Future Tech Advice and Assistance Thread [O.O.C.]

[Neornith]

1) Depends who you RP with. Very few people will engage outside of a system or so, and most inside of an AU or so. Others will only engage at what would be considered knife-fight ranges, with broadsides within kilometers and whatnot. So, basically anywhere from tens of kilometers to millions.
2) Again, depends who you RP with. Lots of folks hate fighters with a passion, and indeed corvettes, based on hard interpretations of their capabilities. Others love them because they give a place for characters to sit during space operas, and drop torpedoes through shields and whatnot.
3) The main difficulty related to 'realistic' stealth has to do with how stealth works in the modern day- we don't hide our ships/troops/aircraft, we simply make them harder to find against the background of a planet, whatever that planet is. In the hard vacuum, you don't have anything to hide your ships against. You have to actually hide them, as opposed to making them harder to find, because being harder to find means nothing when they're still the only object of notable heat/mass/luminescence for a hundred thousand klicks in any direction. As for how you might detect ships, realistically if vessels are moving at a reasonable fraction of c at sublights, you can't do much in the way of detection without significant handwavium.
4) As far as heatsinks, it depends how you crunch them. Thermal radiation is tough to shunt anywhere in particular without circulating mass, which obviously has its own issues. As far as releasing heat in a 'pulse', my admittedly vague knowledge of thermodynamics would point towards a 'pulse' being rather difficult to justify.

I'm thinking of equipping my space ships predominantly with rail-accelerated torpedoes/missiles, so they can accelerate to sufficient velocity to be effective at that range, while I imagine engines would be necessary to in some way alter their course to counteract evasive manoeuvres on the part of the enemy.

Perfectly acceptable and something I use across the board with multiple nations

[Kassaran]

Some queries on spehs combat:

• What would people say is the typical ranges of spehs combat?
• Is there any real point to fighters or other 'aircraft' in space, or is it better to have small corvette-like pickets to provide long ranged 'CIWS'-style cover, and long-ranged sensors?
• What is it that fundamentally makes stelf in space difficult? OTOH it's heat emissions, yus? What other methods would a spehswarship use to detect opposing craft?
• Would it be plausible to use heatsinks which can reduce heat emissions to a 'stealthy' level, and then emit the heat in a pulse to try and either screw-up, or act as a decoy for any munitions which uses heat as a targeting mechanism?

1) I always personally liked the idea that engagements could begin from across a star system to even go the distance (literally) on range. An idea I was toying with a while ago was the idea that FT battles between the Kassaran warring states could take literal years due to the massive ranges at which the various vessels would engage. First and second salvo missiles (due keep in mind that battles in these senses were two vessels even coming to within a light-minute of each other, so perceptive and sensitive are the equipment) weren't designed to hit, but rather to deny travel into a certain section of a system or area. The advantage is eventually gained in the same way a board game is by eventually cornering your enemy in a 3D area within target-solution ranges when you inflict the killing blow or force them to a surrender.

In that way, space warfare with the Kassaran is a costly affair (and when a single skirmish or battle can waste well into several thousand missiles, it should be), but it often allows for a series of seemingly strategic episodes and engagements to happen as traps and ambushes are laid years in advance, preparing for the time to strike to either try and force the opponent into a costly mistake or a surrender. Makes for good and tense storytelling by my mind, but that's just me. The gambles different captains take in trying to outmaneuver the enemy vessel years in advance and questioning right up until the last second if they made the right idea. The actions of the crew as they can see passing across their bow the formations of thousands upon thousands of twinkling lights that are the metallic hulks of the missiles that fell short or failed to properly target from their fifteen thousand kilometer kill-range.

