#IN SPAAAAACE!

[fantasyfantasygames]

Heavy Hydrogen

Heavy Hydrogen v4.5.1, Tritium Games, 2015

This is not the Tritium Games who does reviews on Steam. Different person. It also has nothing to do with any 1488 shit. Pull that here and get reported and blocked.

Heavy Hydrogen went through a lot of iterations in its design. It started as a Traveller 3rd retro-clone (v1) in 2008, then shifted to an earlier version of Traveller (v1.5), then switched to Diaspora (v2), then had its own system (v3), then swapped to something that looked kinda like Eclipse Phase (v4) before trimming that down a lot for the version I'm reviewing. Tritium Games clearly knows each ruleset well, because there's not a lot that's carried forward from older rules. There's no real trace of Diaspora in the Eclipse Phase version, for example. If you know the first version of Eclipse Phase, you'll be able to play this fairly well, though you'll find that both the level of detail and the number of unnecessary fiddly bits has been reduced.

The setting is fairly standard sci-fi stuff. There's a lot of Niven and Asimov influence. Interstellar Empire in decline, wormholes, inexpensive interplanetary travel, newer and sexier civilizations arising on the galactic rim, plenty of planets still unexplored, multiple sentient aliens, most of them bipedal with two arms, etc. Psionics no, laser swords yes. Some Eclipse Phase concepts are removed, most notably sleeving. If you've seen Traveller, Stars Without Number, and Starfinder, you've seen this one too.

What's different is the level of detail. It reads like someone not only took extensive notes during a two-decade homebrew game, but then continued on to flesh that out until every planet had equal representation. Most games would have these as supplements. Heavy Hydrogen folds it into a somewhat dry 950-page book.

You read that right. 950 pages. With not much art. (Most of it is black-and-white line art of planets, guns, and buildings.) Layout is pedestrian. The index is thankfully copious, though things aren't always listed where you'd think. The earlier editions were smaller, but even v1.5 was 400+ pages. The hydrogen is indeed quite heavy.

Heavy Hydrogen's setting has been fairly constant, evolving only as new technologies are discovered in our own world. For instance, the appearance of CRISPR genetic editing in the real world resulted in biotech receiving a larger role in the Empire. By 2008 the internet was well-established, so the Empire had ubiquitous computing, but it wasn't until v4 that social media really got incorporated in a serious way. I feel like the changes contribute to the game's playability in a positive way - you don't need to assume that Thing X was never invented in order for the game to make sense. Kudos to the design team for making sure the whole monstrosity of a setting is updated in this way.

There's not a ton more to say about Heavy Hydrogen. There's a version 5 in the works, of course, currently planned for 2026. I appreciate that they're realistic about the release date. If you like the setting, you'll find plenty here to run an entire decade-long campaign in. The game is available in PDF through a janky e-commerce system on Tritium Games' website. The physical copies are sold out, and I imagine that's because it's awful hard to find a printing company that can handle a 950-page book.

[iron-sparrow]

love lift me up where i belong ♫

far from the world below up where the clear winds blow ♫

a silly little idea that spawned from a conversation about gravity on the moon and how Yein would be on Odette's shoulders like they're riding that one crab mount

ft. @ahollowgrave

[anghraine]

"Much knowledge that was forgotten because it wasn't needed for many years has been recovered" sounds like something out of a fantasy novel, but it's actually from Voyager mission engineer Kareem Badaruddin wrt Voyager 1, and one of various awesome quotes in this article about the possible effective death of the Voyager 1 mission.

[belovedbow]

'cause I know my place

and it ain't with you

they're my roman empire

[lostinhistory]

Enjoy the warm glow of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as their combustion casts a calming, flickering glow. Thrill to the intense white-hot gases from the solid boosters as their aluminum powder and ammonium perchlorate oxidizer, bound together by polybutadiene acrylonitrile, is set ablaze.

[fantazist]

just a simple sketch :Р

[sepdet]

I went out to a little "glamping" bungalow near Joshua Tree last night to try my new telescope under clear skies.

Smoke from wildfires, light glow from the gibbous moon, and collimation troubles mean these images are still not the best I think I can coax out of this beastie. but I am pleased.

I'm leaving the optional timestamp on each of these images, since the telescope will label what they are ("M8 Lagoon Nebula", eg.) The time in minutes is the exposure length. These are all visible wavelengths, btw— no filters, infrared, etc.

Here are several nebulae (yes, that's the Trifid Nebula), a couple of globular star clusters, a beautiful galaxy drawing in a friend, and a deep sky comet that is getting hyped up although we can't be sure yet that it won't break apart as it loops around the particularly active Sun.

[lenle-g]

unhinged observation - we all know their colours don't match the traditional ones, but I've never noticed before that on the portraits they put Jeff in red and Virgil in green, but then they swap them over when we actually see them. In fact, //pause while Len goes to look// when they're in TB3, they're all wearing red - like all the space-rated suits, specifically are red. //Goes to check again// and Gordon and Virg are in green with TB2 in the opening rescue to match Jeff as well.

