Do you have a Sci Fi universe?

[Eternal_Freedom]

Yes, my universe has zero-G stations and shipyards (the first battle of the war takes place trying to destroy the shipyards above Terra Nova, and the second a retaliatory strike at Epsilon Secundus).

As whiskey noted, I said "break orbit" not "get off the surface." Moving 20 megatonne ships takes a lot of energy.

To elaborate on my earlier comments, hyperspace travel in my universe is easy,but also very easy to detect and to jam. Hence, standard Imperial (read: good guys) procedure upon detecting incoming ships is to set up a nuclear minefield at the place where the enemy will drop out. Even if they drop out earlier they'll likely still travel through said minefield.

[Imperial528]

A lot of people have ftl drives that only work when very,very far away. Why did you decide on that?

A bit late, but for my setting I have a far-out jump range due to the mechanics of the drive. Simply put, the less likely you are to A. get near a large mass or B. cross the path off a significant mass, the much better of you are. Because either of those are instant death, or at the least majority of crew dead and the ship being rendered a hulk(s) that is now moving very vast. Additionally, ship-mounted drives operate best when at high speeds already.
Fixed jump installations, however, can be placed right in orbit above planets, and more developed systems may even have a few installations going from one point in the system to another, with most exta-system entry installations in a "corridor hub" out side the system's Oort cloud that is linked to the interior of the system by another installation.

At least, that's for human FTL. Aliens FTL is in general more flexible, but theirs is also far less potent, except the ancient-race ones, and even those eventually reach a point where any human FTL installation is a far faster choice.

I haven't thought too much about alien FTL, though.

[lordofchange13]

Which could very well be because a 20-megatonne ship takes a lot of energy to push out of LEO. "Get out of orbit" isn't synonymous with "liftoff from planetary surface".

Good point on wording, but does not change the fact that a station away from any celestial body's gravity would be a better idea for ship building then one in a gravity well.

[Whiskey144]

If you have cheap, and especially cheap&bulk, surface-to-orbit lift capability, then it will initially be easier to build a shipyard in a gravity well. Further, a shipyard in *any* kind of gravity well will be easier and cheaper to defend. Resources can come straight from the surface, preventing the possibility of in-transit interdiction.

[Eternal_Freedom]

If you have cheap, and especially cheap&bulk, surface-to-orbit lift capability, then it will initially be easier to build a shipyard in a gravity well. Further, a shipyard in *any* kind of gravity well will be easier and cheaper to defend. Resources can come straight from the surface, preventing the possibility of in-transit interdiction.

Pretty much this. Although, despite having potent sublight engines, all shipyards are built in geostationary orbits and use space elevators for moving cargo. Just because I think space elevators are cool.

[VarrusTheEthical]

If you have cheap, and especially cheap&bulk, surface-to-orbit lift capability, then it will initially be easier to build a shipyard in a gravity well. Further, a shipyard in *any* kind of gravity well will be easier and cheaper to defend. Resources can come straight from the surface, preventing the possibility of in-transit interdiction.

Pretty much this. Although, despite having potent sublight engines, all shipyards are built in geostationary orbits and use space elevators for moving cargo. Just because I think space elevators are cool.

I have space elevators as well, though they serve as space ports where cargo and passengers are exchanged between the surface and space vessels in high-orbit. Ship building in my universe is almost entirely space-based and usually takes place inside the orbit of the innermost habitable planet (if any) in order to take advantage of the host star's energy.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Space Elevators? While cool, I don't use them in my universe. It is oh so much more practical to use conventional rockets. One would think a Space Elevator would be more useful, but the materials needed to build it (and more importantly brace it) could be put to better use building rockets which can carry heavier and more varied loads. Or in the case of the 2300's Confederacy...use ion engine equipped ships to carry stuff from the surface to the ground. At least that is my understanding of the subject (which admittedly could be wrong).

