Starship Speeds

[TiekoSora]

I am working on a campaign that uses a non-affiliated IP. In calculating the speeds of these ships which have the capability to travel between galaxies, I am coming up with some insane numbers. I am of course going to tone them down to be close to what is out in Phase World, but I wanted to share the calculations based on information available from the unnamed IP.

Distance Traveled - 3 million light years
Time Needed with Standard Ship Power Core - 18 Days
Time with non-standard power source - four days

Light years per hour standard - 31,250
Light years per hour non-standard - 41,666.67

I plan on dividing these figures at first by 1000, and then again by half at least. Just thought I'd share what the best tech available in a popular sci-fi IP is capable of doing.

EDIT: Transposed ny figures initially, they are in the correct locations now.

[jaymz]

I am working on a campaign that uses a non-affiliated IP. In calculating the speeds of these ships which have the capability to travel between galaxies, I am coming up with some insane numbers. I am of course going to tone them down to be close to what is out in Phase World, but I wanted to share the calculations based on information available from the unnamed IP.

Distance Traveled - 3 million light years
Time Needed with Standard Ship Power Core - 18 Days
Time with non-standard power source - four days

Light years per hour standard - 41,666.67
Light years per hour non-standard - 31,250

I plan on dividing these figures at first by 1000, and then again by half at least. Just thought I'd share what the best tech available in a popular sci-fi IP is capable of doing.

tThats even faster than what I worked up for Star Wars....

[Jorel]

whoa.

[gaby]

But I think starship speed is depented on the ship,s Power source.
the Roof of 8 light year per hour for contra-gravitonic drives come from being powered by M/AM.

What is the CG-Drives roof if powered by lasser Power Sources?

Not All Races can use M/AM as safely as the CWW and TGE das.

[TiekoSora]

Well like I said, these are speeds calculated based on information from an existing sci-fi IP. One of those power sources can literally be held in your hand. The other is very similar to fusion, but uses a fuel source so small an powerfull, that the reactor is about as large as can be found on a nuclear sub today, and even smaller versions can be built that an average man can carry. Three of these smaller reactors can power a city the size of Manhattan easily.

At any rate, the two most highly advanced rces that developed these two technologies predate the TGE or CCW by millions of years. Very understandable that they might have tech that can far exceed that which is available in a Phase World setting now. However even I was surprised at the numbers, reduced them by a factor of a thousand, and when they were still too large, reduced them by half again. They are still much faster than the TGE or CCW, but not capable of traversing the distance between two galaxies in a matter of days.

[TiekoSora]

I have started up this cross-over campaign. It uses a popular sci-fi IP that has developed into three TV series, a short lived animated series, and two direct to DVD movies. Initially there will be very limited MDC weapons, no magic (except very advanced tech they players will not understand), and if players have any psionics they will be limited to those of the Minor category. I intend to utilize the Mechanoids from SB2, chasing the remnants of their creators across the cosmos, picking off ships in their ragtag fleet when they catch up to them. As this is a cross-over/conversion, I will throw in a mix of the normal bad guys from the IP setting as well.

Some house rules I made up are a mix of custom OCC's using the MOS system from the RUE and new Robotech books, and some existing OCCs from Rifts with a few modifications in skill selection. Players will form a team that can occasionally have side adventures, either stuff to add to the storyline, or as background for their character's personal life outside the team. Sessions will be played in an episodic fashion, and will be set up to easily add in an NPC to replace an absent player. All part of my patented Rectal Extraction GM Style. We were to start this weekend, but I had to work unexpectedly, one guy had food poisoning, and another conjunctivitis. Characters are pre-rolled, all that has to be done is select your MOS skills, secondary skills, and your name/gender. None of these guys have used a Palladium system before, so some hand holding is required.

I have considered adding in a zombie apocalypse as well. I don't have Dead Reign, but by using the zombies from the Africa world book, and changing it from a supernatural cause to a scientific one, I think it will be a nice addition to the campaign for several sessions.

