Planet Orion

For what's not in 'Top Priority Game Design'. Post your ideas, visions, suggestions for the game, rules, modifications, etc.

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Autharius
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Planet Orion

#1 Post by Autharius »

Hey guys... well this might be a stupid questions but what about the planet orion... mo2 had the orion planet that was a gaia type planet with nice options... are you going to try to do something similar or are you keeping away from that close of a resemblance to mo2? Anyhow just something that came to mind and I thought I would post.

Sapphire Wyvern
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Re: Planet Orion

#2 Post by Sapphire Wyvern »

Autharius wrote:Hey guys... well this might be a stupid questions but what about the planet orion... mo2 had the orion planet that was a gaia type planet with nice options... are you going to try to do something similar or are you keeping away from that close of a resemblance to mo2? Anyhow just something that came to mind and I thought I would post.
There will be such a planet. It's possible we might have to name it something else if there are legal issues, I suppose...

haravikk
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#3 Post by haravikk »

IMO it should be a cool cluster of planets, filled with unusual ruins and stuff. Like it was a seat of government for the whole galaxy but wiped out in a cataclysmic event. With some remaining defences to keep it difficult to get into.

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Skaro
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#4 Post by Skaro »

A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down. --Murphy's war laws

Moriarty
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#5 Post by Moriarty »

If memory serves Orions belt isn't any form of star "cluster" at all. The stars just look like they are together. They are hundreds of light years apart really (815 to 1,342 ly distant from Earth).

I can't see why you're not allowed to use Orion. It's not trade-marked is it? Plus there is prior-art (that big constellation).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion for the Orion disambigation page. There doesn't seem to be a single star with the name (at least not popular enough to warrent a wiki page).

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Geoff the Medio
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#6 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Moriarty wrote:I can't see why you're not allowed to use Orion. It's not trade-marked is it?
[...]
There doesn't seem to be a single star with the name (at least not popular enough to warrent a wiki page).
You just answered your own question: "Orion" the planet or star is not an astronomical phenomena, but rather an fictional creation.

IANAL, but even if there was a real Orion planet or star, using it in as a planet name with significant story importance in the context of a space empire strategy game would be rather questionable legally, as it's venturing into direct copying, rather than mere thematic inspiration. It's like the difference between writing a fantasy novel with the word "Ring" in the title, vs. one that has a powerful ring created by the Dark Lord to control all the other rings of power and which needs to be destroyed by some halfings on a quest with a fellowship of nine including a wizard, elf, dwarf, ranger...

And also, AFAIK the context of use matters a lot in these sort of things. It would be fine to open up the Orion Cafe or Orion Airlines or to create the Orion Weblogging System, assuming none of these exist yet, as there's no chance of confusion with the pre-existing commercial trademarked and copyrighted Master of Orion games. But a space-empire strategy game using Orion in the title needs to be clearly distinct from the commercial games to avoid any chance of confusion, which is partly why references to FreeOrion being "inspired by" or "in the tradition of" MoO is repeatedly stated, and why I insistently tell and correct people that FO is not "a MOO clone". We don't want FO confused with MoO.

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Skaro
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#7 Post by Skaro »

Moriarty wrote:If memory serves Orions belt isn't any form of star "cluster" at all. The stars just look like they are together. They are hundreds of light years apart really (815 to 1,342 ly distant from Earth).

I can't see why you're not allowed to use Orion. It's not trade-marked is it? Plus there is prior-art (that big constellation).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion for the Orion disambigation page. There doesn't seem to be a single star with the name (at least not popular enough to warrent a wiki page).
I mentioned it due to it's name and legal implications, not because of the astrological composition :roll:
A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down. --Murphy's war laws

Magus
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#8 Post by Magus »

Here's an idea for Orion (And we should probably get a different name for it, I propose 'Elysium' or 'Ascension' to get it started)

------------------------------
The Orion system is easily identifiable, for it is the only system in which a sentient of any given bioform would stand a decent chance of being able to walk (slither, glide, locomote) from one end of it to the other, given enough time. The system, from its star to its outermost jump points (starlane ends), is practically solid with debris.

Rumors persist of a 'Guardian.' These rumors are false. However, there is functioning military hardware throughout the debris field, much of it berserk. Great dangers certainly exist in Orion. But great treasures as well, the wreckage of a sentient species that advanced so far as to negate the need for physical form. Entire fleets of exploratory vessels could spend millenia sifting through the remnants.
------------------------------

Basically, the exploration of 'Orion' is a third segment of the game, aside from war and domestic issues. This also makes 'Orion' open to all races, and a flashpoint for conflict. Obviously, this would entail a fair bit more work than just making it a really good system, but I think it would make for a more interesting game.

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utilae
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#9 Post by utilae »

What about 'Syrius'?

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Geoff the Medio
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#10 Post by Geoff the Medio »

utilae wrote:What about 'Syrius'?
Sounds too much like Sirius, a real star.

Yoghurt
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#11 Post by Yoghurt »

What about "Omgwtf"

SCNR :P

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utilae
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#12 Post by utilae »

Geoff the Medio wrote:
utilae wrote:What about 'Syrius'?
Sounds too much like Sirius, a real star.
That's what I mean't.

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Skaro
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#13 Post by Skaro »

How about:

Tranquil
Eden
Chronos (No, it's not the Klingon homeworld :roll: )
Asgard
A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down. --Murphy's war laws

marhawkman
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#14 Post by marhawkman »

Skaro wrote:How about:

Tranquil
Eden
Chronos (No, it's not the Klingon homeworld :roll: )
Asgard
Qo'nos was the Klingon homeworld. Just remember that Sirius is a BINARY star. Algol, Mizar, Betelgeuse(has at least one companion, and it's in the Orion constellation :)), Mintaka, Rigel, Ceti Alpha, Antares and Shaula(in Scorpio), and the various Centauri stars, Let's face it a large percentage of Races in Sci-Fi have names derived from stars or constellations. So any star famous enough probably has been used somewhere. The key is not to imitate what other have done too closely.

Dang it, I'm tired and I forgot where I was going with this.... I guess the point is that using real star names is okay, but researching them is probably a good idea. Betelgeuse is a red SuperGiant. When I say SUPER giant I mean it's so big it's radius is approximately equal to the radius of Jupiter's orbit. Antares is also a red Giant star. Here's a neat list I found: http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/conste ... htest.html .
Computer programming is fun.

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pd
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#15 Post by pd »

In my opinion freeOrion needs a planet or system called orion. If we really get in legal trouble with this, we can still rename it to anything else.

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