don't directly correspond to real life astronomical designations. (Some, such as Lalande and Wolf, appear to be derived from astronomical designations).
*'''Arianni'''
*'''Brahe''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Tycho Brahe|Tycho Brahe]], the famous Danish astronomer of the 16th century.
*'''Cerenkov''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov|Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov]], a Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate.
*'''Chandrasekhar''' is a reference to the Indian-American astrophysicist [[Wikipedia:Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar|Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar]], famous for his work on stellar evolution and black holes.
*'''Copernicus''' is a reference [[Wikipedia:Nicolaus Copernicus|Nicolaus Copernicus]], the polish astronomer who proposed the sun was the center of the solar system.
*'''Gorno''' is a possible reference to the [[Wikipeida:Gorn|Gorn]], a race in [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Hyginus''' is a reference to the attributed author of [[Wikipedia:Poeticon astronomicon|Poeticon astronomicon]].
*'''Hyperion''' is a reference to the main setting of Dan Simmons' [[wikipedia:Hyperion Cantos|Hyperion Cantos]].
*'''Illuminati''' is a reference to a variety of conspiracy theories, especially those of the [[Wikipedia:Illuminati|Bavarian Illuminati]].
*'''Kepler''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Johannes Kepler|Johannes Kepler]] who discovered the three laws of planetary motion.
*'''Klystron''' is a reference to a kind of vacuum tube used in early radar systems.
*'''Lentilis'''
*'''Lipi'''
*'''Maksutov''' is likely a reference to the [[Wikipedia:Maksutov telescope|Maksutov telescope]] invented by the Russian optician [[Wikipedia:Dimtri Maksutov|Dimtri Maksutov]].
*'''Mersenne''' is a reference to [http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Mersenne.html Marin Mersenne] a Minim friar who lived in France from 1588-1648 and was a major founder of number theory.
*'''Metis''' is a moon of Jupiter, and correspondingly a character in Roman mythology.
*'''Olber''' is likely a reference to [[Wikipedia:Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers|Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers]], a German astronomer.
*'''Organon''' is likely a reference to [[Wikipedia:Organia|Organia]], an important location in [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Ptolemae''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Ptolemy|Claudisu Ptolemaius]], an ancient astronomer whose Geocentric views Copernicus replaced.
*'''Raynet''' is possibly a misspelling of "Rayet", an existing astronomical designation
*'''Saurus'''
*'''Squidi'''
*'''Vitalis'''
*'''Zeeman''' is possibly a reference to the physicist [[Wikipedia:Pieter Zeeman|Pieter Zeeman]] for whom a [[Wikipedia:Zeeman (crater)|crater]] on the moon is named.

[[Category:Game mechanics]]

Influences and references

2005-12-27T21:50:24Z

Death 999: Spelling; Tora-3 refers to history, not just a movie.

{{stub}}

The [[Star Control|Star Control 1]] manual mentions "Inspired by the Works of Fiction of: [[wikipedia:Orson Scott Card|Orson Scott Card]], [[wikipedia:Larry Niven|Larry Niven]], [[wikipedia:Andre Norton|Andre Norton]], [[wikipedia:David Brin|David Brin]], [[wikipedia:Robert A. Heinlein|Robert A. Heinlein]], [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]], [[wikipedia:Jack Vance|Jack Vance]], [[wikipedia:Alan Dean Foster|Alan Dean Foster]], [[wikipedia:Keith Laumer|Keith Laumer]], [[wikipedia:A. E. Van Vogt|A.E. Van Vogt]], [[wikipedia:E. E. Smith|E.E. "Doc" Smith]], [[wikipedia:Joe Halderman|Joe Halderman]], [[wikipedia:Dan Simmons|Dan Simmons]], [[wikipedia:Fred Saberhagen|Fred Saberhagen]] and 100 worthy others."

The [[Arilou]]'s final remark "Be seeing you..." may be a reference to the tv series [[wikipedia:The Prisoner|The Prisoner]].

The [[Orz]] and the disappearance of the [[Androsynth]] were influenced by [[wikipedia:H. P. Lovecraft|H. P. Lovecraft]]'s writings. (XXX: need more exact references).

[[The Captain]]'s remark to the [[Pkunk]] "Hey! Bird-brains! Got any fruit loops? Har-har-har!" refers to a brand of breakfast cereal called [[wikipedia:Froot Loops|Fruit Loops]], which features a toucan resembling the Pkunk as its mascotte.

