Ultronomicon - User contributions [en]

Talk:Procyon

2005-03-24T12:20:57Z

Dmleach:

Delete these. They have almost no relevance to the game at all, especially since the SC2 map clearly states that the HyperSpace names for constellations were randomly assigned and the star given the HyperSpace name "Procyon" has no relationship to the star that TrueSpace astronomers (i.e. *real* astronomers) call "Procyon".

"Constellations" in HyperSpace and TrueSpace (real-life) constellations aren't even the same concept. Real-life constellation are stars that look like they're close together in the night sky -- HyperSpace constellations in SC2 are groups of stars that are actually near each other. And the layout, the nature of the stars in each constellation, and, hell, even the *number* of stars in each constellation are all mismatched with what the real constellations are.

It would be *more* relevant to do something like go through all the Earthling Captain names and say what they're a reference to than to do something like this, since it's almost certain the game designers didn't even know or care about the real constellations much when assigning names -- for the game's purposes all you have to know is that these are based on the names of real constellations.

:I couldn't disagree more. As a player of the game, I find the relationship between the fictional stars and systems and the ones in real life interesting, as well as the origins of the names. Additionally, the name and shape of a constellation do come into play, when General ZEK sends you on the mission to find the exotic beast for his menagerie. Users of this wiki who don't find the extra information interesting can ignore it.

:Further, by adding at least a small amount of information to each's constellation's article, the list of constellations can be published in the non-spoiler section of the website. The original list could be found on the game's map, and therefore couldn't rightly be considered spoiler material. The list of constellations article can't be published as non-spoiler currently, since those star systems with points of interest will have blue hyperlinks, while those without articles will have red hyperlinks.[[User:Dmleach|Dmleach]] 20:11, 23 Mar 2005 (CET)

::Sigh. First of all, it will add an enormous amount of material to the wiki. The wiki needs to be kept at some kind of reasonable size. I don't see how you can justify adding stuff about the real-world constellations *and* justify *not* adding stuff about H.P. Lovecraft's fiction to the Orz entry, or adding all sorts of complicated stuff about human history and human myths and legends to the Human and Arilou entries, and so on. I'm all for being expansive, but there is a line to draw, after which we don't really have a Star Control encyclopedia, we have an encyclopedia of random facts referenced by Star Control.

::I would be more interested to know things that the authors actually took time to come up with, like the in-joke references in the captain's names, but even then I'm not convinced those belong on the wiki. But they go on the wiki a lot earlier than the constellation names, which except for a few sort-of exceptions (like Centauri being close to Earth) have absolutely *nothing* to do with the constellations in real life, as far as I can tell. It's not a "reference" to anything because it's not something the authors knew or cared about. Hell, they actually said most of the starmap was generated by a randomized algorithm that properly spaced out certain types of stars, with a few handmade special star systems put in.

::The easy answer to the issue of a constellation list containing spoilers is to explicitly *not* wikify it and leave the hyperlinks off. In fact it's not actually necessary to have the entries for the systems as we currently have them -- every one of them is about some *planet*, not about the systems in general, and I would vote to rename them as such (Delta Lyncis III, not just "Delta Lyncis" or "Lyncis"; Vela I, not just "Vela"; and so forth). It's a very, very bad idea to go through a big list and insist that *every* item in the list have a hyperlink just so that no item will look different from another -- that's how wikis that aren't rigorously edited get clogged with crappy stub articles no one reads.

::By the way, the Lyncis constellation in the game doesn't look much like the real Lyncis at all, and there's *nothing* about the real constellation Lyncis *or* its shape that's necessary to understand ZEX's (not ZEK's) clue. Again, I very, very much doubt the *creators* of the game even knew anything about these constellations when they were writing it.

I agree with 130.58.225.137 (for once). This is not a general-purpose encyclopedia. If it's not relevant to the game, it doesn't belong here. If you're going to document the real-life aspect of stars, you may as well start creating links for "arms" because the Umgah mention them, or describe the biology of plants in the Supox article.

If someone wants to know more about the real-life properties of objects refered to in the game, they can look it up in a real-life encyclopedia.

Btw, 130.58.225.137, why don't you create a user account? You can use spam.la to send your registration to if you're afraid I'm going to sell your email address. It would make communication a lot easier. And you may like it to be able to customise some settings.

And Dmleach, I appreciate the effort, but if you need to find something interesting to edit, I can make a few suggestions.

-- [[User:Svdb|SvdB]] 09:55, 24 Mar 2005 (CET)

The first item in this website's "Editing Essentials" article reads "Be bold when editing," so I was. I found the information I added interesting, and I bet that I'm not the only one who does. The information is unobtrusive and, unless I'm mistaken, its presence does no harm.

