Warp Gates? Worm Holes :-)

[roja01]

I think that this game should conform with our current understanding of theoretical physics. Starmade should be the opportunity for us to create what could be for the human race and i think the game mechanics of that idea are sound, as well as the theoritcal physics behind it (although some of the terminology is a bit off). In addition to this though, i would also like a warp drive system, something that would give exploration on a big starship some meaning and make it a possibility. A portable base if you will, instead of JUST building an empire connected by these spacial rifts. I believe a warp drive system could work by having a number of different blocks placed in different configurations to actually \"build\" your own warp drive on board your ship. The drive can be modified, experimented with, having blocks that perform the same function at different efficiencies (the more advanced blocks obviously costing more). This would allow experimentation with the \"technology\" and allowing each player to customise their own design for the engine, affecting speed and efficiency. I think this would add a greater depth to the game and increase the realism on the science fiction experience :D

 

[Nootau]

The plan as described in the first post will allow players to reach far away sectors in an instant without the requirement to first get there a first time using traditional travel.


Did you read the part where the Entrance and the Exit have to be faction claimed meaning that someone had to travel out there and build a faction base and create a gate just to connect the two?

 

[Nootau]

Seeing how alot of ships now have alot of segments I am wondering if it would be best to limit this idea to not allow vessels which have docked vessels to enter the Rift for stability sake. This way each item sent through can be temporarily blue print saved, created at the other end, pilot TPed tot he new sector and old vessel deleted(no ship TP for simplicity sake?)

 

[Dr.Etheris]

This is a wonderful idea, should be added :D

 

[Alpha_Squad]

I think that this a logical and effective way to introduce FTL travel. Since these blocks are so powerful, I think that having them only being capable of being made from blue-prints(maybe being an item in the store with 0 stock and never restocked) would be a good idea to make the block effectively more expensive (though currently credits are also very rare).

 

[JTJSniperBee]

i think this is better than my idea and ships can still shoot at you but you cant and all players near a gateway will recive a warning saying a ship is coming through and as soon as the ship exits the part you entered from gets a explosion witch does not damage the gate but it damages the ships near it

good thinking

 

[darkhog]

I\'m thinking of device, possibly beam-like that could open \"portal\" to different sector that would be opened by fixed amount of time to allow both-way traffic. Energy cost would depend on how far from your current location sector you want to travel to is (durther away = more energy consumption). Energy would be needed to only open wormhole, it would close on its own after some time.



//edit: To simplify things code-wise, it would open wormhole to sector which is set as your navigation goal or spawn if no sector is selected in navigation.

 

[Paradox Pony]

Well, I was thinking along the lines of warp gates, but instead of limiting based on size, and just teleporting things, I was thinking more of wormholes and portals. I think it\'d be better to have ships \"slowly\" move through the wormhole (no collision problems, less lag, too! Also stops you from being able to surprise people by instantly teleporting a giant ship in front of them), and I was also thinking that, since mass is already calculated, the energy costs could be based on distance and the mass of the ship moving through. Not just the total mass, mind you, but the mass of each block or section of the ship. That way, if you have a crappy setup, or if your base is under attack when you\'re trying to wormhole away, and your wormhole generator loses power, you could get cut in half. =P
It may, however, be prudent to have an upper limit on size. It may also be best to have to link to another \"gate\", or at least have to have a beacon there first. I suppose you could even have two types of wormhole generator: the kind that require a gate or beacon to be linked, and other that has total freedom but requires a crazy amount of power; like, have to devote almost the entire station to powering it, kind of crazy. ;P

Anyway, just an idea. I thought it would be awesome to see a wormhole open and a giant ass ship come through over a planet. It\'d be epic.

 

[HadrasVorshoth]

With any kind of gate though, we do need some way to make sure people actually go through and don\'t hang around the apeture. Unless that\'s a mechanic we want in the game, the capability to bisect ships in half using portals as incredibly powerful bread cutters.

Now you\'re thinking with breakfast!

 

[McDili]

I think it\'s a great idea with the portals. I really like how gates between stations has a configurable minimum distance, and I really like the default 50km minimum distance a portal can take you. That way there\'s still a lot of ground, pirates, and resources within that 50km distance that people can explore and find.



I also enjoy that only the owning faction and allies can travel between friendly gates, that in a way symbolizes faction territory.

If Faction A builds 4 different gates in a 50x50x50 area in space, then they have fast access to the edges of their territory, and the center.

However I also think that factions should be able to check an option to make gates accessible to neutral players too, just because options are nice.



But really this just gives stations so much more practical use, and that\'s a great thing.



And seriously, with a universe in which 50 km/s takes you 10,000 years to get from one end to another, that\'s just a shitload of unused space. There\'s gotta be some way to traverse these distances in a faster manner, since you have to keep expanding. Otherwise you would eventually find it impractical to travel super long distances from home base to go get resources and what not.

 

[kiwionthemoon]

• Smaller ships should not be able to warp, as this would encourage people to build carriers and would also give a slight buff to biger ships, which are underpowered