The [[Ilwrath]] were named after a friend of the creators (XXX: both?) named McIlwraith.

The name [[Melnorme]] is a reference to jazz singer [[wikipedia:Mel Tormé|Mel Tormé]].

When the [[Spathi]] [[The Safe Ones|Safe Ones]] ask the player for the [[Secret Spathi Cypher]], one of the incorrect options is "Wagh-nagl Fthagn", which spelled a little bit differently ("Wgah'nagl Fhtagn") comes from "''Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!''", a liturgical phrase in H. P. Lovecraft's [[wikipedia:Cthulhu mythos|Cthulu mythos]].

One of the other options for the Spathi Cypher, "Gort, merenga!" comes from the movie "[[wikipedia:The Day the Earth Stood Still|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]".

The [[Syreen]] are based on the [[wikipedia:Siren|Siren]]s from classical mythology. They were sea nymphs who would use enchanting song to lure ships onto the cliffs.

The [[Yehat]] are inspired by the [[wikipedia:Scottish clan|Scottish clan]]s.

"[[Cheep-Guava]]", the name of the head of the [[Yehat]] revolution, is a pun on "[[Wikipedia:Che Guevara|Che Guevara]]", the Cuban revolutionary leader.

The [[Shofixti]] are inspired by the historical [[wikipedia:History of Japan|Japanese culture]].
"[[Kyabetsu]]", the name of the former Shofixti homeworld, means "cabbage".

The Mosquito Mange is mentioned in the [[Androsynth]] computer records immediately prior to their disappearance. It is a reference to the term found in [[wikipedia:Roadside Picnic|Roadside Picnic]] refering to graviconcentrates - areas of heightened and directed gravity.

The ''Roadside Picnic'' might also be the inspiration for the 'Empties'. In the novel they are one of the common alien artifacts found in the Zones. In the game they are a [[Precursor]] artifact that Commander [[Hayes]] mentions in relation to the [[Ultron]].

The name [[Androsynth]] is taken from the Greek "andros" ("man") and "synthetic" from Greek "syn" ("together") and "thesis" ("put"), or as the [[Star Control II]] manual says it "fake men".

The [[Mycon]] is taken from the Greek prefix "myc-" or "myco-", which means Fungus.

[[Tanaka]]'s opening comments, "you killed my father, my mother, my many brothers, all six of my sisters - prepare to die," may pay homage to the movie [[wikipedia:The Princess Bride|The Princess Bride]], in which the character [[wikipedia:Inigo Montoya|Inigo Montoya]] has prepared a similar comment for when he confronts his father's murderer, [[wikipedia:Count Rugen|Count Rugen]].

When you choose the aggressive lines to speak towards the [[Slylandro]] [[Probe]]s, the third time you get the response "ENACTING THIRD LAW." before combat is initiated. This refers to [[wikipedia:Isaac Asimov|Isaac Asimov]]'s [[wikipedia:Three Laws of Robotics|Three Laws of Robotics]]. The third law says "A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.". The Probe's version must not have the first clause as the first law says "A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.". (Alternatively, its First Law applies to solely to its creator race, which grant humans and other sentients no special protection.) Also the [[Slylandro]] will go "to seek out new life and new civilizations, to go where no catalog item 2418 Remote Self-replicating robot probe had gone before." when asked about the programming of the probes, a reference to Star Trek.

When the [[Utwig]] are trying to tell you what to do with the [[Precursor Bomb]], at one point they say that the "Bomb must be...Hugged." This is likely a reference to the movie [[Wikipedia:Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb|Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]].

One of the ways that the Utwig determined that the [[Ultron]] could have been saved was by cushioning the fall with a fuzzy wumpus. A Wumpus is a mysterious monster from the famous, early computer game [[Wikipedia:Hunt the Wumpus|Hunt the Wumpus]].

When describing the [[Kohr-Ah]], the Utwig say that their stated purpose is "to seek out new life and new civilizations...and then annihilate them," a clear play on the mission statement of the [[Wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] of [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]] fame.

==Ship Captains==
Numerous ship captain names are actually references.

