How would a Flat World work, visually?

[LordVyreth]

I've been using a flat world setting for a couple of years now (no, it's not shaped like a disc, I'm not that unoriginal,) and I was starting to wonder how the world would look to its inhabitants. For example, one of the common clues to a spherical world was that sailors noticed mountains and other objects vanished as they sailed away from them, due to the curivature of the world. If that didn't happen, would mountains be visible anywhere? Are there other examples to think of?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I've been using a flat world setting for a couple of years now (no, it's not shaped like a disc, I'm not that unoriginal,) and I was starting to wonder how the world would look to its inhabitants. For example, one of the common clues to a spherical world was that sailors noticed mountains and other objects vanished as they sailed away from them, due to the curivature of the world. If that didn't happen, would mountains be visible anywhere? Are there other examples to think of?

Are you implying that a disc shape is inferior to other shapes? In my position as Arch Chancellor, I respectfully disagree.

[/in character]

I find this also an interesting question. I always liked the idea to go away from the "alternate Earth" material planes to something more fantastic, but I feel a bit at loss at describing how this would look or feel like.

 

[Andor]

Well... It depends how clear the air is. In our modern world air pollution causes a haze that gives air a certain degree of opacity. On a good day you might see 50 to a hundred miles on a bad one 10 or 20 in some places. Without modern pollution... They say you used to be able to see the appalachians from the top of Pikes peak on a really good day...

Even without modern technology you will still have some haziness to the air from fires and such.

So it depends really on how far you want people to see, but on a really clear day, I'd guess they'd the able to as far as the nearest mountains in all directions. Angle of view is still a factor so tall objects will still obscure objects behind them, all though if you have a really tall mountain like the "Fist of God" on ringworld or the Hub on Discworld or Planescape it may be visible from the entire world. Good place for the home of the gods, yeah?

 

[Corathon]

Well... It depends how clear the air is. In our modern world air pollution causes a haze that gives air a certain degree of opacity. On a good day you might see 50 to a hundred miles on a bad one 10 or 20 in some places. Without modern pollution... They say you used to be able to see the appalachians from the top of Pikes peak on a really good day...

Even without modern technology you will still have some haziness to the air from fires and such.

Due to the curvature of the Earth, I don't think that you could ever see the Appalachians from the top of Pike's Peak.

On a flat world, things like humidity would still limit visibility. I did a quick Google, and this page (http://www.texasep.org/html/air/air_4iss_vis.html) claims a visibility about 90 miles in the Eastern US, and 140 miles in the Western US (in the absence of pollution).

 

[Plane Sailing]

I like the idea of a ringworld style flat world - which means you have 'the arch' visible in the sky, which is nice.

 

[Nadaka]

Do not forget that the air itself isn't perfectly transparent. Oxygen for example is rather blue.

 

[Dlsharrock]

You'd see as far as the opacity of the atmosphere allowed, or the rise and fall of the terrain. Even if the world were flat, standing in front of the alps would severely limit what you could see. On the other hand, if you were in flat terrain you'd probably see teeny weeny mountains marching across the horizon (atmosphere and pollution willing). The sky would probably be most dramatic of all, with varieties of weather visible from any point on the planet; dark patches (rainclouds), flickering starbursts (electrical storms), falling mists (rainfall or fog), and vertical shafts of sunlight lancing through the tropical regions. If the weather was clear in your immediate vicinity I guess you'd feel a bit like you were standing in the heart of a weather donut.

Perhaps just as interesting, what would it *feel* like living on a flat world. Is gravity consistent? I suppose it depends on whether your flat world is magic science like the Discworld, or science science like Niven's Ringworld.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I just want to put in too... Is there a core to this flat-world? Would there even be mountains?

Since mountains are formed either by the shifting of the tectonic plates, which suggest that below the crust/mantle there is the under layer (forgot the name) has to move the mantle. So if both of these exist... How deep does it go, till a core?

Also if there is no core. Mountains formed from volcanoes wouldn't exist.

Also if there is a core, then something has to form around it from the other end. Soo... Is there another world on the other side? If so, what about around the edge of the world?

 

[SoulsFury]

My homebrew (and now other DMs are using and adding to it at the website below) is a flat plane of existence. Is not a prime material plane, it is the plane the gods used to test things before creating the primes. So there is a sun, but it doesn't move, and it slowly fades and turns into the moon. There are no tides, no seasons, the farther from the sun, the colder it is. There is an atmosphere and storms are highly dependent on the gods, especially the goddess of weather. The heat actually comes from a core created by the gods, they added the sun for light and then realized, hey we don't need light all the time. Visibility I don't think would be to much of a factor cause you can't see forever. Mountains are explained with the fact they tested the plate of an earth type world on this plane.

 

[Crothian]

I just want to put in too... Is there a core to this flat-world? Would there even be mountains?

Since mountains are formed either by the shifting of the tectonic plates, which suggest that below the crust/mantle there is the under layer (forgot the name) has to move the mantle. So if both of these exist... How deep does it go, till a core?

Also if there is no core. Mountains formed from volcanoes wouldn't exist.

Also if there is a core, then something has to form around it from the other end. Soo... Is there another world on the other side? If so, what about around the edge of the world?

Or because it is a fantasy world it could look however the gods want it to.