Skip to content

Weird Ingredients: A Designer's Guide

One of the things that I'm absolutely loving about Starmourn is just how damn weird it is.

We're playing in a world that's sent in a far out distant future, with alien species on alien planets. This logistically means that many of the materials and ingredients we would use today don't/shouldn't exist in this world, but as new players it's hard for us to come up with such far-fetched ideas that are still likely to resonate with our own audiences. An example of this would be in Cuisine. Let's say I want to make a fruit salad, what kinds of fruits am I using? Grapes, apples? These belong on Earth, but that doesn't mean they'd be common (or exist at all) in the Starmourn Sector.

So an idea I have is for all of us to share any weird ingredients and materials we come across in our travels through Starmourn. This way all of us designers can find some inspiration for what sort of additions we should be making to the game.

Additionally, if @Aurelius, @Tecton, @Eukelade, @Oryx and team would be willing to chime in, I bet we can get some documentation going that would really help us all out.

"They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty."
— Oscar Wilde


"I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before."
— Margaret Atwood

«1

Comments

  • edited January 2019

    Materials

    Edit: It's been pointed out to me that I missed this from the wiki. It's incomplete though, so I'm going to keep editing and adding stuff to this post.

    Nanoplastic

    Polyleather
    Merovo silk
    Spun from the horn of a large, slow-moving and fuzzy sort of insect, otherwise just like normal silk. There's a simple quest in Tuskiriz that has you harvest the silk and tend to Merovo, to help you learn more.
    Trillika Feathers
    -- A caged trillika (#40978) --------------------------------------------------
    Owner: Unknown Usable life: 180 mo.
    Mass: Medium Resetting: No
    Description: A trillika, a tiny bird with a long beak and fluffy violet plumage, sits upon a swinging perch and warbles a melodious song inside this cage. The roof is an elaborately worked pyramid of gold and silver that resembles the canopy of a tree, while thin vertical bars of paristeel confine the creature on the sides. The base is lined with rubber, with a divided container holding water, pieces of fruit, and small seeds.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Ingredients


    Hypermeat
    Synthetic meat.
    Krellian Grapes
    -- A crunchy bunch of Krellian grapes (#103814) -------------------------------
    Owner: Unknown Usable life: 30 mo.
    Mass: Weightless Resetting: No
    Description: These pale blue grapes, native to the planet Krell, are crisp and cool, and grow on a thin blue-black vine. They seem freshly picked, and sit in a small brown bowl.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Pomero
    -- A vine-ripened pomero (#103866) --------------------------------------------
    Owner: Unknown Usable life: 4 mo.
    Mass: Very small Resetting: No
    Description: This round, bright orange fruit is the size of a small fist. It has a thin skin and firm, fleshy interior with tiny, edible seeds. The stem is still attached, indicating it was ripened on the vine.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Bluepricot
    -- A plump bluepricot (#103878) -----------------------------------------------
    Owner: Unknown Usable life: 4 mo.
    Mass: Very small Resetting: No
    Description: This small Krellian fruit has a fuzzy, dark blue skin and juicy flesh of similar hue, with a large stone at its heart.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Bluepricot
    -- A ripe corifrut (#104200) --------------------------------------------------
    Owner: Unknown Usable life: 4 mo.
    Mass: Very small Resetting: No
    Description: This medium-sized fruit is shaped like an hourglass, with green and yellow stripes on its thick rind. It has a strong, sweet aroma that indicates it is perfectly ripe.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty."
    — Oscar Wilde


    "I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before."
    — Margaret Atwood

  • edited January 2019
    Kestrel said:
    One of the things that I'm absolutely loving about Starmourn is just how damn weird it is.

    We're playing in a world that's sent in a far out distant future, with alien species on alien planets. This logistically means that many of the materials and ingredients we would use today don't/shouldn't exist in this world, but as new players it's hard for us to come up with such far-fetched ideas that are still likely to resonate with our own audiences. An example of this would be in Cuisine. Let's say I want to make a fruit salad, what kinds of fruits am I using? Grapes, apples? These belong on Earth, but that doesn't mean they'd be common (or exist at all) in the Starmourn Sector.