====Androsynth====
*'''1040-EZ''' is a common [[wikipedia:Form 1040EZ|tax return form]] in the United States.
*'''976-KILL''' is probably meant as an American phone number. It may also refer to the movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094597/ 976-EVIL]. The "976" prefix is reserved for pay services.
*'''[[wikipedia:AK-47|AK-47]]''' is the famous Avtomat Kalashnikova assault rifle
*'''BHS-79''' ''(just a wild guess here- is this the initials of one of the high schools they attended, and their graduation date?)''
*'''BIM-XT''' is an anagram for the [[wikipedia:IBM XT|IBM XT]] personal computer from the early 1980s
*'''BOOJI-1''' is a possible reference to the character [[wikipedia:Booji Boy|Booji Boy]] from the band [[wikipedia:Devo|Devo]].
*'''CRC-16''' is a 16 bits "[[wikipedia:Cyclic redundancy check|Cyclic redundancy check]] (an error-detecting checksum).
*'''DORN-3''' may be a reference to artist John Alfred Dorn III, who did several illustrations for the novels of [[wikipedia:Stanisław Lem|Stanisław Lem]]. It could also be a reference [[wikipedia:Michael Dorn|Michael Dorn]] who played Lt. Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
*'''DOS-1.0''' is a reference to one or all of the various early disk operating systems ([[wikipedia:PC-DIS|PC-DOS]], [[wikipedia:MS-DOS|MS-DOS]], [[wikipedia:Apple DOS|Apple DOS]], etc).
*'''HAL-2001''' is a reference to the [[wikipedia:HAL 9000|HAL 9000]] computer from [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]]'s [[wikipedia:2001: A Space Odyssey|2001: A Space Odyssey]]
*'''JOR-15''' might be a reference to [[wikipedia:Jor-El|Jor-El]], superman's biological father in the DC comics universe.
*'''KORB-7B'''
*'''ME-262''' is a reference to the Messerschmitt [[wikipedia:Me-262|Me-262]], the first operational jet powered aircraft.
*'''NECRO-99''' may be a reference to the robot NECRON-99 from the movie [[wikipedia:Wizards (movie)|Wizards]].
*'''SR-71''' is a reference to the Lockheed [[wikipedia:SR-71|SR-71 Blackbird]], an advanced reconnaissance aircraft.
*'''[[wikipedia:Merkur XR4Ti|XR4-TI]]''' was a car model manufactured by the short-lived [[wikipedia:Merkur|Merkur]] brand.

====Human====
*'''Adama''' is the captain of the [[wikipedia:Battlestar Galactica|Battlestar Galactica]] in the television series by the same name.
*'''Belt''' is a reference to Henry Belt, captain of a solar sail vessel in Jack Vance's short story ''Sail 25''.
*'''Buck''' refers to [[wikipedia:Buck Rogers|Buck Rogers]], a character who appeared in popular Sci-fi serials in the late 30's, as well as a later television series.
*'''Decker''' is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Willard Decker|Willard Decker]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the movie [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Motion Picture|Star Trek: The Motion Picture]].
*'''Ender''' is a reference to the main character of the Orson Scott Card novel [[wikipedia:Ender's Game|Ender's Game]].
*'''Graeme''' is a reference to Donal Graeme, a protagonist in the [[wikipedia: Childe Cycle|Childe Cycle]] novels by [[wikipedia:Gordon R. Dickson|Gordon R. Dickson]]. ''(This may also be a reference to other characters in this series with this same lastname.)''
*'''Halleck''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Gurney Halleck|Gurney Halleck]] of the [[wikipedia:Dune universe|Dune series]].
*'''Kirk''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:James T. Kirk|James T. Kirk]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the original series of [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''Pike''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Christopher Pike|Christopher Pike]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Starship Enterprise|Starship Enterprise]] NCC-1701 in the pilot episode of [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Pirx|Pirx]]''' is a reference to a fictional test pilot in a series of stories by Stanisław Lem.
*'''Solo''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Han Solo|Han Solo]], captain of the [[wikipedia:Millennium Falcon|Millennium Falcon]] in [[wikipedia:Star Wars|Star Wars]] episode 4 through 6.
*'''Spiff''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Spaceman Spiff|Spaceman Spiff]], the fantasy identity of Calvin from [[wikipedia:Calvin and Hobbes|Calvin and Hobbes]]
*'''Trent''' is a reference to Jeff Trent, civilian airline pilot from [[wikipedia:Plan 9 from Outer Space|Plan 9 from Outer Space]]
*'''Tuf''' is a reference to Haviland Tuf, the protagonist in [[wikipedia:Tuf Voyaging|Tuf Voyaging]] by [[wikipedia:George R.R. Martin|George R.R. Martin]].
*'''VanRijn''' is a reference to the merchant prince Nicholas Van Rijn in [[wikipedia:Poul Anderson|Poul Anderson]]'s stories.
*'''Wu''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Louis Wu|Louis Wu]], the protagonist of Larry Niven's [[wikipedia:Ringworld|Ringworld series]].