[lordofchange13]

Space Elevators? While cool, I don't use them in my universe. It is oh so much more practical to use conventional rockets. One would think a Space Elevator would be more useful, but the materials needed to build it (and more importantly brace it) could be put to better use building rockets which can carry heavier and more varied loads. Or in the case of the 2300's Confederacy...use ion engine equipped ships to carry stuff from the surface to the ground. At least that is my understanding of the subject (which admittedly could be wrong).

From my understanding of rocket science, Ion Drives would be one of the worst propulsion choice for surface to orbit transport.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Space Elevators? While cool, I don't use them in my universe. It is oh so much more practical to use conventional rockets. One would think a Space Elevator would be more useful, but the materials needed to build it (and more importantly brace it) could be put to better use building rockets which can carry heavier and more varied loads. Or in the case of the 2300's Confederacy...use ion engine equipped ships to carry stuff from the surface to the ground. At least that is my understanding of the subject (which admittedly could be wrong).

From my understanding of rocket science, Ion Drives would be one of the worst propulsion choice for surface to orbit transport.

Hey, I said my understanding could be wrong didn't I? I am hardly a rocket scientist, not to mention this is in the early stages of development (hence why I posted it here...where better to get good criticism of my ideas?). That being said, it's easy enough to change things up slightly...give them rocket boosters ala Pillar of Autumn in Reach to get ships in orbit and use regular rockets to get supplies into orbit.

[lordofchange13]

That being said, it's easy enough to change things up slightly...give them rocket boosters ala Pillar of Autumn in Reach to get ships in orbit and use regular rockets to get supplies into orbit.

Th Pillar of Autumn worked opposite of that. They used normal chemical rockets to get the ship into orbit, then used ion drives when all ready up there. just so you don't get mixed up when world building.

[Skywalker_T-65]

That being said, it's easy enough to change things up slightly...give them rocket boosters ala Pillar of Autumn in Reach to get ships in orbit and use regular rockets to get supplies into orbit.

Th Pillar of Autumn worked opposite of that. They used normal chemical rockets to get the ship into orbit, then used ion drives when all ready up there. just so you don't get mixed up when world building.

Umm...that is what I meant...use the chemical rockets to get into orbit, and then use the ion drives (or whatever I decide on in the end) to get around in space. Thanks for all the advice though.

P.S. Thank to DXIII too for the explanation on electric drives vs. chemical rockets.

[lordofchange13]

That being said, it's easy enough to change things up slightly...give them rocket boosters ala Pillar of Autumn in Reach to get ships in orbit and use regular rockets to get supplies into orbit.

Th Pillar of Autumn worked opposite of that. They used normal chemical rockets to get the ship into orbit, then used ion drives when all ready up there. just so you don't get mixed up when world building.

Umm...that is what I meant...use the chemical rockets to get into orbit, and then use the ion drives (or whatever I decide on in the end) to get around in space. Thanks for all the advice though.

P.S. Thank to DXIII too for the explanation on electric drives vs. chemical rockets.

Sorry, when you wrote "regular rocket" i understood it as regular real life chemical rockets.

[General Mung Beans]

If so would you like to give a brief summary?

Well my sci-fi universe is fairly vague currently, and only is an occasional subject of my imagination. It focuses more on politics and military affairs than perhaps technlogical development and scientific advances. However basically it is set a few centuries in the future where a politically unified humanity has expanded via accidental capture of FTL technology and due to other sapient species being reduced by disease and other factors has come to dominate the area around Earth. Earth (a bit like in Foundation actually) has managed now to achieve dominance and now faces an alien invasion. I'm not sure what to make the aliens exactly but their culture is based on that of pleasure but unlike most other hedonistic pleasures doesn't care whether it comes at the expense of hurting other or not.

Do you have FTL? how Fast?

I have a FTL system but not sure about the details. Maybe something like Slipstream in Halo.

Do you have time Travel?

No.

Do you have some ancient race? Is it still around?

Depends on what you mean-there are a lot of species that are far older than humanity.

[Ford Prefect]

If so would you like to give a brief summary?