    So an idea I have is for all of us to share any weird ingredients and materials we come across in our travels through Starmourn. This way all of us designers can find some inspiration for what sort of additions we should be making to the game.

    Additionally, if @Aurelius, @Tecton, @Eukelade, @Oryx and team would be willing to chime in, I bet we can get some documentation going that would really help us all out.
    Literally no plant (or animal) that exists on Earth belongs in Starmourn. Not a one! We use the same word for some things, like seaweed and algae, but they are biologically unrelated to Earth plants.

    We're totally open to people putting together a proposal to help us further the lore/world, with the understanding that we may reject it entirely, and if accepted it's quite likely to be altered minorly to majorly by us. 

    In terms of consumables, here's a partial list of foods that are canon.

    Krellian grapes
    Pale blue 'grapes' from Krell
    Rockhopper
    An insect bred by Krona for food.
    Tarak steak
    A large cut of meat from a Gunurashian Tarak Beetle
    Zhubeast steak
    A large cut of meat from a Gunurashian Zhubeast
    Hinka fruit
    A spiny fruit that grows in the deserts of Gunurash III. Also found on Scatterhome.
    Pomero
    A bright-orange, tomato-like fruit.
    Algae
    Popular with spacers, used in many different types of space-based cuisine.
    Seaweed
    Popular with spacers, used in many different types of space-based cuisine.
    Bluepricot
    A blue, squishy fruit from Krell.
    Sashtar
    Space sushi.
    Hypermeat
    Lab-grown meat, can be shaped into protein pellets, loaves, meatballs, etc.
    Algerion meat
    The meat of the algerion possesses a unique enzyme that promote the maturation of juvenile Nusriza.
    Garzarut
    Blue-green root vegetable like a parsnip, Nusriza sometimes eat it but mainly export it
    Lim-fruit
    Savory oblong fruit.
    Corifrut
    Fruit that makes a tasty cordial.


  • Aurelius said:
    We're totally open to people putting together a proposal to help us further the lore/world.
    Does this mean we can come up with weird random vegetables and you'll implement them?! :scream:

    "They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty."
    — Oscar Wilde


    "I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before."
    — Margaret Atwood

  • And a partial list of beverages that are canon:

    WaterIt's water.
    Rootwine
    An alcoholic beverage enjoyed by the Shen and other races
    Fermented Vuu Honey
    An alcoholic form of honey enjoyed by the Shen
    Lapteth Beer
    An alcoholic beverage enjoyed by the Tukkav race
    Synkaf
    A synthetic, caffeinated beverage popular the galaxy over. Comes in a variety of flavors.
    MilkFrom whatever mammalian beast you might imagine. Can be flavored.
    Clear liquor
    Any number of clear alcohols might fall into this category.
    Amber liquor
    Any number of robust, golden alcohols might fall into this category.
    Evergreen wineA Decheeran invention, brewed from berries found high in the Greenwilds
    Bluelily wine
    A Decheeran export, brewed from the petals of potent bluelilies
    Hooch
    Cheap swill, brewed in poor conditions. Tastes nasty. Not good for you.
    Jolt Cola
    A fizzy, highly caffeinated drink manufactured by the Elgan race. Popular with youths.
    Black tea
    A strong, caffeinated tea brewed from any number of dried plants
    Green tea
    A vegetal, mild tea brewed from any number of young dry leaves
    Moh tea
    A smokey, earthy tea brewed from a plant found in the Kashitir jungle
    Trans-Galactic Gurgle Burster
    A beverage invented by the upper-class residents of Scatterhome. Tastes amazingly expensive. Also tastes like a Douglas Adams homage.
    Poivirn
    An intoxicant drink created from the egg shells of Nusriza. It is used in the coming of age ritual known as the Seventeen Mirrors.
    Teqzal
    An alcoholic beverage created by the Ry'nari.
    Karaffee
    A caffeinated beverage brewed from the karaf bean found in the Kashitir jungle. Often taken with cream or sugar.
    Sparkling wine
    A carbonated alcoholic beverage enjoyed by many.
    Grey water
    It's dirty water. It isn't good for you.
    Spacer juice
    A long tradition among earth refugees, this artificially flavored juice is bright orange and tangy, filled with vitamins. Popular among spacers of all kinds.
    Hinka juiceThis sweet crimson juice is brewed from the hinka fruit, which is grown on the Krona homeworld.
    Protein shakeLoaded with protein and nutrients, this is a meal in a glass.
    Izugima
    Beer brewed from algae. Pretty tasteless but one of the few things that can be made in space with limited supplies.
    Grishki
    Liquor distilled from seaweed. Like izugima, it's not great, but it can be made in space with limited supplies.
    Corifruit cordialSweet syrupy fruit liquor. Schnappsy.
    SlushA cold, brightly colored drink with synthetic flavoring and a vague chemical aftertaste. Comes in a variety of colors and flavors.
  • Also on another note: some cuisine designers at the very least have already made some foods that I now suppose are not canon. I'm sure they didn't mean to do that and making them feel bad or anything wasn't my intention by making this thread, I just wanted to help people find some more stuff. Is there a way we could resubmit/edit existing designs to make them better fit the lore? E.g., if an item contains apricot, could we request it be changed to bluepricot?