====Kohr-Ah====
*All of their ship names appear to be '''Death''' followed by a [[wikipedia:Prime_number|prime number]].

====Pkunk====
*'''Tweety''' is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Tweety|Tweety Bird]].
*'''WudStok''' is Snoopy's friend [[wikipedia:Woodstock (Peanuts)|Woodstock]] in the comic strip [[wikipedia:Peanuts|Peanuts]].

====Shofixti====
*'''Bonsai!''' is actually [[wikipedia:Bonsai|the Japanese art of pruning trees]], but is most likely a reference to the cry [[wikipedia:Ten thousand years|Banzai]].
*'''Busu''' is a Japanese word for ugly
*'''Chimchim''' most likely refers to the pet chimpanzee in [[wikipedia:Speed Racer|Speed Racer]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Daikon|Daikon]]''' is a giant, white radish popular in Japanese cooking.
*'''[[wikipedia:Gaijin|Gaijin]]''' is one of the Japanese words for foreigner.
*'''Genjiro'''
*'''Ginzu''' is probably the [[wikipedia:Ginsu|Ginsu knife]].
*'''Hiyata'''
*'''Ichiban''' is the Japanese word for the number 1, or first
*'''Kimba''' refers to the main character in the Japanese animation [[wikipedia:Kimba the White Lion|Kimba, the White Lion]].
*'''[[wikipedia:Katana|Katana]]''' is a Japanese sword.
*'''[[wikipedia:Kudzu|Kudzu]]''' is an Asian plant that can be found in southern Japan.
*'''Naninani''' is Japanese for "such and such"
*'''[[wikipedia:Sushi|Sushi]]''' is Japanese for seasoned rice, usually associated with raw fish.
*'''Tanaka''' is Japanese for unexpected good fortune.
*'''[[wikipedia:Tofu|Tofu]]''' is bean curd, popular in Japanese cooking.
*'''Tora-3''' refers to the radio call announcing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. [[wikipedia:Tora Tora Tora|Tora! Tora! Tora!]]
*'''Wasabe''' is a Japanese condiment, usually spelled [[wikipedia:Wasabi|wasabi]].

====Spathi====
*'''Jinkeze''' is a reference to the catchphrase of [[Wikipedia:Velma Dinkley|Velma Dinkley]], a main character in the [[Wikipedia:Scooby-Doo|Scooby-Doo]] cartoons, which she says when she's is scared or surprised.

====Supox====
*'''Crinoid''' is a reference to the Krynoids, hostile sentient plants in the [[wikipedia:Doctor Who|Doctor Who]] episode ''The Seeds of Doom''.
*'''Trifid''' is a reference to the carnivorous, mobile (and possibly intelligent) plants in [[wikipedia:The Day of the Triffids|The Day of the Triffids]].
*All of the other captain names are parts or types of plants.

