Bernal Sphein Cyberspace

In a message dated 11/7/00 7:39:10 AM Eastern Standard Time, ssi@...
writes:

<< I was referring to your conversations with Jon Beck. I understand what the
components for science fiction or action adventure are. I was just saying
that for SSI to be associated with an effort it would need to avoid
violence. I could be action or exploration orienented. Someone may base a
violence-based game on what they see from reading The High Frontier, but we
would have no control over that nor would we promote it. I look at all the
mail but just respond to those that seem like they are looking for what
SSI's poistion is or what they have done on something. I hope I have
cleared up any confusion. Bettie Greber >>

Ok then, perhaps a Sim City sort of game. The Player tries to build an
orbital colony. Perhaps we can still include a walk through mode. Perhaps
civic unrest could be referred to without being displayed. For example, I one
time played a game called Hamurabi where I played the ruler of an ancient
city state. The City state has an annual income from crops grown and with
this income, the player gets to decide whether to buy land, grain, build
temples, dig canals, etc. If you manage the city poorly the citizens of the
city get rid of you and you lose the game, or an army invades when you are
not militarily prepared and your city-state is wiped off the map. For an
orbital colony there would be decisions made based on Tax rates. Energy
prices would fluxuate which would effect income from the SPSs, and controlled
Fusion could be invented, there are defense issues, not all of which invove a
human opponent, but most of them would. One might increase the thickness of
the Bernal sphere's outer hull to provide additional protection from meteor
impacts. There may be competing orbital settlements, realistically you cannot
rule out combat between them, but wars can be resolved abstractly. The Bernal
Sphere manager may decide to move the colony. Municiple funds may be used in
asteroid mining ventures, building additional agricultural colonies.

Tom Kalbfus