Holodeck question

[Maxsil]

So, iv'e been looking around the internet for an anwser however i have only seen similar questions like what would happen if 2 people would enter, then hold a rope and start walking away from eachother.

Well, enough babbeling. What would happen if you would create a simulation of let's say a desert, or something similar in size. and then start putting people in it, what would happen when the holodeck would get "full"? ( in quote because in the simulation everyone could stand 100 meters from eachother)

 

[T'Girl]

what would happen if 2 people would enter, then hold a rope and start walking away from each other

If the rope were longer than the holodecks confines? The holodeck would "split" into three areas. Both of the people would be in their own little isolated holo-bubbles. At some point the two occupants would think that the rope was stretched taut between them, but they would only be standing several feet apart, and most of the rope would be laying on the floor of the holodeck.

what would happen when the holodeck would get "full"?

The computer would likely simply tell the assembled occupants just that, "capacity reached," or some such.

 

[Timo]

Or then it could assign some transporters (either general ones, or ones dedicated to the holodeck) to shuffle the entrants between the available holodecks without them noticing.

We know that transporting need not be noticeable: "parlor tricks" like those in "Devil's Due" can be used to hide the usual signs of transporting. We also have reason to suspect that the holodeck uses transporter technology anyway, so that it can insert a real, replicated chokolate cake in the middle of an illusion otherwise created out of forcefields. And most importantly, we know the holodeck is immensely eager to please: it will go to any lengths to maintain the illusion the user wants it to maintain.

And conversely, it will open up the fourth wall if it thinks that's what the user wants it to do. Hence, when Data wants to show the wall of the holodeck in "Encounter at Farpoint", he can do it by throwing a holo-stone. Yet if he didn't indicate a willingness to show the wall, the stone probably would not reveal anything.

So if the purpose of the rope trick were to reveal the secrets and limitations of the holodeck, it would reveal them. If the purpose was simply to play with a long rope, the holodeck would hide the secrets instead, and would facilitate the play.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Forbin]

Timo made my head hurt again.

 

[Maxsil]

what would happen if 2 people would enter, then hold a rope and start walking away from each other

If the rope were longer than the holodecks confines? The holodeck would "split" into three areas. Both of the people would be in their own little isolated holo-bubbles. At some point the two occupants would think that the rope was stretched taut between them, but they would only be standing several feet apart, and most of the rope would be laying on the floor of the holodeck.

Wow, thats a much better explanation then the one i found, and now that i think about it, it does make complete and total sense.

Or then it could assign some transporters (either general ones, or ones dedicated to the holodeck) to shuffle the entrants between the available holodecks without them noticing.

We know that transporting need not be noticeable: "parlor tricks" like those in "Devil's Due" can be used to hide the usual signs of transporting. We also have reason to suspect that the holodeck uses transporter technology anyway, so that it can insert a real, replicated chokolate cake in the middle of an illusion otherwise created out of forcefields. And most importantly, we know the holodeck is immensely eager to please: it will go to any lengths to maintain the illusion the user wants it to maintain.

And conversely, it will open up the fourth wall if it thinks that's what the user wants it to do. Hence, when Data wants to show the wall of the holodeck in "Encounter at Farpoint", he can do it by throwing a holo-stone. Yet if he didn't indicate a willingness to show the wall, the stone probably would not reveal anything.

So if the purpose of the rope trick were to reveal the secrets and limitations of the holodeck, it would reveal them. If the purpose was simply to play with a long rope, the holodeck would hide the secrets instead, and would facilitate the play.

Timo Saloniemi

Wow, that makes even more sense, but what would happen if everybody where to hold eachothers hands?

 

[backstept]

what would happen if everybody where to hold eachothers hands?

the holodeck would create holographic facsimilies of the other people so they would appear to be in the same space even if they were spread across several holodecks

 

[Timo]

...Ever the willing little servant, the 'deck would probably also subtly discourage people from working themselves into such awkward corners. Most simulations seem to feature "unexpected" elements, such as background characters bumping onto or talking with the users, raising a random ruckus, and so forth. (See for example the favorite watering holes of our DS9 and VOY heroes.) If there was a risk of overcrowding, the holodeck might decide to create a diversion, utilizing these background characters or other elements of the simulation. If the users persisted with the crowding, the holodeck would accommodate them the best it could, possibly by stacking them three high, or distributing them across several holodecks, with holographic "interfaces" to connect the people across the stacks or 'decks, like suggested above. But usually it would be possible to practice clever "crowd control" by giving the users something more exciting to do than holding hands...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Forbin]

This is why Take me Out to the Holosuite drives me crazy. I can NOT wrap my head around having dozens of people and a baseball diamond in a 20-foot-square room that isn't in a TARDIS.

 

[Timo]

...Which is why it's a good thing we know that Quark has several holosuites! Interconnecting them would solve the problems.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tiberius]

The holodeck just distorts the image making it look like the other person is a long way away when they are in reality quite close.

 

[Timo]

In playing baseball, there are a few extra complications. Such as a player bringing his real bat with him... If he swings that in an arc that has a diameter of about three meters, the holodeck has to do more than distort the imagery to accommodate twenty other people in a room that is only five meters across!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[22 Stars]

That would be like Picard bring in a real horse that would crash into the walls. I would think a Holodeck rule would be 'Dress in costume, but leave the gear at home'. Fine to wear your baseball uniform, Knight's costume etc, but leave the bat and lance in your room, let the Holodeck create thos for you.