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

[Genomita]

I'm definetly liking those ideas for an attack strategy even though my nation likely won't do a lot of attacking, but I suppose at least some of the same principles can be applied to a defensive strategy as well. A small fleet of fast ships could erupt from a stationary gate in one of my systems to intercept incoming attackers, cause some (hopefully serious) damage and break up the enemy's formation, then throw out a portal to get back to base and restock while the second wave comes in. Imagien how frustrating that would be. You might not fall for it every time, but the times you fall for it or expect it to happen only to find they stick around can cost you the battle.

[Tierra Prime]

I'm definetly liking those ideas for an attack strategy even though my nation likely won't do a lot of attacking, but I suppose at least some of the same principles can be applied to a defensive strategy as well. A small fleet of fast ships could erupt from a stationary gate in one of my systems to intercept incoming attackers, cause some (hopefully serious) damage and break up the enemy's formation, then throw out a portal to get back to base and restock while the second wave comes in. Imagien how frustrating that would be. You might not fall for it every time, but the times you fall for it or expect it to happen only to find they stick around can cost you the battle.

A novel idea for an attack ship I came up with a few months ago which may fit what you want is a "space submarine." Take a frigate or another suitability small ship, equip it with a modified FTL generator that partially phases it out of reality, equip the ship with torpedoes, and you have a space submarine. In the vain of early submarines, which couldn't dive for very long, this ship would need to disengage its phase generator in order to fire, and wouldn't be able to keep it running for very long. It also wouldn't have much in the way of armour and could be detected by enemy ships if it came too close. Hunter-killer patrols made up of destroyers and corvettes would be very effective counters I imagine.

[G-Tech Corporation]

I'm definetly liking those ideas for an attack strategy even though my nation likely won't do a lot of attacking, but I suppose at least some of the same principles can be applied to a defensive strategy as well. A small fleet of fast ships could erupt from a stationary gate in one of my systems to intercept incoming attackers, cause some (hopefully serious) damage and break up the enemy's formation, then throw out a portal to get back to base and restock while the second wave comes in. Imagien how frustrating that would be. You might not fall for it every time, but the times you fall for it or expect it to happen only to find they stick around can cost you the battle.

A novel idea for an attack ship I came up with a few months ago which may fit what you want is a "space submarine." Take a frigate or another suitability small ship, equip it with a modified FTL generator that partially phases it out of reality, equip the ship with torpedoes, and you have a space submarine. In the vain of early submarines, which couldn't dive for very long, this ship would need to disengage its phase generator in order to fire, and wouldn't be able to keep it running for very long. It also wouldn't have much in the way of armour and could be detected by enemy ships if it came too close. Hunter-killer patrols made up of destroyers and corvettes would be very effective counters I imagine.

Mm, the trouble I see with that is the old "tactical FTL/FTLi" difficulty. You might want to talk to your RP partners before you truly introduce that.

[Kyrusia]

I'm definetly liking those ideas for an attack strategy even though my nation likely won't do a lot of attacking, but I suppose at least some of the same principles can be applied to a defensive strategy as well. A small fleet of fast ships could erupt from a stationary gate in one of my systems to intercept incoming attackers, cause some (hopefully serious) damage and break up the enemy's formation, then throw out a portal to get back to base and restock while the second wave comes in. Imagien how frustrating that would be. You might not fall for it every time, but the times you fall for it or expect it to happen only to find they stick around can cost you the battle.

A novel idea for an attack ship I came up with a few months ago which may fit what you want is a "space submarine." Take a frigate or another suitability small ship, equip it with a modified FTL generator that partially phases it out of reality, equip the ship with torpedoes, and you have a space submarine. In the vain of early submarines, which couldn't dive for very long, this ship would need to disengage its phase generator in order to fire, and wouldn't be able to keep it running for very long. It also wouldn't have much in the way of armour and could be detected by enemy ships if it came too close. Hunter-killer patrols made up of destroyers and corvettes would be very effective counters I imagine.

Quite as G-Tech stated: there is a degree of leeriness when it comes to what you described - something equivalent to a form of "tactical FTL." Some players are fine with it being used, others are not; discuss it with your roleplay partner.