    "They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty."
    — Oscar Wilde


    "I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before."
    — Margaret Atwood

  • edited January 2019
    Kestrel said:
    Aurelius said:
    We're totally open to people putting together a proposal to help us further the lore/world.
    Does this mean we can come up with weird random vegetables and you'll implement them?! :scream:
    Implement them? Maybe, maybe not. Put them in canon though so they can be used in cuisine? Pretty easy by comparison. 
  • Kestrel said:
    Also on another note: some cuisine designers at the very least have already made some foods that I now suppose are not canon. I'm sure they didn't mean to do that and making them feel bad or anything wasn't my intention by making this thread, I just wanted to help people find some more stuff. Is there a way we could resubmit/edit existing designs to make them better fit the lore? E.g., if an item contains apricot, could we request it be changed to bluepricot?
    Hrm, yeah. We probably didn't have strict enough guidelines for this stuff at launch. I'll look into what is possible with the resources we have. 
  • Does this mean that some of the cuisine design types are going to be changed later? Like pickles?
    Character: Vega
    Faction: Song Dominion
    Class: Engineer 

    note: I am always up for RP, antagonistic or friendly. If she's being a bitch, it's because you're from Scatterhome or she's trying to meet a deadline and has nothing to do with whether I want to RP with you or not. Thanks in advance for the RP!


  • "Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the lifespan of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The resulting food is called a pickle, or, to prevent ambiguity, prefaced with pickled."
  • edited January 2019
    Hijacking this with a similarly relevant question. I made an issue about this but I kinda missed the resolution on it or I am too stupid to know how to check it.
    How are we on using anachronistic terms to describe fashion which no longer exists but which we as players might know the meaning of at a glance?. Example: "gothic", "baroque", "boho", even terms like "ballcap" since there's no more baseball, but we know what a ballcap is at a quick glance.
    This is mostly related to the APPEARANCE field of an item, not to the description itself.

    Thanks for the answer!
  • Wuff said:
    "Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the lifespan of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The resulting food is called a pickle, or, to prevent ambiguity, prefaced with pickled."
    While I know what it is it just says 'pickles' and have no idea if that type of preservation method would even be useful or retained this far in the future. 
    Character: Vega
    Faction: Song Dominion
    Class: Engineer 

    note: I am always up for RP, antagonistic or friendly. If she's being a bitch, it's because you're from Scatterhome or she's trying to meet a deadline and has nothing to do with whether I want to RP with you or not. Thanks in advance for the RP!


  • I imagine it might be done for the flavour, maybe, not exactly that method of preservation.

    Realistically, why would we not all be eating Ambrosia flavoured nutrient pastes?

    Make me my pickled Hinka Fruit.
  • edited January 2019
    Wuff said:
    I imagine it might be done for the flavour, maybe, not exactly that method of preservation.

    Realistically, why would we not all be eating Ambrosia flavoured nutrient pastes?

    Make me my pickled Hinka Fruit.
    Why are we not all eating Soylent?

    Because that would be boring. I like food. I don't eat and cook to not be hungry, I do it for the same reason I fuck with no intention of procreation: because it's fun, it makes me happy, and I like doing it in a variety of awesome ways.