====Syreen====
*'''Aelita''' possibly refers to the early Soviet silent film [[wikipedia:Aelita|Aelita:Queen of Mars]].
*'''Alia''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Alia Atreides|St. Alia of the Knife]], the sister of [[wikipedia:Paul Atreides|Paul Atreides]] in the [[wikipedia:Dune universe|Dune series]].
*'''Alura''' is possibly a reference either to Princess Allura in the [[wikipedia:Voltron|Voltron]] cartoon series or to the mother of [[wikipedia:Supergirl|Supergirl]].
*'''Ardala''' is a reference to the Princess Ardala, nemesis of Buck Rogers.
*'''Be'lit''' is a possible reference to [[wikipedia:Belit|Belit]], a pirate queen in the [[wikipedia:Conan the Barbarian|Conan the Barbarian]] stories.
*'''Brawne''' refers to Brawne Lamia, a character in Dan Simmons' [[wikipedia:Hyperion Cantos|Hyperion Cantos]] books.
*'''Dale''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Dale Arden|Dale Arden]], the girlfriend of [[wikipedia:Flash Gordon|Flash Gordon]].
*'''Danning''' is a reference to the actress [[wikipedia:Sybil Danning|Sybil Danning]].
*'''Dejah''' is a reference to Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, in the [[wikipedia:Barsoom series|Barsoom series]] by [[wikipedia:Edgar Rice Burroughs|Edgar Rice Burroughs]].
*'''Maya''' refers to the attractive female [[wikipedia:Space 1999|Space: 1999]] character gifted with shapeshifing abilties.
*'''Munro''' possibly refers to another genre actress, [[wikipedia:Caroline Munro|Caroline Munro]].
*'''Penny''' possibly refers to the lead female character in the movie [[wikipedia:The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension|The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension]].
*'''Ripley''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Ellen Ripley|Lieutenant Ripley]], as portrayed by [[wikipedia:Sigourney Weaver|Sigourney Weaver]] in the movie [[wikipedia:Alien (movie)|Alien]].
*'''Sparta''' is a reference to the beautiful female protagonist with a mysterious past in the Venus Prime series by [[wikipedia:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]] and [[wikipedia:Paul Preuss|Paul Preuss]].
*'''Teela''' is a reference to [[wikipedia:Teela Brown|Teela Brown]], one of the heroines of the Larry Niven's [[wikipedia:Ringworld|Ringworld]] novels.
*'''Yarr''' may be a reference to [[wikipedia:Natasha Yar|Natasha Yar]] who appeared in [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]].

====Umgah====
*'''Brewz'k''' is likely the slang word brewski.
*'''Ei'Ei'o''' is probably referring to the refrain of the children's song "Old Macdonald had a farm".

====Zoq Fot Pik====
*'''RinTin''' is likely named after the famous movie dog [[wikipedia:Rin Tin Tin|Rin Tin Tin]].

==Ship Designs==
*The '''[[Earthling]] [[Cruiser]]''' seems to be inspired by the Federation Starships from [[wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]].
*The '''[[Syreen]] [[Penetrator]]''' is shaped after the [[wikipedia:V-2 rocket|V-2 rocket]], and a dildo.

==Constellation names==
According to the [[HyperSpace]] starmap, the names for the HyperSpace constellations were taken from "traditional astronomical designations." These are the in-game star and constellation names that don't directly correspond to real life astronomical designations. (Some, such as Lalande and Wolf, appear to be derived from astronomical designations).
*'''Arianni'''
*'''Brahe''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Tycho Brahe|Tycho Brahe]], the famous Danish astronomer of the 16th century.
*'''Cerenkov''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov|Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov]], a Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate.
*'''Chandrasekhar''' is a reference to the Indian-American astrophysicist [[Wikipedia:Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar|Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar]], famous for his work on stellar evolution and black holes.
*'''Copernicus''' is a reference [[Wikipedia:Nicolaus Copernicus|Nicolaus Copernicus]], the polish astronomer who proposed the sun was the center of the solar system.
*'''Gorno'''
*'''Groombridge'''
*'''Hyginus''' is areference to the attributed author of [[Wikipedia:Poeticon astronomicon|Poeticon astronomicon]].
*'''Hyperion'''
*'''Illuminati'''
*'''Kepler''' is a reference to [[Wikipedia:Johannes Kepler|Johannes Kepler]] who discovered the three laws of planetary motion.
*'''Klystron'''
*'''Lentilis'''
*'''Lipi'''
*'''Maksutov''' is likely a reference to the [[Wikipedia:Maksutov telescope|Maksutov telescope]] invented by the Russian optician [[Wikipedia:Dimtri Maksutov|Dimtri Maksutov]].
*'''Mersenne''' is a reference to [http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Mersenne.html Marin Mersenne] a Minim friar who lived in France from 1588-1648 and was a major founder of number theory.
*'''Metis'''
*'''Olber''' is likely a reference to [[Wikipedia:Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers|Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers]], a German astronomer.
*'''Organon'''
*'''Ptolemae'''
*'''Raynet'''
*'''Saurus'''
*'''Squidi'''
*'''Vela'''
*'''Vitalis'''
*'''Zeeman''' is possibly a reference to the physicist [[Wikipedia:Pieter Zeeman|Pieter Zeeman]] for whom a [[Wikipedia:Zeeman (crater)|crater]] on the moon is named.