That being said, what you described (emphasized), especially the bit about it being required to disengage is tacFTL to fire, is similar to something I often suggest to players who want to incorporate tacFTL or "space stealth"/cloaking into their military technology: "Nothing in, nothing out." In other words: if they can't hit you, you can't hit them; if they can't see you, you can't see them. There is obviously wiggle room here (in accordance with the 4 C's), but I have found it a useful rule of thumb to follow with these things; it also helps, from a world-building and concept design perspective, to help foster the design of inherent weaknesses and drawbacks into any given concept - something that I, personally, find to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of design.

Hope that helps!

[The Ben Boys]

So went back to the drawing board on ships, and started using GIMP (as suggested in the OP). It's a bit awkward to use at first but I now recommend it.

Anyways, the Corvatta-class cruiser. Suggestions? Problems? Thoughts? Still trying to find a ship style that suits me so I'm eager to hear.

[Vocenae]

I still don't get why people don't just use Imgur. It's a easier, simpler, and faster image host.

EDIT: Apparently this was my 1000th forum post. Wow, I really made it a special one didn't I?

[Stormwrath]

I still don't get why people don't just use Imgur. It's a easier, simpler, and faster image host.

Tinypic doesn't require an account to upload images, Imgur does, so I can see why people would want to use Tinypic. Although you can upload images on PostIMG as well, plus it loads faster than Tinypic does.

[Vocenae]

Yeah but when it is free to create an account then I don't really see why someone would use a inferior service.

That said, now that the image has finally loaded, well, box ship is boxy. There's no real defining features outside of the bridge tower. You might try sketching out some additional angles so that we can give you better feedback. Are you basing the design off anything from other science fiction media? The UNSC from Halo comes to mind given that all of it's ships are boxes.

As for what you have here, well, it also goes with the focus on your military, what weapons they prefer to use in space, etc. Do you use actual physical kinetic ammo, do you use energy, do you have spinal weapons, do your ships possess missile batteries, are they designed to operate independently or do they need to work with additional vessels be they offense or support, etc etc etc. How big is your power core, where is it located, what about the internal infrastructure and logistics needs for the weapons, not to mention the crew. Also remember to include scale of visible structure (like the bridge) in terms of how big your people are. How large is the crew population, how much of the ship's interior is open space, where do the crew sleep, eat, recreate, shower. Supply storage, communications arrays, sensors, etc.

Now these are all fairly nebulous details that don't really ever come up in RP, but when you're designing a ship it is detail you need to keep in mind in order to create a ship that doesn't just look badass, but also functional. Try to chart out a rough internal structure for yourself to help you with creating external detail (you don't have to show or list anything about internal detail if you choose not to). Remember that scaling is also important, and that most of FT's ships clock in at typically 1.5km and under (larger ships are typically plotcentric ships). So keeping in mind the scaling of how big the ship is in regards to your own crews is important when you get down to placing your guns and their general sizes.

Looking at the design as it is now, you have definite dead zones in terms of fire coverage. I assume those guns can swivel to track targets within their firing arcs but you've still got significant dead zones at the prow (assuming there's no spinal there), under the prow, under the ship and behind the bridge tower. I would advise reducing the size of your bridge tower (having an exposed bridge may be cool, but attract A-Wings like flies) or removing it entirely. I would also advise putting some guns in those locations as well.

Though I get the exposed bridge thing. Like I said, it may be a weakness, but it is a cool looking weakness. It is a distinctive feature of the ship that makes it look like more than just a floating brick covered in guns farting drive trails out one end of it. I myself don't place my bridges and CICs on the outer hull of my ships, but I do take the time to design and model them anyway (I call them 'bridge blisters') because they give the ship a personality.

And another thing in terms of design is that your guns along the upper hull (and this could just be the limitations of lineart) do not allow for maximum fire to the front of the ship. The each turret will simply destroy the one in front of it. Same goes for the spacing of the guns on the sides of the ship (though these just need to be adjusted slightly). I myself have one leg in this trap myself, so don't feel the need to completely overhaul to give all your guns a clear firing arc (also broadsides in spaaaaace) but just remember to take it into account when placing your other guns. Basically for every turret with a blocked firing arc, you should have an additional turret with a completely open firing arc to make up for it.

For some additional inspiration on ship designs (you don't and shouldn't feel obligated to completely try to come up with a hull design on your own), if you haven't you should definitely check out the Halo wiki, Babylon 5, Stargate, Star Wars, Mass Effect, Killzone, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, EVE Online, and my personal two favorites, the ships of Freespace and Homeworld. It's important to do the research and see how the ships of those universes are designed (not to mention looking at our own IRL navies) so that you can build a better starship for your own uses.

