Campaign Space-tech Paradigms

[Figleaf23]

Regarding sub-space braking, I like the idea and it's the kind of underlying theoretics I want to have behind the scenery in this campaign. At the same time the particulars suggested seem a bit more complex than I want to manage, at least as a common element of FTL travel. For simplicity, I think I'll have emergence from subspace occur on a resulting 'weighted average vector' that takes into account the sum of matter within a defined area of emergence and sets the ship as near to motionless relative to it all as possible, giving greater weighting to nearer masses. The effect in play would be that for most purposes, you're not moving when you come out of jump.

However I do like the idea of kinetic dumping as a supplement to maneouver drives at a higher TL.

Regarding the extent of star-hopping, it is correct that this campaign makes that deliberately rare, particularly for the TL9 humans, but even for TL10 civilisations that are wealthy and egalitarian, the vast majority of populations will never experience interstellar travel. (However this is because of cost not because of a physics restraint on where TL10 ships can go.)

That said, intra-system space development and travel will be fairly common. Most mature inhabited systems will involve multi-planetary settlement supplemented by substantial off-planet infrastructure (mining in asteroids, military patrol stations, scientific posts, specialized purpose installations here and there). This set-up explains why I'll use a 'better than realistic' maneouvre drive model that in turn makes my FTL model less onerous (time wise) than it might otherwise be.