Why the hell not. It is set in the year AA20XX, an indeterminate amount of time in the future. 'AA' stands for Age of Aquarius or Aquarian Age, versus the Age of Pisces which would include our 'now'. The place is the Great Surf, a region of space centered on two large spiral galaxies which are in the process of colliding. I haven't really decided if the Surf is closer to NGC 2207 and IC 2163 or the Antennae Galaxies, but it's not terrifically relevant.

There are two core elements of the setting. The first is dunamis, which is the local space magic. Certain persons are genetically compatible with a biomechanical thingamy which replaces the spinal column, which is known as an animus. Using an animus, it is possible to create an acausal link back to the Big Bang and then leverage the fires of creation to cause supernatural amazingness in the present. Those who are able to bond with an animus make up the ruling classes in a caste based system. At the very top are the rather aloof highbloods who are not necessarily concerned with the temporal matters of state and busy themselves with the more metaphysically important matters of maintaining the internet; a single member of this caste sits on the Lion Throne as something of an emperor equivalent. Beneath them are the pure nobility who engage in matters of 'thinking': they are ideas people dealing with deeply theoretical matters of philosophy, history, science and so on, and effectively control society. Their cousins are a warrior caste which is unable to attain the same degree of political power due to a deep social disquiet with ritual impurity, which being close to death necessarily entails. Individuals of these castes are all capable of utilising dunamis and an array of related technologies to one extent or the other, making them effectively immovable from their positions of power.

The second core element in the space internet, which I'm calling the Abstract for the time being. It is a vast informational network which permeates the Great Surf in its entirety. I mean literally in its entirety: there is no place where a person isn't able to connect to the Abstract, and strictly speaking you don't really need any equipment to do it. Rather than communication between computers, the Abstract is built on a foundation of, literally, human dreams and has been woven into spacetime. The line between physical reality and data is blurred. As an example, your could store a physical object as abstract data, or download something into existence. The Abstract is the glue which holds society together.

Humans are at war with ghostly space monsters called the Nayuta (from the Sanskrit for 'myriad') who hail from the DARK MATTER UNIVERSE.

Do you have FTL? how Fast?

One can upload and download themselves anywhere the Abstract has coverage. It is effectively instantaneous regardless of distance, and the only limiting factor is bandwidth. For a caste noble from one of the higher families, traveling from one end of the galaxy to the other requires no special equipment and is no more difficult than walking down the hall, and it's infinitely faster. For lower castes travel is a little more limited.

Do you have time Travel?

In the sense that people can travel through time? No. Obviously an animus can pull fantastic energy from the beginning of time, but that doesn't really count. Using the Abstract it is possible to bring the past forward to blend with the present, provided you have the correct skills to do it. This is at the core of the story, using the Abstract to experience the past and unlock certain mysteries.

Do you have some ancient race? Is it still around?

You're asking if we have one of those ancient precursor races of unfathomable power which have creative names like 'Ancients', 'Forerunners' or (amusingly) 'Precursors' and who mainline in leaving behind dangerous widgets. I don't have one of those. One of the two galaxies which makes up the Great Surf was home to an alien civilisation, but technologically they were equals with human society as opposed to its superior. They are dead, the why is at the core of the story.

[El Moose Monstero]

I had a universe / world where comedy was manifested as a physical particle / energy source. The idea was that jokes interacted with your brain in a specific way such that a joke was only funny if it was over a certain energy level and that your activation energy was dependent on whether you reacted to it or not. This humourous energy led to a lot of good joke opportunities - comedy particles supplying medical equipment (laughter is the best form of medicine), animals or things that were given funny names by humans taking on a certain comedic energy and hence becoming corrupted by that, and even the idea that there could be a joke so funny that you could die laughing (thank you, Monty Python). By extension, there could be a joke funny enough to destroy a planet, a star, a galaxy or a universe.

I was never really very sure what to do with it to be honest, I was using it as a rationale for the Moose Rebellion shit a while back, figuring on a post-jokeageddon world, but then I started playing Fallout for the first time and realised that the actual plot I had in mind was basically just Fallout's plot with the word 'comedy' substituted for 'radiation'.