2) Aircraft are aircraft, but that's my view on it as a generally 'harder' FT'er. I do have carriers, but they are built to deploy transatmospheric-capable craft designed for strike missions on a planetary surface. To put it simply, in space they're relatively useless from that 'hard FT' perspective. In atmosphere, they're probably you're best bet, but that would make them transatmo-aircraft. I do however use Corvettes heavily as picket/patrol vessels. Their smaller size, whilst limiting their actual engagement value by 'hard' standards, does make them easily manufactured which would be the reason a future civilization would have them at all. Their relative cost expenditure has to be worth the loss in capabilities, or else it doesn't make sense to make them in the first place. On that note, shuttle-craft and maintenance-repair craft are perfectly feasible small-scale vessels. Boarding craft and dropships included in this group of small-ships, again they're big, but not quite corvette size and for good reason. Deploy enough extra material or loose enough and you could shield or mask these craft as debris unless you're in a safer area and just want to take a quick float about the station or ship.

3&4) Heat. Heat and gravity at least. Gravity, now being proved as an observable wavelength has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities yet unexplored by FT writers in the 'hard' category. Until definite speculations are done, and I have seen none yet, it could become the new 'EM', meaning everyone will use it without knowing what it is because it sounds cool and holds the best potential for doing what you want it to do. So, on the topic of heat, pulses will still give away your location. Departing with your heat-sinks might be best in terms of immediate stealth, but even then that does nothing for you because if you're in range for your heat to give away where you are, electro-optical devices or even possibly radar will give you away. In short, stealth is virtually impossible in 'hard' FT. Decoys and shields are your best bet. Approach using a mask and you likely will be able to get much closer than a ship trying to hide itself in plain sight. Also, on the topic of heat-seeking munitions, if your enemy is using only one type of munition, they're dumb. No, seriously. I'm not attempting to flame anyone here, but they are dumb.

Radar does exist too and during the Cold War (and even nowadays I think), Soviet (and later Russian) fighters were trained and equipped with two types of munitions to fire in pairs, heat-seeking followed by radar-homing. Why? Well, first, the order is to keep the heat-seeker from tracking the radar-homing, so fire it second and to answer overall? Well, two things to defeat is one more than one, and likely one more than initially expected, so double-jeopardy takes the cake. Now, up the ante with the potential for mass-seeking missiles and electro-optical missiles moving for a set target with a series of defined cross-sections and now you have four counters you need to come up with and that's only if your enemy went cheap. If they went expensive and just want you dead, you need countermeasures for basic targeting as well because lasers in space travel at light speed and you likely aren't. They only need to maintain a tracking pattern for a few seconds to render your ship inert if you fail to maneuver correctly.

In this way, in the end, just go with decoys. Sure they'll be expensive, but building new and fully-functioning new ships is expensive too alongside their crews and the initial resource obtainment and product production.

[Gogol Transcendancy]

• What would people say is the typical ranges of spehs combat?
• Is there any real point to fighters or other 'aircraft' in space, or is it better to have small corvette-like pickets to provide long ranged 'CIWS'-style cover, and long-ranged sensors?

1. There's no real typical range(as with most forms of war; "typical" ranges in ground combat can be anywhere between stabbing distance and the other side of the planet), though most RPs I've been in typically have engagements between thousands of kilometers and a few light seconds.

2. While there isn't much reason to make them look like planes, you can definitely justify fighters(in the "small ship that engages the enemy fleet at close range" sense) in deep space combat. Personally, I like to use mirror carrying drone fighters for directing and focusing beams from my capital ships at ranges where they'd normally be ineffective.

Star wars esque fighters are also justifiable if you're fighting around a planet rather than in deep space. If you have the tech to do so, it makes total sense to give your jet fighters orbital capability to improve their range and performance.

[SquareDisc City]

Range: Wildly varying. That said, it's reasonable to assume that missiles are used at the longest ranges, while lasers, railguns, and the like are used at shorter ones, and ramming is the shortest range tactic of all. Don't sweat the exact distances too much unless you need to consider where the spacecraft are in relation to local planets and moons, but try not to be at odds with what other people are writing. For example if you write that the Heavonly fleet, having got close with false flags, suddenly open fire with a point-blank railgun broadside, it would not make much sense for me to then write that the UPT's cruisiers launch a salvo of missiles to cover the vast distances of space to the unholy aggressor vessels.

Fighters: They're nice to write about. Make your own mind up when it comes to whether or not they're "realistic" - and consider that technologies that are themselves unrealistic might significantly affect their viability.

