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Ben Seeman

HERO Member
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Posts posted by Ben Seeman

  1. Originally posted by AlHazred

    Heck, even better would be three copies - that way, you have an extra copy for players who come over for a game...

    Well, *I* wouldn't let them use ANY extra copies of a book I had... They should already have their own complete collection of 5th Edition... ;)

  2. Because you asked for, and I was crazy enough to take on the responsibility of maintaining it, the Spacer's Toolkit Online is now up and running. Check it out by clicking the Star Hero genre link from the front page and then clicking the Toolkit link. All rules and instructions are available on those pages.

     

    I'm sure that I will be flooded with submissions and so all I ask is that you guys remain patient whil I sort everything out.

     

    Have fun!

  3. Jupiter-like planet found

     

    One of the attributes needed for an Earth-like planet (as stated previously) is the existence of a Jupiter-like planet in the outer reaches of the star system to deflect incoming comets and asteroids from colliding with an Earth-like planet.

     

    Well, they just found a Jupiter-like planet orbiting a star. If it was in our system, it would be located between MArs and Jupiter. So there's one piece!

     

    http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/07/03/science.jupiter.reut/index.html

     

    Granted, this doesn't mean that there is also an Earth-like planet orbiting that star, but it does at least give *some* evidence that there are other Jupiter-like planets in other star systems that could serve the same purpose that Jupiter does in our own system.

  4. Originally posted by McCoy

    We've discussed this throughly enough for anyone reading this thread to make an informed decision.

    I must say, I've been following this discussion and have been fascinated not only by the topic but by the way you two (DigitalGolem and McCoy) have presented your arguments to each other. I just wish ALL participants in discussion threads were as civil as you two have been, evnthough you disagree on some major points.

     

    You guys get two Hero Points each. Don't spend them all in one place. :)

     

    And I have made an informed decision... and that decision is... I want to learn more about this. :)

  5. Originally posted by BobGreenwade

    Here's a thought.

     

    Steve wrote the original USPD, and manages the Online USPD.

     

    Ben wrote the original STK; maybe he could manage the Online STK.

     

    Like I said, it's a thought. :D

    Hey, if you saw all the horrendous math errors in the Toolkit manuscript then you'd think twice about putting me in charge. :)

     

    And if you DID see the manuscript and STILL want me to front this thing, you need an examiniation. ;)

  6. Originally posted by BishopofB&W

    Hey Ben, how much input did you get on the art? It seems like the artists tried to inject the basic philosophies of the race into their starship designs. Examples: The "head" of the Varanyi cruiser takes up half the body. The Torgon warship looks like a big, blunt instrument to bash things with. The Se'ecra ship puts the lifestyle and diplomatic stuff in the front pod and the tactical setup in a pod aft and below the first pod.

    I actually had quite a bit of input on the designs of the vessels. The starship styles themselves were first defined in Terran Empire and I expanded upon those original ideas. It was actually really fun further developing the unique look of each fleet.

     

    My art list was very descriptive, but I felt it was necessary in order for the unique looks to be consistent. I used references to TE art pieces as well as a plethora of my own sketches to relay to the artist what I wanted the ships to look like. I was amazed at how all of the artists took my descriptions and came up with vessels that looked exactly how I wanted... or even better. There isn't a single piece in that book that makes me ask "How the hell did he get THAT from my description?".

  7. I can't tell you how weird it is hearing you guys talk about buying a book that I wrote.

     

    So what do you guys think? IMO, the editing is fantastic (you shoulda seen the original manuscript... on second thought, no :)), the layout is top notch and the artists just went buck wild and impressed the hell out of me.

  8. Check this out

     

    I may have posted this before, but this site is pretty cool.

     

    http://www.anzwers.org/free/universe/universe.html

     

    The link shows everything within 14 billion light years of our solar system. By clicking the ZOOM IN buttons on the lower left, it shows you the superclusters of galaxies, our own (Virgo) supercluster, our local group within the supercluster, the Milky Way and its satellites, the various arms of our own galaxy, the Orion Arm (the arm that our solar system is in), our solar neighborhood and finally the stars nearest to our system within 12.5 light years.

     

    It's pretty amazing.

  9. The APOD archive is one of the sites I visit most frequently. And I agree, today's picture is amazing and rather humbling.

     

    And yes, I'm sure there is definitely ONE other form of life somewhere in that picture. If there isn't, then our existence is an abberation in the Universe that seems to be too unlikely to occur if it hasn't occured anywhere else.

     

    Having a Star HERO campaign take place on a universal level would be such an undertaking that there's not enough paper in the world to print out the supplements. Terran Empire is 200+ pages of goodness and it tackles only one galaxy over a 300+ year period. Multiply that by the number of galaxies in the Universe and you've got a mountain of information.

     

    It would be cool, though... Universe HERO. I like it. :)

  10. Okay, I've come up with a way to indicate new entries have been added to the OUSPD...

     

    Next to each category I've included a number in parenthesis to indicate how many entries are in that category. If the number is red, that indicates that a new entry has been added as of the last update date listed at the top of the page.

     

    I hope that helps.

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