El Viejo wrote:dertien wrote:Can you tell me what the Elite Canon means
Now there's a question... 'canon' refers to things that are generally accepted as correct in a work of fiction.
Most Oolite/Elite canon comes from the Elite manual and The Dark Wheel, but I'm no expert.
To expand on that: 'canon' refers to what is widely accepted as 'official' knowledge in a work of fiction. For a humorous definition you may look over at
tvtropes.org (be warned: it is highly addictive, and once you're
sucked in starting to visit them, you are likely to
waste spend
hours days on their very entertaining wiki).
As far as Oolite is concerned, 'canon' consists of a couple of sources. First of all, what we know from the game itself: that there are eight galaxies with 256 systems each, their names, positions, and statistics; that the space academy is located in Lave and gives a Cobra III to all graduates; that there is an ongoing war with the Thargoids, etc. Therefore an OXP which negates the existence of Lave, or the Thargoids, would clash with the canon (note that this isn't necessarily a bad thing; canon is not a law enforceable by some police, and many players may not actually care about it that much, as long as the game is fun). There are other sources as well, most notably the Elite Instruction Manual and the novel
The Dark Wheel, which were part of the box in which you bought the original Elite back in 1984. Therefore they are considered an actual part of the game, and contain a lot of information which can't be found in the game code itself. They provide valuable background information. This is especially needed if you want to flesh the game universe out, and need some guide lines how to do it. For instance, if someone in an OXP wants to introduce a new type of station (like you do), it would be nice to somehow fit it into the existing game world.
As I said, you only need to care as much as you like to. There is much debate in our small commOonity about what actually is canon for Oolite. We don't all agree on specific guide lines. What is considered canon by some people is rejected by other people. One main point of debate is the link between the world of Elite and the world of Frontier. How are they connected? Are they at all (in many players' opinions they are not)? But there are other points of debate as well. And sometimes we simply disagree.
One 'canonical' background information on Elite/Oolite is that the 2048 systems in eight galaxies are all members of an organization known as the
Galactic Co-operative of Worlds, in short
GalCop.
GalCop runs the academy on Lave, issues your pilot license, and gives you your first ship.
GalCop also controls the trade between its member planets. To this end it has set up trading stations in the orbit of each member planet, and it provides security through the Galactic Police (also abbreviated as
GalCop) which patrols the main space lanes. As a trader you are not allowed direct contact and trade with the planets, but all trade has to go through the
GalCop-run and controlled stations. Orbital shuttles take it to the planet surface from there.
That's why I said that the planetary governments are not involved with the stations.
GalCop also has a very strict rule of not interfering with the internal affairs of each member. That's why Democracies and Corporate States exist alongside Anarchies and Feudal Systems.
GalCop doesn't care about political systems, its only concerns are trade and security.
That's why I suggested that the definition of 'outpost' should more rely on productivity than on political system.
Again, you don't need to subscribe to what others consider 'canonic', and in fact you will find a wide array of different 'canons' here on the boards. Still, my personal opinion is that a little consistency doesn't hurt the game, but on the contrary is an asset, and canon helps to keep a little consistency.
here we go !!!! 