[drewkitty ~..~]

level 4 edit

[TiekoSora]

I would love to refer you to my sources here, but the forum rules explicitly prohibit crossovers. I will however PM you what IP I am using. Space travel will not initially be an issue, and has only ever been a small detail in my past space campaigns anyway. I just thought that it was interesting that the ships in this particular IP could travel so fast compared to ships from the Three Galaxies.

[SAMASzero]

Interestingly enough, Dr. Michio Kaku, one of the great theoretical physicists of our time, estimates that by using negative energy, we could build a warp drive that could propel a starship across light years in MINUTES and all we need is a reactor that outputs the same amount of energy as Jupiter. A big requirement, but something he believes to be achievable in the next century or so, maybe sooner if we can nail the design for a topomax fusion generator.

Yeah, last time we used Jupiter's energy, we ended up blowing the middle out of the Galaxy

[Armorlord]

One thing I would note, as far as calculating speeds go, that in the Three Galaxies the speed of intergalactic travel is massively multiplied compared to in-galaxy speeds.

Argh, trying to find the entry has driven me mad. It was either x100 or x1000, so your thoughts on dividing those speeds based on intergalactic travel times aren't far from the mark.

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

One thing I would note, as far as calculating speeds go, that in the Three Galaxies the speed of intergalactic travel is massively multiplied compared to in-galaxy speeds.

Argh, trying to find the entry has driven me mad. It was either x100 or x1000, so your thoughts on dividing those speeds based on intergalactic travel times aren't far from the mark.

Page 30 of DB5: Anvil Galaxy. The gulf between galaxies allows FTL drives to propel a ship five times faster than normal.

[glitterboy2098]

I have started up this cross-over campaign. It uses a popular sci-fi IP that has developed into three TV series, a short lived animated series, and two direct to DVD movies.

if this is the one i think it is, i'd point out that it is only the later FTL's enhanced with knowledge from recovered tech and outside help (or were built by the descendants and allies of the race that the tech was recovered from) that are that fast. the FTL's used by the original main badguys was closer to Phaseworld standards. the same going for the original badguys in the first spinoff series. it's just as the setting progressed, the heroes kept finding new tech to copy, andallies to help them, and the badguys had to be upgraded as well to keep pace.

[everloss]

I am working on a campaign that uses a non-affiliated IP. In calculating the speeds of these ships which have the capability to travel between galaxies, I am coming up with some insane numbers. I am of course going to tone them down to be close to what is out in Phase World, but I wanted to share the calculations based on information available from the unnamed IP.

Distance Traveled - 3 million light years
Time Needed with Standard Ship Power Core - 18 Days
Time with non-standard power source - four days

Light years per hour standard - 31,250
Light years per hour non-standard - 41,666.67

I plan on dividing these figures at first by 1000, and then again by half at least. Just thought I'd share what the best tech available in a popular sci-fi IP is capable of doing.

EDIT: Transposed ny figures initially, they are in the correct locations now.

this might be a stupid question, but what the hell is a "standard ship power core" and a "non-standard power source?"

To make things simple so you don't have an aneurysm, just go by the book. And if you really want realism, play Heavy Gear or Jovian Chronicles.

[glitterboy2098]

this might be a stupid question, but what the hell is a "standard ship power core" and a "non-standard power source?"

in the setting he's borrowing from, there is a type of super-powerful, but rare, source of energy that when hooked to ships can make them faster.

[Armorlord]

One thing I would note, as far as calculating speeds go, that in the Three Galaxies the speed of intergalactic travel is massively multiplied compared to in-galaxy speeds.

Argh, trying to find the entry has driven me mad. It was either x100 or x1000, so your thoughts on dividing those speeds based on intergalactic travel times aren't far from the mark.

Page 30 of DB5: Anvil Galaxy. The gulf between galaxies allows FTL drives to propel a ship five times faster than normal.

There it is, thank you Ectoplasmic Bidet.

Alright then, seems that 'massively' was a bit of an overstatement on the part of my memory, but at least that leaves some basis to adjust the in-galaxy speeds.