[The Ben Boys]

Yeah but when it is free to create an account then I don't really see why someone would use a inferior service.

I wasn't under the impression Imgur was free, I will definitely look into it then.

That said, now that the image has finally loaded, well, box ship is boxy. There's no real defining features outside of the bridge tower. You might try sketching out some additional angles so that we can give you better feedback. Are you basing the design off anything from other science fiction media? The UNSC from Halo comes to mind given that all of it's ships are boxes.

Not exactly trying to emulate or base it off of anything. Rather, the simplicity seems to fit the Bakran personality: they are simple, hardy, and usually don't say much. However I do need more defining features, I'm thinking of putting in a "reactor seal", so that if the main reactor is pushed and goes critical it can be blown out and ejected.

EDIT: I'm considering adding in one of my navy's weaknesses is unimaginative designers, but the individual systems are superb.

As for what you have here, well, it also goes with the focus on your military, what weapons they prefer to use in space, etc. Do you use actual physical kinetic ammo, do you use energy, do you have spinal weapons, do your ships possess missile batteries, are they designed to operate independently or do they need to work with additional vessels be they offense or support, etc etc etc. How big is your power core, where is it located, what about the internal infrastructure and logistics needs for the weapons, not to mention the crew. Also remember to include scale of visible structure (like the bridge) in terms of how big your people are. How large is the crew population, how much of the ship's interior is open space, where do the crew sleep, eat, recreate, shower. Supply storage, communications arrays, sensors, etc.

This is definitely what I needed to hear. Thank you for your entire response, it helps as well, but as someone new to lineart and wanting to fill in greebles this is appreciated. I'm also going to take a sojourn through Atomic Rockets for design details.

Looking at the design as it is now, you have definite dead zones in terms of fire coverage. I assume those guns can swivel to track targets within their firing arcs but you've still got significant dead zones at the prow (assuming there's no spinal there), under the prow, under the ship and behind the bridge tower. I would advise reducing the size of your bridge tower (having an exposed bridge may be cool, but attract A-Wings like flies) or removing it entirely. I would also advise putting some guns in those locations as well.

There are a lot more turrets (about 45) around that I haven't placed yet, but I also don't want to clutter the design. There are many, many more weapons, such as x150 missile tubes and a few hundred small deck guns for the "broadsides in spaaaace".

Though I get the exposed bridge thing. Like I said, it may be a weakness, but it is a cool looking weakness. It is a distinctive feature of the ship that makes it look like more than just a floating brick covered in guns farting drive trails out one end of it. I myself don't place my bridges and CICs on the outer hull of my ships, but I do take the time to design and model them anyway (I call them 'bridge blisters') because they give the ship a personality.

In one incarnation of Halo I believe the canon was that all Covenant ships have CICs in the center of the ship, the rest is cameras feeding them information and making fun of the inferior humie design. I've said it before, fighters probably aren't very realistic but like exposed bridges, they're just too cool to let go.

And another thing in terms of design is that your guns along the upper hull (and this could just be the limitations of lineart) do not allow for maximum fire to the front of the ship. The each turret will simply destroy the one in front of it. Same goes for the spacing of the guns on the sides of the ship (though these just need to be adjusted slightly). I myself have one leg in this trap myself, so don't feel the need to completely overhaul to give all your guns a clear firing arc (also broadsides in spaaaaace) but just remember to take it into account when placing your other guns. Basically for every turret with a blocked firing arc, you should have an additional turret with a completely open firing arc to make up for it.

It's the nature of 2D design; they're supposed to be at different angles. The blocks sticking out are my prow weapons, and the underside is full of missile tubes and light turrets that may not be put in for simplicity of design.

Thank you for the response, this gives me a lot to work with.

[Lubyak]

So went back to the drawing board on ships, and started using GIMP (as suggested in the OP). It's a bit awkward to use at first but I now recommend it.

Anyways, the Corvatta-class cruiser. Suggestions? Problems? Thoughts? Still trying to find a ship style that suits me so I'm eager to hear.

So, of course, the first thing you're going to have to determine when you start line arting a ship is where you're falling on the scale of sci-fi hardness. A hard sci-fi ship has to have lots of features, while soft sci-fi allows for more flexibility, since you can handwavium those issues away. Since you've gone for the block with guns style, I'll presume you're on the softer end of the scale.

