tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post6295921109103932935..comments2024-03-27T11:04:31.390-04:00Comments on From the Sorcerer's Skull: Getting There is Half the Fun: FTL in Sci-Fi SettingsTreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-50991822083027003882013-04-30T11:12:40.750-04:002013-04-30T11:12:40.750-04:00Cool topic.
Another interesting idea would be mul...Cool topic.<br /><br />Another interesting idea would be multiple FTL options. Different races developing different solutions and how that would play into a universe setting. One species could have instantaneous FTL, but only for very small (or ridiculously large) ships. <br /><br />Another uses fixed gates whose size determines what size ships they can field. This could lead to large in-system battleships and small corvettes for inter-stellar action. <br /><br />How would they guard their technology and what advantages would each side have? And how could the PC's upset the balance?Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116795932377593506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-77878971552422401642013-04-30T10:52:07.458-04:002013-04-30T10:52:07.458-04:00Both Dune and Battletech use the instantaneous jum...Both Dune and Battletech use the instantaneous jump/teleport. In Battletech, it allows for space battles in normal space. :)Anthony N. Emmelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14017952532295866111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-74609501907277041002013-04-29T18:45:51.624-04:002013-04-29T18:45:51.624-04:00@Malcadon - Good point. Communication certainly ef...@Malcadon - Good point. Communication certainly effects the feel of the world. Are frontiers isolated, like in centuries past, or does a Galaxy Wide Web connect everyone? Or something in between?Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-80514845877870561512013-04-29T08:13:41.838-04:002013-04-29T08:13:41.838-04:00Another thing to consider, is how FTL communicatio...Another thing to consider, is how FTL communication can have a major impact on the scope of the setting. I have seen large galactic-size settings dwarfed they the presence of a massive and readily available FTL communications network, and the lack of any device like this feel like an endless expanse of small isolated worlds! This may not directly impact the actually FTL trip, but it would impact how information and notoriety spreads.Malcadonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111796978336546944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-52739320979007571862013-04-28T20:16:45.333-04:002013-04-28T20:16:45.333-04:00Yeah. I really liked the B5 approach.Yeah. I really liked the B5 approach.Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-16829342542651955982013-04-28T18:49:03.335-04:002013-04-28T18:49:03.335-04:00This is always a discussion when sci-fi, fantasy e...This is always a discussion when sci-fi, fantasy ect... writers get together. I thought Babylon 5's hyperspace was interesting. It was presented as a mysterious place where things can go very wrong and getting lost is a very strong possibility. What is hidden in there? There is just a lot of coolness to play with. Gothridge Manorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11371740532802642972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-41542067484599309142013-04-28T18:33:03.656-04:002013-04-28T18:33:03.656-04:00@Umbrielx - I'm aware of Alcubierre's warp...@Umbrielx - I'm aware of Alcubierre's warp drive, but it really doesn't enter the Star Trek fanon picture until his paper was written, and it never fits what we see on screen at all. <br /><br />There are, of course, constraints to Alcubierre's warp drive (the need for a lot of exotic matter, potential closed time-like curves, and other engineering problems).Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-72939344216023421082013-04-28T18:18:19.194-04:002013-04-28T18:18:19.194-04:00Star Trek's version of warp drive doesn't ...<i>Star Trek</i>'s version of warp drive doesn't technically "ignore" Einsteinian constraints. Rather it's based on their most basic loophole -- While nothing can travel faster-than-light in normal space, nothing prevents space itself from being distorted or "warped" at superluminal speeds, and potentially carrying what that space contains along for the ride. Amusingly, the real world "Alcubierre drive" concept was apparently inspired by <i>Star Trek</i>'s terminology, and has, in turn, influenced the "rubber science" used in the fictional universe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive)<br /><br />A good example of the "ferry concept" you reference can be found in the various Battletech games, where very large FTL ships jump instantaneously from points above or below a star system, and generally never leave those points, with "dropships" shuttling cargo and passengers to and from them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-55166468177700670952013-04-28T17:59:19.110-04:002013-04-28T17:59:19.110-04:00I was toying with this concept today, for an X-plo...I was toying with this concept today, for an X-plorers campaign with a golden age feel. I wanted to restrict my game to the Milky Way and primarily our solar system. So, I went the "gates" route with the explanation that the technology was not there for FTL space engines. But, I decided advancements in propulsion could attain Mach 250 "Super High Hypersonic" speeds. This allows a trip to the moon in 1 1/2 hours, Mars in 8 days, and Jupiter in 5 years. The gates would allow shorter times over greater distances and often it would take a ship longer to arrive at a gate then to travel across the galaxy at the speed of light through the gates.<br /><br />@SAROE "Character were never going to own their own ships"<br /><br />I'm including Rent-to-own and leasing options to players. I see a Repo-tracer game in the making (:dervishdelverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13803513672258666141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-36952904120337032702013-04-28T15:45:01.287-04:002013-04-28T15:45:01.287-04:00@Simon - Very true. That shows up in Simmons' ...@Simon - Very true. That shows up in Simmons' <i>Hyperion</i> as well with the farcaster system. I was trying to keep it to ship-based systems here (as going to those sorts of non-ship transports eliminates the "space travel" aspect entirely.Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-50272461243287647072013-04-28T15:40:51.965-04:002013-04-28T15:40:51.965-04:00Also, there's another tree of varients down fr...Also, there's another tree of varients down from "gated travel", and that's whether a ship is required or not - something like the Stargate could easily be used to travel from system-to-system, while nonFTL craft are used for intrasystem travel.Simon J. Hogwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07709835550452996449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-6005272097178370502013-04-28T13:10:59.500-04:002013-04-28T13:10:59.500-04:00@SAROE - Very good point. Some version of jumpdriv...@SAROE - Very good point. Some version of jumpdrives or warp drives might require ferries or the like. Then there's something like <i>Dune</i>, where all travel is controlled by a monopoly and everybody goes on their ships. Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-12022912881302970452013-04-28T13:02:14.775-04:002013-04-28T13:02:14.775-04:00It also has implications for ship design. Twenty o...It also has implications for ship design. Twenty or so years ago I designed a campaign (that never got played) where the 'Jump' engines were huge. But but the mass of the ship they were attached to had minimal effect on how big the engines needed to be. <br /><br />This meant there were very few 'small' ships that only carried a handful of passengers. So no Millenium Falcon or Traveller Scout.<br /><br />Characters were never going to own there own ships, and the passenger liners were adventure locations in their own right.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8302487761596456689.post-26933769071766500742013-04-28T10:53:18.993-04:002013-04-28T10:53:18.993-04:00It's the only way to travel....one day but I t...It's the only way to travel....one day but I think not in our lifetime!The Angry Lurkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01227314379603418332noreply@blogger.com