What is your favourite Sci-Fi universe and why?

Midniqht

Beer Quaffer
Jul 10, 2009
523
0
0
I quite like the Dead Space universe. The suits (rigs) are mainly the reason for that. They just look badass.
 

elemenetal150

New member
Nov 25, 2008
257
0
0
the Battletech universe...I like how everything is political maneuvering, and trying to save face while gaining power....and then there are all the pawns that are fodder for these maneuvers.....plus mechs are cool, because they are a little more realistic the giant robots that can do back flips and what not.
 

goodchild

New member
Mar 11, 2009
97
0
0
aebonhawk said:
There are thousands of Sci-fi universes out there each with its own fan base (or cult following) star wars, star trek, battlestar galactica, etc... Which one is your favourite and why? (personally my favourite is warhammer 40k)
There are many, to be sure ... But how come no one has mentioned the one by my favorite author, one of the most popular authors in the world?
Terry Pratchett's Discworld.
The series has like 40 or so books in it (that can be read in or out of order, it doesnt matter) and they are all great. I've never laughed so hard out loud while reading anything else (except maybe the Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy books by Douglass Adams). And not content to just be hilarious, Pratchett riddles his novels with biting satires on todays current events - but in his own universe -
A world the shape of a disc, not a sphere - that lies on the backs of 4 giant elephants - who ride Great A'tuin, the space turtle.
Man, I wish I could make that up.

And, to tie it into games a little bit, his daughter - Rhianna Pratchett - writes games. She wrote Heavenly Sword (PS3), and Mirror's Edge, amongst others.
 

The_Evermind

New member
Jul 7, 2009
147
0
0
Dune is so incredibly epic and so well thought out that there are already 15 books with at least two more on the way.
 

cthulhu5

New member
Aug 1, 2009
13
0
0
Cthulhu mythos. Such a great setting for cosmic horror, yet, on the surface, so much like the world that we live in.
 

Rigs83

Elite Member
Feb 10, 2009
1,932
0
41
[HEADING=3]Futurama[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]Now Obey Hypno Toad![/HEADING]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AOfbnGkuGc[/youtube]
 

Zacharine

New member
Apr 17, 2009
2,854
0
0
Mass Effect. Because it's so well thought out, full and rich in personalities and characters (all the way to racial level) and is internally logical. What I mean by that is that the weapons and technology are logical continuations to old ideas but with the new and improved technolgy. And most of all inventions not available to us today in reality are in one form or another based on the application of the Element Zero or Mass Effect as it is called.

There are also realistic limitations to what can be achieved even with the local Unobtanium. For example, space ships don't fire ultra-powerful lasers to light-minutes away because there is no way to cool the spaceships enough. And mass drivers, while the word of the day and highly effective, can be repelled with moderate energy expenditure by using the Mass Effect to create a anti-kinetic shield. Hence ship combat, as described, becomes knife-fighting with short-range low powered lasers, fighter technology (and laser point-defense), missiles (to swarm the point defenses and cause damage by radiation) and broadsides upon broadsides of mass driver rounds being fired upon the other. This continues until either the lasers/missiles do enough damage or the other ship loses shields or one side decides to retreat. And all the while both try to cool their ships down as fast as possible to keep firing at maximum rate and keep maneuvering for the best angle of attack.

So, everything runs around the Mass Effect in neat little circles, logically following one another and the only one thing you would need to accept the universe as possible is the existence of element zero. Everything else would follow.
 

teh_gunslinger

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. did it better.
Dec 6, 2007
1,325
0
0
Rigs83 said:
[HEADING=3]Futurama[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]Now Obey Hypno Toad![/HEADING]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AOfbnGkuGc[/youtube]
Best show on the air! Everybody loves Hypnotoad that is. Not Futurama. That completely sucks compared to the Toad. All hail!

But on a more serious note: part of me wants to say 40K, but it's perhaps a bit too much trashy pulp. Some of the books are good for a fun mindless read though. I'm going through the Eisenhorn Omnibus again at the moment and finished Ravenor yesterday. And I've read the Gaunt books quite a few times by now. But in the end it's pretty much empty calories and not much to think about and the characters tend to be rather card boardy. Doesn't make the universe any less cool though. Just not as deep as I could wish. So it's good for games and "beach books".

I guess I'll end up saying Alistais Reynolds Revelation Space universe/series. I like the whole dark space opera theme and the transhumanism that gets explored in those books. Also, there is no hyper speed or warp space or some such. I like that. And I almost, for some strange reason, fell in love with Ilia Volyova, the cold psycho ***** that she is.