[Slick]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
Slick:

While anti-matter (and even dark matter) races would be cool, they can not really be modeled in se4.

Couslee:

There are only so many ways elements can form compounds (all based off of the types of elements you are dealing with). Life on other planets would have to evolve in a similar way as to on earth (in the very beginning stages), or it would not evolve. The evolution of life from primordial oozes is an extremely rare occurence that requires a very specific set of circumstances (noone is fully aware of them all). Only a very small fraction of other planets in the universe could possibly have any form of life evolve on them. Even without knowing all of the factors that contributed to the evolution of life on earth, we can see that there is a very narrow range of conditions in which life can evolve (speaking on a planetary scale, taking other stellar bodies into account and all, not talking about specific climatic regions on the planet and all that). So, any planet that has life evolve on it is going to be fairly similar to earth in many ways.

I have a question for the lot of you:

What other compounds besides O2 do you think could serve the same role that O2 serves for earth-based macroscopic organisms? Why?

First, I agree that the game can't model antimatter as it works in a physics book, but this game is not about physics, it is about fun, use some artistic license! SE4 already fractures known physics, but who cares, it is one of the best games I have ever played.

As for the other compounds, let's put it this way. We don't know what alien life might be like. There is a famous equation called the Drake Equation which mathematically sets the probability of life in the universe. You can look it up for further reading. It basically comes out to a mathematical certainty because of the sheer number of stars that we can see that there is life out there somewhere. The real question is what is it like. We only have the earth as an example. We know that life can exist on planets like the earth, but how different can it be and still support life? There is a vast range of types of life on earth - plants, animals, people, viruses, bacteria, etc. Even on earth, we have microbes that exist in the polar ice caps and others in the sulfur vents of volcanoes, neither of which use oxygen and both conditions are deadly to humans. We like to say oxygen is necessary because that is what we see and we project that to say we couldn't have evolved without O2. Yes, humans couldn't have evolved without O2, but we would have evolved differently in another atmosphere. Therefore on earth, only O2 makes sense for humans as we know them. The reason we see light in the wavelengths that we do is that we evolved on a planet whose atmosphere lets in those wavelengths. We would have different "eyes" if we were on a different planet. It is clear that a living being must make energy in some fashion, with at least part in a chemical reaction. The energy, if for no other use would be required for growth & reproduction, which are requirements to be defined as "life". Humans use aerobic respiration and a cycle of adenosine triphosphate to generate energy. Plants use sunlight, CO2 and water. Microbes use other exotic chemical reactions. So there are lots of examples here on earth. I would submit that other "atmospheres" would not be found out of complex molecules or of rare gasses because these are not observed in the universe on scales large enough to make an entire atmosphere.

In addition to what is already in SE4, "believable" (at least to me) atmospheres would be Ammonia, Methane and Sulfur Dioxide (found on IO, moon of Jupiter). As to "why", these are simple molecules, containing common elements which are reactive enough to possibly be used in a biological energy-producing reaction.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Slick.

edit: typos

[ February 20, 2003, 02:55: Message edited by: Slick ]