Does that mean, in 2004 verse, they wear whichever colour matches the 'bird they're currently flying because other than them needing 5 suits each... that's pretty cool can't lie good for them

ignoring the fact they look the same, I can be like ??? well yellow must be wetsuits, red is space rated?? Green is ?? tougher maybe, blue is for however many G's TB1 hits a body with when they're going crazy speeds, orange is a spacesuit for living in space etc etc

[daxstriel]

all aboard the Discovery One!!!

[rapaduraalada]

SPAAAAAAAAACE

[existentialterror]

Touching love poem from the Wikipedia page on Carl Sagan (2023-02-03.)

[blitzythefanvergentpitsterthings]

When I said I wanted to live in star trek I meant the space exploration era, not WW3

[anghraine]

I was tagged by @child-of-hurin to post four random pictures! Here are the last four pictures I was doing anything with:

I was browsing a vintage store in the suburb I recently moved to and beheld a Discman like I had in high school! (It's not the same literal object, but mine looked just like this one and I was very excited to find one, especially as a streaming hater).

I saw some wild violets growing up out of a crack in the driveway <3

I grabbed a screenshot of Kirk from "A Taste of Armageddon" for a post about f!Kirk (still in my drafts folder) that I was putting together in response to an ongoing conversation with @betty-fran. Unfortunately I'm being oppressed by hand cramps from the piano playing and have to wait to actually say everything ;_;

I took a photograph of the moon! I usually have terrible luck with pictures of the moon, but this one was better and I liked how weird the sky/clouds looked.

Tagging (completely optionally): @ladytharen, @alderaan-babe, @weresehlat, @ameliarating, @grumpyfaceurn, @nelayn, and anyone else who sees this and wants to do it!

[ironedsleeper]

Revan getting their brain turned to soup by the jedi undid years of introspection and self acceptance that got really quickly rubber banded back into memory after a short while and what Im getting at is that Revan’s pronouns should be shifting like crazy. And no one is more annoyed about this than she is, cause yeah sure everyone else has to keep track of Revan’s current pronouns but he’s the one going through the galaxy’s most pain in the ass identify crisis and every time she changes their pronouns Its because he legitimately identifies with them at the time.

Unfortunately she can’t just say it’s genderfluid because thats the word for spluge in star wars since jizz was taken. Ze would be so fucking pissed if they ever found out though.

[lostinhistory]

Heritage News of the Week

Discoveries!

A collection of human bones discovered 50 years ago in a Somerset pit are evidence of the bloodiest known massacre in British prehistory ��� and of bronze age cannibalism, archaeologists say.

Thirteen ancient Egyptian mummies found with gold tongues to help them talk in the afterlife

More than a dozen ancient gold tongues have been discovered in a cemetery at the site of Oxyrhynchus in Egypt.

A rare terracotta warrior is unearthed in China’s legendary imperial tomb

The figure is one of only 10 high-ranking officers found over the past 50 years.

Stonehenge may have been erected to unite early British farming communities, research finds

The altar stone, which we now know is from Scotland, may have been a gift or marker of political alliance

Centuries-old floor patched with sliced bones discovered in the Netherlands

A building renovation in the Netherlands has led to a bone-chilling discovery: a centuries-old tile floor that's partly filled with sawed-off bones.

Hecate depiction found in 3,000-year-old temple complex

Archaeologists excavating a 3,000-year-old temple complex in Turkey’s southwestern Mugla province have uncovered a depiction of the goddess Hecate.

2,500-year-old shipwreck uncovered near Sicily

The wreck was found buried under sand and rock 20 feet underwater off Santa Maria del Focallo, at the southern tip of the island.

Rare portrait of the last Byzantine emperor unearthed in stunning Greek find

A portrait of the final Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palailogos, has been discovered by archaeologists in Greece.

Found jewellery and a unique coin: Three women were buried here during the Viking Age

On a small rocky knoll on the west coast of Norway, archaeologists have uncovered a rich burial ground from the Viking Age.

Ritualistic dog burials associated with the goddess Gula unearthed at the Harran archaeological site in southeastern Türkiye

Excavations at the Harran archaeological site in Şanlıurfa, one of the world’s oldest settlements and listed on UNESCO’s Temporary World Heritage List, unearthed four Iron Age dog burials.

Archaeologists uncover a 7,000-year-old settlement near Prague

Archaeologists from the Czech Academy of Sciences have uncovered a 7,000-year-old settlement during construction works for the planned Prague Ring Road near Nupaky in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic.

188 medieval figurines that held Christian saints' bones unearthed in Berlin's oldest town square

Archaeologists have found 188 medieval reliquaries during excavations at a square in Berlin. Some of them still contain human bones of people considered to be saints or holy.