[[Category:Game mechanics]]

Shofixti

2005-12-27T21:38:23Z

Death 999: Syreen were incapable of rapid retreat

{{RaceBox|name=Shofixti|image=ShofixtiComm.png|caption=Tanaka, last of the Shofixti|homeworld=None, formerly Delta Gorno I ([[Kyabetsu]])|coordinates=290.8 : 026.9|organizations=[[Alliance of Free Stars]],<br> [[New Alliance of Free Stars]] (optional)|ship=[[Scout]]}}
The '''Shofixti''' are a marsupial race of honorable mammals whose homeworld, [[Kyabetsu]], was at Delta Gorno I.

==Biology==
The Shofixti are described by the [[Melnorme]] as "meta-marsupial".
They typically have brown fur, and have an extremely short gestation period. Because of this, the Shofixti can reproduce rapidly and age into adulthood within a few months.

==History==
===Early history===
The Shofixti were uplifted to the stars by the [[Yehat]], who took on the role of an adoptive guardian over the Shofixti. Before the Yehat discovered them, the Shofixti had a feudal culture that closely resembled to that of [[Earth]]'s medieval Japan. The warlike Yehat admired the Shofixti's courage and sense of honor, and the Shofixti felt the same of their Yehat brethren.

===The First War===
During the [[First War]], the Shofixti formed the backbone of the [[Alliance of Free Stars]]. Their rapid reproduction rates made them valuable to the Alliance by providing enough personnel to keep the Alliance ships fully-manned, even during the bleakest periods of the First War. Their fast [[Scout]] ships also provided much of the reconnaissance for the Alliance.

After the fall of the [[Human]] fleet, the Shofixti and Yehat forces withdrew to the Gorno system, but the [[Syreen]] were unable to follow. As the [[Ur-Quan]] [[Dreadnought]] force bore down upon Delta Gorno, the [[Veep-Neep Queen|Yehat Queen]] suddenly ordered a withdrawal of every [[Terminator]] back to the Serpentis stars. Without the support of the Yehat fleet, the Shofixti ships were no match for the Ur-Quan fleet, but the Shofixti still fought bravely, even as the last of their ships were destroyed. With the Ur-Quan fleet advancing on their homeworld, the Shofixti used a [[Precursor]] bomb device to remove the surface layers of their sun, causing a miniature nova that incinerated all of the Shofixti-inhabited inner worlds.

This final act of courage and defiance destroyed a third of the combined Ur-Quan fleet, but at the cost of nearly the entire Shofixti race.

===The Second War===
While the Shofixti were nearly wiped out in the [[First War]], there are some who survived:

* Captain [[Tanaka]] (and possibly his brother [[Katana]]), whose ship was damaged by a [[VUX]] [[Intruder]], was unable to travel to Kyabetsu in time to take part in its defense.
* The sixteen [[Shofixti Maidens]] were captured and kept under cryogenic suspension by [[Admiral ZEX]].

====Optional events====
During the [[Second War]] [[The Captain]] makes contact with [[Tanaka]] or [[Katana]] guarding the remnants of the [[Delta Gorno]] system. He recovers the [[Shofixti Maidens]] and unites them with Tanaka or Katana.

The subsequent "duties" faithfully carried out by the last surviving Shofixti revive the race and help the [[New Alliance of Free Stars]] in the Second War by providing numerous reinforcements for the limited number of human personnel available from the [[Earth Starbase]].

[[Category:Races]]
[[Category:Shofixti| ]]

Talk:Kyabetsu

2005-12-27T21:36:43Z

Death 999: 2 kinds of bombs

IDENTICAL to the Utwig Bomb, or just vaguely similar, or not particularly related? I suspect the latter, and if there is reason to accept the former I'd like to hear it. -- [[Death 999]]

Talk:X-Form

2005-12-22T18:48:56Z

Death 999: signed

If we include strategies here, then this should include a notice on using the Y-form to accelerate into a charge, then coasting in on the X-form, leaving enough time to recover battery.

Also, is it worth pointing out that X-form vs Ilwrath, though a slugfest slanted against the X-form, still has a good strategy and a bad strategy?

