To paraphrase an old episode of Doctor Who:

"Ah! Civilisations are built out of this stuff!"
"What is it doctor? Gold?"
"No! Concrete!"

So, in Shadowrun, we have concrete, and then we have the unobtanium equivalent of concrete: plascrete. From the name, I'm led to believe it's some sort of high density plastic that has a practically identical function and properties of ye olde concrete.

Now, I don't want to get bogged down in real world issues, such as the world's dwindling petrochemical supply that might make a plastic so ubiquitous as plascrete a little hard to use so ubiquitiously. With that said, however, it does suggest that it couldn't completely replace our archaic concrete.

So, what do we know about plascrete? Are there any old books that mention it in the fluff? Is there some difference in composition that makes it more appropriate for certain uses? Off the top of my head, I imagine it would be a little less brittle and slightly more flexible than concrete.

Discussion of plastisteel/plasteel is also appropriate in the thread.

I also realise that this is a very minor point, but through analysis of my own descriptive GM'ing, I find myself constantly referring to concrete-like structures as being built of plascrete, and I was wondering where I should draw the line, and where in the sixth world concrete is still the stuff civilisations are built out of.

From what I can tell (and it isn't much, I don't know much more than you), plasticrete is concrete with some sort of plastic component. I always assumed that it was mostly concrete, but with a hint of plastic and held together by a crystal lattice (like metal or plastic). I think it is supposed to be slightly more flexible than concrete, allowing he stuff to stay together in case of an earthquake or something. Again, this was always my impression and I don't know if it's true or not.

So, to answer your question, I know very little for sure about the stuff, but here is what we do know:

We do know that Plasticrete is prevelant in 2070, but that concrete also exists, mostly in the slums and in pre-awakening structures. We know that the stuff is of comparable hardness to concrete, and that acid rain bleaches it. Most buildings in Seattle are made out of the stuff and it is not a trademarked term but instead, a general idea (much like concrete is today.)

It could be the evolution of polypropylene reinforced concrete. Or maybe benefits of polypropylene reinforced concrete were discovered that made it the better choice. Recycling polypropylene into something a builder wants to last for decades beats having it take up that time and more decaying in landfills.

Really though, I think sci-fi authors like name dropping and coining new words that could be a part of the future. I think this is where plas-steel and plascrete as well as soykaf and such originate.

That may or may not be true. I can't say I've ever run into any description of what the stuff is like, detailed or otherwise. I was thinking more along the lines of concrete with a significant plastic component in it, for instance, strips or bars of plastic, or a microscopic reinforcing lattice to increase tensile/sheer strength, or maybe just some type of plastic "powder" mixed in to decrease density and weight.

Such concrete hybrids are in common use today -- different types of concrete with different additives are used for all sorts of different jobs. At my school they had a competition for civil engineers to make a canoe out of concrete and they put all sorts of additives in it, such as porcelain micro-spheres, to change its density and strength.




Not necessarily. Plastic is made mostly of drilled petroleum these days, but there are such things as petroleum-free plastics. For instance, there is a type of biodegradable plastic that is currently being manufactured called PHB that is produced by micro-organisms. It is also theoretically possible for bacteria to produce liquid hydrocarbons like oil, and it has been done, but not very efficiently at all. The state of biotechnology in Shadowrun is a bit more advanced, though




Well, I don't remember reading much about it, but I imagine that there are as many kinds of plascrete as there are kinds of concrete. Which is to say, quite a few. Because of that, the distinction between the two is probably one of degree. For instance, something is legally called "plascrete" if the homogeneous substance contains more than x% hydrocarbon polymers, but less than y% (at which point it is simply plastic). How exactly those polymers are integrated into the material is likely just dependent on application.

At least, that's how I imagine it

Edit: Also, I agree with tisoz. I think that the authors just like to come up with futuristic-sounding materials, and their actual characteristics aren't important. I was just giving you something to chew on, since you seemed interested in the nature of 2070 building materials

There was an old (SR2 I think) adventure where you could goo-ify a certain variant of plas-steel with a solvent. Can´t remember which.

DNA/DOA, and it was Plastisteel-7. It is described on page 18.

Yes, that one! Thanks!

I always imagined plascrete was some form of superdurable concrete/plastic composite rather than a completely plastic product. But I've never bothered to go look for a canon source to confirm that so your guess is as good as mine.

Now I know why japaneses are so pissed off with the Eastern Tiger Corporation in Corporate Enclaves.

Well, ersatz coffee isn't a new invention. The "Soykaf" name is just in line with SR's often mentioned soy-based food.

Well Scotty could have traveled back in time and given someone the secret to Transparent Aluminum. LOL.

Isn't there also a ferro-crete?

AKA steel reinforced concrete? Which is pretty much all concrete used in construction.

Real Men use ferroconcrete, yes.

Incidentally, have any of you ever Googled "plascrete" ?

Yes, AH, as a civil engineer, I am aware of "plascrete".

Cool. I'm pretty sure the SR version was first introduced by Steve Kenson in the Duels novels, but I'm not sure.

I could be wrong but didn't one of the sourcebooks mention that by the 2050/2060s they'd managed to perfect producing artificial oil in sufficient quantities that it had made natural reserves much less important than they are current day?