Realistic Relativistic Science Fiction usage of drives as WMDs etc.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by acrosome

I'm especially fond of detonation lasers, too, because they also tend to keep normal non-warp missiles viable. So, the only real problem is with projectile weapons, but I think that problem is solved by the "pseudovelocity charge" model.

I love detonation laser warheads too. The only problem is that if they're the standard missile warhead either adventurers and other para-military types don't have them, or everyone flies round with WMDs. As one reason I'm fond of pseudo-velocity drives is to get rid of trivial WMD ownership (own a shuttle, own a WMD), this is unfortunate, IMO.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by acrosome

Frustrating. But at least it is much less likely that a player will think of it than it is with a standard reactionless drive. My solution is that there is a maximum speed to the warp drive in the various quantizes gravitational bands. Thus, a ship cannot use the warp drive to "hover" in a gravity field for arbitrarity long periods of time- eventually, long before it gets relativistic, it will get pulled further into the well until it's drive stops functioning and impacts the world.

You can still do this, it just takes longer because you have to fall, fly out, fall, fly out, many more times and much more slowly if you're way out from a planet or star so your drive works well.

However, while it's not so good for planet crackers, you can still make a serious dinosaur-killer just by careful use of gravitational 'slingshot' tricks, and flying your killer off once sufficient real velocity has been built up, especially if your system has a nice high relative velocity compared to your target system, and you can get some 'free' velocity just from starting round a planet currently orbiting in a different direction to the target -stopping this sort of thing is a vexing problem.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Rupert

As one reason I'm fond of pseudo-velocity drives is to get rid of trivial WMD ownership (own a shuttle, own a WMD), this is unfortunate, IMO.

The WMDs are really just a symptom of a more subtle problem SF tends to ignore, but which actually does have major economic implications. Moving anything between worlds, let alone fast, *should* require relatively huge amounts of energy. The ability to generate huge amounts of energy in packages affordable by somebody other than governments or the occasional billionaire has serious economic effects. Among other things it changes the relative values of raw materials a lot - if you can afford the energy to ship metals from another planet, you can probably boil enough seawater to turn it into as good an ore as the other planet has with that same energy.... It's hard to guess what stuff nobody bothers trying now would be entirely profitable if energy were dirt cheap.

[AlexanderHowl]

Near perfect recycling is a possibility through superpressurized water reactors and vacuum heating.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Rupert

You can still do this, it just takes longer because you have to fall, fly out, fall, fly out, many more times and much more slowly if you're way out from a planet or star so your drive works well.

However, while it's not so good for planet crackers, you can still make a serious dinosaur-killer just by careful use of gravitational 'slingshot' tricks, and flying your killer off once sufficient real velocity has been built up, especially if your system has a nice high relative velocity compared to your target system, and you can get some 'free' velocity just from starting round a planet currently orbiting in a different direction to the target -stopping this sort of thing is a vexing problem.

Presumably in most settings where this is possible, it is possible to detect someone trying to do this and stop them.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Near perfect recycling is a possibility through superpressurized water reactors and vacuum heating.

With enough energy you can turn pretty much anything gaseous, then just fractionally distill to get your raw feed compounds and elements.

I was relatively recently shown a Youtuber that does unusual things with his chemistry and geology skills. None of it is remotely profitable, partly because of energy costs.

I've wondered about what even renaissance alchemists could do if heating energy wasn't an issue.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I've wondered about what even renaissance alchemists could do if heating energy wasn't an issue.

If they're running off a fusion-too-cheap-to-meter reactor, most likely vaporize themselves and bystanders for the most part...

[Flyndaran]

I'd call almost immediately causing total Armageddon an "issue".

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I'd call almost immediately causing total Armageddon an "issue".

I wouldn't call a lab accident because you tried to fractionally distill things you couldn't successfully confine in vapor phase "total Armageddon".

EDIT: Or an issue with your access to heating energy.

[Flyndaran]

Vaporizing self and surroundings misusing fusion power sounds like at the very least localized apocalypse.