Has space been made too small?

T

Treguard

Spaceman
Even though in Star Trek, they don't venture to other neighbouring galaxies (only those inside the milky way - which when you think about it, why would the Borg invade fluidic space when they could spend a month travelling to a nearby galaxy?)

But. perhaps making ships be able to travel fast, has made space look small and has took some of the fun out of travelling arount it?

The idea of cryo sleep is great, and having unnecessary massive ships which take ages to get somewhere, makes Sci-Fi that bit better. The only films I can remember that do this in are:- Alien quadrilogy, Event Horizon (erm not sure about others)

It'd be good to see another wc related/not related game that was based on this (A bit like Starlancer perhaps - but get rid of that gate they invented)
 
Has space been made too small? Even though in Star Trek, they don't venture to other neighbouring galaxies (only those inside the milky way - which when you think about it, why would the Borg invade fluidic space when they could spend a month travelling to a nearby galaxy?) But. perhaps making ships be able to travel fast, has made space look small and has took some of the fun out of travelling arount it?
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The space between galaxies is *vast* -- and with hundreds of millions (or more...) of stars in our own, there's plenty of space in the Milky Way for any Sci Fi universe. Wing Commander's jumps are based on the gravity between two stars -- so it's probably impossible to jump from one galaxy to another.

The idea of cryo sleep is great, and having unnecessary massive ships which take ages to get somewhere, makes Sci-Fi that bit better. The only films I can remember that do this in are:- Alien quadrilogy, Event Horizon (erm not sure about others)
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2001 is a good example of this -- however, most action type Sci Fi movies *aren't* trying to show a realstic future in space...
 
All seriousness aside, lets not forget that Barbara Miles said that ConFed was ready to "replant the seeds of humanity in a distant galaxy." And lets also not forget that Vagobond has been to "every corner of every galaxy." So there, proof positive that ConFed is a capable of extragalactic travel abilities;) .

2001 was a great film that was also realistic, but has the significance of its ending ever been solved. Maybe I need to read 3001. Although I hear it was not exactly a quality book.
 
yep. he probably meant, ever corner of this galaxy no doubt.

in star trek terms apparently

at voyager's top speed (9.975 ?) it'd take 110 years to get to the nearest galaxy

which is a bit of a long time really, which again is where the phrase "star trek speeds are too slow" comes in.

hmm another topic:-


Warp Speed equivalents in Jump speeds in wing commander

I'm presuming they do some sort of travelling between jump points.
which leads onto something else. I'm not sure who said it here, but somebody said you odn't need jump points to jump. So, how come capships need to risk themselves going to the jump nodes, and also how come the Vesuvius was too large to take the same route as the Border worlds ship (what was it's name?!?!?)
 
Only a little sliver of our current galaxy has been mapped/colonized by Confed and the Kilrathi, circa Prophecy -- check the Prophecy map.

Jump points are set sizes -- it requires a special technology for larger ships to jump through 'small' points... the Kilrathi developed this technology and premiered it on their Hakaga class ships. Confed didn't make use of it until the Midways...

The Border Worlds ship was the Intrepid.
 
what he said. (ya beat me to it)

Loaf, I think ya posted a link once to a site that had the whole WC-drive thingy explained. Could you post it again? Thanks.
 
Cheers. i was getting mixed up with the lexington, which btw, i think it would've been nice to see another Panther/Hawk debate.

i.e. whether to disable or destroy it (Afterall, you get 2 cutscenes, showing the lexington in a wreck, and just disabled)

hmm, are locations jump size dependent? i.e. - would somebody purposefully place a small jump point in one system to prevent massive warships entering through?
What would happen if you tried to make a large ship go through a small jump point?
 
Jump points are natural occurances -- people don't build them, so nobody gets to decide how big they are.

The old jump point FAQ is very, very outdated -- I'd be happy to work on a new one if you'd provide the questions for it.
 
I would do it, but I'm not so good on WC-drive systems. That is not to say I'm bad at it. :D

Here are some questions:


What are the different types of drives? How do they work?
How are they powered? How do they function?
What exactly is a Jump Point? Does mass relate to jump capability, and why? Does it involve some sort of slingshot-technique (I thought it was something like that after the WCM)?
Who invented them (this is also in the timeline, so this is optional)? How do they solve the infinite mass/energy problem (and the time problem for that matter) of FTL-travel (basically: what are the physics behind it)?

This is all for now, but if and when I think of more, I'll post 'em.
 
<imitate knowlege mode engaged.>
Note: I've not read the jump FAQ.

What are the different types of drives? How do they work?
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Hey, don't ask us, they aren't invented yet, remember?:D But Jump drives probably open up a tear in space-time etc, wormhole somehow. I think in A brief history of time, Hawking says that 'Negative energy' or an anti-gravitational force is a possible way to keep a wormhole open. Too bad there is no 'negative energy' in the sense he was talking about.