As far as how to design ships in and of themselves, Voc's covered it pretty well. The most important thing is how your military is intended to function, and what role this ship plays in that function. So I guess, that's my first question: What is this ship's intended mission?

On to the actual artwork itself, it's definitely a good start. I'd recommend adding a scale, so we can get a feeling for how big this is. I also recommend adding a small information card that has some general details about it, such as it dimensions, armament, defenses, etc. Some people like adding mass and crew size as well, but those are more flexible and less necessary in my opinion. I would recommend adding more details to the ship, since those really help bring it to life. In addition to general greebles, I'd recommend adding things like sensor positions, fire control directors, secondary/point defence guns, air locks, escape pods, shuttle hangars, windows, or anything else that seems relevant. Those kind of features really help adds more life to the design. One thing I always do when drawing my ships and I'm adding on a bit is just try to brainstorm 'what is this bit for?' With that out of the way, you should be able to go a bit more wild in adding small details.

Overall, it looks , and it looks like you're heading in a really good direction. Another thing I'd suggest is to try and make things look distinctive, and trying to add hints of things even if the hull would hide most of it. Maybe add some vents along the ventral side, and some VLS caps to suggest the missile batteries, along with some kind of ridge with small studs to represent point defence guns and what not. Little details that hint at the general structure are always a good trick to add more to a ship, while also breaking up the 'block with guns' somewhat.

[Lubyak]

I still don't get why people don't just use Imgur. It's a easier, simpler, and faster image host.

Tinypic doesn't require an account to upload images, Imgur does, so I can see why people would want to use Tinypic. Although you can upload images on PostIMG as well, plus it loads faster than Tinypic does.

I really do like imgur just cause I'm already there. Always recommend it.

Also, it's nice to make up fun little albums, like this! Still need to add text summaries to the whole thing, but I'm quite happy with how this is going. I can probably make this a Jane's Guide kind of thing.

[Stormwrath]

Tinypic doesn't require an account to upload images, Imgur does, so I can see why people would want to use Tinypic. Although you can upload images on PostIMG as well, plus it loads faster than Tinypic does.

I really do like imgur just cause I'm already there. Always recommend it.

Also, it's nice to make up fun little albums, like this! Still need to add text summaries to the whole thing, but I'm quite happy with how this is going. I can probably make this a Jane's Guide kind of thing.

I think someone may have got a guide up to creating military vehicles somewhere else on this forum. Unless it's spaceships, by which I'd want to see that.

[The Ben Boys]

Ok, took in some suggestions and did a quick re-take. Here it is.

The fields of fire look to conflict, but in reality only a few do. Most of them are on different levels (which I am learning how to draw) and since my ships just have so many PDWs it's hard to place them without screwing it all up. I'm considering taking out all PDWs and implying their presence.

Also, thanks Lubyak, I'm going to be including stats and such once I get my style down.

[Kyrusia]

I still don't get why people don't just use Imgur. It's a easier, simpler, and faster image host.

Tinypic doesn't require an account to upload images, Imgur does, so I can see why people would want to use Tinypic. Although you can upload images on PostIMG as well, plus it loads faster than Tinypic does.

For the record, Imgur doesn't require an account to upload images; it does require an account to centrally organize them in a meaningful way, however. You can create individual albums, sure, and bookmark those; the account does this automatically, however, saving all your uploads in one location for you - last I checked, at least.

[Bakra]

Took in Voc's idea of a catamaran style, and I gotta say it's pretty cool. Really shaves down some of the field of fire problems as well.

EDIT: The big white cross thing is a large airlock, and in the prow are railguns. That should cover any ambiguity.

[Krosana]

3 questions
Do I need to explain FTL? How?
Is the divergence of Krosanians from humans realistic?
How do I improve my timeline?

[RawHein]

3 questions
Do I need to explain FTL? How?
Is the divergence of Krosanians from humans realistic?

Reason #1: Mutation
The biggest reason is that after the war, most of the population that weren't killed in the blasts (75% of original population, ~3b), died of acute radiation poisoning (50-60% of the survivors, ~500m), war (20-25% of the survivors, 250m) were people with advantageous mutations. As Krosana had just started testing nuclear weapons, very little information existed on the effects of radiation. Billions upon billions died, but out of the ashes rose a stronger race.

