Geology Matters!

[Dad Rock]

I'm really loving the new exploration mechanisms and tools. We're finding new and incredible things every day, and the Distant Worlds 2 Expedition opened my horizons beyond anything I'd ever imagined. But in spite of the sheer number of geological sites we can now discover, I feel like something is missing - actual Geology!

Look at NASA Insight and what we're discovering from the surface of Mars everyday. Geological sites should not be something randomly generated, but should stem from specific geological reasons and forces. From Mars to Pluto, there are forces at work within planets that constantly shape their surface in new and startling ways. If I'm seeing a geological site I'd like to be able to see some of those forces at play, rather than just see them bolted on to a planet surface - seemingly at random. If anything, I'd like to be able to read about these geological phenomenon and understand what it is I am seeing.

It's just a humble suggestion from this lowly Commander, and I have no way how this could be implemented in the Stellar Forge. But I'm sure there are other Commanders out there who would like to learn more about interstellar planetary geology that reflects the things we're seeing from NASA, and European and Chinese space agencies.

 

[varonica]

. From Mars to Pluto, there are forces at work within planets that constantly shape their surface in new and startling ways. If I'm seeing a geological site I'd like to be able to see some of those forces at play, rather than just see them bolted on to a planet surface - seemingly at random. If anything, I'd like to be able to read about these geological phenomenon and understand what it is I am seeing.

I am afraid you are mostly incorrect. Vulcanism in the ED universe does indeed rely mostly on unseen forces operating on the bodies. For instance two small moons in close binary orbit will be volcanic due to gravitational forces heating the interior of the moons. Identical moons not in close orbit will not be volcanic, the same goes for bodies in close orbit around parent bodies.

Larger bodies may or may not be volcanic for a number of reasons. Large planets in relatively new systems will be volcanic because they haven't had time to cool down since the system was formed, whereas smaller bodies in the same system with a larger surface area compared to volume will have cooled down completely and unless other forces are at work will be cold and dead volcanically. So volcanism depends on age, size and gravitational influence. Fdev also stated quite a while back that surface vulcanism also follows certain rules, we just haven't been able to work those out yet.

Don't make the mistake of thinking procedural is random, it isn't, it operates by rules defined by the seed, and FDEV have incorporated a lot more into the seed than you would at first believe. Volcanism isn't random, it follows rules, we know some of those rules, but it's up to us to figure out the rest.

There are also forces that operate on earth that don't work on other bodies, continental drift for example relies on a large magma envelope and small metalic core and a thin crust, bodies like Mars don't have those features, too small and has cooled to fast, the crust is to thick, the magma mantle to small, so you won't see things like the pacific ring of fire we have here, but that may have existed in the past and we can see remnants of it in the current volcanic activity. Of course other earth like worlds will probably have the same activity.

We have groups working on such things at the moment, there's a lot of information on the forums that details work done and conclusions reached. Of course the ED galaxy is only a model running on a computer with limitation that entails, so we have to understand that it's never going to be 100% realistic, that's something we are going to have to accept, but I think they have done a good job so far, but of course there's always room for improvement.

 

[Dad Rock]

Thank you, Commander, for taking the time to write a detailed and informative post! I had no idea that all of this was at work in the background, but now that you've told me, I'm going to be taking a closer look myself. Any groups or threads I can follow to learn more?

o7

 

[shreddog]

Have you checked out the MWSOG thread? (Milky Way Society of Organics and Geology)

 

[varonica]

Thank you, Commander, for taking the time to write a detailed and informative post! I had no idea that all of this was at work in the background, but now that you've told me, I'm going to be taking a closer look myself. Any groups or threads I can follow to learn more?

o7

You're welcome, and thanks for posting that link shreddog, should have thought to post it myself since I am a big contributor to the thread.