Oolite Bulletins

Hi folks, I've decided to make myself a big planetinfo file that changes all those unpronounceable planet names, which are so obviously the result of a random text generator, into pronounceable, and therefore more memorable, names. I'm hoping you'll offer suggestions, because 2048 is a lot of planets, and I'm hopeless at concocting names at the best of times. Also, "hit-list" suggestions for the worst, most unpronounceable, most obviously computer-generated names, requiring the highest priority, could be helpful (and might have some amusement value, too).

You could always use Donjon's sci-fi world generator - I've used it before to help with writing sci-fi stories... Link below

http://donjon.bin.sh/scifi/world/

All the planets that begin "Qu"-consonant, e.g. Qube, Qudira, Ququor, are very obviously the result of a random generator that had "Q-must-be-followed-by-u" as a rule, but which didn't then treat "Qu" as a single consonant needing a following vowel. There are also planets with "qu-consonant" in them, e.g. Arusqudi. Although in some cases they could be made better by replacing the "u" with an apostrophe, e.g. Q'zadi, Arusq'di.

Similarly, planet names which end "qu" (Azaqu, Sotiqu) don't work.

It might be worth restricting your renaming efforts, at least in part, to the human colonial planets: those at least should definitely have human-pronounceable (and even human-meaningful) names. Alien worlds can have alien names: even the gulping "qu-" sounds would be OK for frog planets, perhaps.

Actually, might that be a useful route? Go with different sound-mixes for different species:

Insect worlds: clicks, chitters and buzzes
Frogs: gulps, peeps and croaks
Lizards: gulps, hisses and sibilants
Birds: chirps, peeps, etc – you could use some of these, maybe? There should definitely be a planet "Poo-tee-weet"!
Felines: growls, yowls, snarls, miaows
Rodents: squeaks, peeps, chitters
Lobsters: gulps, clicks and chitters
Humanoids: easily human-pronounceable but not human-meaningful
Humans: human-pronounceable and human-meaningful (a lot of "New Whatever", probably – and there's a good list to start from here.

Edit: Hi, The Illusive Man! Welcome to the forum! Friendliest place this side of whatever we end up calling Riedquat ...

<waves at The Illusive Man whilst contemplating too many New Whatevers>

Hi The Illusive man. Now you've joined us, don't be a stranger.

Hmm. New somethings?

New Oldham
New Spapers
New Dists

<Smivs drifts off into some strange land inhabited by pixies etc...>

The only drawback I can see with doing this via the planetinfo.plist file is that it won't permanently change the system name. If you look on the wiki it says on the  planetinfo.plist page:

Warning: This name is only used at the "Short Range Chart" (F6) and the "Data Screen" (F7). On the "Long Range Screen" you still will see the old name. And also %I and %H will refer to the original name. e.g the docking computer and all kind of other stuff uses these codes with original names..

However it might be possible using a script.js file to change the system names via Javascript, but I don't know if it has the same drawbacks as using the planetinfo.plist file...

Wildeblood wrote:

all those unpronounceable planet names,

unpronounceable is just a matter of rules. With other rules they might be easy pronounced. I remember the location "Cwm dwr" in South Wales. At first we never could pronounce it, until we were told that the 'double-u' must be pronounced like a 'single-u'. Suddenly you could pronounce it. And the same with words starting with 'doubble-l' in Welsh. They are pronounced as 'Gl'. I remember the town Llangattock. Starting with a 'G' makes it easier.

So instead of changing the spelling of those difficult names, it is probably easier to define special pronunciations.

You would really have a problem with mission destinations with this. For instance: Lets say you are told to go to Xeer to look for something the script will have a number in it to mark the system on the map so no issue there, but the F5F5 screen will have 'Xeer' - the old name. To make things more complicated some missions don't mark the Long range Chart so you would have to keep a list of all the old names next to the new ones!

Could prove to be problematic.

Anything is pronounceable, given enough alcohol..

Yep... I can pronounce 'anything', no problem!

Eric Walch wrote:

Wildeblood wrote:

all those unpronounceable planet names,

unpronounceable is just a matter of rules. With other rules they might be easy pronounced. I remember the location "Cwm dwr" in South Wales. At first we never could pronounce it, until we were told that the 'double-u' must be pronounced like a 'single-u'. Suddenly you could pronounce it. And the same with words starting with 'doubble-l' in Welsh. They are pronounced as 'Gl'. I remember the town Llangattock. Starting with a 'G' makes it easier.

So instead of changing the spelling of those difficult names, it is probably easier to define special pronunciations.

Indeed it is. I'm learning Slovene at the moment, already found a word that starts with 5 consonants...

maik wrote:

I'm learning Slovene at the moment, already found a word that starts with 5 consonants...

You won't find anything like that in English! Except RHYTHMS and caTCHPHRase, I suppose.

SandJ wrote:

You won't find anything like that in English! Except RHYTHMS and caTCHPHRase, I suppose.

Or sphygmomanometer ... which is a lousy name for a planet.

On the "too many New Whatevers" front, we could always have some Nieuw This, and Novy That, and Nova Theother.

Disembodied wrote:

On the "too many New Whatevers" front, we could always have some Nieuw This, and Novy That, and Nova Theother.

But there will, one day there just will, be a New New York. It's too crass not to happen.

Disembodied wrote:

SandJ wrote:

You won't find anything like that in English! Except RHYTHMS and caTCHPHRase, I suppose.

Or sphygmomanometer ... which is a lousy name for a planet.

Although in these cases the 'y' isn't really a consonant.

But it's still a lousy name for a planet.