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 Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:33 am
But doesn't science fiction and fantasy come under speculative fiction? Almost the same heading, to say the least. If we're looking for scientific ways it could be possible, then we're bang out of luck for a floating city. I can think of several magical ways for it to exist. => Mages destroy an arch foe, the effect being that the ground had become to unstable to live on. It played havoc with physics, and the city somehow floated in the air. => gravity is topsy turvy, almost non-existent except for mages who hold the city in place. Mostly the ones I think of include mages, magic, summoning and general cliched fantasies that have already been done. You can even include gods building a city in the skies and inviting mortals to live there while they live on the ground. Another example from Kevin J. Anderson in Star Wars is that the forests were sacred, therefore they built cities in the skies to protect themselves and give them a place to live. Once you reentered the forest, you were exiled forever. That's Star Wars the Dark Apprentice, by the by. Other than those examples, science doesn't really come into it as a proper explanation.
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Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 5:34 pm
I suppose I'm a bit late into the chat but my experience with floating continents is that they are usually held by magic, most often ancient. The resons for such things are usually a bit odd or unexplained though.
One instence where I have seen an entire world that was made up of floating continents was in a game: Baiten Katios. The explination was that an evil diety had been wreaking havic upon the land and they were forced to live in the skies...and apperently took their continents with the mwhen they went. Though you never get to see what actualyl happened to the ground.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:58 pm
I suppose that could be true Nyxix but, one has to be careful when making a story like that cuz sometimes the line between sci-fi and fantasy can get blurry.
Really? I had no idea about that Kevin Anderson fellow. I haven't read that many SW books so...
Ah yes, Baten Kaitos. I've heard how that game is really good but I haven't found a copy at a good price here. I'd like to play it to understand more about the story you mentioned. 3nodding
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 12:23 am
hypnocrown I suppose that could be true Nyxix but, one has to be careful when making a story like that cuz sometimes the line between sci-fi and fantasy can get blurry. Really? I had no idea about that Kevin Anderson fellow. I haven't read that many SW books so... Ah yes, Baten Kaitos. I've heard how that game is really good but I haven't found a copy at a good price here. I'd like to play it to understand more about the story you mentioned. 3nodding *Looks Sheepish* I read Star Wars because its usually a good read. There are published authors out there that are fantastic, even if they're writing fanfictions! But I only remembered that passage because I was thinking about the Floating Continents at the time, and it seemed interesting to me. I suppose they WERE more along the lines of floating cities, but it's still fantastic to be able to live in the clouds. However, my thoughts on that are differential. I'm slightly biased because I'm terrified of heights to the point where I can't even get on an escalator without panicking, or step on a stool without my heart-rate skyrocketing. Would you be able to live on a floating continent if for any reason at all you felt that it was unstable, and that the ground moved at the slightest turbulence? There are things to consider if you're up in the air. There are wind tunnels, air pockets, turbulence, and many other things I've forgotten the technical names for. A person can even forget which way is up or down, given that everywhere looks blue. Factor those in, then factor in the weather: what happens if there is a storm? We've had one recently and it's done major damage, what with road closures and trees blown over. What would happen to a floating continent if a storm hit? What about the vacuum of space underneath? Would it be sheltered from the storm, or would the storm work as a minor or major earthquake? Maybe I'm reading into this the wrong way, but I've just been thinking about these things a lot more often than I probably should!
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 3:32 pm
Yes, it must be pretty cool to have a city or something alike in the clouds.
You know, it's funny that you mentioned the whole "fear of heights" thing. My mom is also terrified of heights and the curious thing is, I am not as terrified as she is. I think I may have a moderate concern cuz I don't exactly fear heights but still...
