Sceptical Technical Details

[Bkeela]

Giant cruise ships today have an average capacity of 2000 people, so how on Earth are we supposed to believe a mobile colony pod has not only room for 10,000 people, but also room enough for food, equipment, and air supply to get a new base kick started? The colony pod would have to be so big, that no early bases could dare to produce such a colossal machine. Imagine how vast the Unity would have to of been to hold 70,000 odd colonists, and 7 of these super mobile colonies? This isn't science fiction, it's fantasy.

I also have an objection to the aircraft of Alpha Centauri. Ever noticed the large fins on either side of the cockpit? Surely no fighter would be successful in aircraft warfare, with such a hindred view. What an ugly little design. Who ever designed them, knows very little about aircrafts of war.

Bkeela.

[Adam_Smith]

A colony pod represents 10,000 citizens the same way one population unit represents 10,000 citizens. When you bomb a base your not sending one aircraft to do it. You are bombing that base for a year with a lot of bombers. When you make a new colony they are not only taking one ship. That ship represents many ships.

I think the aircraft are cool. They aren't supose to look like F14s.

[LoD]

YT: AFAIR a unit of population in Civ II corresponded to 32000 colonists, so you can't say that 3 times less is still too much.

LoD

I though one unit of population only represented 1000 colonists. It starts to look way more resonable if it's 1000 and not 10,000.

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Yours Truly

[Magnus Nilsson]

Hey - Bkeela!

You're right, it is fantasy.
But haven't you realized, - it's a GAME! The numbers are just there to make rules. This is not meant to be a possible future, it's meant to be fun and exciting.

I assume you have played chess. I find it a beeing a very good game - but I have not spent too much time thinking of how a building can kill the first lady ...

;-)

Have a SMAX Easter!

/Magnus

[Chowlett]

Or indeed a bird which for some odd reason looks like a building.

[Khan Singh]

Giant cruise ships have a capacity of 2000 passengers. But their total capacity is much, much higher.

I believe the Queen Mary (or maybe it was Queen Elizabeth) still holds the record for most people on a moving vehicle, something like 20,000 soldiers for about a week, along with considerable amounts of supplies. This was a ship, of course, but the crawler that carries the Space Shuttle from the Assembly building to the launch pad proves that very large land vehicles are possible.

And there is nothing that says a colony pod doesn't represent several vehicles. It isn't like a recon rover represents only one rover, after all.