directions in a space colony?

On 12/11/14 1:11 PM, wlm_efn@... [spacesettlers] wrote:

> The same thing applies for N-S ... *whose* north or south? North or
> south with
> respect to what? In a cylindrical settlement for example if there is any
> kind of
> easily visible difference between the endcaps they could arbitrarily
> just called
> one of them north/port and south/starboard.

Well, just as a spinning planet has north defined as the pole that's to
your left when facing spinward (east), we can do the same thing for a
spinning habitat.

I've got this implemented now in High Frontier: a little compass rose
that appears briefly when you rotate or move the camera. I was worried
it would seem strange to see N/S/E/W in something like a torus, but
after playing with it a bit, I think it feels surprisingly natural!

Best,
- Joe