How do I create a semi-realistic steampunk World?

[Jiggalopuff]

Hai Guyz,

 

I wish to create a fictitious world(for roleplaying) where it is plausible that both airships and melee weapons such as swords exist. I am by no means a scientist, but I wanted to make something somewhat more believable than say, Final Fantasy(E.G. very loose rules regarding science). So far I was thinking of making a young, yet post-apocalyptic world where fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal do not exist(either because the world is not old enough to have condensed carbon, or because they had been depleted by a previous Civilzation whose technology has become extinct). To compensate for lack of fossil fuels, people would use trees that produced Galvanized sap or something, which in turn could be used to power crude electrical devices or mechanical motors for airships.

[bben46]

For a steampunk world, you need steam :yes: And for steam you need some way to heat water. For most steampunk coal is the preferred method. It could be that you have some other way - such as your tree sap?

 

My own steampunk world has coal fired machinery, steam trains, steam ships all powered by coal. I don't have dirigibles or blimps ( for plot reasons) But if you feel they are really necessary, you will need some kind of portable device to make them fly ( a small sap powered engine may be used) The lift is usually provided by a gas such as the highly flammable Hydrogen ( Hindenberg) or safer Helium. Or for smaller craft such as a hot air balloon, an open flame fed from burning your sap.

 

In my world, most travel is by horse or horse drawn carriage or stagecoach - trains may be used - but the train may not go everywhere. And, there are a lot of different train companies - and not all trains will fit on the competitors tracks - meaning you will have to change trains, and the station for the other company may be some distance away on the other side of town - you may have to take a wagon ( look at the Victorian horse drawn hack for a example of a taxi) Roads outside of towns are either in disrepair or toll - and there may be bandits that prey on travelers. You could easily substitute a steam powered stagecoach

 

I use 1700s weapons technology - single shot not very accurate blackpowder muzzle loading firearms, muzzle loading, horse drawn artillery, Horse cavalry, swords and limited armor. Infantry relies on their pikes more than the notoriously unreliable muskets ( or, even more unreliable firelocks if you want to go 1600s weapons) Navel ships may have muzzle loading steam cannons.

 

Civilian weapons are shorter single shot pistols and gentlemen carry swords as a matter of course. Duels are not uncommon. The top hats are fashion, but the brass rimmed goggles are actually practical when around the coal fired trains. The local constabulary are more likely to carry a billy club than a firearm, but if they do have one it will probably be a blunderbuss.

 

I don't have any electricity - however it's easy enough to make a steam powered generator using your sap. Then that electricity can be used for whatever - and can be as crude and unreliable as your plot requires. You could easily have either a wired telegraph or a simple spark gap transmitter to provide a wireless radio transmission using Morse code.

 

It really depends on just how deep you want to go in explaining the technology - Most people have no clue how technology works anyway, If you don't believe me, ask a friend how a 4 cycle gasoline engine works and how it makes your car move. Or how a generator turns rotary motion into electricity and the difference between generating AC and DC. But if you start trying to explain it - engineers will be telling you that it just doesn't work that way.

[Maharg67]

I have messed around, experimented with, the making of steampunk worlds with varied degrees of success.

 

I suggest you start out by creating a 'world' based just on true historical facts but you can be selective, can mix and match from different historical periods.

 

Then make a list of the ideas you might use to alter that world, the ways that technologies might be changed from those that we have had in 'real history'.

 

Then try to amalgamate the two; this might mean more than one effort and lots of editing.

 

Remember that a steampunk world does not have to be the same everywhere. Different regions, nations, can be technologically advanced to different degrees.

 

One trick is to introduce a set of specific exotic influences that then has a profound influence on many features of the world. HG Wells novels had a few good ideas that I have based experimental writings on.

- antigravity craft (First Men in the Moon)

- animal-human humanoids (Island of Doctor Moreau)

- great metal enclosed cities (When the Sleeper Awakes)

 

There are many others including sources from other writers.

- reanimated corpses or parts fixed together (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley)

- submarines (2,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea by Jules Verne)

 

There were real historical tech that never came to be as dominant as some imagined it would like pneumatic tubes would carry messages across the world instead just from one area of a building to another as they actually did. You could make that vision true with air-tube cars traveling across countries, or even the world.

 

There was the prediction that something called N-rays would be found that would be like X-rays. There turned out to be no such thing but it would be interesting if it had been a real discovery and how it would have changed the world.

 

If one makes certain changes to historical resources, then existing historical tech could have become much more useful. One could have an additive to coal that makes it much more efficient in terms of power to weight ratio, heat wastage and causing pollution. One could have an additive to hydrogen that makes it much more safer to use.

 

Hope I was of some help!

Edited August 11, 2014 by Maharg67