I honestly don't know how to answer this poll, since I'm trying to decide among several possibilities: low-magic "low fantasy" a la Howard and Leiber, "hard science fiction" where interstellar travel still obeys the speed of light, "planetary romance" (after Jason Durall's thread), steampunkish "space opera" inside a Dyson sphere instead of through star systems (so rockets and even zepplins can go between worlds) ... argh. My head a'splode.
A few constant principles are, though, that 1) Magic, if it exists, is mysterious and not an alternate technology, 2) Nonhumans are seriously non-human, 2a) NO ELVES! (of the Tolkien/D&D variety, anyway), 3) 3 * 10^8 m/s isn't only a good idea, it's the law.
Maybe I'm just sick of point-and-chant magic, funny-looking stereotyped humans, and one-city planets.
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