Stealth: My only advice is to remember it's a matter of degree. You're not forced to choose between "can see the ship in the next star system" and "the ship's totally invisible until it rams you". Think of potential uncertainties, not only in physical attributes but also in intent. Pretending to be a friendly ship until you're at point-blank range isn't 'stealth' as such, but it's a similar idea. And think of the consequences of those things. If my nation is regularly being attacked by stealth ships that are hard to detect until it's too late, what's that going to do to the way we handle *any* suspicious sensor anomaly? If we build a boatload of extra sensor platforms to spot the things, what other aspect of the country loses out to pay for those platforms?

This kind of thing, exploring the consequences, is I feel important to a lot of (though not all) good science-fiction. I don't care that teleporters 'aren't realistic', I do care about what the increasing availability of teleporters is doing to people's ideas of geography, privacy, and more, and I'm also interested in how the airline industry is responding to the disruptive invention. And that's already halfway to a plot, born from the technology.

[Nyte]

I would think weapon ranges would actually be the reverse of the above. Lasers and other DEWs would be more likely to be used at the longest ranges considering that they are typically light speed weapons. Then your rail guns firing at a % of light speed, then your missiles which are probably slower than the rail gun rounds; and probably need time to accelerate as well. I'd never use missiles for long range as that just gives the target more time to shoot them down with point defenses; I know my ships certainly would, especially at longer ranges. Of course, this is just my opinion and some nations may not have energy weapons for whatever reason so they have to use kinetics like rail guns and missiles at even long ranges... So, whatever works for your nation and the aesthetic you're looking for.

As for fighters and stealth, we're already NOT being realistic just by having FTL, so the whole argument of them not being realistic has always been a bit foolish to me... In other words, If you want them, have a valid IC reason(ing) for having them, are consistent with how you RP them, and don't use them to try and godmod or instawin in your RP's, then knock yourself out...

[Excidium Planetis]

I would think weapon ranges would actually be the reverse of the above. Lasers and other DEWs would be more likely to be used at the longest ranges considering that they are typically light speed weapons. Then your rail guns firing at a % of light speed, then your missiles which are probably slower than the rail gun rounds; and probably need time to accelerate as well. I'd never use missiles for long range as that just gives the target more time to shoot them down with point defenses; I know my ships certainly would, especially at longer ranges. Of course, this is just my opinion and some nations may not have energy weapons for whatever reason so they have to use kinetics like rail guns and missiles at even long ranges... So, whatever works for your nation and the aesthetic you're looking for.

I would agree that lightspeed or near lightspeed weapons such as lasers or particle cannons would be long range weapons. However, I generally put torpedoes at longer range than railguns, because missiles can turn to track targets and railguns rounds can't, leaving railguns rounds for close combat where the enemy has little room to dodge.

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My two cents on the space fighter argument: space fighters are realistic, and the idea that choosing fighters or not is a science or style choice is flawed. People tend to take fighters as existing in a "realism vacuum", where the fighters must behave realistically but nothing else does. When you factor in that realistic optics would have a much easier time spotting kilometer-long capships than 10 meter fighters, even at ranges as short as a few light seconds, suddenly using fighters becomes viable. So don't think you have to throw out fighters if you want a "realistic" FT feel.

[Azura]

I've been doing a little bit of research on subluminal transportation methods in the last few hours, mostly researching theoretical starship designs that could realistically get us to Alpha Centauri within 1-3 human generations, and the concept of a Light Sail caught my fancy. I'm trying to envision a system of subluminal travel using light sails for intrasystem travel, so between planets basically. Any idea how I could go about constructing such a system? I have these vague machinations of intrasystem highways, lasers focused on specific destinations to transport people and material efficiently without requiring FTL capabilities. Could the same process used to power light sails artificially be used to slow them down?

