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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 14001
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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 Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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As part of our general discussion of hyperspace and Astrogation, I thought I'd give this topic a bump.
| Whill wrote: | | In the real world, dark matter is concentrated near about everywhere normal matter is in the observable universe, and there is a lot more dark matter than normal matter (about 85% of all matter is dark matter). In SW, normal realspace matter having a gravity shadow in hyperspace is already a danger to FTL hyperspace travel, so you would think that hypermatter's own gravity would be a much more significant factor than normal realspace matter. |
If hypermatter exists in varying concentrations, it's possible that it acts more as an impediment to hyperspace travel than an obstacle. I'm picturing hypermatter creating a drag effect on ships traveling through hyperspace; the greater the density, the greater the drag. Add in the "clumping" effect, with hypermatter density increasing near planets and stars, and it becomes a usable technobabble explanation as to the hazards of jumping too far inside a gravity well, as "patches" of hypermatter create drag or otherwise take ships even slightly off-course, thus messing up Astrogation routes.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 14001
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Mon May 28, 2018 1:36 pm Post subject: |
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Giving this a bump again, since we are discussing ways in which hyperspace jumps can go off course. As I stated above, one possibility is hypermatter particle density in hyperspace, not enough to cause damage, but enough to produce drag, which then makes a ship go slower than its inertial guidance (or the deep space / hyperspace equivalent) thinks it is. As a result, any change of course in hyperspace would be made too soon, thus throwing the ship off course.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 14001
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2019 1:19 am Post subject: |
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Giving this another bump due to some reading I've done recently. I had originally pictured Hypermatter as being analogous to the real-world oil industry, particularly the deep-sea oil aspect. However, it has parallels with the deep-sea liquid natural gas industry, as well. If hypermatter can be processed and refined for use in normal space, it would have to be stored in specially designed containers, much like how LNG carriers transport liquid natural gas in pressurized tanks, where the LNG is maintained at -140 degrees C. The necessity of maintaining such an extreme environment is far more analogous to that needed to store hypermatter than that of simple oil tankers.
Another aspect I've read up on recently is the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading aspect of the deep sea oil industry, where oil and LNG are processed aboard massive ships or platforms at sea, as opposed to refineries on shore. Considering the potential devastation of a hypermatter detonation on a planet's surface, processing it in the depths of space makes a lot of sense. This also opens the door even wider for something along the lines of the Nostromo from Aliens, towing a massive, automated refinery through space, except that, rather than refining minerals, this is refining hypermatter.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 14001
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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Random thought, but I'm not quite sure where else I would put this...
Hypermatter presents some complications insofar as integrating the new material with the old EU. Specifically, the fuel augmenting equipment described in Tramp Freighters all seem to be loosely designed around a Fusion Reactor system, what with absorbing solar energy, scooping up a planet's atmosphere, etc.
I have encountered advocates of the Hard Sci-Fi interpretation of Star Wars who have said that fusion reactor systems don't generate sufficient power to do what we see ships in the SWU do. However, if all reactors in the SWU were hypermatter-based, a lot of that tech would be thrown out, as none of it really fits with hypermatter (can't really absorb/recharge hypermatter from solar energy or from scooping up a planet's atmosphere).
I've been mulling over this off and on, and have ultimately decided to go with the sci-fi handwave of "hyper-advanced fusion reactors" or some such to justify keeping what we see in GG6 and other sources, existing parallel to the Hypermatter Reactors powering Capital Ships and other large installations.
I'm also thinking that this could be the dividing line between Starfighter and Capital Ship, in that only Capital Ship Scale vessels can be fitted with a Hypermatter Reactor. This could be a decent explanation for ships like the Skipray Blastboat or the Assault Shuttle, in that, despite their small size, they managed to fit in a Hypermatter Reactor system which provides much greater power, at the cost of increased expense and decreased endurance.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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Whill
Supreme Chancellor (Owner/Admin)
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
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Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy
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| Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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Weren't the TIE Fighter "wings" described as solar panels at one point? Maybe I'm dreaming that.
Anyway, do we really need the scoops and solar power tech of GG6? I've never ran or played in a game with ships that had them, so it seems to be going out your way just to maintain something really obscure in one old source.
Another option is, keep the options but they do not provide main power. They could be just for emergency power, like extending life support.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 14001
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Whill wrote: | | Weren't the TIE Fighter "wings" described as solar panels at one point? Maybe I'm dreaming that. |
They were, but I viewed them more as compact solar ionization collectors (along with other functions, as discussed here).
| Quote: | | Anyway, do we really need the scoops and solar power tech of GG6? I've never ran or played in a game with ships that had them, so it seems to be going out your way just to maintain something really obscure in one old source. |
It's up to personal choice, and the rules for those add-on systems were never properly updated from 1E when they yanked the Fuel Cell rules from 2E. Personally, I think a lot of that tech would be better suited to a Scout campaign, but they'd also be a lot more useful in a more fuel consumption intensive system like my Endurance Dice House Rule.
| Quote: | | Another option is, keep the options but they do not provide main power. They could be just for emergency power, like extending life support. |
I had considered that as well, but I wanted to keep the utility of it actually being able to recharge the ship. I've even come up with a couple variants: the Mag-Scoop (basically a Scoop that can work in space) and the Solar Sail Drive which combines the recharging ability of the Solar Converter with limited propulsive ability.
And in the end, plenty of sci-fi settings go with fusion reactors to run hyperdrives, shields, etc, so there's nothing out of the ordinary for including them in SWU.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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Whill
Supreme Chancellor (Owner/Admin)
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Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 14001
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2020 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Whill wrote: | | Thanks for including links to old threads forgotten about. My old brain needs it... |
Mine too, which is one of the reasons I made my Index. 
Of course, now you have me wondering whether hypermatter-powered ships could use a hyperscoop to recharge their drives while in hyperspace...
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 14001
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2020 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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So, with regard to what I posted here, my thoughts on hypermatter are expanding in some new directions. Up until now, I've been picturing hypermatter as a single "type" of matter that exists in varying degrees of density throughout the galaxy, corresponding to proximity to gravity wells.
However, I've never quite been able to shake the possible scenario of having "clumps" of hypermatter existing in deep space that increase the difficulty of hyperspace travel in those areas (which in turn contributes to the proliferation of known hyperspace routes across the galaxy, by restricting travel primarily to those areas that are clearer of said "clumps").
The problem, however, is that if hypermatter is dark matter (as originally theorized in this post), then it will react with gravity, and will thus tend to gather more strongly in areas where gravity is already present, near planets and stars, and not the vast emptiness of deep space.
What I'm wondering at the moment is, is it possible that there are multiple kinds of hypermatter, not all of which interact with gravity in the same way? I'm mostly looking for a way to justify a type of hypermatter that would tend to congregate more in deep space, away from existing gravity wells.
No real thoughts beyond that at the moment, but if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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