Cinder Spires Airship Specs So Far

[Quantus]

Random Question:   is the lift crystal, the Mark IV-D, is that pronounced "Mark Four Dee" or "Mark Four-Five Hundred"?

[knnn]

Random Question:   is the lift crystal, the Mark IV-D, is that pronounced "Mark Four Dee" or "Mark Four-Five Hundred"?

I was going to say the former because using roman numerals seems weird for a society that was apparently "seeded" by a higher tech base, but then I readlized that  "IV = 4" already implies that.   

[Quantus]

I took it as 4-D originally, but then remembered that 'D' is one of the less used numbers and it could be purely numeric in a longer form.  I think im stuck hearing 4-D in my head though. 

[Second Aristh]

I would say that 4-D is more likely based on the comments of the age of the crystal.  Five hundred points to have four hundred similar crystals being ahead of it in line.

[raidem]

Random Question:   is the lift crystal, the Mark IV-D, is that pronounced "Mark Four Dee" or "Mark Four-Five Hundred"?

I like it and it could suggest a roman history to this new world.  (the above being a reference to roman numerology)

So, If there is a Mark IV-M would then that suggest it was in the vat for 1000 years.  Or Mark IV-C for 100 years.

Roman numerals I, V, X, L, C, D, M
                        1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000

[knnn]

I like it and it could suggest a roman history to this new world.

Thing is, the Spirestone and the vat technology implies an advanced civilization that has declined.  Reverting to roman numerals after (presumably) knowing about positional notation seems a little funny.

[Second Aristh]

Thing is, the Spirestone and the vat technology implies an advanced civilization that has declined.  Reverting to roman numerals after (presumably) knowing about positional notation seems a little funny.

"Reverting" seems a little extreme.  It's been 700 years since Roman numerals have started to decline in our history, and they're still fairly common.

[knnn]

"Reverting" seems a little extreme.  It's been 700 years since Roman numerals have started to decline in our history, and they're still fairly common.

Sure, because there is such a strong Roman influence on western civilzation.  Even so, you'll see them mainly for small numbers (e.g. to number pages in an index instead of using a,b,c).    I don't think you'll generally find numbers over 100, unless someone is trying to explicitly make something feel archaic.

[Second Aristh]

Sure, because there is such a strong Roman influence on western civilzation.  Even so, you'll see them mainly for small numbers (e.g. to number pages in an index instead of using a,b,c).    I don't think you'll generally find numbers over 100, unless someone is trying to explicitly make something feel archaic.

There's a strong Roman-like influence on the Spires, too.  Overall though, I agree that the D probably isn't a Roman numeral.  It takes up too much room to write large Roman numerals.

[knnn]

There's a strong Roman-like influence on the Spires, too.  Overall though, I agree that the D probably isn't a Roman numeral.  It takes up too much room to write large Roman numerals.

Well, at least in Spire Albion.  There's hints that other spires have different influences. 

Still, to get roman influence on a spire you need a space-faring race to come from "elsewhere" and build the spires/vat/hydroponics, then lose a lot of its tech.  That implies longer than 700 years.

[Quantus]

Thing is, the Spirestone and the vat technology implies an advanced civilization that has declined.  Reverting to roman numerals after (presumably) knowing about positional notation seems a little funny.

Perhaps, but that assumes that The Builders were Human in the first place.  The Spires are an advanced technology that is well outside the capabilities of modern RL humanity (on shear size and self-sustaining autonomous function), and given the other elements of more rudimentary technologies and I wonder if they weren't built by somebody else and either Given To or Taken By the ancestor's of humanity. 

On the other hand, the sort of cataclysm that would drive the human population off the surface and into the Spires would in itself be enough to cause a massive decline in technology and education; by simple upheaval and loss of resources. 

[knnn]

Perhaps, but that assumes that The Builders were Human in the first place.  The Spires are an advanced technology that is well outside the capabilities of modern RL humanity (on shear size and self-sustaining autonomous function), and given the other elements of more rudimentary technologies and I wonder if they weren't built by somebody else and either Given To or Taken By the ancestor's of humanity. 

Perhaps.  FWIW, I just noticed that the spirearch is called "First Citizen", yet another Roman connection.

Still, from everything we've seen, I submit that it takes quite serious maintenence to keep a Spire running.  Vents, light, air, water, minerals, growth, recycling, etc., it's almost like living in a spaceship.  If you start from anything too primitive, you really need to educate the people who are going to be living in the Spire, otherwise I think everything will crumble before too long.

[Quantus]

Still, from everything we've seen, I submit that it takes quite serious maintenance to keep a Spire running.  Vents, light, air, water, minerals, growth, recycling, etc., it's almost like living in a spaceship.  If you start from anything too primitive, you really need to educate the people who are going to be living in the Spire, otherwise I think everything will crumble before too long.

I dont mean to imply that they are operating with Zero work or maintenance from the human inhabitants, but I do think that overall the Sipres run themselves, powered by that massive flow of etheric energy that Folly saw, and is for the most part as incomprehensible to the current residents as is Spirestone and the various other bits of Builder craft we've seen.  Im picturing a system similar to that of Zion from the Matrix sequels that most of us are still trying to forget. 

[knnn]

I dont mean to imply that they are operating with Zero work or maintenance from the human inhabitants, but I do think that overall the Sipres run themselves, powered by that massive flow of etheric energy that Folly saw, and is for the most part as incomprehensible to the current residents as is Spirestone and the various other bits of Builder craft we've seen.  Im picturing a system similar to that of Zion from the Matrix sequels that most of us are still trying to forget.

Now you're just trolling me.  The Matrix was so good, I wish they had made sequels.   

To your point, the spires do work, but I still submit that to really support human life you would need some tech.  As an example, I'm sure the vats don't run themselves, and you need things like ready access to clean water, ways to remove waste that don't clog things up, and possibly even things to clean out the air/water shafts (from soot, smoke, etc).  As much as you want to ragnarok-proof the spire itself, it still is quite a fragile ecology.

[Quantus]

To your point, the spires do work, but I still submit that to really support human life you would need some tech.  As an example, I'm sure the vats don't run themselves, and you need things like ready access to clean water, ways to remove waste that don't clog things up, and possibly even things to clean out the air/water shafts (from soot, smoke, etc).  As much as you want to ragnarok-proof the spire itself, it still is quite a fragile ecology.

just to be clear: when you say "need some tech" do you mean "Human's Residents would need some technical knowledge"?