In response to the above, I would ''like'' to know as a fan of the game that there is a link between the Orz and H.P. Lovecraft (I actually didn't know that). In my opinion, there is definitely a call to have "meta-information" in this encyclopedia; that is to say information that deals with the game as a game, as opposed to information about the game's universe. I find it adds a layer of richness to the experience of enjoying what we all consider to be a well-crafted piece of interactive fiction.

In the end, it's not my website to make the call for or against. If the owner of the website (or whoever gets the final decision in such matters) decides it shouldn't be there, then (s)he has every right to remove it. I would, request, however, that the decision be made sooner than later, so I don't waste my time adding information that will simply be deleted.[[User:Dmleach|Dmleach]] 13:20, 24 Mar 2005 (CET)

Algolites

2005-03-24T01:58:47Z

Dmleach: Added link to new page for Algol

Among the many didactic anecdotes Trade Master [[Greenish]] of the [[Melnorme]] related to the [[Human]] [[Captain Zelnick]] during their association in the [[Second War]] was the story of the native inhabitants of the planet [[Algol]] 4. Apparently, Greenish did not know the species' name, lacked a usable transliteration or translation of it, or simply refused to give it for his own reasons (as he often did with various details of his anecdotes). In any case, he simply dubbed the race '''Algolites''' after the Human name for their star.

When an initial misunderstanding between the [[New Alliance of Free Stars|New Alliance]] Humans and the Melnorme led to brief hostilities, the Melnorme rescinded their initial offer to open peaceful information-trading relations with the Humans. In Zelnick's original talks with Greenish attempting to restore relations with the Melnorme, Greenish brushed aside Zelnick's assertion that the Humans' attack had been an accident with a typical Melnorme anecdote illustrating the uselessness of claims of nonintentionality as atonement, comparing the Humans to their cowardly [[Spathi]] enemies.

Greenish related how the Spathi, in their expanding wave of colonization, established a base on Algol 4 and a peaceful relationship with the surrounding Algolites. Finding the climate unsuited to their needs, the Spathi, apparently without consulting the Algolites, thoughtlessly set up terraforming equipment to (they thought) slightly, harmlessly alter the planet's atmosphere. Unfortunately, their equipment malfunctioned and set off a catastrophic chain reaction; in typical Spathi fashion, the colonists fled rather than attempting to correct their mistake, and the resulting disaster ended up stripping off most of Algol 4's atmosphere and wiping out the Algolites. Greenish challenged Zelnick as to whether the disaster having been an accident made any difference to the Algolites, leading Zelnick to eventually acquiesce and meet the Melnorme's demands for a formal apology.

The Melnorme never gave any further details about this incident. The whole story, including what role the Melnorme themselves played in it (if any), as well as what the Spathi might have to say for themselves about it, remains unknown thanks to the [[slave shield|slave-shield]]ing of the Spathi and the cryptic nature of the Melnorme.

[[Category:Races]]

Algol

2005-03-23T22:01:51Z

Dmleach: Added "Outside the game" section and link to Wikipedia

==Outside the game==
Algol is, in reality, a star in the constellation [[Persei]]. It was one of the first recorded variable stars; its magnitude cycles once about every 68 hours. Perhaps due to its odd visual appearance, its name comes from the Arabic Arabic الغول ''al-ghūl,'' meaning "the ghoul."

==References==
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algol

[[Category:Constellations]]

Talk:Procyon

2005-03-23T19:55:17Z

Dmleach: I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.

Talk:Procyon

2005-03-23T19:11:27Z

Dmleach:

List of constellations

2005-03-22T19:49:23Z

Dmleach:

