http://ask.metafilter.com/tags/worldbuilding Questions tagged with 'worldbuilding' at Ask MetaFilter. Sat, 24 Nov 2007 10:21:31 -0800 Sat, 24 Nov 2007 10:21:31 -0800 en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://ask.metafilter.com/76973/Translation%2Dfor%2DOriginal%2DLanguage How should I go about building a language <> English dictionary/translator, that can be used by one or two people via a computer, when the language is still a work-in-progress?</> My roommate and I have been writing stories together for a decade now. In the past several years, we have also endeavored to create a whole new language for a set of our characters. Language has always fascinated me, so I have tried to incorporate things like tenses and conjugation into the mix, instead of simply relying on word transposition.<br> <br> The language itself has grown enough, in fits and starts, that searching word-by-word in the GoogleDoc that we transported our original Excel spreadsheet to is becoming tedious. I've been toying with the idea on creating a translator for it, to make in-story conversations flow quicker.<br> <br> <a href="http://www.grey-company.org/Maerdyn">House Maerdyn</a> had a wonderful translator, for example, that has since disappeared from their webpage. I haven't found anything as comprehensive as that since.<br> <br> What I'm looking for is a web-or-network based solution that we can use to build/translate the language... that isn't *too* complicated to work with. And by work with, I mean create, not use. I'm willing to put in some skullsweat with tutorials and resources, but I have little experience with databases, and no programing knowledge whatsoever.<br> <br> Suggestions? Any feedback from other language-lovers, world-builders, etc. is greatly appreciated! tag:ask.metafilter.com,2007:site.76973 Sat, 24 Nov 2007 10:21:31 -0800 conlang language program software worldbuilding Adelwolf http://ask.metafilter.com/54583/Thicker%2Dair%2Dand%2Dlower%2Dgravity Imagine a world in which the atmospheric density is somewhat greater than ours, but gravity is somewhat lower. How might our experience be different on that world? For example, I imagine that the greater air resistance would mean a lower terminal velocity for falling objects. Is this correct or am I confused?<br> <br> Assuming a mix of gasses in the same proportion to our own atmosphere, would the higher pressure of oxygen at sea level cause physiological problems, or would the higher pressure of nitrogen force you to decompress gradually if you, say, went up in a balloon, or risk an attack of the bends? What other physiological effects might occur?<br> <br> How would gunfire, explosives and other incendiary reactions be affected?<br> <br> How would climate and weather differ? Would clouds form more readily? Would they form at higher or lower altitudes?<br> <br> What sort of technologies might be favored?<br> <br> What other interesting effects might this environment have?<br> <br> A world with lower-than-Earth gravity probably can't retain a denser-than-Earth atmosphere, I realize. Be gentle in the face of my naivety. tag:ask.metafilter.com,2007:site.54583 Mon, 08 Jan 2007 03:35:06 -0800 atmosphere gravity planetengineering worldbuilding Ritchie