    My fridge contains both cucumbers and pickled cucumbers. Access to fresh produce does not prevent me from enjoying the latter.

    "They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty."
    — Oscar Wilde


    "I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before."
    — Margaret Atwood

  • If we were all eating Soylent I think we'd be having some issues with our sewer systems... If not our guts and bowels themselves.

    By the way:

    Synthetic Cloth: syncloth, polyfiber, fibrisilk, synleather
    Natural: Fleetweave, hardweave, cotton, grub silk < crezan silk < merovian silk (price and quality), leather, velvet, elastic, lace

  • Re: Cuisine
    It would probably be easiest to begin a list of 'nearest-related' translations of ingredients (I.E. What we behind the screen recognize as cabbage, is usually ____ in Starmourn). You could pad in a little flexibility here, since alien words for everything can become exhausting, by writing it off as our mindsim universal translators over-simplifying. 
  • Worst case, just add "space" in front of everything to make it kosher. The metaphorical kind of kosher, at least. 

    Bring on the space cabbages!
    "You know what the chain of command is? It’s the chain I go get and beat you with ’til you understand who’s in ruttin’ command here."
  • We hadn't firmed up our design guidelines in the first few days, which means some inappropriate ingredients and earth references did slip through in some of the earliest designs. I've updated the WRITING STANDARDS help file with some more detailed instructions on using earth ingredients, and will see what can be done about correcting a few of the more anachronistic items.

    You don't have to reference a SmartCore tag in a design for it to be approved - it is assumed that every garment and piece of armor in Starmourn will be fabricated with that technology. Though I do love seeing references to it, and think it fits well (get it?) with our gameworld.

    Using descriptive terms like gothic and baroque is fine in the long-form description (This long, black coat is a ruffled, lacy concoction with intricate gothic styling), but those terms are borderline in the appearance field. We want designs and items to evoke a sense of the galaxy we all are pretending to inhabit. If a descriptive word is found to be too esoteric/obscure and too closely married to a specific earth culture, it might be rejected.

    Pickles are fine. Pickles are more than fine. I love pickles. Just make sure they aren't pickled cucumbers, because cucumbers don't exist.
  • edited January 2019
    Does starmourn have a fruit approximately close to the pineapple? (The ones I've seen didn't seem like it..)

    If not, can we have one so we can stick it on pizza?

    Also, can someone explain exactly what fleetweave is? Is it a style? Or a particular material? Mix of both?

    Thanks!
  • Shinonome said:

    Also, can someone explain exactly what fleetweave is? Is it a style? Or a particular material? Mix of both?

    According to the wiki, Fleetweave is "a linen-like natural material made from the fleetweed plant", fleetweed being "a natural, fibrous grass that is capable of growing in a variety of climates and biomes" and is "comparable to flax."
  • "Pippalap pizza" sounds amazing...
    "You know what the chain of command is? It’s the chain I go get and beat you with ’til you understand who’s in ruttin’ command here."
  • @Eukelade I know we have some interesting items with holo displays etc, but I personally really like the idea of incorporating it into fashion as well. As it is one of my personal favorites in terms of aesthetics. Is this valid? I've also been trying to add a bit of tech and such to my pieces, but I haven't gotten to look over any suggested changes or anything since the tightening up of  design standards. Thanks in advance!
    Character: Vega
    Faction: Song Dominion
    Class: Engineer 

    note: I am always up for RP, antagonistic or friendly. If she's being a bitch, it's because you're from Scatterhome or she's trying to meet a deadline and has nothing to do with whether I want to RP with you or not. Thanks in advance for the RP!


  • I am all for making lots of nifty space materials, but for the sake of clarity in understanding what we are looking at, I'd prefer we don't go full bore on removing anything that has relevance to an earth-based origin. We don't -need- to, frankly, and doing so will hamper immersion more than aide it. If I have to spend significant time looking up lore to figure out wtf a thing I'm reading a desc of looks like/tastes like/is then it's going to pull me out of immersive headspace. So using earth-based analogs should be (within reason) fine. 

    That being said, ORGANIC materials from earth may not have a space equivalent, but MINERAL materials from earth should. So gemstones and metals and the like should be all fair game. 