Reason #2: The Perseids

Early into the rule of Empress Clair I, a war in a nearby star-state had collapsed their star, creating the problem of millions and million of refugees, most of the female. Krosana had been facing population decline for hundreds of years. The Nomadic Peoples of the Perseids had been fighting a war against pirates in their system for decades. Eventually, the government of their system collapsed and refugees fled all across the galaxy. Most of those from the outer parts of the system, the part that was more unstable, went to Krosana. In the outer system, pirates would capture the most beautiful females of a tribe, and mate with them, and killing most of the men, and leaving the unattractive ones to die. The sons and daughters of these pirates were the refugees to Krosana. About 500 million were refugees to Krosana's population of about 6 billion.

How do I improve my timeline?

approx. 2 000 000 BCE
Humans share their last common ancestor with chimpanzees.

Movea unites into one nation.

approx. 1 800 000 BCE

The Movean Interstellar Empire conqueres its first planet.

approx. 150 000 BCE

Moveans become 97% genetically identical to humans.

Moveans discover a trans-light engine, helping them to expand their Empire even further.

approx. 30 000 BCE

Krosana's ancestors are abducted from Earth.

Experiments on Krosana's ancestors begin.

approx. 28 000 BCE

Early Krosanians are given Nirn, now known as Krosana as a planet to inhabit.

Krosana begins at Tier 7.

The Bretony Pantheon of Aedric Worship is founded.

The Ancient Krosanis sign the treaty to not develop nuclear weapons.

The Ancient Age begins.

27 500 BCE

Krosana ascends to Tier 6.

The first aeroplane is invented.

approx. 27 629

The United Breton States are founded.

approx. 27 521 BCE

The transistor is invented.

The United Socialist State of Nirn is founded.

Krosana ascends to Tier 5.

The First Krosani nuclear weapon is detonated. It is detected by Movea.

The Moveans begin the plan so eradicate Krosana.

27 447 BCE

The Night of Tears:

UBS reports of possible missiles in orbit.

The UBS withdraws its ambassabdor to the USSN, believing it to be planning a nuclear attack.

The Integrated Operational Nuclear Detection System (IONDS) reports two probable launches of ballistic missiles.

The first Movean nuke hits Old Alexandria, obliterating it in a second.

The next hits Krosana City, then the USSN strikes the UBS, believing it to be the first one to launch the bombs.

In a few hours, the entire landscape of Krosana is changed as Movean nukes destroy most of the Krosanian people.

Krosana is knocked back to Tier 6.

The Ancient Age ends.

27 399 BCE

Krosanians begin to mutate, thanks to the radiation. Most people with disadvantageous mutations die, leaving only the strong to survive.

The Movean government begins to break down.

Erik Konos is born.

The Viking Age begins.

27 287 BCE

The Movean government falls apart completely.

Konos begins to rally support most of the major cities to unite.

Some remaining Moveans take shelter on Krosana.

27 271 BCE

Erik Konos launches an attack on the now Movean territories of Krosana.

The most of the remaining Moveans are killed.

Krosana tries to reverse-engineer Movean tech, but is too advanced for them.

27 269 BCE

The BR and AR calendar is proposed and implemented by one Erik Konos's advisers, Maxson. The AR age begins.

27 260 BCE

Pelagius I becomes Emperor.

26 873 BCE

Kintyra I ascends to the throne.

26 794

Krosana's military is established in its current form.

26 755

Arcadia is colonised.

New Alexandria begins terraformation.

26 705 BCE

Erik II takes the throne.

26 670 BCE

The first Premier that isn't related to the Konos family come to power.

26 653 BCE

Technological advancement advances rapidly thanks to the rediscovery of the transistor.

Rocket-propelled space travel begins again.

Krosana ascends to Tier 3.

Erik II dies and Jacoren the Great ascends to the throne.

Most Movean technology is reverse-engineered.

The Viking Age ends and the Atomic Era begins.

26 592

Premier Tanaka is assassinated by Insurrection terrorists.

Jacoren the Great abdicates the throne and disappears, leaving his daughter Clair I to become Krosana's first Empress.

An asteroid hits Krosana, sending it back to Tier 4 and stranding billions in the colonies.

12 433BCE

The Interplanetary Wars begin as the Insurrection gains power in the Outer Colonies.

After spending many years in the stone age, Krosana returns to Tier 3.

It is discovered that the 'asteroid' that hit Krosana was actually a Movean weapon. Many Moveans are put in PoW camps or expelled from Krosana.

Empress Clair restored to power takes emergency powers to form a military junta.

11 600 BCE

Clair begins to crack down on free speech, and expands the powers of the military government to detain citizens indefinitely, without warrant.