{|
!Constellation name || Coordinates
|-
|Achernar || 510, 280
|-
|Alcor || 970, 10
|-
|Aldebaran || 730, 340
|-
|Algol || 910, 320
|-
|Almagest || 960, 230
|-
|Altair || 460, 640
|-
|Andromedae || 880, 710
|-
|Antares || 620, 760
|-
|Antliae || 230, 900
|-
|Apodis || 220, 850
|-
|Aquarii || 880, 880
|-
|Aquilae || 920, 990
|-
|Arae || 910, 70
|-
|Arcturus || 960, 570
|-
|Arianni || 710, 190
|-
|Arietis || 910, 170
|-
|Aurigae || 800, 180
|-
|Bellatrix || 550, 190
|-
|Betelgeuse || 390, 380
|-
|Bootis || 50, 260
|-
|Brahe || 620, 260
|-
|Caeli || 270, 70
|-
|Camelopardalis || 630, 400
|-
|Cancri || 520, 490
|-
|Canopus || 210, 140
|-
|Capella || 410, 20
|-
|Capricorni || 250, 520
|-
|Carinae || 330, 540
|-
|Cassiopeiae || 360, 500
|-
|Centauri || 120, 110
|-
|Cephei || 360, 590
|-
|Cerenkov || 440, 190
|-
|Ceti || 270, 440
|-
|Chamaeleonis || 460, 690
|-
|Chandrasekhar || 10, 690
|-
|Circini || 10, 620
|-
|Columbae || 80, 630
|-
|Copernicus || 560, 240
|-
|Corvi || 40, 990
|-
|Crateris || 620, 570
|-
|Crucis || 510, 640
|-
|Cygnus || 20, 480
|-
|Delphini || 360, 630
|-
|Deneb || 220, 20
|-
|Doradus || 410, 670
|-
|Draconis || 290, 850
|-
|Equulei || 610, 660
|-
|Eridani || 550, 760
|-
|Fomalhaut || 410, 860
|-
|Fornacis || 560, 810
|-
|Geminorum || 440, 770
|-
|Giclas || 440, 770
|-
|Gorno || 310, 20
|-
|Groombridge || 940, 910
|-
|Gruis || 260, 390
|-
|Herculis || 170, 370
|-
|Horologii || 680, 740
|-
|Hyades || 820, 960
|-
|Hydrae || 760, 640
|-
|Hyginus || 820, 410
|-
|Hyperion || 660, 140
|-
|Illuminati || 210, 310
|-
|Indi || 400, 150
|-
|Kepler || 570, 290
|-
|Klystron || 220, 970
|-
|Krueger || 20, 10
|-
|Lacaille || 10, 80
|-
|Lacertae || 820, 790
|-
|Lalande || 310, 270
|-
|Lentilis || 470, 580
|-
|Leonis || 920, 780
|-
|Leporis || 760, 880
|-
|Librae || 740, 920
|-
|Lipi || 560, 870
|-
|Luyten || 400, 170
|-
|Lyncis || 540, 980
|-
|Lyrae || 200, 110
|-
|Maksutov || 610, 520
|-
|Menkar || 460, 920
|-
|Mensae || 410, 300
|-
|Mersenne || 260, 690
|-
|Metis || 560, 470
|-
|Microscopii || 410, 990
|-
|Mira || 390, 210
|-
|Mizar || 20, 130
|-
|Monocerotis || 400, 720
|-
|Muscae || 110, 810
|-
|Normae || 180, 530
|-
|Octantis || 170, 660
|-
|Olber || 10, 210
|-
|Ophiuchi || 60, 880
|-
|Organon || 660, 60
|-
|Orionis || 160, 570
|-
|Pavonis || 50, 790
|-
|Pegasi || 10, 750
|-
|Persei || 900, 270
|-
|Phoenicis || 960, 430
|-
|Pictoris || 920, 380
|-
|Piscium || 860, 370
|-
|Pollux || 560, 20
|-
|Procyon || 60, 220
|-
|Ptolemae || 160, 20
|-
|Puppis || 820, 290
|-
|Pyxidis || 920, 500
|-
|Raynet || 250, 170
|-
|Regulus || 370, 110
|-
|Reticuli || 720, 530
|-
|Rigel || 220, 210
|-
|Sagittae || 10, 560
|-
|Sagittarii || 660, 280
|-
|Saurus || 240, 240
|-
|Scorpii || 610, 190
|-
|Sculptoris || 560, 160
|-
|Scuti || 510, 50
|-
|Serpentis || 460, 50
|-
|Sextantis || 460, 130
|-
|Sirius || 170, 160
|-
|Sol || 160, 140
|-
|Squidi || 210, 430
|-
|Tauri || 30, 380
|-
|Telescopii || 10, 420
|-
|Trianguli || 760, 40
|-
|Tucanae || 410, 560
|-
|Vega || 30, 970
|-
|Vela || 320, 180
|-
|Velorum || 110, 410
|-
|Virginis || 60, 340
|-
|Vitalis || 320, 360
|-
|Volantis || 70, 160
|-
|Vulpeculae || 390, 260
|-
|Wolf || 160, 190
|-
|Zeeman || 320, 200
|}

