Resources

[Canaris]

Updated: September 05th, 2010 @ 2220 hrs EST

Itching for new inspiration? Need some good ideas? Well, look no further! This thread is intended to cure what ails you; the lack of really cool plot armor, handwavium, and unobtanium! Simply post a link to a source you like in this thread and I'll add it to this post as a quick reference guide. There are no guidelines for posting - just keep it informational and interesting.

1001 Sci-fi Weapons

Atomic Rocket

Concept Ships

Death Rays

Evil Overlord Tips

Lifeboat Foundation

Orbital Vector

Orion's Arm

SCP Foundation

Stargazers to Starships

Starship Dimensions

Tau Zero Foundation

Universal Atlas

Special thanks to the contributors so far: Aldaris, Edouard, and Wayne Nylund!

[Ender Wiggin]

I am in awe.

[Aldaris]

The SCP Foundation website. The awesome archives of an MiB-like organisation. Very good site if you want horror influences.

Orion's Arm. A hyperrealistic world building project of what humanity, or rather Terragen civilisation, might achieve in the next 10 millenia.

Evil Overlord List. A list of tips on how to avoid common mistakes as an evil overlord. This should be mandatory reading.

[Red Dame]

The SCP Foundation website. The awesome archives of an MiB-like organisation. Very good site if you want horror influences.

I absolutely and completely love this site, thank you for sharing it!

[Arieg]

Oh my god Aldaris what have you done! ALL IS LOST!

[Aldaris]

The SCP Foundation website. The awesome archives of an MiB-like organisation. Very good site if you want horror influences.

I absolutely and completely love this site, thank you for sharing it!

Uuuuh...
Oops.

[Aamto24]

The SCP Foundation website. The awesome archives of an MiB-like organisation. Very good site if you want horror influences.

Orion's Arm. A hyperrealistic world building project of what humanity, or rather Terragen civilisation, might achieve in the next 10 millenia.

Evil Overlord List. A list of tips on how to avoid common mistakes as an evil overlord. This should be mandatory reading.

rep'd for Evil Overlord, couldn't stop laughing

[Wayne Nylund]

Just stumbled across this site, the Tau Zero Foundation, seems a good candidate for addition to our resources list. Its a well designed and good looking site, offering a good introduction on subjects relevant to interstellar travel and long term sustainability, subjects we've all discussed at some point, though we could always use an organized central repository.

I seem to recall hearing of this site and group a while back, not sure if it was one of the RP regulars, but if so, here is my belated thanks for sharing.

"The Tau Zero Foundation is a volunteer group of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and writers who have agreed to work together toward practical interstellar flight and to use this quest to teach you about science, technology, and our place in the universe. By posting the latest developments and unfinished advancements here, we give students the starting materials to begin their own discoveries. By showing both how daunting and incredible this challenge is, we hope to increase attention on protecting the habitability of Earth while planning journeys into the galaxy. By reaching for the stars we will create benefits every step of the way."

[Canaris]

Another nice one from Wayne.

I'm only sorry it took me so long to add it to the list...

[Édouard]

http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Smap.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Stargazers to Starships

A very impressive, VERY thorough online do-it-yourself course on pretty much everything space, courtesy of NASA. From the basics of astronomy to more advanced orbital mechanics, and even some chapters on astrophysics. If you expect to have a good 2 weeks with lots of periods of nothing to do, it's worth attempting.

[Canaris]

Added. Good read, Ed! Nice contribution.

[Danilov]

Thank you for the links. It seems to be fairly reliable at a glance but who knows.

[bart416]

http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Smap.htm

Stargazers to Starships

A very impressive, VERY thorough online do-it-yourself course on pretty much everything space, courtesy of NASA. From the basics of astronomy to more advanced orbital mechanics, and even some chapters on astrophysics. If you expect to have a good 2 weeks with lots of periods of nothing to do, it's worth attempting.

Since we're onto the subject it seems. If you want to learn about orbital mechanics I advice reading "Orbital mechanics for engineering students" by H.D. Curtis. Goes into a lot of detail but still a fairly light read compared to most books on the subject cause of the graphical representation of most of the problems. And cause it's an engineering approach and not physics it also looks at the practical problems instead of just giving the mathematical treatment. Another nice fact is that this book contains a nice review of basic mechanics.

[Space Gein]

I love the evil overlord list some of the reasons why The Venture Bros. is my favorite show particularly relevant to the Monarch and the Guild of Calamitous Intent. proof that if you intentionally and intelligently follow the cliches it can be alot of fun!
good clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz4PdpfI7zY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eICyqjtsizo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://video.adultswim.com/the-venture- ... licts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Space Man]

http://www.buildtheenterprise.org/ yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! can't wait when they build this.. They could build smaller ones for 10-30 people inside and make more of them, so in space they could combine in bigger ship, but probably the moon will be reachagain in 2024, and mars somewhere 2034-2035