Over 6,000 pieces of fish-scale armour found in tomb of Emperor Liu He

Archaeologists have found more than 6,000 pieces of fish scale-armour during excavations of the tomb of Emperor Liu He, located in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, China.

Ancient bones shed new light on debate over origins of syphilis

Study finds 9,000-year-old remains in Americas hold genomes of bacteria family that causes disease

Letters from Lord Byron, Elizabeth I and Benjamin Franklin among collection discovered in British stately home

Rare autographed cache found by researcher at National Trust’s Waddesdon Manor

I do love all of the little twirlies

7,000-year-old alien-like figurine from Kuwait a 'total surprise' to archaeologists

A newfound clay head from the sixth millennium B.C. is the first of its kind ever found in Kuwait, but similar finds have been unearthed from ancient Mesopotamia.

New findings at fortress of “Wolf King”

Archaeologists have revealed new findings at Larache, a medieval fortress associated with Ibn Mardanīsh, known by Christian sources as the “Wolf King”.

Medieval origins of Oxford college unearthed

Medieval features of an Oxford college, including its original kitchen, have been unearthed during renovation works.

Ancient Assyrian capital that's been abandoned for 2,700 years revealed in new magnetic survey

A new magnetic survey of the ancient Assyrian capital of Khorsabad has revealed several structures, including a villa, buried underground.

Newly uncovered sites reveal true power of great Viking army in Britain

Previously unseen artefacts show invading forces included communities of men, women, children, craftworkers and merchants

Museums

An online meme that quickly went viral is the first "digitally born object" to go on display at the National Science and Media Museum. The "absolute unit" meme was seen by millions after being created by staff at the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading in 2018. It features a photo of an Exmoor Horn ram taken in 1962 which is from the museum's collection, and has the caption "look at this absolute unit".

The man, the myth, the legend

Repatriation

Great-nephew of Alfred Flechtheim, who was forced to flee the Nazis, is frustrated at slow progress in returning works by Picasso and Klee

Heritage at risk

"Accompanied by a tour guide, MrBeast and some of his friends plan to traverse the inside of the ancient monument, where they will also sleep at night. The YouTuber plans to film the experience, probing for ghosts along the way, with the objective of showing people parts of the pyramid “that no one’s seen publicly.”

New report chronicles challenges in making visible the sites of historic US protests

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) has released its annual report and digital exhibition, Landslide 2024: Demonstration Grounds, featuring 13 sites of protest across the US. While the Washington, DC-based advocacy and education non-profit typically uses the initiative to highlight threatened landscapes or landscape features, the 2024 report marks the first time the foundation is seeking to preserve the memory of events at risk of being forgotten.

Odds and ends

Academics agree that by protecting robotic vehicles and landing sites we will help archaeologists of the future

Winter solstice celebrated at historic sites

The winter solstice sunrise was greeted by thousands of people at Stonehenge, with a focus on "renewal, rebirth and good vibes". The ancient site opened its Monument Field at 07:45 GMT so crowds could see the sun break over the iconic stones.

Defining genocide: how a rift over Gaza sparked a crisis among scholars

New reports by human rights groups use the term to describe Israel’s offensive. The debate has fueled a brutal division among those who study mass violence

Rogues and Scholars: The two faces of the modern-day antique dealer

Art historian James Stourton worked his way up from humble beginnings as a porter to become the head of Sotheby's UK. His new book takes a look at a period when some of the greatest dealing was done.

Guest book reveals theatre's opening stars

A hotel visitors' book has revealed details of a landmark moment in Southampton's theatre history, almost a century ago.

City to submit Unesco City of Music bid

Hull is set to bid to become a Unesco Creative City of Music. The council's cabinet signed off a five-year plan for boosting music in the city on Monday, which includes applying to the scheme.

KIŠIB: A digital archive from 80,000 Mesopotamian seals is being created

Over the next 16 years, a research team from the Institute for Near Eastern Archaeology at the Free University of Berlin and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München plans to create a digital archive with around 80,000 seals that have been handed down from former Mesopotamia and make it accessible to the general public.

NY homeowner makes jaw-dropping mastodon discovery in backyard

A New York resident has unearthed a mastodon jaw protruding out of the topsoil in the backyard of their home, the first such find in more than 11 years.

Giant sloths and mastodons lived with humans for millennia in the Americas, new discoveries suggest

But new research from several sites is starting to suggest that people came to the Americas earlier — perhaps far earlier — than once thought. These findings hint at a remarkably different life for these early Americans, one in which they may have spent millennia sharing prehistoric savannas and wetlands with enormous beasts.

[chicago-geniza]

Once you go beyond the human Star Trek and The Vampire Chronicles actually assume very similar narrative postures toward race as a category and "deploy" it as a plot/characterization device in very similar ways, which is fascinating to me and like, quite damning for Star Trek's nominal political project lol