[Space] FTL Ideas/Thoughts

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by scc

Yep, the shields are the only thing keeping you in hyperspace, drop them and you drop out. This means it's impossible to get stuck in hyperspace. Of course if you have a malfunction in the shields and don't have a hyperdrive, your kinda stuck where you came out.

Is FTL communication possible? What options would a ship that drops out of hyperspace without a hyperdrive have (other than setting a course the nearest system so the crew's remains can be buried in a few centuries)?

Originally Posted by scc

If using Spaceships a hyperdrive comes with shields sufficient for it's rating for free, while the portals are Jump Gates.

And what about ships that have shields but lack hyperdrives? Or ships with shields for a higher rating than their hyperdrives? Your other responses imply these shields might be Force Screens - if so, what dictates how fast your shields allow you to go?

[ericthered]

Sounds like a cozy little corner of space. I'd expect that most settlements are in habitats in oort clouds and asteroid rings, not on planets (or at least not anything more hospitable than Titan). How many native ecosystems do you really have in a 15ly radius?

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Sounds like a cozy little corner of space. I'd expect that most settlements are in habitats in oort clouds and asteroid rings, not on planets (or at least not anything more hospitable than Titan). How many native ecosystems do you really have in a 15ly radius?

Assuming one habitable world in each K-, G-, or F-class star* that is far enough away from a companion to have planets in the habitable zone?

Alpha Centauri A (4.39 ly)
Alpha Centauri B (4.39 ly)
Epsilon Eridani (10.5 ly)
Procyon (11.4 ly)
61 Cygni A (11.4 ly)
61 Cygni B (11.4 ly)
Epsilon Indi (11.8 ly)
Tau Ceti (11.9 ly)**
Groombridge 1618 (15.9 ly)

That's 9 possibles on a very optimistic scale; reality is probably limited to about half those.


* I don't consider M-class red dwarfs suitable due to the high probabilities of tide-locking and flares frying most planets that would be in the life zone.

K-class = orange dwarf
G-class = yellow dwarf
F-class = yellow-white

** It is possible that Tau Ceti has two planets in its habitable zone, but I only counted it once above.

[scc]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Is FTL communication possible? What options would a ship that drops out of hyperspace without a hyperdrive have (other than setting a course the nearest system so the crew's remains can be buried in a few centuries)?

And what about ships that have shields but lack hyperdrives? Or ships with shields for a higher rating than their hyperdrives? Your other responses imply these shields might be Force Screens - if so, what dictates how fast your shields allow you to go?

No FTL comms, at least not yet. And given travel times suspended animation is pretty much a must and the ship is already on course for it's original destination, they just arrive REALLY late.

You pay extra, as a percentage of the ship, for the extra shields. And how fast the shields allow you to go is determined by how much you paid for them and what's aviable

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by scc

No FTL comms, at least not yet. And given travel times suspended animation is pretty much a must and the ship is already on course for it's original destination, they just arrive REALLY late.

Is there any way to communicate with ships in hyperspace from real space? Some sort of distress beacon would be useful for contacting ships going through hyperspace near your position (those with hyperdrives can jump out and render assistance, those without can report your position to relevant authorities who can come help you; if someone is expecting you at the destination, they could also arrange for search and rescue with at least some chance of success). Failing that, unless the shields are extremely reliable, I'd expect nearly every ship to have at least an FTL-1 hyperdrive.

Originally Posted by scc

You pay extra, as a percentage of the ship, for the extra shields. And how fast the shields allow you to go is determined by how much you paid for them and what's aviable

Ah, design feature, then.

[Varyon]

Sounds interesting. Some questions/thoughts.

First off, how does one get out of hyperspace? Does it happen automatically when you drop your shields, or do you need to make use of a hyperdrive? Additionally, if you need a hyperdrive, does it need to have the same FTL rating as the one that sent you into the hyperspace to start with? If so, that's going to result in a ship that enters through a portal being unable to exit except through another portal.

Secondly, how much of the mass of a hyperdrive is the necessary shielding - and can you make a hyperdrive without it? Portal devices probably aren't going to be going through hyperspace under their own power and thus could save mass and cost by not mounting the shields. This will also be good for figuring out how much the shielding system(s) weigh (or are they just expensive Design Features?).

Thirdly, is combat in hyperspace possible? If so, how does it differ from normal combat? Forcing a ship out of hyperspace by taking out its shields (or stranding it in hyperspace by taking out its drive) could be an interesting strategy.

[Captain Joy]

It sounds to me like you're basically requiring jumpgates AND hyperdrives for FTL travel which is fine and I can't see any problem with it.