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### Topic

#### Glitchstar-1 : Multi-Purpose Satellite

There could be a giant project to build this and the rocket to launch it. i'm sure the Apostles of Alph would get behind something like this, as might all the Lemmings.
Refined metal for parts, jellisac for fuel. or perhaps something more out-there for fuel, like pressurized pop-rocks and soda. Once Glitchstar-1 is launched and deployed it could perform a number of tasks for those players in possession of a Glitchstar-1 Transceiver Unit.
1] Demography: Record Population Density - Using a advanced multi-optic array supplied by the Order of Tii, Glitchstar would report, on an minute to minute or hour to hour basis, the dispersal patterns of glitches on a world map. This could be animated into the past sorta like the cloud cover maps you see on local news or in weather apps.
2] Defense: Report Rook Attacks - Provide advanced warning of gathering Rooks, again on the Transceiver Unit map.
3] Urth Science [Geology and Agriculture]: Provide an overview, again on the map, of which sorts of trees and crops are growing in various locations. Also, where the mineral deposits are, though that might require ground penetrating sonar or radar or something.
4] Communications - We can already IM and have mailboxes, so Glitchstar would be useless for communication of text but maybe we could upload our Glitch snapshots to it or something.

Posted 9 months ago by striatic | Permalink

### Replies

- Oh, heck to the YES!!!
  Posted 9 months ago by Carl Projectorinski | Permalink
- This sounds like a superb plot idea for the future!
  Posted 9 months ago by TomC | Permalink
- what do you have planned for when it takes over and kills us all?
  Posted 9 months ago by little peep | Permalink
- Yes please.
  Posted 9 months ago by glum pudding | Permalink
- YES! and then the next step: Glitch Singularity
  Posted 9 months ago by Sweaty | Permalink
- +1!
  Posted 9 months ago by Rook | Permalink
- +1 I know there are a number of external sites that perform some of these functions but I would love love love to have it all available in game.
  Would players in possession of a Glitchstar-1 Transceiver Unit toggle through the various functions via an interface living where we now have the mini-map?
  Posted 9 months ago by The Cat Face | Permalink
- But isn't alerting of rook attacks what the players them selves are for?
  The Population Density thing sounds like a stalker tool to me.
  The recording Of which resources are on which streets is supposed to be the purpose of exploring. And there are already some APIs for that. Also, if it showed crops, people would be complaining about how the public gardens are always empty when they go to harvest them. And that has created serious tensions in the past.
  And communication.... We already have communication. I also believe there are data limits on this game, so if everyone loaded snapshots, there could be problems.
  So why make the devs work on this when we already have all of these things in game or some other way? We can let the devs work on new stuff instead of stuff we already have.
  Posted 9 months ago by AwesomeCardinal2000 | Permalink
- I agree with Awesome, however it would be fun to launch, and be able to have TVs with channels and Working Computers at the test houses. and a new skill to use them all:
  Techololgy
  Posted 9 months ago by Taco Assassin | Permalink
- I think Technology is coming in the future, or it may not, since we have Engineering.
  Posted 9 months ago by AwesomeCardinal2000 | Permalink
- +1
  Posted 9 months ago by Voluptua Sneezelips | Permalink
- "Would players in possession of a Glitchstar-1 Transceiver Unit toggle through the various functions via an interface living where we now have the mini-map?"
  maybe. that's the kind of UI detail i trust the devs to figure out. they are very good at that.
  "So why make the devs work on this when we already have all of these things in game or some other way?"
  see, the problem with that attitude is that you are focusing on the "what" instead of the "how", when the "how" is critical. yes, *some* of those things exist already in various forms. no, none of those forms are particularly well integrated into the game experience, are awkward to use, and break the immersive quality of the game.
  like back when gardens were in their own tab. we could garden, woo! no need to improve that interface! the activity was totally doable so forget it. totally wasn't worth improving and the devs should be ashamed they did so when they could have been making something new . etc. etc.
  population density is a stalker tool .. how? i can click on anyone's profile page and see exactly what street they are on .. this improves on that how? it is a tool for provoking gatherings and hubbub in places where people might not expect to find it, and to better articulate some of the vibrancy of life in Ur. bring it to life, provide some perspective.
  and the rook thing? it isn't like everyone will look at the interface in "rook mode" all the time, just like not everyone is checking the weather listings all the time. doesn't stop people talking about the weather. more people who aren't tapped into the "global chat" and "rook alerts" sub-cultres might get more involved in rook fighting, which just adds to the diversity of the activity. you could also verify the attack was still occurring before blowing a teleport, which is an problem currently.
  plus, it is a fricken rocket launched satellite c'mon and the animations of glitch migratory patterns would be fantastic visualizations.
  Posted 9 months ago by striatic | Permalink
- did no one here watch the terminator? don't you know what will happen if this satellite gets into orbit?
  Posted 9 months ago by little peep | Permalink
- Well, if you want to fight a Rook, You have to be listening, or else you won't get it. That's the point. And with something that alerts every Glitch in Ur, do you really want 500 people flocking to the same street at once? The extreme lag? Accidentally donating your rare stuff?
  As for the Density, the amount of people in it changes, very frequently, so if you see Aranna has a higher density, but that's only because everyone got there through some door in Cebarkul, and then went back. It will not be very effective, since it changes so frequently.
  And since there are already many APIs that let you see what's on ceetain streets, i think the devs should do something else instead of creating something that already exists. I cannot control ehat the devs do, but I think they should not do that.
  Posted 9 months ago by AwesomeCardinal2000 | Permalink
- Dig it.
  Posted 9 months ago by Incarnadine | Permalink
- ACwhatever, hanging out in global or rook alerts is not 'the point' of the rook.
  just like hanging out in 'new streets' isn't the point of street building.
  maybe streets in progress shouldn't be light gray because then people would have to listen, via very narrow channels, to figure out where they are .. there's be less lag that way! obscure activities only accessible only to niche groups is totally the recipe for success for glitch.com
  Density is a cinch. doors are rather rareish and very temporary but if density snapshots were minute by minute you'd still record the movements. if a longer time scale it just wouldn't register. and teleports have built in cooldown so the latency is high making generalized populations pretty darn locateable. worst case scenario? count the total 'player time spent' on each street over the past minute, hour, day, whatever and generate a heat map from it. these are the kinds of things computers are good at. care to invent any more problems? : ]
  Posted 9 months ago by striatic | Permalink
- I love this idea. Love love love love love love it.
  I am especially enamoured of the rook spotting element, because I've been long dissatisfied of the need to use the rook alerts group to get any real rook action.
  But really, overall, this idea is the essence of full of win. Bravo.
  Posted 9 months ago by katlazam | Permalink