Encyclopedia Galactica:Main Page

The Encyclopedia Galactica

The Current Catalog of Entries

Introduction

The main goal of this project is to create a free database of solar systems, planets and, if necessary, the life forms that inhabit them. Unlike the other projects currently in the Wiki, the aim of the project is to create these locations and inhabitants using a natural philosophy, without the use of science-fiction "gimmes". The intent is to create a bedrock of material that others an use (and abuse) with a minimum of translation and extrapolation.

This is not to say that the results will be generic or dull. Contributors are encouraged to "bend" their creations a bit, and to create active, dynamic environments, lifeforms and cultures.

Structure

Entries in the Encyclopedia fall into four broad categories:

Solar Systems

Solar Systems are entries that describe an entire collection of planets that revolve around a central body (or bodies), known as the system's primary. Solar system entries should contain information about the type, age, and mass of the primary, a list of the major planets in the solar system, and any other features and global environmental concerns obvious to a casual observer (i.e. the solar system is on the edge of a large nebula that dominates the sky of any planet.)

Planets & Planetoids

Planetary entries describe a single member of a solar system. Entries should include such basic data as the mass, radius, mean distance from the primary, plus the existence and composition of any atmosphere or hydrosphere (oceans) that may be present. Detailed chemical compositions aren't necessary, but could be included.

Lifeforms

Lifeform entries describe either sentient or non-sentient inhabitants of a planet. Contributors should not feel constrained in creating animals, but should consider creating entries for plants, microscopic life and other interesting critters. Entries should include comparative data, such as average height and mass, lifespan, preferred climate and other ecological data, such as known sources of food and known predators.

Societies

Societal entries describe the cultural, political and sociological aspects of sentient lifeforms. Only one page per sentient should be created, with any and all aspects of the society confined to that page. Entries need not be immediately exhaustive - if a contributor only has an idea for an alien religion, create a page with only that information on it. Be sure to at least include "hooks" that other contributors can use to flesh out the rest of the society.

Conventions

1. Entries in the Menagerie follow a heirarchy: solar system -> planet -> lifeform -> societal. If a page is created for a society, it should contain at least cursory information about the solar system, planet, and the sentient lifeform that the society refers to, with links to any appropriate, existing entries. For example, an entry describing the cultural practices of the Yanomami Indians of South America would include at least pointers to the page for the Solar System, Earth, and humans.
2. References to unfamiliar scientific terminology should include a link to the appropriate entry in Wikipedia, or some other disambiguation page.
3. As the project evolves, "stat blocks" using the Wiki definition tag will be created for each of the four types of entries, and these should be included in each entry just after the title and an introductory paragraph.
4. Finally, the naming convention for any page associated with the project should contain "Encyclopedia_Galatica:" before the name of the entry, and should follow Wiki conventions (i.e. capitalizing each word in the title, underscores instead of spaces.)

Contributors

Kuma 04:31, 15 Jun 2005 (PDT)