[G-Tech Corporation]

I've been doing a little bit of research on subluminal transportation methods in the last few hours, mostly researching theoretical starship designs that could realistically get us to Alpha Centauri within 1-3 human generations, and the concept of a Light Sail caught my fancy. I'm trying to envision a system of subluminal travel using light sails for intrasystem travel, so between planets basically. Any idea how I could go about constructing such a system? I have these vague machinations of intrasystem highways, lasers focused on specific destinations to transport people and material efficiently without requiring FTL capabilities. Could the same process used to power light sails artificially be used to slow them down?

Well, yes, certainly. Simply have your decelerating 'highway' pointed back the way you came, and give your ships thrusters and rigid enough sails to support a turnaround. Pivot the light-ship in space so the sail becomes a parachute, with the payload on the leading edge and the sail pointed rearwards, and your laser can decelerate the payload at the same rate as the outgoing journey.

A good idea; can't say I've heard it postulated before, but it certainly would be viable.

[Lubyak]

I've been doing a little bit of research on subluminal transportation methods in the last few hours, mostly researching theoretical starship designs that could realistically get us to Alpha Centauri within 1-3 human generations, and the concept of a Light Sail caught my fancy. I'm trying to envision a system of subluminal travel using light sails for intrasystem travel, so between planets basically. Any idea how I could go about constructing such a system? I have these vague machinations of intrasystem highways, lasers focused on specific destinations to transport people and material efficiently without requiring FTL capabilities. Could the same process used to power light sails artificially be used to slow them down?

Space galleons. Space galleons space galleons spacegalleons. Tall ships in space! Tacking in space!

Of course I'm being mildly facetious here, but the use of light sails does open a frankly huge base of terminology for you to use. But yes, G-tech said it right. It seems perfectly workable to have trade winds 'highways' of lasers being used to link various key locations. It could work well for some kind of node based system, where there's only so far your tech can push you in one go, so to get from point a to point b, your ships have to travel from laser generating node to laser generating node. They'd of course have to co-ordinate, so that there's a laser waiting to help decelerate you once you get into position, but it seems fully workable.

[Oppressorion]

I've been doing a little bit of research on subluminal transportation methods in the last few hours, mostly researching theoretical starship designs that could realistically get us to Alpha Centauri within 1-3 human generations, and the concept of a Light Sail caught my fancy. I'm trying to envision a system of subluminal travel using light sails for intrasystem travel, so between planets basically. Any idea how I could go about constructing such a system? I have these vague machinations of intrasystem highways, lasers focused on specific destinations to transport people and material efficiently without requiring FTL capabilities. Could the same process used to power light sails artificially be used to slow them down?

Before I get to why I'm here, I just wanted to say this sounds really cool! Like, super cool.

Anyway, I just did my first basic uniform design. Let me get this right out of the gate - I know this will look silly. I'm looking for tips and advice on how to make it look better, not just the uniform but the very basic artwork too. Also a little background - the idea is that this is a skintight, practical undersuit that is worn under formal dress, so the lack of much decoration and an emphasis on long-distance recognition with colour coded bands is deliberate. With those disclaimers out of the way...

[Kassaran]

Before I get to why I'm here, I just wanted to say this sounds really cool! Like, super cool.

Anyway, I just did my first basic uniform design. Let me get this right out of the gate - I know this will look silly. I'm looking for tips and advice on how to make it look better, not just the uniform but the very basic artwork too. Also a little background - the idea is that this is a skintight, practical undersuit that is worn under formal dress, so the lack of much decoration and an emphasis on long-distance recognition with colour coded bands is deliberate. With those disclaimers out of the way...

(Image)

In a lot of the various Realism Threads, they have pixel-scale artwork available for you to use as templates. If you want though, you could use mine: TIScale. It's not quite as good as some, but it allows you to also visualize some of the muscles and organ groups under the suit as well as give you an idea for what you want various angles to look like. I'm currently working on the profile views now.

[Oppressorion]

Before I get to why I'm here, I just wanted to say this sounds really cool! Like, super cool.

Anyway, I just did my first basic uniform design. Let me get this right out of the gate - I know this will look silly. I'm looking for tips and advice on how to make it look better, not just the uniform but the very basic artwork too. Also a little background - the idea is that this is a skintight, practical undersuit that is worn under formal dress, so the lack of much decoration and an emphasis on long-distance recognition with colour coded bands is deliberate. With those disclaimers out of the way...

