Holo-decks

[Parabola]

I wasn't quite sure which board to post this on.  I just wondered if anyone has ever tried making up the Star Trek holo-decks in Hero Games or has ideas about how to do it?

[Hyper-Man]

Images with all the various Sense Groups plus a few other Powers like Change Environment, and Barrier where needed.

[bluesguy]

And Mental Illusions because people can be hurt on the holodeck in Star Trek - even killed.

[Greywind]

Only if the safeties are disengaged.

[Nolgroth]

I'm no fun, but I would go with 100% special effects.

[Scott Baker]

I'm no fun, but I would go with 100% special effects.

If you have to build it, a VPP with SFX seems like an easy way to go.

 

Since the holodeck is generally a plot device, I don't normally worry about building such things. It just happens to be the setting for the story/action.

[Christopher]

At thier best, Holodecks are just Images plus barriers.

 

At thier worst, they function like Extra Dimensional Movement:

Basically when the holdeck malfunctions (again!) it becomes as dangerous as any planetary exploration*.

Suddenly it can inlcude the death of Redshirts, main Characters and/or the destroction of the ship. When the holdeck malfunctions, it becomes the setting of the Episode. The same way the newest planet of the hats would, just with less need to explain the setting.

 

 

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJYXC1cbSVA

[Ndreare]

We built our X-Men asked training room ( basically the same as a holodeck) as extra dimensional movement. Each program created a pocket dimension to play in.

[Parabola]

Thanks to everyone who replied.  I started playing Hero system back in the days of the first edition in 1984-85.  I'm rusty now as I haven't played for years.  However, I still occasionally love making something up for fun.  The idea of making up a holo-deck was just an idea I had after watching the "It's Only A Paper Moon" episode of DS9, arguably my favorite DS9 episode.  I'm also working from 5th edition so some stuff people mentioned like "Barrier" are unknown factors to me.

 

I agree that probably the easiest way is Interdimensional Travel.  It is usually stated in Star Trek that the holo-rooms (decks on a ship as presumably a whole deck is dedicated to holo-rooms; suites on a space station) give the illusion of being bigger than they really are.  But, realistically, people would be running into walls.  There was the episode where two teams of real people played a baseball game.  So, everyone from the Catcher at one end to the center fielder at the other were standing at a distance from each other of a regulation baseball field and that is waaaaay bigger than the holo-rooms are shown to be when they are powered off.  So probably better to say it's a bit of a Doctor Who/ TARDIS equivalent where the inside is bigger than the outside and that's a pocket dimension aka Interdimensional Travel.  Just assume they have near total control of the dimension (until something goes wrong, of course), which didn't exist until they created it.  

 

It may not be the most challenging way to do a Star Trek holo-deck but it is probably the easiest.

[Christopher]

Thanks to everyone who replied.  I started playing Hero system back in the days of the first edition in 1984-85.  I'm rusty now as I haven't played for years.  However, I still occasionally love making something up for fun.  The idea of making up a holo-deck was just an idea I had after watching the "It's Only A Paper Moon" episode of DS9, arguably my favorite DS9 episode.  I'm also working from 5th edition so some stuff people mentioned like "Barrier" are unknown factors to me.

 

I agree that probably the easiest way is Interdimensional Travel.  It is usually stated in Star Trek that the holo-rooms (decks on a ship as presumably a whole deck is dedicated to holo-rooms; suites on a space station) give the illusion of being bigger than they really are.  But, realistically, people would be running into walls.  There was the episode where two teams of real people played a baseball game.  So, everyone from the Catcher at one end to the center fielder at the other were standing at a distance from each other of a regulation baseball field and that is waaaaay bigger than the holo-rooms are shown to be when they are powered off.  So probably better to say it's a bit of a Doctor Who/ TARDIS equivalent where the inside is bigger than the outside and that's a pocket dimension aka Interdimensional Travel.  Just assume they have near total control of the dimension (until something goes wrong, of course), which didn't exist until they created it.  

 

It may not be the most challenging way to do a Star Trek holo-deck but it is probably the easiest.

The "Manual of the USS Enterprise D" (ISBN of german version: 3 89365 397 X) explain them like this:

Primarily they are hologramms without substance. Purely optical illusions. They not actually drawn on the wall, but instead the image get's directed into your retina.

If there is a chance that you might touch something the according item get's simulated via finely tuned tracor beam like forcefields.

Non audio-visual simuly (smell, taste) or stuff that can be carried are replicated on the spot.

You do not walk on real ground, but instead on a forcefield that can move counter to your movement (so you are effectively walking on the same spot).

 

Relative distance between characters can propably be simulated by creating a "lense" shaped forcefield that break light so it appears farther.

Or you don't see the actuall person - you see a holographic image directed into your eyes that appears to be the person at a distance (with the real light never reaching you).

 

Note that between the forcefields/tractorbeams, replicators and computer power needed holdecks eat a ton of energy. Both it and the Replicators had to be rationalised on the Voyager due to them needing a decent "milleage per galon antimater".

 

So the ball in your example would be materialised just before it is picked up by the pitcher (to complex to simulate via forcefields/tractor beams while in your hand).

Dematerialsied once it is thrown (and a holographic one flying the arc instead). Each person would see a personalised view of the whole field. The Bat's hilt is propably simulated via a forcefield. You only need enough "room" between persons that they don't physically hit each other.

Then rematerialised just before it is about to be hit by the bat/caught. Or the replicated requisite might have been moved around using the micro tractor beams.

 

So images (with barrier for everything that has to support human weigth) seem like a simple fix.

But for the "Holodeck mission of the week without security protocolls" EDM is just so much easier.

 

 

6E Barrier: Like 5E Force Wall, except not costing endurance by default.

[dmjalund]

by he time of deep space nine, i think holotehnology had advances somewhat