List of constellations

2005-03-22T19:47:41Z

Dmleach: Initial version, includes list of constallations and coordinates

{|
!Constellation name
|-
|Achernar || 510, 280
|-
|Alcor || 970, 10
|-
|Aldebaran || 730, 340
|-
|Algol || 910, 320
|-
|Almagest || 960, 230
|-
|Altair || 460, 640
|-
|Andromedae || 880, 710
|-
|Antares || 620, 760
|-
|Antliae || 230, 900
|-
|Apodis || 220, 850
|-
|Aquarii || 880, 880
|-
|Aquilae || 920, 990
|-
|Arae || 910, 70
|-
|Arcturus || 960, 570
|-
|Arianni || 710, 190
|-
|Arietis || 910, 170
|-
|Aurigae || 800, 180
|-
|Bellatrix || 550, 190
|-
|Betelgeuse || 390, 380
|-
|Bootis || 50, 260
|-
|Brahe || 620, 260
|-
|Caeli || 270, 70
|-
|Camelopardalis || 630, 400
|-
|Cancri || 520, 490
|-
|Canopus || 210, 140
|-
|Capella || 410, 20
|-
|Capricorni || 250, 520
|-
|Carinae || 330, 540
|-
|Cassiopeiae || 360, 500
|-
|Centauri || 120, 110
|-
|Cephei || 360, 590
|-
|Cerenkov || 440, 190
|-
|Ceti || 270, 440
|-
|Chamaeleonis || 460, 690
|-
|Chandrasekhar || 10, 690
|-
|Circini || 10, 620
|-
|Columbae || 80, 630
|-
|Copernicus || 560, 240
|-
|Corvi || 40, 990
|-
|Crateris || 620, 570
|-
|Crucis || 510, 640
|-
|Cygnus || 20, 480
|-
|Delphini || 360, 630
|-
|Deneb || 220, 20
|-
|Doradus || 410, 670
|-
|Draconis || 290, 850
|-
|Equulei || 610, 660
|-
|Eridani || 550, 760
|-
|Fomalhaut || 410, 860
|-
|Fornacis || 560, 810
|-
|Geminorum || 440, 770
|-
|Giclas || 440, 770
|-
|Gorno || 310, 20
|-
|Groombridge || 940, 910
|-
|Gruis || 260, 390
|-
|Herculis || 170, 370
|-
|Horologii || 680, 740
|-
|Hyades || 820, 960
|-
|Hydrae || 760, 640
|-
|Hyginus || 820, 410
|-
|Hyperion || 660, 140
|-
|Illuminati || 210, 310
|-
|Indi || 400, 150
|-
|Kepler || 570, 290
|-
|Klystron || 220, 970
|-
|Krueger || 20, 10
|-
|Lacaille || 10, 80
|-
|Lacertae || 820, 790
|-
|Lalande || 310, 270
|-
|Lentilis || 470, 580
|-
|Leonis || 920, 780
|-
|Leporis || 760, 880
|-
|Librae || 740, 920
|-
|Lipi || 560, 870
|-
|Luyten || 400, 170
|-
|Lyncis || 540, 980
|-
|Lyrae || 200, 110
|-
|Maksutov || 610, 520
|-
|Menkar || 460, 920
|-
|Mensae || 410, 300
|-
|Mersenne || 260, 690
|-
|Metis || 560, 470
|-
|Microscopii || 410, 990
|-
|Mira || 390, 210
|-
|Mizar || 20, 130
|-
|Monocerotis || 400, 720
|-
|Muscae || 110, 810
|-
|Normae || 180, 530
|-
|Octantis || 170, 660
|-
|Olber || 10, 210
|-
|Ophiuchi || 60, 880
|-
|Organon || 660, 60
|-
|Orionis || 160, 570
|-
|Pavonis || 50, 790
|-
|Pegasi || 10, 750
|-
|Persei || 900, 270
|-
|Phoenicis || 960, 430
|-
|Pictoris || 920, 380
|-
|Piscium || 860, 370
|-
|Pollux || 560, 20
|-
|Procyon || 60, 220
|-
|Ptolemae || 160, 20
|-
|Puppis || 820, 290
|-
|Pyxidis || 920, 500
|-
|Raynet || 250, 170
|-
|Regulus || 370, 110
|-
|Reticuli || 720, 530
|-
|Rigel || 220, 210
|-
|Sagittae || 10, 560
|-
|Sagittarii || 660, 280
|-
|Saurus || 240, 240
|-
|Scorpii || 610, 190
|-
|Sculptoris || 560, 160
|-
|Scuti || 510, 50
|-
|Serpentis || 460, 50
|-
|Sextantis || 460, 130
|-
|Sirius || 170, 160
|-
|Sol || 160, 140
|-
|Squidi || 210, 430
|-
|Tauri || 30, 380
|-
|Telescopii || 10, 420
|-
|Trianguli || 760, 40
|-
|Tucanae || 410, 560
|-
|Vega || 30, 970
|-
|Vela || 320, 180
|-
|Velorum || 110, 410
|-
|Virginis || 60, 340
|-
|Vitalis || 320, 360
|-
|Volantis || 70, 160
|-
|Vulpeculae || 390, 260
|-
|Wolf || 160, 190
|-
|Zeeman || 320, 200
|}