Also, if this is a visiting tech-base, it may simply be that the speed performance is simply not as great under the local physics environment. Additionally, as shown in the setting, some forms of FTL are not as safe/reliable in the 3 Galaxies due to the over-use of gravitic technology stressing the fabric of the universe and sending up waves and eddies that can play hell with other forms of travel.

[Lenwen]

Interestingly enough, Dr. Michio Kaku, one of the great theoretical physicists of our time, estimates that by using negative energy, we could build a warp drive that could propel a starship across light years in MINUTES and all we need is a reactor that outputs the same amount of energy as Jupiter. A big requirement, but something he believes to be achievable in the next century or so, maybe sooner if we can nail the design for a topomax fusion generator.

And there is a new theory that proposes .. a Bubble .. travel.

The ship sits in between two gravity well type things ..

One pulls the surrounding space (forward section) threw space .. The other in the rear or the ship which pushes .. the surrounding space..

All the while the ship in the center of the "eye" of the push/pulling is not moving at all . And this is theoretically possible for a ship to travel faster then the speed of light, with out technically traveling.

[glitterboy2098]

Interestingly enough, Dr. Michio Kaku, one of the great theoretical physicists of our time, estimates that by using negative energy, we could build a warp drive that could propel a starship across light years in MINUTES and all we need is a reactor that outputs the same amount of energy as Jupiter. A big requirement, but something he believes to be achievable in the next century or so, maybe sooner if we can nail the design for a topomax fusion generator.

And there is a new theory that proposes .. a Bubble .. travel.

The ship sits in between two gravity well type things ..

One pulls the surrounding space (forward section) threw space .. The other in the rear or the ship which pushes .. the surrounding space..

All the while the ship in the center of the "eye" of the push/pulling is not moving at all . And this is theoretically possible for a ship to travel faster then the speed of light, with out technically traveling.

this isn't new, it dates back to the 1990's. it's called the Alcubierre metric.

and odds are Dr. kaku was talking about the same thing. negative energy would be required to create the space warp bubble. though most of the refinements to the concept n the last two decades has been to find ways to reduce the energy requirement.. the current version only needs the equivalent of the annual energy use of earth.

[TiekoSora]

I am working on a campaign that uses a non-affiliated IP. In calculating the speeds of these ships which have the capability to travel between galaxies, I am coming up with some insane numbers. I am of course going to tone them down to be close to what is out in Phase World, but I wanted to share the calculations based on information available from the unnamed IP.

Distance Traveled - 3 million light years
Time Needed with Standard Ship Power Core - 18 Days
Time with non-standard power source - four days

Light years per hour standard - 31,250
Light years per hour non-standard - 41,666.67

I plan on dividing these figures at first by 1000, and then again by half at least. Just thought I'd share what the best tech available in a popular sci-fi IP is capable of doing.

EDIT: Transposed ny figures initially, they are in the correct locations now.

this might be a stupid question, but what the hell is a "standard ship power core" and a "non-standard power source?"

To make things simple so you don't have an aneurysm, just go by the book. And if you really want realism, play Heavy Gear or Jovian Chronicles.

First, I was simply posting an observation of the vast difference in speeds based on the game ships, and the ships from this specific non-Palladium IP, which cannot be named due to forum rules on conversions. If I mentioned it, you would smack yourself in the forehead and say, "AHA!"

And I am in no danger of having an aneurysm. As I said, MULTIPLE times, this was an observation, and if I did factor in the mechanics of space travel, I would drastically reduce the speeds to be more in line with ships already in the game. My game sessions are episodic in nature, by design. Travel, unless something specific I have in mind, is almost always handled as it would on a TV show. Command is given to set course and engage engines, there is a cut, and the ship arrives at its location with the understanding that a good deal of time has elapsed.

Some of you folks are acting like I am taking a big dump in your sandbox, all for posting an observation that has no impact at all on YOUR game sessions, and I think it is unnecessary.