I gave up in a huff. Which is a shame, as I still like the core idea behind all that, just can't think of anything particularly original to do with it.

[Guardsman Bass]

If so would you like to give a brief summary?

It's set in 3650. Humanity is immortal with some almost seamless mechanical modifications, with some people going beyond that into full cyborgism. The nature of the FTL means that four "cores" of humanity exist, with one of them centered around the Solar System. Two of them are very similar, one has a strange political system going on, and the final is actually a mixed-race system with two other alien races. I've done outlines for some stories at the smaller level, plus some more standard Military SF stuff that mostly centers around dealing with a particularly nasty Belligerent Hive alien society (explained below) that came out from beyond the Orion Arm, and efforts to explore deeper into the galaxy in hopes of knowing where other such Hives might be.

The setting is mostly hard except for two cheats: Short-Range FTL and No Super-Powerful General AI (there are some cool AI specifically attuned for special tasks, though). The FTL is a low-power trick, and most ships generate the electrical power necessary to power the Jumps through a combination of onboard nuclear fission reactors plus some huge-ass future batteries that store electrical power in between Jumps. Nuclear Fusion Power never proved commercially viable in this setting, and far too bulky and fragile for most ships. Ships are made of mostly present materials, with no wanked-out super metals. Any shipboard gravity has to come from rotating sections. Technology has plateaued.

Do you have FTL? how Fast?

Yes, over relatively short distances. "Jump" FTL is relatively low-powered and almost instantaneous . . . up to a maximum range of 34 light-years per Jump. Doing two Jumps in rapid sequence is extremely difficult due to energy storage and heat dissipation issues, and three Jumps without down time measured in hours between them is considered nearly impossible and suicidal. There is no way to send communications except by a Jump-capable ship (which leads to some interesting developments in commercial organization).

Do you have time Travel?

No.

Do you have some ancient race? Is it still around?

There are two interstellar races that are older than humans, but it's complicated. The first is a race that humans extensively interact with, but who were very slow in expansion because of religious/cultural issues (they believe that terraforming dead worlds and living in orbital habitats where they can look down upon those worlds are holy acts, and were slow to migrate to other systems beyond their own planet's orbital space).

The second is a very old race, but one that is fragmented into "Hives" that are always 47 light-minutes across at the most (they use robots to do tasks beyond that), and who don't have any interaction at all with either predecessor hives or other co-existing Hives. They're still sparse in the Orion Arm, but growing more common at the rate of about one new Hive per 890 standard Solar years (most people believe that they originated somewhere in the Perseus Arm, millions of years ago). Most are "benevolent" Hives that are friendly with humans and others, but about 15% are "xenophobic", refusing any communications with outsiders, and attacking any outside craft that wander into either their Hive-space or into any of their robots. 0.4% are "Belligerent", moving around en masse and attacking any space settlements that they come across of any race, including other Hives.

Belligerent Hives are the threat that can make those military leaders who sleep lose it at night. There have been three that crossed the paths of the human "core" governments, one of which absolutely ravaged one of the four Cores (killing tens of billions in the process) after showing up from outside the Orion Arm. The fear is that since the Hive race is believed to have spread outward from inside the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way millions of years ago, there may be millions of Hives in that vicinity - and thousands of belligerent Hives, some of them large, old, and nasty enough to annihilate most of human civilization. Part of the military effort includes forward expansion in that direction.

There are also 3-4 other races that I haven't developed much yet, beyond the fact that they didn't bother to form permanent colonies outside of their home systems (some of them use robots to extract resources in other systems and bring them back).

[Guardsman Bass]

EDIT: Ran out of editing time, but I wanted to change one thing. instead of "about one new Hive per 890 standard Solar years", change that to "each Hive spawns a new Hive about every 4,200 years".

The Core that got attacked was the farthest one from Earth, and unfortunately close in interstellar terms to a far denser area of Hives. They're mostly human purists . . . by 3650 AD standards (biologically immortal via genetic modification and medical treatment plus some implants mostly for medical purposes), who got more militaristic and reactionary after the devastation of their settlements.