Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/03/30/seedship-is-an-absorbing-text.html
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8 Likes
You have died of space dysentery!
20 Likes
Love it! 9731 points on the first run. Ocean planet with high gravity and post-singular civilization, but corrupt democracy… I guess it´s a win…
10 Likes
It was so life like.
5 Likes
I am reminded of John Brunner’s 1991 novel A Maze of Stars, in which the protagonist – an artificially intelligent spaceship – revisits planets which it previously seeded with human colonies.
Brunner uses this device to describe how different environmental conditions lead to different social structures.
Not my very favorite Brunner novel, but well-crafted, and quite Brunnerian.
4 Likes
I am happy to report that this game includes the option to “submit to the tentacles.” This post should get a CEPHALOPODS tag.
6 Likes
I really like this. Makes me want to expand on it, I wish the code was available.
1 Like
So it’s sort of like the Myst novels.
interested
9937 on the first run-through. Not bad.
The whole thing could be used as a good “setting” inspiration for a space themed tabletop game, or as a writing prompt for a short story.
2 Likes
D’oh.
The colonists lay the foundation of a democracy, but it proves vulnerable to corruption and wealthy individuals become a de facto ruling class.
My planet had “outstanding ugliness” as a feature. 
3 Likes
Score
Planet atmosphere: 250
Planet gravity: 0
Planet temperature: 250
Planet water: 250
Planet resources: 500
Survivors after landing: 975
Survivors after settlement construction: 680
Final technology level (Post-Singularity): 3000
Native relations (Friendly): 1000
Final culture (Corrupt Democracy): 1500
Surviving scientific database × 10: 1250
Surviving cultural database × 10: 1290
Total: 10945
The front-end seems to use “SugarCube (v2.12.1): A free (gratis and libre) story format, based on TiddlyWiki”
That could be interesting.
1 Like
Wait, do I want them to be happy?
They live lives of peace and spiritual fulfilment beyond the dreams of their ancestors on Earth, guided by a combination of human and alien philosophy.
1 Like
Took a few plays, but I broke 11,000. I think I’d need to find natives to get much higher.
Planet El Dorado
Atmosphere: Breathable
Features: Plant life High-tech ruins
Gravity: Moderate
Temperature: Moderate
Water: Planet-wide ocean
Resources: Rich
El Dorado’s ocean stretches to the horizon a blue sky. The colonists live in high-tech cities beneath the planet’s open sky, on platforms floating on the planet-wide ocean. They spend their time pursuing art, leisure, and spiritual fulfilment, while automatic machines take care of their material needs. In the first city stand monuments to the 25 colonists who did not survive the journey, the 62 more who died building the first settlement, and the seedship AI that guided humanity to its new home.
Score
Planet atmosphere: 500
Planet gravity: 500
Planet temperature: 500
Planet water: 250
Planet resources: 500
Survivors after landing: 975
Survivors after settlement construction: 913
Final technology level (Post-Singularity): 3000
Final culture (Post-Scarcity Utopia): 2500
Surviving scientific database × 10: 1190
Surviving cultural database × 10: 1010
Total: 11838
I think if your world is mostly yellow but you have some green stuff on your moon you’ll be OK.
post singularity is achievable with high tech ruins, I assume?
Date Planet Result Score
1 Thu Mar 30 2017 Oceanus Information Age Cosmic Enlightenment 11800
2 Thu Mar 30 2017 Atlantis Corrupt Post-Singularity Democracy 10945
3 Thu Mar 30 2017 Oceanus Information Age Cosmic Enlightenment 10336
4 Thu Mar 30 2017 Garden Information Age Post-Scarcity Utopia 10028
5 Thu Mar 30 2017 Arcadia Information Age Post-Scarcity Utopia 9472
6 Thu Mar 30 2017 Desert Egalitarian Medieval Republic 8682
7 Thu Mar 30 2017 Oceanus Egalitarian Medieval Republic 8580
8 Thu Mar 30 2017 Garden Egalitarian Medieval Republic 8347
It’s kind of frustrating to have to make major decisions without more data. I founded a colony on a world that was already inhabited by intelligent, largely altruistic beings but the AI never even established whether they were edible or not.
12 Likes