(Image)

In a lot of the various Realism Threads, they have pixel-scale artwork available for you to use as templates. If you want though, you could use mine: TIScale. It's not quite as good as some, but it allows you to also visualize some of the muscles and organ groups under the suit as well as give you an idea for what you want various angles to look like. I'm currently working on the profile views now.

Thank you! I'll try them out tomorrow!

[Oppressorion]

I tried them!

[Kassaran]

I tried them!

(Image)

Mind if I do a little refining myself on that design? Just the undersuit for the jumper, nothing more.

[Oppressorion]

I tried them!

(Image)

Mind if I do a little refining myself on that design? Just the undersuit for the jumper, nothing more.

No problem with that at all. I whipped this up fairly quickly, and I appreciate the chance to improve.

[Kassaran]

Visible enough?

[Heavonia]

If we're talking about uniforms, do you think that the heavy battle dress looks both reminiscent of Early 20th century British/Commonwealth uniforms, while also looking enough like it could be :futur: and stuff?

[Kassaran]

If we're talking about uniforms, do you think that the heavy battle dress looks both reminiscent of Early 20th century British/Commonwealth uniforms, while also looking enough like it could be :futur: and stuff?

(Image)

That looks amazing... Not quite :futur: as I'm one of the proponents of there being sealed or singular-piece armor systems added with less modularization, but that could definitely be more early-gen equipment or stuff that your colonial guards and whatnot use.

[Heavonia]

If we're talking about uniforms, do you think that the heavy battle dress looks both reminiscent of Early 20th century British/Commonwealth uniforms, while also looking enough like it could be :futur: and stuff?

(Image)

That looks amazing... Not quite :futur: as I'm one of the proponents of there being sealed or singular-piece armor systems added with less modularization, but that could definitely be more early-gen equipment or stuff that your colonial guards and whatnot use.

It is sealed, but not singular. What they're wearing is as follows:

Tropical Service Dress:

• 'Home Service Helmet'-styled reinforced combat helmet. Provides protection against L3 Projectiles, shrapnel, lower-yield energy blasts, and sunstroke.
• Underwear (Male: Tropical Socks, underwear of choice. Female: Tropical Socks, underwear of choice, 'No.2 Combat Brassiere, Royal Armaments' (functionally a sports bra provided in a number of sizes to keep the wearer's breasts under control in even the most strenuous and energetic movements))
• Undershirt (optional) - Imperial Purple Wicking T Shirt.
• Dress Shirt with sleeves rolled up.
• Dress Sorts
• Underbelt
• Bulled Combat Boots

Temperate Service Dress:

• 'Home Service Helmet'-styled reinforced combat helmet.
• Underwear (Male: Socks, underwear of choice. Female: Socks, Underwear of choice, 'No.2 Combat BRA')
• Undershirt
• Collared Dress Tunic
• Dress Trousers
• Underbelt
• Overbelt
• Bulled Combat Boots

Battle Dress:

• Armour:
  • Light and Heavy:
    • 'Home Service Helmet'-styled reinforced combat helmet.
    • Cuirass
    • Tassets
    • Kneepads
  • Heavy Armour Only:
    • Helmet Faceplate
    • Rear-guard
    • Spaulders
    • Vambraces
    • Cuisses
    • Greaves
• Webbing, No.4 Pattern.
• Combat Gloves.
• Underwear (semi-optional) (Male: Socks, underwear of choice. Female: Socks, Underwear of choice, 'No.2 Combat BRA')
• Sealed Bodyglove (provides NBC Protection, airtight sealing, flexibility and comfort, minor protection from very low yield energy blasts). Sealed on front of torso like a CSI crime scene suit it has built in feet, hood and hands. The Faceplate of the helmet seals to it.
• Collared Dress Tunic
• Dress Trousers
• Underbelt
• Bulled Combat Boots.

Admittedly yes the armour doesn't cover everything, but the soldier can operate in adverse atmospheric conditions with ease.

[Taigawa]

Just how realistic would a plasma whip be assuming one had the tech to make and safely use them?

