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No one gets out
5 years ago
It should be stated that the first time i played Starlink i was surprised that contrary to popular scifi media, none of the characters ever set foot on alien planets. And with good reason, as the risks of cross contamination are so severe that any realistic quarantine would be nearly and virtually impossible. Every planet capable of generating life would needs be entirely isolated from all others to prevent catastrophic upset of its entire ecosystem.
I hope this becomes a popular trend, as its the most sensible practice i've seen in regards to preservation, conservation, and overall safety. Even the prospectors and researchers never go anywhere without a fully contained, and presumably, hermetically sealed vehicle. In fact the only exception to this policy is the game's villains (maybe). Though interplanetary warfare in light of the practice of zero-exposure raises the question of ethically justifying damaging or destroying enemy vehicles (and thus exposing the planet to contaminating agents).
Traditionally and with very few exceptions we see such masterpieces as Alien: Covenant, Earth2, Starwars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, etc etc where everyone is not subject to any sort of biological protocol unless the plot demands it. Either exposure is the rule, or it must be regarded as a capitol offence tantamount to Terracide. (i may have just invented a word, feel free to spread it around (pun intended)). All it would conceivably take is one instance of carelessness to doom an entire planetary biome to mass extinction.
The risk is double edged, of course. Even the slightest exposure to an alien environment, unless absolutely sterilized (virtually impossible) would be a death sentence for the pilot of such vehicles. if not instantly incinerated, any alien organisms would condemn the pilot to a lifetime permanent quarantine.
But perhaps this feature of the game was only intended to save time and money on design and coding. Well done in any case. But if this was a deliberate expression of interplanetary ethics, i wholeheartedly applaud the game creators for their insight and character. (standing ovation)
I hope this becomes a popular trend, as its the most sensible practice i've seen in regards to preservation, conservation, and overall safety. Even the prospectors and researchers never go anywhere without a fully contained, and presumably, hermetically sealed vehicle. In fact the only exception to this policy is the game's villains (maybe). Though interplanetary warfare in light of the practice of zero-exposure raises the question of ethically justifying damaging or destroying enemy vehicles (and thus exposing the planet to contaminating agents).
Traditionally and with very few exceptions we see such masterpieces as Alien: Covenant, Earth2, Starwars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, etc etc where everyone is not subject to any sort of biological protocol unless the plot demands it. Either exposure is the rule, or it must be regarded as a capitol offence tantamount to Terracide. (i may have just invented a word, feel free to spread it around (pun intended)). All it would conceivably take is one instance of carelessness to doom an entire planetary biome to mass extinction.
The risk is double edged, of course. Even the slightest exposure to an alien environment, unless absolutely sterilized (virtually impossible) would be a death sentence for the pilot of such vehicles. if not instantly incinerated, any alien organisms would condemn the pilot to a lifetime permanent quarantine.
But perhaps this feature of the game was only intended to save time and money on design and coding. Well done in any case. But if this was a deliberate expression of interplanetary ethics, i wholeheartedly applaud the game creators for their insight and character. (standing ovation)