And yer right! There are a lot of things to consider about that so I try not to write about it until I know more about everything involved. Nice to see you've given this some thought. I sure haven't! sweatdrop
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:50 pm
The weather and physics all depend on how exactly that continent got there and how it stays there. I mean if a wizard magically floated it up there somehow then I'm sure somone with enough power to do that must also be able to sheild it from the elements and natural occurances that might disturb it.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:02 am
I think I mentioned The Granstream Saga before, but the continents in that float and I forget exactly how they ended up that way. There is nothing below the continents but a vast ocean (as is told in the story), and the continents are kept afloat through magic that is controlled by song. Something happened to cause the continents to sink, and the point of the story is that the main character, Eon, help the main girl, Arcia, to find the "lifting verses" so she can sing them to raise the continents again.
I'm not a fan of using floating continents myself, but I still like the concept of them in other worlds where they fit best, such as in Skies of Arcadia.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:24 pm
That sounds great Mel! Yer lucky for having played those games. I haven't even tried Skies of Arcadia but I'd sure like to. 3nodding
I find it strange that after all this time, I haven't been able to think of a different and unique way of making a continent or city float in mid air. Maybe I've had "Magic" stuck in my brain for too long. mrgreen
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Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:02 am
Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide has floating cities. An ancient empire called Netheril apparently hosted some very powerful magicians who made the cities float high up in the sky with - ah, I don't remember what it was, been a long time since I played that expansion, but I think 'twas a huge machine or artifact powered by magic. The cities once crashed to the earth for unknown reasons, leading to the fall of the empire, and as you play you actually discover what went wrong.
That's floating cities, though.
There's a book series with floating islands as well. The Death Gate Cycle or something like that, written by Margaret Weis. The islands floated around in the sky much like planets, but I can't remember why or if it was even explained. Then again, I've only read the first few chapters of the first book. I think the main ground was uninhabitable.
Personally, I like the idea of floating continents/cities/whatever, but can't see how it would work without some kind of magic or as a result of magic gone wrong. Such a fascinating idea, though...
Just my two cents.
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 12:26 pm
Thanks for the two cents Marcairn!
I've never read that series of books you mention but I have heard about Never winter Nights.
I'm wondering if the gravitational force of something as powerful as a black hole could be reproduced by a machine and create enough gravitational force to keep a continent floating. Maybe Berz could comment on this thought of mine, he-he. mrgreen
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:16 pm
I like the idea of floating islands and continents in the sky. I've tried to work a few of them into my game worlds (D&D and the like). Out side of magic I can't come up with many other really good reasons why they float other that maybe lots of really big pockets full of a lighter that air gas.
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 11:10 am
You know, I just thought of something. What if continents, or cities for that matter, were all made from a very special material that was tough enough to support almost any kind of weight but, were also as light as, well... not a feather cuz that would not be very believable. Still, it could be light enough so that a simple mechanism of magnets or even anti-gravity engines could support it afloat. How about that!?
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 10:42 am
hypnocrown You know, I just thought of something. What if continents, or cities for that matter, were all made from a very special material that was tough enough to support almost any kind of weight but, were also as light as, well... not a feather cuz that would not be very believable. Still, it could be light enough so that a simple mechanism of magnets or even anti-gravity engines could support it afloat. How about that!?
2.) Do anti-gravity engines exist? If so, how do they work, what are they made out of, and how big would one have to be in order to support a continent?
3.) What kinds of materials are you on about? Do they exist? If not, what materials could be combined in order to create a material that would do such things?
Anyone can answer those three questions, but it'd be good if you could research some of it Hypno. You presented the idea. smile
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 4:58 pm
Thanks for asking Mel. I'm actually not sure on all those things cuz I am not a physics major or anything alike. I have ideas but I can't elaborate on them cuz I don't have the know how. IF I were to actually do the research, who knows how long it would take me to actually learn more about all this and return to post so, maybe I'll just let someone else answer this, he-he. sweatdrop
I might be able to answer the first question if I make up my own material but, I'm not sure how to do that either. How lame am I? gonk
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:28 pm
hypnocrown You know, I just thought of something. What if continents, or cities for that matter, were all made from a very special material that was tough enough to support almost any kind of weight but, were also as light as, well... not a feather cuz that would not be very believable. Still, it could be light enough so that a simple mechanism of magnets or even anti-gravity engines could support it afloat. How about that!?
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