Influences and references

2006-03-09T11:18:18Z

Jrfumc:

{{incomplete}}

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 mascot.

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 tiny main gun of their [[Scout]] ships is called the Mendokusai Energy Dart; "Mendoukusai" in Japanese means "irritating; bothersome."

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.

The [[Druuge]] is the Russian word for, ironically, "friend".

[[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]].

When [[The Captain]] gets to choose the name for the [[New Alliance of Free Stars|new alliance]], one of his options is "The United Federation of Worlds", a reference to the [[Wikipedia:United Federation of Planets|United Federation of Planets]] from [[Wikipedia:Star Trek|Star Trek]]. [[Starbase]] Commander [[Hayes]] will reply to this choice by saying "we will make it so", another reference to Star Trek, where captain [[Wikipedia:Jean-Luc Picard|Jean-Luc Picard]] would frequently order to "make it so".

The [[Pkunk]] insult their foes to keep from "wrapping around" to evil, this is a programmer's joke about the nature of integers under the C programming language (and many others.) If you increase a number past its maximum (for example, 128 in an 8 bit integer) it suddenly becomes negative (-127, in this example.)

==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 a disparaging Japanese term 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 a fairly common [[wikipedia:Japanese name|Japanese surname]].
*'''[[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''' may be a reference to Dejah Thoris Burroughs (Deety) in Robert A. Heinlein's [[wikipedia:The Number of the Beast (novel)|The Number of the Beast]], or 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".

====Utwig====
*'''[[Wikipedia:Nestor|Nestor]]''' was a hero celebrated as an elderly and wise counselor to the Greeks at Troy.
*'''Duna''' is Hungarian for the Danuba, a river in central and southeastern Europe.
*'''Jujuby''' spelled '[[Wikipedia:Jujube|Jujube]]', is the fruit of a certain tree, also known as "Chinese Date".
*'''Endo''' in Japanese is a type of pea, but most probably a reference to [[Wikipedia:Shusaku Endo|Shusaku Endo]], a twentieth century Japanese author of several critically acclaimed novels.

====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]]
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Influences and references