That is, a good strategy is for the X-form to ram the Ilwrath with lasers blazing, then use a touch of thrust coming off the bounce to get a good, medium range while moving away from the Ilwrath, yet tempting the Ilwrath to continue its charge. Ideally, the Ilwrath will have to traverse the 'hot spot' at a low relative velocity.

Yes, severe damage will be taken, but it comes out better than the naive 'charge' strategy.
- [[User:Death 999|Death 999]] 13:48, 22 Dec 2005 (EST)

Talk:X-Form

2005-12-22T18:47:02Z

Death 999: Strategy?

Dnyarri

2005-12-22T18:25:20Z

Death 999: linked to Kzer-Za (Character)

[[Image:TalkingpetComm.png|right]]
The '''Dnyarri''' were an ancient, extremely evil race who could control the minds of others. They resembled large, brown toads with a grossly pulsating skull and sinister looking face. Their discovery by a young [[Ur-Quan]] scout allowed the psychic Dnyarri to quickly dominate the [[Sentient Milieu]]. The Ur-Quan were enslaved for thousands of years under the Dnyarri's yoke, and were eventually split in to the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Kzer-Za]] and the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah.]]

The Dnyarri favored the [[Ur-Quan]] over the other species of the Milieu, due to their weak resistance to mind control. They used the Ur-Quan to wipe out many member races of the Milieu over time. During this period, the Dnyarri re-engineered the Ur-Quan DNA into two types, the green (Kzer-Za) who were the political leaders and scientists, and the black (Kohr-Ah) who were the builders, warriors, and general "do"ers.

The Green Ur-Quan researcher [[Kzer-Za (Character)|Kzer-za]] found out that the Dnyarri had to disconnect from a slave´s mind if the slave experienced extreme pain. Kzer-za broadcast this discovery to the rest of the Ur-Quan, who started inflicting pain and agony upon themselves to relinquish their minds from the Dnyarri control. The freed Ur-Quan slaughtered the Dnyarri en masse.

Death wasn't a good enough punishment for the Dnyarri in the eyes of the Ur-Quan. As they had been engineered, so too did the Ur-Quan re-engineer the Dnyarri into sub-sentience, making eternal slaves of them, using them to communicate for them whenever they communicated with a species they felt was less advanced than they were (which was often). These [[Talking Pet|Talking Pets]] are used aboard all [[Dreadnought]] and [[Marauder]] vessels.

The [[Arilou]] recently found a Talking Pet in the wreckage of a [[Dreadnought]] at Alpha Pavonis VII. They took it to the [[Umgah]] at Beta Orionis to heal it back to health.

The [[Arilou]], [[Chenjesu]] and the [[Ur-Quan]] describe the Dnyarri as the most evil race known to this galaxy.

[[Category:Races]]

Sentient Milieu

2005-12-22T18:22:43Z

Death 999: Further addition, clarification, spelling

The '''Sentient Milieu''' was an association of starfaring races that existed 25,000 years ago. It was formed over the course of several thousand years to "mutually enrich their respective cultures, to provide a safe creche for emerging sentient species and to afford themselves a degree of protection from external hostilities via military alliance," as the [[Melnorme]] put it.

The seven major members of the Sentient Milieu were
*the [[Drall]], one of the four founding members
*the [[Faz]], joining about 22,000 years ago
*the [[Mael-Num]], one of the four founding members
*the [[Taalo]]
*the [[Ur-Quan]] (still one race at that time), the last major race to join
*the [[Yuli]]
*the [[Yuptar]]

The Milieu incorporated at least five other races: at one point, the [[Melnorme]] refer to the "the remaining eleven races of the Milieu", a count which is known not to include the [[Taalo]], but may also disinclude others.

None of these unnamed others are likely to have played a large role. The [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] refer to the "six races of the Sentient Milieu" and the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah]] plainly refer to "all six of the other races in the milieu". There are no known references to specific additional Milieu members.

The end of the Sentient Milieu as an organization was brought about with the advent of the [[Dnyarri]].

[[Category:Organizations]]

Sentient Milieu

2005-12-22T18:16:26Z

Death 999: Hopefully improved wording

The '''Sentient Milieu''' was an association of starfaring races that existed 25,000 years ago. It was formed over the course of several thousand years to "mutually enrich their respective cultures, to provide a safe creche for emerging sentient species and to afford themselves a degree of protection from external hostilities via military alliance," as the [[Melnorme]] put it.

