Sci-fi Weapons, Vehicles and Equipment

Human factors engineering is a fascinating thing. Saw a thing somewhere about how one of Tom Cruise's complaints when making "Minority Report" was how exhausting it was to use the cool high-speed big-screen touchscreen prop. Looks cool, would probably never see long-term adoption (there's a reason the keyboard has been the standard computer interface for several generations now).

This is also why we'd stick with a lot of terminal and analog stuff. Holographic interfaces are cool but I doubt they'll ever replace good old computer screens.

They might be good for basically what we see them used for in Star Wars, giving presentations. Notice how you never saw the admirals crowded around holographic displays during space battles? Instead they were on their command decks communicating with their officers hunched over computer screens or pointing emphatically out the window.

[Random guy in the Star Wars universe]: "God, I hate holographic presenations! They are so boring, and all those fancy graphics just distract from the information!"

Where stuff like that makes a big difference is under the hood.

The main upgrade to the interface in aircraft of late has been the glass cockpit, basically replacing a panel of different gauges and indicators with a single large display. Ultimately the form factor is identical, it’s still a panel placed in front of the pilot with pertinent information on it, but the display is more useful.

A holographic workstation could appear wherever you wanted it to, whenever you wanted it to. If that officer pacing the bridge wanted to look at his terminal he could just have it pop up in front of him rather than walking to a panel. A technician inside a crawl space could have a floating display next to him with information on whatever he’s working on, which is a lot more convenient than carrying a tablet or laptop. The display can move with you too, and change shape and size on the fly, or vanish in a moments notice if you need to get out from behind it which suddenly makes fitting stations into cramped spaces much easier.

The way these things are depicted in the movies is usually not particularly useful because of the focus on visual impact.

Edited by archonspeaks on Dec 13th 2018 at 6:49:02 AM

I mean like holographic keyboards and such.

Requires a really accurate motion sensor.

Why not?

A common piece of set dressing you see in sci-fi is a technician typing away at a panel or workstation in a hallway or room somewhere. Sometimes they keyboard sticks out of the wall, sometimes they’ve got a keyboard plugged in. Wouldn’t a holographic keyboard make sense there? The projector could be made much smaller than a foldaway keyboard, and could be configured to project just about anything in addition to a keyboard. On a spaceship where every ounce counts a hologram also doesn’t weigh anything, and it isn’t protruding out of the wall for you to bonk your head on if you go spinning while you’re weightless.

They wouldn’t necessarily replace every keyboard, but there are some obvious benefits.

Edited by archonspeaks on Dec 13th 2018 at 7:02:39 AM

Requires a really lightweight projector (well, less than a small laptop).

Big downside to holographic interfaces would be tactile feedback. In the Mass Effect games, this is accomplished with special gloves or haptic implants in the hands. Otherwise you're just sort of jazz handing at the keyboard and probably either sight-typing or inputting gibberish.

It could make a great training aid.

I imagine it would be a bit similar to modern VR games, maybe. Stuff like Star Trek: Bridge Crew especially come to mind, since it's all about using virtual buttons and touchscreens. The motion controls have no real tactile feedback or sense of resistance, so there's no way to feel where things are supposed to be, but it still seems like most people get used to it fairly quickly.

The bad thing about holographic displays is they don't have loud clicky buttons. Loud clicky buttons are best buttons.

You can have loud clicky buttons by having speakers play loud clicky sounds every time a button is "pressed".

That would be a really fun way to mess with the audience, like having the Boeing 707 flying with the background hum of propeller engines in Airplane!.

A holographic terminal that sounds like an old school typewriter.

-clackityclackityclackityclackityDING-

"I'm in."

You can actually do that with some keyboards.

If you run the right programs, you should be able to do that with ALL keyboards.

^^^ Now you DO realize we'd now need a scene of said holographic terminal sounding like a typewriter playing The Typewriter Song from Who's Minding The Store right?

I want one that makes disgusting "squishy" noises.

To get back to the thread, I was thinking about scaling. Assuming a softer verse, and the verse only takes place in a single star system with various territorial disputes, would the US Navy's 430 ships of various classes scale up appropriately for a space navy?

The scenario I'm trying to make is that on one planet, (we'll call them Space Russia) Space-Russia, is united in space (meaning they each are independent countries planetside, but they're space Navy is completely united), but have a technological disadvantage (some things only by five or so years at most, and at the high end scale, roughly 20-25 years behind) compared to planet 2 (which we'll call Space USA) which has a ton of factions that have been warring for decades, if not centuries. Well...maybe not direct warring, but unity in space is absolutely out of the question, because their hatred of each other is more profound than practicality. They'd each have their own space navies. So although they are inferior overall, Space Russia can compete with superior teamwork, unorthodox tactics, and good ol fashioned We Have Reserves (in this case ships...to a point.)

Would that specific number scale at the interplanetary level on this scenario or would it need to be a lot bigger, regardless of how soft the verse is?

I’d say that be enough, though depending on how advanced you mean, they made need more ships just to stand a chance

So I know this is not sci-fi weapons, but I have to ask: what kind of sound artillery rounds make when they fly ? I read from books like All Quiet on Western Front or the Naked and the dead said that mortar got a humming sound and artillery shell is much louder, but when I searched on google they say that artillery shells of world war 1 were fitted with whistle to make sounds to scare off enemy. When I watch combat footages of people at the receiving end of artilleries, some times I heard a "chew" sound before impact, but sometimes there was no sound before the boom. So, what is the concrete answer for the sound of incoming artillery rounds to those on the receiving end

^ It depends upon the round, the velocity of the round and which direction the incoming is going. If it is a higher velocity round with a streamlined shape for range and it's headed dead-on for you, the only thing you'll hear first is the sound of you and the ground being violently ripped to pieces.

In short, it's kinda like bullets.

Rockets and missiles are wholly different beasts. A standoff one of those with the propellant fully expended will be quite quiet no matter which direction it goes compared to traditional guns and mortars.

Edited by MajorTom on Dec 17th 2018 at 9:27:50 AM