World Building: Navigating and conquering under the sea

Prepare to take the plunge! In this deep dive, we're breaking the surface and exploring underwater civilizations. From intrepid exploration in the deep to intense warfare tactics beneath the waves, this video leaves no seashell unturned. We navigate the unique challenges of pressure and darkness in underwater exploration, observe the strategic value of reefs and currents, and adapt warfare tactics to an all-encompassing, three-dimensional battlefield. So grab your diving gear (real or imaginary) and get ready to submerge into a world where every tide and current can shape the destiny of civilizations.

Chapters
0:00 Underwater Logistics
1:19 Underwater Exploration
13:31 Underwater Travel Tech
18:27 Underwater Warfare & Weapons
31:49 Your Underwater

#justintimeworlds #mariemullany #worldbuilding #sangwheelchronicles #magic #underwater #merpeople

[tautvydastamasauskas]

Would you consider doing part 2 on cultures/religions in the underwater environment?🤗

[resilientfarmsanddesignstu]

It's useful to think about the surface of the ocean as a mirror. For terrestrial creatures going up into the atmosphere results in less resources and more extreme conditions and hence less diversity and abundance of life. For aquatic creatures the REVERSE is true. While diversity and abundance of resources and life is still concentrated at the interface, diving deeper results in fewer resources, a more hostile environment, less diversity and less abundance. So for aquatic creatures, down is our up! 🧜‍♂️Since both terrestrial and aquatic species can access near surface (and possibly shoreline) resources, encounters and conflicts occur in this interface zone.

[kit]

Some random thoughts.

Pressure
- Pressure underwater is high.
- Increase of one atmosphere every 10 meters.
- For comparison, the pressure differential between sea level and space is only one atmosphere.
- WW2 submarines had a crush depth of only 100 meters.
- Current military submarines are limited to less than 1000 meters.
- You need specialized deep diving vehicles to go deeper than that. They are small and slow.
- The Titanic wreck is at 3800 meters.
- For warfare, vehicles that can dive deeper can evade pursuers who can't follow. Just like high altitude ceiling gives an advantage to military aircraft.

Temperature
- It's not just cold, water also conducts heat away more quickly than air
- Heat insulation is therefore going to be important for warm blooded species

Body armor
- Due to the high pressure, you're not going to have body-hugging armor at depth.
- Current deep diving suits are made out of spherical parts (including the joints) to resist the pressure.

Oxygen
- Nuclear submarines use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Depth control
- Submarines use a combination of buoyancy control for coarse control, and deflecting water using horizontal vanes like an airplane for fine control.
- Keeping both in balance is a skilled job. Failure can mean an unplanned surfacing of the submarine - deadly if you are stalking enemy ships.
- There are layers in the ocean with different salinity and therefore density. Transitioning from one to another will cause the submarine to suddenly rise or fall.

For high speed travel, use supercavitation
- This creates a bubble around the vehicle, allowing it to slip through the water with little resistance
- Supercavitating torpedoes do exist

Weapons
- Arrows and spears will not travel as quickly or as far, but can still work. Spearguns are commonly used for fishing under water, with a range of a few meters.
- A supercavitating spear would be cool.
- 3D movement. This was a big oversight in the underwater battle at the end of the first Aquaman movie (they also ignore depth/pressure limits).
- Use pressure weapons for concussion damage, to make use of the incompressibility of water. Obviously with explosives such as depth charges and torpedoes, but even a less powerful system (maybe using compressed air) would be effective for stunning.

[felipegonzalez]

Could you talk about what mermaids need to explore the mainland? It's an interesting topic.

[ronecotex]

When you make incurrence it made me think of weather machines but for currents

[waitingforwonderland]

I love this video thank you so much, I have a question though. Say your underwater civilization is based farther away from the equator where coral reefs don't grow. Could Kelp forests and Sea grass regions work as well?

[elgordoable]

Algo que se me ocurre es que, ya que la ciudad es, básicamente, un organismo, se podría negociar con los edificios para que ayuden en la defensa o en la invasión.

[SuperVegeto]

Love this video mostly because I'm on volume 3 of my novel in a underwater kingdom.

Exploring the depths doesn't require special tech or magic as the species that do it are not only oceanic but have evolved to handled to pressure and temperature. Most aquatic species are built like Olympians due to the constant weight like how swimmers are built really well. Granted the deep black trenches are very hostile. Allocation of the environment is different depending on the species, Sahaugin have electro-reception, Sea Elves & Tritons can produce light from their skin becoming bioluminescent, Water Elemites can feel vibrations in the water on their skin like an echolocation through the skin.

Underwater cavalry was something I was fascinated with as sharks and whales were domesticated for war. I even made another type of whale breed for war called "Deep Terror" large, strong, bearing sharp teeth and scars on it's hide. The Deep Terror could inhale water and retain bones of those it's eaten and expel it as a forceful blast of water and bone shards. Hydras can be tamed but it's very difficult.

I do feel like spears & tridents work underwater only but the amount of prongs on it indicates the strength and rank of the soldier going from 1 - 6. Their weapons are magically infused with divine magic from Pisces herself from hitting harder, to coming back after being thrown, to moving water, making piercing & slicing water waves, freezing, and even producing lightning (but that is reserved for the highest ranking soldiers). Enchanted bows that have arrows tipped with jellyfish venom.

Armor made of rock & coral, the coral can absorb and release light in a blinding flash on the battlefield.

[ronecotex]

When you mentioned see pressure it made me think of decompressing stations to avoid breathing problems