The seven major members of the Sentient Milieu were
*the [[Drall]], one of the four founding members
*the [[Faz]], joining about 22,000 years ago
*the [[Mael-Num]], one of the four founding members
*the [[Taalo]]
*the [[Ur-Quan]] (still one race at that time), the last major race to join
*the [[Yuli]]
*the [[Yuptar]]

The Milieu incorporated at least five other races: the [[Melnorme]] refer to the "the remaining eleven races of the Milieu", a count which is known not to include the [[Taalo]]. The wording suggests however that there were perhaps other races which also did not remain.

None of these unnamed others are likely to have played an large role. The [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] refer to the "six races of the Sentient Milieu" and the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah]] plainly refer to "all six of the other races in the milieu". There are no known references to specific additional Milieu members.

[[Category:Organizations]]

Sentient Milieu

2005-12-22T18:14:29Z

Death 999: Higher Sentient Milieu size supported by Melnorme history lesson #4

The '''Sentient Milieu''' was an association of starfaring races that existed 25,000 years ago. It was formed over the course of several thousand years to "mutually enrich their respective cultures, to provide a safe creche for emerging sentient species and to afford themselves a degree of protection from external hostilities via military alliance," as the [[Melnorme]] put it.

The seven major members of the Sentient Milieu were
*the [[Drall]], one of the four founding members
*the [[Faz]], joining about 22,000 years ago
*the [[Mael-Num]], one of the four founding members
*the [[Taalo]]
*the [[Ur-Quan]] (still one race at that time), the last major race to join
*the [[Yuli]]
*the [[Yuptar]]

The Milieu incorporated at least five other races: the [[Melnorme]] refer to the "the remaining eleven races of the Milieu", a count which is known not to include the [[Taalo]]; but these others are unlikely to have played an large role. The [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] refer to the "six races of the Sentient Milieu" and the [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah]] plainly refer to "all six of the other races in the milieu". There are no known references to specific additional Milieu members.

[[Category:Organizations]]

Stinger

2005-12-22T17:58:25Z

Death 999: /* Tactical Overview */

__NOTOC__
[[Image:Zoq-Fot-Pik_Stinger_Icon.png|right]]
The [[Zoq-Fot-Pik]] [[Stinger]] is a light vessel which can outrun and outmaneuver most other ships but cannot sustain much damage.

==Navigation==
The Stinger is a fast ship with excellent acceleration and turning rate.

==Armament==
===Primary===
The Stinger's main weapon is a spray of minute anti-matter particles which annihilate a tiny portion of the enemy ship's hull releasing colossal amounts of heat and light. In combat, the cannon is wildly inaccurate, but it can be employed as an interceptor to neutralize incoming fire.

===Secondary===
The Zoq-Fot-Pik's secondary weapon is a point-blank range attack. Should the Stinger maneuver adjacent to an enemy vessel, it can quickly extend a rigid, alloy tube from the front of the ship, similar to an insect's proboscis. If the tube strikes the enemy ship's exterior, it bores a tiny hole through the hull metal and injects a high-pressure stream of hot plasma into the interior of the vessel, inflicting massive amounts of damage.

==Tactical Overview==
Against ships like the [[Mycon]] [[Podship]] and the [[Ilwrath]] [[Avenger]], this ship is a force to be reckoned with. Its superior speed and maneuverability enable it to attack such vessels with impunity.

Against most ships, a "tongue attack" is suicide, and showering the opponent with little anti-matter pellets is more potent, but on occasion it's fun to charge in and "lick 'em good", and against mega-ships like the [[Chmmr]] [[Avatar]], it's your only chance to inflict any damage at all.

The tongue can intercept heavy enemy shots. It is not hard to use it to knock out a plasmoid from a [[Mycon]] [[Podship]] or a blade from a [[Kohr-Ah]] [[Marauder]]. It can even be used to block a fusion blast from an [[Ur-Quan]] [[Dreadnought]], though this is a much harder shot. The tongue will not beat the red fear-ball of a [[Melnorme]] [[Trader]], nor will it disrupt a [[Kohr-Ah]] F.R.I.E.D..

[[Category:Ships]]
[[Category:Zoq-Fot-Pik]]