Steampunk is really stupid, WE ASK WHY

[rossmum]

Hello everybody!

I am here to tell you that there are two kinds of 'steampunk' design. There is a correct way and an incorrect way! Almost everybody does the latter. Why? I'm honestly not sure. People seem convinced that plastering anything in brass gears and steam gauges makes something 'steampunk'. Observe:

http://i.imgur.com/t3ikJ.jpg

Seriously, what the fuck.

Less obnoxious, but still fairly pointless, examples:

http://i.imgur.com/kKs2j.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/dQUpW.jpg

Okay, I get it. It's steampunk. Everything is supposed to work by steam, right? Act like it, then. Why would a firearm need fucking exposed gears on it? If it's a steam-fired weapon, figure out something practical and minimalistic.

Of course, my main point here is that applying the principles of steampunk to everything that works in that environment is pretty dumb. It makes sense replacing electrical or internal combustion appliances with steam-powered ones, right? Or at least having any electricity being steam-generated, yeah? That is fine. Making literally everything depend on steam, though, is pretty iffy.

As a general rule, people tend to treat steampunk as though technological advancement froze in the Victorian era. Lots of wood, lots of brass, lots of wrought iron and not a whole lot of steel. People dress and behave like they would have in that period. That's cool, it makes sense, it was a time of great upheaval and industrialisation. You know what, though? When it comes to some things, it's better to pull them over without change. I'm going to focus on guns, because guns are my thing and they also tend to be the worst offenders by far in the steampunk genre.

Guns were still not quite perfected back in the day. They still aren't, but we have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't. Not so in Victorian times; repeating firearms were still a new thing, and as with all new things, nobody had a fucking clue how anything was supposed to work. The early stages of any new tech are always the most exciting, because you see such wild diversity as designers try and figure out what is or isn't the best path of development.

Observe, the Degueldre revolver:

http://i.imgur.com/dHyaJ.jpg

This was an actual thing, designed by a Frenchman. It was a pinfire revolver that was reloaded by swinging down the lever under the barrel, which sprung the entire front half of the gun forwards and ejected the spent cartridges. The lever was then returned, closing the action, and the revolver loaded through a loading gate on the right side.

Novel mechanisms like these were plentiful, not just for revolvers, but for all guns. Early autoloading handguns - the Borchardt, Mars, Bergmann, even the Luger - they were all odd-looking things with intricate mechanics.

http://i.imgur.com/aY5VO.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OGE8m.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/f0tCO.png

Rifles could be even stranger.

http://i.imgur.com/jGinv.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Pwwgu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YCMth.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Z9A6D.jpg

Basically, stop putting gears on everything you fucking fucks. Brass is fine, gears and gauges are not.

[Timo]

But what if I need to know what pressure my turbo is at?

[=sw=warlord]

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110706041720/cod/es/images/f/fa/Waffe.png

More:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oxiFJIDskc

[Patrickssj6]

i am impressed that you do all these observations from your remote basement

[rossmum]

Ain't no such thing as basements in Australia, mister. :eng101:

[nuttyyayap]

We have a basement. :saddowns:
I also agree with you completely.

[Btcc22]

People seem convinced that plastering anything in brass gears and steam gauges makes something 'steampunk'.

Basically, stop putting gears on everything you fucking fucks. Brass is fine, gears and gauges are not.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFCuE5rHbPA

[EX12693]

Steampunk stuff should work like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiRgdaknJCg&hd=1
This is essentially a Steampunk calculator, minus the steam powered part, but that's not hard to remedy.

[DarkHalo003]

Steampunk should use steam. :holy:

[Tnnaas]

The Dwemer got it right. :v:

We should further educate to people the difference between steampunk and clockwork designs.

[ICEE]

I've always thought Doc Brown's rifle from back to the future 3 was a good example of a pseudo-primitive firearm should look like. Obviously it's not really "STEAMPUNK" but the premise is basically the same.

3067

It's clearly based off of a real rifle from that period, but uses brass components to achieve "the look". It also has an elegant looking scope that still ultimately appears to be designed with function in mind (though it does take artistic license).

