So the other day I was interdicted by a pirate who goes by the name of "Virgil Sams". I suspect that this name [especially this spelling] will mean absolutely nothing to 99.9% of forum visitors. However, to anyone who has happened [as I did] to fall across a very [very] old selection of dog-eared and care-worn paperback books, known as the "Lensman Series", by a 1940s/1950s US science fiction writer, E.E. "Doc" Smith, this name will be familiar. "Virgil Samms" [to quote the original spelling] was, in the story, the first human being to wear the Lens of Arisia. [If you want to know more about him than that, hit the flea markets, or check wikipedia... ]
I dismissed this out of hand as a curious bit of coincidence and random-number generation from the procedural engine at the heart of the game.
Then last night I was interdicted by another pirate, this time "Zathrus". Well, Zathras - please note, once again, the slight variation in spelling, is a character, played by Tim Choate, in the 1990s science-fiction TV Series "Babylon 5", [written by J. Michael Strazynski].
At this point I stopped, deciding that these were more than mere coincidence and that someone at Frontier who has both a very deep love of science fiction and also a fairly sensible approach to avoiding copyright lawsuits has been having a little fun with us in the game. These are certainly Easter Eggs [after a fashion].
I'm curious to know if anyone else has spotted any curiously-familiar names of pirates [or other NPCs in the game]. If so, please reply, and let's make a list...
Oh, and if anyone from the Frontier Dev community would care to comment????
I dismissed this out of hand as a curious bit of coincidence and random-number generation from the procedural engine at the heart of the game.
Then last night I was interdicted by another pirate, this time "Zathrus". Well, Zathras - please note, once again, the slight variation in spelling, is a character, played by Tim Choate, in the 1990s science-fiction TV Series "Babylon 5", [written by J. Michael Strazynski].
At this point I stopped, deciding that these were more than mere coincidence and that someone at Frontier who has both a very deep love of science fiction and also a fairly sensible approach to avoiding copyright lawsuits has been having a little fun with us in the game. These are certainly Easter Eggs [after a fashion].
I'm curious to know if anyone else has spotted any curiously-familiar names of pirates [or other NPCs in the game]. If so, please reply, and let's make a list...
Oh, and if anyone from the Frontier Dev community would care to comment????