Clair dies and her firstborn Osbourne the Terrible takes power.

Krosana becomes socialist, by the hand of Osbourne.

11 478 BCE

The Interplanetary War expands into the Second Movaeo-Krosani War. The Insurrection is found to actually be a Movean organization.

The Battle of New Alexandria occurs as almost half of Krosana's population is massacred by the Moveans.

Movean and Krosani bodies alike litter the streets of Krosana City.

11 372 BCE

Maxwell the Righteous ends his brother Osbourne's oppressive rule, and restores laws protecting free speech, though emergency military powers are still in place.

10 765 BCE

The Interstellar War begins.

Krosana decimates Movea's army with a Antimatter bomb to its capital city. 3 billion are dead.

The eight-week long Battle of Krosana takes place.

10 618 BCE

The Interstellar and Movaeo-Krosani War end with Movean retreat.

Slipspace is discovered as a way for faster than light travel.

Krosana colonises Kyoto VI.

Krosana ascends to Tier 2.

Maxwell the Righteous reforms the constitution to restore power to the people.

New Alexandria finishes terraformation.

The Atomic Era ends and the Hexian Age begins.

9 826 BCE

Maxwell the Righteous dies and Erik III ascends to power.

8 705 BCE

Krosana attempts to contact Earth, but no radio technology is detected.

Premier Ito is impeached —for jaywalking.

7 931 BCE

Erik III dies passing the crown to his daughter, Maxine I.

5 106BCE

Maxine I dies with no heir, and the crown goes to cousin Richard I.

4 682-1 667 BCE

Krosana colonises the it's first planets.

Krosana begins to use Antimater as a source of power.

Krosana discovers alien life and a new era of peace reins on Krosana. This time is called the Pax Krosana, and it lasts nearly four millennia.

953 BCE

Krosana colonises Rome III, Atlantis, New Jerulasalem, Draco IV, and New Terra.

820 CE

Richard passes the crown to Maxine II.

244 CE

Krosana colonises New Haven and New London.

Krosana begins testing power armour.

2016 CE

The construction of Enclaves and Libraries begin.

Krosana's population reaches 27 billion.

Krosana ascends to Tier 1.

New Harlem, Cario and Pheonix and built.

2025 CE

Maxine II dies and Arcturian the Wise becomes Emperor.

2077 CE

Krosana finishes testing Power Armour. Mark IV is introduced.

2277 CE

Mark V Power armour is released.

2316 CE

Mark VI is relaesd.

Mark VII begins testing.

For reference.

[SquareDisc City]

"Do I need to explain FTL? How?"

Explain, no. Describe, yes. How your FTL technology behaves, what its capabilities and limitations are, will be important to your nationbuilding and roleplaying. What makes it work, whatever technobabble you dream up to explain it, is largely background fluff.

[Bakra]

Do I need to explain FTL? How?

Not really. Some people (like Lubyak) explain it in detail and it fits well in their canon: Lubyak has modes of travel, economic analysis, made up a science for it, etc. I'm obsessed with explaining everything about my nation, yet I've never been satisfied with any FTL device I have so I stick with the standard "FTL drive", and it's never been the way of RPs or messed with my info dump needs.

Is the divergence of Krosanians from humans realistic?

Realistic may not be the term you're looking for. In this situation, it's usually suspension of disbelief (or just "belief") rather than realism.

So is it believable? Definitely, I'd but into it. I'm not reading it and going "c'mon, please": it's a mixture of Fallout, XCOM, and the Forerunners, but at the same time you aren't copying it so it's hard to find someone who would roll their eyes at it. It is compelling and original and not outside of the realm of believability. So in short you are totally good in this regard in my opinion.

How do I improve my timeline?

Just from a quick read through, I'd say divide it into eras. Try this:

1. Start out with an era title. This is to build your nation's historiography in addition to it's history. It can be "Medieval", "Atomic", "FTL", or like mine which is "Pre-FTL", "FTL Beginnings", "First Bigs Wars" (paraphrasing). Depending on how you structure the timeline it can be your entire history or you can focus on the FTL years.

2. A paragraph or so of introduction that explains that consequences of the last era and what dominates the next era we are about to read about. This helps divide it in your head and once again helps build your nation's historiography.