    I've also started compiling a list of organic stuff from room descs/critters/items I come across in game. It's pretty short atm because I've been bashing-focused, but as an example, from Biloxin's swamps:

    Plantlife:

    Lyssla trees:  Massive bases of roots that emerge above the water/swamp line and support thick trunks that climb 20 meters high and have palmate leaves and globe-like fruits with luminous scales ranging from aqua to indigo in color. 

    Critters:

    Eskama: Orange body feathers and a brilliant plume of crimson feathers and a long, curved bill. 


  • edited January 2019
    A few ideas

    1) Golsul: Silicates extracted from the Golpur region serves as a condiment across the Starmourn sector. Known for its unique mineral flavor and preservative properties, it is a staple in all cuisines

    2) Dewlite: Harvest from the highest treelines in Sabiak, aqueous condensate on the fresh new leaves have a heady, chlorophyll flavor which is considered aphrodisiac in many cultures.

    3) Burley: The trunk of several trees in Sabiak exhibit 'knots'. These knots produce a sweet taste, with a fibrous, cellulite texture. Used as a sweetner to produce burley-candy. It is said, the more aged the tree, the sweeter the taste of the knot. 
  • Vega said:
    @Eukelade I know we have some interesting items with holo displays etc, but I personally really like the idea of incorporating it into fashion as well. As it is one of my personal favorites in terms of aesthetics. Is this valid? I've also been trying to add a bit of tech and such to my pieces, but I haven't gotten to look over any suggested changes or anything since the tightening up of  design standards. Thanks in advance!

    So long as you don't break any of the current design submission rules, this is ok by me!  So in other words, no using clothing-based holotech to make your character look like other characters or force actions/emotions on other players, etc.  But describing some flashy lights or flickering overlays to add pizzazz is cool. 

    @TextWench - I think it is ok to use earth words to describe flavors and things. You can say something tastes like vanilla, without stating that the flavor was derived from a pod plucked from a Vanilla planifolia. You can describe a color as 'cherry red' despite cherries not really existing anywhere. I'd say just try to keep earthlike references tasteful and low key, and don't absolutely jam-pack your descriptions with nonstop amounts of very specific earth words, species, cultural concepts, etc.

    I know it's a sometimes blurry line, but as Starmourn gets a few more months under its belt I think we'll all find a comfortable middle ground that feels familiar enough to be fun without being too familiar.

  • So, something that kind of toes that line a little, would it be okay to use the appearance to describe something as, for example "a plate of French toast sticks", "a Cardigan sweater", "a pink poodle skirt", or "an alexandrite bangle"? These are all named after things from Earth, but have since been divorced from their originator. (France, the earldom of Cardigan, poodles, and Alexander II respectively).
    Come one, come all W'hoorn, to the Cultural Exchange where we can talk about being catbird klingons!
  • I had no idea that cardigans were named after a place. I thought it was just a word that specifically refers to a clothing item. Learn something new every day!

    "They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty."
    — Oscar Wilde


    "I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before."
    — Margaret Atwood

  • Technically so are sandwiches, bologna, cologne, most alcohols, tangerines, sardines, cantaloupe, martinis, and via a strange etymology peaches. Granted, most of those don't exist in Starmourn anyway, but there's also tuxedo (a town in New York where the jacket style came into fashion), jerseys (island off of Normandy where the ancestor of the garment was born), paisley and argyle patterns (a town and a family in Scotland who first developed the styles), ascots (a town outside london where the ascot tie became popular), and bikinis (which are named after the atolls where the US later did atomic bomb testing.) all of which very well could.

    Come one, come all W'hoorn, to the Cultural Exchange where we can talk about being catbird klingons!
  • I wish the wiki to have more info on fabrics than what's there. Syncloth is basically cotton. But then duracloth says it's a synthetic cloth that's similar to syncloth. What's the difference, what would it be analogous to? Syncloth light cotton, duracloth heavy cotton like jeans or canvas jackets? Polyfiber at least gives some differences - flowing, and even tougher than the other two.

    But there's nothing about how they feel, how they look (dull, shimmering, shiny?), or if they can be made to look/feel like different things.

    Also, polyleather vs duraleather. Is duraleather just more durable? No other discernable differences?
Sign In or Register to comment.