[rossmum]

I always liked the "thin brass tube almost as long as the rifle itself" school of early scope design, myself

[rossmum]

Steampunk stuff should work like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiRgdaknJCg&hd=1
This is essentially a Steampunk calculator, minus the steam powered part, but that's not hard to remedy.
goddamn this is rad as fuck

[Warsaw]

Good Steampunk:

http://randomc.net/image/Last Exile Ginyoku no Fam/Last Exile Ginyoku no Fam - OP2 - Large 04.jpg

http://randomc.net/image/Last Exile Ginyoku no Fam/Last Exile Ginyoku no Fam - OP2 - Large 03.jpg

http://static.minitokyo.net/downloads/43/46/342343.jpg

Bad Steampunk:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3rEjISI08z0/Ts9q_BvaGxI/AAAAAAAAYFo/TzHCF_dE2yY/s1600/x1+Fam%27s+fleet.jpg

http://bakalaureate.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/sfwhine_last_exile_-fam_the_silver_wing-_-_02_720phi10pc2a43017-mkv_snapshot_12-44_2011-10-24_08-59-01.jpg

Ironically, both are part of the same series. However, the "bad" are from a sequel series made 7 years later and was done with zero eye for pragmatism or tastefulness.

[t3h m00kz]

sure is opinions in some dead corner of the internet in here



>good steampunk anime
>good
>anime

FHGHLGKHDLJSGHLSJDHG

[Warsaw]

Coming from the Jackalophile...I'm not generally an anime person, but I can appreciate a good one. The likes of Haruhi and other moe ilk don't qualify in my book. Has to be intelligent.

Last Exile (2003) was designed from the ground up with workable mechanics and a fantastic art style. Most of the animé tropes familiar to fans of the genre are not present or are only present in such a distilled fashion that they can't count, i.e. exaggerated expressions and harems. This particular series also happens to embody what the core philosophy of Steampunk perfectly: alternative "what-if" realities, innovation and exploration, and a hopeful outlook onto the future.

[rossmum]

good work hotlinking broken images, fucko

[t3h m00kz]

Coming from the Jackalophile...

aww yissss :cool:

I rag on anime because all the aspiring artists these days seem to think it's the shit and try to copy animation cell art pumped out of korean sweat shops because it's so metal and kawaii.

let me put it to you this way. Akira Toriyama? DBZ guy? Yeah, most fan art you see will be shit reminiscent of this

http://www.animezone.co/fotos-imagenes-anime/2010/02/saga_cyborg_by_nostal.jpg

rather than what he's actually capable of rendering as a professional artist/illustrator

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5irve7wm01rujjl9o1_1280.jpg

some fucking anime is the shit. DBZ, Fist of the North Star, Trigun, Akira are all pretty bad ass but when you got animes being pumped about about Kegomi talking with her school girl dykes about her relationship problems with Inuyasha and school girls with hot pink/techincolor panzer tanks then you can kinda lick my crack~

/autism

[Warsaw]

I am actually right with you there, all the way. I used to draw anime-styled shit, but then I realized that it was shit and started going for the more realistic approach. I, too, am sick of signing onto dA and having half of the content page being animues.

Seriously, here is the entire list of anime I am familiar with and consider good:
-Ghost in the Shell
-Last Exile (stay away from Fam: The Silver Wing series, it is shit)
-Cowboy Bebop
-Legend of the Galactic Heroes
-Outlaw Star (this one skirts the edge, but I give it a pass)
-Akira
-Anything by Hayao Miyazaki

And then mangas:
-Anything by Tsutomu Nihei
-Zetman

That is it.

The original Last Exile seriously is the best Steampunk universe I've run across, considering all forms of media. It's just so well constructed. To anybody who loves Steampunk, I say check it out.

E: Chief artist for Last Exile was Range Murata, if that means anything to anybody. The man is about as pro as they get.

[Cagerrin]

Nice derail.

(Girls und Panzer is awful, I can probably give ross an aneurysm by mentioning Strike Witches, and moeblob can sail off into the sun)

Good stuff that's not on Warsaw's list(Outlaw Star is very iffy):
Area 88
Bubblegum Crisis(fuck 2040, trying to be Evangelion is not really a good thing)
Black Lagoon
Giant Gorg
Guyver(OVAs are pretty cheesy, manga is excellent)
Planetes
Serial Experiments Lain
Sky Crawlers
Zipang

[Warsaw]

Hey now, I segued back into the topic...

E: And this is how you airship:

http://i47.tinypic.com/3c135.jpg

[Cagerrin]

Yeah, I was just taking advantage of it.

Now that I'm thinking of BGC and by extension Blade Runner, Deckard's pistol, minus the lights, would probably work for steampunk.

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/TalonX/randomstuff/Inspiration/Weapons/1822931108734.jpg

[Warsaw]

It would, but then again it isn't shooting bullets either...it's supposed to be a laser blast.

