Post by Long Haul on Jun 30, 2007 17:06:09 GMT -5
As I'm sure most people have gathered, we are using a very comic-book/cartoon handling of both time and science in this game. That is, we are being realistic when it is fun and interesting to do so, but there are going to be times when real life physics and time keeping methods have to go right out of the window.
This is of a necessity in a game based primarily on toys, cartoons, and comic books. Our source material frequently employs Super-Science and Technology that does not particularly behave in a realistic manner.
One excellent example of this is Dead End's radar. In real life, while a radar can be used to pick up something in the air hundreds of miles away, the curvature of the Earth prevents it from picking up things that are on or near the ground that are farther away than a few dozen miles. This fact is what jets in movies are doing when they talk about flying "below the radar horizon." They are flying so low to the ground (or water) that a ground-based radar would not be able to pick them up until they are quite close, effectively hiding beneath the radar's line of sight. This is not a limitation due to our own technological level, but the laws of physics itself. RF energy travels in more or less a straight line, unless it's been bounced off something or something like ducting (which I am not getting into here) is involved.
Dead End, however, can map terrain that is up to 200 miles away. This does not only imply a really, really good radar. This implies a radar that ignores the laws of physics. I have illustrated this below in a highly accurate and painstakingly created diagram.
Similarly, some hand-waving must be accomplished in the treatment of time. We use time-skips here to get past the tedious portions. If you keep strict track of everything, you will notice that not all threads are actually at the same point in time. Despite this, all characters are able to communicate with each other over the various broadband threads. How is this possible? It's not. Just don't think very hard about it.
I hope you all have enjoyed this brief exploration into the world of comic book and cartoon physics. Thank you for your time (haha), and game on!
This is of a necessity in a game based primarily on toys, cartoons, and comic books. Our source material frequently employs Super-Science and Technology that does not particularly behave in a realistic manner.
One excellent example of this is Dead End's radar. In real life, while a radar can be used to pick up something in the air hundreds of miles away, the curvature of the Earth prevents it from picking up things that are on or near the ground that are farther away than a few dozen miles. This fact is what jets in movies are doing when they talk about flying "below the radar horizon." They are flying so low to the ground (or water) that a ground-based radar would not be able to pick them up until they are quite close, effectively hiding beneath the radar's line of sight. This is not a limitation due to our own technological level, but the laws of physics itself. RF energy travels in more or less a straight line, unless it's been bounced off something or something like ducting (which I am not getting into here) is involved.
Dead End, however, can map terrain that is up to 200 miles away. This does not only imply a really, really good radar. This implies a radar that ignores the laws of physics. I have illustrated this below in a highly accurate and painstakingly created diagram.
Illustration Addressing the Cartoon Treatment of a Radar's Line of Sight, or LOS
Similarly, some hand-waving must be accomplished in the treatment of time. We use time-skips here to get past the tedious portions. If you keep strict track of everything, you will notice that not all threads are actually at the same point in time. Despite this, all characters are able to communicate with each other over the various broadband threads. How is this possible? It's not. Just don't think very hard about it.
I hope you all have enjoyed this brief exploration into the world of comic book and cartoon physics. Thank you for your time (haha), and game on!