A side curiosity after reading the Forerunner Saga: How realistic are the Precursors' Unbending filiments/Star roads?

[Stormwrath]

Just how realistic would a plasma whip be assuming one had the tech to make and safely use them?

A side curiosity after reading the Forerunner Saga: How realistic are the Precursors' Unbending filiments/Star roads?

Let me stop you there. You don't have to worry about your technology conforming to realism in order to make people suspend their disbelief. If you want your combatants to have plasma whips, why not? All we care about is the consistency and creativity of your work, as well as your willingness to have good RP time with others through collaboration and compromise.

On the question of star roads, that requires huge amounts of resources to manufacture and maintain, especially when we're talking about literal "interstellar highways." For some of us, FTL drives are cheaper and more convenient for our nations to use, and they don't very well like not having to use starships. But whatever floats your boat is all well and good.

[Taigawa]

Just how realistic would a plasma whip be assuming one had the tech to make and safely use them?

A side curiosity after reading the Forerunner Saga: How realistic are the Precursors' Unbending filiments/Star roads?

Let me stop you there. You don't have to worry about your technology conforming to realism in order to make people suspend their disbelief. If you want your combatants to have plasma whips, why not? All we care about is the consistency and creativity of your work, as well as your willingness to have good RP time with others through collaboration and compromise.

On the question of star roads, that requires huge amounts of resources to manufacture and maintain, especially when we're talking about literal "interstellar highways." For some of us, FTL drives are cheaper and more convenient for our nations to use, and they don't very well like not having to use starships. But whatever floats your boat is all well and good.

Thank you. I just figured that said weapons would be good to have given the races my nation has...I'll have to develop the lore for those when I use them

Thanks for answering that one. We aren't that advanced yet though and the highest I go is currently Forerunner tech with the hardlight and shielding and their metal. Also The Mantle, well my interpritation of it anyway, though I usually save it for dialouge with my chars and as a reason why we would/wouldn'nt go to war with certain nations or as a moral code, I.e my char might say something like "X is a crime against The Mantle so we will fight you." and similar things like that...but not usually that blunt.

But I am flexible so if an OP says "No Forerunner tech," I don't use it.

[SquareDisc City]

Just how realistic would a plasma whip be assuming one had the tech to make and safely use them?

Look into what a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_torch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_cutting can do. That's the closest thing to a real-world plasma weapon we have, though the plasma jet is only a few inches long.

I think one of the more interesting considerations is the effect on eyes. Do your plasma-whip wielders wear goggles to protect themselves from the intense light (and look Badass)? Or would that impair their own vision too much for combat, and do the users end up risking painful "whip eye" and have to consider that they can't actually use their weapon too much? Or is there some more exotic solution to the problem, like cybernetic or biologically modified eyes? And what about making use of the light, either for illumination or to dazzle and disorient enemies?

[Taigawa]

Just how realistic would a plasma whip be assuming one had the tech to make and safely use them?

Look into what a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_torch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_cutting can do. That's the closest thing to a real-world plasma weapon we have, though the plasma jet is only a few inches long.

I think one of the more interesting considerations is the effect on eyes. Do your plasma-whip wielders wear goggles to protect themselves from the intense light (and look Badass)? Or would that impair their own vision too much for combat, and do the users end up risking painful "whip eye" and have to consider that they can't actually use their weapon too much? Or is there some more exotic solution to the problem, like cybernetic or biologically modified eyes? And what about making use of the light, either for illumination or to dazzle and disorient enemies?

I'm pretty sure Combat Armor visiors could be modified to have such a defense, though I assume wielding a whip-like plasma weapon would also require some kind of protection from heat...though this would have to be achieved without adversely affecting the wielder's agility, as I believe being agile would certainly benefit the user of such a weapon.

[Pillowlandia]

alright, so I myself am semi-active in MT RPs but am interested in doing more FT. Is there any basic things that I should do first? I'm also trying to think of a good theme, I plan on having an absolute monarchy which evolved from a democracy X time in the past for X terribe accident. that's about as much as I actually have so far.