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[Simon_Louvaki]

Greetings everyone!

I'm contemplating writing a period piece set on Caldari Prime somewhere around/after the Galantee made contact with the Caldari. I believe the lore states that during that time the Caldari were in their Industrial Age, which begs the question - what did that look like? Aesthetically that is.

In was curious if anyone had any ideas about what style of clothing or buildings they would have used at the time.

Thanks!

[Aradina]

Source describes the skyline of Arcuio as "highly developed glass and silver steel", but other than that, there isn't a lot of information that I can think of. I imagine they'd be somewhat similar to irl modern styles, with a bit more focus on gun metal grey and not freezing.

[Simon_Louvaki]

Thanks for the reply!

I was under the impression the Caldari were comparative to us, technology wise, somewhere around circa 1800 when First Contact was made.

[Aradina]

As far as I know, there's no details. Buuuut I don't think they'd be that far back. For a number of reasons, Arcuio was built around terraforming systems from the initial colonization, it's fairly likely that the Caldari would have had some idea of that tech(Though I've always kinda thought this was a plot hole considering that the common origin thing isn't meant to be confirmed, but eh). They also would have had to accelerate in tech levels absurdly fast to have been able to invent the Sotiyo-Urbaata drive 190 years after first contact. 190 years from 1800s tech to beating the people who uplifted you in a technological race doesn't really sound likely to me.

But, like I said, no detail that I know of. All I have is "highly developed glass and silver steel skyline", which makes me think 2000s at the earliest, minus spaceflight and a few other things probably.

[Silver Night]

Thanks for the reply!

I was under the impression the Caldari were comparative to us, technology wise, somewhere around circa 1800 when First Contact was made.

I thought that the Gallente detected radio from the Caldari? I always figured it was more turn of the 20th century level - though of course it might be somewhat uneven as different things advanced at different speeds (or got a head start from leftover tech, like Ara mentioned).

[Simon_Louvaki]

http://backstage.eve-inspiracy.com/index.php?topic=5643.0

The comments made by Purple in this thread is mainly where I'm getting my impression from. One of the links attached says that Caldari civilization was first observed via telescope, but I didnt see a link directly to the PF.

[Aradina]

He doesn't really provide sources though. Just says "copied from various parts of the wiki". Source also retconned some of that mentioned stuff(or it just clarified, there was very little detail on the subject), as it says that the Arcuio Skyline was the first evidence of life on the planet



 It had a population of 12 million too, which sounds more in line with modern irl tech comparatively.

[Simon_Louvaki]

That definitely paints a different, if not disappointing picture from the images I was forming in my head.

[Ibrahim Tash-Murkon]

In Eve Source it says:

"Gallente scientists spotted the Caldari entering their Industrial Age in AD 22463 and immediately dispatched probes to establish contact. Soon after, they were sending manned missions [AD 22517] with the intent of mingling with and assisting what was seen as a primitive people. The Caldari eagerly accepted the Gallente's technology, but remained wary of cultural interference."

"Even so, the two cultures gradually came to trust each other and worth together. Side by side, they discovered star gate technology and eventually developed the warp drive."

I'd imagine that what a civilization that was about to mount a manned interplanetary mission would consider as "primitive" would be pretty varied. The Caldari could have been anywhere between steam engine and airplane. Plus, technological progress isn't all that linear. There's no reason that the Caldari, for instance, could have just been inventing the steam engine but had radios for hundreds of years or more. IRL we did the reverse; steam power is an ancient technology while radiowaves are practically brand new but they both rely on such basic principles that any lucky and smart person could have invented a radio in Ancient Greece.

[Simon_Louvaki]

When I first got into RPing and World Building it was with The Elder Scrolls. Many of the old lore heads in that community fairly liberally used BaTW (Boring and therefore wrong) when it came to interpretations that weren't strictly spelled out or had conflicting source material.

I'll have to examine the time frames a bit closer, but personally I dig the concept Ibrahim is laying down if not for the simple fact it's more interesting than a one to one comparison with any particular timeframe from real life. I always imagined the harsh environment and limited resources of Caldari Prime would have been a major road block when it came to advancement.

[Elmund Egivand]

I always imagine that the Caldari are big on the Brutalism school of architecture. Except less concrete, more steel.

[Nissui]

Not sure if it will still help at this point, but I did a little thinking on it. According to my reading of Source, at the time shortly after first contact with Gallente, there was tremendous social upheaval, and it was in this disorder that the CEP was formed. So depending on where your story was located, there may be a mega who dominates locally or regionally, and that could inform the aesthetic. Tech or energy companies might resemble a hydroelectric plant of the pulp scifi era, with great forms of exposed machinery framed within clean, practical slabs of concrete. Raw industry might look like Hamilton, Ontario or Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the turn of the 20th century, with great smokestacks, billowing clouds of steam, elevated railways snaking around brick skyscrapers. Or it could be like the oil fields of central Alberta in winter, or 19th century Hokkaido for a mix of industry and agriculture. In many places, environmental concerns would be tertiary to efficiency and commerce.

The Raata placed value in blood, steel, and also the winds that play a role in their spirituality. I think flags or other devices  to catch the wind would probably be very common throughout their settlements, probably emblazoned with symbols important to the locals, at least until the pervasiveness of corp culture manifested through the CEP.

That's just my take on it. Check for writings of Korsavius and Avio Yaken who have both done recent worldbuilding with the Caldari, which might provide additional juice for the imagination.

[Simon_Louvaki]

This is all good stuff! I'll definitely check out the writers you mentioned to see what's relevant. I'm still in the research phase so pretty much anything and everything is very useful.

[Alex Hinkelmann]

Katrina Oniseki did several pieces on the old Raata Empire. They're worth a read as well.