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Distant Worlds is a vast, pausable real-time, 4X space strategy game which models a "living galaxy" with incredible options for replayability and customizability. Experience the full depth and detail of large turn-based strategy games, but with the simplicity and ease of real-time, and on the scale of a massively-multiplayer online game. Now greatly enhanced with the new Universe release, which includes all four previous releases as well as the new Universe expansion!

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Jorgen_CAB
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

Post by Jorgen_CAB »

As in every game or sci-fi you will have to go into it with some pre set notion of how the universe work that does not correlate with reality... such as a universal time frame and FTL communications... otherwise things would not work.

A hard sci-fi game would not really work very well as the galaxy is really vast and time will pass different depending on the speed of an object. While time will progress very similar in different starsystems even here time would dilute more and more over time.

I don't think it would be feasible to make a game that is this accurate without bending some of the laws of physics in some way shape and form... ;)
Siddham
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

Post by Siddham »

I dont accept the time dilation aspect of Relativity theory in a similar way that I dont accept some of the weird paradoxical speculations derived from Quantum Mechanics.
In both cases I think these are misinterpretations that arises from internal characteristics of the mathematics used to express these theories.
Therefore I am fine with those kinds of theoretical oddities being ignored in sci-fi games.
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Jorgen_CAB
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

Post by Jorgen_CAB »

ORIGINAL: Siddham

I dont accept the time dilation aspect of Relativity theory in a similar way that I dont accept some of the weird paradoxical speculations derived from Quantum Mechanics.
In both cases I think these are misinterpretations that arises from internal characteristics of the mathematics used to express these theories.
Therefore I am fine with those kinds of theoretical oddities being ignored in sci-fi games.

With that you mean that satellites in space that need to be configured for time dilution due to relativity is fake and we just do it for fun... or is it something else you think it depends on? ;)

Time, space and gravity are finely connected and can be warped and stretched in different ways. This means that an FTL communication device could potentially get the answer before the question is sent from objects moving at different speeds using different vectors etc..
Canute0
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

Post by Canute0 »

As in every game or sci-fi you will have to go into it with some pre set notion of how the universe work that does not correlate with reality... such as a universal time frame and FTL communications... otherwise things would not work.
Sure it will work, but not as RTS gameplay anymore.
You create a fleet, give them orders what they should do and then they either report back with a fast courier vesser and wait for new orders from that courier or fly back to the HQ.
Basicly the same like at the good old times, when sailships are on mission for years at the new world.
I got once a game with this, LONG time ago.

But while they wait for new orders from the courier, they need to sleep at cyrocaskets.


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MatBailie
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

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The problem is that there is no universal concept of "now". If you read up on Simultaneity you'll find that it gets messed up really quickly. (Good starting point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrNVsfkGW-0 )

So, when you look at the galaxy view, you can't see what all the different places in the galaxy actually look like "now" because "now" isn't a valid concept it physics.

You'd have to pick a location, and see what the galaxy currently looks like from that location, given the speed of light.

You couldn't even easily change the location that you've viewing from. You couldn't switch to a different star at see what It's "now" looks like, because, again, "now" doesn't exist.

Then again, if you're going to start a conversation with both "time dilation is accurately modeled" and "FTL", you may as well make it All up any way. The very physics that model time dilation also forbid accelerating to or past the speed of light; so adding FTL means you may as well give two fingers to time dilation too.

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MatBailie
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

Post by MatBailie »

ORIGINAL: Siddham

I dont accept the time dilation aspect of Relativity theory in a similar way that I dont accept some of the weird paradoxical speculations derived from Quantum Mechanics.
In both cases I think these are misinterpretations that arises from internal characteristics of the mathematics used to express these theories.
Therefore I am fine with those kinds of theoretical oddities being ignored in sci-fi games.

You might not accept it, but it has been directly observed, in Many different scenarios. Indeed, it is significant enough that it has to be embedded in the calculations for GPS to work.

It may be that we don't correctly understand the physics, much as Newton didn't understand gravity in the same was as Einstein. But Einstein's advancements took account of additional observations, it didn't some-how invalidate old observations. Similarly, any future physics will still need to explain the time dilation that Has been Directly observed, it won't be able to ignore those observations.

Time-dilation is an observation, not a theory. Relativity is the theory to explain the observations.
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PoorNavigator
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

Post by PoorNavigator »

It would be interesting. And it would certainly be an interesting coding/modelling challenge. But the conceit of FTL is that it prevents these relativistic issues.
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

Post by Chris21wen »

I think they got it right. The worlds flat the universe must be or at least it is on my screen
Jorgen_CAB
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

Post by Jorgen_CAB »

The biggest hurdle to get over is that it is TIME that is the problem not space itself. We can predict quite ccurately when an object is going to be at a certain point in space using relativity.

The problem is that when we fold space between two points we don't know the time at the end point as time is relative and not constant. Time depend on both gravity and speed.

This is a concept that is difficult for most to understand it is a problem when using FTL or Wormholes... ;)
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MatBailie
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

Post by MatBailie »

My point is the the conceit itself makes the explicit premise ("time dilation accurately modelled") redundant.

I.e. You can't have time dilation accurately modelled whilst also having the conceit(s) implied by having FTL.
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fuke
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RE: Time dialation and speed of information

Post by fuke »

A great reminder why DW is so cool: it has the kind of players who talk about the big questions, not just how to min-max some arbitrary cookie cutter DLC mechanics.
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