[t3h m00kz]

I am actually right with you there, all the way. I used to draw anime-styled shit, but then I realized that it was shit and started going for the more realistic approach. I, too, am sick of signing onto dA and having half of the content page being animues.

Seriously, here is the entire list of anime I am familiar with and consider good:
-Ghost in the Shell
-Last Exile (stay away from Fam: The Silver Wing series, it is shit)
-Cowboy Bebop
-Legend of the Galactic Heroes
-Outlaw Star (this one skirts the edge, but I give it a pass)
-Akira
-Anything by Hayao Miyazaki

And then mangas:
-Anything by Tsutomu Nihei
-Zetman

That is it.

The original Last Exile seriously is the best Steampunk universe I've run across, considering all forms of media. It's just so well constructed. To anybody who loves Steampunk, I say check it out.

E: Chief artist for Last Exile was Range Murata, if that means anything to anybody. The man is about as pro as they get.

outlaw star had that fucking Silgrian chick in the hotsprings episode.

I'm definitely letting that one slide~

[Cagerrin]

It would, but then again it isn't shooting bullets either...it's supposed to be a laser blast.
Not that you can really tell from the look of it.

[Warsaw]

That's the best part. :-3



outlaw star had that fucking Silgrian chick in the hotsprings episode.

I'm definitely letting that one slide~



Didn't see that one, edited out for 'Murican television. From what I've read, it was a fan-service episode whose only impact was whatshisfacee getting those four über Caster shells. Like I said, though, Outlaw Star skirts the edge of acceptability.

[rossmum]

Hey now, I segued back into the topic...

E: And this is how you airship:

http://i47.tinypic.com/3c135.jpg
does the captain look like this

http://i.imgur.com/FupBt.jpg

because the captain should look like that

[Cagerrin]

I thought that was the captaincy test final?

[El Lobo]

What in the hell is going on in here

[Warsaw]

does the captain look like this

http://i.imgur.com/FupBt.jpg

because the captain should look like that

Nope, looks more like this guy:

http://02varvara.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/admiral-kolchak.jpg

[Con]

What in the hell is going on in here
idk I think some people are taking steampunk seriously

[Warsaw]

Dude...this is Modacity...

[ICEE]

Hey now, I segued back into the topic...

E: And this is how you airship:

http://i47.tinypic.com/3c135.jpg

Hey lets go back to talking about this


I like the style of the angular airship.. are there more concepts like it? I'm basically done with the typical final fantasy style of airship (Giant whale looking things in the sky).

[Warsaw]

I actually have one other type that is meant to be an older variant (http://von-krupp.deviantart.com/art/PZL-XXV-Close-Up-176273910?q=gallery%3Avon-krupp%2F11120394&qo=20) (think pre-dreadnought vs. dreadnought) of it. I'm in the process of making a page containing profile comparisons among the types (Old Battleship, New Battleship, New Gunship, New Carrier). Still working on the rival faction's versions. I call them Panzer Luftshiffen (PzL).

:-3

[rossmum]

move the planes and double up. should have one pair fore and one aft. a single large pair by what would be the sail on a sub is distinctly modern-looking, if you're going for the subs of the sky vibe then it should be a lot more visually similar to a ww1 u-boat.

[Warsaw]

I'm actually not. I'm going more for an "Iowa-class in the sky" look and I want it to have a keel. Two vertical planes would not give me the aesthetic I'm after and would harm turn ability because two rudders not on the same vertical line creates two separate turning points.

Now, doubling up engine pods is something I probably will do. However, the nacelles are supplementary rather than dedicated. Primary forward thrust is provided by angling the lifting engines forwards. The nacelles basically give you a boost in whatever direction you need to go; it's one of the primary design differences between this later model and the ones before it. The downside is that you are consuming more steam and thus have less available to power your cannons.

These things stay aloft by combining heated up helium inside self-sealing bags to increase buoyancy and downward thrust to make up the rest. The heating is provided by catalysed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide; the primary product of such a reaction is steam, which is used to drive the turbofans. Excess is sent into the main guns, which are kept loaded at all times, then to point defence, and then to condensers where the water can be reheated or used for drinking/hygiene. Whatever can't be reused gets vented underneath, forming a billowing cloud at altitude.

Yes...I know how to airship.

[rossmum]

Oh, I meant doubling up lateral planes, not longitudinal.

Either way, yeah, I see it now.