Second, try to expand much more on the political and historical happenings of your civilization. How is it transformed? Through economic, cultural, or technological advances? Maybe through military or political means? Why do these transformations happen? How does it upset the status quo? Does it create new societal standards and cultural tenants, and if so how/why? Your history and culture (IMHO) should be intimately intertwined: their origins as abducted humans should permeate through their culture, where slavery could either be accepted or reviled because of how the Moveans treated the Krosani. Is idealism central to our civilization or is it pragmatism? How did your people respond to changes and challenges?

Additionally, I think your power armor looks really cool. You may want to delve into why your people use power armor (like mine do) but not genetic engineering or cloning, if they even have the capabilities. Does power armor (instead of mechanical augmentation) say something about their society? Is augmentation and genetic engineering taboo?

Anyways, just my thoughts.

Hope this helps

[The United Dominion]

"Do I need to explain FTL? How?"

Explain, no. Describe, yes. How your FTL technology behaves, what its capabilities and limitations are, will be important to your nationbuilding and roleplaying. What makes it work, whatever technobabble you dream up to explain it, is largely background fluff.

Describe is also a no.

I went a very long time without having any idea what ixee FTL was - I just knew "it works, they get places at some point". It had no impact on my nationbuilding or roleplaying thus far, and in fact that only reason I have an idea of what their FTL is now is because the rest of the nation was already built, then I decided that they had more gravity-manipulation technology, and then I decided that they used said technology for "shields", then the player who plays a species that the United Dominion uplifted decided to go with gravity-based FTL, and we decided it made sense for them to have gotten it from us, thus leading to the ixee having a specific form of gravity-based FTL.

So, describe: also a no.

It might be completely irrelevant for a very long time.

[RawHein]

"Do I need to explain FTL? How?"

Explain, no. Describe, yes. How your FTL technology behaves, what its capabilities and limitations are, will be important to your nationbuilding and roleplaying. What makes it work, whatever technobabble you dream up to explain it, is largely background fluff.

Describe is also a no.

I went a very long time without having any idea what ixee FTL was - I just knew "it works, they get places at some point". It had no impact on my nationbuilding or roleplaying thus far, and in fact that only reason I have an idea of what their FTL is now is because the rest of the nation was already built, then I decided that they had more gravity-manipulation technology, and then I decided that they used said technology for "shields", then the player who plays a species that the United Dominion uplifted decided to go with gravity-based FTL, and we decided it made sense for them to have gotten it from us, thus leading to the ixee having a specific form of gravity-based FTL.

So, describe: also a no.

It might be completely irrelevant for a very long time.

It depends on your world building's focus. I have two nations, expanded in different ways. In the first, hard SF nation I focused (and still do) on technology, how it worked and how it kept the society running, like military ships, FTL drives, and AI since it was bound up tightly with how the government maintained its power and efficiency. In this one I didn't, because that wasn't the focus any more - I wrote about the society, their beliefs and culture, how the church and government work with trade unions/noble families to share power by making compromises to keep the nation going, as well as a little linguistics. I almost totally ignored the technology, except to establish ambience and relative advancement compared to the present.

[The United Dominion]

Describe is also a no.

I went a very long time without having any idea what ixee FTL was - I just knew "it works, they get places at some point". It had no impact on my nationbuilding or roleplaying thus far, and in fact that only reason I have an idea of what their FTL is now is because the rest of the nation was already built, then I decided that they had more gravity-manipulation technology, and then I decided that they used said technology for "shields", then the player who plays a species that the United Dominion uplifted decided to go with gravity-based FTL, and we decided it made sense for them to have gotten it from us, thus leading to the ixee having a specific form of gravity-based FTL.

So, describe: also a no.

It might be completely irrelevant for a very long time.

It depends on your world building's focus. I have two nations, expanded in different ways. In the first I focused on technology, how it worked and how it kept the society running, since it was bound up tightly with how the government maintained its power and efficiency. In this one I didn't, because that wasn't the focus any more - I wrote about the society, their beliefs and culture, how the church and government work with trade unions/noble families to share power by making compromises to keep the nation going, as well as a little linguistics. I almost totally ignored the technology, except to establish ambience and relative advancement compared to the present.

Yeah, it does depend on your focus, which is why there is no general "need" to describe it in any way. You might feel, personally, that you need to, but that doesn't mean everyone else has to, just like your second nation and my own. And I absolutely would not say that our nations are any less well-built for it.

If you feel it helps, then yes, describe your FTL. If you don't know what to do for it and/or don't think it's relevant, then whatever. It really doesn't matter that much.

