a FTL idea I saw on a oBSG tech site, and FTL in general

[Destructionator XV]

First, I know "oBSG TECH SITE LINK PLZ"
http://www.tecr.com/galactica/index.html
It is pretty cool. No SDN, but still pretty cool.

Anyway, on the engines page, near the bottom, the author brings up an idea on how he thinks oBSG FTL was done. FTL is never mentioned specifically on screen, but it is ridiculous to think they didn't have some method.

He takes the idea that since we see Galactica going through solar system to solar system, sending Vipers out looking for something (something he feels is more than just Cylons or possible supplies), it might be related to FTL.

His theory is they need to find a gravitational null spot (ignore for a moment the scientific plausibility of such a phenomenon) then set the ship in this spot and technobabble and boom! They pass through a jump corridor, emerging in another system, then begin the search again for another null spot so they can move on to another system (or presumable, technobabble again and return to where they were).


Now, I find FTL to be one of the most interesting technologies to explore in sci-fi because it is pretty necessary for most universes (unless you go for an earth and space colony set up like Gundam did, which is still very interesting) and no real thing exists, so you can just go nuts making something up. And, again, even the lack of FTL is an interesting idea to explore itself in sci-fi (again, Gundam or 2001 both did it well).

Since I find it so interesting a place to explore, I found this idea naturally compelling. Think of the possibilities: you could have otherwise hard sci fi in a solar system with these established points to move on to other systems. There would be no deep space stuff at all, but you could search for other points in each system that would lead to other systems, and eventually map out these points, or defend them or whatever.

Unlike Jump Gates, these would be naturally occuring, so there is nothing to destroy or build. (By the way, I find the concept of jump gates to be pretty interesting too)

Even combining a method like this with a slow FTL would be interesting. These points would be much faster then chugging along at 10c or whatever, but if need be, you could always take the long trip.



Anyhow, the point of this thread is to discuss this type of FTL, or any others you care to bring up (or make up, original ideas are fun too). Things like potential storylines, or hell, whatever you want. As I said, I just find the whole concept of different types of FTL compelling in itself.

[Hotfoot]

tired, but just a note: gravitationally "null" spots are known as LaGrange points, and are actually rather common.

[frigidmagi]

I'm a fan of Weber sytle hyperspace personally.

[Narsil]

Cultureverse hyperspace is probably my favourite version... it just treats hyperspace as being a seperate dimension where the speed of light itself is much faster. Which reminds me of Futurama's "We didn't reach faster-than-light speeds... we merely made light faster."

[Stofsk]

Traveller Jumpspace for the win.

You accelerate up to 100 diameters from a planet, you turn on the jump drives, fuel gets expended... A MIRACLE HAPPENS... and then you come out of jumpspace a week later, a parsec or two (or more) from where you started.

It's... so... slow. Just don't misjump. Or look out a view port whilst in-jump.

[Batman]

As Hotfoot noted, LaGrange points are a very real astronomical phenomenon.
Nor is the idea that you need to get away from gravitational forces to be able to jump new or unusual, see BT or Asimov's works (and of course Star Wars).
What I did find intrigueing (and haven't seen anywhere else) were WC's jump points, because you could only jump to one specific destination.
With the aforementioned, get out of the gravity well and you can jump wherever the hell you want (by and large). In the WC universe, you jump from point A in the Vega system to point A' in the Orion system. You want to go to the Rigel system instead, better hope there's a point connecting to it in the Vega system, otherwise you'll have to do a series of jumps trough other systems to go there.
I haven't the faintest idea how to explain such a setup without copious use of technobabble, but I like it.

[White Haven]

oBSG system = Starfire system = Independence War system (Which actually specifically uses Lagrange points). It's always interesting to see what an FTL system does to the concept of war in its attached universe. With a freeflight FTL system, you have the paradigm of raids and deep strikes. With a 'jump to nearby systems' system, you have the paradign of defending your borders in sufficient depth to prevent penetration. With specific source-destination jump points/gates, you have the whole 'chokepoint' element involved, which makes warfare easier on civilian populations and rear areas, but much harder on fleets, as any engagement is bound to be a set-piece pitched battle.

[Narsil]

By the way, it's compulsory in a thread like this that you've got to mention the Infinite Improbability Drive...

You get to any point in the universe within a nothingth of a second. You just don't arrive in quite the same form. Inbound missiles, for instance, become whales and plantpots.

[frigidmagi]

That makes it a pretty fucking useless FTL system Narsil.

[Batman]

That's because Narsil is a moron. That particular effect happened once, in a unique situation where the IID was used unprogrammed without the ship being set to go anywhere, and it didn't happen to the Heart Of Gold itself but the missiles targetting it. While there ARE effects on the passengers of the Heart of Gold, they are temporary and go away the moment the ship gets out of Improbability Drive at the very latest, and the bridge is shielded from them to boot.
Normal operations of the IID have no effect on the surrounding universe, and extremely temporary ones on the ship's crew.

[Hotfoot]

He also got it completely wrong. The missiles did not become a whale and a teapot because they were transported by the drive, but rather that they were caught up in the improbability field it created. The ship itself, and all of the passengers, were unharmed and unchanged by the field when they came out.

[Hotfoot]

Bah, double posting. Curse you, Batman!

On the matter of gravitationally "null" areas, it should be noted that the FTL used by the Adamists and Edenists in the Night's Dawn Trilogy is similar in that they need to reach an area of microgravity before they can jump. Once the net gravitational pull on a ship is below a certain threshold, they can make the jump to hyperspace. Adamist ships, however, have to make an attempt to accelerate to the relative velocity of the system they are jumping to. Commonly this means burning out of a system until you match velocity and go past the "grav line". However, in emergencies, you can plot a course to a LaGrange Point if you're very sure of yourself, since the timing involved in initiating the FTL when you're zooming by at who knows how many kilometers per second has to DEAD on.

[SirNitram]

I decided several forms of FTL should be in my EnclaveVerse.. And all are quite different on a warfare level.

Xenophobe Tunneling Drives mean one ship can open a tunnel to a system, and myriad STL ships can pile through with it, allowing an almost carrier paradigm.

Machine Infraspace means the ships reside almost entirely on a coterminus reality to our own, where it's faster to move around. They just 'extrude' portions into this universe to interact with it.. From the size of a man to the size of starships.

Enclave Inertialless is realspace FTL, strategic speeds being high enough to reach satellite galaxies like Pegasus from Andromeda in a few weeks. Tactical speeds are generally two cee or so; allowing them to literally strafe foes when on the attack. It does limit their weaponry, though, as nothing can rely on kinetic kills.

Metafold Drive is theoretical, with the exception of one time involving one of White Haven's vessels.

[Exileman]

I've always enjoyed a method known as Forced Dimensional Extrusion. By this method, you accelerate in the direction you intend to travel and then create a bubble of another dimension. The current dimension, seeking to "right itself" attempts to force your ship out of the current universe. This occurs similar to bubbles floating to the surface, only the surface is a chosen direction. you keep the bubble up for a measure of seconds, depending on which speed setting you use and how far your going, and then the ship automatically pops the bubble and you decelerate.

[Batman]

Honorable mention to the Perryverse for 'wackiest serious FTL ideas I've seen' for
1) treating c as realspace's escape velocity, meaning the higher fraction of c you were moving, the easier it was to go FTL, and
2) having a family of FTL drives that had you travelling in a zone between realspace and hyperspace (no I to this day don't understand how this is supposed to work, either).
And then there's the Bistromatic Drive.