What exactly is a Jump Point?
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A weakspot in space which can be opened to link to another point in space.

Does mass relate to jump capability, and why? Does it involve some sort of slingshot-technique (I thought it was something like that after the WCM)?
Click to expand...

Maybe, after all, the Enigma Sector black hole seems to be affecting the entire sector's jump points, increasing their transit distance.

How do they solve the infinite mass/energy problem (and the time problem for that matter) of FTL-travel (basically: what are the physics behind it)?
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They solve it by avoiding it. An open jump node is like a 'portal' to another section of space. They bring space closer to them, not travel at >FTL speeds directly. As in, not Startrek warp drive.

Well, I don't know jack, but hey, maybe that'll help. It's only my impression/guess on those questions.
 
That FAQ isn't completely accurate anyway. We have detailed information in the Confed Handbook and spread out in the rest of the series. I think LOAF just has a text file that he can copy and paste, so I'll let him answer the specific things.
 
Can't wait for it. Hmm, acutally it'd be great to see a pdf handbook near enough like having a handbook (it might just save your life ;)
 
Or you could go and buy one instead. I believe they're still rather readily available.

TC
 
Stiletto: I kinda knew some of those answers myself. I was just giving LOAF some ideas for FAQ-questions. But thanks anyway.:D
 
Originally posted by Treguard
Even though in Star Trek, they don't venture to other neighbouring galaxies (only those inside the milky way - which when you think about it, why would the Borg invade fluidic space when they could spend a month travelling to a nearby galaxy?)
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Star Trek took the easy way out with this one. In the OST (pilot, if I remember correctly), the Enterprise encountered an energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy that prevented transit. So for the moment, the races of the galaxy are stuck in the Milky Way.
That's not to say that its impossible to enter or leave the galaxy. In one OST episode, the Enterprise was hijacked by a group of extra-galactic invaders (they lost their own ship due to the energy barrier) who took the Enterprise past the barrier before Kirk got control of the ship again.
 
hmm, we seem to see a lot of energy barriers on Star Trek (lol, it's nice to see they have variance)

btw, can't find the handbook available in the UK, anybody know if it is?
 
Originally posted by -<Stiletto>-
Hey, don't ask us, they aren't invented yet, remember?:D But Jump drives probably open up a tear in space-time etc, wormhole somehow. I think in A brief history of time, Hawking says that 'Negative energy' or an anti-gravitational force is a possible way to keep a wormhole open. Too bad there is no 'negative energy' in the sense he was talking about.
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Jump points and wormholes are not the same. Wormholes are a theoretical possibility, but you'd need an enormous gravity well (in fact, two of em at the same time) and even if they occur they'd be impossible to keep open without exotic matter (matter that emits negitive energy in every sense, which includes having negative mass and gravity) which is theoretical. And even if we'd get that taken care of gravitational forces in the wormhole would tear you apart.
A star has nowhere near a large enough gravity well to create a wormhole. Also a jump point is relatively stable and common, while a wormhole would be rare and extremely unstable. Also jump points have no travel time at all, while with wormholes you do need to traverse the gravity well itself.

On another note, Star Trek actually sidesteps the infinite mass/energy problem as well. Warp doesn't propel the ship, it expands space behind you and contracts it in front of you (in 4 dimensions of course) which in 3 dimensions has the effect of moving your point of space without physically moving it. The closest analogy is surfing a wave of expanded space. In it's local space the ship doesn't move, hence relativity doesn't apply at all.

Star Trek also used the Hopper Drive concept once, in the form of a transporter some alien race had in Voyager. Only that transporter worked over 40000 lightyears, while the WC Hopper Drive works over less than one.
 
Jump FAQ is well on its way! Here's the question list -- add things!

Part I: Introduction

Part II: Jump Theory

2.1 What is a jump point (jumppoint)?
2.2 What is a jump line (jump tunnel)?
2.3 How is a jump line traversed?
2.4 What is a mini-jump?
2.5 What is jump space (jumpspace)?
2.6 Are jump points permanent?
2.7 How is a jump point located?
2.8 What effects do the following objects have on jump lines:
2.8.1 Planets
2.8.2 Pulsars
2.8.3 Black Holes
2.8.4 Quasars
2.8.5 Asteroids
2.8.6 Supernova?
2.8.7 Scylla
2.8.8 {The one from False Colors - Brown Dwarf?}
2.8.9 Dallas

Part III: Jump Drives

3.1 What is the history of gravitic warping mechanisms?
3.2 How does a Morvan (Hopper) Drive work?
3.3 How does an Akwende (Jump) Drive work?
3.4 How is a jump point located?
3.5 Does time pass during a jump?
3.6 What is a misjump?
3.7 What is a double jump?
3.8 What are jump buoys?
3.9 Can jumping ships be tracked?
3.10 Does a ship need to have its own jump drive?
3.11 Can jump points be created artificially?

Part IV: The Darkening
Part V: Terminology
Part VI: Credits
 
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