[Nyte]

Whichever option you choose, make sure to keep it consistent. If you decide on a specific FTL method to use, then keep using it... Changing it, and how you describe it from one RP to another will not do you any favors in the long run.

[Lubyak]

"Do I need to explain FTL? How?"

Explain, no. Describe, yes. How your FTL technology behaves, what its capabilities and limitations are, will be important to your nationbuilding and roleplaying. What makes it work, whatever technobabble you dream up to explain it, is largely background fluff.

Describe is also a no.

I went a very long time without having any idea what ixee FTL was - I just knew "it works, they get places at some point". It had no impact on my nationbuilding or roleplaying thus far, and in fact that only reason I have an idea of what their FTL is now is because the rest of the nation was already built, then I decided that they had more gravity-manipulation technology, and then I decided that they used said technology for "shields", then the player who plays a species that the United Dominion uplifted decided to go with gravity-based FTL, and we decided it made sense for them to have gotten it from us, thus leading to the ixee having a specific form of gravity-based FTL.

So, describe: also a no.

It might be completely irrelevant for a very long time.

I think that there's a lot of potential on both sides. The 'function' of FTL is that it enables the characters of an RP to arrive where they need to be for the purposes of the RP. However, I think that it really depends on what you want to do for your nation. As compared to the ixee, my FTL has really shaped how my nation developed. Its expanded into a major part of my canon and really underlines a large portion of how my nation works.

So, quite clearly, both work. You can put as much detail as you want into your FTL, or you can just say that they arrived and that's it. However, consistency is important, so as long as you have that, you're good.

3 questions
Do I need to explain FTL? How?
Is the divergence of Krosanians from humans realistic?
How do I improve my timeline?

I think we've generally settled your first question. As for the second, 'realistic' really isn't the answer you're looking for Just focus on developing them. Very few things in FT are 'realistic', given that we run around with ships travelling faster than light, and are generally pretty soft in terms of science fiction.

As for your timeline...

Well, I'm going to say that starting off with the species splitting off from the earlist common ancestor is a bit too far back. I'm tempted to say that the timeline covers almost...well, 'too long'. You're trying to fill in more than 32,000 years, and so your detailing is--by definition--spotty. You can't list every major event that occurs over such a long period of time. I'd honestly begin with trimming it down. I get that you want to have this 'they were abducted long ago and have developed on their own since then', but I'd say you should stick with maybe 3,200 years instead of 32,000. You can still get the feeling, but you won't have things where it seems like nothing happens for millenia at a time.

Like, I'm looking at it right now, and I think the time scale is just way too big. Maxine I is crowned in 7931 BCE and dies in 5106 BCE? You begin testing power armour in 244 and only finish testing it nearly two thousand years later in 2077? What happened in that time? Also, I'm curious as to what these 'tiers' you're talking about are. You don't define them anywhere, and it seems self-contradictory. Early on you say the bombardment reduced them to Tier 6 from Tier 7, but at the end they 'reach' Tier 1. What do these tiers represent? Are higher numbers better or lower numbers?

In all honesty, I would recommend you try and begin anew. Try to break your history up into key era, then figure out what the turning points of those eras were. What defines each era? What happened to change one era from another? Once you have that, you can begin filling in the gaps with people and events. Right now, it just seems kind of...random. It's just a series of things happening, apparently without relation, and an obscene amount of distance apart. I'd really recommend you try to tighten it up. You don't need history stretching back to the biological dawn of the species. At present, it just feels like the time scale you're working in, and the things you're putting on just don't overlap. Things like 'the species seperates from the last common ancestor' and 'New form of power armour introduced' really, really shouldn't be measured on the same time scale.

[Lubyak]

Took in Voc's idea of a catamaran style, and I gotta say it's pretty cool. Really shaves down some of the field of fire problems as well.

EDIT: The big white cross thing is a large airlock, and in the prow are railguns. That should cover any ambiguity.

Definitely looking good. I'd recomend adding some detail to the front to really drive home that they're guns. Maybe some kind of barrel structure extruding from the hull. I'd also recommend--when you're adding equipment--really think about the internals. Think about how far each of those guns reach into the ship, and how it all fits together. You don't need to map it out, but try to keep that in mind as you move forward.

Besides that, my advice at the moment is that it looks a bit...cluttered. I'd recommend trying to find some additional greebling besides more guns. Some sensor towers to break up the rows, or something along those lines.