/tg/ brainstorms a soft sci-fi setting

>>53548104

> Large gravity wells, (stars, black holes, etc.) are linked by hyperlanes, invisible “tunnels” through spacetime. The space inside hyperlane tunnels is apart from spacetime, and consequently, it is impossible for conventional matter to exist within a hyperlane tunnel without a bubble of spacetime shielding it from the void in the tunnel. Some large gravity wells don’t have hyperlanes, and a few have as many as a dozen hyperlanes, most large gravity wells have 1-4 hyperlanes.
> FTL travel doesn’t exist, as under newtonian physics it is impossible for matter for travel faster than light. Interstellar travel, however, does exist, and is made possible by hyperlanes. Using a hyperdrive, a starcraft can form a stable “bubble” of spacetime around itself, breach one side of a hyperlane, and propel itself through the tunnel at FTL speeds, reaching the large gravity well at the other end of the hyperlane.
> This is possible because spacetime, and by extension, conventional physics, are absent from the hyperlane tunnels, and starcraft are able to insert themselves into the “flow” of the hyperlane, rapidly propelling their bubble, and the starcraft generating it, to the other end of the hyperlane. It is theoretically possible for an infinite amount of starcraft to travel in the same hyperlane simultaneously, as outside of an individual starcraft’s bubble, mass does not exist, and it is impossible to crowd the interior of a hyperlane.
> It is not however, practical for an infinite amount of starcraft to travel in the same hyperlane simultaneously, as forming and holding a stable bubble of spacetime requires an obscene amount of energy, and too many bubbles in a hyperlane tunnel can cause it to become unstable, which is, to say the least, a bad thing.

> (1/2)

>>53548137

> When a hyperlane becomes unstable, it has a high chance of collapsing, which worst case scenario, would phase any traveling starcraft inside it out of existence, or, best case scenario, force them to exit the hyperlane and enter material space, where they have no large gravity well within light years, and no way to re-enter the hyperlane, forcing them to spend decades or centuries traveling to the nearest system at sublight speeds. As most starcraft are designed to sustain themselves for half a year, or a decade at most, this is often a terminal mistake.
> Because of this, in heavily populated civilized space, traffic between hyperlanes is heavily regulated, taxed, and bureaucratized to prevent the disaster a hyperlane collapse would cause. In the frontiers there is much less traffic to warrant such regulation, and little authority capable of regulating it to begin with. Consequently, hyperlane travel is much less of a hassle in the frontiers.
> Hyperlane travel is not instantaneous, nor is it danger free. Travelling via hyperlane takes anywhere from two months to two decades, depending on the length of the hyperlane and relative strength of the large gravity wells involved. Expected travel time often varies, shortening or lengthening for weeks or months, even years in extreme cases.
> While hyperlanes are a natural part of the universe, hyperlanes are not a universal constant. With the passing of time, hyperlanes collapse on their own, and more rarely, spontaneously come into being. The fact that old hyperlanes are collapsing faster than new hyperlanes are forming is the cause of much controversy, and many believe that sometime in the future, all hyperlanes will collapse, leading to the end of quick interstellar travel, and by extension, interstellar civilization.

> (2/2)

> All soldiers have standard issue shield generators that make physical means of attacking such as bullets useless. To rectify this, energy weapons are being researched by all races. At the moment, energy sabres are widespread and current primitive energy based firearms can only fire a single shot, require a huge amount of energy, and are rather inaccurate, but one shot rips through the shields like they are nothing and usually kills with one hit.
> There are two variations of energy rifle, powder rifles and dynamo rifles, both of which use energy packs to power their shots. Energy packs are small, squishy objects roughly the size of a standard beanbag, and when charged, explode to release a focused energy bolt. Powder rifles are loaded with synthetic blasting powder, whereas dynamo rifles are loaded by a hand-cranked dynamo. Powder rifles are cheaper and more damaging, but less accurate and take longer to load, whereas dynamo rifles are more accurate and reliable, but less damaging and more expensive.

> (1/2)

>>53548172


> To load a dynamo rifle, or any other dynamo firearm for that matter, the rifleman must ram an energy pack dow the barrel and manually wind up a dynamo with a handle on the side, until the energy pack is fully charged and the dynamo rifle is ready to be fired. The rate of fire depends on how fast the rifleman can wind-up the dynamo. It is possible to fire a dynamo rifle without completely winding the dynamo, but the shot will be weaker, less accurate, and fizzle out sooner.
> To load a powdered rifle, or any other powdered firearm for that matter, the rifleman must first pour a small quantity of synthetic blasting-powder down the barrel, using a digital measuring cup to ensure a precise amount. Second, the rifleman must stuff the energy pack into the barrel, until it is firmly lodged in the synthetic blasting-powder. Thirdly, the rifleman must pour a finer variant of synthetic blasting-powder into the pan of the energy rifle, pull back the hammer, and close the frizzen. Finally, the powdered rifle is ready to be fired.

> (2/2)

> The reactors used to power ships emit particles that jam communications. Hardware is hardened against this in normal situations and communications can be used as usual, but in combat, warships have the option to emit more particles than usual. This combat density renders communications outside of semaphore, morse code using light and messengers in their own ships going between warships useless. It also means that weapons that are usually automated or computer guided and use things like radar or heat or what not must be manually controlled. This includes the big guns on the warships.

> The Galaxy is about 100,000 light years wide and on average only 1,000 light years thick, but the overwhelming majority has not been explored. Known space comprises a rough cylinder shape 8,000 light years wide and 1,000 light years thick, for a total volume of 50,300,000,000 cubic light years. With an average solar density of .004 stars per cubic light year, this means that known space has 201,200,000 stars in it.
> Almost all stars (99.99...%) have a planetary system with at least one planet, but only about .0015% have a planet that has Earth-like conditions amenable to complex (multicellular) carbon-based life (i.e., planets that have some variety of plants, animals, and possibly intelligent life at some stage of technological development). Therefore there are roughly 3,000 Earth-like planets inside of Known Space, and many times that number that could be adapted to have Earth-like conditions.

>>53548104
>>53548137
>>53548153
>>53548172
>>53548186
>>53548213
>>53548238

The good kind of autism.

Too long, will not read

>>53550022
Yup

>>53548104
Bump